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“Handsome Ricardo! Look over here!”

“Young Lord! No, Baron, hooray!”

“For the victory of Ferdium!”

Everyone, drunk and cheerful, shouted with excitement.

After the hardships of war, nothing beats alcohol and food to soothe the weariness.

With a smile, Ghislain watched them, then turned away and quietly left the banquet hall.

‘It’s only right for those who endured the hardships to enjoy the joy of victory…’

But there were also those who couldn’t share in this joy—specifically, the families of those who had sacrificed their lives.

Although Ferdium’s casualties were fewer compared to the enemy’s scale, there were still those who had died.

Their families would not be able to overcome their grief anytime soon.

Ghislain sought them out, holding their hands and offering words of comfort. He also promised them substantial compensation.

It was a duty that originally fell to the lord, and Zwalter would have gladly taken on the task, but Ghislain acted without hesitation.

‘Because part of this responsibility is mine.’

He didn’t regret it.

If he hadn’t done so, Ferdium would have fallen, and the people of the land would have either died or suffered in torment.

Yet, he couldn’t deny that sacrifices had been made because of him.

He was the one who had hastened the war and expanded its scale.

Since it was a war he had initiated to protect everyone, the victims deserved adequate consolation and compensation.

Ghislain, accompanied only by Belinda and Gillian, visited the families of the fallen.

He couldn’t do this forever…

But before leaving Ferdium, he wanted to comfort his people at least once and compensate them for their sacrifice.

“Thank you. Thank you, Young Lord.”

Every person Ghislain met bowed their heads to him in gratitude.

They were thankful to the heir of the estate who had come all the way to offer his condolences, ensuring they were not forgotten.

They understood that it would have been far worse had they lost the war.

But the grief of losing a loved one could not be easily overcome.

Gillian quietly followed Ghislain, observing everything from behind.

‘I thought he was someone who only cared about efficiency.’

He knew that Ghislain took good care of his people, but he didn’t expect him to go this far for the people of the land.

Ghislain would soon be leaving Ferdium.

Even though there was nothing for him to gain by doing this, he took it upon himself to meet with the bereaved families.

“Sniff.”

“What’s wrong, Belinda? Are you crying?”

“No? When did I ever?”

Belinda glared at Ghislain with eyes welling with tears.

To her, the soldiers of the land were like friends, so the sadness was all the greater.

Ghislain chuckled softly and placed a handkerchief in Belinda’s hand.

“Let’s call it a day and head back.”

Even after returning to the castle, he didn’t go directly to the banquet hall but instead checked on the wounded before finally seeking out Vanessa.

“Vanessa, are you feeling any better?”

“Ah… Young Lord.”

Ghislain gently stopped Vanessa from trying to rise from her bed and sat beside her.

“You did really well. Thanks to you, we were able to win the war.”

Under his warm gaze, she smiled softly.

She was happy to have been of help, to have repaid the favor.

But above all else, she was most delighted that she had finally been recognized as a magician in her own right.

As the two smiled at each other, a voice, barely clinging to life, came from the side.

“Damn it… Am I invisible…?”

Alfoi, panting heavily, glared at Ghislain. Ghislain feigned surprise, widening his eyes.

“Alfoi, you’re here too? Right, you did well too. Good job.”

“Ugh, you damn bastard…”

Alfoi ground his teeth, glaring daggers at Ghislain.

It was thanks to him that his mana had been completely drained, nearly leading him to death, yet Ghislain acted so nonchalantly.

But now, more than anger, curiosity filled Alfoi’s mind.

“How did you do it, anyway? How did that woman manage to use magic… and such high-level magic at that?”

The sight of the massive pillar of fire erupting was something even Alfoi, a former member of the tower, had never witnessed before.

He had managed to get Vanessa to admit that she had triggered an explosion using the Runestone buried in the ground, but he still couldn’t understand how she had used magic at all.

Though she had drawn on the mana of six people, giving her an immense amount, Alfoi knew that Vanessa couldn’t even properly cast a 1st-circle spell.

