The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

“Yeah, make sure to send it with ‘Baron Fenris’ written prominently.”

“Oh… aha? Understood.”

Claude nodded, a peculiar expression on his face.

Belinda, who had been watching the two with a skeptical look, interjected.

“Wait, what is this? What’s going on? Could you explain it to me? Chief Overseer, you do understand, right? You’re not just pretending to know, are you?”

At the blatantly dismissive comment, Claude immediately bristled.

“What kind of nonsense is that! I’m a top graduate from Seiron Academy, and I handle all the affairs of the estate as the Chief Overseer! There’s no way I’d be that clueless!”

“Hmph, and yet you keep getting outsmarted by the Young Lord every day.”

“That’s only because the Lord operates outside the realm of common sense!”

Claude, as if frustrated, pounded his chest.

However, it wasn’t just Belinda; the others around them also ignored Claude’s outburst and kept their eyes fixed solely on Ghislain.

In a casual tone, Ghislain began to explain.

“Belinda, you were delighted when I first gave you the cosmetics. You even asked where they were from, wondering if they were expensive.”

“That… I did.”

“Then why did you refuse them later?”

“Well, that’s because you said you made them yourself, Young Lord. You’ve never learned such things… Ah, I see!”

Belinda finally grasped the meaning behind Ghislain’s words and expressed her admiration.

The people at Fenris Castle knew well that he was clueless about fields like pharmaceutics or alchemy. So, they didn’t believe the cosmetics he claimed to have made himself.

But it was different for the people in the capital.

“Among the servants, there will be at least a few who will trust the product just because it carries a noble’s name.”

“They don’t know who the Young Lord is around here.”

“Exactly.”

Not everyone who received the cosmetics would use them, but if even one person did and saw results, word would spread quickly. Just like it had at the Fenris Estate.

The key figure in the initial cosmetics test, Gillian, nodded gravely.

“I see. So you’re saying that to catch the knight, you need to catch the horse first. Starting by winning over those around them… truly, it’s a strategy befitting of the Lord.”

“…It wasn’t that deep of a plan, but if you look at the results, you’re not wrong.”

Ghislain rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.

“Now that I hear it, it makes perfect sense. Why didn’t I think of that? I’m the one who’s around the servants the most.”

Belinda grumbled, sounding a bit regretful. Ghislain let out a chuckle.

“That’s because you don’t trust me. That’s why I hate explaining everything. Even if I tell you, you won’t believe me anyway.”

“…”

Ghislain’s pointed remark left everyone silent.

As he glanced around at the people awkwardly clearing their throats, Claude clicked his tongue.

“Tsk, tsk, tsk, how can the loyal vassals, who are supposed to stay by the Lord’s side until the end, keep doubting his words and questioning everything he does? How is the estate supposed to function properly like this? Don’t act like Alfoi.”

“……”

Hearing that from the most suspicious guy in the room was enough to make everyone’s blood boil.

But since Claude was the only one who had understood the intention before Ghislain even explained it, it was hard to refute his words.

When people glared at him, Claude raised two fingers to his temple and said,

“Can you… feel the difference in intelligence?”

A murderous aura began to rise among the group.

Feigning ignorance, Claude turned his head and spoke.

“I’ll make sure to package the products nicely and send them to the noble households.”

“That’s right. You don’t need to send them to all the nobles, just pick out the prominent ones.”

“Then what should we send to the nobles? We can’t just send nothing, can we?”

Sending gifts only to the servants while ignoring the nobles would be rather odd.

Even a token gift would give them a reason to act on it.

After a brief moment of thought, Ghislain casually said,

“Just buy a cheap mandragora root and send it, using the excuse that I’m here to greet them in the capital.”

“…Mandragora root?”

“Yeah. No need to send anything fancy, right? All I need is for my name and our merchant guild to be associated with the cosmetics. Make sure to get the cheapest one possible.”

Claude scratched his head, looking troubled.

Mandragora roots were known for their tonic properties, but they weren’t exactly the kind of thing one would offer as a form of gift to the nobles in the capital.

Even if there was no need to win their favor, he was worried about what might be said behind their backs.

“Well, I guess there’s no other choice. Understood. What should we write in the letter? Do you have anything specific in mind?”

“‘I have arrived in the capital.’”

“…I’ll take care of writing it properly.”

Ghislain clicked his tongue and replied,

“Yeah, you should at least be able to handle that. Am I supposed to come up with every word of the letter too?”

“Got it.”

Though grumbling, Claude diligently prepared the letters and gifts.

After sending them off, all they could do was wait for a response.

While the rest of the group, unable to endure the boredom, roamed around the capital, sightseeing and searching for good food, Ghislain remained alone in the mansion, lost in thought.

‘By now, someone should have started seeing results.’

The others thought Ghislain was merely here to sell cosmetics and make money.

They weren’t entirely wrong, but money wasn’t the only thing Ghislain was after.

‘How long will it take…?’

Caw! Caw!

Ghislain scattered feed towards the crows. The crows in the garden flapped and scrambled noisily, eager to peck at the food he had thrown.

* * *

Count Aylesbur was one of the influential figures in the capital.

Though he didn’t hold a particularly high office or govern a large estate, his family had maintained extensive ties with many noble houses for generations, giving him significant political influence.

The wealth, businesses, and connections he had inherited from his predecessors also provided him with solid support.

There were countless people who sent him gifts in hopes of gaining his favor. He even had to set aside time to organize the endless list.

