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Behind Count Raoul Josef followed a man of strong physique.

He was wearing a mask so his face could not be seen, and his hair and body were completely covered by a wide robe.

Exactly… … Exactly… … .

Raoul limped slowly on one leg and approached the Marquis of Branford, looked up at him for a moment, then slowly lowered his head.

"It's been a while, Marquis Branford."

"What is happening here, Count Joseph?"

The Marquis of Branford answered nonchalantly. Raoul looked up with a grin.

"I heard you took in a young lion. I came to see its face."

"It's not something the author would be interested in."

"How could we not be interested in a young man who has developed outstanding products and even has the support of His Excellency the Marquess of Branford?"

The Marquis of Branford frowned and clicked his tongue.

"I hope it ends with just interest. Who is the person wearing the mask behind it?"

"This is my escort knight."

Toleo, the commander of the knights, approached the masked man and spoke.

"Even if you are the Count's escort knight, you cannot allow someone you do not know into the banquet hall. Please take off your mask, even if it is just for a moment."

Despite Tolleo's words, the man stood still without any reaction.

"You punk! Didn't I tell you to take it off right now!"

The Marquis of Branford tried to stop Toleo from shouting.

"Okay. I doubt the Count would have brought you here to cause an accident. Just let it go."

Even though the host of the banquet said it was okay, he couldn't go any further. Toleo bit his lip and stepped back.

The Marquis of Branford turned away without saying anything else, as if his business was over with that.

It meant that they wouldn't kick you out, but they wouldn't welcome you either.

I would like to kick him out right away, but no matter how much of a political enemy he is, I cannot kick out a noble who came to the banquet without a good reason.

Raoul looked around, then muttered shamelessly, one corner of his mouth turning up.

"Hmm… … Did I come to the wrong seat? The atmosphere doesn't seem very good."

He walked slowly towards Giselle.

Exactly… … Exactly… … Exactly… … .

Every time the cane rang, the nobles would squirm and move away as if they were avoiding something dirty.

'There's no benefit to getting involved in this. Let's not even make eye contact.'

'They say he's a cold-blooded person with no mercy or tears. There are even rumors that he's not even human.'

Before I knew it, the crowd had naturally dispersed and a path had formed between the Count and Giselle.

The Marquis of Branford looked at Raoul's back and tilted his head.

'I thought you were in the South. How on earth did you manage to get here on time?'

It hasn't even been a week since they announced they would be holding the banquet.

Even if we had set out as soon as we heard the news from the South, we would not have been able to arrive at this time.

'It means you were already here.'

Although he was one of the key figures of the Duke's family and was in the capital, he received no reports at all.

It was a more serious problem than Raul showing up here now.

'These guys… … .'

He covered not only his own eyes and ears, but also those of others. This means that the Delphine Duke's hand has reached the capital.

While the Marquis of Branford was lost in thought, Raoul leisurely stood directly in front of Giselle.

The young ladies who had been surrounding Jiselle had long since fled in fear.

"Nice to meet you. My name is Count Raoul Josef."

Jiselle nodded dryly.

"This is Baron Fenris."

"I've heard quite a few interesting stories about you. I heard you were quite active in the North?"

He speaks as if he had heard a rumor about the subject that prompted Desmond to provoke Digald behind his back.

Giselle openly laughed at that shameless sight.

'Acting. What do you mean, finding out? Of course you would know, since it was you who did it.'

Raoul continued speaking nonchalantly.

"Would you like to move your seat a little?"

"Are you talking about seats?"

"I have something important to discuss with you."

Jiselle hesitated for a moment and then nodded. Honestly, she was curious about what he was going to say.

The two moved to a private room near the banquet hall.

Raoul smiled at Giselle.

Although he seemed to be trying to be kind, his stubborn expression made it seem like he was mocking me.

"You don't have to be so nervous."

"Do you look nervous?"

Giselle, who was looking at Raoul with an expressionless face, slightly raised the corners of her lips.

Raoul frowned in puzzlement as he was met with a strangely eerie smile.

"Do you know me? Your expression looks just like… …you're happy to see me."

"I have also heard quite a bit about you, Your Majesty."

Since his goal in his previous life was to destroy the Duke's family, he also investigated his chief of staff, Raoul, in depth.

He was so intelligent and ruthless that he took a position in the Duke's inner circle despite his physical disabilities.

'The one who attacked Ferdium must have been this guy's work.'

Jiselle exhaled deeply, suppressing her boiling anger.

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Raoul continued speaking, dismissing the sight as nothing special.

"Let me get straight to the point. We are interested in the cosmetics you make."

"Are you talking about cosmetics?"

"Actually, we were also developing something similar. But then, there was a rumor going around that a product with proven efficacy had been released, so we came up to the capital to check if it was true. But I never thought it would be so effective that it could even cure diseases."

Raoul spoke in an ambiguous tone, seeming both admiration and annoyance.

