Chapter 29

I Married the Dragon I Killed

Chapter 29: When in the Grand Duchy, Follow Its Laws

When in the Grand Duchy, Follow Its Laws
Chapter 29. If You Come to the Grand Duke’s Domain, Follow the Laws of the Grand Duke’s Domain

That day, Ferda saw a group riding at full speed toward the Grand Duke’s Domain of Valdrova from the highest point.
Their number was approximately 20, all mounted on horseback.
Unless they were horses bred in the Far East, all horses instinctively reject the presence of a dragon.
However, these horses showed no instinctive rejection despite having been bred in the Central Region.
Horses trained to charge to the gates of death until the very last moment, even if they lost their lives or had their legs amputated.
Only the most prominent elites of the Empire could ride such horses.
Ferda knew who they were.
“The Cheokgyeoldan.”
Ruri, standing beside him, chimed in.
“If it’s the Cheokgyeoldan, they’re an institution that oversees the lords of the Empire, right?”
“That’s right. Originally, they went by the name Hwangsil Jiksok Gamsadan, but they changed it among themselves, and that’s how it stuck.”
Originally, it was an institution created to monitor and check the corruption of provincial lords.
It was something the Emperor had ambitiously established to win the hearts of the people.
“They hadn’t shown their faces until now, but ever since Ferda-nim arrived, they’ve been lurking around the Far East.”
Ruri spoke as if they were the root of all evil.
She wasn’t entirely wrong either.
“Do you know why? Because there was nothing to eat.”
“Nothing to eat?”
“They carry the name Cheokgyeoldan, but in reality, those bastards are groups that extort money from the lords.”
It was an institution that the Emperor had ambitiously introduced to win the hearts of the people, but within a few months, its function was lost and degenerated.
In the end, under the pretext of monitoring and eradicating corruption, they transformed into state-sanctioned thugs who threatened the lords and engaged in extortion.
What kind of place was the Grand Duke’s Domain of Valdrova before Ferda arrived?
The castle itself was neglected, and the provincial lords were nothing more than a frontline that trusted only their backs to Valdrova.
They simply left it alone because going there was nothing but dangerous, and not even travel expenses would be covered.
“They are no different from wandering knights.”
“The only difference is whether they are a lord or people of a territory.”
“If they come under the pretext of an audit to extort money… they’ll probably interrogate us about Thesalos Walcher. Will that be all right?”
The murder of a noble constitutes a serious crime.
Without a doubt, it would have reached the ears of the Empire through the provincial lords who witnessed it.
“They will probably also bring up the charge of murdering a noble, but they will only treat it as one of the charges.”
“Besides that, are there more sins committed?”
“There aren’t, but there are.”
Ferda was a person from a knightly family.
So he knew what word the Cheokgyeoldan would bring up first.
The word that makes lords’ hearts race.
“Those bastards will pressure me with the charge of conspiracy and incitement to rebellion.”
Conspiracy and incitement to rebellion.
Where else would there be a word that made hearts race like that?
It is a word that becomes a nose ring if hung on the nose, an earring if hung on the ear; a word that can make your head fly off if you aren’t careful.
Those bastards will surely force crimes that do not exist and impose them.
“Wouldn’t it be better not to speak at all from the beginning? Should I just kick them out?”
At Ruri’s question, Ferda shook his head.
“No, they are guests who came all the way here, so shouldn’t I handle them properly?”
“Handle them?”
“The other side is made up of people from the depths of the Empire. How convenient would it be to win them over in advance?”
“Umm…”
What filled their heads was blind greed.
Bastards who believe in nothing other than the epaulets on their chests.
They were existences full of holes from birth.
“Things worse than trash entering our castle…”
Ruri muttered that.
She openly abhorred knights.
Ruri’s abhorrence had reached an unprecedented peak.
It couldn’t be helped.
Until recently, she suffered from the smell, and she even heard from Valdrova that she noticed it.
“Ferda-nim.”
“What is it?”
“In order for those uncivilized idiots to enter this castle, shouldn’t they wash by ‘scrubbing scrubbing’ first?”
It had to be done.
Her face said that, if not, she would start a rebellion.
“Do as you wish.”
“Thank you.”
With permission granted, Ruri hurried to prepare the bathwater.
Karl Harvest.
From the knightly family House Harvest, as the eldest son, he served as the field audit Jojang of the Cheokgyeoldan.
