Episode 93: Was That Today? (3)
I saved you, and you barely said thanks before asking for some drinks.
Gillian could no longer hold back and stepped forward.
“Mind your manners. This gentleman is Baron Penris of the Ruthania Kingdom.”
Claude smirked and replied, “So what? I’ve been living like this my whole life. If you don’t like it, you can go ahead and kill me.”
Gillian frowned and didn’t continue speaking.
That bold attitude felt oddly familiar.
Before meeting Ghislaine, he probably had that same look in his eyes.
Ghislaine, watching the two, nodded as if expecting this.
In his past life, Ghislaine had spent a long time with Claude.
He knew better than anyone why Claude was acting this way.
“You don’t necessarily have to be polite right now.”
“Right now?”
Claude furrowed his brows, tilting his head in confusion.
Ghislaine just smiled slyly without responding.
Yet, even if Ghislaine was okay with it, those following him couldn’t hide their displeasure.
After saving someone who almost got their wrist chopped off, it was only natural to expect some gratitude instead of a rude attitude.
They couldn’t shake the feeling of time being wasted.
‘Why did the boss come to meet someone like him? He just seems like a gambling addict.’
‘Doesn’t even know how to thank the person who saved him.’
Reading that sentiment, Ghislaine defended Claude.
“He’s just having a hard time right now. Something big happened. He’s really sick.”
At that, Claude’s expression hardened instead.
“Do you even know what I’ve been through? Who are you exactly?”
“Well, I’ve just heard some rumors, so don’t get too tense.”
Upon hearing that he was merely a subject of rumors, Claude couldn’t shake off his suspicion.
As for rumors about him, they boiled down to being a gambling addict or something written by a teacher.
But Ghislaine seemed to know what Claude had been through.
“Hey, I told you not to stress. Want to drink? I’ll buy you a nice one.”
Ghislaine casually draped an arm over Claude’s shoulder in a friendly manner.
Claude grimaced.
He had just escaped from some gangsters, and now here was a weird noble sticking to him.
I just got free from one weird noble, and now here comes another one sticking to me.
I tried to escape, but how could I possibly win against someone who can break a sword with bare hands?
Claude was dragged away by Ghislaine, looking completely out of it.
The mercenaries followed along, licking their lips.
When Ghislaine stepped up to defend Claude, there was nothing more they could say.
Only one person, Belinda, narrowed her eyes and glared at the back of Ghislaine’s head.
“What’s going on? How does he find such strange people?”
Every person Ghislaine recruited had something off about them.
Even if I went out looking for such oddballs on purpose, I couldn’t find this level of weirdness.
“Now he’s reeling in a gambling addict?”
Belinda sighed as she recalled the peculiarities of those gathered around Ghislaine.
“Looks like I’m the only sane one around the Young Master.”
She shook her head and followed behind Ghislaine, completely ignoring the fact that she wasn’t exactly normal herself.
*
Ghislaine led Claude into a lavishly decorated bar.
“Everyone sit back and enjoy a drink. I’ll have a word with this friend of mine separately.”
The mercenaries were ready to take a seat, but Gillian wouldn’t let them.
He immediately organized them into groups for watch duty and warned that he wouldn’t go easy on them if they got drunk.
The mercenaries wore disgruntled expressions but didn’t dare to defy Gillian.
Regardless of that, Ghislaine pulled Claude to a corner and sat him down.
As the high-end liquor and snacks flowed in, the sparkle returned to Claude’s eyes.
“In person, he looks even worse off.”
Ghislaine raised his glass to his lips, inspecting Claude from every angle.
Almost losing his wrist didn’t seem to bother him, but he reacted dramatically to just one drink.
That meant he was mentally pretty messed up.
“Safe enough to keep my wrist, plus getting to enjoy this fancy drink, I must be lucky today. I’ll drink well.”
Claude finished his sentence and immediately downed his drink.
Ghislaine matched his pace and silently emptied his own glass.
They downed drinks repeatedly, ordering more each time they finished.
It was no wonder that Claude, who knew nothing about mana and had weak stamina, was the first to pass out.
With a flushed face, he muttered, “You really drink well. You don’t seem like the type to enjoy drinks, looking at your eyes.”
“I’ll drink if it’s there, otherwise, I won’t. But I do like expensive wine. Like Red Dragon, for instance.”
“Hah, you like something so hard to come by? Talk about pretentious… Anyway, didn’t you come to save me for something else? Why are you so silent?”
Ghislaine shrugged without answering. Claude grumbled.
“What do you want from me? Want me to teach you gambling or something?”
“You should learn gambling from someone who knows how to play. I have no interest in learning from you.”
“Damn, I can’t even argue with that. If you have something to say, spit it out and get lost. Why did you come looking for me and save me in the first place?”
“Really?”
Ghislaine adjusted his posture and faced Claude directly.
“I don’t like beating around the bush, so I’ll get straight to the point. I want to entrust the administration of the territory to you.”
Claude blinked in disbelief, as if he misheard, but then burst into laughter, clutching his belly.
