The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

Claude, who was sweating nervously, cautiously asked.

“Does Count Ferdium or his retainers know nothing about this?”

“Of course not. Digald is notoriously poor, right? They probably think he spent almost all his fortune on war expenses. That’s what I reported, after all.”

As soon as the war ended, Ghislain rushed over to Digald.

While his intent was to eliminate Count Digald to prevent any future trouble, his main goal was to seize all the nobles’ wealth.

No matter how poor the estate was, a noble was still a noble.

Moreover, the Digald Estate was known for exploiting its residents. That meant there was a lot of wealth hidden by the lord and his retainers.

Claude let out a hollow laugh as he looked over the gold coins in the chest.

“Still, that’s quite a lot. I can understand why the estate was in such a state.”

“Oh, not all of this is from Digald. I raided the baronies on the way back too.”

“…What?”

“I looted everyone who joined the war. It was on the way, so I figured why not.”

“Wow… and you took all of that for yourself?”

“Who else would I share it with? I hate nothing more than having what’s mine taken away.”

Claude closed his eyes at Ghislain’s shameless words.

‘Isn’t his father still someone else? And wasn’t it originally his father’s? This guy is more of a bandit than a noble.’

He had seen plenty of greedy nobles in the Kingdom of Seiron, but this was the first time he had come across someone so blatantly obsessed with money.

“Hey, you don’t have some sort of secret about your birth, do you?”

“What? What do you mean?”

When Ghislain glared at him, Claude frantically waved his hands, trying to explain.

“No, it’s just that you said you didn’t tell Count Ferdium. Do you really have to keep it all to yourself? Your father would be disappointed.”

“I can guarantee you, it’s much better if I handle everything myself.”

Even if Ferdium got his hands on it, it would just end up leaking out in dribs and drabs until it was all gone.

They were in such a dire state that they could barely cope with the present, let alone prepare for the future.

So it was better for him to use it where it was actually needed.

Thanks to that, even Ferdium was benefitting from it.

Listening to the conversation, Claude’s eyes sparkled.

Though he was surprised, he couldn’t let this opportunity slip by.

“Hehe, unless you reduce my workload right away, I might have to share this little fact with Ferdium….”

Before he could finish his sentence, Ghislain rolled up his sleeves and flashed a sinister grin.

“Good, I was waiting for you to say that. I’m not really a fan of warnings that are just empty words.”

“What? Aaaah!”

A moment later, Claude stood up from the corner of the warehouse, sniffling.

“I’ll stay quiet until I die.”

“Good, don’t forget that feeling. To be honest, it wouldn’t matter if you spoke, but it wouldn’t look good, right? No need to make a scene.”

Ghislain clapped his hands with a smile. As if on cue, the warehouse door opened, and Wendy and a few mercenaries walked in.

“Huh?”

Claude was startled.

When he and Ghislain had come in, there was definitely no one around.

He had no idea when the mercenaries had started waiting.

Whether he was surprised or not, Wendy and the mercenaries greeted them briefly and began to gather the goods.

Claude, feeling dumbfounded, soon shook his head.

‘He had everything figured out, completely.’

It seemed Ghislain had already anticipated that Claude would run out of money and come to him. He had even called in mercenaries to act as porters in advance.

Ghislain draped an arm over Claude’s shoulder and smiled.

“If you run out of money again, just tell me. Stop worrying about pointless things and just focus on your work. I’ll get you the funds.”

“…Tch.”

Claude turned his head away, pouting slightly. Somehow, his pride felt hurt.

Even though Ghislain was unpredictable and a mess, whenever a problem arose, he always managed to present a solution.

His methods were far from conventional, but the problem was that his unconventional ways worked.

“Ahem, this should cover things for a while,” Claude said, glancing at half of the funds.

“Good, get ready to leave soon.”

With the money he received from Ghislain, Claude hurriedly purchased the necessary materials.

