Chapter 142
Chapter 142 Waiting. (5)
Raoul did not feel any killing intent.
However, since the man sitting next to him said so, he couldn’t dismiss it as nonsense.
After all, the other party was the kingdom’s greatest power.
Raoul narrowed his brows and asked, “What do you estimate his skills to be?”
“I can’t say for sure.”
“You mean you can’t gauge his abilities?”
Raoul repeated the question, and the man shook his head as if in disbelief.
“It just felt off.”
“What do you mean off?”
“Every single movement and breath was extraordinary. But at a glance, he didn’t seem that strong…”
“So, just how strong are we talking about?”
The man retraced his memories and spat out an answer.
“I think the claims of him actively participating in wars may be true.”
“Hm…”
Raoul murmured, tapping his chin.
“Are you telling me that a scoundrel known for his reckless behavior has such impressive skills? Are you sure you’re not mistaken?”
“No, I’m certain. Even with a lack of physical strength and mana, superior technique can compensate for it.”
Hearing that, Raoul let out a slight sigh.
“Should I have stomped him out while I had the chance? He’s not that famous yet, so it could have been manageable.”
If he were to kill him, the Crown Prince’s nobles would surely cause a ruckus, but he was confident he could disguise it as a duel with a just cause.
Both he and the man next to him held that much trust.
Ultimately, Raoul couldn’t help but complain.
“Maybe I should have just killed him today.”
The Masked Man maintained silence for a moment before speaking.
“I debated it briefly too. His accomplishments at such a young age are astounding.”
“Then why didn’t you kill him? I could have taken care of the aftermath.”
“…There was no opening to deal a death blow. No, wait. There was an opening, but I wasn’t confident in it. Thinking back, it feels like he purposely left an opening.”
“What?”
Raoul asked in bewilderment. The man continued indifferently.
“If I couldn’t land a single killing blow, the troops of Marquis Branford would have rushed in. Then, it would have only escalated without any gain. So, I decided against it. Causing a scene now wouldn’t yield any benefits.”
“You weren’t confident you could kill him with one strike? You?”
“Exactly.”
Raoul didn’t believe it. No, he couldn’t believe it.
“That’s absurd. No one could have such skills at that age. You must have been mistaken!”
“That is possible. I might have misjudged because of his presence and demeanor. But swinging a sword without confidence is just foolish.”
Raoul narrowed his eyes, his face still full of dissatisfaction.
“Surely, there had to be a way to kill him before people gathered, even without a single blow?”
The Masked Man took a moment to recall before slowly opening his mouth.
“Ten times.”
“Ten times?”
“If what I felt was true, I would have had to swing at least ten times to kill him. But at that level of skill, he would have fled to the banquet hall the moment he took the first hit.”
“Then that would have definitely been troublesome…”
“Exactly, so just forget it. Another opportunity will arise later.”
Raoul clicked his tongue in irritation.
“Is assassination possible?”
The man narrowed his eyes and glared at Raoul, replying in a low voice as if chewing his words.
“You don’t mean that I should do it myself, do you?”
“Of course not. Who would want to waste talent like that? I’m just asking about the possibility of success.”
“…Depending on the assassin’s skill, it could succeed. But there’s no benefit to stirring trouble. You know that very well.”
“I also don’t intend to go out of my way to kill that guy. I’m just voicing my regrets.”
Ghislaine was treating the Marquis’s daughter, gaining the attention of the capital nobles.
In such a situation, attempting an assassination could leave traces, leading to complications.
Now, he needed to maintain the status quo and secretly recruit the capital nobles.
“Tsk, I should have killed him before joining the Crown Prince Faction. I was too complacent. Who would have thought that the easiest task would end up taking the longest?”
“Harold has learned his lesson, so he’ll move cautiously. He’s capable enough for that.”
“He certainly should.”
Raoul replied in a cold tone, twisting one corner of his mouth upward.
