Ghislain, momentarily stunned by the title "Young Lord," frowned and said,
"Young Lord? Are you mistaking me for someone else, locking the Mercenary King up here?"
"Ha, where is there a king like that in the world? Do you want to play king this time? What on earth is bothering you now?"
Overwhelmed by the soldier's irritated tone, Ghislain inadvertently voiced his honest feelings.
"...I don't like being here."
"Oh, then please just go back! Why are you suddenly acting like this after taking a nap?"
"Just go back? Do you think you have the right to let me go?"
"No, what right? You followed us on your own, didn't you? You could just leave!"
The soldier's voice was too sincere to be just an act. It was then that Ghislain started to feel something was off and cautiously asked,
"...Where is this place?"
"Where? We came to exterminate the orcs that appeared near the estate."
Something felt familiar, tickling the back of his neck.
"...How did you suppress my mana?"
At that, the soldier let out a laugh, as if it were ridiculous.
"What do you mean by mana? Do you even know what mana is?"
"..."
Being so openly disregarded felt strangely familiar.
Ghislain, flustered, looked around again. Then he spotted a flag hanging on one side of the tent and his eyes widened.
A black background with a white wolf emblem.
Why was the crest of the already destroyed Perdium family hanging here?
"Why is that here? Are you trying to laugh at my reaction?"
The soldier no longer responded and dismissively shoved Ghislain's arm aside, knocking the sword away.
Dumbfounded, Ghislain just let the soldier do as he pleased when his own hand came into view.
"Whoa, what happened to my hand?"
His hand, once dirty and full of scars, was now white and smooth. It looked as if he had never trained a day in his life.
Astonished, Ghislain examined his hand before rushing to the water jug in the corner.
"Uh? Uh?"
He gasped as he saw his reflection in the water.
Lustrous golden hair, fair and clean skin, and a finely featured face.
This was not the scarred face of the Mercenary King who was always bleary-eyed from drinking.
"Ahhhh!"
The soldier clicked his tongue at Ghislain, who was stunned by his own face.
"Crazy. He's finally completely lost it. I knew this day would come."
Ghislain stepped back in shock after seeing his face, then cautiously peered into the water jug again, and was startled once more.
While the Young Lord was indeed handsome, it was excessive self-love to be so surprised by one's own face.
Regardless, Ghislain was too busy examining his reflection.
"...I've gotten younger?"
Even after checking again, he looked no older than his late teens.
Could this be a dream?
Ghislain pinched his arm slightly. The sharp pain brought him back to his senses.
'It's not a dream!'
If that's the case, then was the memory of becoming the Mercenary King the dream?
He shook his head inwardly. It was too vivid and brutal a memory to be a dream.
'It can't be a dream.'
Every sense screamed that this situation was real.
This wasn't a dream; he had returned to the past with memories of living in the future.
"Whoa!"
Ghislain looked at the soldier with a dazed expression, covering his mouth with his hand.
The soldier's attire and the insignia on it were unmistakably those of the Perdium estate.
Pointing at the soldier with trembling fingers, Ghislain could only let out a single exclamation of amazement.
"Wow."
The soldier sighed, looking up at the ceiling with an exasperated expression.
"Please eat and return to the castle. You don't look well."
The soldier turned to leave. Ghislain anxiously grabbed him.
"Wait! Wait!"
"What is it?"
"Uh, um... What's your name again?"
"It's Ricardo."
"Nice name. You're pretty handsome too."
"Yes, thank you. You're also handsome, Young Lord."
Ghislain chuckled, feeling a bit embarrassed.
"Ah, I haven't heard that in a long time. I haven't been called handsome since I got all these scars on my face."
"..."
Ricardo fell into a moment of thought as he looked at Ghislain's smooth, white face.
What kind of scars could a guy who claimed he had calluses from not training have?
He was already a bit simple-minded, but he definitely seemed crazy now.
When Ricardo remained silent, Ghislain awkwardly sat down in a chair.
"Ahem, anyway, what I wanted to say..."
He fell into thought about how to explain this situation.
But, as if he had made up his mind, he looked up at Ricardo with a serious expression and said,
"Ricardo, believe it or not, I actually died and came back to life... I think I've returned to the past."
"..."
"Don't believe me?"
After a moment of silence, Ricardo showed a look of pity.
"You're not planning to go to a monastery or a tower, are you?"
When a noble goes mad, they are often confined to a monastery or a tower.
Even now, Ghislain had caused so many incidents that his reputation was at rock bottom.
Thanks to his status as a Young Lord, he had managed to avoid trouble so far, but if it were known he was mentally unstable, he would be caught immediately.
Understanding what that meant, Ghislain tried to hide his flustered expression and laughed heartily.
"Haha, just joking, just joking. You don't have a sense of humor? How could someone come back to the past? Haha."
"Then I'll take my leave."
"Oh, right. Go ahead and take care of things. I won't go far."
As soon as Ricardo left, Ghislain lowered his head.
"Haah, I'm going crazy."
Of course, no one would believe him. The person who had truly returned to the past couldn't even believe it, let alone anyone else.
"Anyway, I'm still before I left home."
In his previous life, he had boldly run away around this time. But seeing that a Perdium family soldier was with him, it seemed he hadn't yet run away.
"First, let's try to revive my memories. If I keep poking around, I might really get locked up."
Ghislain organized his thoughts and cautiously stepped out of the tent.
"Oh..."
The other tents around and the soldiers standing guard came into view anew.
The tent fabric looked so worn it was practically trash, but that only convinced Ghislain that he had indeed returned to the past.
The Perdium estate was truly poor during this era.
The soldiers who spotted him saluted as they passed by. Though they maintained their courtesy, their expressions were filled with subtle disdain.
The blatant disrespect only served to reinforce Ghislain's sense of having returned to the past.
