Chapter 6
Chapter 6: Not Falling for it Again (2)
Thanks to Ghislaine’s quick actions and emergency first aid, Fergus managed to draw a breath once more.
“Where did you learn something like this?”
“That’s not important. Just now, the old man’s body and soul were about to separate. Do you think resurrection is easy?”
“Ugh, as I get older, my heart’s getting weaker… Sometimes, I get surprised like this.”
I had wished for a long life only to be on the brink of death the moment I met him today.
Ghislaine clicked her tongue and kneaded Fergus’s hand.
“I should brew you some Mandragora root later. For now, just go inside and rest.”
“But I should be guarding you, Young Master…”
“No, please just go in and rest. I’m going to go crazy worrying about you. Right now, I’m the one who has to be guarding the old man.”
“Then I will stay by your side at least while you train.”
Unable to overcome Fergus’s stubbornness, Ghislaine reluctantly nodded.
Guarding was little more than a nominal title; she was essentially just a caretaker following him around the castle.
At his age, Fergus had very little he could do. If he couldn’t even do this, it would strip away the joy from his life.
Ghislaine glanced around the castle to familiarize herself with the layout before heading directly to the private training ground.
Looking at the abandoned and messy training ground, which had neither guards nor cleaners, Ghislaine reflected.
‘Why did I act like that back then?’
A setting where she could fully concentrate on Mana Circulation and training was something she could never have dreamed of during her mercenary days.
Indeed, leaving home brings great suffering.
Ghislaine recited the newfound realization in her mind and called for a servant to clean the training ground.
“Are you really planning to train?”
“Yep. I must start working hard now.”
“Good choice. Absolutely.”
Fergus genuinely rejoiced.
While others would mock Ghislaine for whatever weird things she might do, Fergus alone believed that she was just temporarily lost.
While Fergus stood guard at the entrance to the training ground, Ghislaine entered and began her Mana Circulation.
‘Though there isn’t much time left, I should make the most of it.’
She had the knowledge and experience she accumulated in her past life. If she utilized it, she believed she could become stronger faster than anyone else.
But there was no time to waste.
“A week… It’s tight, but not impossible.”
Compared to her past life, the state of her body now was just pitiful.
Turning a miserable body into one of steel in just a week was something that could not be achieved even if reborn multiple times.
However, if she could control mana, it could significantly enhance her physical performance.
“I must at least raise it to the level where I can handle mana.”
Utilizing the experiences from her past life, she could likely contend with an average knight even with a rather pathetic physique.
Suuuu…
As Ghislaine’s will commanded, the surrounding mana moved and began to flow into her body, starting to accumulate beneath her navel.
She had quickly reached the step of not just feeling mana but also accepting it into her body and converting it.
For anyone else, it would be shocking, but for her, who had performed Mana Circulation on the battlefield, it was as easy as breathing.
Mana that hadn’t fully collected inside her scattered like red mirages everywhere.
‘What a waste.’
Her Mana Circulation method was still incomplete.
That was because she had carelessly altered her family’s method to fit her own body.
Though it was honed through real combat, it was sharp yet unstable, but it was fast and effective.
In her past life, using this modified technique had allowed her to rise to the ranks of the powerful.
‘Luck was also a factor.’
She stood among the top seven in the continent due to a magic book she had stumbled upon in ancient ruins.
An incomplete magic book, old and tattered, which had no name and was left with only half its content.
However, from it, Ghislaine drew inspiration to recreate her Mana Circulation method.
Wooong!
Mana began to cluster in her right chest, generating a new core.
Unlike others who merely utilized the original cores present in the human body, she had artificially created one in a completely different location.
Wooong!
Soon after, a core was formed in her left chest as well.
Guuuuuung!
The cores, including the one beneath her navel that she had from birth, formed a triangular arrangement, quickly circulating the mana among themselves.
This was a unique advantage of Ghislaine’s Mana Circulation method that only she could use.
The mana produced from the organic interlinking of several cores boasted explosive power.
With this power, Ghislaine secured her position among the top seven of the continent and was hailed as the King of Mercenaries.
But where there are advantages, there are also drawbacks.
The issue was that the Mana Circulation method she employed was extraordinarily unstable.
