The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

“Investment? Investment? Do you even know what investment is? All you do is eat and shit all day! No one stop me now! I’m going to kill that bastard today, for sure… Wh-What is that? Young Lord!”

Randolph, who had been charging toward Ghislain, suddenly stopped in his tracks, his eyes widening in surprise.

Everyone squinted at the chest, eyes widening as light suddenly spread from within.

“Oh, th-that’s….”

“It can’t be….”

As they saw the ores piled inside the chest like a heap of stones, the expressions of the retainers gradually twisted in bewilderment.

Gillian bowed lightly to Ghislain and exited the chamber, but none of the retainers noticed him leave, so engrossed were they in the contents of the chest.

A suffocating silence blanketed the room.

Zwalter, coming to his senses belatedly, stammered out with difficulty.

“W-What is this?”

Despite knowing what it was, Zwalter couldn’t believe his eyes and asked for confirmation. Ghislain smiled and answered.

“It’s runestones. Found them in the Forest of Beasts.”

“R-Really? How could you in such a short time?”

“We didn’t search the entire forest. We scouted for resource-rich locations, then broke through to them directly. We plan to pave the roads and build fortifications to ensure steady extraction.”

Zwalter, startled by Ghislain’s words, jumped to his feet.

“Are you saying there are more runestones?”

“Yes, a lot more. This is only a portion.”

Zwalter was so shocked that he couldn’t string his words together properly.

With a trembling voice, Homerne spoke up.

“This, this is all a lie, isn’t it? The Young Lord wouldn’t do something like this! You must have stolen these from somewhere! Or bought them with that 20,000 gold, and now you’re lying, right? Please, tell me that’s the case!”

“Why would I lie? There are carts full of them outside; feel free to check for yourself.”

Ghislain shrugged as he continued.

“There’s far more left than what we brought this time. You’ll see if I keep bringing more runestones in the future. Don’t you know blessings come to those who believe?”

Thud.

Zwalter sank down, dazed.

He had no idea what to say about what his son had accomplished.

He couldn’t tell whether this was a dream or reality.

Albert, the treasurer, blinked, staring at the runestones before him.

If there were that many runestones, they wouldn’t have to worry, even if support from the Raypold estate was cut off.

Albert quickly approached the chest, crouching down to touch the runestones.

“T-These are really… If we sold all this, just how much would it be….”

“L-Let us see, too!”

The retainers rushed over, crowding around the chest.

They repeatedly touched the runestones, gasping in awe, unable to contain their excitement.

Watching them, Ghislain let out a sigh of relief inside.

‘If Amelia had moved any faster, I would’ve been in serious trouble.’

Just thinking about it was terrifying.

If he had been even slightly late, he wouldn’t have been able to enter the Forest of Beasts, and his hands and feet would have been completely tied.

Not only would he have lost the money he managed to pry from Amelia, but he also wouldn’t have found the runestones.

It was a narrow escape, but the outcome had turned entirely in his favor.

‘She’s a smart woman. I didn’t expect her to use such a method. Is this just the beginning?’

There was no way she would stop here.

This incident was simply an attempt to inconvenience him and restrict his movements.

She probably thought this was enough to disregard him for the time being.

But once Amelia discovered that he had obtained the runestones, she would undoubtedly interfere and scheme against him again.

‘And it’s not just Amelia.’

The Delfine Duke wouldn’t sit still either.

They had also failed in their attempt to kill Elena.

For now, they were likely preoccupied with weakening other territories, but once the existence of the runestones was revealed, all eyes would turn to this place.

He had to prepare as much as possible before that happened.

‘I need to move even faster.’

This time, thanks to his quick movement, he managed to avoid any major trouble, but Amelia moved faster than he had expected.

He had learned one thing for sure from this incident.

Time wasn’t on his side.

While he was moving, his enemies were also moving.

Realizing that he had been lost in thought, Ghislain snapped and abruptly closed the chest.

“Alright, that’s enough sightseeing. Keep staring, and they’ll wear out. Heh heh heh.”

Though his tone was crude and reminiscent of a sleazy conman, the retainers couldn’t say a word and had no choice but to step back.

Watching them, Ghislain wore a relaxed expression.

“So, what were we talking about? Something about escorting me to Raypold in chains, I believe?”

No one could speak.

What Ghislain had done was beyond belief.

Pioneering the Forest of Beasts? Everyone had been certain he would fail, thinking it was impossible.

But the Young Lord, acting independently, had led mercenaries into the forest and actually succeeded.

In less than a month, he had accomplished what no previous lord of Ferdium had ever been able to do.

To achieve such results in just a few days…

Both his actions and the results far exceeded their expectations.

They couldn’t believe that this was the work of the Young Lord they had always disregarded as incompetent.

The retainers began muttering to themselves, one by one.

“Ahem, ahem. How in the world did the Young Lord…?”

“Ha ha, unbelievable! To think there were really runestones in the Forest of Beasts!”

“How… how could runestones exist in the Forest of Beasts…?”

At this point, even the disturbance he had caused in the Raypold estate no longer mattered.

In fact, they should be praising him instead.

They had always taken credit for everything and demanded he appease them, but now, there was no need for that anymore.

While the other retainers were still trying to wrap their heads around the situation, Homerne subtly signaled to the knight beside him.

It was an order to bring the soldiers.

But he wasn’t planning to arrest Ghislain.

He intended to use the current achievement to offset his previous crimes and pressure him into handing over the runestones and their associated rights.

