Chapter 30: Chapter 30
Chapter 30 - What Do I Look Like to You?
Ferda tilted his head.
"What does that have to do with plotting and inciting rebellion?"
"Because you have been arming soldiers with the backing of private enterprises and constructing roads that connect to the Empire. Isn’t that clearly preparation to facilitate an invasion?"
It was an utterly absurd accusation.
Ferda responded calmly.
"It is merely to improve the roads so that supplies and trade can flow more efficiently, and so that receiving aid from the Empire during emergencies becomes easier. Besides, since we have signed a contract with the Pascal Trading Company, it is only natural that roads be built for their benefit. In a land where our only enemies are monsters, what exactly do you think these roads are meant to accomplish?"
"Until now, the Eastern Region has defended itself perfectly well without roads. Expanding your military when there is no need for it is excessive armament and a direct threat to the Empire."
"Defense..."
At that moment, the calmness in Ferda’s eyes disappeared.
"Have any of you ever once seen what is happening in the Far East?"
"No..."
"Have you ever even set foot in the Far East?"
"No."
"Then I suppose you don’t even know what is happening there."
Even Ferda had not known before coming here.
Although he had attended several meetings of the Far Eastern Front Alliance, it was only after personally taking charge that he realized how dire the situation truly was.
"Every single second, the Far Eastern border has suffered from shortages of funding, manpower, and even morale. We’ve only just managed to fill about twenty-five percent of what is needed. And you call that excessive armament?"
"There have been no problems so far. Increasing military strength when there is no necessity for it can only mean one thing."
"Stop forcing such ridiculous logic. To be frank, the only reason the Grand Duchy of Valdrova has managed to hold back the monsters is because my fiancée, Grand Duchess Valdrova, has been there. Without her, this place would already be little more than a land of corpses. The soldiers of the Far East deserve better weapons."
"Ridiculous!"
Karl raised his voice, latching onto Ferda’s words.
"I am here as an inspector! Don’t you even know that you are supposed to treat me as though I were the Emperor himself?"
Karl shouted, attempting to overwhelm Ferda with sheer force.
But—
"Enough."
Ferda’s quiet voice alone silenced Karl.
Holding his teacup with one leg crossed over the other, he simply looked up at Karl.
Yet there was something terrifying hidden within those blue eyes.
"Did you just raise your voice at me, Sir Karl?"
Something no human should possess.
Karl refused to be intimidated.
He believed he was the one entitled to shout.
Ferda was just as furious.
Under normal circumstances, Karl would already have been a corpse.
No—
He would have been brutally torn apart.
Yet Ferda restrained himself.
Has Valdrova really been treated as nothing more than a watchdog all this time?
The way they regarded her exceeded even his worst expectations.
Deep down, Ferda had already known.
They feared her.
But not from the depths of their souls.
At that very moment, Ferda wanted nothing more than to send Karl straight back to the Western Empire.
Yet he refrained.
Ferda chose to look further ahead.
Everything is for my fiancée, Valdrova.
In the end, Karl, who had tried to crush Ferda through intimidation, was the one who backed down.
"If a full-scale investigation begins, the Regent can be punished according to Imperial law."
Taking another sip of tea, Ferda answered,
"Then stop it."
"That is impossible. The higher authorities are already paying close attention to this matter."
"I see."
Ferda waved his hand as though disappointed.
"Then it can’t be helped. I’ll cooperate with the investigation and clear my name."
Karl finally spoke again, his face filled with frustration.
"...Why are you acting like this? A man of your standing keeps pretending not to understand."
He dropped the act and revealed his true colors.
His murky eyes fixed themselves on Ferda.
"Let’s settle this peacefully. As someone from House Rosnova, surely you know exactly what our Extermination Squad does."
"Of course I do. You’re nothing more than a bunch of knights who rob lords."
"You could put it that way."
His expression did not change in the slightest.
Making a circle with his thumb and index finger, he said,
"Simply provide the money that goes to my superiors, along with a small commission for me. Then we’ll take a step back."
"How much?"
