Chapter 129 - A Cruel World

The young lord who had left in the middle of the night had fainted when the carriage was smashed.

But before long, he woke again.

“Ugh...”

He regained consciousness.

His body throbbed from the impact, and a groan escaped him.

“Ugh... what?”

Both his hands were tied to the armrests, and his neck was tied to the backrest, forcing him to stare straight ahead.

What entered his vision was a single candle.

And across from him sat a gray-haired man with a gloomy air.

He was watching him with his face propped up in both hands.

His deep blue eyes, like a bottomless lake, seemed to glow.

The man knew who he was.

It was Ferda Valdrova.

The man understood the situation at once.

No, he was not sure if he truly understood it.

He gave a faint laugh and spoke to the man across from him.

“Why not say something? You abducted a man, yet you sit there in silence.”

Only then did Ferda open his mouth.

“To be honest, I was afraid.”

“Afraid?”

“I wondered if perhaps I was making a mistake. I wondered what would happen if I abducted an innocent man and killed him.”

Ferda unclasped his hands and leaned back against the chair.

“But it seems I was right.”

He spoke the name of the culprit who had called Valdrova a murderer.

“Marcus Yurei.”

The eldest son and heir of Duke Yurei.

He was the voice Valdrova had been hearing.

“I trust you know for yourself why you were dragged here.”

“Yes, I know.”

Marcus Yurei looked up at Ferda with empty eyes and sneered.

“So Her exalted Grace, the Grand Duchess, heard that very clearly, did she? I thought she would ignore the voice of the people.”

“You lowly human who doesn’t even know your place...”

Luri flared up and tried to step forward.

Ferda quietly stopped her.

Luri obediently followed Ferda’s command.

Ferda was no less furious than she was.

“... Why did you do it?”

“Why, you ask? Isn’t there reason enough?”

He laughed like a madman.

“The man who calls himself my father is now a war criminal, and people are flocking in to tear apart our duchy. And you, too, are sucking our territory dry with refugees, are you not?”

“Is that not because you were fools?”

Ferda snapped back aggressively.

“Your father made a clumsy request for mediation and caused that entire mess, so what were we supposed to do?”

“You could return the refugees.”

“After staying quiet all winter, and only now that spring has come? You have no shame.”

“That’s right. I suppose we don’t. We treated you like a free soup kitchen, after all.”

He grinned broadly.

He looked as if he had caught him perfectly.

“But aren’t you the shameless one too?”

“...”

“It has been 150 years since the Dragon-Demon War broke out. How many people has the Grand Duchess killed in all that time? Wasn’t she supposed to live in restraint because she had killed so many?”

He added in a low voice.

“If she is a murderer, she should act like one and crawl back inside.”

At that, Marcus, whose entire body was bound, toppled backward.

It was not Luri who attacked him.

The one who lost his reason was Ferda.

Instead of using magic, he clenched his fist tightly and beat Marcus in the face.

WHAM! WHAM! WHAM!

A merciless beating burst out.

Ferda struck Marcus’s face with all his strength.

CRACK!

A terrible breaking sound rang out.

But what broke was not Marcus’s face.

As proof, Ferda’s wrist lost its strength and hung limp.

Marcus’s face had only swollen a little.

“Heh heh heh... The Regent’s fists are truly delicate. They can’t even make a nose bleed.”

“Shut up.”

Ferda had known it would turn out this way.

Even knowing that, he could not hold himself back.

Because he wanted to strike that bastard’s face with this hand, not with magic.

“Your right hand is broken now, so will you hit me with your left? Why not try?”

Marcus kept mocking Ferda without end.

Ferda grabbed him by the collar and spoke.

“Do not be so impatient. This is only the beginning.”

Ferda knew how to make a person who could neither die nor live.

He would mobilize all of that knowledge and grant this man a cruel life.

Marcus chuckled and laughed madly.

“The beginning? Who says I’ll let you begin as you please?”

“Why? Do you think I will follow the rules of you high and mighty nobles? Or do you intend to die before I can torment you? If you are so confident, then try dying. But you will not be able to. Now that you are in my hands, I decide whether you live or die.”

Ferda tried to overwhelm him with his gaze.

Even so, Marcus showed no sign of fear at all.

Ferda could tell.

He still had a move left.

“Regent Ferda, welcome to a cruel world.”

The instant he finished those words, afterimages flickered around his neck and space distorted.

CRACK! CRACKLE!

Marcus’s neck bent in a zigzag and twisted in place.

The bastard died instantly.

The sudden silence changed into an atmosphere of bewilderment.

Luri, who had watched everything, called his name.

“Lord Ferda?”

“... I did not do that.”

When Ferda answered, Luri asked worriedly.

