The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations – 196



Chapter 196: A Very Nice Gift Was Sent.

“Wow! Baron Penris has won!”

The nobles of the so-called “Association of Investment Victims” erupted in cheers in the Banquet Hall upon hearing Ghislaine’s victory news.

They didn’t care how Ghislaine won whether it was luck or skill.

What mattered was that Ghislaine won and didn’t crash.

“Fantastic! Cosmetics are still a go!”

“I can invest more!”

“Let’s do it! What’s scary when the House of Marquis Branford guarantees it!”

That’s just how human psychology works. When one thinks they’re doomed and then an unexpected result comes up it builds more trust.

The nobles in the banquet hall all rushed to Rosalyn causing a ruckus about additional investments.

Rosalyn with an elegant smile as if it were a natural outcome said “You don’t need to worry too much moving forward. Behind Baron Penris is the House of Marquis Branford. I’ve always said there would be no problem right?”

The nobles now responded with relaxed smiles.

“Of course we believed you.”

“Why should we make a fuss over a small war in the outskirts?”

“I told you a windfall was coming. Hohoho.”

In that warm atmosphere Rosalyn secretly broke into a cold sweat.

“Damn… I survived. That was a close call.”

Since recovering from her illness she had tried to mellow her temper but to come so close to death made her want to curse.

The stress from the nobles’ insistence had her losing clumps of hair daily. Just not letting out a curse was already a huge feat.

“I almost had to stay locked up at home again. But to win the siege war this quickly… I really can’t make sense of this person.”

She didn’t know how they won but it was a fortunate outcome all things considered.

Moreover beating Count Cabaldy proved they had a certain degree of military strength.

No matter how much he had been starving Count Cabaldy was still a formidable noble.

“Sigh but the Duke Faction won’t just sit by. I need to find a way before that happens.”

Count Cabaldy was clearly a member of the Duke faction. Though they nominally agreed not to interfere with each other behind the scenes they were definitely sharpening their swords.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

To keep the cosmetics business from failing they had to protect Penris at all costs.

“I never thought I’d be dragged into this much. I should visit Penris soon and ask about cosmetic manufacturing techniques.”

Just in case something went wrong with Penris she needed to find ways to continue producing cosmetics.

Otherwise she might not be able to manage things if another accident occurred in the future. Once was more than enough for these nerve-wracking experiences.

This spine-chilling experience is truly enough for just once.

While Rosalyn was deep in thought Meriel approached her with a beaming smile and said

“I’m so relieved! In fact it turned out great right? Inquiries about further investments are pouring in!”

“Ha yes… I guess it’s a relief. I mean no one expected us to win this quickly.”

“Exactly! Your brother has been bragging about his skills every day but I never thought he was actually right!”

“Well… he is the type to live in his own glory all the time.”

Looking back to the time they were getting treatment that was indeed the case. He always believed he was right and that all his words were true.

I’ve never seen anyone so stubborn in my life but it was even more astonishing when it turned out he was indeed correct.

Meriel chuckled at Rosalyn’s sincere words but suddenly looked a bit disappointed.

“If I had known this would happen we wouldn’t have needed to spend all that money to send people. Right?”

“True. Those guys probably just took the money and didn’t do anything. They should be coming back smug by now.”

Rosalyn forced a smile.

She had spent a huge amount to send priests and resolvers to save Baron Penris. But now it was all for nothing.

Of course she couldn’t ask for a refund. Doing so would only hurt her face and spread bad rumors.

“Ugh people like him make me nervous. What a waste of money.”

It was quite rare for her to throw money around so meaninglessly.

Rosalyn sighed trying to soothe her troubled heart.

*

Before the news of victory reached the capital

Ghislaine who had taken Count Cabaldy’s head turned to face the knights and soldiers.

Looking at the silence that had settled over the battlefield Ghislaine let out a chuckle. Now it was time to enjoy the victory.

No words were needed. Ghislaine slowly raised his hand and clenched it into a fist.

Seeing this the knights rushed to Ghislaine’s side and cheered.

“We’ve won! We are victorious!”

“We killed Count Cabaldy!”

“Wowwwww!”

The surviving soldiers also expressed their joy to the fullest. The previously quiet battlefield was instantly filled with the cheers of the Penris Army.

Ghislaine wore a satisfied smile at the sight.

“Good it was a perfectly suitable experience to have once.”

This victory in war was extremely important. It wasn’t just about iron ore.

The knights had put their lives on the line undergoing hellish training. However they had never experienced if such half-hearted strength would work on the battlefield.

No matter how thoroughly prepared fear can never be completely erased.

“Turning fear into confidence is all about being assured of oneself.”

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

He overwhelmed Count Cabaldy known as the strongman of the North with overwhelming strength.

The confidence gained from this experience would greatly aid the knights’ growth.

Before long Belinda who had removed her mask could not hide her joy.

“I’m really relieved. We hardly took any damage. Can you see the morale of the soldiers rising? They’ll adapt to the territory in no time.”

“Right it was a very important war for the soldiers too.”

Suddenly thrown into the Penris territory and dragged into a fight right away the soldiers’ fear must have been even greater.

But through this war they would gain pride and vow even more loyalty to their territory.

Belinda was busy praising Ghislaine.

“Our Young Master truly can’t do anything wrong. From now on Young Master do whatever you want. Should we just go catch Count Almond or whatever his name is? Hoho!”

“Young Master just do whatever you want. Shall we head straight to catch that Count Almond or whatever his name is? Hohoho.”

When they were actively against the war now that they were winning her attitude completely changed. Ghislaine couldn’t help but chuckle at her flustered appearance.

“It’s so different from when he was quietly taking down enemies.”

