Chapter 181
Chapter: 181
-----------------------------------------------------------------
>Translator: penny
>Chapter: 181
>Chapter Title: Pavlov's Carmen (2)
>-----------------------------------------------------------------
>"You've got such a temperament that you'll never die a natural death.
With that attitude, you're perfect for dropping dead in some foreign land, so from now on, stick to the Pearl Palace as much as possible."
>* * *
>It was something Carmen had only recently come to realize, but despite his fierce appearance, Prince Mores had an incredibly generous personality.
>She had made all sorts of big and small mistakes in front of him up until now, but he always brushed them off without making a fuss. Anyone else would have reprimanded her long ago.
>"You're lucky to serve such a fine person as His Highness, Sir Carmen."
>Lady Claudia, who had become a loyal follower of the prince, had warned her several times.
>"You're not thinking His Highness is still too young to take it easy around, are you? What if your mistakes stop being just mistakes and start damaging His Highness's reputation? Fix that bad habit of yours right now, or I won't let it slide next time!"
>But Carmen didn't think that would happen. Who among the Pearl Palace resident knights would dare take the prince lightly?
>Anyone with even a shred of sense—no, anyone who had seen the prince train just once—couldn't possibly miss how dangerously extraordinary his aura could be at times.
>Yet as the same mistakes kept repeating over time, even Carmen began to harbor such doubts inwardly.
>'...Am I the one taking His Highness too lightly?'
>Once those doubts crept in, Carmen could no longer make any confident promises in front of the prince.
>"I'm... sorry, Your Highness. I... won't ever..."
>The prince, who had been brooding sullenly over something while barely listening to that pathetic apology, spoke up.
>"This is what worry looks like. Looks like you'll have to be a Pearl Palace resident knight for life."
>"......!"
>At those words, Carmen's eyes snapped wide open as a strange sense of déjà vu hit her.
>No way, she thought.
>Hadn't the prince once said something very similar?
>But that thought didn't continue. The prince was looking at her with a chilling grin.
>His lopsided smirk and those coldly gleaming eyes made his meaning crystal clear.
>-You little shit. Keep screwing around, and I'll bury you for real.
>Carmen froze solid. It was pure, instinctive terror rising from the depths of her soul.
>And then, with slow, deliberate steps, the prince approached her and playfully patted her tense shoulder.
>-Hey, don't freak out. What's with getting so scared over this? Huh?
>It was almost as if she could hear those words as an auditory hallucination.
>Then, as if finding her reaction amusing, the prince opened his mouth.
>"By the way, Sir Carmen. Do you happen to know who Pavlov is?"
>There was no way she could answer.
>Pavlov?
>Honestly, she had no idea who that was, but he was probably some fool who had mouthed off ignorantly in front of the prince and gotten quietly disposed of.
>The prince's message was obvious.
>-If you don't want to leave this world right now, watch yourself from here on out, got it?
>Carmen bowed her head deeply and thought.
>Right. No one would dare take this man lightly.
>Meanwhile, watching the young knight stagger back to camp, Seongjin's face was filled with smug satisfaction.
>'Sir Carmen must've been really touched by this big brother's encouragement, huh?'
>The Demon King, who had been silent for a moment, sighed and spoke.
>[...Seongjin, don't go grinning like that in public. Got it?]
>Why? What? Why?
>* * *
>Pavlov's dog.
>On Earth, it was the classic model for classical conditioning, a learning theory almost everyone knew.
>Taking it a step further was operant conditioning: the simple principle that rewarded behaviors increase while punished ones decrease.
>The next morning, when Seongjin explained the theory to Carmen and Captain Bruno, the two stared at him with blank expressions.
>"So, what does a dog drooling have to do with Carmen's bad habits?"
>At the captain's question, Seongjin added a simple explanation.
>"Put simply, it's like this. To fix that knee-jerk temper of yours, we pair it with an aversive stimulus and repeat until you learn. Make it unpleasant enough, and the behavior decreases over time."
>"But earlier, you said it was training for dogs...?"
>Carmen asked with a suspicious look.
>Hmm, sharper than usual? She already sniffed out that this boils down to housebreaking a mutt.
>"But Your Highness, I've thrashed him soundly every time he messed up, and it's done nothing so far."
>"No need for violence—don't worry, nothing inhumane here. Captain Bruno."
>Seongjin replied with feigned propriety.
>Of course, at first, Seongjin had considered just smacking Carmen upside the head every time she lost her temper.
>The baseless idea that inducing a concussion and bleaching her brain a bit each time might imprint simple repetitive learning more firmly.
>But he quickly changed his mind. This wasn't the Pearl Palace, and Sir Carmen had her pride.
>Getting publicly thrashed by her superior in front of the other knights would be humiliating for a knight. And it would trash Seongjin's own dignity too.
>So Seongjin needed a powerful ally. That's why Edith had been summoned.
>"The success of this whole thing is on you now. I'm counting on you, Edith."
>"Is there something I can do, Your Highness? What exactly?"
>To her puzzled dedicated maid, Seongjin gave solemn instructions in a grave tone.
>"Edith, could you brew me a cup of tea?"
>"...Pardon?"
>"Please show off your skills to the fullest."
>So she could deliver an experience more intense than any harsh violence.
>Captain Bruno turned to Seongjin with a look of horror. His narrowed eyes spoke volumes.
>'Is this guy a demon?'
>Hey now! It's all for the sake of your disciple, Captain Bruno.
>And so, moments later, a cup of dark brown Melbourne tea was placed before Carmen.
>"What do I...?"
>To the bewildered Carmen, Seongjin gave simple instructions.
>"Nothing to it, Sir Carmen. Just let loose with a good curse, then down this in one go."
>"...Pardon?"
>"Come on."
