Harsh Words

“Have you said everything you had to say!?”

Duke Yurei’s veins stood out on his neck.

His eyes blazed with fury.

“So you summarily judged him and executed him on the spot?”

Ferda looked away from Duke Yurei and answered.

“I did not kill him.”

“Isn’t that different from what you just said?”

“I said he committed a crime deserving death, but I never said that I killed him.”

“Please answer clearly from now on, Regent Ferda.”

Akad warned him, since it was an obvious play on words intended to get under his opponent’s skin.

He did not let his emotions sway him as he asked Ferda,

“What was this crime deserving death?”

“Lord Yurei insulted Valdrova, the Great Aspect of Fire and Power.”

The condemning voices that had gradually begun to rise fell silent.

Most of the people here held positions of authority, so they understood.

Insulting a dragon was a challenge to authority.

Just as commoners who challenged nobles were not forgiven, the same was true of dragons.

No—if anything, dragons were even more ruthless.

They showed no mercy, ruling by making an example of offenders.

Even Silverwind, who had been gentle and friendly toward humans, had shown no mercy when it came to insulting a dragon.

That was why Silverwind now existed only in the history books.

Realizing how serious the situation was, Akad asked in a slightly trembling voice,

“If he insulted a dragon, is there anyone who can prove it?”

“There is.”

There were two major witnesses.

The dragon spawn, Luri.

And Malcolm, who had happened to overhear him.

They could not put Luri forward.

She had already turned the imperial capital upside down once as a warning.

If she had to step forward again, they would have to be prepared to completely destroy the Golden Council.

That was the duty of a dragon spawn reborn through the Blood Bond.

If she had merely been a retainer of Valdrova, she would have done so without hesitation.

But instilling fear while a human village was being built and everything was proceeding smoothly would cause chaos.

‘And Luri must not do that.’

She only needed to take responsibility for Valdrova.

This was something Ferda had to resolve.

Therefore, there was only one name Ferda could call.

“I will call Sir Malcolm of Peach Hill as a witness.”

“Is he here now?”

“Yes. He is.”

“Then please call him.”

Ferda looked behind his seat.

A man who looked like a bumpkin no matter what he wore and awkward no matter what he did.

He beckoned the man over.

“Witness, please introduce yourself.”

“M-My name is Malcolm of P-Peach Hill! I-I serve in Lord W-Valdrova’s domain—no, in R-Regent’s domain! A-And before that, I served as an Imperial Knight!”

“An Imperial Knight…?”

The person who asked was Oldin Rooster.

He, too, had once been an Imperial Knight.

“Ah, yep! That’s right!”

“How did you become an Imperial Knight?”

“Ah, you mean that? I passed the test!”

“You mean, someone like you?”

“I became one by passing the retest.”

“The retest…?”

Oldin Rooster’s eyes widened.

“Don’t tell me… You mean the one where you retrieve the Imperial flag planted at the summit of the Northern Ice Storm Mountains?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

He scratched his head and smiled brightly.

Those who did not understand looked puzzled.

But those who did understand were stunned.

Consilius was among them.

“That fellow went all the way there…?”

“What an incredible feat he must have accomplished.”

“Regent, do you know of Sir Gaius?”

He knew him well, having once dreamed of becoming a knight.

He had been a pillar of the Arken Empire, a man whose deeds were utterly unreal.

That was why he was regarded as a legend, almost like a figure from myth.

“Among the Imperial Knights, there is a legend that Sir Gaius planted the Imperial flag atop the Ice Mountains, the highest mountain range in the world, and returned.”

“Is that so? But what does that have to do with this?”

“Those who fail the Imperial Knight examination are given a chance to rise again. They must retrieve the flag atop the Ice Mountains using only the equipment provided for the test.”

The summit was covered in clouds, and beneath those clouds, an endless ice storm raged.

For high-ranking mages, the Ice Storm Mountains were nothing special.

But for those who had to compete with sheer physical strength and climb honestly from the foot to the summit, it was a place like hell.

Before they could even reach the middle of the mountain, they would either be eaten by monsters or freeze to death.