The more she saw the more fascinating it became. Ghislaine took this opportunity to subtly ask “I saw you using a technique I’ve never seen before. Where did you learn something like that? Was it from our mother’s family? I thought Mom could do that too?”

At that Belinda shot Ghislaine a disdainful glance and replied “Oh my haven’t I taught you several times that it’s not polite to ask about a woman’s past? If you ask elsewhere they’ll call you petty so don’t forget. Understood? I’ll now get back to tidying up.”

With a cheeky response Belinda slipped away leaving Ghislaine shaking her head and smiling helplessly.

Gillian approached as well bowing slightly as he said “Thank you for your hard work. Now please leave the rest to us and take a rest.”

It was a short but heartfelt comment. He was still the same dependable man.

“Yeah thanks Gillian. After cleaning up the battlefield let’s move to the Lord’s Castle.”

Thanks to Gillian’s tremendous destructive power the operation became much easier. Having this man on their side was truly the best choice.

Kaor swaggered over busy showing off. “Lord did you see my skills? I climbed the castle wall the fastest didn’t I? Ha I’m that strong!”

Ghislaine clicked her tongue but played along. He might be a bit off but he was useful in battle.

“You seemed to fight well today. Looks like you’ve been training hard?”

“I’m naturally good at fighting!”

With a blunt self-promotion Kaor chuckled again. “By the way our captain the Lord is really lucky. How is it that just when we bought a lot of supplies a drought occurs? Seriously he must be born under a lucky star.”

Having seen Ghislaine for a while Kaor thought this time he was truly lucky. Otherwise it just didn’t make sense.

There were rumors that he had learned astrology and predicted it by reading the stars but Kaor absolutely didn’t believe it.

“Someone like him would never study that sort of thing. He’d definitely close the book at the first page because it gives him a headache.”

Indeed he had a dog’s keen instincts. Ghislaine smiled at Kaor’s arrogant gaze.

“I can clearly see what you’re thinking.”

Just as she was about to say something other knights rushed over starting to boast.

“Did you see how my sword took off ten heads in one slash?”

“Is that all? You must be slacking off today; you’ll have to take the night watch. I took down a hundred in one go.”

“Hah you guys are so pathetic it makes me want to die. I took down five hundred all by myself and only injured my finger.”

Everyone was bragging bleeding from their mouths but full of bravado. Considering most were mercenaries their exaggerations were quite outrageous.

While Ghislaine enjoyed the atmosphere and praised the knights Belinda who had disappeared reappeared.

“Younger Master someone has come to see you.”

“Who? The retainers of Cabaldy?”

“No they said they came from the capital.”

“From the capital?”

They had just finished the battle and were currently securing prisoners and collecting weapons from the battlefield. It seemed too early for someone to come after hearing the news of victory.

Ghislaine feeling puzzled turned her head as someone approached.

It was a man with a robust build and numerous scars giving off a mercenary vibe.

He was a man who exuded a certain atmosphere.

“Congratulations on your victory. My name is Max. I work as a Resolver. I have a total of 10 other resolvers and one priest who came with me.”

A group of men following behind him bowed their heads to Ghislaine.

“Resolvers? Why not just call yourselves mercenaries? Why dress it up so grandly?”

Max seemingly at a loss for words bowed his head deeply. Ghislaine clicked her tongue and continued.

“So what do you want from me?”

“You were sent by Count Ailzbur’s Lady and Marquis Branford’s Young Lady. In case the Lord falls into danger report the situation and do whatever it takes to rescue him.”

Well that’s a considerate thing to do. Must be because of the cosmetics business but still they didn’t hesitate to spend big money and send people despite the political risks.

“Hmm but isn’t it a bit late? We’ve already won.”

Max smiled awkwardly at that.

“We rushed our route considering the risks but we never expected the war would end so quickly. Truly impressive.”

“Yeah well… sometimes things can be a bit late.”

“Still I’m glad you’re safe. We’ll head back and deliver this happy news to our clients.”

Max bowed his head happily again. It was a dangerous job but thankfully it ended without any issues.

But that thought came from not knowing Ghislaine.

“Where are you going?”

“Excuse me? Since the situation is over we’ll return and report to our clients…”

“What do you mean? Who decided it’s over? If you’ve received the money you’ve got to earn your pay.”

Max surprised asked Ghislaine back.

“I’m not sure what you mean.”

“I mean exactly that. If you’re mercenaries act like it and earn your pay.”

“But we’re not mercenaries; we’re resolvers…”

“Eh what’s the difference?”

“Ahem our mission was to safely rescue the Baron if he was in danger. You’ve already won and we confirmed your safety so our mission is complete.”

“I was in danger so why didn’t you rescue me?”

“Um well that’s…”

Max and the other resolvers were flustered. They arrived only to find the war over – what use was there for a rescue?

But Ghislaine couldn’t care less about their circumstances. What mattered was whether they earned their pay or not.

“Oh I think they’re frauds.”

As Ghislaine gestured the nearby knights and soldiers quickly surrounded the resolvers.

“If you don’t want to do your job refund me first and pay a penalty. If not things won’t be fun for you.”

Max and the resolvers looked around in panic.

Suddenly branded as frauds and surrounded. They had planned to leave happily but it felt like a bolt from the blue.

‘What the hell? Is this guy crazy? What kind of noble acts like this? Can’t he just discuss things calmly from the back? And why is he demanding a penalty and a refund?’

Seeing Max in distress Ghislaine wore a meaningful smile.

“You received money and did nothing before leaving? Such a thing cannot exist in this town. And I am someone very firm with frauds.”

If you’ve received money you must earn it. That’s a rule and belief of the Mercenary King.

He had no intention of simply sending away good laborers who had come looking for work.