Chapter 23: You Crazy Bastard, Why Are You Doing That! (3)
Zvalter couldn’t hold back the loud voice, even with other retainers present. Touching the Forest of Monsters was a completely different problem compared to the accidents Ghislaine had caused before.
“What’s the point in poking around in there? Only monsters will pop out! It’s a total loss! I don’t get why we’re just leaving it alone!”
Baron Homern let out a string of harsh words that disregarded all manners. But no one there was thinking about courtesy toward the Grand Duke.
Albert sharpened his gaze and chimed in about costs and benefits.
“That place has been deemed useless due to the overwhelming number of monsters. The expenses of any development would far outweigh the gains.”
“It seems the Grand Duke is getting a bit too cocky with his abilities. Do you really think beating Prince Cain means you’ve become strong? Ha, what a joke.”
When Randolf joined in the opposition, Ghislaine clicked his tongue inwardly. He had expected resistance, but the response was far more resolute than anticipated.
“Ugh, I knew this would happen.”
With all three of his father’s blood brothers opposing him, gaining permission was impossible. As Ghislaine remained silent, Homern shouted even louder with a flushed face.
“Why are you so eager to poke around here and there!”
“Brother, you’re getting too worked up,” Randolf said quietly as he grabbed Homern’s collar. But Homern didn’t seem to care.
“Have you forgotten what that guy has done until now? At the very least, as a Grand Duke of a territory, he should avoid causing accidents!”
He raised his voice higher.
“Didn’t he secretly sell food supplies and gamble with the money? Wasn’t he caught trying to set the castle gate on fire just because he was in a bad mood? He even ate the war horse just because he wanted meat, and melted down the knights’ armor to create a legendary sword!”
As Homern continued with his tirade, Ghislaine’s expression grew increasingly peculiar.
“Did I go that far?”
He had forgotten due to how long ago it was.
“Are there not a few other accidents caused by the Grand Duke? And now what? The Forest of Monsters? How big of a disaster do you intend to cause? Absolutely not!”
Ghislaine averted his gaze, pretending not to know.
“Forgetful, I guess.”
To them, it was only a matter of years or months, but for him, it was a distant past. Still, he remembered having caused quite a few accidents, so he spoke earnestly.
“Don’t worry too much; such things won’t happen again. You trust me, right?”
He even managed a small smile to lighten the mood, but it had the opposite effect. Homern grabbed the nape of his neck and staggered.
It backfired. Baron Homern grabbed the back of his neck and staggered.
“Ugh, urgh. This idiot… it’s making me laugh…”
Zvalter, who had been quietly observing the two, sighed and asked, “Are you trying to make money by developing the Forest of Monsters?”
“That’s right. The only thing that could make money for the territory right now is the resources in the forest.”
“Yeah, it’s something that was considered since the previous generation. But we can’t sacrifice soldiers without knowing if there’s actually a profitable resource. Even if we have information, we don’t have the capacity for that right now.”
“Yes, I understand. So this time, I want to give it a shot without using the territory’s power.”
Ghislaine wasn’t unaware of the territory’s situation either.
However, he had a compelling reason to develop that place.
‘That’s the only way to achieve economic independence for the territory.’
In his previous life, Perdium Territory was tossed around by neighboring territories until it eventually fell due to poverty.
Even now, if the enemies cut off their cash flow, it was obvious they would stagger from that alone.
To prepare for what’s to come, somehow a source of money had to be found.
But this reasoning didn’t resonate with Zvalter, who was unaware of the future.
“What are you going to do without money or troops?”
Ghislaine looked around at all his retainers with confidence and replied, “I will secure the money and troops. Anyway, you all know the territory doesn’t have any money. I’m just asking for the authority to build a fortress and recruit troops within the territory.”
Hearing this, the Treasurer, Albert, quickly inquired. It intrigued him that the naive Grand Duke claimed he would secure money on his own.
“What money does the Grand Duke have? You can’t develop something on a shoestring budget.”
