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As Ghislain suddenly grabbed my face and his shoulders began to shake, Elena showed a slightly frightened expression.

It was because her brother was the type who could snap and do something crazy at any time.

“Huh? Oh, no, it’s nothing. But wow, it’s really been a long time!”

Ghislain spread his arms wide, looking emotional.

Elena’s death had been a painful memory that haunted him for his entire life. Seeing her alive again, he felt an overwhelming joy swelling in his chest.

He didn’t express his emotions in words. True to his title as the King of Mercenaries, he always expressed himself physically and boldly.

“Elena!”

As Ghislain approached with open arms, Elena’s face turned pale momentarily.

“Wh-Why?”

“I really missed you!”

“But I just saw you a few days ago… Wait! Why are you acting like this? Don’t come any closer!”

Grab!

Ghislain hugged Elena tightly, closing his eyes. An emotion so overwhelming it almost brought tears wrapped around his entire body.

“Eek! Why are you being so creepy all of a sudden!”

Elena was genuinely flustered.

The truth was, she and Ghislain didn’t have the best relationship.

Driven by his inferiority complex, Ghislain was always quick-tempered and made those around him feel exhausted. There was no way he had been affectionate towards his younger sister.

“What kind of prank is this? What are you plotting now?”

Elena twisted her body, pushing Ghislain away.

Just as she was about to fire another retort, she froze the moment she looked at her brother’s face.

Soft eyes, a smile filled with unexplained longing.

It was an expression of Ghislain’s that she had never seen before, and for a moment, it left Elena feeling choked up.

She didn’t know why she felt this way.

‘Why is he acting like this? Did he cause trouble again? And why are his eyes all unnecessarily teary?’

Elena stared at Ghislain suspiciously. On the other hand, he was still smiling brightly, as if he couldn’t be happier.

Though she didn’t know the reason, that smile felt sincere at that moment.

‘He’s kind of like how he used to be?’

When their father was always away on campaigns, and after their mother passed away, the two siblings relied on each other.

As time passed and Ghislain became a scoundrel, their relationship had grown distant, though.

As Elena squinted and continued to stare at him, Ghislain cleared his throat.

“Ahem, I’m just happy to see you. Anyway, what are you doing in my room?”

“Wow.”

Elena looked at him stunned, as if she couldn’t believe what she heard.

Ghislain hadn’t reacted like this a few days ago when she visited.

— Get lost. Don’t loiter in front of me and ruin my mood. I find your presence incredibly unpleasant.

That was the kind of response she was used to hearing from him.

Truthfully, Elena hadn’t wanted to come, but she had heard that Ghislain had nearly died to an orc, so she visited out of courtesy.

“Well, Belinda told me to check on you… I heard you were in danger from an orc, but you seem fine?”

Belindatendedy to think rather simplistically.

She probably hoped that the siblings’ relationship would improve if Elena came to visit.

Since Belinda kept asking, Elena eventually gave in and visited, but to her surprise, Ghislain seemed to be in good shape.

She had expected him to be bedridden with a fever, not welcoming her so cheerfully.

“Orcs? I handled them all. It was nothing. I’m very strong, you know.”

As Ghislain shrugged and acted smug, Elena couldn’t help but let out a laugh.

“What? You came back after collapsing, didn’t you?”

“Oh, what are you talking about? Listen to this. You want to hear how I dealt with those bastards…”

Ghislain began gesturing wildly as he recounted his tale of valor. Watching him boast so exaggeratedly made Elena burst into laughter.

Seeing him show off was funny, and it wasn’t so bad to see her brother in such a bright mood for a change.

“So, I called for that guy, Ricardo…”

“Oh, I know who he is. That flirt of a soldier, right?”

“You know him? Well, he is good-looking.”

“He’s famous. Do you know how popular he is with the ladies?”

“Hmph sounds like he’s as much of a scoundrel as Aiden.”

“Aiden? Who’s that?”

“There’s someone. A really bad guy.”

Ghislain’s eyes briefly gleamed with a hint of malice, and Elena’s face reflected a knowing expression as if to say, Of course, there it is.

