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The knight standing beside Homerne quickly grabbed him as he staggered.

He barely managed to steady himself, but his legs still wobbled, looking as if he might collapse again at any moment.

“There are more than a few places in the estate where money is needed… and you spent all that money? And on useless mercenaries, no less…”

Even if a war broke out, what difference would an additional force of merely three hundred soldiers make?

It would be quicker to offer Runestones to the other lords and request reinforcements.

Alternatively, he could promise to offer part of the Runestones and surrender. Even if they lost the estate war, it wasn’t as if the victors would wipe out the lord’s family and retainers.

“You should have spent that money on the knights and soldiers instead!”

It seemed as if mercenaries had been hired and provided with top-tier equipment.

This fool had recklessly spent money to increase his own forces.

Disappointment was written all over Homerne’s pale face. Ghislain smiled and spoke.

“I’ve set aside 5,000 gold to give to Father. I’ll also bring back more Runestones soon, so don’t worry too much.”

Despite this, Homerne’s expression remained dark.

Even if more Runestones could be procured later, there were still numerous urgent needs for money right now.

This was why Homerne had been counting on the money Ghislain would bring back… The more he had hoped, the greater his disappointment.

‘Ugh, I knew I couldn’t trust a brat like him with money. I have to manage the Runestones from the estate somehow.’

Homerne couldn’t even bring himself to speak, only showing a sorrowful expression.

At that moment, a carriage approached from afar.

Drawn by eight white horses, the carriage was grand and extravagant, the kind only the wealthiest of nobles could afford to ride in.

A short while later, the carriage stopped in front of Ghislain. The door opened, and one by one, people clad in black robes disembarked.

The last man to step out looked at Ghislain and greeted him.

“Oh, did the Young Lord come out to greet us in person? You’re finally showing some noble dignity. Hahaha.”

The insolent speaker was Alfoi, from the Crimson Flame Tower.

Ghislain had instructed him to depart so that he would arrive at Ferdium around a month later, and it seemed he had timed it perfectly, arriving simultaneously with Ghislain.

Ghislain sighed as he looked at the arrogant magician standing before him.

“As always, you never listen to a damn thing I say.”

He had clearly told him to come discreetly, without attracting attention, but the carriage’s flashy appearance was far from subtle. Plenty of people would remember seeing it pass by.

At least, if there was any silver lining, it was that everyone in the group was hidden under black robes.

Homorne, looking between Ghislain and Alfoi in a daze, asked blankly.

“Who… are these people?”

“These are the mercenaries I hired.”

“What kind of mercenaries cover themselves with robes like that and ride in such carriages…?”

After glancing around at Ghislain and the mercenaries again, he shook his head and said, “Yeah, go ahead and play your war games together. Must be fun.”

With those words, Homerne staggered back inside the castle. If he stayed any longer, it felt like his anger would get the better of him.

Ghislain shrugged his shoulders and then checked on Vanessa, who was hesitantly standing behind the mages.

“You made it safely. Nothing happened, right?”

“I-I greet you, Young Lord. N-no, nothing happened to me…”

“Did anyone bother you?”

“N-no, no one did.”

“That’s good to hear. Let’s head inside for now.”

The mages climbed back into the carriage.

The mercenaries followed Ghislain into the castle.

After passing through the outer castle and stopping in front of the lord’s manor, Ghislain entrusted Belinda with guiding the mages.

“Belinda, please prepare rooms for the mages. I’ll take the mercenaries to their quarters.”

“Understood. It seems I need to tidy up a bit too; it’s been a while.”

As he was about to lead the mercenaries again, something rather irritating caught his eye.

“Tch, these bastards…”

The mages were leisurely strolling around, hands behind their backs, casually admiring the lord’s manor and commenting amongst themselves.

“Hm, this castle is built with quite an interesting style. It seems well-suited to the climate of this region…”

“It’s not flashy, but it gives off a practical and classic vibe…”

“It’s structured with a focus on harmony and proportion as foundational elements…”

It wasn’t surprising that the mages were showing off with their pretentious talk; it was typical of them.

