Chapter 95: Was That Today? (5)
Claude trembled as he begged.
He looked nothing like the cocky person from just moments ago, as if he had given up on life.
Ghislaine looked at him with pitying eyes.
Baron Austin gestured to Claude, his suspicion evident.
“Let’s see it.”
Claude crawled over on his knees, hesitantly handing over a credit note worth 2,000 gold.
Baron Austin’s eyes glinted with greed as he confirmed the merchant group’s name and amount on the note.
‘Where the heck did this brat get such a large sum of money?’
The baron glanced at the lanky young man standing next to Claude.
He hadn’t been properly introduced, but it was clear he was linked to this money.
After a moment of contemplation, Baron Austin tossed the credit note back to Claude.
“I can’t return this.”
“What do you mean! You clearly brought 2,000 gold, didn’t you?”
Baron Austin grinned, revealing his yellow teeth, ignoring Claude’s scream of despair.
“When was that? Do you think it’s still 2,000 gold? You don’t know how much prices have risen? I need 3,000 gold.”
“Where’s that law!? A person isn’t some item! What does inflation have to do with it?!”
“The price of my goods is set by me. You have no say in it.”
Honestly, it felt like he was overcharging.
For Baron Austin, even getting 2,000 gold would still be a profit.
But it seemed like a waste not to squeeze a little more since he could likely get more.
After all, he held the sword’s hilt.
‘Wait. Can’t I just stealthily take that money?’
Then he could devour both the 2,000 gold and the 3,000 gold Claude would get again.
‘Hehe, that sounds better.’
Just then, Claude stammered, pulling out one more credit note from his pocket.
“I’ll give you an additional 500 gold. This is all I can offer.”
“Oh, you indeed had more money.”
Baron Austin chuckled sinisterly, leaning in to pry.
“Where did you get such a big sum of money?”
“I just did some work and was given it.”
Baron Austin narrowed his eyes.
“If it were pocket change, maybe; but no one in this kingdom would throw around large sums like this for you. Speak properly.”
“Just say it straightforwardly.”
“I’m going to the Ruthania Kingdom. I’ve decided to work there.”
“What?”
Baron Austin flinched at the unexpected words.
He never imagined someone would leave for a foreign country.
“Fine, whether you leave or not doesn’t concern me. Anyway, this amount is insufficient, so go back. Come when you have the money.”
“Keep your promise!”
“The price has gone up, you know. By the way, is that person next to you the one who gave you money? What’s your relationship? Are you living together?”
Claude narrowed his eyes sharply. He realized Baron Austin’s ulterior motive.
Ghislaine, who had been silently observing the two, stepped forward.
“I can’t bear to watch this any longer. Hey, Baron Austin, can’t you be a little more reasonable?”
The intense momentum radiating from Ghislaine tightened the atmosphere in an instant.
The knights around Baron Austin drew their swords in panic.
Their faces were pale with fear.
It’s not common for someone to exert such pressure with mere momentum unless they were quite skilled.
Though they were just knights of a barony, they weren’t oblivious to the skill gap.
However, before their lord, they couldn’t just turn tail and run.
The knights aimed their swords at Ghislaine.
Normally, they’d rush in and make him kneel right away, but they didn’t have the guts to do so.
“You little punk! What nonsense are you spewing?”
“How dare you act that way in front of the Lord!”
“I’ll kill you!”
The knights’ voices trembled slightly.
But the foolish Baron Austin was oblivious to that.
Feeling quite proud, he glared at Ghislaine.
“What are you? How dare you act so arrogantly before me.”
“What do you want from me?”
Baron Austin’s eyes glittered with greed.
It was the perfect opportunity to extort money for the crime of insulting a noble.
Seeing that glint, Ghislaine chuckled mockingly.
“People like you need to experience a little something to come to your senses.”
“What?”
“No, forget it. I’m too lazy to explain now.”
Baron Austin furrowed his brow, sensing something ominous.
Swish!
Ghislaine’s eyes turned red.
In an instant, he opened the second stage of his core and reached out. Threads of mana shot out like lightning.
“Ugh!”
His target was the knight who had boasted just moments ago about killing Ghislaine.
Suddenly feeling a pulling force, the knight resisted while drawing upon his mana.
“Oh, pretty good?”
It seemed that as a knight handling mana, he wasn’t easily drawn in.
Ghislaine clicked his tongue and opened the third stage of his core.
Boom!
A massive energy erupted from his hand and surged along the threads of mana.
The knight could no longer resist and was effortlessly pulled into Ghislaine’s grasp.
The other knights were paralyzed in shock at the technique they could never have imagined.
“Put your sword down for a moment.”
With his remaining hand, Ghislaine twisted the knight’s wrist.
Crack!
“Argh!”
The knight dropped his sword, a pained expression on his face.
With his fiery, red eyes, Ghislaine glared at Baron Austin.
“Drawing your sword means you want to have a go, right? Think carefully; I don’t go easy on those who challenge me. I’ll slaughter everyone in this castle.”
“Don’t hold back. Kill every last one of them in this castle.”
It wasn’t a baseless claim.
With Ghislaine and the mercenaries, they could wipe out all the knights and soldiers in this castle in an instant.
The faces of the knights turned pale.
“Damn it, he’s not someone we can handle!”
