Chapter 58

Chapter 58: Because It Is Painful

Ferda asked Chancellor Bernard.
Ferda brought the bottle of alcohol and everything else.
— What is this?
— I brought it thinking you might need it.
— The whole bottle… do you mean that?
— It is a difficult day, is it not?
Literally speaking, today is a difficult day.
Except for when he drank dozens of cups of coffee, his heart, which had never pounded violently before, was hammering against his ribs.
He could not calm down.
Bernard gripped the neck of the bottle with trembling hands and downed it straight.
Glug, glug, glug.
Whiskey of over 60 degrees, no less.
He felt the pain of his throat burning, but the bottle only separated from his lips after he had swallowed half of the strong liquor.
— Thank you for saving me.
— There is no need for thanks.
— May I ask one thing? This just… won’t leave my head no matter what, so I have to ask.
— Go ahead.
— How… how did you know I would be in danger?
How could he have known.
It was the technology whose virtues the now-deceased Thesalos Walcher had so highly praised.
But when it was suddenly announced that the technology was erroneous, no one was more furious.
Proper rage clarified everything, and made Thesalos Walcher realize.
Bernard was not the Bernard of back then.
But by that time, it was already too late.
It could not be proven, the technology disappeared, and Bernard ended his life as the worst chancellor.
In any case, Ferda recalled that memory and thought about when the chancellor would be in the greatest danger.
The moment he faced the greatest danger was, as expected, when he returned to the city.
“There was luck.”
Because the surveillance that could have lasted longer was resolved quickly.
Ferda answered that question.
— I also have ears that listen.
At the familiar-sounding words, Bernard let out a hollow laugh.
— Damn it, everyone has places where they listen from, so why can’t I hear anything…
— That is not the only thing. A man like the city chancellor came without even bringing an army? Being exposed to danger was a given.
— Because it is not efficient.
— For nobles, efficiency is a foolish thing.
— True. Now that this day has come, I am feeling it in my own flesh. Those bastards who say who would want to attack the chancellor of Escolleia will taste hell starting today.
Bernard’s face turned bright red.
With anger and drunkenness, he was snapping the thread of reason.
— To think… that demons would target me. Demons that people mock you as delusional just for mentioning… appearing right before me…
His eyes grew moist as if he would cry at any moment.
— Do not cry.
— Hic, sob, I am sorry.
Ferda watched Bernard wipe his tears with an expression of distaste.
— Regardless, you must have realized this now. That demons are constantly lurking for an opportunity to lead this continent down the path of destruction.
— Yes…
— This continent must come to be entirely ours. Even if it is not ours, it must not fall into the hands of demons.
— You are absolutely right.
— So let me make you a proposal.
He extended his hand to Bernard, drunk on alcohol and emotion.
— Lend me that technology called the demon appearance prediction device.
In an instant, Bernard’s hazy head sank heavily.
— Lend it…?
— Exactly as I said. The blueprint and mechanism to manufacture the monster appearance prediction device.
Polite, but those words were equivalent to demanding that he hand over everything.
The moment he heard that demand, he understood by reflex.
— Is… that how it is?
Bernard asked with a trembling voice.
— What do you mean?
— Putting surveillance on me, waiting until I fell into danger, and.
A finger tapping the half-full bottle.
— Giving me this strong stuff by the bottle too… it was all a scheme to obtain my technology, was it not?
A dirty trick to shock him and make him emotional.
He must have been waiting for even that single thread of reason hanging precariously from a pinky finger to break.
Ferda would deny it.
Like all nobles who hide their intentions, he would deny it and try to start a verbal dispute.
He was selecting words to refute, but there was no need.
— That is right.
Ferda admitted it without hesitation.
Bernard, with his emotions running high, kicked his chair and stood up.
He grew furious, raising his voice.
— Making a suffering person emotional to get what you want…! Have some shame, Regent of Valdrova!
Unlike the furious Bernard, Ferda asked calmly.
— Why should I be ashamed?
— You ask why you should be ashamed?! Do you think using a person’s life that way will win you favor?!
