CHAPTER 10: Should I hit him, should I not, no—I’ll hit him (1)

Kane Loges was Ghislain's cousin, one year younger, and the heir to the Loges County, which lay a little ways off from Perdium.

He was a large and strong young man, and people in the Loges territory had high hopes for him.

To Ghislain, Kane was his only friend at this age… and also his bully.

Kane visited Perdium frequently, and with a festival going on, there was no way this party-loving scoundrel would miss it.

'Right! I'd forgotten about this guy.'

Seeing Kane sneering at him stirred up all sorts of old memories.

The two were troublemakers alike, but people judged them differently.

Kane was arrogant and violent, but he wasn't looked down on by others.

His confidence and boldness often led people to view him as someone with an indomitable spirit.

On the other hand, Ghislain was always seen as a petty, insecure fool.

'I got an even worse reputation because of him.'

Kane constantly mocked him, shaming and humiliating him, so Ghislain had endured countless humiliating moments.

That wasn't all. Even when they hung out, Kane always treated Ghislain like a subordinate.

It was natural for him to order Ghislain around, and whenever he lost control in his drunkenness, he'd throw punches over the slightest irritation.

The more Ghislain was humiliated, the more resentment he built up, which he took out on the people of the estate, creating all kinds of trouble.

'Sigh, just thinking about it is embarrassing.'

Ghislain laughed at himself and rubbed his forehead.

At that time, he couldn't stand up to Kane, so he vented his frustration in all the wrong places.

Outside, he didn't dare speak up, but inside, he would shout and make a scene, earning him nicknames like 'Room Tyrant' and 'Shut-in Swordmaster.'

'Ugh, why was I like that?'

Sitting crouched, Ghislain reminisced on his past, tearing off flower petals one by one.

Seeing this, Kane scowled.

"What's this, don't you hear me? I keep hearing rumors you've lost it lately, but it's like you're actually insane now."

Kane sneered. Ghislain brushed off his pants as he stood and looked at him quietly.

Kane made an annoyed face and walked up to him, whispering.

"Didn't you prepare everything that I told you about? I came all this way looking to have some fun, but you're acting weird today. Have you been taking something?"

"Oh… the preparations."

Kane's words jogged Ghislain's memory, and he nodded.

That's right; every time Kane visited, he demanded that Ghislain prepare alcohol and women.

They'd claim it was to hang out together, but how could that be a friendship? To Kane, Ghislain was just an easy tool to use.

Kane patted Ghislain's cheek, smirking.

"Yeah, let's have a drink and really have some fun tonight. We're always on the same page with that, right? True friends, right?"

That, of course, meant they would go around causing trouble for people.

Kane was as arrogant and disruptive as Ghislain had been.

He would harass the maids, and he was infamous for beating soldiers for no reason.

With the Perdium Count frequently away on expeditions, Kane roamed the castle freely, using his familial connection as an excuse.

And with Ghislain, the territory's heir, basically acting as his subordinate, he had nothing to worry about.

Seeing Ghislain remain silent, Kane shouted.

"Hey, what's with you today! Huh? Why are you so slow to respond?"

"…"

"Hey, aren't you going to answer? Are you crazy? Did you eat something bad?"

"…"

"Hey! Ghislain! Are you out of it?"

Kane leaned his face right into Ghislain's, snarling. His escort knights quickly intervened, whispering to him.

"Young Lord, many people are watching. Perhaps it's best to calm down here."

"It might be wise to speak with Lord Ghislain in a quieter location."

After all, this was Perdium territory. It wouldn't be good for his actions to be widely talked about, so the knights at least pretended to hold him back.

They could find somewhere secluded to take out their frustrations later.

The knights didn't even bother hiding their true intentions.

Facing this absurd situation again after so long, Ghislain could only roll his eyes.

'What should I do?'

This kid was too far beneath him to waste time beating up.

After all, he'd spent years as the Mercenary King, maintaining his dignity, so it was awkward to resort to his own fists.

There hadn't been anyone daring to pick fights with him for a long time. And if anyone did, his subordinates handled it.

'I'll have to recruit a reliable subordinate soon.'

While it was silly to respond to every taunt from a kid, ignoring it entirely wasn't fitting for the Mercenary King.

'I should start recruiting soon…'

Ghislain shot a subtle glare at Kane.

'Should I hit him? Or just leave him alone?'

After a brief pause, he decided to try the flower-petal fortune-telling he'd recently found amusing. It tended to yield clear results, so he used it occasionally.

Picking up a flower, Ghislain began pulling off the petals to divine Kane's fate.

'Hit him, don't hit him, hit him, don't hit him… hit him? Don't hit him?'

Watching Ghislain pluck petals with a strange look on his face, Kane frowned.

"What the hell are you doing…"

"Heh, you're lucky."

"What?"

Ghislain tossed the now-bare stem of the flower behind him and continued speaking.

"You ungrateful punk. Since you're a guest, I'll let you off this time. You can thank the petals for that."

"What… what?"

Kane blinked in confusion before snapping back to his senses.

"People keep saying you've gone crazy, and I guess it's true… You're just an idiot who takes his frustrations out on those weaker than him. Isn't that right?"

