Chapter 20: The Carrot and the Whip

“Is this a demonic beast?”

Zed looked at something with a disgusted expression.

It was the creature the soldiers of Count Consilus had brought.

The demonic bear was confined inside a thick stone sarcophagus.

Firmly chained, its joints twisted and sealed so that, even if it regenerated, it could not exert its strength.

It was completely neutralized.

“That is right.”

“It is the first time I have seen a demonic beast. Since I have never had to deal with them, I did not know they were so repulsive.”

“You speak like a noble lady.”

“Well, even if it does not seem so, I was raised with quite a bit of luxury. On the dragonspawn side…”

As he uttered that word, Zed showed a bitter smile.

Then he looked at Perda.

“So, why did you call me?”

“To work as an assistant.”

“Does it have to do with that bear?”

Perda tilted his head toward the creature.

“…What do you intend to do with that?”

“Even tied up like that, it is still growing. It seems harmless now because we have put a brake on it, but within an hour its heart will beat again.”

“I see…”

“And if it senses a threat to its life, it will grow several times faster than normal.”

“And then?”

Perda sliced the air with his index finger.

“Every three hours you must cut its flesh. Tendons and nerves included.”

He patted him on the shoulder.

“You will do it.”

“…Every three hours? And how am I supposed to sleep?”

Perda answered calmly.

“They say the faithful in the south pray every three hours. Without missing a single day.”

“But I am not from there. Speaking humanly, how am I supposed to do that?”

“If they can pray every three hours, you can too.”

“Could I not take turns with the maid?”

“I already told you she is not my loyal servant. If you can convince her, I will not stop you.”

Zed closed his mouth.

Not even he, who believed he could seduce women with ease, wanted to meddle with a dragonspawn.

“Do not worry. It will not be forever. Only until Vernell obtains results.”

“Until he obtains results? How many days will that take?”

“It could be months.”

“Months…?”

A hollow laugh escaped him.

Cutting a beast every three hours for months?

— Grrrk… grrk…

The bear exhaled with a nauseating sound.

“You recruited me for this?”

“If not for this, then for what?”

“Fine… alright. Only until the research is finished?”

“Of course.”

“Ha, I appreciate it.”

But his eyes burned with fury.

They turned reddish, shining intensely.

What future awaited Vernell, not even Perda knew.

And he did not care either.

Let him deal with it.

***

Two days later, a horse returned to Valdrova Castle.

Vernell had survived mana burnout under the care of Count Consilus.

‘Today I am not the same as yesterday.’

He felt euphoric.

He believed that experience had elevated him.

‘From now on I will stake my life on this research.’

If he wanted power capable of changing the world, he had to strive accordingly.

Abandon his comfort and burn his own body if necessary.

As he left the horse in the stable, he saw a man in front of the door.

Aside from Ruri and Perda, it was the first person he had seen in the castle.

‘How handsome…’

Brown hair tied back in a ponytail, tall, flawless even to male eyes.

He approached when he noticed the man smiling at him.

Up close he perceived something.

‘He looks tired…’

He had pronounced dark circles under his eyes.

“Nice to meet you. I am Zed.”

He smiled brightly.

“N-nice to meet you. I am Vernell.”

“Yes, I have heard about you. How old are you?”

“Twenty-seven…”

“Ah, older than me. Then I will call you hyung.”

“Ah, yes…”

“Let us go to the laboratory, hyung.”

Zed guided him.

‘Someone that handsome calling me brother!’

Perhaps after adversity came reward.

After enduring the bear and brushing against death, now he was being treated with respect.

The resentment he had felt upon arriving disappeared.

“Here is the captured bear.”

“Ah, yes. It is alive and well cared for…”

“Of course. Who do you think took care of it?”

“You, Zed? Thank you.”

“Ha, it is nothing.”

Zed dragged a chair.

Rrrrk.

The sound echoed like that of an executioner in hell.