If Harold had taken the North before Ghislaine gained recognition, such troublesome matters wouldn’t have arisen.
It was indeed somewhat regrettable.
Raoul continued, clicking his tongue.
“I should probably warn Harold. Ghislaine Perdium’s strength is considerable too, so he should plan as if she’s on the level of a Knight Commander of a territory.”
“The Kingdom’s Greatest Sword.”
“…What are you talking about out of the blue? The Kingdom’s Greatest Sword?”
“Referring to Ghislaine Perdium’s strength. Tell him to regard her as being at the level of the knight commander Raybold.”
At those words, Raoul widened his eyes and questioned back.
“Isn’t that appraisal a bit too generous? It’s already excessive to rank her as a knight commander at that age.”
“Let’s just say it’s an instinct of a martial artist. You may dislike hearing it.”
“Hm…”
Raoul stroked his chin, then chuckled lightly.
“Well, it doesn’t hurt to be well-prepared. Make sure to deliver that message.”
“Although it won’t matter much when we start moving seriously. Wars aren’t fought alone, after all.”
“To think that a so-called one-man army like you would say that is quite strange.”
In response to Raoul’s mocking remark, the Masked Man quietly replied.
“There’s another guy like me in the royal family. As long as he and I keep each other in check, the outcome of the war rests in the hands of others.”
The man, who had been silent for a moment, muttered self-deprecatingly.
“I’m tired of this.”
After that statement, the Masked Man stopped speaking altogether.
*
After Raoul left, the banquet continued for a while in a cheerful atmosphere.
The young upstart, having just joined the faction, had rejected the Duke’s proposal, so the Crown Prince faction nobles couldn’t be happier.
They clustered together, praising Ghislaine’s spirit and chatting while drinking.
As the night deepened, nobles, led by the prince and high-ranking nobles, gradually began to leave, and the banquet naturally came to an end.
“Phew, that was tiring.”
Ghislaine loosened her collar, shaking her head.
Every time such incidents occurred, she felt that dealing with people was more exhausting than physical fights.
With every forced smile, chills crept down her back – it was just not her style.
While she was eyeing for an opportunity to slip away, Rosalyn approached her.
“You worked hard today.”
“Yeah, well… I can’t deny it. Still, it wasn’t too bad.”
“Heh, it’s rare for one person to receive this much attention at a banquet.”
“Indeed. I didn’t realize I was this popular.”
After rejecting Raoul’s proposal, the nobles had not left Ghislaine alone.
The connections she built here would surely prove useful one day, but right now, all she wanted was to return and rest quickly.
Just as Ghislaine was about to end the conversation and leave, Rosalyn asked.
“What is the goal of the Baron?”
“Excuse me?”
“I’m just curious about what you’re staring at.”
“Just… well, it’s the same as everyone else. My goal is to eat and live well.”
Ghislaine casually deflected.
Who could she share her true intentions with?
Her aim was to wipe out the Duke Delphine faction and turn everything into ruins, to find and destroy all those behind it by returning to the future…
Countless people were going to die.
“If I say that, Ghislaine Perdium has gone mad, there would definitely be chaos.”
Perhaps in history, she’d be recorded as a war maniac and a mass murderer.
Was there any need to bring up such a bloody future?
No one could be confided in; she relied solely on herself.
To her, even the powers of the Crown Prince faction were merely stepping stones to achieve her goals.
As Ghislaine was about to immerse herself in her thoughts, Rosalyn gave her a peculiar smile and asked.
“That’s a rather ordinary goal. But everything you do seems extraordinary, doesn’t it?”
“Well, I’m just a bit impatient, preferring to handle things quickly. What I’m doing is all about strengthening the territory, right? It’s nothing special.”
“Hm…”
Rosalyn narrowed her eyes as if she didn’t believe his words at all, scrutinizing him.
Ghislaine felt a littler uncomfortable under that gaze which seemed to probe into his innermost thoughts.
