Chapter 12
Chapter 12: Panda, Not Panda, Panda. (3)
“Keek!”
Cain rolled on the floor, covering his mouth.
‘What’s going on? Why is he fighting so well? Was he always this capable? No way, if that were true, he wouldn’t have been beaten up by me until now! What in the world happened in between?’
His thoughts were cut short as Ghislaine launched into a brutal beating.
Thud! Thud!
As the punches continued, the atmosphere around them began to shift slowly.
While onlookers had initially admired Ghislaine’s flashy movements, now there were whispers of concern for Cain due to the excessive violence.
“Isn’t he going to die like that?”
“Shouldn’t someone intervene?”
The spectators murmured anxiously.
“Cough, keck… please… stop…”
Despite being relentlessly battered, Cain barely managed to open his mouth, but Ghislaine didn’t pause.
Once she started, there would be no half-hearted ending. She didn’t easily forgive anyone who tried to show teeth to her.
This was his unchanging principle since the days of being the King of Mercenaries.
“Your Highness, please stop!”
Unable to watch any longer, Cain’s guard knight rushed forward to block Ghislaine.
Clang!
At that moment, Ghislaine’s sword tip brushed against the knight’s throat, having drawn it quicker than anyone realized.
Ghislaine wore a chilling smile.
“How dare you interrupt this holy duel? Are you going to challenge me in place of your master?”
If Cain had been winning, the guard knight would surely have said the same thing, leaving Ghislaine alone.
A duel is only considered sacred when I’m the one winning.
The guard knight swallowed dryly and spoke.
“T-the outcome is already decided. Please stop your hand.”
Indeed, Cain was sprawled on the ground, writhing like a bug.
Ghislaine glanced down at him and clicked her tongue.
“You can’t even withstand this much. The younger generation has become so weak. It can’t be helped; I think I’ll wrap it up here…”
Then, she turned coldly to the guard knight.
“When will you pay back the money you borrowed from me?”
“Y-your Highness, I don’t have such large sums on hand right now. We need to return to our territory.”
“So when exactly?”
“I-I will report back to ensure it’s sent by the end of this month.”
In truth, the amount Cain had taken wasn’t even a hundred gold. Even if she wanted more, Ghislaine had no money for that.
Yet suddenly, she demanded a thousand gold as interest.
The knight felt frustrated but had no choice but to accept.
If he pressed the issue, that crazy bastard might really kill Cain.
But Ghislaine’s demands didn’t end there.
“Oh, treat everyone here to drinks and meat. You brought enough travel expenses, right? Don’t take it out of the thousand gold. That’s money you owe me; this is the payment for losing the duel.”
‘What kind of nonsense is that! If you win, you treat us! Why do we have to pay!’
Ghislaine mocked the guard knight, who was pressing his lips together in displeasure.
“What? Are you not going to respond? Don’t like it? Are you upset because you’re stingy? If you’ve tormented our territory’s people, shouldn’t you step up and treat them instead?”
Hearing her say that while she had also tormented the people ignited even more anger.
However, with no choice, the knight nodded in defeat.
“……Understood.”
“You’ve acknowledged the outcome, so make sure you take responsibility and finalize it properly.”
Ghislaine sheathed her sword and grabbed Cain by the scruff of his neck.
Oblivious to the duel’s end, Cain mumbled in a daze.
“L-let me live…”
Then Ghislaine smiled slyly and spoke.
“I won’t kill you. Why would I? You won’t be able to die until you repay my money. Got it?”
“Ugh… Ack… Huh….”
“Devil what? You should be grateful I’m showing mercy by ending it like this. I’m doing it for educational purposes. Hey, take him away and treat him.”
The guard knight quickly hoisted Cain up and dashed out of the training ground.
As the crowd held its breath in tension, they erupted into cheers and applause when Cain exited.
They were impressed by the splendid duel put on by the Grand Duke and felt a sense of relief at seeing the dislikable Cain get wrecked.
“Wow! Grand Duke is the best!”
“I didn’t know he was that strong!”
“Drinks and meat! It’s a new festival!”
In the midst of the cheering atmosphere, the knights exchanged serious glances at Skoban.
“Was it real?”
“Skoban, you….”
Skoban downed what was left of the alcohol and wore a triumphant grin.
Elena, sitting nearby, raised her chin proudly, reflecting her satisfaction.