“Could it be that you lost your reason and lost control...?”

“No, it was nothing like that.”

He had been angry, but there had been none of the overwhelming rage he had felt during the incident with Erembalt.

Ferda calmly examined Marcus’s neck.

“Look.”

Traces of a dark magic-type magic circle remained there.

“It must have been set so that his neck would twist automatically when he recited the activation phrase.”

“Then that greeting was the activation phrase.”

Luri, who had thought he had lost his reason, immediately apologized.

“I am sorry. I shallowly suspected you, Lord Ferda...”

“No, that is not something you need to apologize for.”

At that, she looked at Ferda as if asking what he meant.

“If you suspected me, does that not mean others will see it the same way?”

Ferda looked at the current situation from one step back.

What was certain was that he appeared to have fallen into some kind of swamp.

“Luri.”

“Yes.”

“You said you attacked the carriage and brought him here?”

She nodded.

“That is correct. I overcame the urge to massacre them all and brought only this damned thing.”

“Are you certain they do not know it was you?”

“Few people saw my figure, but... if they try to find out, they will find out somehow.”

She had even released dragon fear to prevent needless slaughter, so there was no doubt.

‘The problem is whether they will go to report this, or return to the castle...’

He could not know right away, but either way, the situation was bad.

If it was the former, Duke Yurei would press the matter and it would grow into an even greater disaster,

and if it was the latter, they would recover the corpse of Marcus Yurei with his neck snapped.

Right now, this situation could only look like Ferda had killed Duke Yurei’s son in a fit of rage for insulting the Grand Duchess.

“Did he not admit with his own mouth that he insulted Her Grace the Grand Duchess?”

“The problem is that he did not do it publicly.”

It had been intentional that he muttered it so only Valdrova, with her keen hearing, could hear it.

Ferda knew.

Even trying to prove that would become a problem.

‘Dark magic will certainly be mentioned.’

The reason Marcus Yurei died was dark magic.

Once talk of dark magic came up, people would fixate on that, and the flow would turn to Ferda having used dark magic.

He knew this because Ferda of the past had been like that.

Dark magic was a brand, and people had been desperate to kill Ferda with it.

Young Lord Marcus’s death had already dragged Ferda into a sticky mire.

‘Who benefits from this death?’

The first person to come to Ferda’s mind was Duke Yurei.

Duke Yurei was a man who had called refugees a band of traitors to his knight and used them as an example.

It was entirely plausible that he would use his own son as a stepping stone.

“What will you do with the body?”

Ferda looked down at Duke Yurei’s son, whose neck had been twisted.

There were many ways to dispose of it.

He could bury it somewhere, feed it to monsters, or burn it with fire and erase it completely.

The Ferda of old could have chosen those options easily, but not now.

He was the Regent who led the Grand Duchy’s territory,

the acting lord of Hestia village,

and Valdrova’s fiancé.

“... How cruel.”

Ferda muttered those words.

It was then.

Someone flung open the door of the interrogation room and entered.

“Regent Ferda. The tower master has contacted...”

Isabella saw the corpse with its neck twisted and stopped speaking.

“What on earth is going on here?”

“It is complicated to explain properly, but for now, just know that he paid the price for insulting the Grand Duchess.”

“Mm.”

As a dragon spawn, Isabella quickly accepted the death of an irreverent man.

At the same time, as an administrator, she wore a complicated expression at the death of a noble.

Luri rebuked her for barging in.

“How can you enter without even knocking?”

“I know I have committed a breach of etiquette, but this matter is that important.”

Isabella showed Ferda the crystal ball she was holding.

“The tower master contacted us urgently. She asks that you contact her now.”

“Understood.”

Ferda connected his mind to the crystal ball Isabella had brought.

—Regent. I am busy right now, so I will skip the greetings.

Erica spoke in a bewildered voice.

—Are you perhaps still in the middle of enjoying the Start of Spring Festival?

“No.”

—Then has the Start of Spring Festival ended?

“It has ended in name, but many people still remain in the castle.”

—The young ladies and young lords have not left yet, correct?

“Some departed during the night.”

—If they have gone far, there is nothing we can do, but gather as many as you can for now!

Erica explained why she was so flustered.

—Right now, the Grand Duchy’s territory has been occupied by demonic creatures! If anyone moves now, they will all die without question!

An emergency was declared across the entirety of Grand Duchess Valdrova’s once-peaceful territory.

Not merely Hestia village, which bordered the Land of Demons, but among all the nobles under her rule.

With Isabella and Luri’s cooperation, Ferda turned the current situation into a map.

Ferda looked at the completed map and spoke.

“... We have become an island.”

The line of demonic creatures was isolating the far east with precision.

