Chapter 20: The Carrot and the Stick
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 20: The Carrot and the Stick
“Is this... a monster?”
Jed looked down at the creature with an expression of pure disgust.
It was a beast brought in by Count Consilus’s soldiers—a bear monster shoved into a thick, reinforced stone chest. It had been completely neutralized, bound tightly with iron chains. Its joints had been snapped so that even if it regenerated, it wouldn't be able to exert its full strength.
“Yes,” Ferda replied simply.
“It’s my first time seeing one in person. Since I’ve never had a reason to encounter them, I didn't realize they were such hideous things.”
“You sound like a pampered noble lady.”
“I’ll have you know I was raised quite delicately among the Red Eye Tribe…”
Jed’s expression soured at the mention of his tribe. His gaze shifted back toward Ferda. “So, why did you call for me?”
“I called you to do your job as an attendant.”
“Does it have something to do with this furball?”
Ferda nodded, looking down at the monster.
“...And what exactly am I supposed to do with it?”
“Even bound like this, its mass continues to increase. It looks harmless now because its growth has been braked, but its heart will start beating again in about an hour.”
“Hmph…”
“And in a life-threatening situation like this, it will grow several times faster than usual.”
“And?”
Ferda made a sharp cutting motion in the air with his index finger.
“Every three hours, you must cut away its flesh. Everything—including the tendons and nerves.” Ferda patted Jed on the shoulder. “You’re the one who’s going to do it.”
“...I have to keep butchering it every three hours? When am I supposed to sleep?”
To that, Ferda replied coolly, “I heard that the believers in the southern regions pray every three hours. Every single day, without fail.”
“Hey, I’m not from the south! How can a human being do that every three hours?”
“If they can pray every three hours, you can do this.”
“Can’t I... Can’t I take turns with that little maid girl?”
“As I told you, she isn't my servant. If you can persuade her, I won't stop you.”
“...”
Jed shut his mouth tight. Even Jed, who thought he could charm women as easily as breathing, found the Dragon Spawn unsettling.
“There’s no need to worry. I’m not telling you to do this forever. Just until Burnell produces some research results.”
“Until the research results come out... How many days will that take?”
“It might take a few months.”
“A few months...” A hollow laugh escaped Jed’s lips. He had to keep butchering a monster every three hours for months?
Grrr... Grrr...
The bear monster exhaled a foul, heavy breath. Even though he hadn't started cutting yet, Jed felt as if he could already smell the sickening stench.
“...Did you recruit me just to make me do this kind of work?”
“When else would I use you if not for something like this?”
“Phew... Fine. I just have to manage somehow until the research is finished, right?” Jed asked in a meaningful tone.
“Of course.”
“Haha, well, thank you for that.”
He said he was thankful, but his eyes were smoldering with rage. His pupils were tinted red, emitting a faint, predatory glow. Ferda had no idea what kind of future awaited Burnell at Jed's hands.
And he didn't care. He was sure they’d figure it out.
* * *
Two days later, a single rider returned to Valdrova Castle.
It was Burnell, who had been recuperating under Count Consilus’s care. He had returned after a brush with death due to Mana Burnout.
‘The me of today is different from the me of yesterday.’
Burnell was filled with a sense of exaltation. He believed that the near-death experience had pushed him to a higher level of understanding.
‘From now on, I will put my life on the line for my research.’
If one desires power enough to change the world, one must put in a corresponding amount of effort. He resolved to cast aside his complacent self and burn his very soul for his craft. He was looking toward greater heights.
After leaving his horse at the stables, Burnell spotted someone standing in front of the castle gate. Aside from Ruri and Ferda, it was the first stranger he had seen at Valdrova Castle.
‘He’s handsome...’
Tall, with brown hair tied in a ponytail. He was a striking man, even from another man’s perspective. Realizing the man was smiling at him, Burnell approached. As he got closer, however, he noticed something he hadn't seen from afar.
‘He looks... exhausted.’
There were deep dark circles under the man’s eyes. He had clearly been suffering through something recently.
“First time meeting you. I’m Jed,” the man introduced himself with a refreshing, if somewhat strained, smile.
“Ah, hello. I’m Burnell.”
“Yes, I’ve heard. How old are you, by any chance?”
“Uh, well, I’m... twenty-seven.”
“Ah, you’re older than me. I’ll call you Brother, then.”
“Oh, okay.”
“Let’s head to the laboratory, Brother.” Jed guided him.
‘To think I’d be called "Brother" by such a cool person!’ Burnell thought. Was this what they meant by pleasure following pain? After suffering with the bear monster and nearly dying, he was finally being treated with respect. The slight resentment he had felt upon arriving here vanished instantly.
“Here is the captured bear monster.”
“Ah, right. It’s alive and well-maintained...”
“Of course. Who do you think looked after it?”
“You took care of it, Mr. Jed? Thank you.”