The position of Jojang did not look great on paper, but even so, Karl had no complaints.
It was one of the few positions where, with the title of knight, he could subdue provincial lords and act like a king.
Recently, a new prey had appeared before them.
Ferda Valdrova.
A man who was expelled from the Rosnova Family but greedily accepted the engagement with the Grand Duke.
At first, everyone laughed.
Calling him a fool who chose to be torn apart by the Grand Duke rather than give up being a noble.
But he wasn’t torn apart.
Rather, he was on a winning streak.
Ever since he set foot in the Grand Duke’s Domain, the stagnant East began to show signs of growth.
Right now, it was only that the Pascal Trading Company was establishing a branch, but gradually the comings and goings of merchant caravans would become frequent.
If that happened, it meant that a lot of money would flow into the East.
The Grand Duke’s Domain of Valdrova, treated as mere chaff, could only look like delicious prey.
The first to catch that scent were the Cheokgyeoldan, a direct imperial institution.
It was a foregone conclusion that this growth would accelerate and trace an upward curve.
However, they underestimated the achievement Ferda had built on his own.
“It means that a large part of Valdrova’s treasury has accumulated.”
They did not imagine for a moment that it was possible because Ferda was capable.
He was a rookie expelled from the Rosnova Family.
“Given that the current Regent is from a knightly family, he will also know what we do.”
Since he is from a knightly family, he would also know the Cheokgyeoldan.
So the first thought was that he might be more reasonable than other lords.
Because he would know that the Cheokgyeoldan, if you simply give them a suitable amount of money and send them away, will not harass you beyond a certain point.
“When there’s plenty of money, we have to extort a lot at once.”
The Grand Duke’s Domain is dangerous, and Valdrova’s wealth and treasures are not infinite either.
“But we shouldn’t think too easily either.”
Karl was not a fool who thought everything would flow according to plan, either.
When people become intoxicated with an authority that does not belong to them, they change.
If Ferda rises to the position of Regent and starts acting arrogantly, he must be able to subdue him.
Karl, naturally, had finished those preparations as well.
“Did the reply to the letter I sent last time arrive?”
For a final verification, Karl had sent a letter to Count Consilirus.
The aide who confirmed the contents replied.
“Yes. They say he is currently on his way to Valdrova Castle. It should be fine to speak first.”
“Good.”
Karl smiled.
An informant who told him about Ferda Valdrova, an aide who would solidify the Cheokgyeoldan’s position, and a witness.
With this, he also had a card to suppress Ferda Valdrova.
No matter how the bastard turned out, he would not be able to escape the pressure of the Cheokgyeoldan.
Finally, they arrived at the entrance of the Naeseong.
Without any servants worth mentioning, the surroundings were desolate.
Normally, lords bring and display many servants for their own image and dignity.
But all that could be seen entering the inner castle was a gray-haired man in formal attire and a girl in a maid’s uniform.
That man was waiting as if expecting them, hands behind his back, looking over here.
‘Is it him?’
The third son expelled from the Rosnova Family.
According to what was heard, his height was tall, but his body was frail.
He seemed weak in the extreme, absolutely not like someone from a knightly family.
‘Perhaps because he is Regent, his eyes are not ordinary.’
His eyes had depth, and at first glance, he did not seem like an easy opponent.
Ordinary people would get nervous, but Karl had seen this situation countless times.
Bastards without substance, only pretentious expressions on their faces.
Karl had also seen them crumble.
‘In the end, he’s just Valdrova’s kept man.’
In Karl’s eyes, he only looked like a rookie with nothing but pretenses.
Hiding his sneer behind his helmet, Karl dismounted and took off his helmet.
Befitting the eldest son of a knightly family, his face had sharp angles.
“Pleased to meet you, Lord Ferda Rosnova! I am Karl, the eldest son of the Harvest Family, who came to investigate under the orders of the Cheokgyeoldan, a direct Imperial unit!”
Karl, placing a hand over his heart and bowing politely.
Ferda accepted that greeting politely.
“Pleased to meet you as well, Sir Karl Harvest. But it has been a long time since I severed ties with the Rosnova surname, so I would appreciate it if you called me Ferda Valdrova.”
“My, how impolite of me.”
It was not a mistake.
He only intended to remind him that he was the third son of the Rosnova Family.
It was a comment with a heavy undertone of ‘You know how it is, since we’re from the same knightly family, right?’
Of course, it was a petty trick that did not work on Ferda at all.
