Chapter 30

Chapter 30: What Do I Look Like?

What Do I Look Like?
Chapter 30. How Do I Look to You?

Ferda tilted his head.
“What does that have to do with plotting a rebellion and incitement?”
“Because you are arming soldiers by relying on a company and building a road that connects to the Empire. Is it not obvious that you intend to facilitate an invasion?”
There was no absurdity like this absurdity.
Ferda replied calmly.
“It is only to revitalize and streamline supply and trade, and to facilitate receiving support from the Empire in times of crisis. That is why I am improving the roads. And since I have signed a contract with the Pascal Trading Company, it is also necessary to build roads for them. In a land where the only enemies are demons and monsters, what exactly do you think they are doing with the roads to cause such an uproar?”
“Until now, the East has firmly defended itself without roads. What you are doing now is excessive armament and a threatening act toward the Empire.”
“Defense…”
At that moment, Ferda’s calm emotions overflowed.
“Have you people ever once seen what is happening in the Far East?”
“No.”
“Have you ever set foot in the Far East?”
“No.”
“Then you wouldn’t know what is happening in the Far East.”
Ferda didn’t know either until he arrived here.
He had participated several times in the meetings of the Far East Front Alliance, but he only realized late that the situation was not good.
“In the first place, the Far East border lacked budget, troops, and even morale. Right now, it is barely 25% covered. And that seems like excessive armament to you?”
“Until now, there have been no problems. Increasing armament when there is no need to arm is precisely what that means.”
“Don’t talk nonsense. Honestly, the only reason the Grand Duchy of Valdrova has been able to defend against monsters is entirely thanks to my fiancée, Archduchess Valdrova. Without her, they would be no different from corpses. The soldiers of the Far East need to be armed with better weapons.”
“Nonsense!”
Karl seized upon his words and raised his voice.
“I have come in the capacity of an Imperial Inspector! Do you not know that you must treat me as you would treat the Emperor of the Empire?”
Karl shouted menacingly.
He attempted to break Ferda’s momentum.
“Right now.”
Ferda’s calm voice shut Karl’s mouth.
He was simply holding his teacup, legs crossed, looking at Karl.
Yet his blue eyes held something.
“Did you just raise your voice at me, Sir Karl?”
Something that could not be considered human.
Karl did not cower before that energy.
The one who can shout loudly is himself.
Ferda was also angry.
If it were his original personality, Karl would already be a corpse.
No, he would cruelly destroy and crush him.
And even so, he was holding back.
‘Has Valdrova been nothing more than a household watchdog until now?’
The way they treated her exceeded imagination.
Ferda also knew it implicitly.
They feared her, but there was no deep-seated fear.
Ferda wanted to send him back to the Empire immediately.
But he didn’t.
Ferda decided to look further ahead.
All of this was for his fiancée, Valdrova.
In the end, Karl, who had tried to suppress him with momentum, tucked his tail.
“If a full-scale investigation proceeds, the Regent can be punished under Imperial law.”
Ferda sipped his tea and responded.
“Then stop it.”
“Even superiors are watching this situation. It is impossible to handle alone.”
“Is that so?”
Ferda waved his hand as if he felt regretful.
“Then it cannot be helped. I will faithfully submit to the investigation and find the light.”
Karl made a frustrated face and barely opened his mouth.
“…Once it begins, it cannot be stopped.”
“It is unfortunate, but it cannot be helped. You have done your job. Go back.”
In the end, Karl let out a huge sigh.
“Why are you doing this? Someone of your caliber keeps pretending not to know.”
He stopped the poor acting and revealed his true colors.
His murky eyes turned toward Ferda.
“Let’s settle this amicably. As someone from the Rosnova family, you know what our Eradication Corps does, right?”
“Of course I know well. Aren’t you knight bastards who commit banditry against lords?”
“That is one way of putting it, yes.”
He made a face as if the insults were nothing.
He made a circle with his thumb and index finger.
“Just pay the money for the superiors and a small commission for me. Then we will withdraw.”
“How much?”
He extended all his fingers.
“100,000 gold should be enough.”
“Umm, 100,000…”
Ferda nodded and set down his teacup.
Ruri approached with a teapot and refilled the hot tea.
“Allow me to ask one thing.”
“Speak.”
“How do I look to you?”
At Ferda’s question, Karl answered with a stunned expression.
“Aren’t you the Regent of Valdrova?”
“Do I look like that? I think you see me as a son of a bitch.”
“Son of, son of a bitch?”
At the blatant profanity, Karl felt bewildered.
“What are you saying? How could I possibly see the Regent that way…?”
“Don’t worry. I have already heard plenty that I am Valdrova’s kept man and the trash son of the Rosnova family. Being seen as a son of a bitch is to be expected.”
The mere fact that a person from the Eradication Corps came here meant exactly that.
“I know everything.”
Ferda liked honorable knights.
Among them, the best were the Eradication Corps that monitored the corruption of lords.
“How you drive decent lords into the abyss.”
So, when he realized their true nature, he felt more disappointed than anyone.
“If I give you money, what do I become? ‘Ah, this guy admitted his sins and paid money to keep quiet,’ they’ll say. That is how a perfect victim is created for you bastards.”
The moment one enters, one gets entangled.
Like jumping into a sticky swamp, one cannot get out on their own.
“And bastards like you will gather one by one. Like children crawling toward their mother asking for treat money, they will demand money from me.”
Similar demands and threats begin to rain down from all sides.
Even if a lord has a lot of money, it is not infinite.
If they accept the demands, they cannot handle them; if they try to fix it, they need even more money and power.
So the lord begins to raise taxes and exploit the surroundings.