“Haha, no need for thanks.”
Jed smiled and pulled over a nearby chair.
Screeeech—
For some reason, the sound of the chair dragging felt as ominous as an executioner rising from the pits of hell. Jed placed the chair right in front of the entrance. He plopped down, crossed his arms, and hooked one leg over the other.
He was blocking the exit.
“Now, begin.”
“Pardon?”
“The research. Don't waste time. Get started.”
Jed's figure was silhouetted by the flickering candlelight. Burnell hadn't noticed it under the sunlight, but the dark circles under Jed’s eyes were heavy and haunting.
“Because of your research, Brother, this little brother of yours has to wake up every three hours and use this dagger!”
Thud!
“Eek!”
“To carve up this damn monster! Do you have any idea what that's like?”
“Uh, well... I’m sorry...!”
“Oh, no need to be sorry. If you need anything, just tell me. I’ll bring you anything. So, Brother, don't you worry about a thing and just focus on your research.”
A scorching hellfire burned in Jed’s eyes, while the dagger he had slammed into the table seemed to emit the frost of a frozen grave.
“And you can sleep when you’re dead, okay?”
One phrase echoed in Burnell’s mind: There is no turning back.
* * *
An army was moving along the main road.
Two knights rode at the front, followed immediately by a standard-bearer fluttering a flag emblazoned with the family crest. In the center of the military escort, a luxurious carriage moved slowly.
Baron Kiyot was traveling on official business. His destination was Valdrova Castle. Its silhouette, perched halfway up the Lonely Mountain in the East, was visible even from a distance.
“Uuugh...”
Baron Kiyot felt his stomach churning. The closer they got to the castle, the worse it became.
“Damn it. My father said there would never be a reason to go there... He was a total liar...”
“Master, please take a deep breath.”
“Right, deep breath. Phew... As the third son of the Kiyot family, I can't be intimidated by something like this.”
“Exactly! That’s the spirit!”
Baron Kiyot took a deep breath. Though he was now quite portly and dull, he had once been a knight. However, he was a knight in name only, having never stepped foot on a real battlefield. With no tales of valor or medals to his name, it was only natural that he had been pushed out to a barony in the outskirts.
“Don't be so scared just because he’s the fiancé of that red lizard. Doesn't the Kiyot family have solid connections? Blood is thicker than water!”
“B-but that guy even killed someone from the Wolcher family!”
“The Wolcher family had no backing, did they? It wouldn't have been strange if they’d been wiped out anyway. He won't be able to touch the Kiyot family so easily.”
“I suppose so? Right, that’s right.”
Baron Kiyot tried to hypnotize himself with his servant’s words. Meanwhile, the carriage finally entered the castle grounds. The door opened, and a red carpet was rolled out before him.
Standing in the middle of it was a small, silver-haired maid. It was the Dragon Spawn of Valdrova.
“Have you arrived?”
“Y-yes, indeed.”
“This way.”
Ruri led the way. Baron Kiyot walked along the red carpet, accompanied by his personal knights. The castle was well-maintained and didn't feel eerie, but the fact that the grounds—which should have been bustling with staff and soldiers—were so empty made the Baron even more uneasy.
It felt like crawling into the belly of a Leviathan.
‘Don't think about it. Don't think about it...’
Soon, a door blocked his path. It was a grand gate carved with the heroic tales of dragons. At eye level, an inscription was clearly engraved:
—Awe before the primordial flame and the master of power.
The door opened. Inside, a man stood up to greet Baron Kiyot. The Baron flinched involuntarily.
“You’ve had a long journey.”
Gray hair and blue eyes. Those eyes felt like looking into a deep, bottomless lake, making it hard to breathe. It was Ferda Valdrova.
“You’re sweating quite a bit. Was the journey difficult?”
“A-ah, no. Haha...”
“I see. Then it must be a lack of exercise. You should try to lose some weight. Obesity makes it easy to die young.”
“Thank you for your concern for my health.”
“Come this way.”
Ferda gestured for Baron Kiyot to sit across the table. The sweat pouring from the Baron’s body showed no signs of stopping.
“You must be working quite hard out here in the Far East.”
“It’s nothing! Compared to the burden Her Grace the Archduchess carries, it’s as shallow as a drop in the ocean.”
“Indeed. Your work is indeed like a drop in the ocean.”
Ferda’s voice, which had been flowing naturally, suddenly turned cold. The atmosphere shifted instantly. Even Baron Kiyot could tell—he had walked right into a trap.
“I didn't really want to check, but since I’ve taken the position of Regent, I’ve become quite interested. So, I took a little look at your documents.”
Thud!
He shoved the documents he had "taken a look at" in front of the Baron.
“I see a great many signs of forgery.”
Kiyot’s Adam’s apple bobbed. Normally, he should have been angry, demanding to know why such a thing was being brought up now, but he couldn't find his voice. He let Ferda continue.