He placed it in front of the entrance, sat down, and crossed his arms and legs.

Blocking the exit.

“Go ahead. Begin.”

It was not figurative.

“Excuse me?”

“The research. Let us not waste time.”

In the candlelight, his dark circles looked even deeper.

“Thanks to your research, this younger brother must wake up every three hours and, with this dagger—”

Clang!

“H-hah!”

“—cut that bastard every single time.”

“I-I… I am sorry…”

“Oh, there is no need. If you need anything, whatever it may be, I will bring it to you. So devote yourself to researching without worry.”

In Zed’s eyes a blazing hell burned.

The dagger embedded in the table exhaled an icy chill.

“And sleep? Does one sleep after dying?”

In Vernell’s mind a single phrase echoed.

What is done is done.

***

An army advanced along the main road.

At the vanguard rode two knights, and just behind them waved the banner bearing the family emblem.

In the center of the formation, surrounded by soldiers, a luxurious carriage advanced slowly.

Baron Giyot was on his way to fulfill official matters.

His destination was Valdrova Castle.

Even from afar the fortress could be seen, situated on the slope of a solitary mountain in the east.

“Uuugh…”

Baron Giyot’s stomach twisted.

The closer they came to the castle, the worse he felt.

“Damn it… My father said I would never have to go to that place… all lies…”

“My lord, breathe deeply.”

“Yes… deeply… Huu… I, third son of House Giyot, cannot be frightened by this.”

“That is right, of course!”

The baron took a deep breath.

Although now he was fat and clumsy, in his youth he had been a knight.

That said, one who had never set foot on a battlefield.

Without feats or medals, it was natural that he would end up relegated to a frontier barony.

“Do not be so frightened just because he is the fiancé of that damned red lizard. House Giyot has solid connections! Blood is thicker than water!”

“B-but that bastard even killed someone from House Wolter…”

“House Wolter did not cause trouble afterward, did they? In fact, it would not have been strange if they had disappeared. They will not dare to touch House Giyot.”

“Right? Yes… it must be so…”

He tried to hypnotize himself with his servant’s words.

By then, the carriage had already entered the castle.

The door opened and a red carpet was laid before him.

In the middle stood a small maid with silver hair.

A dragonspawn of Valdrova.

“Welcome.”

“Y-yes.”

“This way.”

Ruri led the way.

Baron Giyot walked along the red carpet accompanied by his closest knights.

The place was well maintained, without a gloomy aura.

But the absence of administrators and soldiers unsettled him even more.

It was like walking toward the stomach of a leviathan.

‘Do not think about it. Do not think…’

A massive door rose before him.

Carved with the exploits of dragons.

At human eye level it clearly read.

— Revere before the primordial flame and the lord of power.

The door opened.

A man rose to receive him.

The baron trembled.

“It has been a long journey.”

Gray hair and blue eyes.

Looking into them was like gazing into a deep, bottomless lake.

Perda Valdrova.

“You are sweating a great deal. Was the journey difficult?”

“N-no… ha, ha…”

“Then it must be lack of exercise. You should lose some weight. Obesity shortens life.”

“Thank you for your concern for my health.”

“Take a seat.”

Perda made him sit across the table.

The baron’s sweat did not cease.

“You must be having a hard time in the eastern frontier.”

“It is nothing compared to the burden your highness carries! Ours is insignificant!”

“That is right. Yours is insignificant.”

The tone changed.

The atmosphere as well.

The baron understood.

He had fallen into the trap of his own words.

“I did not wish to verify it, but upon becoming regent I took greater interest in certain matters. So I reviewed your documents a little.”

Tap.

He placed the file in front of him.

“There are many indications of forgery.”

Giyot’s Adam’s apple moved with difficulty.

He wanted to protest, but he could not.

Perda continued.

“There are too many inconsistencies. Do you know how much disappeared in total?”

He pointed to the figure.

“3,000 golden.”

Golden, the unit used to count gold coins.

