Chapter 62: Bite Down Hard and Hang In There. (1)
“Chief Officer!”
The knight beside him quickly grabbed the stumbling Baron Homern.
He barely managed to stay upright, but his legs were still wobbling. It looked like he could fall over again at any moment.
“There are many places money is leaking from in the territory… and you spent it all? Not to mention on useless mercenaries like those…”
Even if a war broke out, what would change by adding just over three hundred troops?
It would be faster to offer Runestones to other lords and request reinforcements.
Or he could promise to give up a portion of his Runestones and surrender. Surely they wouldn’t slaughter the lord and the retainers’ families just because they won the territorial battle.
“You should have spent that money on the knights and soldiers instead!”
It seemed he had hired mercenaries and kitted them out with high-quality equipment.
This idiot recklessly squandered his funds thinking he was building up his forces.
Disappointment was evident on Homern’s pale face. Ghislaine smiled and said, “I saved the 5,000 gold for my father. I’ll be bringing back more Runestones soon, so don’t worry too much.”
Still, Homern’s complexion remained grim.
Even if they could gather more Runestones, there were too many places in urgent need of funds right now.
That’s why he was counting on the money Ghislaine would bring… and the disappointment grew with the expectation.
‘Ugh, I shouldn’t have entrusted money to this reckless fool. I have to manage the Runestones in the territory somehow.’
Homern could only wear a sad expression without uttering a word.
At that moment, a wagon was approaching from afar.
The wagon, drawn by eight white horses, was large and luxurious enough for a wealthy nobleman to ride in.
After a moment, the wagon stopped in front of Ghislaine. The door opened, and people dressed in black robes descended one after another.
The last man to step down looked at Ghislaine and greeted him.
“Oh, is the Prince himself here to welcome me? You seem to be showing some noble dignity now. Hahaha.”
The arrogant speaker was Alfoy, from the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
He had said to time their departure so that they would arrive at Perdium in about a month, and it seemed he kept his word since he arrived simultaneously with Ghislaine.
Seeing the arrogant expression of the mage, Ghislaine let out a sigh.
“Seriously, they never listen worth a damn.”
He had clearly instructed them to come quietly and inconspicuously, yet the wagon’s appearance was far from ordinary. Many would remember seeing the wagon pass by.
The wagon was in a pretty shabby state. There were quite a few people who would remember it passing by.
At least it was fortunate that everyone in the party was wearing black robes.
Baron Homern looked back and forth between Ghislaine and Alfoy, then asked blankly, “Who are these people?”
“They’re the mercenaries I’ve hired.”
“What kind of mercenaries are wearing robes like that and driving a wagon like this…?”
He shook his head after glancing at Ghislaine and the mercenaries again and said, “Yeah, you all enjoy playing war games together. Sounds like fun.”
With just that remark, Homern staggered off into the castle. Staying there any longer might have given him a fit of rage.
Ghislaine shrugged his shoulders and checked on Vanessa, who was nervously fidgeting behind the mages.
“You made it safely. Nothing happened, right?”
“I-I’m honored to meet you, my lord. N-nothing happened…”
“Did anyone bully you?”
“U-uh, no.”
“Good, that’s a relief. Let’s head inside.”
The mages climbed back into the wagon.
The mercenaries followed Ghislaine into the castle.
After passing through the outer walls, Ghislaine stopped in front of the Lord’s Castle and entrusted the mages to Belinda.
“Belinda, prepare the rooms for the mages. I’m going to take the mercenaries to the fortress.”
“Got it. I need to tidy up a bit too.”
Just when he was about to lead the mercenaries away, a rather annoying sight caught his eye.
“Ugh, those idiots…”
The mages were leisurely admiring the Lord’s Castle with their arms crossed, discussing amongst themselves.
“Hmmm, this castle is built in a rather interesting style. It fits the region’s climate well…”
“It’s not flashy, but it has a practical yet classical feel…”
“Constructed with elements based on harmony and proportion…”
Ghislaine could let their showboating slide since it was typical for them.
The problem was that while they elegantly debated, Vanessa was struggling alone to unload heavy baggage from the wagon.
It seemed the load was quite heavy, and she couldn’t hide her struggle.
As soon as she managed to take down a few items, she disappeared back into the wagon. Since there was quite a lot to carry, it would take several trips.
Ghislaine approached the mages and coldly said, “What is the meaning of this? I clearly told you not to treat Vanessa recklessly!”
“That woman is just good at this sort of work. You should let someone who’s good at it handle it.”
Seeing them talk like that, it was clear the Mage Tower had temporarily forgotten their place over the past month.
After Ghislaine left, they had likely treated Vanessa as usual, giving her orders like a common maid.
Ghislaine called out to her as she was bringing down the baggage.
“Vanessa, stop that and come here.”
“Ah, no. I’m just moving the luggage…”
Ghislaine then said coldly, “Who do you think your master is? You only need to listen to my words.”
But Vanessa was caught between a rock and a hard place, glancing at Alfoy and unsure of what to do.
When Ghislaine raised his hand, she lowered her head and hesitantly approached him.
“Listen carefully. From now on, don’t listen to anyone else’s orders except mine. Do you understand?”
“Y-yes, I understand.”
Ghislaine firmly instructed Vanessa and then spoke decisively to Alfoy.
“Vanessa is no longer your maid. She is now mine, so don’t treat her recklessly. I’ll forgive you this time since it’s the first, but if this happens again, you’ll have to take responsibility.”
“You’re no longer your maid. Now you’re my person, so don’t act recklessly. This is your first time, so I’ll forgive you once. But if something like this happens again, you’ll have to stake your neck.”