“Next up… Baron Fenris?”

“Yes, it seems he sent a letter as a greeting, since it’s his first time visiting the capital.”

“Hm, I see.”

Count Aylesbur nodded indifferently as he opened the letter.

However, the content was anything but ordinary.

“Oh…”

Every sentence caught his attention.

The praise was so sophisticated that he felt as if he were an emperor.

“Hah, the scribe he’s keeping must be quite skilled. Or did he write this himself? In any case, it’s an impressive piece of writing. How commendable, ha ha ha.”

With that, he began to wonder what kind of gift might accompany such a letter.

Given the respect and courtesy, as if addressing an emperor, the gift was bound to be something extraordinary.

With an expression full of anticipation, he urged his servant.

“Quickly, quickly, open it and see what it is.”

He couldn’t open it himself, as he had no idea what was inside.

A short distance away, the servant carefully opened the wooden box.

“Huh?”

The people around who looked inside the box wore baffled expressions.

Inside the wooden case lay a single dried, shriveled mandrake root.

“A… Mandragora root? Just this one?”

“Yes, yes. It’s just this one.”

Count Aylesbur, bewildered, urgently gestured.

“Bring it here. Bring that over.”

He picked up the mandragora root and examined it from all angles, even shaking the empty wooden case.

But no matter how much he checked, that was all there was.

“Damn it! Just a big talker, huh! Remember this bastard’s name! This is why you can’t trust these poor country bumpkins!”

Count Aylesbur threw the mandragora root, still in its case, aside and stood up.

He thought about heading out to a banquet to gossip about what had happened today.

As he was about to leave, his butler quickly stopped him.

“The baron also sent gifts for the servants. What should we do about them?”

“What? What did he send? More roots?”

“It’s a beauty cream made by the merchant guild he operates.”

Count Aylesbur scoffed.

A rural merchant guild making high-end products like cosmetics? It had to be some cheap paste made from ground fruit peels.

“Peasant cosmetics? Just distribute it as you see fit. Tell them they can throw it away if they want. Oh, and they can use that thing too if anyone needs it. Maybe the butler can use it.”

“Thank you!”

The butler beamed with delight. While it was worthless trash to the count, even a single mandrake root was a valuable item for the common folk.

Count Aylesbur clicked his tongue a few times and strode off.

Thus, the cosmetics sent by Ghislain to the servants at the Aylesbur estate were distributed.

The packaging bore the name of Baron Fenris and the crest of his merchant guild.

Most were hesitant to use it, just as Count Aylesbur had been skeptical.

However, a few were curious about the prominently displayed noble’s name and began to try it out bit by bit.

Just as Ghislain had intended.

About ten days had passed since then.

While diligently applying her makeup, Countess Mariel Aylesbur grumbled with a pout.

“My makeup isn’t applying well today.”

The powder on her face felt unusually flaky today.

“There’s nothing you can do about age. I don’t want to get old.”

Day by day, her skin condition worsened.

She tried eating the best foods, buying expensive beauty products, and maintaining her skincare routine, but the effects were gradually diminishing.

It was frustrating and disheartening to realize she was now in her middle age.

“Even now, I’m still so beautiful.”

Mariel sighed as she looked at herself in the mirror.

She was still considered one of the most beautiful women in the kingdom, even ranking among the top.

In her youth, she had received countless marriage proposals from noble families. The number of knights who fought to serve her as their lady was too many to count.

Even now, despite her age, many still praised Mariel’s beauty. She was a leading lady among the trendsetting noblewomen of the kingdom.

But because of that, she became even more conscious of the sagging skin and the gradual increase of wrinkles that came with age.

“When I was young, my skin used to shine smoothly even without makeup. Ha…”

The more she tried to cover the wrinkles with heavy powder, the stiffer her skin seemed to get.

“Maybe I should have learned some simple mana cultivation techniques? I heard they help maintain youth.”

It was a regretful thought, but there was nothing she could do. No one could escape the passage of time.

Clicking her tongue inwardly, Mariel left the room.

“Is everything ready? Let’s leave now so we’re not late.”

Today, she was going to attend a salon gathering, which she hadn’t done in a while.

That was why she had taken such meticulous care in dressing up since the morning.

A noble social gathering might not involve weapons, but it was a war all the same.

People would scrutinize each other’s attire, makeup, and even the smallest accessories, comparing them to their own.

Mariel had never lost that war.

As she was about to leave the mansion, with the maids seeing her off, she suddenly felt a strange sense of discomfort and stopped.

‘What is it?’

She glanced over the maids lined up along both sides of the corridor.

Soon, Mariel realized what had been bothering her.

‘Their skin…’

Most of them looked as they always did. After all, how good could the skin of maids be when they couldn’t maintain it like the nobles?

But a few of them stood out, with skin that looked noticeably better than usual.

Normally, it would be easy to overlook things like skin elasticity unless you looked closely, but nothing could escape Mariel’s keen eye.

She scrutinized their faces one by one. Their skin, moist and dewy, seemed to glow.

They were different from the other maids, whose faces were worn out with fatigue and looked dull.

Mariel approached the maid whose skin looked the most hydrated and spoke.

“You.”

The maid, who had been singled out, lowered her head, looking intimidated.

“Tell me everything. What have you been eating recently, how have you been washing, how much and when have you been sleeping? If there’s anything else you think might have affected your skin, mention that too.”

Mariel, who usually carried herself with elegance and grace even towards her subordinates, had an almost frightening expression, as if she had become a different person.