“They are not ordinary demonic creatures, but enormous demonic creatures. They have gathered around enormous demonic creatures similar in size to the ones Lady Valdrova usually deals with.”

“How many in total?”

“Twelve.”

Twelve meant twelve corps, and twelve corps were currently isolating them.

Enormous demonic creatures that could easily smash apart a castle if they moved.

Ferda had watched Valdrova fight and confirmed their power.

‘If those things move...’

It would only be a matter of time before the territory was devastated.

“The silver lining in this misfortune is that those enormous ones have no mobility.”

“So there is no danger of them swarming us all at once.”

“The problem is the ability those enormous demonic creatures possess.”

“What ability is that?”

“Reproduction. They are giving birth to demonic creatures and creating corps.”

Their role was to serve as hatcheries for demonic creatures.

Even if Gokma did not move separately and pour out demonic creatures, they would be produced steadily.

“Dozens upon dozens of demonic creatures are already surrounding the mothers at their centers, and they are still giving birth even now. If we do not stop the spawning, they will become corps numbering in the thousands in no time.”

“If they number in the thousands, it will become a disaster.”

“Hmm...”

The way to stop the steady buildup of forces was a mobile strike.

There was no choice but to hit them quickly.

“What about Her Grace Valdrova taking the field...?”

“Of course, that would be best, but...”

Luri pointed with a troubled expression toward the Land of Demons.

“Large-scale forces are currently standing by here. All of them are spread along the front line my master cannot enter.”

Their intention was clear.

“They mean to rush in the instant she is absent.”

“That is correct.”

It was intelligent.

In order to protect Hestia village, Valdrova being tied to Lonely Mountain was inevitable.

The fact that they had thrown out such an intelligent and strategic move showed their intention.

‘Gokma. It must be that man.’

When he had once drawn a finger through the air, demonic creatures had burst out from within.

That man who handled space freely must have placed those enormous demonic creatures here and there.

Ferda made the best move available.

“We have no choice but to request aid from the Empire.”

The Grand Duchy’s territory was an internal matter of the Empire, so it was something the Empire had to get involved in.

Ferda immediately made contact.

—I greet Lord Ferda Valdrova, Regent of Grand Duchess Valdrova’s territory! I am Hans, communication mage of the great Arken Empire!

“Who is in charge of matters occurring within imperial territory?”

—In charge, sir?

“Bring me the highest authority. Demonic creatures have invaded the Empire’s territory.”

—Ah, yes! Understood! Please wait a moment!

Judging by the reaction of the mage named Hans, it seemed the Empire might not know about the situation.

A moment later, after the noise of the signal changing, the voice changed.

Even the cough he gave to clear his throat sounded greasy.

—I am the Crown Prince, Alexander Arken.

“I greet Your Highness.”

—Yes, I heard. The Empire is already in an uproar over this as well.

Ferda thought perhaps they could communicate.

“We need reinforcements. The Empire must dispatch its forces and strike as quickly as possible.”

—Of course, of course. I will send reinforcements as soon as possible. But it will take a little time.

“How long will it take?”

—Two months.

Two months.

Ferda frowned.

Was this pig bastard mocking him?

“Are you telling me to leave those huge things alone until then?”

—Now, do not sound so disappointed. We are doing our best as well. If doing our very best still requires that much time, then what can be done?

Doing their best.

There was no urgency in the words spilling from Alexander’s mouth.

Ferda was not a fool, so he could tell.

This bastard intended to use the current crisis of destruction to his advantage.

“Do you wish me to bow my head and offer you something?”

—Ahem! You know that is not what this is about, do you not? War is a matter that takes both time and money, and if we handle it according to the laws of the Empire! It is not an easy matter, you see. That is all I mean.

In short, if he wanted troops dispatched, he had to offer something that would benefit them.

This loathsome pig bastard.

Ferda wanted to curse him out on the spot, but the current situation was not favorable to him.

The weight of it pressed down on Ferda’s temper.

“I will think about it.”

Ferda cut off the crystal ball then and there.

Forcing down the boiling inside him, he asked her.

“What do you think will happen if we leave those demonic creatures alone for two months?”

“If they continue giving birth to demonic creatures at a steady number, they will become an army of thousands.”

Isabella added to Luri’s words.

“The army is one problem, but the soil is another.”

Life died in places where demonic creatures lingered.

If the land died, they would have to dig out the entire area and dump it somewhere.

If the soil died in a shape surrounding the Grand Duchy’s territory, then even if the situation was resolved, it would remain in the form of an island.

‘That is the problem.’

They had to eliminate them quickly, but the Empire had no will to respond swiftly.

In the end, it was a situation Ferda himself had to deal with.

“Do you believe you can do it?”

Luri revealed her anxiety.

“I can do it.”

He had to.