“How could someone so insignificant…”
Alfoy gritted his teeth in humiliation.
He couldn’t understand why he was concerned about a mere maid when he was the heir to the Mage Tower.
On top of that, Ghislaine still treated him rudely. His rage was boiling over.
‘Should I just kill her?’
He wanted to blast her arrogant face off right then and there.
With the elders of the Mage Tower absent, he found it hard to control his emotions.
‘Yeah, I’ll just say it was an accident at the Mage Tower, right?’
Overwhelmed by fury, Alfoy began to emanate a vicious aura.
The mercenaries around him frowned and each got ready with their weapons.
Alfoy’s hostility was palpable.
Clearly, he was lacking in the social awareness one would expect from someone raised in the Mage Tower.
Ghislaine’s laughter dripped with disdain.
“These kinds of guys never listen unless you speak to them directly.”
“What?”
As Alfoy scowled, Ghislaine approached the soldier guarding the castle gate.
“Give me a spear.”
“Huh?”
Without needing to ask twice, Ghislaine snatched the spear from the soldier’s hand and broke it in half.
Crack!
Due to Perdium being so poor, even the spear used by the soldier was made of cheap wooden material.
With the spearhead removed, it naturally transformed into a perfectly fitting club in her hands.
Ghislaine advanced toward Alfoy, tapping the club against her palm.
“Filled only with dung in your head.”
“What?”
“This was historically effective.”
“You little—!”
Alfoy exploded in rage, gathering his magic power.
Aaaah!
His heart’s core spun vigorously, channeling magic according to the mage’s will.
Boom!
He reached out to show the immense power of his magic.
Smack!
“Ugh!”
However, rather than unleashing magic, a blinding pain hit him.
“What, what is this?”
He couldn’t understand what had hit him.
He didn’t see the attack coming, let alone why his magic had cut off.
“Damn it!”
Alfoy tried to gather magic again, but Ghislaine’s hand was faster.
Swack!
“Arrgh!”
This time, the sound was louder. Without realizing it, Alfoy covered his head with both hands.
Soon the pain filled not just his head, but spread throughout his entire body.
Thud! Thud!
“Ugh!”
Ghislaine leisurely stood with her arms crossed, using just one hand to strike Alfoy.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Ugh! Wait a second!”
Alfoy felt he was going insane.
Every time he tried to channel his magic, it would be perfectly interrupted at just the right moment.
It felt as if something inside his body was blocking the flow.
Thud! Thud!
“Ugh!”
What drove him more insane was that he couldn’t even fall down.
Every time he tried to collapse, the club would come flying from the opposite side, lifting him back up.
“Ugh!”
“Stop it!”
Unable to hold back, the mages tried to exert their magic power.
Clang! Clang!
But the moment the mercenaries noticed the mages were about to move, they quickly held their weapons to their throats.
The mages couldn’t even twitch a finger.
There was none.
“Ughhhh…”
The other Mages wore expressions of sheer disbelief. Alfoy was truly being beaten without a moment’s respite.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
“Ugh, stop! I’m sorry!”
He had never experienced such pain in his entire life.
He had been treated like royalty in the Mage Tower, living however he pleased.
He had never even imagined he would be subjected to such absurdity.
“Hmmm, shall we stop here?”
When Ghislaine ceased the beating, Alfoy plopped down on his knees.
“Guhhh, ugh…”
Ghislaine squatted down in front of the suffering Alfoy.
“You really are thoughtless. Are you even a Mage? This is our territory. Do you think you can just act up here and get away with it? Can you even run?”
If Ghislaine had been harmed or killed by his magic, Alfoy would have been executed on the spot.
He was so riled up that he couldn’t even think of that.
Alfoy suddenly came to his senses and looked around.
The other Mages who had come with him were also at the mercy of the Mercenaries.
“Ugh…”
Alfoy gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.
Over three hundred Mercenaries were right nearby. If a full-blown fight broke out, the six Mages would be turned into bloody messes in no time.
“Ugh, y-you…”
Alfoy staggered to his feet.
His entire body was screaming, but the wounds to his pride were even deeper.
“How could you do this to us! I will definitely report this and make you pay!”
Ghislaine responded to Alfoy’s frantic shout with a smile.
“Go ahead and report. Who do you think your master will side with? Have you already forgotten what your contract says? You want to go back?”
“Ugh, ugh…”
Hubert had emphasized countless times not to provoke Ghislaine.
– That guy isn’t normal, so just do what he says and don’t talk back. The more you talk, the worse it gets.
With that undeniable reality gnawing at him, Alfoy tightened his jaw, but the mocking voice returned.
“Do you think you’ll be fine if something happens to me? If we lose the war, you’ll get the boot from your master too.”
At that, Alfoy and the other Mages snapped to attention as if doused in ice water.
Ghislaine’s words were not wrong.
If things went south, the Mage Tower would claim that it was the independent actions of some Mages, denying any connection to Ghislaine.
Even if that wasn’t the case, if the supply of Runestones was cut off, the blame would fall squarely on them.
Only then did Alfoy and the Mages grasp the situation, unable to retort, they fell silent.
“If you want to go back in one piece, do your best to help. If you don’t want your contract to be voided, behave yourself. Hehehe.”
However, as someone who had only ever been propped up as the successor of the Mage Tower, Alfoy couldn’t just sit there and take Ghislaine’s tyranny.
“No noble has ever treated us so recklessly! I demand the proper treatment we deserve! Treatment!”
Alfoy shouted, veins bulging in his neck.
But Ghislaine merely scoffed and threw out a single sentence.
“You’re just backup. More precisely, like auxiliary magic. So this is all you get. If you want to be treated better, then just behave.”
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