Chapter 44, just as I thought. (2)
Whoosh!
Gillian’s Axe pierced the neck of the kneeling knight.
Right before the knight’s neck was cut off by the axe.
“Wait a second.”
Ghislaine’s voice rang out, and the axe halted.
Drip, drip…
The axe stopped precisely in front of the neck, but blood was dripping down from the slightly grazed nape.
“Gah, huff!”
The knight, still kneeling, took deep breaths repeatedly.
‘These crazies!’
If Ghislaine hadn’t stopped halfway, his neck would have truly been severed.
As he looked at the blood soaking the ground from his neck, the knight trembled in fear.
‘What the hell…’
He couldn’t comprehend the situation at all.
The Grand Duke, although a troublesome nuisance, was someone who was not frightening at all.
But now, it was different.
‘Scary.’
An intense dominion filled the surroundings.
He could feel that the mercenaries here were loyal to him.
‘This isn’t the kind of person he was. What on earth happened?’
The Grand Duke, lacking both character and skill, couldn’t even properly manage a single soldier.
Hadn’t he been subtly despised and looked down upon by the low-ranking soldiers?
It made no sense that those rugged mercenaries would follow him to the point of risking their lives.
Clunk, clunk.
Meanwhile, Ghislaine approached leisurely, surveying the surroundings.
The frozen soldiers, upon Ghislaine’s approach, all threw down their weapons and knelt.
Even those who usually looked down on the Grand Duke were now completely overwhelmed by the atmosphere, not daring to think such thoughts.
“Well, if I hadn’t stopped, we’d have had a real mess on our hands. Were you scared?”
Ghislaine chuckled as he lifted the knight up.
Then, he patted the knight on the shoulder and continued speaking.
“I’m a pacifist, but my kids have been through a lot, so I can be a bit rough. So I hope we can get along from now on.”
“Yes… Yes, sir.”
In short, it meant not to mess with him recklessly.
‘That should be clear enough.’
There would be many clashes with others in the future, but for now, this was sufficient.
“Anyway, since my father called for me, as a child, I should go. Should I be bound? I’m not particularly into that kind of hobby, you see.”
As Ghislaine extended his arm and asked, the knight shook his head.
Originally, he had planned to bind him completely and drag him humiliatingly, but now he didn’t dare to attempt that.
He wanted nothing more than to escape quickly, not knowing when the mercenaries glaring at him might pounce.
“Good, at least we have the same taste. Once we arrive, prepare a resting place for the mercenaries. And since Belinda is severely injured, get ready for treatment.”
The knight glanced briefly at the sleeping Belinda and the scruffy mercenaries, then nodded.
He glanced for a moment and nodded.
“Understood. I will handle it right away.”
As the Knight gestured, a few Soldiers rushed over to pull the wagon that Belinda was riding first.
Soon, the Knight led the way while the Soldiers surrounded Ghislaine.
The Mercenaries followed behind, stumbling, but the sharp momentum they had shown earlier had already vanished.
As Ghislaine and the Mercenaries emerged from the Forest of Monsters, a crowd of people, including Laborers, swarmed around.
They had heard through the Soldiers that the Lord sent for the Grand Duke to be captured.
People murmured as they saw Ghislaine following the Knight.
“What’s going on? Did the Grand Duke get into trouble again?”
“I heard the Lord said not to enter the Forest of Monsters. But the Grand Duke just went in there, huh?”
“There are way fewer people now. Not even half of them are left?”
“They probably all died. What on earth was he thinking to venture into that forest?”
“Is that a stone over there? I think I see a Monster corpse… Did he go in there just to get something like that?”
The crowd that had gathered to watch continued to grow, and everyone was eager to share their thoughts about Ghislaine and the Mercenaries.
It was understandable. The number of Mercenaries had significantly decreased since before they entered the forest, and those who survived looked bloodied and injured.
Most opinions suggested they were lucky just to have come back alive.
As they were being escorted under the Lord’s command, people thought this time Ghislaine would surely face proper punishment.
Hearing the murmurs around him, Ghislaine turned to the Knight beside him.
“Hmm, I don’t see Skoban among the guards. What happened to him? Did he go on vacation?”
“…He’s been locked up in prison for falsely reporting to the Lord. He’ll likely lose his Knight status soon.”