She had thought he was doing better, but it seemed he wasn’t completely back to normal yet.

Still, this was an improvement, even if slight. She would have to keep watching him since his mood could change at any moment.

“I’ll get going now. Take care of yourself.”

“Yeah, next time, I’ll tell you about the time I killed a dragon.”

“Oh? Did you kill it in your dreams? Do you even know what a dragon is?”

After hearing Ghislain’s exaggerated, heroic tale, Elena left in good spirits.

Although he was a bit odd, this version of Ghislain—who was full of bluster—was much better than before.

In the past, his temperament had made even a brief conversation unbearable.

Even after Elena had left, Ghislain stood staring at the door for a long time, a faint smile playing on his lips.

“I’ve never forgotten you, not for a single moment.”

He could never forget the sight of Elena, found brutally murdered and mutilated.

“Nor have I forgotten the others.”

He couldn’t erase the memory of returning to the estate and finding the decapitated bodies of his father and their vassal hung at the gates.

“I was a coward and a disgrace.”

He remembered how, out of fear, he had run away, unable to do anything.

The smile on Ghislain’s face suddenly vanished, replaced by a chilling atmosphere.

“The opportunity to set everything right has come back to me…”

He was no longer the pathetic, disgraceful nobleman from his past life.

“I will prevent the fall of Ferdium.”

Ghislain hurriedly found a pen and paper and scribbled down as much as he could remember about the future. He had a rough idea of the significant events that would unfold across the continent. While he couldn’t recall exact dates, he had a general sense of the timeline, which would help guide his next steps.

“First, I need to save Elena…”

In a week, the festival would begin. This festival, meant to pray for prosperity, also marked the start of the harvest season. Even in the harsh northern territories, where battles with barbarians were never-ending, people held festivals, praying for better times.

“Think… back then…”

At the time, Ghislain was so fed up with the constant criticism and scorn that he decided to leave the family estate.

The festival began amidst that turmoil, and at Elena’s urging, he went out with her to enjoy the celebration.

But with his mood in shambles, he couldn’t care less about the festival. He eventually returned to the castle alone.

After all, it was a festival held within the territory, and Elena had her knight escorts, so he didn’t give it much thought.

“Then Elena disappeared…”

It wasn’t long after Elena and her knights went missing that their bodies were found.

That incident was the final straw. Ghislain couldn’t bear it any longer and fled the castle, avoiding the whispers and rumors that plagued him.

That was the last time Ghislain set foot in Ferdium.

“I should have been with her.”

Though, in truth, it probably wouldn’t have made a difference. Back then, Ghislain had been far too weak to protect anyone.

Still, the guilt of leaving Elena and returning to the castle alone haunted him for the rest of his life.

“Could it be… was Elena’s death orchestrated by the Delfine Duchy?”

In his previous life, it was revealed that the person who killed Elena was a young noble from another territory who had come to watch the festival.

Naturally, those accused of the crime denied it, claiming they had been falsely framed, but Ferdium got dragged into a territorial war and suffered heavy losses.

From that point on, a series of large and small incidents unfolded, making the situation worse and worse.

“Something stinks… like goblin dung.”

Ghislain didn’t know the exact details of what had happened afterward because he left before the territorial war erupted.

All he knew was the general flow of events, pieced together from information he had gathered during his quest for revenge.

At first, he had assumed it was a preemptive strike, destroying territories that might rebel.

But everything became suspicious once he learned that Aiden had been involved in Ferdium’s downfall. It was clear now that there had been a conspiracy.

“Why would they destroy such a poor, useless territory? Even if they conquered it, they’d just end up fighting the barbarians in our place.”

There were hidden resources nearby, but no one knew about them during this time.
It was something Ghislain had investigated repeatedly in his previous life, wondering if those resources were the reason.

“Well… it doesn’t really matter what the reason is. I’ll just kill them all.”

Ghislain’s expression hardened with cold resolve.

In his previous life, he had targeted only the Delfine Duchy for revenge, believing them to be behind everything. But now, things were different.

He didn’t know who Aiden referred to as “us,” but whoever opposed Ferdium would be wiped out.