>As Seongjin smiled gently, Carmen—strangely frozen stiff—hesitantly brought the cup to her lips.
>"Ah, wait—don't forget the curse."
>"...F-Fuck?"
>What was that spineless swear?
>It was ridiculous, but whatever. The start is what matters.
>Seongjin nodded, and Carmen gulped down the tea in relief.
>And then.
>Her face contorted in an indescribable grimace as she leaped from her seat, soon collapsing to the floor and turning yellow.
>"Gah! Urk!"
>She finally spewed up the tea violently, then looked at Seongjin with trembling eyes, sweat beading on her brow.
>Seongjin calmly offered the next cup.
>"Alright, next curse."
>"......!"
>"Next curse."
>Unable to withstand Seongjin's pressure, Carmen timidly spoke up.
>"...Shit."
>"Hm? Didn't hear that. Louder!"
>"Fuck! What the fuck are you doing, you fucker!"
>"Good!"
>Carmen downed the cup in one swig, then dropped it with a clatter, curling up and shuddering all over.
>Her face twisted again in agony.
>"Whoa! You okay, Carmen? Just spit it all out!"
>The horrified Captain Bruno rushed over and pounded her back frantically.
>Thud, thud, thud!
>"Blurgh! Bwaaaah!"
>With the captain's help, Carmen finally vomited the tea, her eyes oddly reddening.
>And then, a third cup of Melbourne tea was thrust before her.
>"Alright, next."
>"......"
>"Next."
>"...Sniff!"
>Hm? Why's this one on the verge of tears already?
>Seongjin personally placed the cup in Carmen's hand and comforted her kindly.
>"There, there, calm down. You're making it look like I'm the one tormenting you."
>"But, Your Highness..."
>"Listen up. This is all for your own good. Imagine if you'd fixed that hot temper of yours sooner—would I have to go through all this trouble just to hear your swears?"
>So this is all your fault, right?
>Seongjin emphasized this to Carmen several times.
>"I'm just helping you become a better person."
>"......"
>"Got it? Then next curse."
>In his mind, he felt the Demon King shuddering.
>[Whoa, scary guy. Now gaslighting your subordinates?]
>'Shut up!'
>Seongjin patiently waited for Carmen to calm down.
>After a moment of hanging her head in silence, Carmen muttered a curse in a trembling voice.
>"...Bastard."
>"Hm, too weak. Make it stronger!"
>"You vicious fucker!"
>"Still not there, Sir Carmen! Pour all that heartfelt rage into it!"
>Carmen shot to her feet, gathering every ounce of her pent-up fury and bellowing at the air.
>"Raaagh! You fucking fucking fucker!!"
>With that, she poured the tea straight down her throat in one gulp.
>She jerked like she'd been electrocuted by a high-voltage line, then went deathly pale and collapsed to the floor with a thud.
>"Carmen!"
>The startled Captain Bruno rushed to her.
>Watching this, Edith teared up and said.
>"So... cruel!"
>Hey, you do realize you're the one who brewed that tea, right?
>"Your Highness! Please, just—just beat him instead, anything!"
>Seeing Carmen frothing at the mouth on the ground, Captain Bruno pleaded desperately.
>"Or let me punish him more harshly from now on—please, anything but that devil's brew!"
>Hm. Seongjin scratched his cheek, frowning.
>'Why's everyone freaking out? It's not like I haven't tried it. You get used to it after a while.'
>He'd thought this was a humane method, so why did it feel like he was torturing Carmen?
>[Maybe because it isn't a delusion?]
>'Ah, shut it!'
>* * *
>"No matter how you look at it, the caravan master is such a cheapskate."
>Anouk grumbled to Dasha as she picked up twigs.
>She was a friendly woman who occasionally chatted with Dasha. Like Dasha, she had been newly hired by the Milo caravan.
>The woman always wrapped her head neatly in a white kerchief, and oddly enough, she had shaved off her eyebrows entirely, giving her a strange impression.
>"You're right."
>As Dasha agreed, the woman wrinkled her nose and vented her complaints.
>"I mean, think about it. We gathered plenty of firewood yesterday—enough for a day's rest, right? So why's he nagging us to collect more useless twigs? He's just gonna dump the leftovers anyway since they're extra baggage!"
>"Heh heh."
>Dasha was currently gathering dry kindling with the Milo caravan's kitchen assistants.
>Ever since safely leaving Regina, Giacomo Milo had stopped vetting the new hires. Her schedule over the past ten days had been remarkably peaceful.
>But that didn't mean all suspicions were cleared.
>The way he kept assigning pointless busywork felt like silent pressure to keep her nose clean and just do as told.
>So Dasha was taking care to avoid drawing any undue attention.
>She had already roughly secured the important documents. Since she'd be sticking with the prince's group all the way to the Sigismund territory anyway, she'd agreed with Prince Mores to skip reports unless it was urgent.
>The decisive proof that the caravan master was a Demon Contractor wasn't likely to appear so easily. So Dasha decided to take it slow and observe the caravan leisurely from now on.
>"This should be more than enough—shall we head back?"
>"Sure."
>At Anouk's words, Dasha gladly stood up.
>The two picked up the bundled kindling and headed back to camp.
>"You're from Barsha? Down south?"
>The "south" Anouk mentioned probably meant the lands of the heathens.
>"South, yes, but not Barsha. I'm from Anatolia."
>"I see."
>Anouk replied, slightly furrowing her brow. Without eyebrows, the vertical wrinkle stood out, making her look even stranger.
>"Come to think of it, we've been so busy we haven't properly introduced ourselves yet."
>"Oh, right. I'm Sabrina."
>As Dasha smiled and gave her alias, Anouk extended her hand with a bright grin.
>"I'm Olivier. Let's get along for the rest of the trip."