“It’s indeed overwhelming.”
Mana stacked in the three cores began to struggle to burst out of her body.
Ghislaine suppressed the backlash as she focused her mind to keep the mana under her control.
‘I need to fix this slowly too.’
Though it could express explosive power, it consumed an extraordinary amount of mana in a very short time.
In her past life, her accumulated mana was as vast as an ocean, so she had no major issues unless she faced someone of the same level, but now that situation was different.
Inefficient use of little mana meant that she only had to unleash it in critical moments.
Suuuu…
‘Three cores seems to be the limit for now.’
With three, she should be able to deal with an average knight.
Rather than increasing the number of cores, Ghislaine focused on stabilizing her mana.
Even during her time as a mercenary king, controlling five cores was her limit, as the burden multiplied with each additional core.
‘Besides, this body won’t be able to endure any more than this.’
The amount of mana stored in the three cores she had just created wasn’t particularly satisfying, but for now, this was the limit.
However, Ghislaine had no intentions of remaining satisfied in this state forever.
In this life, she would certainly complete this incomplete Mana Circulation method and become even stronger.
The source of the power Ghislaine possessed was her desire for revenge and rage.
In her past life, she had endured grueling training just to rise to the ranks of the absolute strong for the sake of revenge.
To keep that spirit alive, she constantly reminisced about the last moments of her past life.
‘Aiden, I’ll slice your neck this time.’
The ‘Noble Knight’ Aiden, with whom she had crossed swords in her previous life. Just thinking of him made Ghislaine furrow her brow.
‘The more I think about it, the angrier I get.’
Aiden had arrived with his knights to face her when she was already exhausted.
There was no chance of winning one-on-one, and with a joint attack, there was no way to endure.
‘That cunning bastard… If it had been one-on-one, I would have won.’
Among the top seven of the continent, Ghislaine ranked seventh while Aiden ranked fifth.
But ranks meant nothing. They were just arbitrary numbers slapped on them by people based on jealousy and performance.
In reality, they were equivalently matched, and who would win depended on physical condition and circumstances on the day of the fight.
‘It’s a known fact, but…’
With the strength of the top seven, pride was inevitable. It was strange how easily she got worked up by the comments of those who knew nothing.
The last friend she had shared a drink with in her past life, known as the ‘One-Man Legion’ and a great sorcerer, often teased her like this.
—I’m third, you’re seventh. Yeah, you can’t fight worth a damn.
—Nonsense… Are you bored? Want to have a match after ages?
Each time, destruction ensued around them, changing the terrain, and her subordinates often begged her to cool it down.
‘Damn, it’s infuriating.’
Thinking back, her temper flared again.
Though they both knew it wasn’t true, she still got annoyed when the opponent acted childish.
Was it a natural fighting spirit? The desire to establish hierarchy could be inscribed in one’s instincts.
‘Yes, this time I will become the strongest in the continent, not just one of the top seven.’
In her past life, she had never thought she would lose when meeting the other top seven members.
She had always believed that you could only know by facing them, and they probably thought the same.
Well, except for one…
‘The Greatest Sword of the Continent… That man was undeniably strong.’
The person recognized by all as the number one among the top seven of the continent.
Even Ghislaine, confident in her own abilities, couldn’t help but think, ‘Ah, this might be a bit hard…’ when recalling him.
Just recalling that immense might caused her heart to sink coldly.
‘No. Ghislaine Perdium, you foolish idiot! Why are you thinking such pathetic thoughts? There’s no reason to feel intimidated already!’
While the ‘Greatest Sword of the Continent’ had indeed been strong back then, there was no need to be frightened in advance.
‘I’m young now too.’
Ghislaine had her accumulated knowledge and experience from her past life, and now she had youth to utilize it.
She could give it a try.
Though the most important thing was to prevent the downfall of her territory and family.
But without the ambition to become the best and the pride of a martial artist, she wouldn’t be able to build her skills.
‘I’ll smash everything to pieces.’
In this life, she would eliminate the Duke’s faction and the ones hiding behind them, vowing to become the very best.
Clenching her teeth, Ghislaine’s eyes shone red.
*
Ghislaine focused on building her basic physique until the festival commenced.