Ghislain tapped his chin with his fingers, lost in thought.

“Elena and the knight’s bodies were found in the slums, right?”

There was no reason for them to go there during the festival. Someone must have lured them or taken them by force.

“At least one thing is certain.”

Elena’s death was the starting point of Ferdium’s decline.

“In that case, I just need to fix things from the very beginning.”

He organized his thoughts and immediately left his room.

“I need to get my body into shape as quickly as possible. The problem is, I don’t have much time—just one week…”

Ghislain wandered around the lord’s castle.

It had been so long since he had lived in Ferdium Castle that he barely remembered its layout or the faces of the servants.

Everyone he passed greeted him, but their expressions weren’t pleasant—mostly a mixture of indifference or silent disdain.

‘I’m not that terrible of a person.’

At this point in time, he was probably seen as a touchy, irritable person who everyone wanted to avoid.

“Master! Ghislain, Master!”

As he wandered, someone called his name and came running, out of breath.

‘Oh… Fergus?’

It was Fergus, one of the knights who had served as his guardian. He was old enough to have retired and taken it easy, yet he had remained in the castle, faithfully staying by Ghislain’s side.

Fergus stood in front of him, bowing deeply and panting heavily.

‘How far has he been running?’

If assassins showed up now, it would be unclear who would be protecting whom.

Still, his loyalty was something to admire. Later, Ghislain had learned that Fergus had worried about him until the day he died, even after Ghislain had fled the estate.

“Huff, huff… Master, where have you been wandering off to alone? Belinda didn’t know either, so this old man has been searching for you everywhere.”

Fergus spoke while still gasping for air. He must have been running all over the place in a hurry.

“Geez, how old am I that you still call me ‘Master’?”

“Haha, in this old man’s eyes, you still look like a child.”

With how frail Ghislain’s body was now, he must have appeared even younger.

Ghislain let out a sigh. Lately, he’d been hearing things he never could have imagined during his days as the King of Mercenaries.

“If that’s how you see it, then I guess that’s how it is. But why did you seek me out?”

“Heh heh, it’s only natural I follow you when you’re on the move, young master. Why are you suddenly asking?”

The old knight looked warmly at Ghislain, and meeting that gaze made Ghislain flinch for a moment.

‘Right.’

At this time in his life, Ghislain had rejected even his bodyguards due to his inferiority complex and anger. It felt like everyone was his enemy, like they were all mocking him.

But Fergus and Belinda, who had looked after him since childhood, were the exceptions.

It was only after losing what was precious to him that he realized their worth. How foolish he had been.

Ghislain suddenly felt a sting in his nose and pulled Fergus into a tight hug.

He had intended to keep his actions discreet, but the joy of reuniting with someone so dear was hard to contain.

“Old man, live a long time. Let’s live long together, okay? Dying… it’s really a terrible feeling.”

Startled by Ghislain’s sudden action, Fergus laughed awkwardly.

“Heh heh, why are you acting like this all of a sudden? It’s like we haven’t seen each other in ages….”

So he noticed! As expected, age hadn’t dulled his instincts.

Well, Fergus would believe anything I say. After all, he was the loyal knight who stood by Ghislain even when everyone cursed his name over the orc subjugation incident.

With his mind made up, Ghislain spoke with determination.

“Old man, listen carefully. This is really important. The truth is… I died and came back to life….”

“Heh heh, enough of your jokes.”

So, he doesn’t believe me after all.

“…Yeah, anyway, just live long. It’s not easy coming back to life.”

“Of course, I’ll live at least until you get married, young master.”

“Hmm, marriage, you say.”

Ghislain gave a bitter smile.

Love? Marriage? Now wasn’t the time to even consider those things.

With the destruction of the territory looming, who could I blame if I died worrying about such matters?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ghislain resumed walking with long strides.

Fergus hurriedly followed behind, asking, “But where are you going all of a sudden?”

“The training grounds. I need to get some practice in.”

Fergus gasped in shock, clutching his chest.

“Y-young master… training… Huff, cough!”

“Whoa! What’s wrong with you, old man? Get a grip! Breathe! I said breathe!”

Why does no one believe anything I say?