The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

The man wore a mask, making it impossible to see his face, and a wide robe concealed his hair and body.

Click… click…

Raul limped slowly towards the Marquis of Branford, glancing up at him briefly before lowering his head.

“It’s been a while, Marquis of Branford.”

“What brings you here, Viscount Joseph?”

The Marquis of Branford replied indifferently. Raul raised his head with a sly smile.

“I heard you’ve taken in a young lion. I came by to have a look at his face.”

“He’s not someone the ducal house would take an interest in.”

“He’s a young talent who developed an outstanding product at such a young age and even earned your support, Marquis. How could we not be interested?”

The Marquis of Branford narrowed his brows and clicked his tongue.

“I hope it’s just out of curiosity. Who’s the masked man behind you?”

“He’s my escort knight.”

Toleo, the Knight Commander, approached the masked man and spoke.

“Even if he’s your escort knight, we can’t allow someone whose identity is unknown into the banquet hall. Take off your mask, even if just for a moment.”

Despite Toleo’s words, the man stood still, showing no response.

“You! Didn’t I tell you to take it off immediately?!”

As Toleo shouted angrily, the Marquis of Branford restrained him.

“That’s enough. It’s unlikely the Viscount brought him here to cause trouble. Let it go.”

Since the host of the banquet deemed it acceptable, there was no room to argue further. Toleo bit his lip and stepped back.

The Marquis of Branford, as if considering the conversation over, turned away without saying anything more.

It was a clear sign that he would not drive them out, but neither did he welcome them.

Though he wished he could expel them right away, even if they were political adversaries, it wasn’t justifiable to turn away a noble who had come to the banquet without proper cause.

Raul glanced around, curling one corner of his mouth up as he muttered shamelessly.

“Hmm… Did I come to the wrong place? The atmosphere doesn’t seem too pleasant.”

He slowly began walking towards Ghislain.

Click… click… click…

With each tap of his cane, the nobles awkwardly stepped aside, as if avoiding something dirty.

‘No good can come from getting involved. Don’t make eye contact.’

‘I heard he’s a cold-blooded, ruthless man. There are even rumors that he’s not human.’

Before long, the crowd naturally parted, creating a path between the Viscount and Ghislain.

The Marquis of Branford watched Raul’s back, tilting his head slightly.

‘I thought he was down south. How did he manage to arrive on time?’

It had not even been a week since the announcement of the banquet.

Even if he had set off as soon as he heard the news from the south, he wouldn’t have been able to arrive at this time.

‘Which means he was already here beforehand.’

Despite being one of the key figures of the duchy, Raul was in the capital, yet there had been no report to him about it.

This was a more serious issue than Raul suddenly showing up here.

‘These bastards…’

It wasn’t just anyone, but they had even managed to obscure his own eyes and ears. This meant that the Delfine Duchy’s influence had extended all the way to the capital.

While the Marquis of Branford was deep in thought, Raul casually stepped directly in front of Ghislain.

The young ladies who had been surrounding Ghislain had long since been startled and scattered away.

“Nice to meet you. I am Viscount Raul Joseph.”

Ghislain gave a half-hearted nod.

“I am Baron Fenris.”

“I found quite a lot of interesting stories about you. I hear you’ve made quite a name for yourself in the north.”

Pretending to have heard rumors, he spoke as if he hadn’t been the one provoking Digald behind Desmond’s back.

Ghislain openly scoffed at his shameless demeanor.

‘Acting, huh. What is there to find out? It’s obvious you know everything because you orchestrated it.’

Raul continued speaking without a care.

“Shall we move somewhere more private?”

“Move, you say?”

“I have something to discuss with you, in confidence.”

Ghislain hesitated for a moment before nodding. He was genuinely curious about what Raul intended to say.

The two moved to a private room set up near the banquet hall.

Raul looked at Ghislain with a smile.

He seemed to be trying to be friendly, but his stern expression made it look more like he was sneering.

“There’s no need to be so tense.”

“Do I look tense to you?”

Ghislain, who had been staring at Raul with a blank expression, slightly lifted the corners of his mouth.

Raul furrowed his brows, puzzled by the subtly eerie smile he was met with.

“Do you know me? Your expression… It almost looks like you’re happy to see me.”

“I’ve also heard quite a bit about you, Viscount.”

Since his goal in his past life had been to crush the Delfine Duchy, he had investigated Raul, their strategist, in detail.

Despite having a physical disability, Raul was intelligent and ruthless enough to secure a position as one of the duke’s close aides.

‘He’s probably behind the attack on Ferdium too.’

Suppressing the surge of killing intent, Ghislain took a long, deep breath.

Raul, unfazed, continued speaking.

“I’ll be direct. We’re interested in the cosmetics you’ve developed.”

“Cosmetics, you say?”

“Actually, we’ve been developing something similar ourselves. But when we heard rumors about a product with proven results, we came to the capital to confirm if it was true. We never imagined it would be effective enough to even treat illnesses.”

Raul’s tone was a mix of admiration and irritation.

Since it had been the Delfine Duchy that released the product in his past life, it was understandable that they would be anxious and regretful.

“So, what is it that you want?”

“Honestly, it was surprising. That someone like you, notorious as a scoundrel, from a territory that had nothing, managed to create something like that.”

