The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

“I’m sure you don’t want to live like this forever, but at the same time, you’re scared of dying, aren’t you? Well, you made the right choice. With such a half-hearted mindset, swinging a sword would only cut the surface, leaving you with nothing more than a scratch.”

“…You damn quack with a big mouth.”

The butler, who had been listening to the conversation from the side, flushed red with anger and snapped.

“You’re being excessive with your words!”

Ignoring him, Ghislain continued.

“Are you really that worried you might die?”

“Enough! Baron!”

“If you can’t make the decision yourself, then I’ll make it for you. If you’re going to die anyway, you might as well die with a sliver of hope, receiving treatment until the end.”

“Baron Fenris!”

The atmosphere had reached its breaking point. The butler and the knights radiated a menacing aura.

Ghislain’s aides responded in kind, releasing their own intimidating presence as they began to face off.

Just then, the Marquis of Branford and Knight Commander Toleo pushed their way through the crowd.

“Marquis!”

The butler lit up and bowed his head.

He had previously gone to the Marquis of Branford to recommend Ghislain, admitting that it had been a mistake on his part. He also expressed that the treatment had to be stopped immediately, as the young lady’s life might be in danger.

It was for this reason that the Marquis of Branford had come to see the situation for himself, arriving at the scheduled time for the treatment.

He looked around with a neutral expression and asked, “What kind of scene is this? Are you conducting a witch hunt or something?”

Rosalyn’s hair was disheveled, and her clothes were stained with blood.

The bed was soaked with blood, so it was no surprise he thought so.

“Father…”

Even at the sight of the Marquis of Branford, Rosalyn showed no sign of relief.

He was the kind of person who went ahead with treatments without even asking for her opinion.

Even if she was a member of a noble family who had to follow the head’s orders, she could not suppress the fury boiling up inside her.

“Did you come to watch your daughter cough up blood? Or perhaps to check if the product you plan to marry off is still intact?”

Her eyes glinted fiercely as she spoke, holding a dagger in her hand, causing everyone to gasp.

“M-Milady! You shouldn’t speak like that to the head of the family!”

The butler stammered in shock.

To think that the once gentle and graceful young lady had become like this!

Her illness had made her temperament sharper, but it seemed that it had worsened because of that man, Ghislain.

Hearing Rosalyn’s harsh words, the Marquis of Branford frowned slightly and spoke in a low voice.

“As the butler said, you don’t look well. If it seems dangerous, I’ll stop the treatment if that’s what you want.”

At this shocking declaration, Rosalyn was momentarily stunned, her expression going blank.

Ghislain discreetly bit the inside of his lip.

He had only just managed to secure the antidote, and now they were talking about stopping the treatment.

Considering how opposed Rosalyn had been to the treatment, there was no way she would refuse that offer.

‘Is this the end?’

Without her strong willpower, it would be impossible to endure the treatment. In her previous life, she had been strong enough to bear the fear of death and excruciating pain, but now she wasn’t.

‘I’ll have to find what I need elsewhere.’

There were a few things he had intended to ask of the Marquis of Branford, but it was hopeless now. He would have to seek another opportunity or method.

Just then, Rosalyn, who had been silent, finally spoke up.

“If I quit, what will happen to Baron Fenris?”

The Marquis of Branford answered with his usual expressionless face.

“If you refuse, there will be no grounds to detain him. The justification lies with Baron Fenris, so he will simply return.”

The butler showed a hint of regret, while Ghislain’s aides looked relieved.

A man of the Marquis’s status wouldn’t take back his own words.

But Rosalyn clutched her mask, letting out a hollow laugh as she muttered.

“Whether it’s this one… or that one… they all act however they please… They tormented me and made me suffer, and now they just walk away?”

Her shoulders shook, as if she was neither laughing nor crying. She lifted her head and looked directly at Ghislain.

“You, I really can’t stand you. The way you speak as if you know everything, the way you push forward as if only you’re right.”

Ghislain remained silent, as he couldn’t possibly reveal that he had regressed.

“I can’t trust this sham treatment, either. How can something that might kill a person be called treatment?”

“It’s already over. Even if you don’t trust it, what meaning does it have now to say such things?”

At those words, Rosalyn clenched her teeth and spat out her fury.

“Over? You and my father decided to start this without asking me, and now you end it at your whim? Do I look like a puppet that just follows orders to start and stop whenever you command?”

‘Huh?’

Clang.

She threw her dagger to the floor and looked straight at the Marquis of Branford.

“I will continue the treatment.”

“Milady! They said you could really die!”

The butler was startled by Rosalyn’s sudden shift in stance.

The others were just as shocked. After all, she had been so adamantly against it—why the sudden change?

Ignoring their reactions, she continued.

“If the treatment fails, you won’t let that quack off easily, right? I will decide how painful his death will be.”

The Marquis of Branford, still expressionless, responded.

“As you wish.”

“If I die during the treatment, tear him apart and kill him.”

“So be it.”

Everyone swallowed dryly at the chilling declaration.

Only Ghislain bit his lip, trying to suppress a grin.

‘Good, good. The venom’s really seeped in, hasn’t it? I almost forgot whose daughter you were.’

It was a delightful twist.