In the previous life, it was a product of the Delphine Dukes, so it was a shame and a pity to lose it.

"So?"

"Honestly, I was surprised. In a territory where there was nothing, you, a famous loser, created something like that."

"Well, I studied a bit on my own. Public opinion isn't everything."

"I see, that's true."

Raoul's eyes lit up for a moment. He squinted his eyes and examined Giselle.

'This guy ruined all the plans for the North.'

Amelia's preparations for rebellion, the plan to isolate Ferdium, and the work of weakening the Red Flame Tower.

Everything was going smoothly.

'Harold is a meticulous and careful person. He would have figured out all the possible distractions.'

Harold kept failing at his work because of this guy.

You would never have imagined that a simple rascal, a pathetic guy who didn't even deserve attention, would interfere with the grand plan.

Because Raoul himself did the same.

'I didn't know you'd suddenly push this guy.'

Raoul clicked his tongue inwardly.

The royalist faction clearly initially wanted to push for the Brevan fiefdom.

Knowing this, Raoul weakened the Red Flame Tower and, one by one, persuaded Brivant's vassals to take control of the entire territory.

If Raoul had gone as planned, the royalist faction would have been pouring water into a bottomless pit.

The plan was perfect.

That is, until this guy named Giselle came along.

One day, as if she had suddenly awakened, Giselle began to stand out.

As a result, Desmond's power was cut in half, and Amelia's rebellion plans had to be hastily brought forward.

So, as soon as he heard the news that Jiselle was selling cosmetics, he came up to the capital himself.

So that I can see Jiselle in person and judge what kind of person he is.

I tried to take responsibility for interfering with the work before and give him some relief, but before I could do that, Jiselle joined the royalist faction.

'There's no way he knew everything and joined the royalist faction… … He must be a lucky guy.'

In order to reduce unnecessary damage, the plan was to completely isolate the royal family and the royalist faction and draw their swords.

It's not that the Duke's power is lacking, but it's still too early to go to war.

Even though he was the culprit who completely ruined their plans, he couldn't be touched right away.

No one could have predicted that Raul, who had never known failure, would ruin things so many times because of just one person.

'There's no way a real loser would do something like that. The information must be wrong.'

I just got hurt because I didn't know. If I had known from the beginning that there was such a talented person, I would have made different plans to absorb the North.

Now that the existence of Jiselle has surfaced, I will not make the same mistake twice.

'Since the situation has already been decided, it will take time to sort things out. However… … .'

Anyway, what's already been done can't be undone. But it would be a waste to just kill such a talented person.

"I didn't know such a brilliant young man was hiding in the North. Now that we've met, I'd like to make a suggestion."

"We will not do exclusive cosmetics contracts or technology sharing."

"I do want cosmetics, but what I'm offering now is not something so trivial."

"Then what is it?"

"Come to the Delphine Duke's House."

At the sudden suggestion, Giselle laughed, covering her face with one hand.

Even now, my body is itching with the desire to kill Raul right in front of me.

I was barely holding back my anger, but hearing such nonsense made me laugh.

Raoul continued, frowning slightly at Giselle's reaction.

"Are you worried because the distance is too far? I can give you a good territory in the south. And for your father."

"Father too?"

"I know that Count Ferdium is having a hard time fighting barbarians in a harsh place. How about moving to a better territory where you don't have to go through such hardships? If you and your father become vassals of the duke's family, I will support you wholeheartedly."

"You are saying such dangerous things in a place where so many scary people are gathered."

Raoul said confidently, one corner of his mouth turning up.

"What do you think? That's just how politics is. You don't have to worry too much about the pressure from other nobles. I'll take responsibility and take care of it."

It was a great confidence. Could it be said that he was a staff member of the Delphine Dukes?

In reality, it was a proposal that only the Duke of Delphine could make, offering to exchange the fief for a better land.

But to Jiselle, who knew full well how valuable the Forest of Demons was, it sounded like nothing more than nonsense.

'How elegantly you say you'll take everything away from me and treat me like a dog.'

I had no desire to seek comfort in the arms of an untrustworthy man.

Even now, they are the ones who are secretly doing tricks all over the kingdom.

How can I trust and rely on those who have even brought in unknown forces behind the scenes?

"I'm sorry, but I have to decline. The North is a better place than you might think."

It's a gentle refusal, but the voice is firm.

Raoul leaned back in his chair and looked at Giselle with a cold face.

How dare you refuse my offer.

Do you really think that the Prince's faction is stronger than the Delphine Duke's faction?

"It's just the two of us here now, so speak frankly. The power of the prince's faction is no match for that of our duke's family."

"I know."

"… … So you're saying you're rejecting my offer?"

"Yes. I'm not interested."

"You only get this one chance. If you don't accept it, you'll definitely regret it."

"Well… …. How about your Highness come over here?"

Raoul chuckled at the ridiculous answer and stroked his chin a few times.

Are you ignorant or fearless?

'Tsk, you chose to die even though I gave you the chance.'