— If I wanted your favor, I would have whispered sweet nothings into your ear. Seduced you with words that don’t even work. But I couldn’t care less about your favor.
Where Ferda’s gaze pointed was Bernard’s head.
— The reason I want you alive is solely because that technology is in your hands.
— So I survived because I am useful?
— You almost died because you knew that technology, but you lived because of that technology. Is it so surprising?
He could not refute it.
He almost died because he was useful, and he lived because he was useful.
But that is saying that there is nothing else besides that.
Bernard could not bear being treated as that kind of human.
— You…! You are not even human!
He pointed a finger that wavered with drunkenness and moved.
Pressing his soles against the floor, he walked toward the door.
— If you leave here, you die.
Bernard’s steps stopped.
That saying, containing grim gloom, seemed to bind his feet like a snare.
— Are you threatening me right now?
— No. I am merely stating facts. If you wander around at this hour of the night, you will be devoured by monsters, not demons.
— I would rather be devoured than stay in a place like this!
Ferda set down his teacup and rose from his seat.
— Then everything you have built will crumble in vain.
Bernard’s body shuddered.
Those seemingly heartless words were not Ferda’s selfishness.
Bernard, it was his own inner heart.
— I heard that the one who attacked the chancellor imitated the chancellor. What could someone with the chancellor’s appearance do?
— …..
— They would silently destroy only what the chancellor knows. The blueprints and records would become a handful of ashes scattering in the wind. As if… nothing had ever existed from the beginning.
— …
— What then? What would someone wearing the face of an incompetent chancellor do? They would sit at the desk without permission, lie in the bed. Swing the pen back and forth, stamp seals of approval. Spend the budget like water trying to destroy you and the city.
— Uuuuh…
Bernard collapsed to the floor.
For Bernard, Escolleia and the research were his wife and child.
Imagining that wife and child breaking apart without him knowing was horrifying.
— Hic, keuheuheuheuk…
Bernard finally burst into tears.
He curled up, trembling violently.
He is isolated and alone.
— I am someone who declared that I will conquer the Demon Realm. Demons are my enemy, a cockroach-like race that must disappear.
Ferda extended his hand to him.
— To achieve that dream, I need that technology you possess.
Bernard looked down at his hand.
The Ferda Valdrova he knew was a Third-Circle mage.
Yet his hands were not the soft hands typical of the scions of magic nobility; they had calluses.
He was a person from a family of knights.
And once, he was someone who dreamed of being a knight.
That dream was thwarted, and he became the duke’s fiancé.
Ironically, Bernard felt honor and trust from that palm.
— I will share the blueprint and mechanism of the item I am making. However…
Bernard tapped his own chest with a finger wavering from drunkenness.
— This knowledge is entirely mine. Make that point clear.
What Bernard insisted on was his copyright.
“Don’t even think about placing a spoon on it” was his warning.
Copyright is a scholar’s pride and their everything.
So to Ferda, it was nothing.
— Your name will certainly remain in history.
— —
Ferda headed to Consillus territory with Chancellor Bernard.
When Bernard returned to Escolleia, the plan was for Arwen to treat him well first and then escort him.
— How is the chancellor?
Ferda asked Count Consillus, seated opposite him.
— The priests say the shock is great, so he needs to rest for one more day. After all, people who die of high blood pressure or heart attacks almost died at someone else’s hands for the first time.
— Is that so?
— More than that, his body is ruined from drinking too much alcohol too suddenly. As if he had engaged in heavy drinking somewhere…
— I gave it to him. It is that alcohol you gifted me.
— You gave him the entire bottle?
— He gulped down half right there.
— Why such savagery…
— Because it is painful.
Ferda sipped his tea.
— He was agonizing enough to die, so I gave it to him.
— It is a miracle that he did not actually die.
— Resting is fine, but send him to Escolleia as quickly as possible. There is something I need to obtain from him.
— I will tell Arwen.
Consillus made a bewildered face.
He recalled the fact that just a few hours ago, when Ferda’s carriage entered his castle, he had seen something astonishing.