“It says here that you swallowed three thousand coins that the peasants might never touch in their lives.”

“I-I did not write that…”

“Of course not. With that elegant handwriting anyone would say I wrote it for you.”

It was obvious.

“You kept a portion and distributed another to your subordinates to turn them into accomplices. What you truly took may not reach three thousand. But that is how nobles are—the more luxury, the heavier the neck that must bear it.”

Perda moved on to the next document.

“Charges embezzlement, falsification of official documents, improper conduct…”

With each word, the baron seemed to age a year.

“…According to imperial penal code, depending on the severity, the minimum fine is 10,000 golden…”

The blue eyes pierced him.

“And in the worst case, you may be executed and hanged at the castle gate.”

The image of Tesalos Wolter’s end crossed his mind.

The baron fell to his knees, pale.

“Mercy! It will not happen again! Never!”

“Hm.”

Perda stood and patted his shoulder.

“Listen well. I am not telling you to stop.”

“Eh…?”

“I do not care if you fill your belly. I am not interested in how much you have taken.”

“T-then, why…?”

“What concerns me is capability.”

“C-capability?”

“I prefer someone a little dirty but competent over someone clean and useless. For the common good, a slight deviation does not concern me. I do not care if you eat well or if you roll around with a prostitute named Rosemary.”

He leaned in and whispered.

“Prove your competence. Resolve the food problem and the demonic beast issue soon. Bring stability to the people.”

He waved the documents lightly.

“Otherwise…”

“This official document might by chance reach the imperial capital. The emperor, of course, and also your parents and siblings would learn of your irregularities. And then a fierce race would begin to see whether the imperial executioner arrives first or the knights of your house to cut your neck. Do you understand?”

“Y-yes, I understand! I will prove it without fail!”

“Good. That concludes it. You may leave.”

Baron Giyot left hastily, like someone who had just removed his head from the guillotine.

Perda, with a satisfied expression, marked Baron Giyot’s name on the audience list.

‘It is definitely convenient to have someone who thinks for me.’

No matter how elevated his level as an archmage had been, he was not an expert in such tedious administrative work.

To point out where and how money had been used required related knowledge and experience, and Perda had neither.

The one who had been his brain in this matter was none other than Morida.

A girl who appeared naive, but carried a universal library in her head.

Perda had given her this instruction.

— From now on review everything listed in the account books and reports. Summarize any part that does not add up. And, based on the imperial penal code, also calculate the possible sentence.

Morida nodded and began rapidly reviewing the contents of the books.

Fliiip—!

She read at an absurd speed, as if she were only pretending to turn pages.

A task that would have taken a week for several people, she resolved quickly.

Thus she documented the irregularities of fourteen territorial lords, one by one, and Perda met with each of them based on those reports.

‘The irregularities themselves do not concern me.’

Just as there is no fish without smell, there is no noble without corruption.

If they are not competent, he will simply remove them.

They only had to prove they did not occupy their position by mere inertia.

“With this, even Baron Giyot left crying like a child.”

Said Ruri, who had been observing in silence.

“There are about five left.”

“Are you going to become a tyrant merely by instilling fear?”

“Only fear? This is the first time I have used the whip.”

“The whip…?”

“The carrot and the whip. The key is to alternate them.”

Ruri recalled the events she had experienced with Perda and tilted her head.

“Until now you have only used the whip harshly.”

“Oh, really?”

“Yes. You seem determined to crush them with fear. Or perhaps you have grown so accustomed to pain that your threshold has risen.”

“Hmm…”

Perda had not realized at all that he was only using the whip.

“It does not matter.”

Even if, as Ruri said, he was only using the whip, he had no intention of offering the carrot for now.

“They have been useless donkeys who have only consumed the carrot from the granary. Should I not make them work?”

“That is also true.”

Ruri nodded.

Perda Valdrova.

Today as well he wields the whip diligently for the development of the grand duchy.