The real problem, however, was that while they elegantly engaged in their discussion, Vanessa was struggling on her own, unloading heavy luggage from the carriage.

The load must have been quite heavy, as she couldn’t hide the strain on her face.

As soon as she unloaded a few pieces of luggage, she hurried back into the carriage to fetch more. There was a lot of luggage, so she had to make multiple trips.

Ghislain coldly approached the mages and spoke.

“What do you think you’re doing? I distinctly told you not to treat Vanessa poorly.”

“She’s always been good at that kind of work. It’s best to leave the task to those who are competent at it.”

Their smug grins made it clear that, in the past month, the tower had momentarily forgotten its place.

It was obvious that after Ghislain had left, they had been treating Vanessa poorly and exploiting her as they used to.

Ghislain called out to Vanessa, who was unloading the luggage.

“Vanessa, stop that and come over here.”

“N-no, it’s alright. I’ll finish moving the luggage…”

Ghislain’s voice turned icy as he cut her off.

“Who do you think your master is? You only need to listen to me.”

But Vanessa, torn between Ghislain and Alfoi, was too nervous to act.

When Ghislain raised his hand with a slight motion, Vanessa lowered her head and hesitantly walked over to him.

“Listen carefully. From now on, you will only follow my orders and no one else’s. Understood?”

“Yes, I understand.”

Ghislain firmly warned Vanessa and then sternly addressed Alfoi.

“Vanessa is no longer your servant. She belongs to me now, so do not treat her poorly. I’ll let it slide this once since it’s the first time. But if this happens again, you’ll be putting your neck on the line.”

“H-how could you speak like that about such a lowly wench…?”

Alfoi ground his teeth in humiliation.

He couldn’t comprehend why Ghislain was paying attention to a mere servant over him, the heir to the tower.

On top of that, Ghislain continued to act rudely toward him. The anger boiling inside Alfoi was unbearable.

‘Should I just kill him?’

He felt an overwhelming urge to use magic and crush that arrogant face right then and there.

With no elders from the tower around to control him, his emotions surged, unrestrained.

‘Yes, I could just say it was an accident to the tower, right?’

Consumed by rage, Alfoi began to emit a dangerous, violent aura.

The mercenaries nearby frowned and instinctively reached for their weapons.

Alfoi was exuding such blatant killing intent that even those around him could sense it.

Clearly, having been raised in the tower’s sheltered environment, he was clueless about reading the atmosphere.

Ghislain let out a deep, mocking laugh.

“As I thought, people like you don’t understand words.”

“What?”

As Alfoi scowled, Ghislain approached one of the guards standing by the castle gate.

“Give me your spear.”

“Pardon?”

Without waiting for a second response, Ghislain snatched the spear from the guard’s hands and broke it immediately.

Crack!

The spear, cheap and made of wood due to the poverty of the Ferdium family, snapped easily.

Ghislain removed the spearhead, leaving a makeshift club that fit perfectly in his hand.

He began tapping his palm lightly with the club, walking toward Alfoi.

“Idiots with nothing but shit in their heads…”

“What?”

“Historically, this has always been the best medicine for people like you.”

“You bastard!”

Enraged by the insult, Alfoi began to gather his magical power.

Wooong!

The circle in his heart spun vigorously as the magic materialized according to his will.

Kwooom!

He raised his hand, ready to demonstrate the overwhelming might of a mage.

Smack!

“Aaargh!”

But before the spell could be cast, pain shot through him as his vision flashed.

“What… what just happened?”

He had no idea how he’d been hit.

He hadn’t even seen the attack, and he couldn’t figure out why his magic had been interrupted.

“D-damn it!”

Alfoi tried once more to summon his magic, but Ghislain’s hand moved faster.

Whack!

“Aaaagh!”

This time, the sound was even louder. Instinctively, Alfoi clutched his head with both hands.

