Chapter 140: Waiting For It. (3)
Behind Count Raoul Joseph followed a sturdy man.
He wore a mask, hiding his face, and a wide robe concealed his hair and physique.
Tap… Tap…
Raoul limped slowly toward Marquis Branford, glancing up at him for a moment before bowing his head slowly.
“It’s been a while, Marquis Branford.”
“What brings you here? Baron Joseph.”
Marquis Branford replied nonchalantly. Raoul smirked and lifted his head.
“I heard you’ve taken in a young lion. I came to see his face.”
“Not something to get concerned about from Duke Faction.”
“How can one not take an interest in a talented youth who develops remarkable products at a young age and even has the support of Marquis Branford?”
With a furrowed brow, Marquis Branford clicked his tongue.
“I hope it just ends with mere interest. Who’s the masked man behind you?”
“My guard knight.”
Knight Commander Toleo approached the masked man and said,
“Even if he is the Count’s guard, we can’t have an unknown in the banquet hall. Please, even if it’s just for a moment, remove your mask.”
Despite Toleo’s words, the man stood silently without any reaction.
“Hey! Didn’t I tell you to take it off right away!”
Toleo shouted angrily, but Marquis Branford held him back.
“Enough. Do you think the Count would bring him here to cause trouble? Let it go.”
With the host of the feast saying it was fine, there was no further room for protest. Toleo bit his lip and stepped back.
Marquis Branford seemed to consider the matter settled and turned away, indicating he had no more to say.
He would not kick them out, but he certainly wasn’t welcoming either.
Though he would love to boot them out right there, he couldn’t just (unjustly) throw away a noble who came to the feast, no matter how tense things were.
Raoul looked around, twisted one corner of his mouth with boldness, and muttered,
“Hmm… Did I come to the wrong place? The atmosphere isn’t very good.”
He started to walk slowly toward Ghislaine.
Tap… Tap… Tap…
Each tap of his cane made nobles flinch and awkwardly shift away as if avoiding something dirty.
As the nobles awkwardly avoided the spot like it was covered in dirt every time they passed by,
“Getting involved in this is no good. Let’s not even make eye contact.”
“I heard he’s a cold-blooded monster with no tears or blood. Some even say he’s not human.”
Before long, the crowd naturally dispersed, creating a path between the Count and Ghislaine.
Marquis Branford tilted his head while looking at Raoul’s back.
“I thought he was from the south. How on earth did he manage to time this right?”
It had barely been a week since he announced the banquet. Even if he had rushed out the moment he heard news from the south, there was no way he could arrive at this hour.
“Means he was already here.”
Despite being one of the key figures of the Duke faction, he had received no reports about Raoul’s presence in the capital.
It was a more serious problem than Raoul showing up here.
“Those bastards…”
Not just anyone, but they had even covered his own eyes and ears. This meant the hand of the Duke Delphine had reached into the capital.
While Marquis Branford was lost in deep thought, Raoul calmly stood right in front of Ghislaine.
The young ladies surrounding Ghislaine had long since fled in panic.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Count Raoul Joseph.”
Ghislaine gave a disinterested nod.
“I’m Baron Penris.”
“I found quite a few interesting things about you. I heard you did quite well up north?”
He spoke as if he had heard rumors fed to him by Digald, who was egging on Desmond from behind.
Ghislaine scoffed openly at his audacity.
“Acting all high and mighty. You’d know exactly what kind of mess you all made.”
Raoul continued nonchalantly.
“Shall we move to another spot?”
“Another spot, you say?”
“I have something to discuss that requires some closeness.”
Ghislaine hesitated for a moment before nodding. Honestly, she was curious about what he had to say.
The two of them moved to a separate room set up near the banquet hall.
Raoul smiled at Ghislaine.
He seemed to try to be friendly, but with that stern expression, it came off more as mockery.
“There’s no need to be so tense.”
“Do I look tense to you?”
Ghislaine raised the corner of her mouth slightly, staring at Raoul with her impassive face.
Raoul furrowed his brow in confusion at the strangely eerie smile directed at him.
“Do you know me? Your expression looks… almost welcoming.”
“I’ve heard quite a few stories about you, Count.”
Having aimed to crush the Duke faction in her past life, she had done thorough research on Raoul, his aide, despite his physical disability, being clever enough to secure a position close to the Duke and quite cruel.
‘He must be the one who attacked Perdium, too.’
Suppressing the boiling killing intent, Ghislaine let out a long breath.
Raoul brushed off her demeanor casually and continued speaking.
“Let me cut to the chase. We’re interested in the cosmetics you’ve created.”
“Cosmetics, you say?”
“Actually, we were developing something similar ourselves. But when I heard rumors that a product with guaranteed results has come out, I came to the capital to verify. I never expected it to be effective enough to treat illnesses.”
A rumor spread that an incredibly effective product had come out, so I climbed up to the capital to confirm whether it was true. But who would have thought it would work well enough to even treat illnesses?
Raoul let out a vague tone that sounded both admiring and frustrated.
In my previous life, this was a product from Duke Delphine’s family, so I couldn’t help but feel a bit regretful.