By now, the thought of treatment had long been erased from Rosalyn’s mind. All that remained was the hatred and fury, determined to make Ghislain suffer as painfully as possible, convinced that he would fail.

But nothing steels the will to endure pain quite like such fierce resolve.

Rosalyn’s eyes gleamed as she glared at Ghislain.

“You said there are about ten days left, right? I’ll endure until then, and I’ll make sure to kill you.”

“Well, you’ll need to stay alive until then to witness that moment, my lady. So, do you feel more determined to hold on now?”

“You won’t die an easy death, I promise you that.”

Ghislain shrugged with a smile.

“If I fail, I’ll gladly accept it. I do like that look in your eyes.”

Seeing his unflinching composure, Rosalyn scoffed and spoke to the butler.

“Every time I undergo treatment, tie my arms and legs tightly to the bed with ropes.”

“What?”

“And prepare a gag for my mouth.”

“Is it really necessary to go that far…?”

“Or would you prefer to have me thrashing around like a lunatic, restrained by those people during every session? If we’re going to do this, we should do it properly.”

“A-All right, I understand.”

The butler nodded, unable to hide his discomfort.

Watching this exchange, Ghislain couldn’t help but be impressed.

‘The venom runs deep. They say the child of a lion can only be a lion, and come to think of it, the emblem of the Marquis of Branford’s house is a lion, isn’t it? Fitting.’

No matter how consumed by rage one might be, it’s never easy to actually risk one’s life.

Especially when there’s an option to escape, like now.

But Rosalyn had a will of steel. Once she set her mind to something, driven by such venom, she never backed down.

She locked eyes with Ghislain again.

“Let’s see this through to the end.”

Her determination to kill Ghislain once the treatment was over was clear.

Of course, it wasn’t the kind of look that would frighten Ghislain.

“Very well. I’ll do my best, so I hope you’ll follow along, my lady. Now you can focus on the treatment with a clearer mind.”

He shrugged and smiled, as if everything was proceeding as he hoped.

* * *

“Ughhh!”

From that day on, Rosalyn truly endured well.

Enough that he felt he owed her an apology for having underestimated her at the start.

Her sheer willpower made the treatment somewhat smoother, but it didn’t mean all the problems had been solved.

“Baron! Could you please go a bit gentler?”

“Baron! Is there really no other way?”

“Baron! The lady’s condition seems to be getting worse!”

‘Damn it, this old man….’

The butler pestered Ghislain every day, even though he already had enough on his plate trying to treat her with mana.

It had been a week of this, and with his nerves frayed to the limit, Ghislain finally snapped.

“Get out.”

“Pardon?”

“I said get out. I can’t concentrate.”

The butler protested, flaring up.

“But we need to stay here to respond in case something happens suddenly…”

“Just get out. Before I lose my patience and throw everyone out.”

Ghislain began to drop the pretense of politeness, letting his true nature show.

The butler and knights resisted, insisting they couldn’t leave, but Rosalyn settled the matter swiftly.

“Everyone, just do as he says. It won’t be fun if you use this as an excuse later.”

Even the attendants and Ghislain’s closest aides were chased out.

Left alone in the room, the life-or-death treatment continued between him and Rosalyn.

“Ughhhh!”

‘Damn it, just a bit more!’

Rosalyn coughed up blood almost every day, her insides churning violently.

It couldn’t compare to the hellish pain she endured, but Ghislain, who was pushing his mental strength to its limit, wasn’t in a normal state either.

‘I have to force my way through, even if it’s reckless.’

Her already fragile body was growing weaker as the treatment dragged on, and the method of unblocking each clogged point one by one was excruciatingly slow.

‘As long as she doesn’t die, right?’

Not dying also meant that even if she was brought to the brink of death, she would survive as long as she didn’t actually die.

If he failed to succeed within the time limit, both he and Rosalyn would end up dead without completing the treatment.

‘This is exhausting. Then again, when has anything ever been easy?’

Ghislain let out a small chuckle, tilting his head side to side.

‘I’ll break through all at once.’

He found the area in the best condition and mercilessly tore through the blocked energy.

Crack! Crackle!

Rosalyn’s mana road couldn’t withstand the shock and burst apart.

“Ghhhrrrk!”

Her eyes rolled back as blood gushed out from her mouth, despite it being gagged.

Yet, she stubbornly endured.

Ghislain couldn’t help but be impressed. A woman who couldn’t even handle mana, enduring to this extent.

‘Alright, I’ll give her that—she’s got spirit.’

He began to manipulate his mana more boldly, ransacking through her body.

“Ughhhh!”

A treatment that put both their lives on the line.

Ghislain didn’t hold back, relentlessly pushing her, and Rosalyn clenched her teeth, determined to endure.

As time passed, the two of them looked more and more haggard.

And on the fifteenth day, as promised to the Marquis—

Rosalyn, by sheer stubbornness, survived.

The moment Ghislain withdrew his hands, she smiled with pure delight.

“You’re as good as dead now…”

And then she immediately passed out.

“Haa…”

Ghislain let out a sigh, wiping her face and putting the mask back on her.

He sat down on a chair next to her, closed his eyes, and stayed up all night.

The final day passed, and then—

Bang!

As soon as dawn broke, the Marquis of Branford and his knights forcibly opened the door and barged in.