“She couldn’t even use mana before—when did she become capable of controlling it?”

Vanessa had said that Ghislain had forcibly made her sense mana, but Alfoi didn’t believe it.

The idea that a mere troublemaker from a rural estate could do what even the magic tower couldn’t? Impossible. There had to be another secret behind it.

Alfoi believed that if he uncovered that secret, he could grow even stronger.

Seeing the dying man’s eyes gleaming with desire, Ghislain shrugged.

“I have a method only I know. If you want to learn it, work hard for the estate. Maybe then, I’ll tell you one or two things.”

“What… What did you say? You… ugh… Once I return to the magic tower…”

At this, Ghislain interrupted him with a laugh.

“Oh, the magic tower? As a matter of fact, I’m planning to visit soon. I’ll make sure to pass along your story. It might even solidify your position as the Tower Master’s successor, who knows?”

At the mention of putting in a good word, Alfoi couldn’t help but smile slyly.

“Hmph, well, that’s appreciated… But why are you going to the tower? You still have time left on your contract.”

“I have a proposal to make. It’ll benefit you as well.”

“…?”

Alfoi blinked, not comprehending Ghislain’s words.

But Ghislain wasn’t inclined to explain further.

He turned back to Vanessa.

“Rest well. I’ll tell you more when I get back.”

Vanessa gave a small smile and nodded.

“Hey, wait! Explain what you mean before you go! Hey!”

Alfoi’s shout echoed behind him, but Ghislain didn’t look back.

—

The next day, as soon as the banquet concluded, Ghislain took the mercenaries back into the Forest of Beasts.

In his absence, the palisades and roads had nearly been completed.

Ghislain mined a large number of Runestones and handed half of them over to Homerne.

With the influx of funds, the Ferdium estate would quickly stabilize.

‘This should be enough for Ferdium for now.’

The enemies would be too preoccupied with recovering from their losses to turn their attention this way anytime soon.

‘I need to quickly build up power and prepare for what’s next.’

He had managed to buy some time, but that didn’t mean he could afford to be complacent.

He needed to seize this opportunity to weaken the enemy’s forces and find a chance to strike back.

‘Funds, military strength, food supplies, alliances to form…’

There was so much to prepare. He had to make the most of the time available. There was no time to rest.

Ghislain didn’t even consider returning to the castle; he immediately turned his horse around.

“We’re heading to the tower.”

“The tower? Are you going to sell more Runestones?” Belinda asked.

Ghislain shook his head.

There were still Runestones left, but he had no intention of selling them to the tower.

“I have something to discuss with the tower.”

“When will you head to the Fenris Estate?”

“After I take care of this first.”

He knew he couldn’t leave the lordship vacant for too long, but right now, visiting the tower was more urgent.

Forging a new agreement with them would make things smoother going forward.

As soon as Ghislain had received the Fenris barony, he had sent Kaor and some of the mercenaries there.

They would be able to maintain some order for a while, preventing the estate from falling into disarray.

Belinda, worried about the Fenris Estate, furrowed her brow but silently followed Ghislain towards the Crimson Flame Tower.

—

After several days of travel, they arrived in the tower city.

Belinda glanced around, letting out an admiring sigh.

“Wow, it’s as clean as ever here. I hope our estate can become like this someday.”

Ghislain and the mercenaries nodded in agreement.

No matter how many times they visited, it was always a remarkably clean and impressive city.

“Oh my! You’ve arrived! Please, come right in!”

The gatekeeper, who had once been stiff and formal, promptly opened the doors as soon as he spotted Ghislain.

Sylvain, who had been stationed in the lobby, immediately bowed at a steep angle upon seeing Ghislain.

“It’s an honor to have you visit again! I’ll send word right away.”

Sylvain hurriedly led Ghislain to the Tower Master.

Hubert, the Tower Master, greeted Ghislain with an exaggeratedly emotional expression.