Driving decent people to death and forcing them to walk the path of true corruption.
The corruption of the Empire continues in that manner.
“Knowing all that, do you think I will give you money?”
Ferda swore.
That he would protect what Valdrova loved and wanted to protect.
He would never allow these damn ruffian bastards to mess with her.
“So do as you please. Search thoroughly for that wonderful conspiracy and incitement to rebellion and pick fights. Because I have no intention of giving you bastards even 1 gold, let alone 1 cope.”
Ferda showed a more resolute attitude than expected.
Yet Karl was also accustomed to this situation.
How many had he seen?
Lords who tried to resist without giving money to the Eradication Corps.
“Then I have no choice but to bring this up.”
However, anyone who crossed paths with the Eradication Corps was crushed without exception.
Even if they were backed by the position of the Grand Duke, the opponent was just a rookie who had barely become Regent.
“I heard that you recently killed a noble. What about that?”
It was about Thesalos Walcher.
He decided to bring up not a false accusation, but an existing, real sin.
“Murder? That is absurd. Is it Imperial law to arrest someone for killing a person in a duel?”
“A death resulting from a duel is clearly murder. There are witnesses who saw it.”
“They saw. There is one right here.”
Ferda glanced sideways at Ruri.
“Tell me. Did I commit murder?”
Ruri shook her head.
“That was an execution. Since you knew he was secretly researching black magic with monsters, summary execution was justified.”
“That’s right.”
“That is an accusation unrelated to the duel! And making your own assistant speak carries no validity.”
“Then whose story should I listen to?”
Karl responded with a sly smile.
“Coincidentally, I am bringing that witness right now. They will arrive at this castle soon.”
“A witness…”
Ferda only sipped his tea.
“I would very much like to meet them.”
Ferda made a gesture as if he did not care what happened.
No matter what he did, he would not flinch, so Karl could not help feeling irritated.
‘We’ll see how long you stay so calm. You will end up on your knees begging at my feet!’
Yet the belief that he would be the one laughing in the end.
Karl smiled with that belief.
Shortly after, the witness Karl had brought entered the reception room.
It was an elderly lord with a thick white beard.
He was the oldest in this Far East, and the one with the second-highest status after Ferda.
“Ferda Valdrova is a fool intoxicated by his own power, arrogant enough to possibly incur Valdrova’s wrath.”
He was a member of the opposing faction that abhorred Ferda Valdrova, and also the source of the information that had decided their deployment.
“Oh my, Count Consilirus, welcome!”
Karl greeted him warmly at the entrance.
Yet Consilirus did not even glance at Karl.
His eyes were fixed on Ferda.
Consilirus walked over and knelt respectfully.
“Regent, have you been well?”
Ferda accepted the greeting simply.
“Welcome, Count Consilirus.”
A normal greeting between nobles.
Yet Karl, upon seeing that, was left dumbfounded like someone hit on the head.
A greeting between nobles is common.
However, if they are at odds or on bad terms, a silent bow is typical.
Showing such courtesy is impossible in noble society unless one expresses true respect.
‘It’s just a formality.’
Karl showed no discomfort.
Handling it calmly was the right move now.
‘Count Consilirus is on our side.’
Count Consilirus is a knight who swore loyalty to the Emperor of the Empire.
An old man who only walked a tightrope in the Far East, and who until recently looked unfavorably upon the young Regent.
‘All the lords of the Far East were like that.’
The verification was complete.
Ferda threatened the lords with accusations and tried to rule by suppressing them with fear.
Fear makes people shrink.
Yet if a time comes to escape it, they can betray faster than anyone.
Even that information came from Consilirus, so he would surely cooperate.
Ferda, having received the greeting, made a polite hand gesture toward an empty chair.
“Sit down. I do not wish to keep an elder kneeling.”
“Yes.”
Count Consilirus took a seat, and Karl did the same, clearing his throat.
He attempted to steer the conversation.
“Count Consilirus. Thank you for coming like this.”
“You are welcome. The timing simply happened to be perfect.”
Consilirus chuckled and stroked his beard.
Karl laughed along with him and resumed the topic.
“Count Consilirus. You said you know about the Thesalos Walcher incident.”
Consilirus nodded.
“Indeed. I watched as a spectator at that time.”
“That is right. Can you testify right here and now about what atrocities Regent Valdrova committed?”
“That story? Right, you asked me to tell that story…”
“Yes. Can you give that testimony?”
Count Consilirus’s eyes glanced toward Ferda.
“To state the conclusion first, Regent Valdrova…”
He continued.
“Did not commit any wrongdoing in that duel.”
“…Pardon?”
“T-that is… haha, it seems I misheard…”
“Allow me to say it again. Regent Valdrova did not commit any wrongdoing in that duel.”
Consilirus did not choose the Empire.
“That day, Thesalos Walcher manifested a magic formula with the intent to kill Lord Valdrova, and Lord Valdrova simply suppressed it in defense. The Regent’s tier at that time was 1st Circle. And he was a 4th Circle mage. The difference was enough to decide victory. But that Walcher brat did not know ‘restraint.’ Even so, he lost.”
“That’s right. He lost. He lost, but that led to the murder of a noble—.”
“No, you cannot view it that way.”
Count Consilirus interrupted Karl’s words.
“Even when the duel ended, he could have attempted to kill with magic. There is a murderous intent that only the duel participants can feel. It could have been a counterattack before the opponent attacked. The world of mages is that profound. Is that not so?”
Ferda nodded.
“Hiding the final trump card until the end. That is what a mage is.”
“A noble attempted to kill a noble, so even if it ended in an attempt, the power over life and death must be guaranteed. That is the conclusion the lords reached.”
What on earth is this?
The story is different.