Karl spread all ten fingers.
"One hundred thousand Golden should be sufficient."
"Hmm... one hundred thousand..."
Ferda nodded before placing his teacup down.
Luri approached with the teapot and quietly refilled his cup.
"Let me ask you one question."
"Please."
"What do I look like to you?"
Karl answered as though the question were ridiculous.
"The Regent of Valdrova, of course."
"Is that really how I look? Because I think you see me as a complete dumbass."
"A... a dumbass?"
The blatant profanity left Karl speechless.
"W-What are you talking about? How could I possibly think of the Regent that way..."
"Don’t worry. I’ve already heard plenty of people call me Valdrova’s kept husband and the disgrace of House Rosnova. It’s hardly surprising if someone thinks I’m just a complete dumbass."
The very fact that someone from the Extermination Squad had come here already said everything.
"I know exactly how this works."
Ferda had always admired honorable knights.
Among them, the ones he respected most were the Extermination Squad, whose duty was to monitor corruption among the nobility.
"So I know exactly how you drive honest lords into ruin."
That was why discovering the truth behind them had disappointed him more than anyone else.
"If I give you money, what will that make me? Ah, you’ll simply say I admitted my guilt and paid hush money. That way, you’ll have another easy mark to exploit."
The moment someone stepped into that swamp, they became trapped.
Like sinking into a bottomless bog, there was no escaping through one’s own strength.
"And then more people like you will keep coming, one after another. Like children running to their mother asking for pocket money to buy snacks, you’ll come begging me for another payment."
The same demands.
The same threats.
Again and again.
No matter how wealthy a lord was, his wealth was not limitless.
If he kept paying, he would eventually run out.
If he tried to clean up the mess, even more money and influence would be required.
In the end, the lord would begin raising taxes and exploiting his own people.
That was how decent men were driven into corruption.
That was how the Empire’s corruption continued.
"Knowing all of that, do you really think I’d give you a single coin?"
Ferda had made a vow.
He would protect everything Valdrova loved and wished to protect.
There was no way he would allow worthless scoundrels like these to toy with it.
"So do as you please. Search all you like for this so-called conspiracy and incitement to rebellion. I won’t give you even one Golden—not even a single Coupe."
Ferda’s resolve was even firmer than Karl had expected.
But Karl was already accustomed to situations like this.
How many lords had he seen refuse to pay the Extermination Squad?
Yet every one of them had eventually been crushed.
Even if Ferda held the authority of the Grand Duchess, he was still nothing more than a newly appointed young Regent.
"Then I suppose I have no choice but to bring this up."
"I’ve heard that you recently murdered a noble. What do you have to say about that?"
He was referring to Teshalos Wolcher.
Instead of fabricating a crime, he chose to use one that had actually occurred.
"Murder? That’s absurd. Since when does Imperial law arrest someone for killing another person in a duel?"
"A death resulting from a duel is still unquestionably murder. There were witnesses, weren’t there?"
"There certainly were. One of them is right here."
Ferda glanced toward Luri.
"Tell him. Did I commit murder?"
Luri shook her head.
"It was an execution. We knew he had secretly been researching Black Magic using monsters. Immediate execution was entirely justified."
"So there you have it."
"That has nothing to do with the duel! And testimony from your own attendant has no legal validity!"
"Then whose testimony should we hear?"
Karl answered with a sinister grin.
"As it happens, we’ve already invited a witness. He should be arriving at the castle shortly."
"A witness..."
Ferda merely sipped his tea.
"I’d very much like to meet this person."
His gesture clearly showed that he simply did not care.
No matter what Karl did, Ferda remained completely unfazed.
Naturally, Karl’s irritation only grew.
Let’s see how long you can keep acting so relaxed. Before long, you’ll be begging at my feet.
Even so, Karl firmly believed that he would have the last laugh.
That confidence brought a smile to his face.
A short while later, the witness Karl had brought stepped into the reception room.
He was an elderly lord with a thick white beard.
The oldest noble in the Far East.
And the man whose status ranked just below Ferda’s.
