Chapter 30: What do you think I am?

Perda slightly tilted his head.

“And what does that have to do with conspiracy and incitement to rebellion?”

“Because you are arming soldiers with the support of a company and building roads that connect with the Empire. Is it not evident that you intend to facilitate an invasion?”

It was a completely absurd accusation.

Perda responded calmly.

“It is to activate and facilitate supply and commerce. Also so that, in case of an emergency, the Empire can provide support more easily. We are only improving the roads. And since we 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 demonic beasts and monsters, how can you use the roads as a pretext for something like that?”

“Until now the east has been defended constantly even without roads. Increasing armament now is an excess and a threat against the Empire.”

“Defended…?”

At that moment, Perda’s calm suddenly broke.

“Have you ever even seen what happens in the Far East?”

“No.”

“Have you ever set foot in the Far East?”

“No.”

“Then you will not know what happens there either.”

Perda did not know either before arriving.

He had participated several times in the meetings of the Far East front alliance, but only after arriving did he understand how serious the situation was.

“To begin with, the defensive line of the Far East lacked budget, soldiers, and morale. Now we have barely covered around 25%. And that seems like excessive armament to you?”

“Until now there has been no problem. Increasing armament when it is not necessary has that meaning.”

“Do not talk nonsense. To be honest, the grand duchy of Valdrova has been able to defend itself from demonic beasts only thanks to my fiancée, Duchess Valdrova. If it were not for her, we would already be dead. The soldiers of the Far East need better weapons.”

“That is absurd!”

Karl raised his voice, clinging to those words.

“I have come here as chief of audit! Do you not know that you must treat me as if you were before the emperor of the Empire himself?”

Karl shouted in a threatening tone.

He was trying to break Perda’s momentum.

But then.

“Now.”

Perda’s calm voice shut Karl’s mouth.

Perda simply watched him with one leg crossed while holding his teacup.

However, there was something in his blue eyes.

“Have you raised your voice in front of me, Sir Karl?”

Something that did not seem human.

Karl was not intimidated.

He was the one who could raise his voice.

Perda was also furious.

If he had followed his original nature, Karl would already be a corpse.

No.

He would have destroyed him brutally.

And even so he was restraining himself.

‘Has Valdrova not always been treated as nothing more than a guard dog?’

The way they treated Valdrova was worse than he imagined.

Perda knew it in part.

They feared her, but not with a true fear that came from deep within.

Perda wanted to send him back to the western Empire at that very moment.

But he did not do it.

He decided to look further ahead.

All of this was for his fiancée, Valdrova.

Finally, Karl, who had tried to impose himself with his presence, stepped back.

“If a formal investigation begins, the Empire can punish the regent according to its laws.”

Perda took a sip of tea and replied.

“Then try to prevent it.”

“It is not possible to act alone when even the superiors are paying attention.”

“Oh, really?”

Perda waved his hand with a carefree air.

“Then there is no remedy. I will submit to the investigation sincerely and prove my innocence.”

Karl, with a frustrated expression, finally spoke.

“…Once it begins, it will not be able to stop.”

“It is unfortunate, but there is nothing to do. You have already fulfilled your job. You can return.”

Karl let out a long sigh.

“Why are you doing this? Someone of your position should stop pretending not to understand.”

He abandoned his clumsy act and showed his true face.

His murky eyes fixed on Perda.

“Let us end this in a good way. If you are someone from the Rosnova family, you will know well what our Extermination Squad does.”

“Of course I know. A group of knights that steals money from territorial lords.”

“That is what some call us.”

Karl did not seem offended at all.

He formed a circle with his thumb and index finger.

“Hand over the money for our superiors and a small commission for me. Then we will withdraw.”

“How much?”

Karl extended all his fingers.

“With 100,000 golden it will be enough.”

“Hmm, one hundred thousand…”

Perda nodded and set down his cup.

Ruri approached with the teapot and refilled the hot tea.

“Let me ask you something.”

“Go ahead.”

“What do you think I am?”

Karl responded with disbelief.

“The regent of Valdrova, is it not?”

“Does it seem that way? Because I think you see me as a complete idiot.”

“An i-idiot?”

Karl was bewildered upon hearing such a direct insult.

“What do you mean by that? How could I treat the regent that way…?”

“Do not worry. I have already heard many times that I am Valdrova’s kept man and the useless son of the Rosnova family. That they see me as an idiot is something I can expect.”

That someone from the Extermination Squad had come all the way there already meant that.

“I know everything.”

Perda liked honorable knights.

Among them, the ones he admired the most were the Extermination Squad, who monitored the corruption of the lords.

That was why the disappointment was even greater when he discovered the truth.

“I know how you ruin honest lords.”

“If I give you money, what will happen to me? Ah, they will say that I paid to silence my crimes. That is how you create another easy prey.”

Once you enter that game, it is impossible to leave.

As if you jumped into a sticky swamp.

“And then more like you will come. One after another. Like children running to their mother to ask for money for sweets, they will come to demand bribes.”

The same demands.

The same threats.

Even if a lord has a lot of money, it is not infinite.

If he accepts to pay, he will not be able to sustain it.

If he tries to resolve it, he will need even more money and power.

Thus the lord ends up raising taxes and exploiting his people.

They push honest people toward real corruption.

That is how the corruption of the Empire continues to spread.

“Knowing all that, do you think I will give you money?”

Perda had made a vow.

To protect what Valdrova loved and wanted to protect.

He would not allow those wretches to play with it.

