Boom!
Gillian hurled his massive shield straight ahead. The assassins charging at him couldn't withstand the impact and collapsed immediately. The remaining assassins hesitated, their confidence shaken, and retreated backward.
"Damn it! Isn't this different from the intel?"
The middle-aged man leading the assassins shouted loudly. If they had known there was someone this skilled, they would have brought more people. According to their information, the group was supposed to be slightly better than average knights, but at this rate, they would all be wiped out by a single man.
"Damn it! Everyone, attack at once!"
At the middle-aged man's command, the assassins all drew their swords and rushed toward Gillian. They now realized that only by getting past him could they reach Ghislain.
"Damn fools…"
Muttering under his breath, Gillian grabbed a hand axe that was hanging next to the carriage. Without a moment's hesitation, he charged toward the oncoming enemies.
Crash!
"Aaargh!"
With each swing of the axe, a head split open. Swords that were raised in defense were cleaved in two, along with their wielders' skulls. Anyone who tried to dodge had the axe follow them, its direction changing mid-swing. Gillian was like a lion amidst a flock of sheep.
"Y-you bastard! Die!"
One assassin, who had been waiting for an opportunity, stabbed his sword toward Gillian in the chaos of his comrades' deaths.
But…
Thunk!
"Huh… huh?"
Gillian caught the sword with his bare hand. His hand was unscathed, not a single mark on it.
"H-how…?"
The assassin, frozen in shock, couldn't react. They had estimated Ghislain's group to be at the level of mid-tier knights and had only brought those who could wield mana to ensure the mission's success. But for someone to catch a mana-imbued sword with their bare hand… they couldn't even fathom the monstrous strength before them.
Yet, the assassin had no time to think further.
Crunch!
As Gillian tightened his grip, the assassin's sword shattered into pieces. The assassin, still dazed, had his head split open by the falling axe. His lifeless body slumped at Gillian's feet.
The remaining assassins, having witnessed this, staggered backward in fear. Even the middle-aged leader couldn't bring himself to charge forward anymore.
The mission was a failure. With that monster standing in the way, killing Ghislain was impossible.
"Retreat! Fall back!"
As soon as the middle-aged man shouted, the assassins scattered in all directions, clearly waiting for the command.
"Not if I can help it!"
Gillian, already mounted on a horse, pursued them. Daggers from his belt flew through the air faster than he could ride, cutting down assassins as they fled. Before long, all but one had fallen.
The last assassin had gained a considerable distance. If things continued, he might escape.
Gillian hurled the axe in his hand at the final fleeing assassin.
Thud! Splat!
The moment the axe lodged itself into the assassin's head, a dagger pierced through his heart. Gillian turned around.
Belinda, who had met his gaze, raised her chin triumphantly. The dagger that had shot out from inside her robe was attached to a thin wire. With a slight motion of her hand, the dagger that had pierced the assassin's heart was drawn back into her robe as if it were being reeled in.
"If it weren't for me, he would've escaped," she said.
Gillian responded with an emotionless face.
"My axe struck first."
"My dagger hit first," Belinda shot back sharply.
Gillian made no further comment, walking over to the fallen assassin to retrieve his axe from the man's neck. Then, he approached Ghislain and gave a slight bow.
"All threats have been dealt with."
"You did well," Ghislain said, holding back a laugh.
Behind him, Belinda was glaring at Gillian with a furious expression. It was amusing to watch Belinda, who usually strutted around the estate with a haughty and aloof demeanor, fuming and bouncing around in front of Gillian.
'Belinda has finally met her match,' Ghislain thought with a smirk.
The escort knights, who had been standing idly by, exchanged awkward glances. They had come along with the intention of protecting Ghislain, but now that the situation was resolved without them lifting a finger, they felt somewhat embarrassed.
'At his level, few in the Ferdium family could even stand against him.'
Though the escort knights were considered strong compared to knights from other estates, Gillian was on a completely different level. The knights glanced at Gillian and whispered among themselves.
"Didn't the young lord say he's the leader of the Ratatosk Mercenary Corps?"
"Yeah, I've heard of them too."
"No wonder. He's not just any ordinary person."
