167th Chapter: Let’s Do Our Best! (1)
“Fool.”
Amelia gritted her teeth as soon as she received Harold’s letter.
There is a time for everything. Being cautious is good, but seizing the right moment is also a skill.
Harold is certainly a capable person, but his characteristic caution was now holding him back.
“This isn’t the time to be pondering. Jurgen has said that we would handle it. Bernap, what do you think? Bernap?”
Amelia, glaring at the letter, frowned as she lifted her head at the lack of response from Bernap.
Bernap was staring at her face with a blissful expression.
Amelia pressed her forehead, closed her eyes, and let out a deep sigh.
Sigh, this is my fault. My fault.
In fact, Bernap wasn’t always this dense. He was quite bright when they first met.
But nowadays, he seemed to be living without any thoughts.
In a way, it was also Amelia’s fault. She crafted all the plans, and Bernap merely followed her orders.
Since he no longer needed to think, Bernap spent his time endlessly staring at Amelia’s face.
She couldn’t bring herself to say anything, even though he did it out of affection.
“Bernap!”
Meow!
“Yes? Yep!”
Startled by Amelia and Bastet’s roar, Bernap quickly snapped back to reality and wiped his mouth.
Amelia sighed again and spoke quickly.
“Since Harold is acting foolishly, we need to move first.”
“Doesn’t Count Desmond dislike deviating from his plans? If we move freely here, he certainly won’t sit idle, even if we succeed.”
“That’s why we need to get him to permit it first.”
“How?”
“We’re going to send Harold false information. Once my father gathers all the troops, he won’t be able to act at all. Harold will probably have a rough idea of the timing, so if we send false information just when he’s on edge, he won’t be able to resist.”
“Ah, so he’ll be burning with anxiety and won’t be able to interfere. That’s a good idea.”
“Right, and…”
Amelia continued with a chilling gaze.
“After we succeed, we need to find a way to contact the Duke Faction directly, bypassing Harold.”
At those words, Bernap gulped.
Harold had never hidden his contempt for Amelia, so there was no reason for their feelings to be good.
For now, they were on the same side, and with the Duke Faction backing them, they likely wouldn’t land in a war, but politically sidelining him wouldn’t be easy either.
However, it seemed Amelia had a plan tucked away.
Bernap hesitated, wondering whether to ask about her plan, but soon dropped the thought.
Quit.
‘Just listening will give me a headache and increase my workload, right?’
As he pretended not to hear, Amelia picked up another report and asked.
“Is there any problem with the transaction with Ghislaine?”
When she asked if it was okay to trade with Ghislaine from the Actium Merchant Group, Amelia readily approved without much thought.
Right now, it was more important to successfully carry out the rebellion and grow the Merchant Group than to hinder Ghislaine.
She was the type who could easily shake hands with the enemy if necessary.
Amelia casually asked for confirmation, but Bernap hesitated a bit before answering.
“Yes, as expected, we are purchasing food, materials, and necessary items for daily life. However…”
“However?”
“They keep insisting on lowering the price by 1 gold.”
“What? 1 gold? Not a few hundred?”
“Yes, 1 gold.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. They just demand a reduction of exactly 1 gold.”
“…”
Amelia couldn’t say anything for a while.
‘Is this guy trying to mess with me?’
In reality, this whole situation was instigated by Claude for his personal greed, but Amelia had no way of knowing that.
Who could have imagined that a bunch of lunatics would gather in one territory?
She rubbed her temples, feeling a headache coming on, and shook her head.
“Just let it be for now. And send someone to the capital to fetch some of Ghislaine’s cosmetics.”
“Huh? Why…?”
“I want to see what it’s like. They say it’s effective, so I want to give it a try.”
Amelia had already gathered information about Ghislaine’s evaluation from the Duke Faction and what had happened in the capital.
Every time she thought of that guy, her blood boiled, but there was no denying that Ghislaine had become significant enough to back even Marquis Branford now.
“If I had known he had that kind of skill, I would have given him 200,000 gold instead of just 20,000. He’s annoying, but it feels wasteful.”
With Amelia’s subtly nuanced statement, Bernap asked nervously.
“So… are you perhaps thinking of re-engaging with him?”
Amelia was the type to get what she wanted by any means necessary.
If she truly valued Ghislaine, she might even propose the engagement again.
Hearing the anxious tone in Bernap’s voice, Amelia let out a small laugh.
It wouldn’t be easy to show her feelings like that.
“Forget it. It’s true he has talent, but he’s an unlucky guy. I don’t really like people who act tough in front of me. And…”
After a brief silence, Amelia continued softly.
“There’s no need to hurt my people because of such a guy.”
At those words, Bernap’s face brightened. His heart raced, and he felt warmth in his cheeks.
Though he heard such words seldom, the phrase “my people” felt like something special just for him.
Amelia sat down, cradling Bastet in her arms, and poured wine into a glass.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and move. Make sure to prepare for the operation without mistakes.”
“Yes! Understood!”
Bernap flashed an excited smile and hurriedly left.
Watching him leave with such enthusiasm, Amelia shook her head.
“Is he really that happy? Seriously… Bastet, what about you?”
Meow.
Bastet also nuzzled against her, purring happily.
Amelia savored her wine with an unidentifiable smile.
*
Having laid the groundwork for the apprentice knights, Ghislaine relentlessly nagged Claude without a moment’s pause.
He was being persistent.
To proceed with the next planned task, time was of the essence.
“Have the slave traders not contacted us yet? What’s going on? Did those guys skip town with my money?”
“Oh, you asked that yesterday too. The message came back saying it would take more time. Considering the price, they’re probably being cautious.”
Moving with just a single other-race slave costs a lot.
This is because there are plenty of bandits and lords targeting them. If they manage to take just one, they could get a hefty sum, so it made sense.
