Vanessa's madness was largely due to her having learned the wrong mana training method, but the wounds she'd received from the world also likely played a role.
The pent-up anger in her heart had probably surfaced as it tangled with the incorrect mana training.
There were knights, too, who occasionally fell into such inner demons during their training.
'But this life will be different.'
Ghislain intended to teach her the proper mana training method and oversee her progress.
If he could guide Vanessa to fully unleash her talents, she would be a great asset in the upcoming war.
Although the time was tight and she wouldn't be able to accumulate as much mana as she needed… he already had another plan in mind for that.
'I'll make sure such things don't happen this time.'
For that to happen, he would have to bring her in, even if it meant using threats. Of course, Ghislain didn't resort to such things.
Having achieved all his goals in the Scarlet Tower, he felt an indescribable sense of fulfillment. Smiling with satisfaction, Ghislain spoke.
"Since the deal is complete, I shall take my leave. Once the estate stabilizes, I'll return with the Runestone."
At the mention of his departure, the Tower Master and the elders couldn't hide their joy.
They were naturally delighted to see an unpleasant man leaving on his own.
However, the issue lay with Hubert, who had been well-trained in countless social gatherings.
"Oh my, why leave so soon? You should take some time to explore the city and rest before you go. Not to brag, but I've put quite a bit of effort into managing the city, so there's much to see."
Hubert wore a subtly proud expression.
"Hmm, should I?"
But when Ghislain responded positively, everyone's expressions immediately twisted.
The elders shot daggers at Hubert with their eyes, as if to ask why he'd said something so unnecessary.
Hubert, too, looked like he had bitten into something bitter, unsure of what to do.
'Ah, this clueless bastard.'
In social interactions, it was basic etiquette to politely decline such offers, but the rude man in front of them lacked even the most fundamental social skills.
Watching the constantly shifting expressions of the mages, Ghislain quietly chuckled to himself.
'They really are terrible at acting.'
Though he wasn't particularly good at acting himself, the mages were so blatantly bad at it that it was almost amusing.
Then again, how often would these individuals, hailed as extraordinary talents from a young age, have had to cater to others?
It was fun to tease them… but Ghislain had too much to do to waste any more time hanging around here.
"No, I've got a lot of work to do as well, so I'll take my leave now. But next time I come, I'll make sure to enjoy myself."
With that, Hubert's face brightened considerably. In a hurry to ensure Ghislain didn't change his mind, he quickly added.
"Yes, yes, the Young Lord shouldn't be away from his estate for too long. The funds are already prepared, so feel free to check them. We'll make sure the mages are sent over in due time."
The mages were to depart later and arrive at the estate separately from Ghislain's group.
There was a reason they couldn't move together; it was because rumors might spread that a mage from the Crimson Flame Tower had accompanied them.
Ghislain emphasized again to Hubert.
"Make sure Vanessa arrives safely at the estate. Until then, take the best care of her. She's now my personal mage, so treat her well. She mustn't get hurt."
"Of course! I'll treat her like the most honored guest, so don't worry," Hubert replied, sounding overly enthusiastic.
Ghislain approached Vanessa and spoke in a gentle tone.
"I would like to depart with you, but due to certain circumstances, that won't be possible. Anyway, take care on your journey."
"Understood, my lord," Vanessa answered, her expression as gloomy as could be. Ghislain gave her one more piece of advice.
"If anyone bothers you, make sure you tell me. You mustn't keep it bottled up. If you explode later, it'll be a big problem. Got it?"
Although she didn't understand his cryptic words, Vanessa simply nodded.
"Yes… I understand."
Ghislain patted her shoulder a couple of times before turning away.
As everyone made their way down to the lobby, they found that the mercenaries were already waiting there.
The wagon was loaded with crates full of gold coins.
"Verify the amount."
As soon as Ghislain gave the order, the mercenaries began counting the money immediately.
The mages looked displeased. How crude of them to count it right in front of us! Did they really think we'd give them less than promised? How dare they!
Before long, one of the mercenaries spoke up, looking puzzled.
