Chapter 23
Chapter 23: You Crazy Fool, Why Are You Doing That! (3)
Zvalter couldn’t help but unleash a loud protest, even though there were other retainers present.
Trespassing into the Forest of Monsters was a whole different issue from the previous incidents caused by Ghislaine.
“What’s the point of snooping around there? Only monsters will pop out! It’s a complete loss! I don’t understand why you’re not just leaving it alone!”
Homern fired off crude words without a care for courtesy or any other considerations.
But no one there was thinking about showing respect toward the Grand Duke.
Albert’s sharp eyes glinted as he assessed the pros and cons.
“That place has been deemed useless due to the overwhelming number of monsters. Any gain from development would be overshadowed by the costs involved.”
“It seems like the Grand Duke is getting too complacent about his own skills. Do you seriously think you’ve become strong just because you defeated Prince Cain? Ha, what a joke.”
With Randolf also chiming in against him, Ghislaine clicked his tongue internally.
He had expected opposition, but the reaction was far more resolute than he anticipated.
‘Ugh, I knew this would happen.’
With all three of his father’s blood brothers opposing him, it was clear that he wouldn’t get permission.
As Ghislaine remained silent, Homern’s face flushed red, and he shouted even louder.
“Why are you so desperate to meddle in everything!”
“Brother, you’re too agitated.”
Randolf gently said as he grabbed Homern’s collar. But Homern ignored him.
“Have you forgotten all the chaos this guy has caused? As a Grand Duke of a territory, you should know better than to make a mess!”
His voice rose.
“He’s been secretly selling military supplies and using the money to gamble! He even attempted to set the castle gate on fire because he was in a bad mood! And when he wanted meat, he resorted to eating the horses and melted down the knights’ armor to forge a legendary sword!”
The more Homern talked, the more Ghislaine’s expression grew increasingly strange.
‘Did I really do all that?’
It was such a long time ago that he’d forgotten.
“Are there not one or two incidents the Grand Duke caused? And now, it’s the Forest of Monsters? How big of a disaster are you trying to create! Absolutely not!”
Ghislaine averted his eyes, pretending not to hear.
‘I can’t remember those days.’
For these guys, it happened just a few years or months ago, but for him, it felt like ages.
Still, he remembered causing many incidents, so he spoke earnestly.
“Don’t worry too much; I promise there won’t be any more such incidents. You trust me, right?”
He tried to lighten the atmosphere with a slight smile, but it had the opposite effect. Homern grabbed the back of his own neck in distress.
“Ugh, urgh. This idiot… I can’t help but laugh…”
Zvalter, who had been silently observing their back-and-forth, sighed and asked.
“Are you really planning to develop the Forest of Monsters for profit?”
“Yes. The only thing that might yield money in the territory right now is the resources from the forest.”
“Right, that has already been considered by my predecessors. But we can’t sacrifice soldiers for resources that might not even be profitable. Even if there’s information, we don’t have the capacity at the moment.”
“Yes, I understand. That’s why this time, I plan to take on the task without involving the territory’s strength.”
Ghislaine was not unaware of the situation in the territory.
But he had a compelling reason to develop that place.
‘Only by doing so can the territory become economically independent.’
In his past life, the Perdium Territory was manipulated by surrounding territories until it eventually fell due to poverty.
If enemies cut off their funds now, it was plain to see that they would wobble.
To prepare for the events to come, he had to find a source of income by any means necessary.
However, it was an explanation that wouldn’t mean much to Zvalter, who didn’t know the future.
“What can you do with no money or troops?”
Then Ghislaine confidently looked around at the retainers before answering.
“I will provide the money and troops. I know the territory is broke. I just need permission to build a fortress and recruit troops within the territory.”
At those words, Treasurer Albert quickly chimed in, curiosity piqued by the reckless Grand Duke who claimed he would manage to gather funds.
“What money do you have, Grand Duke? You can’t undertake a development project with spare change.”
