Episode 47: It’s a Little Dangerous Right Now (1)
Skoban, trapped in prison, leaned against the wall and sighed heavily.
“Ow, what was I thinking? Why did I do that?”
Logically speaking, no matter how skilled the Grand Duke was at swordsmanship, it was impossible to survive in the Forest of Monsters.
If it had been that easy, they would have ventured into the territory a long time ago.
Yet, the Grand Duke was so confident that Skoban unknowingly believed him.
“There’s not a single credible reason, though.”
Because of his false report, the troops chasing after the Grand Duke were delayed by a step.
The Grand Duke probably asked for it with that in mind… But as a result, Skoban ended up locked up like this.
“Thanks to the Guard Commander, look where I am now. Haah…”
Sitting next to him, the handsome Ricardo murmured gloomily.
It was truly unfortunate that he was imprisoned just because he was Skoban’s deputy.
“Ahem, sorry. But we’ll be released soon.”
Because people were so scarce, the Perdium Territory didn’t harshly punish knights or soldiers unless they committed a major crime.
Rather than imposing strict punishments to raise awareness, it was more beneficial for the territory to give moderate punishments and maintain their workforce.
“What’s the point of getting out? The Commander will lose his knight status, and I’ll be sentenced to hard labor.”
For lazy Ricardo, hard labor was a nightmare.
“That’s only if things go well. If the Grand Duke dies in the forest, it won’t end so easily for us, you know?”
“Ahem, I doubt the Grand Duke would die! Honestly, he’s been lucky despite all the trouble he’s caused. It’s not in his fate to die easily.”
If the Grand Duke were to die, Skoban would have to take responsibility for his death due to the false report.
That would be akin to treachery against the lord.
“Well, who knows? Let’s just hope the troops following him can safely rescue the Grand Duke.”
Ricardo clicked his tongue in response.
Skoban sighed heavily, feeling helpless.
After a while, as Ricardo continued to ponder, he curiously asked, “So, what are you going to do when you get out?”
“Hmm… Maybe I’ll just go back to my hometown and do some farming? There’s no money to be made here, and it’s just hard work and fatigue.”
“Where’s your hometown?”
Skoban scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
“Actually, my hometown is right here… Perdium.”
Ricardo shot him a look that was clearly filled with disdain.
“…I’ll make sure they let you farm. As if we don’t have enough people in the territory already. If you roll around as a soldier for a few years, they might reinstate you as a knight.”
“Eh, I’ve lived in Perdium for generations, so I just stuck around. Honestly, it’s boring, so boring. I can’t get married, and I’ve got no money saved up.”
“I’ve been living here for so long, and honestly, I’m just bored. I can’t even get married and I have no savings.”
Ricardo replied, looking puzzled.
“What’s so hard about marriage? You can get married without money. I’m actually worried about women fighting over me if I ever get married.”
Skoban couldn’t help but look incredulous.
Turning to Ricardo, Skoban frowned and said, “What an annoying guy.”
For Ricardo, being good-looking probably made marriage seem really easy.
“Ugh, if only I had been born with that face. Come to think of it, that guy doesn’t even work hard, right?”
While Perdium’s soldiers were struggling with meager pay, Ricardo was living without a care.
That’s because the women who liked him had formed a social club and often pampered him.
Skoban thought the world was incredibly unfair.
He had his own talents and worked tirelessly to become a knight.
Yet that Ricardo guy could get by without lifting a finger.
If looks were talent, he had definitely been blessed.
As Skoban contemplated whether he should smack Ricardo in the back of the head out of jealousy, a lively commotion started coming from the prison entrance.
“Huh? What’s going on?”
As Skoban pressed his face against the bars, Ricardo followed suit.
The group that had been talking to the soldier guarding the prison soon approached the cell where the two were imprisoned.
As soon as they recognized the face of the person at the front, Skoban and Ricardo widened their eyes.
“Y-Your Grand Duke!”
“Your Grand Duke, you’re alive!”
Ghislaine stood in front of the bars, waving her hand and smiling as if she was delighted.
“Liars, Skoban! How have you been? Ricardo, even in prison, your face is glowing. If being handsome was a crime, you’d not just be imprisoned but sentenced to death! Hahaha.”