"Three gold short. I heard mages are supposed to be smart, but it seems they can't even count money properly."
In an instant, the mages' faces flushed with embarrassment.
It was a simple mistake, likely due to the large amount involved. Though it was a trivial sum considering the scale of the transaction, it was a deeply humiliating error for the reputation of the tower.
Flustered, Hubert stammered.
"It seems the one in charge of the calculations made a mistake. I'll check again. I'm sorry."
Ghislain sighed and called someone over.
"Gordon."
"..."
Quietly, Gordon reached into his groin area, pulled out five gold coins, and tossed them into the crate with a clinking sound.
"...?"
A brief silence filled the lobby.
The problem wasn't just that Gordon had taken some, but that even the mercenaries had miscounted.
Kaor grabbed Gordon by the neck, dragged him to a corner, and began punching him.
"You piss-stained bastard! I'm not letting this slide today. Didn't you say you didn't care about money?!"
Thud! Thud! Thud!
"Oof! I'm sorry! I figured I'd just take it in advance since I was going to get it anyway… Ow! Stop hitting me! I won't hold back if you keep going! Ahh! Stop the violence!"
As the beating continued in the corner, Hubert and the elders could only blink in confusion.
Ghislain gave them an embarrassed smile.
"I'm terribly sorry about this. As you can see, I have quite a few uneducated men under my command. Haha. Well, we'll be on our way now."
Before the mages could say anything, Ghislain quickly turned and called out.
"Come on, let's get out of here, you idiots."
Ghislain's group swiftly left the tower.
Even as they departed, the mages stood there in a daze, unable to say a word.
As soon as they left the city, Ghislain suddenly made a noise, as if something had dawned on him.
"Oh, right."
"What is it?" someone asked.
"I forgot to mention the gatekeeper."
Belinda stared at him in disbelief.
"You didn't say anything because you were annoyed, right?"
"Annoyed? I'm always sincere."
"Yeah, right…"
Seeing Belinda glaring at him, Gillian stepped in to calm things down.
"It's really incredible that your plan worked, my lord. I never thought the tower would agree to all the conditions."
"Looks like the young master's luck is finally turning. Everything seems to be going smoothly now."
"Are they not mages but a bunch of fools instead? Why did they agree to everything?"
"Yes, maybe they are fools. We'll be meeting a lot more of them in the future."
Ghislain had a clear reason for why things had unfolded this way, but it wasn't the right time to explain. He simply smiled.
"By the way, why did you make that woman your personal mage? She seems utterly useless," Kaor asked again.
She was just an ordinary woman, with no noticeable mana or aura. At the tower, she had probably served as a maid. There was no way she had a high level of knowledge or talent.
But even to this question, Ghislain only smiled without offering an answer.
"You'll understand later."
Kaor looked confused for a moment but soon raised his thumb at Ghislain, a sly grin forming on his face, as if he thought he knew what was going on.
Ignoring him, Ghislain turned to Gillian and said, "This is just one step up the ladder. Now, we need to prepare for the next stage."
"Understood."
They couldn't afford to let their guard down since they had no idea what kind of enemy would come after them, or how much power they'd bring.
In war, letting your guard down was no different from throwing your life away.
Ghislain wanted a decisive victory.
'I'll make sure they understand—anyone who messes with us will die.'
His expression, filled with resolve, was colder than ever.
* * *
Baron Homerne, the Chief Overseer of Ferdium, had been spending his days anxiously waiting for Ghislain's return.
Since his strategy of asking those around him for favors had failed, his only option left was to straightforwardly ask for money.
However, a whole month had passed, and the young lord, who had gone to sell the Runestone, still hadn't returned.
'What's going on? Why hasn't he come back yet? Could he have been robbed by bandits and lost everything?'
Once the thought crossed his mind, Homerne couldn't sleep properly.
He had every reason to be worried.
Ghislain was the hope of this estate. No, more than Ghislain, the Runestone he had taken with him was the hope of Ferdium.
'What if he was captured and killed by bandits? Ugh, how foolish! He should've taken more soldiers with him!'