“Oh my! Come in! Did you win the war? Well, you must have, otherwise you wouldn’t be here. What happened?”

There had been magicians dispatched to Ferdium, but given the sensitive matter of the Runestones, Hubert had been keenly keeping up with the news through his own channels.

Thanks to this, he had quickly learned that a war had broken out.

However, he hadn’t yet heard the outcome or the detailed events, and the uncertainty had made him anxious. Seeing Ghislain arrive in person brought him a great sense of relief.

Ghislain responded to the overly enthusiastic welcome with a playful smile.

“It seems you’ve been eagerly waiting for me.”

“You don’t know how worried we were, wondering if we’d be caught in the crossfire. I never expected the war to break out so soon.”

“You should never underestimate the ambitions of the lords.”

Hubert nodded in agreement.

He hadn’t thought that war would break out so easily, but events had unfolded in direct contradiction to that belief.

In this regard, the insight of this young man was something to be commended.

“Well, take a seat. Did you come to sell Runestones? I didn’t see a wagon with you. No, more importantly, how did you manage to win? Tell me all about it.”

Ghislain leisurely sipped his tea, drawing out the moment.

Hubert fidgeted impatiently, like a dog with its tail on fire.

Ghislain, satisfied with Hubert’s reaction, spoke leisurely.

“It wasn’t much. I just buried all the Runestones I had gathered in the ground and detonated them.”

“…What?”

Hubert blinked, struggling to comprehend the shocking statement.

Soon, understanding the full scope of what had happened, Hubert shouted in disbelief.

“This is insane! I knew you weren’t in your right mind, but I never thought it was this bad!”

With that many Runestones, if they had gone over there themselves… Even if they couldn’t directly assist, they surely would have found another way to help!

“You should’ve just handed them all over to us instead. We could’ve brought a team of magicians with us!”

Hubert lamented, recalling the cart full of Runestones from their previous transaction.

Ghislain lowered his voice subtly and asked, “Were you really planning to send magicians to help?”

Hubert hesitated for a moment before nodding vigorously.

“Of course! We would’ve found a way to assist, without a doubt!”

Now that the war was over, there was no harm in saying whatever sounded good.

Flattering Ghislain a bit and keeping the flow of Runestones was all that mattered.

Ghislain responded with a knowing smile at Hubert’s confident words.

In a voice as smooth as a serpent’s, Ghislain said,
“I’m truly moved by the Tower Master’s generosity. I never imagined you’d think of me so fondly. It’s really reassuring.”

“Ahem, well, it’s nothing. We’ve established a good working relationship, after all. I’d be disappointed if you didn’t see it that way, right?”

“As expected from the master of the Crimson Flame Tower. To think you’re such an honorable figure—clearly, I must have misunderstood you before. I apologize for any disrespectful behavior on my part. I’d be thrilled if we could continue our mutually beneficial relationship in the future.”

Ghislain’s words were as slick as oil, smooth and flattering.

Hubert, feeling a bit embarrassed, coughed awkwardly.

He had tossed out some empty words just to keep Ghislain in good spirits, but now Ghislain was turning the praise back on him.

Then, Ghislain added with a broad grin, “With such an understanding nature, it makes it easier for me to speak openly. I was worried about how to bring this up… but it’s great to see we’re on the same page.”

Hubert suddenly felt a twinge of unease.

Come to think of it, the last time he made offhand remarks, it had cost him…

‘Why did he come here, anyway?’

The contract with the tower still had plenty of time left.

Could it be that he had just come to boast about winning the war?

‘No, that can’t be. He’s strange, but he wouldn’t come all this way for such a trivial reason.’

He’d learned that much from their previous dealings.

Ghislain Ferdium was not the kind of person to accept a loss.

He wouldn’t waste days talking about something that wouldn’t profit him.

With a trembling voice, Hubert asked, “W-What is it? What did you come here to say?”

“It seems I won’t be able to sell any more Runestones. I’m terribly sorry about this.”

Hubert’s face crumpled instantly at those words.