“It’s really a relief to see you alive!”
Skoban and Ricardo sincerely greeted her.
Now, they wouldn’t be punished for allegedly causing the Grand Duke’s death.
The two were reassured by that thought, but Ghislaine had no intention of keeping them in prison.
He turned to the soldier who had followed him from the prison entrance and commanded, “Hey, open this.”
“Uh?”
The guard blinked in surprise, unable to comprehend.
He hadn’t received any orders to release the two.
“Oh, it’s fine. I’ve already gotten permission. You trust me, right?”
“But….”
The guard was frozen in place.
He couldn’t believe that the Grand Duke was lying, considering there had been numerous incidents before.
In the first place, wasn’t it because of Ghislaine that Skoban and Ricardo had been caught for lying?
Seeing the guard flustered, Ghislaine chuckled softly.
“Wow, how rude. Treating me like a credit defaulter.”
With a shrug, Gillian stepped in.
Crash!
Gillian grabbed the lock mechanism and smashed it to bits.
However, even with the door open, Skoban and Ricardo didn’t rush out.
Skoban could escape at any time using mana, but there was a reason he stayed quiet.
If he broke out, things would escalate even further.
“I’m telling you it’s fine! Just come out. It’s a full pardon.”
As Ghislaine urged them, Skoban and Ricardo stepped awkwardly out of the cell.
“Thank you.”
“Are we really being released?”
“Yes, you both can return to your normal duties.”
Ghislaine patted their shoulders a few times and took out two pouches from his pocket.
“Here, take these.”
The two looked at each other with curiosity as they opened the pouches.
He opened it.
The pocket was stuffed with gold coins.
“W-why is this?”
“Are you really giving this to us?”
Both of them were taken aback by the sudden windfall, but Ghislaine spoke nonchalantly.
“This is a reward for not being disturbed while entering the Forest of Monsters. It’s only natural to receive a reward for a job well done.”
Unlike other nobles, Ghislaine doesn’t just rely on loyalty to command followers. Primarily rooted in his identity as a mercenary, he firmly believed that loyalty follows when you provide a solid reward for success.
“Thank you so much!”
“I’ll use it well!”
Skoban and Ricardo bowed repeatedly, grinning from ear to ear.
They were already delighted to be released without any issues, but receiving such a large sum was the cherry on top.
“Alright, then let’s meet again later. Be sure to call me when you need anything.”
“Yes, just call anytime!”
“Take care!”
Both of them bent at the waist at a right angle, giving an overly respectful bow.
Indeed, a person who hands out money generously is a good person. Ghislaine chuckled to himself as he walked out of the prison.
He knew that Baron Homern would scold him if he found out he broke the prison door… But he should have just opened it earlier, right?
After Ghislaine left, Skoban, still fiddling with the bag of gold coins, turned to Ricardo.
“That’s quite a hefty sum, huh? What are you planning to do with it?”
Ricardo paused for a moment, then replied with a bright smile.
“Since I’ve just been mooching off everyone, I’m thinking of throwing a party for the friendship club. I need to return the favor, you know? With this amount, we could have a blast!”
“Aren’t you saving any?”
“What for? If I need something later, I can just ask the friendship club.”
“…You lucky jerk.”
Feeling like the world was unfair, Skoban kept twitching his lips.
At that moment, while Skoban felt both joy and despair, Ghislaine was heading to see Belinda, who was lying in bed.
Her complexion was still pale, but she smiled warmly upon seeing Ghislaine.
“Still haven’t washed up? How are you feeling?”
Ghislaine laughed and replied, “I’m fine, so recover quickly, Belinda.”
Belinda was currently unable to move normally due to mana backflow.
She had drawn more mana than her limit to block the Blood Python’s attack, but it hadn’t completely mitigated the shock.
The injury itself was severe, but the real problem was that the sudden surge of mana had become a tangled mess due to the shock.
In such a situation, there was no choice but to rest until the mana stabilized.
“Have you eaten? What does the Lord say?”
Even in such a state, Belinda was nagging Ghislaine.
She was worried about getting punished since they had disobeyed the Lord’s orders and had been taken away.