"Ferda Valdrova is a fool intoxicated by his own authority. At this rate, his arrogance will soon bring disaster upon Valdrova."
He was one of Ferda Valdrova’s greatest political opponents.
He was also the very source of the intelligence that had convinced the Extermination Squad to intervene.
"Ah, Count Consilus! Welcome!"
Karl greeted him warmly from the entrance.
But Consilus did not even spare Karl a glance.
His eyes were fixed solely on Ferda.
He walked straight toward him before respectfully kneeling on one knee.
"Your Excellency Regent, I trust you have been well."
Ferda accepted the greeting with calm composure.
"Welcome, Count Consilus."
A perfectly ordinary greeting exchanged between nobles.
Yet upon seeing it, Karl stood there blankly, as if he had just been struck across the head.
Greetings between nobles were nothing unusual.
However, unless they were on friendly terms, it was customary to simply exchange silent nods.
Showing this level of courtesy, as they were now, was impossible unless one genuinely held the other in high esteem.
He’s only being polite.
Karl showed no sign of embarrassment.
The right course of action now was to remain composed until the very end.
Count Consilus is on our side.
Count Consilus was a knight who had sworn loyalty to the Emperor of the Imperial Nation.
An old noble who had spent his life carefully balancing political interests in the Far East, and until recently, he had looked down on the young Regent.
In fact, every lord in the Far East had.
Everything had already been verified.
According to their information, Ferda had ruled by threatening the lords with criminal charges and suppressing them through fear.
Fear made people submissive.
But the moment they found a chance to escape it, they would betray their oppressor faster than anyone else.
Those very reports had come directly from Count Consilus, so there was no doubt he would cooperate.
After returning the greeting, Ferda politely gestured toward an empty chair.
"Please, have a seat. I would rather not keep an elderly gentleman kneeling."
"Thank you."
Count Consilus took his seat.
Karl sat down as well and cleared his throat.
He intended to take control of the conversation.
"Count Consilus, thank you for coming."
"Not at all. The timing simply happened to work out perfectly."
Chuckling, Consilus stroked his beard.
Karl smiled along with him before steering the conversation to the main subject.
"Count Consilus, you mentioned that you witnessed the incident involving Teshalos Wolcher."
Consilus nodded.
"Indeed. I was present as one of the witnesses."
"Exactly. Then would you please testify before everyone here about the atrocities committed by Regent Valdrova?"
"That matter? Yes, you did ask me to speak about it..."
"That’s right. Would you kindly tell us what happened that day?"
Count Consilus briefly glanced toward Ferda.
"To get straight to the point, Regent Valdrova..."
He continued,
"...Did absolutely nothing wrong in that duel."
"...Excuse me?"
Karl’s eyes widened.
The answer was nothing like what he had expected.
"W-What do you mean by that? Haha... I must have misheard you..."
"I’ll say it again. Regent Valdrova did absolutely nothing wrong in that duel."
Count Consilus had not chosen the Empire.
"That day, Teshalos Wolcher activated a spell with the clear intention of killing Lord Valdrova. Regent Valdrova merely subdued him in response. At the time, His Excellency the Regent had only reached the First Circle, while Wolcher was a Fourth Circle Mage. The difference between them was overwhelming. Yet that foolish boy Wolcher didn’t know when to hold back. And despite that, he still lost."
"That’s true. He lost. But that still resulted in the killing of a noble—"
"No, it cannot be interpreted that way."
Count Consilus cut Karl off.
"Even after the duel had ended, it was entirely possible that he still intended to kill with magic. There is such a thing as killing intent that only those engaged in a duel can perceive. Regent Valdrova may simply have launched a counterattack before his opponent struck first. Such things belong to the profound world of mages. Wouldn’t you agree?"
Ferda nodded.
"A true mage conceals their final trump card until the very end."
"When one noble attempts to kill another, the right to decide life or death must be guaranteed, even if the attempt ultimately fails. That was the conclusion reached by the assembled lords."
What is this?
This isn’t what I was told at all.
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