“What business does the Cheokgyeoldan, which protects Imperial subjects, have here? There are no subjects to protect in this Valdrova Castle yet.”
“This does not seem like a story to tell standing like this. How about we go inside and talk?”
“Go inside and talk…”
Ferda was receiving them at the gate of the Naeseong.
He glanced back briefly.
He met the gaze of the young maid, then nodded.
“It is possible, but we now have a rule in our castle. You will have to follow it. Can you?”
“What rule?”
“Recently, a rule was made in our castle. That all knights must complete the Seshin before entering.”
Karl frowned.
It sounded like a blatant insult saying they reeked.
“Who established such an absurd rule?”
Red Dragon, Valdrova’s attendant, Ruri Silverwind.
“I established it.”
Yet Ferda replied that he did it.
He just wanted to avoid pointless questions and answers.
Ferda gestured toward his Silver Plate Armor and spoke.
“Wearing all those suffocating things makes it easy to get sick. Especially in a place like the Far East where ominous energies lurk. Maintaining cleanliness is the priority. So I enacted it to wash constantly.”
“Umm…”
He didn’t like the idea of bathing just because he had arrived at someone else’s territory, but when one arrives at a territory, following the rules of that territory comes first.
Besides, the impure energy of the East was something he could constantly feel on the way here.
“Understood. Since I came to the Grand Duke’s Domain, I will follow the rules of the Grand Duke’s Domain.”
“Thank you.”
Ferda turned his head slightly to look at Ruri, who was waiting.
She stepped forward as if she had been waiting, greeting the audit team.
“Welcome to Valdrova Castle. I am Ruri, who will attend to you in your bath. Please, right this way.”
Karl’s eyes could not hide his disappointment.
Ruri was a beauty with silver hair and silver eyes, but her body was that of a girl without curves.
With nothing to see or feel, such a girl was attending to their bath, so his anticipation died completely.
‘Just take a light bath and get out.’
Of course, that was only Karl’s thought.
‘I will make sure not a single drop of grime remains in this place.’
In her hand was a rough Susemi.
The spirits she summoned each held a Susemi, waiting in the bathhouse like Ruri.
Welcoming them with the determination to tear away every last trace of grime stubbornly clinging to their skin.
Kyaaaaak!
Save me!
Ack! Aaack!
That day, screams echoed consecutively in Valdrova Castle.
Ferda and Karl, facing each other in the reception room after finishing their baths.
Ferda discovered a surprising fact.
‘His skin tone had truly become bright.’
It differed to the extent that you would believe a layer of skin had been ripped off them.
Karl, scrubbed so ‘thoroughly’, swallowed curses internally.
“Thank you for the… hospitality.”
“You’re welcome. I didn’t know I would be such a good host either. Have some tea.”
“Yes.”
Karl and Ferda each raised their teacups.
To facilitate a smooth conversation, Ferda brought up the topic.
“So, what business brings the Cheokgyeoldan here?”
“As I said, we came to investigate. Are you aware of what charges you face, Regent?”
“I don’t know. That’s why I’m asking, isn’t it?”
“Understood.”
He’s playing dumb.
Karl brought out his prepared lines.
“Regent Ferda Valdrova is currently a subject of investigation on charges of conspiracy to rebel and incitement against the Empire. Do you understand?”
A charge that did not deviate a single bit from Ferda’s prediction.
It was obvious, but he decided to play along for now.
“I see. So you came to give me a medal?”
“This is not the atmosphere for jokes with the Empire’s audit Jojang.”
“Was it not a joke? Since you said incitement to rebellion and conspiracy, I simply thought that’s what it was. The only sin I have committed is contributing to the development of the territory.”
“We know that the Regent is dedicating himself to the development and peace of the Empire. However, since a report has been submitted, we have an obligation to investigate.”
“Who is the accuser?”
“I cannot tell you. It is classified.”
Cannot say, my foot.
There isn’t one, that’s why they can’t say it.
“I heard that you recently signed a contract with the Pascal Trading Company.”
“That is correct.”
“I also heard that through that, road improvements and missing materials are being carried out with the full support of Pascal.”
“It is not full support. I am also contributing a tiny bit.”
It is important to have a stake even as a secondary branch, so around 1% was being paid from Valdrova Castle.
It was Stefan who proposed that.
“All of this can be investigated under the charge of conspiracy to rebel and incitement against the Empire.”