“There are countless inconsistencies. Do you know how much has disappeared in total?” Ferda pointed to a summarized number. “Three thousand goldens.”
Goldens were the standard gold coins of the realm.
“It seems you’ve pocketed three thousand goldens—money that the people of your territory could hardly hope to touch in their entire lives.”
“W-well, that... those aren't entries I made...”
“Of course you didn't make them. How could someone like you possess such elegant handwriting?”
It was a flowing script that practically screamed it had been written by a professional scribe. Ferda already knew this.
“You took a little for yourself and gave some to your subordinates to make them accomplices. Those subordinates likely shared some with their own underlings, so the amount you actually pocketed is surely less than three thousand goldens. But what are nobles? People whose necks must be as heavy as the luxuries they enjoy.”
Ferda immediately turned to the next document and began reciting.
“The charges are embezzlement, forgery of official documents, and conduct unbecoming of a noble...”
With every word, Baron Kiyot’s face seemed to age another year.
“...According to the Imperial Penal Code, depending on the severity, a minimum fine of ten thousand goldens can be levied...” Ferda’s blue eyes stared intently at him. “And at most, you could be beheaded and your head hung on the castle gate.”
Suddenly, the image of Thesalos Wolcher’s brutal end flashed through the Baron’s mind. Baron Kiyot turned pale and fell to his knees.
“Oh, please! Please forgive me just this once! Never! I will never let this happen again, Lord Regent!”
“Hmm.” Ferda stood up and patted his shoulder. “Listen to me carefully. I’m not telling you not to do these things.”
“P-pardon?”
“I said I don't care if you fill your belly. In fact, I have no interest in how much you’ve pocketed.”
“T-then why...?”
“What I consider important is competence.”
“C-competence... you say?”
“I believe it’s better to be a bit dirty but competent than to be clean but useless. I don't give a damn about a little deviance for the sake of the whole. Whether you eat delicious food or roll around with a prostitute named Rosemary, I couldn't care less.” Ferda whispered into his ear. “Prove your competence. Resolve the food issues and the monster problems immediately. Contribute to the stability of the people’s livelihoods. Otherwise...”
Ferda waved the papers lightly.
“These official documents might accidentally fly all the way to the Imperial Capital. The Emperor, as well as your parents and siblings, will learn of your corruption. If that happens, there will be a fierce race to see who comes for your head first—the Imperial executioner or your family’s knights. Do you understand?”
“I-I understand! I will definitely prove myself!”
“Good. Our conversation ends here. You may go.”
Baron Kiyot scrambled away like a man who had just pulled his head out of a guillotine. Ferda, looking satisfied, checked off Baron Kiyot’s name on the meeting list.
‘As expected, having someone to think for me makes things easy.’
No matter how powerful an Archmage Ferda was, he wasn't well-versed in tedious paperwork. To pinpoint exactly where and how funds were used required specific knowledge and experience he didn't possess.
The one who had become Ferda’s brain was none other than Mori. Though she looked like a dazed girl, she was a child who held the Library of All Things in her head.
Ferda had instructed Mori: “From now on, review everything written in the ledgers and reports, and summarize every inconsistency. Also, determine what the sentences would be based on the Imperial Penal Code.”
Mori had nodded and quickly scanned the contents of the ledgers.
Flip, flip, flip—!
It was speed-reading so fast it was hard to believe she was actually reading. She was rapidly completing a task that would have taken several people a week to finish. Thus, the corruption of fourteen lords was documented one by one, and Ferda met with them individually based on those documents.
‘The corruption itself doesn't matter.’
Just as every fish smells of the sea, there is no noble without corruption. Ferda simply intended to cut them loose if they weren't competent. All they had to do was prove that the reason they held their positions wasn't just because they were heavy-seated.
“With that, even Baron Kiyot has left crying like a child,” Ruri, who had been watching silently, spoke up.
“There are about five more left.”
“You’re just scaring them like that. Are you planning to become a tyrant?”
“Just scaring them? This was merely the first time I’ve swung the stick.”
“The stick...?”
“The carrot and the stick. The core strategy is to alternate between the two.”
Ruri tilted her head as she recalled the series of events. “Haven't you only been swinging the stick quite harshly so far?”
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It looks as if you intend to completely crush them with fear. Or has your threshold for pain become so high because you’re so used to it?”
“Hmm...” Ferda truly hadn't realized that he was only using the stick. “Well, it doesn't matter.”
Even if he was only swinging the stick as Ruri said, he had no intention of offering a carrot just yet.
“They’ve been useless donkeys only draining the carrot warehouse until now, so shouldn't I make them do some work first?”
“That is also true.” Ruri nodded in agreement.
Ferda Valdrova. For the development of the Archduchess’s territory, he continued to swing the stick diligently today.