“I know. Still, I will figure out the money, so you don’t have to worry.”
“No, but how…… Heh heh.”
Even Albert, who usually had little mood swings, ended up chuckling awkwardly.
It was clear that Ghislaine had no concept of money.
‘Is he planning to go rob someone? He certainly seems like he would do that.’
Before Albert could add anything, Baron Homern cried out in despair, “For the love of all that is holy, please stay still! How much longer are you going to make us suffer? Can’t you just stay quiet? Oh, please!”
Other retainers, empathizing with Homern’s outcry, nodded in agreement.
Ghislaine crossed his arms and let out a long breath.
‘Ah, getting permission is hopeless now. Tsk.’
It was an unconscious action brought on by his discomfort, but those who saw it frowned even more.
‘That, that impolite guy. For a Grand Duke to be so crude…’
Regardless of their sour expressions, Ghislaine sank deep into thought.
‘No matter how I think about it, this is something that must be done.’
What they wanted was simple: for him to stay idle and do nothing.
Of course, Ghislaine would prefer to play rather than work. However, thinking about the territory’s future, he couldn’t just sit still.
After all, only he knew the incoming future for Perdium.
‘Hmm, but the reaction is too negative, isn’t it?’
The retainers were glaring at Ghislaine with cold eyes.
The idea of developing the Forest of Monsters seemed absurd, but even more ridiculous was that it came from a Grand Duke who had absolutely no credibility.
What could possibly make them trust him?
And no matter how pitiful or unpleasant a guy he was, they couldn’t send the territory’s heir to a dangerous place teeming with monsters.
I couldn’t send the heir of the territory.
Seeing a response that was colder than expected, Ghislaine realized that persuasion was pointless.
“Ah, if it were in my past life, I would’ve just taken them all down.”
During his mercenary king days, anyone who disagreed with him got their backs treated equally.
But now, the situation was different.
In the end, Ghislaine gave up on convincing his retainers.
No matter what he said or how he acted, it would be meaningless to those who looked down on him.
He turned his gaze toward his father, who seemed to be the lone possibility.
Zvalter couldn’t bear his fatigue and rubbed his eyelids with his fingers.
“I’m not sure what my son is thinking while living this way.”
It was always somewhat satisfying when the kid who usually avoided him came to him, but he didn’t understand why that feeling faded in just a few minutes.
He’d shown up and was asking for permission to cause a huge accident.
That kind of boldness, forecasting trouble, was typical of someone from the North, but couldn’t he have shown that boldness in a different way?
“If only it were someone else saying that, I’d lock them up in the dungeon. What kind of child is this?”
Still, since he had come to ask for permission, Zvalter felt he needed to respond.
Zvalter sighed and said firmly, “Absolutely not. Messing with the forest could lead to monsters popping up, and the damage to the territory would be catastrophic.”
“Well, it can’t be helped. Understood.”
“Wait! I said no! …Huh? You understand?”
“Yes, you’re not granting permission, right?”
“Y-yeah.”
Seeing Ghislaine accept it so calmly left Zvalter a bit bewildered.
“What? He’s accepting it that easily? Why?”
Ghislaine wasn’t the type to just nod along.
If he were someone who understood through words, he wouldn’t be called a reckless troublemaker.
And yet, here he was, nodding with a nonchalant expression.
Zvalter’s retainers shared the same puzzled look.
“Well, I’ll be going then. It was great to see everyone after such a long time. Hahaha.”
Ghislaine smiled and turned away, as if he had no lingering attachments.
An anxious Baron Homern shouted after him desperately.
“Grand Duke! If you cause trouble again, we’ll really imprison you in the tower! Remember! This time, all the retainers will agree!”
“Yeah, yeah. Do as you wish.”
Without looking back, Ghislaine shrugged and left.
Once he got a little further from the main hall, he turned to Gillian, who had followed him out, and gave a sheepish smile.
“The atmosphere was so tense that I couldn’t even introduce you. I’m not very popular here.”