Soon, pain was flooding through not just his head, but his entire body.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Aaaaargh!”

Ghislain, now casually placing one hand behind his back like the mages had earlier, leisurely began beating Alfoi with just one hand.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Aaaargh! W-wait!”

Alfoi was on the verge of madness.

Every time he tried to gather his magic, the flow was cut off at the perfect moment.

It felt like something was blocking the energy inside his body, preventing him from casting spells.

Thwack! Thwack!

“Gaaack!”

What was driving him even crazier was that he couldn’t even fall down.

Every time he tried to collapse, the club would come flying from the opposite side, forcing him back to his feet.

“Aaaargh!”

“Stop this at once!”

Unable to watch any longer, the other mages began releasing their magical energy, preparing to act.

Clang!

However, the moment the mages showed any signs of moving, the surrounding mercenaries swiftly placed their weapons at their throats.

The mages couldn’t even twitch a finger.

“Ugh…”

The other mages looked pale with fear. Alfoi, meanwhile, was relentlessly beaten without a moment’s respite.

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

“Ugh! Stop! I’m sorry!”

This was the first time Alfoi had ever experienced such pain.

In the tower, he had always been treated with the utmost respect, able to do as he pleased.

He had never imagined that he could be treated in such a humiliating way.

“Hm, shall I stop here?”

When Ghislain finally stopped the beating, Alfoi collapsed to his knees on the ground.

“Keugh… Ugh…”

Ghislain crouched down in front of the suffering Alfoi.

“You really are a short-sighted fool, aren’t you? Are you even a mage? This is our land. Do you think you can handle the consequences of causing trouble here? Do you think you could even escape?”

If Alfoi had injured or killed Ghislain with his magic, he would have been executed on the spot.

He had been too enraged to even consider such a possibility.

Suddenly, Alfoi snapped out of his fury and looked around.

The mages who had come with him were also being held at knifepoint by the mercenaries.

“Ugh…”

Alfoi gritted his teeth, but there was nothing he could do.

Over three hundred mercenaries were surrounding them. If a fight broke out, the six mages would be turned into a bloody mess in an instant.

“Y-you bastard…”

Alfoi staggered to his feet, his entire body screaming in pain, but the wound to his pride hurt even more.

“How dare you do this to us! I will make sure you pay for this—I’ll report it, and you will face the consequences!”

Ghislain responded with a laugh, amused by Alfoi’s outburst.

“Go ahead and report it. Who do you think your master will side with? Have you already forgotten what the contract says? Want to go back now?”

“Ugh…”

Hubert had repeatedly warned Alfoi not to provoke Ghislain.

—That guy’s not normal. Don’t engage with him; just do what he says. The more you talk, the worse it will be for you.

Faced with the undeniable reality, Alfoi clenched his teeth. But then Ghislain’s mocking voice pierced the air again.

“You think you’ll be fine if something happens to me? If we lose this war, you’ll be thrown aside like a severed tail and kicked out by your master.”

Those words hit like a bucket of cold water, instantly sobering up Alfoi and the other mages.

Ghislain wasn’t wrong.

If things went wrong, the tower would likely claim that a few rogue mages had acted independently, denying any connection to Ghislain.

And if the supply of runestones was cut off, the responsibility would fall squarely on the mages.

Finally grasping the situation, Alfoi and the mages could only keep their mouths shut, unable to offer a rebuttal.

“If you want to make it back alive, do your best to help. If you don’t want your contract terminated, behave yourself from now on. Heh.”

But Alfoi, accustomed to being revered as the heir of the tower, couldn’t simply endure Ghislain’s tyranny.

“No noble has ever treated us so disgracefully! We demand to be treated with the respect we deserve! Respect!”

Alfoi shouted, veins bulging in his neck.

However, Ghislain responded with nothing more than a dismissive comment.

“You’re just backups. To be precise, you’re like supplementary magic power. That’s why I’m letting it go this far. If you want to be treated with respect, behave yourselves quietly.”