“They call it a second chance, but in reality, it’s no different from telling people without the qualities of a knight to give up.”

“……That fellow pulled it out?”

“It seems so.”

What had he been like when Ferda had carried him away?

He had been nothing more than a nuisance.

If he had climbed up after breaking through something designed to make him give up, he deserved some respect.

‘But his pride probably won’t allow it.’

Just look at him now.

That awkward smile was closer to a punch than praise.

“Anyway… If you were once an Imperial Knight, I trust you know the value of that honor.”

“Ah, yep! Of course!”

“Then I will ask you. This matter could cause serious friction between the Empire and another kingdom. In the worst case, responsibility could fall not only on you, Sir Malcolm, but also on Regent Ferda.”

Akad’s words, invoking responsibility, pressed down on Malcolm’s shoulders.

It was an attempt to frighten him, even slightly, and make him retract his statement.

Ferda was not worried about that.

Ferda had once asked him something similar.

How had he answered then?

“Yes. I heard it clearly.”

Even while frightened, he had answered with certainty.

Once people started thinking things through, they naturally became frightened by those thoughts.

But the man Akad was dealing with was different.

‘Since he doesn’t think, he has no reason to be afraid.’

Seeing Malcolm’s certainty, Akad asked again,

“Did he explicitly say it while pointing to His Highness, the Grand Duke of Valdrova?”

“Yes. I didn’t know it at the time, but he said it while His Highness the Grand Duke of Valdrova and the Regent were dancing.”

“Couldn’t he have been looking elsewhere when he said it?”

“No. That man’s eyes were clearly fixed on that spot.”

“……Do you swear by Alte that you are certain?”

“I can stake not only Alte’s name, but my mother’s as well. If you want, I can do it right here—”

Akad stopped him as he tried to make a strange gesture with an extremely solemn expression.

Only then did Akad realize he was dealing with someone who could not be reasoned with and gave up interrogating him.

“That will do. Step down, witness.”

“Yep!”

After giving what he considered a knightly salute, Malcolm withdrew.

Once again, the blood, sweat, tears, and hair shed by Burnell and the researchers bustling about for Malcolm’s sake passed wistfully through Ferda’s mind.

Perhaps in preparation for failure, Akad said,

“Sir Malcolm’s testimony does carry some weight, but to prove this matter, we need someone more objective.”

The logic was that Malcolm was a knight under Ferda, so of course he would be willing to sacrifice himself for Ferda.

It was not an entirely unreasonable argument, as there were countless precedents for such things.

“He undoubtedly ordered his own knight to say that!”

Duke Yurei shouted in a voice filled with venom.

“Regent Ferda had been building villages since before last winter. To build a village, he needed commoners to work beneath him. To gather these commoners, Regent Ferda gradually lured in the people of every domain across the continent!”

He concealed his shamelessness in emotion and painted Ferda as a despicable man.

Ferda remained still even after hearing that.

“I cannot remain silent about that!”

Objecting to such a statement was Consilius’s role.

“Those who came to Regent Ferda’s domain were refugees who fled to survive the nobles who had offered no remedy during the poor harvest! They kept their mouths shut through that terrible winter, only to come out with this sort of accusation once spring arrived! Have you no shame!?”

“Count Consilius, obtain the right to speak before you do so. This is your warning.”

Unable to suppress his anger, Consilius sat down, and Akad gestured for him to continue.

“I request that Crown Prince Alexander, who knows the situation in the Far East, be called as a witness.”

A man who had become a criminal and been placed under disciplinary confinement only yesterday.

However, only his political activities had been restricted, and he was still permitted to attend as a spectator.

He had been sitting beside Olivia.

When Akad granted permission, Alexander rose from his seat and took the witness stand as though he had been waiting for it.

“I am Crown Prince Alexander. I am sorry to be standing here again when my disciplinary action was only yesterday……”

Contrary to his words, the corners of his mouth were practically splitting with delight.

He laid out the information he had gathered to pin on Ferda.

“A village has now been established in the Grand Duchy of Valdrova, and it is called Hestia. Hestia was the name of the woman who guarded the sacred fire in ancient times, and……”

Alexander dragged out his speech with useless history.