“I know. Regardless, I will secure the funds, so you don’t need to worry.”
“No, but where are you getting that money… Heh.”
Even Albert, who was usually stoic, ended up trailing off with a laugh.
Seeing how Ghislaine spoke, it was clear he didn’t have a proper concept of money.
‘Is he planning on robbing someone? He certainly seems like that kind of guy.’
Before Albert could add another word, Homern cried out.
“Please, just stay still! How much longer do you want to make us suffer! Can’t you just keep quiet? Oh, please!”
The other retainers, empathizing with Homern’s pleas, all nodded in agreement.
Ghislaine crossed his arms and exhaled deeply.
‘Ah, I guess it’s hopeless to get permission. Tsk.’
His involuntary reaction to his own trouble only caused everyone else to frown even more.
‘What an unmannerly brat. If the Grand Duke is like this, who knows how to take him seriously?’
Regardless of people’s frowns, Ghislaine sank into deep thought.
‘No matter how I think about it, it’s something that must be done.’
What they desired was clear: for him to do nothing and stay obedient.
Of course, Ghislaine preferred enjoying himself over working. However, considering the future of the territory, he couldn’t just sit idly by.
Only he knew the impending future waiting for Perdium.
‘Hmm, but the reactions are way too negative, aren’t they?’
The retainers gazed at Ghislaine with chilly eyes, as if he were a fool.
The idea of developing the Forest of Monsters was ridiculous, but even among the inept noblemen, a Grand Duke with no trust was a recipe for disaster.
Why would they place their faith in him?
And regardless of how wretched he was, sending the heir of the territory into a dangerous place teeming with monsters was out of the question.
Seeing the colder reactions than he had expected, Ghislaine realized that persuasion would be futile.
‘Ha, if this were my past life, I would have just taken them all down.’
Back when he was the King of Mercenaries, he would break the backs of anyone opposing him fairly easily.
But now, circumstances had changed.
In the end, Ghislaine gave up on convincing the retainers.
Whatever he said or did would be meaningless to those who looked down upon him.
He turned his gaze to Zvalter, who still seemed like the only possible ally.
Zvalter, unable to withstand the weariness, rubbed his eyelids with his fingers.
‘He’s my son, but I really can’t figure out what he’s thinking.’
Even though he always avoided him, Zvalter felt a little pleasure just from Ghislaine coming to him willingly, but he didn’t understand how that feeling could fade in mere moments.
After all, he came just to announce that he would cause another disaster and wanted approval for it.
This reckless prediction was typical of a Northerner, but couldn’t he have shown that boldness in a different way?
‘If only someone else had said it, I could have thrown him in prison. This truly is my child.’
Nonetheless, since he came to seek permission, he had to provide an answer.
Zvalter sighed and stated firmly.
“I absolutely cannot allow it. If you disturb the forest and monsters emerge, it will cause great damage to the territory.”
“What can I do? It can’t be helped. I understand.”
“No! I’m saying no… huh? You understand?”
“Yes, you said you wouldn’t grant permission.”
“Uh, right.”
Ghislaine’s calm acceptance left Zvalter a bit taken aback.
‘Is he actually accepting so easily? Why?’
Ghislaine was not one to comply so readily.
If he were someone who could understand with mere words, he wouldn’t have been labeled a troublesome delinquent.
Yet here he was, nodding without a hint of distress.
Along with Zvalter, the other retainers also wore bewildered expressions.
“Then I’ll be on my way. It was great to see everyone after a long time. Hahaha.”
Ghislaine smiled brightly before turning on his heel without any hesitation.
Homern, now anxious, called out hurriedly behind him.
“Grand Duke! If you cause another incident this time, I will truly lock you up in the tower! Remember this! This time, all the retainers will agree!”
“Sure, sure. Do what you want.”
Without looking back, Ghislaine shrugged his shoulders and exited.
As he distanced himself from the main hall, he glanced at Gillian, who had followed behind, and gave a sheepish smile.