"Hehe..."
He couldn't help but laugh at the unbelievable situation.
'To think I really returned to the past.'
He didn't know what phenomenon this was, but the reason didn't matter.
At that moment, his heart raced uncontrollably.
"Ahhahaha!"
Ghislain threw his arms open and looked at the sky, laughing like a madman.
The nearby soldiers shook their heads, looking at him as if he were pathetic, but he didn't care at all.
'I can set everything right!'
The regrets and mistakes of the past, along with the despair of the future.
Those burdens he had suffered for a lifetime had become things that had yet to happen.
The loved ones he had always missed, the people he cherished, were still alive at this time.
'But it's not safe yet.'
When that thought crossed his mind, a glimmer of determination ignited in Ghislain's eyes.
The Duke Delphine, who had destroyed his territory, and those behind him.
Even if he were to tear them apart and kill them, it would still not be enough.
'I will kill them all.'
Now, things were different from his previous life.
His mind was filled with information he had accumulated about the future.
Using that, he could grow stronger faster than anyone and prepare for every danger.
'Yes, with my current self, I can do this. No need to get excited. I just need to take them out one by one.'
Ghislain took a deep breath, calming his rapidly heating body and mind. First, he needed to assess the current situation.
'Orcs, you say? If it's an orc subjugation... yeah, this is definitely the time!'
A certain memory surfaced vividly. He could never forget the experience of almost dying.
Unable to endure the scornful gazes, he had once followed the subjugation team to make a name for himself.
The subjugation team consisted of one knight and about thirty soldiers.
There were only three orcs that had appeared near the territory. Everyone thought that was enough force to handle them.
'But that wasn't the case.'
In reality, there were over twenty orcs in the area.
The subjugation team was completely overwhelmed by the sudden attack from the orcs. Ghislain had nearly lost his life as well.
The damage was compounded by the fact that Ghislain had insisted on leading the charge.
'It's definitely today.'
Looking at the surrounding scenery and the layout of the tents, he was certain.
Just before they spent a day in this place, they had been ambushed and suffered near-total losses from the orcs.
'Wait, how much time do I have left?'
Ghislain hurriedly looked up at the sky. It was past noon, and the sun was beginning to dip slightly.
'I need to prepare right away.'
The orcs would mindlessly push forward before the sun set.
At this rate, it wouldn't be long before the orcs would appear.
'They hadn't attacked systematically, so there's a chance of victory.'
The orcs had randomly attacked the subjugation team.
If they prepared in advance, they wouldn't suffer the same massive losses as in his previous life.
'If I'm going to return to the past, why couldn't I have come back a bit earlier!'
Ghislain muttered inwardly, annoyed.
Suddenly returning to the past left him dazed and unable to organize his thoughts.
He hadn't even gotten used to the current situation, and now he had to face orcs.
'But I can't just not do it.'
In his past life and this life, many people had lost their lives here because of him.
Ghislain had barely survived but had not escaped the surrounding blame. It was one of the reasons he decided to leave his family.
Now, he finally had the chance to correct the starting point of all that regret. Avoiding it would only be foolish.
'Yes, let's think positively. This is the first step to changing the future.'
From today onward, the future of the territory would be completely different from his previous life.
Ghislain's face, which had lifted up, showed no confusion; only a firm will remained.
"Now then, let me tell them that there are not three orcs but twenty..."
As Ghislain began to walk toward the commander of the subjugation team, he hesitated for a moment.
At this time, he was seen as the northern scoundrel and a piece of trash.
If he suddenly claimed there were more orcs, he would surely be ridiculed and called crazy.
"What should I do? I don't think persuasion would work."
Persuasion requires basis and trust.
In his current state, anything he said would be dismissed.
After a moment of thought, Ghislain found a clear solution.
"I have no choice. I'll have to command myself. That would be better."
He felt a bit uneasy, thinking this was no different from his previous life, but there was no other option.
"How did I manage to take command back then?"
Ghislain pondered deeply, trying to recall his memories. Vague past recollections floated to the surface.
— "I'll lead! There are only three orcs!"
— "You think you can talk back to me and get away with it? Once I inherit the territory, do you think I'll let you off the hook?"
— "You're looking down on me? I can do it! Give me the command!"
...He had just thrown a fit back then.
"Ha ha... I whined like a child."
Ghislain couldn't help but chuckle self-deprecatingly.
How pathetic it was that he had struggled against being looked down on despite having no ability. He could have kicked his blanket in his sleep over that.
"Hmm, I don't need to act like that."
Although he had to take command, he had no intention of acting childish like before.
Unlike back then, he was now mature and had accumulated experience.
"Right, let's make a polite and dignified request. I'm an adult now."
With light steps, Ghislain approached the knight leading the subjugation team.
As soon as the knight saw Ghislain, he made a displeased face.
"What do you want?"
Faced with such blatant rejection, Ghislain cleared his throat and calmed himself.
'Wow, it's been a long time since I've seen someone make that face in front of me. This is hard to adjust to. But I must speak gently and kindly.'
"Ahem, so I was thinking… ah, what was your name again?"
"It's Skovan."
Skovan internally clicked his tongue.
How could a Young Lord not even know the name of a knight under his family?
This guy really had no talent whatsoever.
Unaware of Skovan's thoughts, Ghislain raised his voice a little.
"Oh, right. Sir Skovan, I've come because I need to speak urgently."
"What is it?"
Even though the knight responded curtly, Ghislain maintained his smile.
'Polite, polite… but shouldn't I just get what I want?'
"Hand it over."
"What?"
When Skovan asked in confusion at the unreasonable demand, Ghislain answered firmly.
"Hand over the command."
In Ghislain's standards, this was sufficiently polite.
At least he didn't hit anyone.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]