Erdes, who had been watching with her chin propped on her hand, raised her hand to request the floor.

“I’m not interested in that, so why don’t you get to the point?”

It was a rude remark, but quite a few people agreed with her.

“Ah, anyway, the reason Regent Ferda gathered people was because……”

He hesitated, as though wondering whether he should say this.

Ferda knew what would come out of those filthy lips.

“I heard that black magic was involved.”

“Black magic!?”

The council chamber was thrown into complete uproar.

The Empire held the Alte faith as its state religion, and its policy toward black magic was zero tolerance.

Nobles were no exception.

Anyone suspected of involvement with black magic had to make a large donation to the Church or receive a token of repentance through holy power.

Of course, Ferda could not do that.

He actually used black magic, and he could not give it up.

“Using black magic is no trivial matter. Can you bring your informant here as a witness?”

“I cannot tell you. Retaliation may follow after this council ends, so I earnestly ask that you treat the source as anonymous.”

Akad tilted his head and exchanged opinions about the request.

Even if the informant was anonymous, who could possibly be the one who had told him?

As far as Ferda knew, there was only Erdes.

‘And yet, something about this is strange.’

If Erdes had exposed the black magic, she would have done so in person.

She would not have used that pathetic Alexander as her mouthpiece, at the very least.

Meanwhile, apparently having reached an agreement among the senior councilors, Akad reached a conclusion.

“For now, we will accept it anonymously. Continue.”

“Yes, thank you.”

The kite Alexander had set flying caught the current and began to rise.

“Regent Ferda’s violent nature can be inferred from the reports submitted thus far.”

He tapped the thick documents and exposed Ferda’s past actions.

“Before the engagement ceremony, Regent Ferda gathered the nobles of the Far East and gave his first address. At the time, he was not even regent, merely a prospective fiancé with no authority. On that occasion, he mocked Baron Thesalos Walcher as a mage and summarily executed him on the spot!”

That must have been information supplied by one of the Far East’s officials.

Regardless of what had happened with Lord Yurei, Thesalos Walcher had not insulted a dragon.

“I object to that information, Chairman! Please grant me the right to speak!”

Consilius sprang to his feet.

Akad nodded to grant permission.

“Thesalos Walcher’s summary execution was certainly difficult for noble society to accept, but there were circumstances behind it. Thesalos Walcher was plotting an unprecedented catastrophe: an attempt to fuse monsters with black magic! If not for Regent Ferda, we would never have uncovered it!”

Alexander rebutted without backing down.

“Of course, you claim there was such a conspiracy, but isn’t the causal order backward? If he was an agent of the demons, the facts should have been established first, and then he should have been executed!”

“At the time, Regent Ferda was inexperienced at communication. He could not trust the lords of the Far East, either, so telling them would only have given Baron Thesalos Walcher a chance to flee.”

Ferda found Consilius’s statement odd, but dismissed it.

The battle of wits was tense, and Alexander decided to bring out his trump card.

“I am deeply disappointed that Count Consilius, who has served the Far East longer than anyone, would express such an opinion. But there is someone who can prove that Regent Ferda is an extremely dangerous man. Chairman, please permit me to call him to the witness stand!”

“Who is it?”

“William Miller.”

Ferda did not know who Miller was, but he knew William.

“Granted.”

Alexander’s expression brightened as though he had seized the upper hand.

At his gesture, a man waiting outside the door entered.

Ferda and Duke Yurei, as well as Consilius, all knew the man’s face.

“Isn’t that… the captain of the guard in Hestia Village?”

“That’s right.”

“Why is he the Crown Prince’s witness…….”

The first emotion to well up in Consilius’s chest, who lacked the information, was betrayal.

The knight serving his lord had switched sides so easily that, had he possessed a sword, Consilius would have cut off his head on the spot.

Unlike Consilius, who felt betrayed, Ferda remained calm.

‘He is someone I trust.’

He possessed firm convictions, and Ferda had trusted those convictions when appointing him captain of the guard.

If he felt betrayed, he would also be treating those convictions lightly.

Therefore, he had to trust him to the very end.

William stepped onto the platform.