— In any case, I have seen thousands of monsters in my life, but demons… this seems to be the first.
— There is no need to be surprised. I hadn’t seen one either.
— Above all, this is the first time there is a demon that imitates humans.
Demons have three prominent characteristics.
Pointed teeth, red eyes, and black skin.
— I am thinking that perhaps you mistook it for a doppelgänger.
— Doppelgänger.
— If it has no fixed shape and imitates appearance and voice, it can only be a doppelgänger. Chancellor Bernard was confused and bewildered.
— So it could have been a mistake.
— Yes.
It was a reasonable point.
Ferda listened to those words and pondered deeply.
— Do you know the difference between a doppelgänger and the original human?
— Since they imitate appearance, they cannot imitate what is inside the clothes. So we strip them to check.
— True. But this bastard apparently perfectly replicated even the inside. Even the genitals.
— Check even the genitals…?
— If you do things halfway, you get screwed over properly.
— True. Regardless, if even the genitals are identical, it is not imitation but practically cloning.
— Not only that. From that bastard, the exact same mana as Chancellor Bernard’s was felt. Not imitating Bernard, but becoming him.
— Becoming him… difficult to distinguish. Sir Jed’s discernment seems remarkable.
— There was luck.
He was thankful for being bald, and once again thankful for having kept his head polished and shiny.
— So do you have that doppelgänger demon bastard well guarded?
— Yes. We secured the bindings tightly and ordered the executioner to torture him.
— Is he still doing it?
— Yes.
— How many hours have passed?
— It started right after arrival, so about 4 hours.
Ferda placed his index finger on his chin.
— How long until we extract information?
— An experienced technician. If you give him two days…
— For my temper, even one day is too much.
— I will tell him to do his best.
— No.
Ferda rose from his seat.
— My temper is hasty, but throwing a tantrum when there is a solution is not efficient.
— Are you saying you will torture him personally?
— I have some experience in that area too.
A noble said he had experience in torture.
Yet it was not surprising.
Because Ferda was the person who killed Thesalos Walcher without batting an eye.
— May I use the alchemy workshop?
— Yes. But ingredients for poison are not sufficient, will that be fine?
— It is fine. I am not making poison anyway.
— Ah, then you may use it…
Ferda walked toward the workshop, and Consillus watched his back.
“If it is not poison, what medicine is he making… eh?”
The thought was swallowed by doubt.
What his eyes saw was Ferda’s receding back.
Something writhing and moving could be seen on his back clad in black clothes.
“I’ve grown old and I am seeing all sorts of hallucinations.”
Consillus rubbed his eyes and stood up as if nothing happened.
— —
Deep underground prison of Count Consillus’s castle.
The executioner wore a black hood and carried out his duty.
The man with the appearance of Chancellor Bernard hung in a miserable state.
Tied to a steel torture frame even with his tendons severed, not even with a knight’s strength could he easily escape.
Excluding the executioner and the prisoner, no one came to this place, but a noble and unexpected guest entered inside.
— Saluting the Regent of Valdrova.
— Do you mind if I see your skill?
— Yes, you may.
The executioner stepped back, and Ferda walked forward.
His appearance was miserable beyond words.
Swollen face, body covered in bruises.
— Impressive.
Ferda muttered.
— The skill to inflict pain without killing is astonishing.
— …You flatter me.
The executioner was flustered at hearing praise for the first time in his life.
This place was truly an unpleasant area close to hell.
Entering such a place without hesitation and saying “impressive.”
— Your role ends here.
— I haven’t obtained information yet…
— I will do it myself. This is the fee for the work.
Ferda handed the executioner three gold coins.
Stunned by the sudden large sum, but what he had to do was clear.
The executioner left, and Ferda dragged a chair and looked toward the bound man.
Eyes tightly shut, head bowed.
— I know you are still conscious. Since you turned into a demon, shouldn’t you stop living pretending to be a weak human?
Then the man with the bowed head raised his head.
Unlike his swollen and deformed face, his eyes were not dead.
In Ferda’s eyes, a light called interest began to swirl.