“I’m tired, so I’ll take my leave now. I hope to see you again next time.”
Just as he was hastily trying to escape, Rosalyn spoke to him in a gentle tone.
“Don’t forget that I’m your supporter, Baron. Feel free to ask for help whenever you need it.”
“Thank you. But I doubt there will be many troublesome matters for you.”
Ghislaine firmly drew the line.
She perfectly understood Rosalyn’s feelings, and she was grateful for them.
But for now, that was it. To achieve her goals, she would have to act more aggressively as time went on.
She might even become a threat to the royal family and be subjected to everyone’s scrutiny.
“That’s what I need to do to take on the Duke Delphine faction.”
In the meantime, Ghislaine was not looking for interference or intervention from Marquis Branford or Rosalyn.
Goodwill ended here. It was best to take what they needed and go their separate ways.
She didn’t want to see anyone getting caught up in her storm and end up dead.
“Well then, I’ll be going. I had a great time today.”
As Ghislaine’s figure disappeared from view, Rosalyn let out a sigh.
He must have had his own motives and helped her for that reason, but thanks to him, she had acquired a new lease on life.
No amount of gratitude could suffice. She wanted to continue helping him for a long time, yet he cut it off so cleanly.
Rosalyn turned swiftly as if she had been watching Ghislaine all along and headed to her room.
Somehow, it felt like she wouldn’t be able to sleep tonight.
*
As soon as Ghislaine got on the wagon heading back, she sighed in frustration, filled with regret.
“Something feels suffocating.”
The Masked Man had predicted it correctly; Ghislaine had debated whether to kill Raoul right then and there.
The aftermath could have been settled later. No, she should have just killed him without thinking about the consequences.
“It would have been worth the risk.”
The Duke Delphine faction had risen to its current power thanks to Raoul’s schemes.
Many interests had already fallen to them, and the number of lords who supported the Duke throughout the kingdom was increasing.
Most of the disturbances occurring across the kingdom had been orchestrated by Raoul from behind the scenes.
“If it weren’t for that guy…”
Ghislaine bit her teeth at the thought of the Masked Man.
He had attempted to kill Raoul several times during their conversation.
But each time, the Masked Man had interrupted him.
Amazingly, the man read Ghislaine’s subtle movements and reacted accordingly. There was even a faint threat of him killing her if she acted carelessly.
Thus, she dared not attack Raoul.
“Truly extraordinary, just as the rumors suggest. No, even more than the rumors.”
Ghislaine’s mana control and insight hadn’t changed much since her days as the King of Mercenaries.
In the whole kingdom, only a handful could interfere with Raoul’s breathing.
A sorcerer above the 7th circle or someone titled a Swordmaster.
“There are only two Swordmasters in Ruthania.”
One was the commander of the royal knights, always at the king’s side.
And the other was…
The Duke Delphine’s closest aide and most loyal sword, indisputably hailed as the kingdom’s strongest man.
“The Kingdom’s Greatest Sword, Swordmaster Count Valzac.”
Covering her face with her hand, Ghislaine laughed silently.
It wasn’t laughter from joy. It was a laugh to suppress the burning rage within her.
Having let the guys she needed to kill slip away, her blood boiled, making it unbearable.
“If I had just regained my previous experience…”
If that were the case, she would have surely decapitated them all.
The thought nagged at her, twisting her insides continuously.
“That’s already in the past. Forget it. For now, I need to think only about growing stronger and expanding my influence.”
Since returning to the past, she hadn’t been idle for a single moment. This current state was the best she could have.
It was just that this “best” was still insufficient to confront Count Valzac.
“Phew…”
Ghislaine reined in her killing intent and pressed it down deep within her heart.
She vowed to unleash the power of the frustration and rage she felt today, along with this humiliation, someday.
“Next time… it won’t end quietly like this.”
The two would surely meet again.
When she and the Duke laid everything on the line in confrontation.
Then would be the true moment to determine who was the real strongest in the kingdom.