“Ah, that’s quite unfortunate. It would have been nice if he was on vacation. Looks like he took the fall for me.”
Seeing Ghislaine speak nonchalantly, the Knight could only twitch his lips.
Skoban had been imprisoned for falsely reporting the whereabouts of Ghislaine and the Mercenaries.
It was never a matter that could be hidden until the end.
Thanks to that, Ghislaine’s party bought some time, but he was probably regretting it while banging his head against the walls of the prison by now.
Ghislaine nodded and immediately headed for the castle with the Knight.
He looked shabby and disheveled, yet he moved toward the great hall with confidence.
After giving a few instructions to Gillian, Ghislaine opened the door and entered without hesitation.
Boom!
As he stepped into the great hall, the Retainers were mostly gathered there.
They glared at Ghislaine with furrowed brows.
It was obvious that he appeared to be just a cowardly soldier who barely escaped with his life.
But that wasn’t what was important right now.
They had much bigger and more significant matters to attend to.
“I have returned, Father.”
Despite Ghislaine’s greeting, Zvalter did not respond and only wore a fierce expression.
After glaring at Ghislaine for a long time, Zvalter spoke in a low, angry voice.
“I distinctly told you not to venture into the Forest of Monsters.”
“I apologize. I thought it was necessary.”
At that response, several Retainers stepped forward and shouted loudly.
“Disregarding the Lord’s orders is a serious crime! How could you have been so thoughtless!”
“What would you have done if a Monster had popped out when I told you not to go?”
“And you even coerced a Knight to report falsely! Are you even in your right mind?”
As the Retainers’ voices grew louder in their condemnation of Ghislaine, Zvalter raised his hand to quiet them.
“The one who broke my command will be held accountable, and appropriate punishment shall be given. It may have been a bit late, but you brought him back this time. However…”
Zvalter glared at Ghislaine, suppressing his rage.
I glared at Ghislaine while keeping my hand pressed down.
“What the hell have you been up to?”
Ghislaine tilted his head for a moment, lost in thought.
It wasn’t a question about the incident in the Forest of Monsters.
Since he had mentioned that he would just be punished for that, it was clear I was asking about something else.
Ghislaine pondered briefly, unsure if he had forgotten an accident, before replying.
“I have no idea what you mean.”
His nonchalant answer made Baron Homern step forward and shout.
“A few days ago, a lion came from Count Raybold’s territory! They said they would cut off all support for Perdium Territory! And it’s all because of the Grand Duke!”
Ghislaine tilted his head for a moment before asking again.
“What’s the reason?”
“They say the Grand Duke went to meet Princess Amelia and extorted 20,000 gold under the pretext of territory support. Count Raybold found out about it, got enraged, and decided to cut off support right alongside the engagement! Apparently, the Grand Duke already took the money!”
Baron Homern was fuming. Ghislaine wore an expression of admiration.
The fact that Amelia was secretly building up her merchant group was still a secret that shouldn’t have been revealed.
So, didn’t she willingly hand over the 20,000 gold to stop Ghislaine from spilling the beans?
For her to suddenly bring this matter to light suggested that she no longer cared if rumors spread.
‘Amelia, she’s definitely not an easy woman.’
Ghislaine was genuinely impressed.
In that short time, Amelia must have taken all necessary steps to ignore any rumors.
And conversely, she used the incident to catch Ghislaine off guard.
Since she now had a justification to cut off support even from Count Raybold’s territory, there was no way she could just overlook the bait Amelia had thrown.
As Ghislaine fell silent in thought, Baron Homern grew even more agitated.
“What are you thinking! Say something! The Grand Duke has committed an enormous crime!”
This time, Albert, the Treasurer, spoke in a cold tone.
“Even if support is reduced, Count Raybold’s territory is the one that provides the most support. If their support is cut off, the territory won’t function properly.”
Still, Ghislaine remained silent, leading Randolf to cry out in frustration.
“Uwaaah! That damn son of a… Brother! Don’t stop me today! I’m going to break that guy’s waist backwards! No need for prison! I’ll teach him a solid lesson right here today!”
As Randolf prepared to rush out, the other retainers and soldiers managed to grab and hold him back.