“Wow!”
Even when Ghislaine was about to enter the castle, the crowd’s cheers did not cease.
With a wry smile, Ghislaine waved to the crowd, and her eyes met Skoban’s.
Skoban smiled and slowly raised his bottle.
Ghislaine also smirked and gave him a thumbs up.
“See, I told you so, didn’t I?”
Elena whispered to the maid beside her and hurriedly followed Ghislaine into the castle.
“Big brother, big brother! Hold on!”
She dashed over and linked arms with Ghislaine.
After the incident during the festival, Elena had started to behave much more openly with Ghislaine.
“Big brother, what are you planning to use that large sum for in the duel?”
Elena looked up at Ghislaine with sparkling eyes, a stark contrast to her previous gloomy demeanor.
Since their territory was so poor, Elena hardly had any fancy clothes or accessories compared to her peers.
There had been many times she’d felt envy watching young ladies from other territories at balls and feasts.
But now that Ghislaine had come into a large fortune, she couldn’t help but have some expectations.
“I have my uses for it.”
Ghislaine chuckled lightly, trying to pull away, but Elena held on tighter.
“No, are you really working out? Where does all this strength come from?”
“Come on, don’t change the subject! Should I guess? You’re trying to buy a present for Sister Amelia, right? You’ve always tried to impress her.”
“What?”
“Your fiancée. Her birthday is coming soon; you’re planning to get her a present, right? Something really expensive, like jewelry! If you’re buying one, can’t you get me one too?”
Ghislaine felt as if he had been struck hard.
Amelia was the daughter of Count Raybold.
While it was legally established that the northern lords would support Perdium in exchange for guarding the border, Raybold was going above and beyond in helping Perdium.
The engagement between Amelia and Ghislaine was also intended to signify an alliance between the two families.
In his previous life, when Ghislaine ran away, the engagement had naturally been annulled.
And even during the engagement, Raybold’s family had never looked favorably upon Ghislaine, so they must have been thrilled when the annulment occurred.
‘I see! That could work!’
Ghislaine’s face lit up as he nodded repeatedly.
To start the business he wanted right away, he needed a significant amount of capital.
He had been worried about how to acquire the money, but upon hearing Amelia’s name, a great idea popped into his head.
‘If there’s no way to make money, I can just take it from someone who has it!’
It was a thought you might expect from bandits, but since it was Amelia, it was fine.
‘That traitor will have to pay me back nicely!’
During his time as the King of Mercenaries, Ghislaine had meticulously researched the reasons behind the kingdom’s fall before attacking.
Though much had faded or been distorted with time, he managed to grasp the primary flow.
Among that information was data related to Raybold.
‘Our territory was tortured financially.’
If one territory had pressed Perdium with military force, Raybold had tormented it by suddenly cutting off support.
The Perdium side had also tried to overcome the crises in different ways, but each time, Raybold was the most diligent in sabotage.
‘It was all Amelia’s orders, wasn’t it?’
Amelia would later lead a rebellion and seize Count Raybold’s place for herself.
Upon uncovering the backstory, Ghislaine had completely decimated Raybold’s territory but had failed to catch the real culprit, Amelia.
After that, she relentlessly harassed Ghislaine throughout the year-long war.
Even when he tried to capture her and kill her, she artfully managed to escape, driving Ghislaine to the brink of irritation.
‘I was going to wipe her out anyway…’
He had simply been focused on preparing for an attack and smashing the enemy, but now he needed to think slightly differently.
After all, Raybold’s territory was not yet officially an enemy, and he had no justification for an attack.
Then it would be more advantageous to squeeze whatever he could out of her before she became a complete enemy.
“Elena.”
“Why?”
Elena’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. Ghislaine ruffled her hair and smiled.
‘I should at least give her a gift.’
Since Elena had finally returned to her cheerful self after a period of gloom, it felt right to cheer her up.
Also, he was grateful she reminded him of Amelia, whom he had briefly forgotten.
“Pick out the clothes and accessories you want.”
“Really? How much can I spend?”
“Five gold.”
“Wow….”
“Or not; we can forget it.”
“No! No! Alright, thank you, big brother!”
Elena quickly shifted her expression and fluttered her eyelashes, not wanting to lose the opportunity.
Ghislaine wore a bitter smile as he sent Elena back to her room.
