"Gah!"
Kane clutched his face and rolled on the ground.
'What's going on? How is he so good at fighting all of a sudden? Has he always been like this? No, if he was, he wouldn't have let me beat him up all this time! What happened in the meantime?'
His thoughts were cut short as Ghislain resumed his brutal onslaught.
Wham! Wham!
As the punches continued, the crowd's initial admiration for Ghislain's impressive movements gradually shifted to concern for Kane as the beating grew more intense.
"Isn't he going to kill him at this rate?"
"Maybe someone should stop him?"
The onlookers murmured in alarm.
"G-gha… Please… stop…," Kane managed to gasp between blows, but Ghislain didn't stop.
Once he started, he never left things half-done, and he didn't forgive anyone who bared their teeth at him. This had been his rule since his days as the Mercenary King.
"Young lord, please stop!"
Unable to watch any longer, Kane's escort knight rushed forward to intervene, stepping in front of Ghislain.
Clang!
In that instant, Ghislain's sword was at the escort knight's throat, though no one had seen him draw it.
With a chilling smile, Ghislain said, "Interrupting a sacred duel? Are you volunteering to take your master's place?"
If Kane had been winning, the guard would have ignored the situation, claiming that a duel was sacred.
But duels are only "sacred" when one's side is winning.
The escort knight swallowed nervously and said, "Th-the fight's already decided. Please, I beg you to stop."
Indeed, Kane was lying on the ground, squirming like a worm.
Ghislain glanced at him dismissively, clicking his tongue.
"Can't even endure this much. Kids these days are soft. Fine, I'll end it here…"
Then he turned coldly to the escort knight.
"So, when are you going to repay the money he owes me?"
"T-the young lord doesn't have that much money on him right now. He'll need to return to his estate first."
"So, by when?"
"I-I'll make sure it's sent by the end of the month."
In reality, the amount Kane had taken from Ghislain hadn't even reached a hundred gold. He couldn't extort more because Ghislain simply didn't have that much money to begin with.
But now, with all this talk of interest and penalties, Ghislain was demanding a thousand gold.
The knight felt it was unfair, but he had no choice but to agree. Arguing now might make that madman kill Kane for real.
But Ghislain's demands weren't over.
"Oh, and you're going to treat everyone here to drinks and meat. You've got enough for that, right? That doesn't come out of the thousand gold—that's just the price for losing."
'Since when was that part of the deal? He said he'd pay if he won, so why do we have to foot the bill?'
Ghislain smirked at the guard's disgruntled silence.
"What's the hold-up? Not answering? Don't want to? What, are you too stingy? After you've all come here to trouble my people, shouldn't you be the first to treat them?"
Pretending to speak for justice while he'd joined in harassing the estate's people only made the guard angrier. But with no choice, he nodded.
"…Understood."
"Good, then make sure you wrap this up properly."
Ghislain sheathed his sword and grabbed Kane by the collar as he lay on the ground.
Barely conscious, Kane mumbled incoherently.
"S-spare me…"
Ghislain chuckled and said, "I'm not going to kill you. Why would I? You can't die until you've paid me back. Got it?"
"Y-you… devil…"
"Devil? Be grateful I ended it here. Consider it an education. Now, take him for treatment."
The knight quickly hoisted Kane onto his back and left the training grounds.
The spectators, who had been holding their breath, began clapping and cheering as Kane was taken away.
They admired the impressive duel Ghislain had put on, and they were glad to see the despicable Kane get what was coming to him.
"Wow! The young lord is the best!"
"I had no idea he was this strong!"
"Drinks and meat! It's a new celebration!"
As the crowd cheered, the knights turned to Skovan with serious expressions.
"So it was true?"
"Skovan, you…"
Skovan drained the last of his drink, grinning triumphantly.
Beside him, Elena raised her chin proudly, looking as if a weight had been lifted off her shoulders.
"Woo-hoo!"