It was a typical thought for someone who had survived the well-worn world of noble politics.

But as the saying goes, “There’s always a higher mountain above.”

Creak.

“Wh-What’s going on?!”

“Young Lord! What are you doing?!”

As the door to the great hall opened, the retainers were shocked and began shouting.

Outside the hall, armed mercenaries stood with menacing grins, threatening the soldiers stationed there.

Randolph, unable to contain his anger, instinctively reached for his sword.

He had sensed movement outside the door but had assumed it was the soldiers. He never imagined that mercenaries would be gathered like this.

Homerne, gritting his teeth, shouted in frustration.

“Young Lord! Bringing troops here? Have you lost your mind? Are you trying to start a rebellion?!”

Ghislain responded with an exaggerated, feigned look of surprise, shaking his head.

“A rebellion? Of course not! They’re just waiting for me. And, well, they’re also here to guard me, just in case something happens.”

Ghislain, as shrewd and experienced as Homernee, had already predicted this reaction and had ordered Gillian to bring the mercenaries along.

Of course, the retainers of the estate were not his enemies.

However, if they judged that their actions were in the estate’s best interest, they wouldn’t hesitate to raise their swords against Ghislain.

That was the mindset of those who governed estates in this era.

While Ghislain understood their loyalty to Ferdium, his actions were bound to diverge significantly from their way of thinking.

Ultimately, he had no choice but to resort to a show of force.

He needed to demonstrate firmly that he would not sit idly by if they made any moves against him.

Though the situation was tense and could escalate at any moment, Zwaltor showed only an intrigued expression rather than concern.

‘Well, well, I didn’t expect this side of Ghislain.’

His son’s current behavior surprised him more than the discovery of the runestones.

The son, who had always been timid and did little more than bully those beneath him, now displayed a completely different demeanor.

“Lord! You can’t allow such disrespect, even from the Young Lord!”

“Brother! Let me take care of those impudent fools!”

Homernee and Randolph were enraged, but Zwaltor leaned back comfortably in his chair and spoke calmly.

“Enough. Ghislain brought the troops and the runestones. They’re his, so what can we do?”

“My Lord!”

“Brother!”

Both Homernee and Randolph flustered, protested, but Zwaltor shook his head.

After all, Ghislain was the heir who would eventually inherit the estate.

In the past, Zwaltor had always been worried that once he died and Ghislain took over, the estate would quickly fall into ruin.

‘Better that he acts boldly like this rather than grovel like before.’

Inwardly, Zwaltor was actually pleased that Ghislain had anticipated the retainers’ reactions and prepared accordingly.

‘Seems the boy has the spirit of a northern wolf, after all.’

As the thought crossed his mind, Zwaltor felt a sense of pride, realizing that his son wasn’t completely hopeless after all.

In the end, Zwaltor decided to let this incident pass.

He feared that his son might revert to his old ways if he pressed too hard.

If Ghislain ever truly crossed the line, Zwaltor figured he could correct his behavior then.

“It’s quite fascinating that the mercenaries are so loyal to you. I’ll overlook this for now. But if you defy my orders again, I won’t let it slide next time.”

“Thank you for your understanding,” Ghislain said with a slight bow, smiling.

Ghislain hadn’t staged the show of force without careful consideration. He knew his father’s temperament well, so he made such a bold move.

A man who had spent his entire life on the battlefield, forsaking even his own life, couldn’t be ordinary. Ghislain was confident that his father differed from the typical lords, who clung stubbornly to their power.

As the atmosphere became more subdued, Albert, the treasurer, was already formulating a plan.

‘We need to secure those runestones somehow.’

The retainers had opposed the whole venture, and Ghislain had succeeded in pioneering the area on his own, so there was no legitimate claim for the estate to assert ownership.

While Albert had considered forcibly taking the runestones, Ghislain was the family’s heir and firstborn. Eventually, he would inherit the estate.

Clashing with him now would only lead to long-term losses.

It would be better to coax him and secure some of the profits.

‘There’s no benefit to fighting him.’

Ghislain had taken nearly two hundred mercenaries with him, but only a little over fifty had returned. That meant over a hundred had died in the perilous forest. The surviving mercenaries couldn’t possibly be weak.

And there was no way this stubborn fool, now backed by those skilled mercenaries, would give up his money so easily.

Albert’s plan was simple. Since they couldn’t just take the Young Lord’s money, the best approach was to negotiate a reasonable share.

After finishing his thoughts, Albert cleared his throat and spoke.

“Ahem, in any case, congratulations on your success. However, the 20,000 gold you used originally belonged to the estate. Because of that, the estate’s support was cut off, and the pioneering was started with that money. Don’t you think the estate is entitled to some share in return? Isn’t that right?”

At Albert’s words, the other retainers quickly nodded in agreement.

They had to try, as success only came to those who made the attempt.

It was true that without that 20,000 gold, the expedition might never have been attempted.

Albert’s argument was reasonable. However, Ghislain, who had never easily handed over his own money, pondered for a moment, leisurely stroking his chin.

“Hmm.”

Ghislain eventually responded in a bored tone.

“That’s quite an interesting point. It makes sense. I’m deeply impressed.”

“R-Right? So, the estate should receive at least 40 percent… no, 30 percent of the profits….”

“How about I just give you back the 20,000 gold?”

“Excuse me?”

Ghislain winked and made a coin shape with his fingers.

“I’ll return the 20,000 gold. I’ll even add interest.”