In the end, the slave traders had no choice but to be very careful with the slaves they were escorting.
Furthermore, Ghislaine didn’t just ask for one or two other-race slaves.
Since they had to gather them from many branches, it was bound to take time.
“That’s why I told you to quickly gather the dwarves and send them first. Delay the other slaves if you have to.”
“That’s… Well, trust is vital for these folks, I’m sure they’re coming. They’ll arrive soon.”
Claude bit back a retort at Ghislaine’s complaints and calmed him down.
“Send someone to check where they’ve gotten to and urge them to hurry. We don’t have time.”
“Ugh, got it.”
Feeling reprimanded, Claude retreated weakly.
“I’ll have to ask again tomorrow.”
Ghislaine smirked and headed toward the training ground.
Despite being the busiest person in the territory, he never skipped training whenever he found a moment.
Knowing the strength of his enemies, he could not afford to waste even a single moment.
Boom!
“Huff, huff.”
Ghislaine, clad in heavy armor, wielded his sword and exhaled heavily.
This armor was specially ordered by him; it was made of thick solid steel hammered into shape, weighing several hundred kilograms.
Clank, clank.
That wasn’t all. Chains were bound around various parts of Ghislaine’s body.
At the ends of those chains were additional heavy weights.
Ordinary people wouldn’t be able to move, let alone breathe under such weight, yet he practiced swordsmanship under those conditions.
Boom!
Each step resonated loudly.
Feeling the weight pressing down on him, Ghislaine slowly swung his sword.
He didn’t swing it carelessly; every movement was precise.
It was not training; it was pure self-torture.
Swish.
Focusing even on the twitch of his fingertips, he moved the sword without any tremor, finding the optimal position.
Once one move was complete, he flowed into the next, repeating any movement that was even slightly off hundreds of times.
This was a training method that ordinary people could never follow, but for Ghislaine, it was just another part of his routine.
Through this effort, he pushed beyond his talent and broke through his limits.
‘Once more.’
Crunch.
Every movement brought waves of pain. His muscles screamed against the weight.
‘Endure!’
Ghislaine gritted his teeth and persevered.
He knew that as his muscles tore and healed, they would grow tougher and stronger.
Moreover, his newfound regenerative power after reincarnation meant that ordinary wounds healed in an instant.
In other words, at this very moment, Ghislaine’s body was growing at an astonishing speed.
Of course, the bigger and more numerous the wounds got, the more mana it consumed, but Ghislaine managed to combine training with handling territorial affairs while his exhausted body recovered.
He understood that if he relied solely on his regeneration without taking a break, his body would eventually break down, so he always pushed himself to the brink.
He attached it.
The experience he had built up until now instinctively told him when and where to stop for maximum effect.
“Just a little more.”
However, even though the effect was certain, it was a painful training that could not be accomplished with ordinary grit and mental strength.
Every time he wanted to stop and give up, Ghislaine constantly whipped himself, reminding himself why he needed to become stronger.
In his past life, he endured all pain gritting his teeth solely with the determination for revenge.
And now.
A vow not to lose what was precious was supporting him.
Because there were countless people targeting him.
The first enemy he had to face was Count Harold Desmond.
To seize dominance in the North, he inevitably had to clash with him. Conversely, Harold would also aim for Ghislaine to take control of the North.
Harold must be gnashing his teeth even more since he couldn’t move right now.
And Amelia Raybold was also probably targeting Ghislaine.
“Amelia is the most crucial variable in conquering the North, a double-edged sword.”
In terms of potential, she might be an even more dangerous enemy than Harold, but he couldn’t eliminate her right away. Targeting Amelia now would be counterproductive.
The priority was to buy time by keeping the enemies’ attention on her.
“If I can’t eliminate her, I’ll have to make the most of it.”
When he trampled Raybold in his past life, he accidentally learned about Amelia’s ambitions and plans.
If he could exploit that point well, it might become a significant variable for future developments. Eliminating her would come afterward.
“There are more than just those two enemies.”
Even if he took them out, even more dangerous foes lurked behind them.
First of all, the Duke Delphine faction.
The Duke faction, the strongest force in the kingdom, was also an unavoidable enemy for Ghislaine.
Raoul and Count Valzac must surely have judged him as a risk factor.
And… Aiden.
The one who had driven the former Mercenary King, who ranked among the continent’s top seven, to death would one day come looking for Ghislaine.
Together with those mysterious strongmen who referred to him as “us.”
“I need to reach the level I had in my past life as soon as possible.”
To deal with so many enemies, he needed powerful strength.
Seizing Count Cabaldy’s Territory and obtaining Iron Ore was merely laying the groundwork to continue fighting against them.
“If I grow stronger, I can save at least one more person.”
Thus, Ghislaine could not give up this painful training.
The Mana Circulation Method he employed boasted explosive power. Thanks to consuming Blood Python’s poison, the downside of having a limited amount he could control due to its instability was greatly alleviated.
Now it was time to train his body to withstand the explosive force.
“Whooo!”
He swung the sword again.
He felt his muscles tearing as they reached their limit.
“It’s a shame, but I guess this will have to do for today.”
As Ghislaine set down his sword and took a moment to catch his breath, his regeneration quickly kicked in, healing the torn muscles.
While he grit his teeth to endure the pain, he couldn’t help but click his tongue.
He missed the exclusive training space he had created by inviting mages during his previous life as the Mercenary King.
If only he could make the space itself heavy to stimulate the muscles of his whole body, the training efficiency would be far greater than now.
“I’ll have to ask Vanessa later to set up some wide-area gravity magic.”
After several days of pestering Claude, tearing muscles, organizing documents, and pestering Claude again.
At last, the news Ghislaine had been waiting for arrived.
“The dwarves have arrived!”