"How did the young lord even manage to recruit him?"
Though Ratatosk was a mercenary group operating in foreign lands, its reputation was so well-known that even the knights had heard of it. Given his incredible skill, Gillian's leadership of such a renowned group made perfect sense.
Ghislain smiled, pleased with himself. He had already witnessed Gillian's capabilities when they had been pursued, but this was the first time he had seen him fight earnestly.
'He's far more skilled than the rumors suggest.'
In his previous life, Ghislain had only heard of Gillian through rumors while working as a mercenary in foreign countries. His colleagues and seniors, who came from nearby estates, often spoke of Gillian.
Ghislain had always wanted to recruit him in this life, and fortunately, the timing and circumstances had aligned perfectly. At the time, he had thought the rumors might have been exaggerated, but seeing him fight in person, he realized Gillian's abilities surpassed even the stories.
'It was a good decision to act quickly.'
Thanks to his swift actions, he had gained a powerful card in his hand. He had also managed to extract money from Amelia and acquired a loyal subordinate, making this journey truly a success.
Ghislain patted Gillian's shoulder several times and then turned to the rest of the group.
"It seems Amelia hired those assassins. That woman is persistent, isn't she?"
In his previous life, Amelia had relentlessly obstructed Ghislain's path. Even when he tried to kill her, she always managed to slip away, causing him a great deal of trouble throughout the war.
Of course, he didn't plan to leave Amelia alone in this life. After all, we were bound to clash repeatedly.
Belinda began rummaging through the bodies of the assassins one by one. I wondered what she was up to and soon realized she was trying to identify their affiliation.
"Can you tell where the assassins came from?"
After inspecting a few bodies, Belinda nodded in response.
"Seeing the tattoo of three fangs, they're part of the 'Wildcat Smuggling Guild.' It's a pretty powerful guild in Raypold."
"Wildcat Smuggling Guild? That's an odd name."
"It's a guild formed by smugglers and bandits. They're a bunch of crude and rough guys. Besides assassination, they're involved in smuggling and drug dealing. In short, they're dirty criminals."
"How do you know about things like that when you've always stayed in the estate?" I asked.
Belinda hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Well, I learned about them before I came to the estate. They're persistent, so we can't let our guard down even after we return to the estate."
"I see. It seems like Amelia hired some nasty people. I'll make sure to take care of that guild when the opportunity arises."
The name of the Wildcat Smuggling Guild was added to his kill list.
Amelia was undoubtedly using the criminal guilds in Raypold as her pawns. One day, I had to destroy not only the Wildcat Smuggling Guild but also every other criminal guild.
'But how does Belinda know about things like this?'
Belinda claimed it was by chance, but I didn't quite believe her. I didn't know much about the guilds in the region. After this point in time, I had spent most of my life in foreign lands, and I never had any dealings with criminal organizations.
Even as someone who lived as a mercenary, I lacked that knowledge—so it was strange for Belinda, who had spent her life in the estate, to know the names, characteristics, and even the influence of these guilds.
'Come to think of it, I don't know much about Belinda either.'
I knew she was my tutor, head maid, and strong enough to take on most knights—that was about it.
'Well, there's plenty of time to get to know her. I'll figure it out slowly.'
I pushed aside my questions about Belinda for now and focused on more pressing matters: gathering all the valuables and weapons from the bodies of the attackers.
With the estate already in financial trouble and plenty of expenses to cover, I couldn't afford to let any opportunity slip by.
* * *
After fending off the assassins in the forest, we traveled for another two days before finally arriving near the Ferdium Estate's castle. In the distance, the familiar sight of Ferdium Castle came into view, and a feeling of warmth washed over me.
'It's nice to have a place to return to.'
In my previous life, when I had come back, my family had already been destroyed. The despair of having no home to return to is something you can't understand until you've experienced it yourself.
After that, I wandered for the rest of my life, unable to settle down anywhere. My life was always filled with hardship; even when I rested, it never felt like true rest. I was constantly plagued by unease and sorrow.
Seeing the Ferdium Estate still standing strong this time filled me with deep emotion.
From the depths of my heart, a firm resolve bloomed once again.