Even as Ghislain headed back toward the castle, the cheering didn't stop.
Ghislain waved to the crowd with a reluctant smile, his eyes meeting Skovan's.
Skovan lifted his bottle in a silent toast, and Ghislain grinned, giving him a thumbs-up.
"See? I told you I was right," Elena whispered to the maid beside her before hurrying to catch up with Ghislain.
"Oppa! Oppa! Wait!"
She quickly caught up, linking her arm with his.
Since the incident during the festival, Elena had been treating Ghislain much more casually than before.
"Oppa, what do you need all that money for?" she asked, her eyes shining with curiosity, a stark contrast to her previously downcast demeanor.
Growing up in a poor estate, Elena had few fine clothes or jewelry compared to others her age. At balls and banquets, she had often looked enviously at the daughters of wealthier estates.
Now that Ghislain had come into a significant sum, she couldn't help but feel a glimmer of hope.
"I have something to spend it on."
Ghislain tried to shake her off with a smile, but she clung tightly to his arm.
"Wow, are you exercise or something? You're strong."
"Oh, stop dodging the question! Can I guess? You're planning to buy a gift for Amelia, right? You've always tried so hard to impress her."
"What?"
"Your fiancée! Her birthday's coming up, so you're planning to buy her something, aren't you? Something really expensive! And hey, if you're getting her a gift, could you get one for me too?"
Ghislain's mind reeled, struck by a sudden realization.
Amelia was the daughter of Count Rayfold.
Although Perdium had a legal agreement requiring the northern lords to support the territory in return for guarding the border, Rayfold's support had gone above and beyond.
The engagement between Amelia and Ghislain was meant as a symbol of this alliance between the two families.
In his previous life, after he ran away, the engagement was naturally broken off.
The Rayfold family had never liked Ghislain much anyway, so they were likely thrilled to see the engagement end.
'That's right! I forgot I have that option!'
Ghislain's face lit up as he nodded to himself.
To begin the ventures he had in mind, he needed a considerable sum of money.
The question of where to get it had been nagging him, but now that Amelia's name had come up, an idea struck him.
'If I can't make money, then I'll just get it from someone who already has it!'
It might sound like something a bandit would say, but since the target was Amelia, he figured it was fair.
'I'll make sure to get plenty from that traitor.'
During his time as the Mercenary King, Ghislain had thoroughly investigated the reasons for his family's downfall before attacking the kingdom.
While much of the information was lost or distorted, he had managed to uncover the main points.
Among them was information about Rayfold.
'They tormented our territory financially.'
While other territories had harassed Perdium by force, Rayfold had cut off support to weaken it.
Perdium had tried to survive through the crisis, but Rayfold consistently blocked every effort.
'And it was all Amelia's doing.'
Amelia would eventually instigate a rebellion, rising to take the Count's position herself.
In his previous life, Ghislain had destroyed Rayfold Estate upon learning this, but he had failed to capture Amelia, the mastermind.
Throughout the following year-long war, she had relentlessly harassed him.
He'd tried to kill her, but she always slipped away, her cunning infuriating him to no end.
'Though I'd planned to crush them eventually…'
His thoughts had always been focused on retaliation and annihilation, but it seemed like he needed to adjust his approach.
Officially, Rayfold wasn't yet an enemy, and he had no grounds to attack them outright.
Therefore, he'd be better off squeezing as much as he could out of them before they became a full-fledged enemy.
"Elena."
"Yes?"
Her eyes sparkled with anticipation. Ghislain tousled her hair with a smile.
'A gift would be nice for her, too.'
Having watched her overcome her recent struggles, he figured a little treat would be a good change for her.
And he was grateful she'd reminded him about Amelia.
"Pick out some clothes and accessories you like."
"Really? Any price?"
"Five gold."
"Aw…"
"Fine, if you don't want it—"
"No, no! Thank you, Oppa!"
Elena quickly changed her expression, showering him with gratitude to make sure he didn't change his mind.