“Can it be logical to just use mana to drag knights around?”
This was someone who could take down a knight barehanded in seconds.
Even if all the knights in the castle gathered, it seemed impossible to win.
Only then did Baron Austin realize something was off.
“These bastards are all scared.”
He glared at the immobile knights and clenched his teeth at Ghislaine.
“Do you think you can insult a noble and get away with it?”
“What a funny guy. So what are you going to do? Go ahead.”
He had shouted with bravado, but now Baron Austin had to close his mouth and say nothing.
Would he act the same way in front of a monster? His knees buckled and a chill ran down his spine.
Ghislaine couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah, if you want to survive, you better be aware. Instead of worrying about me, you should be pondering your own safety.”
“If you let my knights go right now and apologize, I might let this go.”
“Not interested.”
“Do you really think you can take on all the knights and soldiers in this castle?”
“If you’re curious, give it a shot. I’m always up for it. It’s the easiest way.”
Ghislaine was serious. If Austin crossed the line, there would be nothing holding him back.
“If you lay a hand on me, the kingdom won’t just sit back.”
“Do you really think they’d care about someone like you who’s not even a high-ranking noble? Who pays any attention to a guy running a tavern and a gambling den for his territory?”
“This bastard…”
Ghislaine’s words were utterly accurate.
Other nobles in the kingdom looked down on Baron Austin discreetly, calling him lowly for making money through drinking and gambling.
Since they didn’t see him as a fellow noble, if he died, no big commotion would happen.
Ghislaine continued to poke at Austin’s sore spots.
“Even if they did care, what would that change? I could just wipe out everyone in this castle and vanish.”
“There are five hundred soldiers in this territory! If you kill me, they’ll hunt you down!”
Ghislaine just scoffed.
‘That’s quite a lot for a baron. Money really is the best.’
But Ghislaine wasn’t one to be scared by such numbers.
“So go ahead, try and track me down if you can. Who’s stopping you?”
“……”
The military force of Baron Austin’s territory was more than he expected, but if Ghislaine was determined to escape, there was no way they could catch him.
Rather, they could simply be wiped out.
After gauging Ghislaine’s expression, Baron Austin ultimately gritted his teeth and took a step back.
“…What do you want?”
“What do you think? There’s a limit to how stupid one can be…”
Ghislaine clicked his tongue. Baron Austin, still gritting his teeth, couldn’t say a thing.
He didn’t even have the guts to fight for his life.
He just hoped the other side would be scared and back down.
But would Ghislaine fall for such ridiculous threats?
Who would be swayed by such a pathetic threat?
Austin said, biting his poor lips.
“Fine, I’ll settle for 2,000 gold. Get lost.”
Ghislaine sighed in disappointment.
“It’s a shame; I was looking forward to a little fun. Well, it’s settled then… what about this guy?”
“What?”
Ghislaine looked up at the knight still in her grip and scoffed.
“If you’re going to threaten to kill someone, you should be ready to face the consequences yourself.”
Ghislaine tightened her grip.
“Ugh!”
The knight gasped, letting out a pained groan as he began to struggle.
If Ghislaine squeezed any harder, his neck would snap.
Baron Austin shouted in panic.
“What the hell are you doing! The transaction isn’t finished yet!”
“Finished? What are you talking about? That’s one thing, and this is another. If you want to save this guy, cough up 3,000 gold. I’ll let him go then.”
“3,000 gold! Don’t be ridiculous!”
“You were the one being ridiculous first. Do you know how much it costs to maintain a knight? 3,000 gold is a steal! Or is he not worth that much?”
“Y-you’re talking nonsense…”
Baron Austin hesitated to speak.
With 3,000 gold, he could recruit a much better knight than the one Ghislaine had caught.
Naturally, he wanted to refuse, but… there were too many eyes on him.
If he refused and the knight died, the other knights would turn their backs on him.
No one would pledge loyalty to a lord who puts a price on loyalty and calculates profit.
Ghislaine had aimed for that weakness with her proposal.
A trap with no escape, like a devil’s bargain.
In the end, Baron Austin clenched his teeth and accepted Ghislaine’s offer.
“Consider the 2,000 gold settled. I’ll make up the difference.”
“Don’t forget to return what you owe me.”
With that, Baron Austin spat out the command to the knight beside him.
“Bring him over.”
The knight nodded silently and left the room.
Ghislaine strode confidently toward Claude, grabbing his arm and hoisting him up.
She didn’t forget to snatch the 2,000 gold scroll lying on the floor and tuck it into her clothes.
“Huh?”
Claude looked bewildered, and Ghislaine grinned.
“That’s mine, right?”
Fearing he might lose the remaining 500 gold, Claude quickly snatched it and tucked it away as well.
Ghislaine didn’t stop him. The 500 gold wasn’t part of the knight’s ransom, and she knew why he needed that money.
Ghislaine shot a parting remark at Baron Austin, whose face had turned pale.
“We’ll be waiting outside the castle, so make sure you send the goods along. I don’t want to stick around here. You don’t want to see my face any longer, right?”
“…Understood.”
Ghislaine pulled Claude along and stepped out of the audience chamber.
Before leaving, she turned back to Baron Austin with a mischievous smile.
“If you have any complaints, come find me in Penris Territory of the Ruthania Kingdom. I’ll treat you like a guest.”
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