“I couldn’t introduce you because the atmosphere was so bad. Not that I’m popular around here anyway.”
In fact, he wasn’t popular anywhere.
As if to show it wasn’t a problem, Gillian shook his head with a look of pity.
“That’s alright. What about you, Grand Duke? It’s only natural not to be permitted to venture into the Forest of Monsters for safety. Don’t take it too hard.”
“Why would I be disappointed?”
Ghislaine appeared utterly unconcerned. Anyone would assume he had peacefully accepted defeat.
However, Gillian was shocked by what Ghislaine said next.
“If I don’t want permission, I simply won’t take it. I didn’t come here to ask for permission. I was going to carry on whether I got permission or not.”
“What? You plan to just go ahead?”
“Yeah. For now, it was merely out of courtesy. I just thought I’d mention it. Since I didn’t get permission, I have no choice but to proceed forcibly.”
“Grand Duke, that’s not alright. The Lord specifically ordered you not to do that.”
If the Lord had forbidden it and Ghislaine pushed on, he wouldn’t be able to escape punishment, no matter how powerful he was.
Not to mention that he was not just covering anything up, but recruiting soldiers.
Gillian’s worried objections came swiftly, but Ghislaine smiled with confidence.
“Relax. If it succeeds, it doesn’t matter. Just give the results. The answer is already set in stone.”
Ghislaine’s brazen assurance left Gillian speechless.
He simply couldn’t grasp what on earth this reckless Grand Duke was thinking.
“So how do you plan to proceed? You have no money or troops, right?”
Then Ghislaine smirked.
“Oh, Gillian, you have no idea. I have some cash. I might be the richest guy in our territory.”
“What?”
“My rich fiancée got me a hefty amount as part of the annulment gift. I’m going to start a development project with that money. Of course, I’ll have to save as much as possible until the first profits come in. Honestly, I’m really thankful for that woman.”
“Annulment gift…?”
Gillian wore a blank expression once again.
An annulment was a major disgrace in the noble world. Yet here was Ghislaine, undeterred and even proud after being annulled.
‘Is he just carefree… or is he really that resilient…?’
From the atmosphere just moments ago, it seemed the others in the territory didn’t even know about the annulment.
Though the formal annulment procedure hadn’t been concluded, it was only a matter of time before the couple wouldn’t end up getting married.
Yet Ghislaine hadn’t said a word about the annulment.
Gillian simply gaped, unable to muster any more shock.
“As for the troops… I’ll be hiring mercenaries.”
“Mercenaries?”
“Since I can’t receive immediate support of soldiers for the development, I have to resort to mercenaries. I can’t just arbitrarily raise an army.”
“How many are you thinking of recruiting?”
“Two hundred.”
Ghislaine answered without hesitation, as if he had prepared the response in advance to Gillian’s question.
Gillian looked stunned. Two hundred was enough for small-scale territorial warfare.
“Are you really thinking of going through with the development?”
“Yeah, it doesn’t matter what others say. What’s important is that it’s something I must do.”
Ghislaine cut off any objections decisively.
Gillian was left without a word.
Now he was starting to understand why the retainers labeled him a troublemaker and a delinquent.
Though he worried, he didn’t think Ghislaine would heed any of his warnings.
Sworn to repay the debt he owed him for life, Gillian could only do his best to protect him.
“Understood. I will do my best to guard you.”
“Just hearing that makes me feel secure. Now let’s start gathering mercenaries.”
“If you’re gathering two hundred at once, there’s no doubt some riffraff will mix in.”
In response to Gillian’s concern, Ghislaine nodded.
“I know. But to develop that forest, we need a certain scale, so it can’t be helped. We’ll have to find some useful ones separately.”
“Useful ones, huh….”
“Which small mercenary group in the northern region has the best skills?”
After a moment of contemplation, Gillian’s eyes widened.
“Are you talking about those mad dogs?”
Ghislaine replied with a strange smile.
“Yeah. Let’s put leashes on the Cerberus Mercenary Group.”