Ghislain chuckled and sent Elena off, then hurried to find Belinda before his plan faded from memory.
"Belinda, when will my father return?"
"The Lord? Well, considering he started preparing to withdraw his forces as soon as he heard about the incident with the young lady… it'll probably take about a week."
"Plenty of time. I'll be back before he arrives."
"Where are you going?"
"To Rayfold Estate."
Belinda's expression turned playful.
"Oh, right. Miss Amelia's birthday is coming up soon. They'll be hosting a ball, of course. Are you going early?"
"Well… that's not the only reason, but yes, I'll be meeting her. And I have some business to take care of."
"Oh my, so you really do like her that much? How romantic!"
Ghislain shook his head, sensing that continuing this conversation would only lead to more teasing.
"Anyway, just know that I'll be away."
As Ghislain began preparing to leave, Belinda looked at him, puzzled.
"Why are you leaving in such a hurry?"
"Time is tight. I need to return before my father does; I have things to discuss with him."
As he brushed her off and stepped out, Belinda grabbed his arm.
"Then who's going with you? Are you planning to go alone?"
"Of course. I'll be riding hard, so I'll get there in no time by myself."
"That won't do! I'll come with you."
"You, Belinda?"
"Yes. At least make it look respectable since we're visiting Count Rayfold's estate. I'll arrange a few guards, too."
"Hmm… fine."
She had a point; keeping up appearances would be wise.
In his past life, he had been strong enough to travel alone, but he was nowhere near that level now.
With the option for protection, it would be foolish to refuse.
'Right. I'm not my past self anymore.'
Ghislain silently clicked his tongue at the thought of almost heading into enemy territory alone.
He realized he needed some time to adjust to the dissonance between his past self and his current body.
After a brief wait, Belinda appeared, draped in a black cloak.
Typically, she dressed practically, always wearing similar outfits for ease of movement, so this change felt refreshing.
"Shall we?"
"With that cloak, you almost look like someone else."
"I'm still wearing the same thing underneath."
She swept her cloak aside, revealing her usual attire beneath, but with rows of daggers strapped inside.
Ghislain shook his head, impressed.
'With Belinda along, do we even need more escorts?'
As both his tutor and head maid, Belinda's true skills were something of a mystery.
When she had first joined the estate, some of the knights had harassed her, assuming she was an ordinary maid from afar.
However, something happened that night. From then on, those knights avoided her at all costs.
A rumor spread through the castle that Belinda had bested those knights so thoroughly that no one dared bother her again.
In his previous life, he had dismissed the rumors, but now he could sense her formidable presence—enough to overpower any ordinary knight.
No one knew why someone with her skills was serving as a maid in a remote estate.
All that was known was that she had accompanied his late mother when she had come to Perdium.
"Make sure it's fastened properly. We'll be riding hard, so take care."
Ghislain helped her tighten her cloak.
A faint smile appeared on Belinda's face. Seeing this more mature side of Ghislain, who used to be so irritable, filled her with pride.
'I never imagined our young master would grow so mature. He was just going through a rough patch. He still acts a bit strange sometimes, but he's so much better than before.'
Not only had Ghislain's attitude changed, but his skills had also improved enough to take down Kane.
As someone who had looked after Ghislain since he was young, Belinda couldn't be happier.
'I guess he was nervous because he had a hard time practicing in secret. It's all thanks to my teaching.'
In reality, the only things Ghislain had learned from her were odd survival tricks and strange "lessons," but Belinda remained blissfully unaware.
Despite being a tutor in name, she had never been skilled at teaching, largely due to her unconventional mindset.
The role she had served was more of a nanny than anything.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Should I call Sir Fergus? He is your personal escort knight, after all."
"No, he'd slow us down. The old man nearly fainted the other day while talking to me."
"All right. Let's go, then."
With that, Ghislain, Belinda, and four knights swiftly departed from the estate.
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]