“Hahaha, you want to hand over a territory to a gambling addict who lives soaked in alcohol?!”
“That’s right.”
“Wow, I’ve been called crazy a lot, but you’re on a whole other level. Are you joking? Do you even know who I am?”
“This is my business. It’s up to you whether to accept my proposal or not.”
Without saying anything more, Ghislaine took a drink.
After several more drinks, Claude, who was still in shock, slowly began to speak.
“I appreciate you saving me… but honestly, it meant nothing. I’m someone who doesn’t want to do anything.”
“……”
“I have nothing left. No dreams, no hope.”
Claude downed his wine glass and continued.
“There was a time when I wanted to achieve something… But I couldn’t do a thing with my own strength. Now, I’ve lost money, health, and knowledge. Is there another worthless human like me in this world?”
Claude’s gaze began to dim more and more.
It was an expression that only someone who had lost everything and had even lost the will to live could show.
“Yeah, going with you to take charge of the territory is really a good thing. I’d get a job… and it’s quite a high position, right? A guy like me shouldn’t refuse this.”
“……”
“But I can’t leave here. My ankles are shackled. I have to live and die here like this. That’s… the only thing I can do.”
“I’ll break those shackles.”
While listening quietly to Claude’s grumbling, Ghislaine blurted out.
Claude gritted his teeth at Ghislaine’s untroubled attitude.
“Is it because you’re still young? The thought that you can solve everything in the world is arrogance. You don’t even know how poisonous that can be.”
Ghislaine slammed his drink down and stared intensely at Claude.
His gaze was unsettlingly sincere, contrary to his appearance.
“I’ll achieve what I want by any means necessary. Even if the result is death. There’s no need to think about anything else.”
Claude’s face began to contort with rage.
Watching Ghislaine speak so fearlessly felt like looking at his own past, and he couldn’t stand it.
“I was like that once too. But the result is nothing but terrible. Fine, if I follow you, what can you do for me?”
“Tell me what you want.”
“Money. I need a lot. An amount that even nobles with plenty of money would feel burdened by.”
At that, Ghislaine chuckled and replied.
“Is money all you need? That’s the easiest solution. Don’t you need anything else? Like asking someone to be killed or something?”
“Don’t mess with me.”
Claude bit his lip.
Most problems in the world can be solved with money. If they can’t be solved, then it’s because there’s not enough money.
It’s not entirely wrong, but typically, that statement refers to issues that require an insane amount of money to address.
It’s not exactly a horse, but usually when people say this, they’re talking about a problem that requires an unbelievable amount of money.
Claude’s issue was no different. It could be resolved with money, but it would take way too much.
Unbelievable.
I couldn’t believe it.
It must just be some rookie’s bravado.
That’s what reason was saying.
But unlike the cold reason, Claude’s eyes were increasingly tinted with strange desire.
If a ray of light appeared before a person who had lost everything and fallen into despair, how would that person react?
Even if it’s fake, wouldn’t they at least try to grab it once?
Claude asked with a hint of sarcasm.
“Did you say Baron Penris? You seem so confident, so is your territory wealthy? How much could a baron really have? You said money was an easy problem, right? If you’ve got that much, why not lend me some? Or, are you actually willing to pay my high price for me?”
Belinda, who was eavesdropping from the next table, frowned.
Not only was he asking for help, buying drinks, and handling territory administration, now he wants money on top of it?
And he shamelessly boasts about his own high price!
It was painfully obvious. He would try to con some money out of them and then blow it all on drinks and gambling.
Belinda naturally thought Ghislaine would refuse.
He was someone far from being a pushover.
Would a guy who could pull 20,000 gold from his fiancée fall for such an obvious scheme?
But Ghislaine’s response was completely unexpected.
“Alright. I actually have more money than you think. How much do you need?”
For the young master, who would hardly give in to his father and retainers’ pleas for money, to respond so cheerfully like that.
‘Is he just treating this like charity? Even so, shouldn’t someone stop this?’
Belinda gritted her teeth and downed her drink.
Then the next words that came out left her even more shocked.
“I need 2,000 gold. Can you give me that much? It must be quite a sum for a baron’s territory?”
Belinda turned and looked sharply at the two.
Ghislaine had a mysterious expression.
He looked both troubled and pitying.
Seeing that expression, Claude openly mocked him.
“What? Did you think it’d only be about 20 gold? You think I’ve only seen one or two pompous nobles like you? Your expression gives it away; your mind’s all tangled up, isn’t it?”
Belinda couldn’t hold back anymore and jumped up, yelling.
“Hey! Are you kidding me? I thought you were going to ask for a few gold… How much? 2,000 gold?!”
Since he had made such a boasting claim, it would be difficult for Ghislaine to say he couldn’t give that much.
That would ruin his face.
Belinda raised her voice deliberately to give Ghislaine an excuse to refuse.
But contrary to her intentions, Ghislaine’s unbelievable words tumbled out.
“2,000 gold instead of 5,000? What is that? That’s not much at all.”
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