He thoroughly trained Lowell to handle the tasks that required constant attention.

While Claude prepared to depart for the capital, Ghislain headed to Ferdium.

He needed someone to manage the forces of the estate and conduct basic training while he was away.

‘If Commander Randolph takes charge, he should be able to handle it well enough.’

The ideal situation would be to teach the mercenaries a mana cultivation method so they could accumulate mana while he was away, but there wasn’t enough time for that.

Most of them couldn’t handle mana, so teaching them the cultivation method would require guiding each one, just like he did with Vanessa.

If it were only a handful of people, that would be manageable, but there was no way Ghislain could oversee the training of hundreds of mercenaries until they could cultivate on their own.

‘I also need to renegotiate the contracts before teaching them the cultivation method. For now, it’s better to address other weaknesses first.’

Randolph could teach them the basic military knowledge that a regular army would need.

He intended to ask Randolph to train not just the mercenaries but also the newly recruited soldiers.

* * *

Randolph nodded without much opposition after hearing the plan, but Zwalter frowned and questioned it.

“Going to the capital? You are a lord. A lord leaving his post just for trade?”

“Yes, it’s an important matter that requires my direct involvement.”

“Hah, how could a lord act like a mere merchant, personally handling goods? People will laugh at you.”

“It doesn’t matter. What’s important isn’t my reputation.”

Zwalter was not pleased with his son’s attitude.

Perhaps it was because this was Ghislain’s first time managing his own estate, but he seemed to have no sense of what it meant to be a lord.

“If that’s your reasoning, then I cannot permit it. You’re a lord now, and you need to understand just how heavy and important that responsibility is.”

Zwalter wasn’t usually this strict.

But seeing Ghislain appear so oblivious to the weight of his position as a lord, he decided to teach him indirectly, even if it meant being a bit stern.

Of course, this approach did not work on Ghislain.

“One year’s worth of food supplies.”

“What?”

“I’ll provide a year’s supply of food for the Ferdium Estate when I return.”

“…Now that I think about it, perhaps it is time for you to step outside the North and broaden your perspective. Have a safe trip. I’ll send Randolph as soon as he’s ready.”

Zwalter smiled warmly and patted his son’s shoulder.

It was too much money to refuse.

* * *

Though he managed to lightly overcome Zwalter’s opposition, upon returning to the estate, Ghislain faced fierce resistance.

When word spread that he planned to leave for trade, not only the retainers, who were always concerned with appearances, but even Belinda and Gillian, who knew Ghislain well, voiced their disapproval.

“Just send someone else! Why does the Young Lord have to do it?”

“Lord, if you go personally, everyone will mock you. The head of the merchant guild is the Chief Overseer, so why would you, a lord, handle this yourself?”

“No, I need to do it myself because it’ll be the fastest. I’m not just going for trade; I have other business to attend to in the capital.”

The two tried to persuade him a few more times, but as always, Ghislain wouldn’t budge.

Belinda and Gillian gave up and sighed.

Since it had come to this, they decided to go along, ready to intervene if Ghislain tried anything reckless.

A few days later, Ghislain inspected several wagons loaded with goods, a satisfied smile on his face.

“This should be a good amount for the first shipment.”

“Are you sure you can sell all of it?”

“As long as the marketing is done right, there won’t be any problem. Once they try it, the nobles will go crazy for it. Don’t worry.”

Claude scratched his chin at Ghislain’s confident words.

The effectiveness of the cosmetics was undeniable, so eventually, word would get out.

But the initial shipment seemed excessive.

These weren’t products that could be stored for long, so he couldn’t understand how Ghislain planned to sell all of it.

Even the wagons carrying the cosmetics had cost a lot of money.

To keep the products from spoiling, they had inscribed freezing magic circles on each wagon. They also had to embed runestones to maintain the magic circles.

“Are you really sure about this? If the nobles don’t buy, we’ll be facing huge losses. Freezing preservation isn’t a perfect solution.”

