Randolph shouted angrily at Ghislain's words.
"Investment? Investment you say? Do you even know what an investment is? All you do is eat and poop! No one stop me now! Today, I'm going to kill that brat... Wait, what is that, young lord!"
Randolph stopped in his tracks and stared wide-eyed.
Everyone squinted, gazing into the chest as light suddenly filled the hall.
"W-what… is that?"
"No way…"
The expressions of the vassals turned increasingly strange as they looked at the ores, piled like a mound of rocks, inside the chest.
While Gillian briefly bowed to Ghislain and left the audience hall, none of the vassals even noticed him leave, fully engrossed in the contents of the chest.
A suffocating silence filled the room.
Zwalter, finally regaining his composure, stammered as he spoke.
"W-what is this?"
Despite already knowing, he sought confirmation, unable to believe his own eyes. Ghislain responded with a smile.
"It's Rune Stone. I found it in the Forest of Demonic Beasts."
"R-really? But how did you do that in such a short time?"
"It's not like I scoured the entire forest. After locating the resource site, I broke through directly to secure it. We're now fortifying the path and setting up barriers to start regular extraction."
Zwalter was so shocked by Ghislain's words that he jumped to his feet.
"Are you saying there's more Rune Stone?"
"Yes, quite a lot. This is only a portion of it."
Zwalter, stunned, struggled to speak.
Homerne murmured with a trembling voice.
"This… this has to be a lie, right? The young lord isn't that kind of person! Did he steal this from somewhere? Or buy it for 20,000 gold and is lying about it? Please, tell us it's a lie."
"Why would I lie? There's a wagon outside, filled to the brim; feel free to check it yourself."
Ghislain shrugged as he spoke.
"There's much more where this came from. You can verify as I continue to bring more Rune Stone. Haven't you heard that blessings come to those who believe?"
Thud.
Zwalter sat back down, dazed.
He didn't know what to say about his son's accomplishments.
He couldn't tell if he was dreaming or awake.
Albert, the Treasurer, blinked, staring at the Rune Stone before him.
If they truly had this much Rune Stone, the Rayfold estate's support wouldn't matter at all.
Albert approached the chest, crouched down, and touched the Rune Stone.
"S-so much Rune Stone… How much could this all be worth?"
"Let us see it too!"
The vassals all huddled around the chest, unable to contain their excitement and repeatedly touching the Rune Stone in awe.
Watching them, Ghislain silently heaved a sigh of relief.
'If Amelia had moved just a bit faster, I'd have been in serious trouble.'
Just thinking about it was terrifying.
Had he been a bit later, he wouldn't have even made it into the Forest of Demonic Beasts, and his hands would have been completely tied.
Not only would he have lost the funds taken from Amelia, but he would have also missed out on the Rune Stone.
The outcome had flipped in a matter of moments.
'She's a sharp woman. To think she'd go this far… is this just the beginning?'
There was no way she'd stop here.
This was merely an attempt to inconvenience Ghislain and restrict his actions.
She must have thought this was sufficient to put him in his place.
But if she learned Ghislain had obtained the Rune Stone, she'd certainly try to interfere and stir up trouble again.
'And it's not just Amelia.'
Duke Delphine wouldn't sit quietly, either.
They also failed in their attempt to kill Elena.
For now, they might be busy trying to weaken other estates, but once the existence of the Rune Stone became known, all eyes would be on this place.
He had to prepare as much as possible before that happened.
'I need to move even faster.'
This time, he managed to overcome it without issue by moving quickly, but Amelia also moved faster than he'd anticipated.
He'd realized for certain through this experience: time was not on his side.
While he acted, his enemies were moving too.
Ghislain, lost in thought, belatedly came to his senses and closed the chest with a snap.
"Alright, that's enough gawking. Look any longer, and it'll wear out. Heh heh."
Despite his crude, swindler-like tone, the vassals could only back away, unable to argue.
Ghislain looked at them with a relaxed smile.
"So, what were we discussing? Something about escorting me to Rayfold?"
No one could answer.
Ghislain had achieved something unimaginable.
Cultivating the Forest of Demonic Beasts? They'd all assumed it was impossible, that he would fail.
Yet the young lord had stormed in with mercenaries and actually succeeded.
In less than a month, Ghislain had accomplished something no previous lord of the Perdium estate had ever managed.
In just a few days, he'd produced such astonishing results.
His actions and the outcome defied all expectations.
It was hard to believe the usually disregarded young lord was responsible for this.
The vassals murmured in disbelief.
"Ahem… just how did the young lord do this…?"
"My word! Rune Stone in the Forest of Demonic Beasts?"
"H-how… is this in the Forest of Demonic Beasts?"
At this rate, causing a scene in Rayfold didn't even matter.
They should praise him instead.
He usually had to appease them by letting them take credit, but now, that was unnecessary.
While the other vassals were still dumbfounded, Homerne gave a quick glance to a knight nearby.
It was a signal to bring in the soldiers.
He didn't intend to capture Ghislain.