“So do whatever you want. Search with all your strength for that supposed conspiracy and incitement to rebellion. I will not give you a single golden, not even a cupe.”

Perda’s firmness exceeded all expectations.

But Karl was also accustomed to situations like this.

How many times had he seen the same thing?

Territorial lords who tried to resist without paying the Extermination Squad.

“Then I will have no choice but to bring this matter out.”

Because those who faced the Extermination Squad always ended up being crushed.

Even if it were someone backed by the title of the grand duchy, the opponent was still a novice who had just become regent.

“I have heard that you recently murdered a noble. What do you have to say about that?”

He was referring to the incident of Tesallos Walcher.

Instead of inventing a nonexistent crime, he decided to bring up one that had actually occurred.

“Murder? That is absurd. Since when does the law of the Empire arrest someone for killing another in a duel?”

“The death that occurs at the end of a duel is clearly a murder. Were there not witnesses?”

“Yes, there were. One is right here.”

Perda slightly shifted his gaze toward Ruri.

“Say it. Did I commit a murder?”

Ruri shook her head.

“That was an execution. We knew he was secretly investigating black magic using demonic beasts, so an immediate execution was more than appropriate.”

“That is what she says.”

“That has nothing to do with the duel! And making your own servant speak has no validity!”

“Then who should we listen to?”

Karl smiled maliciously.

“We are precisely bringing the witness. He will arrive at this castle soon.”

“A witness…?”

Perda simply drank his tea.

“I would very much like to meet him.”

Perda made a gesture as if nothing mattered to him.

No matter what they did, he did not become agitated, and that only irritated Karl even more.

‘We will see how long your calm lasts. You will end up begging under my feet!’

However, Karl was convinced that in the end the one who would laugh would be him.

With that conviction he smiled.

Shortly afterward, the witness Karl had brought entered the reception room.

He was an elderly territorial lord with a white beard.

The oldest man in the entire Far East and the highest ranked after Perda.

— Perda Valdrova is an idiot intoxicated by his own power, so arrogant that sooner or later he might suffer the wrath of Valdrova.

He was an opponent who hated Perda Valdrova and also the source of information that had motivated the intervention of the Extermination Squad.

“Oh, Count Consilus! Welcome!”

Karl greeted him with a friendly voice from the entrance.

But Consilus did not even look at him.

His eyes were directed at Perda.

Consilus walked toward him and knelt respectfully.

“Lord Regent, I hope you have been well.”

Perda received the greeting calmly.

“Welcome, Count Consilus.”

A common greeting among nobles.

But seeing that scene, Karl froze, as if he had received a blow to the head.

Among nobles, greeting each other was nothing strange.

However, if they did not know each other well or did not have a good relationship, the normal thing was simply to bow the head.

Showing so much courtesy, like at that moment, was impossible unless it was true respect within noble society.

‘He is only being courteous.’

Karl tried not to show discomfort.

The correct thing at that moment was to maintain composure.

‘Count Consilus is on our side.’

Count Consilus was a knight who had sworn loyalty to the emperor of the Empire.

An old man who had limited himself to remaining neutral in the Far East and who until recently looked unfavorably upon the young regent.

‘All the lords of the Far East thought the same.’

That had already been verified.

Perda had threatened the lords with accusations and governed by keeping them subdued through fear.

Fear makes people shrink.

But when an opportunity appears to free themselves from it, they can betray faster than anyone.

Even that information had come from Consilus himself, so he would surely cooperate.

After returning the greeting, Perda politely pointed to an empty chair.

“Sit down. I do not want someone of your age to remain kneeling.”

“Yes.”

Count Consilus took a seat, and Karl also sat down, clearing his throat.

He tried to take control of the conversation.

“Count Consilus. Thank you for coming.”

“It is nothing. It just happened that the moment was perfect.”

Consilus let out a soft laugh while stroking his beard.

Karl smiled as well and brought the conversation to the main point.

“Count Consilus. You said that you knew about the incident of Tesallos Walcher.”

Consilus nodded.

“That is correct. I was there as a witness.”

“Exactly. Could you testify now about the atrocity committed by the regent of Valdrova?”

“That matter? Yes, you asked me to speak about it…”

“That is correct. Could you give your testimony about that moment?”

Count Consilus’s eyes briefly shifted toward Perda.

“To say it clearly, the regent of Valdrova…”

He continued.

“Did nothing wrong in that duel.”

“…What?”

The answer was completely outside what Karl expected.

“W-what do you mean by that? Ha ha… I think I heard wrong…”

“I will repeat it. In that duel, the regent of Valdrova did nothing wrong.”

Consilus did not choose the Empire.

“That day, Tesallos Walcher activated a magic circle with the intention of killing the lord of Valdrova, and the lord of Valdrova only subdued him to defend himself. At that moment the regent had a magic level of 1 circle, while he was a mage of 4 circles. The difference was sufficient to determine the result. But that young Walcher did not know what it meant to stop. And even so he lost.”

“That is true. He lost. But it ended with the murder of a noble—”

“No, it cannot be seen that way.”

Count Consilus interrupted Karl.

“Even when the duel ended, he still could have attempted to kill with magic. There exists something called killing intent that only those who participate in the duel can feel. It may be that the regent counterattacked before his opponent attacked. The world of mages is that deep. Is it not so?”

Perda nodded.

“A mage always keeps his final trump card until the end.”

“As a noble tried to kill another noble, even if he did not succeed, the right to decide over his life had to be guaranteed. That was the conclusion we lords reached.”

What is this?

This was not what they had said before.