“Ah, I told you not to worry. We’ll sell every last one. It’s not like they spoil easily.”

“Sigh, if you say so. I suppose the Lord has everything planned out.”

Claude let out a sigh of resignation.

This time, they would be dealing with nobles that even a lord couldn’t afford to offend.

He couldn’t begin to predict how this temperamental lord would manage to persuade them and market the products.

“Young Lord! Everything’s ready over here, too!”

Belinda approached, smiling brightly as she gave her report.

Behind her stood about twenty attendants, all carrying heavy loads.

“Sigh… I told you, we don’t need this many people.”

“You’re a noble, after all. We need to make a strong impression. Haven’t you heard of asserting dominance? You can’t afford to show any weakness in the capital.”

Ghislain was about to say something, but Belinda cut him off firmly.

“If you’re not careful, they’ll dismiss you as a country bumpkin. It’s already bad enough that they’re sure to mock you for playing the role of a merchant!”

She wasn’t wrong, so Ghislain couldn’t say anything and kept his mouth shut.

Just then, Gillian and Kaor arrived, leading about fifty fully-armed mercenaries who lined up in front of Ghislain.

“We’re ready as well, Lord.”

“What’s this? You’re bringing this many mercenaries too? I told you, we don’t need so many.”

“The road to the capital is long. We’re transporting expensive goods, so we need this many people. And we need to make sure the Lord is well taken care of.”

Gillian’s expression was stern, showing he wouldn’t back down. Ghislain let out a deep sigh.

“Alright, fine. Since we’re already prepared, let’s all take a trip to the capital together. No one else is planning to join, right?”

Belinda and Gillian both nodded.

“Oh, right. Young Lord, what are you going to call it? Have you decided on a name?”

“A name?”

“Yes. We need a name if we’re going to introduce and promote it.”

“That’s true. Hmm… How about ‘Lovely Bling Bling’? Doesn’t it sound pretty?”

At Ghislain’s words, Claude burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“Wow! What kind of naming sense is that? It’s like something out of a girly fantasy!”

Claude’s earlier worries and concerns melted away, replaced by the absurdity of it all.

When Ghislain glared at him with a blank expression, Claude quickly averted his eyes and pretended not to notice.

Belinda clicked her tongue.

“That’s a bit… Nobles expect even the names to have a certain level of sophistication.”

“What’s wrong with ‘Bling Bling’? I think it’s cute. You really don’t like it?”

Ghislain quickly turned to Gillian. Caught off guard, Gillian gritted his teeth as he answered.

“It’s… fine.”

Ghislain then looked at Wendy, who was standing next to Claude.

She tried her best to maintain a neutral expression, but she couldn’t stop the corners of her mouth from twitching. There was no need to ask; her face said it all.

“Young Lord, seriously, that’s not it.”

When Belinda furrowed her brow, Ghislain clicked his tongue and revealed the original name of the cosmetics.

“Deneb.”

Deneb was a name the Duke of Delfine had used for the cosmetics in his previous life.

He had heard that it was named after an ancient star.

It was a classy name, but since it had been chosen by the Duke of Delfine, Ghislain felt no attachment to it.

That’s why he had tried to use his own name, ‘Lovely Bling Bling,’ but it hadn’t gone over well at all.

“Hmm, well, it’s not bad. It has a vibe that nobles would probably like,” Belinda finally said, nodding in approval.

Standing behind them, Kaor tilted his head slightly, thinking to himself.

“Lovely Bling Bling? I actually think that one’s better.”

Clearly, everyone had different tastes.

Anyway, now that the name had been decided, all that remained was to head to the capital and sell the product properly.

Ghislain mounted his horse and looked around at everyone. Seeing the reliable people around him brought a smile to his face.

Beaming, Ghislain tugged on the reins and shouted loudly.

“Alright, to the capital we go!”