The plan was to offset his offenses with this achievement and to pressure him into relinquishing the Rune Stone and his authority.
A classic move from a noble well-versed in the politics of the aristocratic circles.
But where there's a schemer, there's an even craftier one.
Creak.
"What… what is this?!"
"Young lord, what is the meaning of this?!"
As the hall doors opened, the vassals shouted in alarm.
Outside the hall, armed mercenaries were glaring menacingly at the soldiers.
Randolph, unable to contain his anger, reached for his sword.
He'd heard movement outside but assumed they were soldiers.
He hadn't anticipated mercenaries gathering there.
Homerne gritted his teeth and shouted.
"Young lord! Bringing soldiers here, have you gone mad? Are you trying to stage a rebellion?"
Ghislain, feigning shock, shook his head.
"A rebellion! They're just waiting for me, that's all. Well, they're also here to guard me, just in case."
Ghislain, more experienced than Homerne, had already anticipated his reaction and had Gillian bring in the mercenaries.
Of course, the vassals of the estate were not enemies.
But if they deemed it necessary for the estate's sake, they'd raise their swords against Ghislain without hesitation.
Such was the mindset of those who managed estates in these times.
While Ghislain understood their loyalty to Perdium, he had no choice but to act differently from their expectations.
In the end, he decided on a show of force.
It was a clear statement: don't mess with me.
Despite the tense standoff, Zwalter looked on with a curious gleam in his eye.
'Well, well, to think Ghislain had this side to him.'
His son's current behavior surprised him even more than the acquisition of the Rune Stone.
The son, who'd once seemed timid and capable only of bullying the weak, was now displaying a completely different side.
"Lord! Even if he's the young lord, you can't tolerate such insolence!"
"Big brother! I'll take care of those insolent fools!"
Homerne and Randolph were fuming, but Zwalter leaned back in his chair, waving them off.
"That's enough. He got the troops and found the Rune Stone, so it's his."
"My lord!"
"Big brother!"
Homerne and Randolph protested in shock, but Zwalter shook his head.
After all, Ghislain would one day inherit the estate.
Previously, Zwalter was worried his estate would fall into ruin shortly after his death if Ghislain inherited it.
'Better that he's causing a ruckus like this than being a wimp.'
He secretly felt proud of Ghislain for predicting the vassals' actions and preparing accordingly.
'So he does have some northern wolf in him.'
It was reassuring to think his son wasn't entirely beyond redemption.
In the end, Zwalter decided to let the incident slide.
He feared that pressing his son too hard might cause him to revert to his old ways.
If Ghislain truly crossed the line in the future, he could rein him in then.
"Impressive that the mercenaries are so loyal to you. I'll overlook this for now, but disobey me again, and I won't be so lenient."
"Thank you for your understanding."
With Zwalter's leniency, Ghislain slightly bowed, smiling.
Ghislain hadn't staged this show of force without reason.
Knowing his father's temperament, he had carefully planned this.
A man who'd spent his life in war rather than clinging to his own power was not like the other stodgy lords.
In the awkward silence that followed, Albert, the Treasurer, began scheming for the future.
'I have to get my hands on that Rune Stone somehow.'
The vassals had all opposed the endeavor, and since the young lord had succeeded in the development on his own, the estate had no valid claim to ownership.
Albert considered a way to forcibly seize it, but Ghislain was the heir to the estate and the rightful successor to the family.
In the end, he would become the estate's lord.
If they clashed here, it would likely do more harm than good in the long run.
Albert decided it would be wiser to subtly coax money out of him instead.
'Nothing good would come from a real fight anyway.'
He'd taken nearly 200 mercenaries with him, and only a bit over 50 had returned.
This meant most of them had died, and those who survived the dangerous forest couldn't have been weaklings.
A fool with those kinds of mercenaries wasn't likely to hand over money easily.
Albert's plan was simple.
If he couldn't outright take the young lord's money, he'd work toward securing a share under a legitimate pretense.
Clearing his throat, Albert began to speak.
"Ahem, anyway, congratulations on your success. However, the 20,000 gold you received was originally the estate's funds. It led to a cut in support, and the development was started with that money, so I believe the estate has a rightful claim to a portion. Don't you agree?"
At Albert's words, the other vassals nodded quickly.
One has to try to have a chance at success.
After all, it was true that the 20,000 gold allowed the development to happen.
Albert's point had some validity, but his opponent was the Mercenary King—a man known to snatch others' money without ever giving up his own.
"Hm."
Ghislain thoughtfully stroked his chin, then replied nonchalantly.
"That's an interesting perspective. Quite valid. I'm very impressed by it."
"R-right? So, a share of at least 40 percent… no, 30 percent of the estate would be…"
"Would 20,000 gold suffice?"
"Pardon?"
In response to Albert's surprised question, Ghislain winked and mimicked a coin with his fingers.
"20,000 gold—I'll return it to you. I'll even add some interest."
[T/L: Please support me and read extra chapters here: https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]