"I will definitely protect it."
He would never let the Ferdium Estate, his family, be destroyed again.
* * *
Clang!
"How! How can you fail to kill even one of them?!"
The teacup Amelia threw shattered into pieces as it hit the floor.
"Nyaang!"
Bastet let out a sharp cry as if echoing Amelia's frustration.
Bernarf couldn't say a word and could only watch the two of them.
"It wasn't even a warning. It probably made me look even more ridiculous."
"Nyaang!"
Amelia's eyes were bloodshot, red from burst veins. It was a look no one could ever imagine on her, someone who was always graceful and composed.
Bernarf was quite shocked.
'And she still looks beautiful!'
She always looked pretty, no matter what she did, but this was the first time he had seen her this angry. It was genuinely terrifying. If he dared to tell her to calm down now, the next teacup would fly at his head, not the floor.
So, he firmly kept his mouth shut. At that moment, Bastet scolded him with a cry.
"Nyaang!"
'Damn cat. It acts like it's my superior or something. Ugh… I'll catch that cat one day and get rid of it for sure.'
While he liked Amelia, Bastet, who acted just like her and looked down on him, was something he could never get used to.
"It's one thing to drag my honor through the mud, but they're rolling it in the filth. How can you not manage this? You sent thirty people, and not a single one succeeded? How much more of a fool do you think Ghislain is going to see me as?"
"Nyaang!"
"Shut up, Bastet!"
As Amelia glared at Bastet, the cat immediately lowered its head and scurried behind Bernarf to hide.
'Serves you right.'
Bernarf felt a little better watching the annoying cat get scolded.
Seizing the moment her attention shifted slightly, he lowered his head and responded carefully.
"I apologize. It seems the knights were more skilled than we anticipated."
They had no idea that Gillian had joined Ghislain's group. The tail they had planted on him had been caught, and all the assassins sent to ambush him had been wiped out, so there was no one left to report back to them.
Amelia's bloodshot eyes glared at Bernarf.
"You should have gone to Ferdium Estate and killed Ghislain there. But then again, how could I expect anything from trash that couldn't kill even one useless man?"
Bernarf couldn't immediately respond. Attacking Ghislain while he was leaving Raypold Estate was one thing, but attacking him inside Ferdium Estate was an entirely different matter.
Ghislain was the Young lord of Ferdium, no matter how shabby the estate was. It wasn't easy to kill a vital figure of an estate within their own territory.
If the mastermind behind the assassination attempt were revealed, it could very well lead to a full-scale territorial war.
Amelia knew this, too. She was simply lashing out in her anger.
"For now, keep the wildcats on standby. Make sure they can move at a moment's notice. I'll find a way. When the time comes, make sure they do their job right."
Amelia clicked her tongue in irritation.
"If they make me look more of a fool than I already am, they won't like what happens. And you, Bernarf, you know what I mean, don't you?"
Bernarf, who she usually favored, felt a sudden wave of depression wash over him at her cold words.
"…Understood. I'll prepare them properly."
Amelia took a moment to catch her breath, then picked up Bastet and held the cat in her arms.
"You might as well fight instead of those useless fools, Bastet. Maybe I should have taken the risk and killed Ghislain back then. There's not a single useful person around."
"Nyaong."
Bastet rubbed its face affectionately against Amelia as if it had forgotten all about cowering in fear earlier.
Bernarf glared at the cat with resentment. As their eyes met, Bastet seemed to smirk at him, making Bernarf curse under his breath.
'…That damn thing is smart. No doubt about it.'
Having been thoroughly scolded and even mocked by a cat, Bernarf withdrew with a bitter expression.
'Why bother worrying about him when she's going to break off the engagement anyway?'
He thought it would be better to consider the 20,000 gold coins he had spent as a break-up gift and just let it go.
But Amelia's pride had taken a deep wound, and she clearly couldn't let it go that easily.
'Foolish idiot, why did he have to provoke her of all people?'
Despite the fact that all the assassins had returned as corpses, Bernarf still firmly believed that Ghislain would eventually die.
Everything Amelia wanted always came to pass. For Bernarf, that was an unshakeable truth.