“So?”
“To be honest, it was unexpected. That someone like you, notorious for being a reckless fool, could create something like this from a territory that had nothing.”
“Well, I studied a bit. What the public says isn’t everything.”
“True, that’s a valid point.”
A glint of suspicion suddenly flashed in Raoul’s eyes. He narrowed them and scrutinized Ghislaine.
‘So this guy completely messed up the plans for the North.’
Everything was going smoothly, from Amelia’s rebellion preparations to isolating Perdium and weakening the Tower of the Bloody Flame.
‘Harold is meticulous and cautious. He’s probably identified most obstacles.’
But Harold kept failing because of this guy.
No one could have imagined that a simple good-for-nothing would interfere with the grand scheme.
Not even Raoul himself.
‘To think this guy would suddenly get support.’
Raoul clicked his tongue inwardly.
The Crown Prince Faction was clearly planning on supporting the Brivant territory at first.
Knowing that, Raoul weakened the Tower of the Bloody Flame and gradually swayed Brivant’s retainers, taking control of the entire territory.
If everything had gone according to Raoul’s plan, the Crown Prince Faction would have been pouring water into a bottomless well.
The plan was perfect.
That was, until this Ghislaine character popped up out of nowhere.
One day, it was as if Ghislaine had suddenly awakened and begun to stand out.
As a result, Desmond’s power was halved, and Amelia had to hastily bring forward her rebellion plans.
So, as soon as he heard that Ghislaine was selling cosmetics, he came directly to the capital.
He wanted to see Ghislaine himself and judge what kind of person he was.
He had also thought about holding him accountable for previously interfering with his plans, but before he could do that, Ghislaine had already sided with the Crown Prince Faction.
‘He probably didn’t join knowing everything… He’s just a lucky guy.’
To minimize unnecessary damage, he planned to isolate the royal family and the Crown Prince Faction before drawing his sword.
While Duke Delphine’s power wasn’t weak, it was still too early for war.
Even though he was the one who completely wrecked their plans, he was now unable to touch them directly.
No one predicted that Raoul, who had never faced failure, would repeatedly mess things up because of just one person.
‘A true good-for-nothing couldn’t pull off something like this. The information must be wrong.’
He was just caught off guard. If he had known such talent existed, he would have devised a different plan for absorbing the North.
Now that Ghislaine’s presence was revealed, he wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.
‘Since the situation is already set, it will naturally take time to fix it. But…’
There’s no way to undo a mess once it’s made. However, killing such an outstanding talent would be a waste.
“Yes. However, it would be a shame to just kill such a talented individual.”
“I never expected such an outstanding young person to be hiding in the North. Since we’ve met like this, I’d like to make a proposal.”
“If it’s for an exclusive cosmetics contract or sharing technology, count me out.”
“I do find cosmetics tempting, but what I’m proposing now isn’t something trivial.”
“Then what is it?”
“Join the Duke Delphine faction.”
At the sudden proposal, Ghislaine covered his face with one hand and laughed.
He itched to kill Raoul right there.
Struggling to suppress his murderous intent, he could only chuckle at this absurdity.
Raoul slightly narrowed his eyes at Ghislaine’s reaction before continuing.
“Are you nervous because the distance is too far? I can offer a decent territory in the South. Even for your father.”
“My father too?”
“I know that Count Perdium is struggling to fight against barbarians in a barren land. How about moving to a better territory where you won’t have to suffer? If you and your father become vassals of the Duke faction, we can support you as much as you need.”
“You’re speaking such dangerous words in front of such formidable people.”
Raoul smirked confidently.
“What’s the problem? That’s just how politics work. You don’t need to worry too much about pressure from other nobles. I’ll handle that responsibility.”
It was quite a lot of confidence. Could one really call him a staff officer of Duke Delphine?
Offering to exchange territories for good land was indeed something only the Duke could propose.
However, to Ghislaine, who knew all too well the value of the Forest of Monsters, it sounded like nonsense.
“How elegantly you prattle on about taking everything comfortably and treating me like a dog.”
He had no desire to seek comfort in the embrace of this unbelievable man.
Even now, he’s maneuvering behind the scenes throughout the kingdom.
How could he trust someone who has drawn in unknown backers?
“I’m sorry, but I must refuse. The North is actually a nicer place than I expected.”
It’s a soft rejection, but his voice is firm.
Raoul leaned back in his chair and looked coldly at Ghislaine.
How dare he reject his proposal.
Does he really think the Crown Prince faction is stronger than Duke Delphine?
“Right now, it’s just the two of us, so let’s speak candidly. The power of the Crown Prince faction doesn’t match our Duke faction.”
“I understand.”
“…And yet, you still refuse my proposal?”
“Yes. I’m not interested.”
“This opportunity comes only once. If you refuse, you will surely regret it.”
“Well… How about you, Lord, come over to my side instead?”
With his clever response, Raoul chuckled and rubbed his chin a few times.
Is he ignorant? Or just bold?
“Tsk, even when given a chance, he chooses to pick a fight.”
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