“Well, I did study a bit. Public opinion isn’t everything.”

“True, you’re right.”

Raul’s gaze suddenly sharpened. He squinted, scrutinizing Ghislain.

‘So this is the guy who ruined all the plans up north.’

Amelia’s preparations for rebellion, the plan to isolate Ferdium, and even the weakening of the Crimson Flame Tower.

Everything had been progressing smoothly.

‘Harold is meticulous and cautious. He would have accounted for most potential disruptions.’

Yet, despite Harold’s thorough nature, this guy had caused everything to fail.

A mere scoundrel, someone not even worth paying attention to, had interfered with their grand scheme. It was something no one could have imagined.

Raul himself had been no exception.

‘Who would’ve thought he’d suddenly start to support this guy?’

Raul clicked his tongue inwardly.

At first, the Royal Faction had clearly intended to back the Brivant Estate.

Knowing that, Raul had weakened the Crimson Flame Tower and slowly coaxed Brivant’s vassals, aiming to take control of the entire estate.

If everything had gone according to Raul’s plan, the Royal Faction would have been pouring water into a bottomless pit.

The plan was perfect.

Until this Ghislain guy showed up.

Out of nowhere, Ghislain seemed to have undergone a sudden awakening and began to stand out.

As a result, Desmond’s forces were cut in half, and Amelia’s rebellion had to be hastily moved up.

So when Raul heard the news that Ghislain was selling cosmetics, he had come straight to the capital.

He intended to see Ghislain for himself and figure out what kind of person he was.

While he was at it, he had planned to hold him accountable for interfering with their previous plans and deal with him accordingly. But before he could do that, Ghislain had already aligned himself with the Royal Faction.

‘There’s no way he joined them knowing everything… He’s just a lucky guy.’

To avoid unnecessary losses, Raul had planned to isolate the royal family and the Royal Faction completely before drawing his sword.

It wasn’t that the duchy lacked power, but it still wasn’t the right time for a war.

Even though Ghislain was the main culprit who had disrupted their plans, Raul couldn’t touch him right now.

No one could have anticipated that Raul, who had never known failure, would see his plans thwarted multiple times because of a single individual.

‘If he were truly just a scoundrel, there’s no way he could have done all this. The information must have been wrong.’

They had been caught off guard because they hadn’t known. If he had been aware that such a talent existed, the plan to absorb the north would have been made differently.

Now that Ghislain’s presence had come to light, there would be no more mistakes.

‘The groundwork has already been laid, so cleaning up the mess will take some time. But…’

There was no way to undo what was already ruined. However, it felt like a waste to just kill someone with such exceptional talent.

“I never expected such a remarkable young man to be hiding away in the north. Since we’ve met like this, I’d like to make you a proposal.”

“If it’s about an exclusive contract for cosmetics or sharing of technology, I’m not interested.”

“As tempting as those cosmetics are, that’s not the kind of trivial offer I’m making.”

“Then what is it?”

“Join the Delfine Duchy.”

At the sudden proposal, Ghislain covered his face with one hand and laughed.

Even now, he was itching to kill Raul, who stood right before him.

He was barely managing to suppress his murderous intent, and hearing such nonsense only made him laugh.

Raul slightly furrowed his brow at Ghislain’s reaction but continued speaking.

“Are you uneasy because of the distance? We can offer you a fine estate in the south. For your father, too.”

“For my father as well?”

“I know the Ferdium Count has been struggling, constantly fighting barbarians in that barren place. How about moving to a good estate where he wouldn’t have to endure such hardships? If you and your father become vassals of the duchy, we will provide ample support.”

“You’re speaking very dangerously, considering there are many formidable people gathered here.”

Raul twisted one corner of his mouth upward and spoke with confidence.

“What does it matter? That’s how politics is. You don’t need to worry too much about pressure from other nobles. I’ll take care of it.”

It was impressive confidence, truly fitting for a strategist of the Delfine Duchy.

Offering to exchange their estate for a more prosperous one was indeed a proposal only the Delfine Duchy could make.

But to Ghislain, who knew full well the value of the Forest of Beasts, it sounded like nothing more than drivel.

‘He sure knows how to elegantly say he wants to take everything easily and treat us like dogs.’

He had no intention of seeking comfort by joining the ranks of someone he couldn’t trust.

Even now, they were secretly scheming all across the kingdom.

How could he trust those who had roped in unknown backers and entrust his life to them?

“I’m afraid I have to decline. The north is actually a pretty decent place.”

Though a polite refusal, his voice was firm.

Raul leaned back in his chair, staring coldly at Ghislain.

To think he would dare to refuse his offer.

Did he really believe the Royal Faction was stronger than the Delfine Duchy?

“Let’s be frank, just between the two of us. The power of the Royal Faction does not compare to that of our duchy.”

“I’m aware.”

“…And yet you still reject my proposal?”

“Yes. I’m not interested.”

“This is a one-time opportunity. If you don’t accept it, you’ll surely regret it.”

“Well… why don’t you stop and consider joining us instead, Viscount?”

At Ghislain’s cheeky reply, Raul let out a dry laugh, stroking his chin a few times.

Was he ignorant? Or simply fearless?

‘Tsk, even after offering a chance, he chooses a path that will lead to his inevitable demise.’