But then again, given the current situation in Ferdium, they didn't even have a hundred soldiers they could spare.
Still, Homerne was convinced that having some soldiers was better than none at all.
'Even if the young lord died, we could mine more Runestones from the estate… Wait, no, we don't even have the money to hire laborers!'
While he was genuinely concerned for Ghislain's safety, he also had to worry about how they would handle the remaining Runestones if the worst had happened.
Fortunately, Ghislain had paved the way to the Runestone mine, so at least finding the location wouldn't be too difficult.
'Ugh! I'm going crazy not knowing whether he's dead or alive. What should I do?'
The other vassals seemed worried as well, and the entire estate was abuzz with talk of the young lord.
Count Ferdium was supposed to return to the Northern Fortress soon, as he couldn't leave it unattended for too long. However, since Ghislain hadn't returned, the count was unable to leave either.
Ghislain had left without telling anyone where he was going, so there wasn't even a clue as to where he might be.
'This won't do. I have to go look for him. Where could he have gone?'
After waiting two more days, Homerne finally received permission from Zwalter and formed a small search party. It consisted of one knight and about a dozen soldiers—quite a modest force.
There wasn't much capacity to field a large search party anyway, but given that Ghislain had taken a sizeable group with him, it wouldn't be too difficult to trace his whereabouts through inquiries.
Just as the gates were opening and the search party was about to depart, a cloud of dust appeared in the distance, signaling the approach of a group.
"What… What's that?"
"Are we being attacked? But there's been no warning!"
"Close the gates! Close them now!"
Hundreds of armed men were rushing toward the estate. There were no banners, making it difficult to identify them.
Panic spread, and the gates were closed as everyone rushed to find out what was happening.
"Wait, is that…?"
One of the knights recognized the rider leading the group and gasped.
"It's the young lord! The young lord has returned!"
"Then what about the forces behind him?"
"Are they mercenaries? Their equipment seems way too good for that!"
Upon hearing that Ghislain had returned, Homerne bolted toward the gates, panting as he came face-to-face with the scene.
His jaw dropped as he took in the sight of the forces behind Ghislain.
"Wha-what is that?!"
Ghislain pulled his horse to a stop in front of the gates and laughed heartily.
"Did you come out to greet me, Chief Overseer?"
"N-no, young lord! What is all this? What's with the army behind you?"
"These are the people I hired to help clear the Forest of Beasts and defend the estate."
"H-hired? Are they mercenaries?"
"Yes, that's right."
Homerne, still in shock, scanned the mercenaries. Their weapons varied, but their armor and horses were all remarkably similar, gleaming as if brand new.
Suppressing the uneasy feeling in his chest, Homerne asked cautiously, "Clearing the forest, fine… but what do you mean by defending the estate?"
"Now that the Runestone mine has been discovered, other lords will invade, won't they? We need to be prepared," Ghislain replied as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.
Homerne clasped his forehead.
'This idiot! Does he think war is some kind of child's game?!'
It was true that once the rumors about the Runestone spread, territorial disputes would eventually occur, but not immediately.
"You can hire mercenaries once the war actually begins! How long has it been since the Runestone was found? No lord is going to invade right away! It'll be at least a year or two before that happens!"
Homerne passionately argued, but Ghislain just shrugged indifferently.
Homerne was wrong.
If they waited until the war started to begin hiring mercenaries, they wouldn't be able to gather any decent ones. No one would take Ferdium's side.
But what good would it do to explain that now? No one would believe him.
Even if people thought he was crazy, it was better to prepare in advance.
"Anyway, I've already hired them, so there's no going back. If no war breaks out, we'll just use them to clear the Forest of Beasts."
"Ugh… Then, the money? How much of the proceeds from selling the Runestone is left?"
"I spent it all."
"What?"
"I used it all to hire the mercenaries and prepare supplies, so there's no money left."
"Not a penny?"
"Not a penny."
"…"
"…"
A heavy silence fell between the two.
Homerne, whose eyes were now brimming with tears, clutched his forehead and swayed as if about to faint.