“Everything has been sorted out. Don’t worry.”
Seeing Ghislaine’s relaxed smile, Belinda finally seemed to feel relieved and closed her eyes.
Considering her already bad condition, if she found out he had led the mercenaries and staged a show of force, she would probably faint.
Ghislaine decided to keep his mouth shut, even if just for a moment.
He took a moment to examine Belinda’s body before he held her hand.
“I’ll help you recover quickly.”
“Huh? How are you going to help me, Young Master?”
Belinda looked puzzled.
Without saying a word, Ghislaine shrugged and suddenly pushed his mana into Belinda’s body.
“What the…? Don’t! It’s dangerous!”
“It’s fine, it’s fine.”
As the foreign mana entered, the mana inside her began to resist.
Belinda broke out in a sweat as she struggled to suppress the uncooperative mana as best as she could.
I tried my best to suppress the Mana that hardly moved.
If a mana clash occurred, Ghislaine would get hurt too, so there was no other choice.
In the meantime, Ghislaine’s mana gently enveloped and began to suppress Belinda’s turbulent mana.
Before long, Ghislaine was sweating profusely, concentrating hard.
Gillian remained tense, keeping watch around.
If someone were to touch them, both Ghislaine and Belinda’s lives would be in danger.
Screeeech!
Not long after, a red haze rose from Ghislaine’s body and began to scatter into the air.
At the same time, Belinda’s complexion noticeably relaxed.
Surprisingly, Ghislaine had succeeded in stabilizing the swirling mana.
“W-What the heck? How is Young Master doing this…?”
Belinda’s cheeks flushed, and her eyes widened in astonishment, feeling everything vividly since it was happening within her own body.
Ghislaine’s mana manipulation was unbelievably delicate.
To handle mana like this, one would need to be at a remarkable realm.
Ghislaine carefully withdrew the mana and pulled back.
“Phew, that’s a relief. You should recover quickly after a few days of rest. Feeling better now?”
Belinda stared at Ghislaine with a complicated expression before slowly speaking.
“You’re not practicing the family’s Mana Circulation Method, are you?”
The Perdium family’s Mana Circulation Method does not emit a red aura.
The light of the mana and the atmosphere it exudes are different.
Compared to the rough yet stable Perdium’s, Ghislaine’s mana was filled with a menacing energy.
It would make sense that the properties of mana differ depending on the technique learned, but Belinda couldn’t understand where Ghislaine learned this technique that wasn’t from Perdium.
The astonishing growth rate that defies common sense and the delicate mana manipulation skills are surely a result of whatever method he practiced.
Ghislaine stroked his chin a few times, then awkwardly said, “Um, I made it. Well, I kind of modified our family’s method to fit me perfectly.”
“Hah, you really don’t want to share that? Just say that you don’t want to.”
It’s no ordinary feat to modify the Mana Circulation Method to suit oneself; even a genius would find it impossible.
After all, the concept of the Mana Circulation Method has been gradually refined over many years.
If it were that easy to tamper with, then the families or organizations holding those techniques wouldn’t keep them a closely guarded secret.
“I’m serious! Later, when I have time, I’ll teach you too. I’ll fine-tune what you’re learning as well. Then you’ll believe me, right?”
“Oh, no thank you. You’re saying what I’m learning is good enough already.”
“Fine, take care of yourself and get well soon. You’ll be busy again in no time.”
“Right. Now that we have a lot of money, it wouldn’t hurt to have some fun without worrying about it.”
At Belinda’s words, Ghislaine shook his head.
“No, we need to rest a bit and then get right back out there.”
“Huh? Where are we going? Oh, to sell the Runestone?”
“That’s part of it, but… we have things to prepare. Time is always tight, so we need to move quickly.”
Belinda blinked a few times and then asked again.
“Is it because of entering the Forest of Monsters? What’s the hurry? Can we not wait to do whatever it is you’re planning?”
“Honestly, I don’t want to rest either. But the situation is a bit dire.”
“What exactly is the situation? Tell me.”
Belinda’s voice was laced with anxiety. Ghislaine smiled slightly as he said, “Unfortunately, our territory is in serious danger right now.”
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