Then, before the thought that had just crossed his mind could fade away, he hurried off to find Belinda.
“Belinda, when will Father return?”
“The Lord? If you assume he’s preparing to withdraw as soon as he receives your request… It seems it will take at least another week.”
“That’s enough. I can go and come back.”
“Where to?”
“To Raybold’s territory.”
Belinda displayed a mischievous smile.
“By the way, it’s almost Amelia’s birthday, isn’t it? Since there will be a feast anyway, are you going so soon?”
“Well… that’s not quite the reason, but I do intend to meet Amelia. There are some errands to run as well.”
“Oh my, are you that fond of Lady Amelia? How romantic.”
Ghislaine shook his head. Continuing the conversation would only result in mockery.
“In any case, I’ll be going. Just be aware of that.”
Seeing Ghislaine hastily preparing to leave the castle, Belinda found it strange.
“Why are you in such a rush?”
“Because time is tight. I need to go and return before Father comes back. I have some things to discuss with him.”
As he made a vague excuse and started to leave the room, Belinda quickly grabbed him.
“Then who are you going with? Are you really going alone?”
“Of course. If I ride fast, I’ll arrive in no time even on my own.”
“You can’t do that. The world has become quite dangerous; you shouldn’t be going alone.”
“It’s fine. I can manage by myself.”
“Still, you shouldn’t. I’ll go with you.”
“Belinda?”
“Yes, after all, you’re going to Count Raybold’s territory. You need to at least have the minimum of an escort. I’ll prepare a few guards as well.”
“Hm… fine.”
Belinda was right that it was necessary to have a proper escort.
In his past life, he had been strong enough to go alone, but right now, he was in a weakened state compared to then.
Having the guards was an option, and there was no need to refuse it.
‘That’s right. I’m not the me from my past life anymore.’
Thinking about how he almost wandered into enemy territory without a second thought, Ghislaine silently clicked his tongue.
It seemed he needed some time to adjust to the gap between his past and present.
After a moment, Belinda appeared, wearing a black robe.
Seeing her in a different outfit, despite always saying that comfortable clothing was the best, felt refreshing.
“Let’s go.”
“Dressing like that makes you look like someone else.”
“I’m wearing the same stuff underneath.”
Belinda spread the edges of her robe.
Though her clothes underneath were the same as usual, the inside of her robe was lined with daggers.
Ghislaine shook his head at this sight.
‘Is it enough to just have Belinda instead of bringing more escort?’
Belinda, his tutor and head maid, had an ambiguous identity.
When Belinda had entered Perdium, several knights had tried to mess with her.
They had underestimated her as a young maid from outside.
But what happened then, the knights started avoiding Belinda from the next day.
A rumor spread through the castle that Belinda was a tremendous powerhouse capable of taking down knights.
Since then, no one dared to treat her lightly.
‘I didn’t realize it matter back then.’
He had heard of her abilities in his previous life but hadn’t believed it, but now it was evident that she was at least as strong as the average knight.
Nobody knew why such a skilled person continued working as a maid in a border territory.
Aside from the fact that she came along with his deceased mother to Perdium as a maid, nothing else was known.
“Fasten your robe properly. You have to be careful while galloping on horseback.”
Ghislaine tightened the robe around Belinda’s waist.
A small smile danced on Belinda’s lips. It was heartening to see Ghislaine changing from his previous irritable self.
‘Who would have guessed our young master would suddenly become so mature? It was just a phase of wandering. Though he still seems somewhat odd at times, it’s better than before.’
Ghislaine had not only changed in behavior and tone; he had also improved enough to take down Cain.
It was a joyful sight for Belinda, who had cared for him since childhood.
‘He must have been so anxious from silently training that it made him hot-headed. This all must be thanks to the teaching I provided.’
In reality, all Ghislaine had learned from her were odd tricks and strange common sense, but Belinda remained oblivious to the problem.
Although she was a tutor by title, she had no talent for teaching at all. Her mindset was quite unique.
What she had done thus far was closer to that of a nurse than a teacher.
“Once you’re all set, let’s go.”
“Should we call Sir Fergus? He is also your dedicated guard knight.”
“Forget it. If we rush, it might put a strain on his heart. The other day, he suddenly collapsed while talking with me.”
“Got it. Let’s set off then.”
Ghislaine, Belinda, and four knights assigned as escorts quickly left the castle.