While concentrating on her training, she made it a point to have meals or conversations with Elena whenever she could.
‘It’s still a bit awkward, though.’
However, it seemed Elena was slowly coming to accept her changed state, and their relationship was improving compared to before.
“Are you training again these days?”
“Yep, I can’t just relax as the heir of a knight family.”
“But didn’t you say you hated that kind of stuff? Things like studying or training are for fools, and they would handle it if I just give commands, right? You even frowned about it.”
“Did I say that?”
Elena imitated the frown she remembered. Ghislaine merely shrugged.
She knew she had always been full of complaints, but honestly, she couldn’t recall such foolish conversations in detail.
“Right! Dad also said he was annoyed. He’d rather step down and live somewhere rural.”
“…Well, I am indeed the devoted son of fire.”
That was a perfectly sharp remark reminding her how trashy she had lived in her past life.
“If I work hard, Dad might come back and be happy?”
“Who knows.”
Ghislaine’s father, Count Perdium, was currently deployed to the north.
Only troops for maintaining public order remained in the territory.
With key forces deployed and a chaotic festival occurring, wouldn’t it be an ideal time for external factions to stir up trouble and flee?
This was something she had never considered in her past life.
Realizing that made her even more certain that Elena’s death was not coincidental.
“Then I’m off to train.”
“When did you start working that hard? How many days will this time last?”
Leaving a murmuring Elena behind, Ghislaine headed back to the training ground.
*
Time passed, and the day of the festival finally arrived.
‘Today’s the day.’
Ghislaine finished preparing to head out with a sword at her waist and made her way to Elena’s room.
As she stepped out to go watch the festival, she encountered Elena, who looked puzzled.
“Aren’t you training today? Are you also going to the festival, Brother?”
“Yeah, let’s go watch it together.”
“Wow, what’s gotten into you? Going to the festival with me.”
“Well, it’s only right to enjoy the festival.”
“Huh, you really have changed.”
Elena ordered the maids who were peeking at them to take a break.
The maids were still somewhat scared of Ghislaine or felt uncomfortable, hence kept at a distance.
Ghislaine escorted her and sank into her thoughts.
‘This is different from before.’
Elena had asked her to go out in her past life precisely because Ghislaine had always appeared sensitive.
It was an attempt to ease her brother’s mood through the festival.
However, now that Ghislaine’s behavior had changed, Elena didn’t feel the need to suggest going to see the festival first.
How one behaves can slightly alter the reactions of those around them, and thus their future as well.
‘Even if the larger flow remains the same, I can’t calculate the subtle changes. I have to respond according to the situation.’
It was evident that there were those trying to target Perdium, but the more they were hindered, the more the way the enemy reached out would inevitably change.
Even if she was privy to future information, it was up to her to use it appropriately in the situation at hand.
‘I cannot afford to make mistakes.’
Ghislaine reminded herself as she wandered around here and there with Elena.
Though Elena seemed to enjoy herself amidst the bustling crowd, Ghislaine’s mind remained too cluttered to genuinely enjoy the festival.
‘How strange. How did we end up in the poor district?’
Elena was only sightseeing in the bustling central area.
It didn’t seem like she intended to go to the poor district at all, nor had anyone called out to them yet.
Perhaps her presence had slightly altered the future as well.
After a little more exploring, Elena stretched and grumbled.
“Ah, it’s fun and all, but it’s boring since it’s the same every year.”
Festivals were events held similarly every year, and with limitations in a poor territory, it was indeed easy to feel jaded.
“Is there anything more exciting?”
Looking a bit disappointed, she wandered around without a destination when one of the guard knights approached and whispered.
“Lady, shall we check somewhere else?”
“Hmm? Where to?”
The knight with a friendly smile was Jamal.
He had been Elena’s guard knight for a long time and was quite highly regarded in the castle.
“They say they’re providing some special attractions in a slightly distant outer area.”
“Really? What kind?”
“I only heard it from a friend, so I’m not sure about the details. I just heard that it’s prepared to be quite stimulating.”
“Really? Let’s go! I want to see!”
Elena exclaimed with sparkling eyes, eager to rush off and check it out.
Ghislaine stared at Jamal’s face intently.
‘So it was you.’