In truth, he wasn’t popular anywhere.
As if to dismiss that, Gillian shook his head with a sympathetic expression.
“That’s alright. How about you, Your Highness? It’s natural not to allow entry to the Forest of Monsters since it’s dangerous. Don’t be too disappointed.”
“Why would I be disappointed?”
Ghislaine’s face was completely unaffected. It made sense for anyone to think he had straightforwardly accepted the situation.
But the shock hit Gillian with the next line.
“If I don’t want permission, I just won’t get it. I wasn’t even going to ask for permission. I was planning to proceed regardless of whether I got it or not.”
“What? So you’re just going to go ahead with it?”
“Yeah. Right now, I’m just saying it out of courtesy, just in case. Since I didn’t get permission, I have no choice but to proceed forcefully now.”
“Your Highness, that’s not allowed. The Lord has commanded that you must not proceed.”
“It’s an order not to do it yourself.”
Even if Ghislaine was found out for pushing forward despite the Lord’s disapproval, he wouldn’t be able to avoid punishment, no matter how much of a big deal he was.
And it’s not just about anything trivial; it’s about gathering private soldiers.
Gillian hesitated with worry, but Ghislaine grinned and said, “It’s alright. If we succeed, that’s all that matters. We just need to deliver the results. The answer is already set.”
Gillian was left speechless at Ghislaine’s nonchalant bravado. He simply couldn’t figure out what this reckless noble was thinking.
“So how do you plan to proceed? You don’t have money or troops, do you?”
Then Ghislaine chuckled.
“Oh, Gillian, you don’t know. I have some money. I might be the richest in our territory!”
“Huh?”
“My rich fiancée gave me a hefty ‘breakup gift.’ I’m going to use that money to start a development project. Of course, I’ll have to save as much as I can until the first profits come in. Looking back, I really owe her one.”
“A breakup gift…?”
Gillian once again made a dumbfounded expression.
A breakup was a tremendous disgrace in noble society. Yet here he was, not only unbothered but proud about it.
‘Is he just carefree… or does he have big ambitions…?’
From the atmosphere just a moment ago, it seemed the others in the territory didn’t know about the breakup yet.
Technically, no formal breakup procedures had taken place, but it was only a matter of time before they ended up splitting due to their impossible marriage.
Still, Ghislaine hadn’t mentioned a single word about his plan to break up.
Gillian was left speechless, mouth agape.
“As for the troops… I’ll recruit mercenaries.”
“Mercenaries?”
“Since we can no longer receive soldiers for development immediately, I have to use mercenaries. I can’t just organize an army on my own.”
“How many are you thinking of recruiting?”
“Two hundred.”
Ghislaine answered Gillian’s question smoothly, as if he had rehearsed it in advance.
Gillian showed surprise. Two hundred was a number that could feasibly participate in a small-scale territorial battle.
“Are you really planning to proceed with the development?”
“Yeah, what others oppose doesn’t matter. What’s important is that I must do this.”
Ghislaine declared firmly.
Gillian found himself at a loss for words.
He was beginning to understand just a bit why the retainers criticized him as a troublemaker and a wastrel.
Though he was worried, he doubted Ghislaine would listen if he tried to stop him.
Having sworn to serve him after receiving a debt of gratitude meant he had no choice but to protect him to the best of his ability.
“I understand. I will support you diligently.”
“Just hearing that gives me confidence. For now, let’s gather those mercenaries.”
“If we gather two hundred at once, we can’t avoid getting some riffraff mixed in.”
In response to Gillian’s worried statement, Ghislaine nodded.
“I know. But we need a certain scale to develop that forest; there’s no choice. We’ll need to find capable ones separately.”
“Capable ones, huh…”
“Where’s the best small mercenary group in the northern region?”
Gillian pondered for a moment before his eyes widened in realization.
“Are you talking about those crazy dogs?”
Ghislaine answered with a peculiar smile.
“Yeah. Let’s put a leash on the Cerberus Mercenary Group.”
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