But the tense atmosphere made the retainers chime in as well.
“This is a serious criminal act! If it were anyone else, they’d face the death penalty!”
“You claimed you were going to develop the Forest of Monsters to save the territory, but didn’t you just end up ruining it instead!”
The retainers were so worked up that they couldn’t stop talking.
To them, Ghislaine recklessly entering the Forest of Monsters and putting the territory in danger wasn’t the main issue anymore.
Since no monsters had appeared and Ghislaine had returned alive, it was just a simple matter of punishing him and throwing him in prison.
But cutting off support from Raybold wouldn’t be solved just by punishing Ghislaine.
They had already been worried sick managing a territory that was impoverished and struggling, so they must be at their wits’ end right now.
‘Amelia sure knows how to use money to manipulate people. Ugh, what a sly thing. Ugh, so terrifying.’
Ghislaine clicked his tongue inwardly as he looked around at the retainers.
Their faces were a mix of anger and anxiety.
It was only natural they would be worried about how to manage the territory moving forward.
Meanwhile, Baron Homern was seething with anger, feeling a headache coming on as he watched Ghislaine’s indifferent expression.
He was so angry that he could explode.
‘He really has no idea how big of a disaster he’s caused! This stupid brat!’
He could dismiss his reckless entry into the Forest of Monsters as just another typical accident.
But causing a disaster that could shake the territory was definitely a first.
Even in a situation where the retainers were furious, Albert, the Treasurer, tried to remain calm and continued making calculations.
He had to recover at least some of the remaining 20,000 gold.
To figure out what to do next, he needed at least that much.
“Your Grace, how much is left from the 20,000 gold?”
At Albert’s ice-cold question, Ghislaine replied with a slight smile.
“It’s almost all spent on hiring mercenaries and laborers, the costs for the fortress, and food.”
“You mean to say that huge sum is already gone?”
“Yes. I tend to be a bit extravagant, haha.”
“Ugh! That bastard… Lock him up right now!”
Even Albert, who usually kept his emotions in check, staggered with rage.
This territory was finished.
Without the funds to maintain the troops, they wouldn’t be able to withstand the onslaught of the barbarians.
If he valued his life, he should be preparing to flee the territory.
Homern urgently turned to Zvalter and said, “My Lord! We need to immediately escort that bastard… no, the Grand Duke to Raybold’s territory to apologize. If we leave it like this, we’ll all die. That guy isn’t human; he’s a bastard! Ah, my Lord, I’m truly sorry. I don’t mean you’re a bastard!”
The retainers were at their wit’s end on how to resolve this issue.
He had extorted money from his fiancée, but it turned out to be the support funds for the territory he received in advance.
He squandered it all on his own whims.
To the retainers, there hadn’t been a bigger lunatic than him.
Ghislaine’s behavior had now crossed the line.
Zvalter sat silently, listening to the retainers before glaring at Ghislaine.
“Is this all true?”
“It is. I had my reasons for acquiring the money… but it seems there’s no excuse for it.”
Hearing his son’s response, Zvalter clenched his eyes shut and leaned back in his chair.
If it had been anyone else, it would have been a crime punishable by immediate death.
‘I should have raised him stricter and corrected him sooner. I really am a dog. A real dog.’
Since he always focused on outside matters and neglected his children, the result had come back to him as an unmanageable disaster.
While Zvalter maintained his silence filled with disappointment and regret for his son, Homern stepped forward and shouted.
“You’re no longer a Grand Duke; you’re a criminal! Kneel down now!”
Ghislaine replied nonchalantly.
“Kneeling’s hard for my knees. And besides, it wasn’t that big of a mistake, right?”
“Uwaaaa! You little rascal! Do you really not understand what you’ve done?!”
“How could I not know what I’ve done?”
“And yet you hold your head up so high! Ugh, my neck!”
Just before Homern collapsed from high blood pressure, Ghislaine snapped his fingers and shouted towards the door.
“Bring it in!”
At that moment, Gillian came in carrying a large chest.
Thud!
The chest, bigger than a person, landed heavily on the floor.
Ghislaine placed his hand on the chest and grinned playfully.
“Look, this is how you make an investment.”
He finished speaking and suddenly flung the lid of the box open.
A brilliant blue light burst out in all directions.
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