Kane's words grew harsher, and even the passing servants stopped to watch the scene unfold.

With his anger boiling, Kane didn't hold back, even with people watching.

"Aren't you even going to look down? Just because you lied about beating a knight, do you really think you've become strong?"

"…"

"I heard the rumors and laughed for hours. Do you think anyone will respect you for spouting such lies? Need me to put you back in your place?"

"…"

Ghislain couldn't help but realize how much he'd changed.

'In the past, I'd have hit him the moment he called me an idiot. Dying once and coming back, I really have grown up.'

"Hey, what are you doing? Not going to answer? Should I rip your mouth open?"

'Patience, I'm an adult now. There's no need to fall for a kid's provocation…'

"Hey, you idiot!"

In that instant, Ghislain's right hand moved like lightning.

Wham!

"Ugh!"

Kane clutched his face, stunned by the sudden blow. Ghislain looked down at his right hand, feeling somewhat impressed.

'I only thought about hitting him, and my hand moved on its own?'

Holding his face, Kane screamed.

"You crazy bastard!"

Wham!

"Ugh!"

"Young Lord!"

As Kane staggered back, his escort knights rushed in, panicked.

Meanwhile, Ghislain glanced at his left hand with a look of fascination.

Kane's face flushed red as he took a step back, then drew his sword.

"I'll kill you!"

"No, Young Lord!"

His escort knight quickly stepped in front of him, whispering urgently.

"Too many eyes are on us right now."

Already, servants, maids, and soldiers had gathered, murmuring and watching the scene.

Kane looked around, gritting his teeth.

"So, I should hold back after getting humiliated in front of everyone?"

"Challenge him to a duel. That will resolve it. After all, he attacked first."

The knight gave him a meaningful look. Kane thought for a moment before nodding.

"A duel… Yeah, that's better."

If he humiliated Ghislain publicly, the insecure fool wouldn't be able to stand it.

Plus, he could break a bone or two in the process, leaving him crippled.

Kane immediately took off his glove and threw it toward Ghislain's face.

Swish.

Ghislain dodged the glove lightly, causing Kane's face to contort in rage as he shouted.

"A duel! Rumor has it you've been spreading lies around the castle about beating Jamal and Phillip! You've tarnished the dignity of nobility and dared to attack me when I questioned you!"

Ghislain's eyes widened at the sudden declaration, and he pointed at himself.

"A duel? With me? Are you serious?"

"Yes! You're not going to run away now, are you? Everyone's already watching!"

"Wow…"

Ghislain felt a strange sensation.

A duel! He couldn't even remember the last time he'd dueled.

Even Idun, one of the continent's top seven powerhouses, had played it safe by teaming up for their final fight.

The Seven Strongest of the Continent were beings no one could guarantee victory against in a one-on-one fight.

Yet here was this brat, daring to challenge him to a duel.

'Let's just go with the flow. Since coming back, I've been overthinking everything because of my plans. I need to adjust to this.'

It was probably the dissonance between his memories of the previous life and his current body. He needed time to adjust, but he'd been rushing too much.

'What happened to this guy in the future?'

The Loges County had sided with Perdium during the territorial wars and eventually fell alongside them.

After that, Kane went missing.

In his previous life, Ghislain gathered information up to that point, then lost interest.

His own significant ambitions left him with little room to let bad childhood memories become any sort of trauma.

In any case, while the son was hopeless, Count Loges had shown loyalty.

'Alright, then. Out of respect for Count Loges, maybe I should teach him a lesson. This is the age to get some proper guidance and come to one's senses. I learned that the hard way myself, didn't I?'

Having made up his mind, Ghislain tossed his glove straight at Kane's face.

Kane scoffed, trying to dodge it, but the glove changed trajectory and hit him square in the face.

"Huh?"

People around them stifled their laughter as they watched.

"You… you bastard…"

Kane's face flushed red, and he was about to lose it again when Ghislain spoke calmly.

"Fine, I'll accept the duel. I've been preoccupied with financial plans lately, so I was going to let it go… Oh, wait a second."

Ghislain suddenly remembered something he'd forgotten, and a mischievous grin spread across his face.

"Hey, pay back the money you owe me."

"What? When did I ever borrow money from you?"

"You've been borrowing bits of money from me here and there."

Kane had often extorted money from Ghislain.

Even the small allowance the impoverished estate managed to give its heir had been taken by Kane.

"All of it probably adds up to about a thousand gold."

The moment he heard the sum, Kane's eyes widened, and he shouted.

"A thousand gold? I didn't even take a hundred from you!"

"Oh, really? Well, either way, you borrowed it, didn't you? With interest, that comes to a thousand gold. Pay up. I'm in need of cash right now."

In truth, a thousand gold wouldn't even be enough for the plans Ghislain had in mind. He'd need at least ten thousand gold to cover even a portion of his goals.

But knowing Kane didn't have that much, he decided to ask for just a thousand for now.

'A meager amount, but I can always grow it. Getting something started is what matters.'

Unaware of Ghislain's thoughts, Kane yelled, looking incredulous.

"You're insane! What nonsense are you spouting? Why should I care that you need money? Besides, that money you gave me was just because you were grateful to have a friend! Ever heard of a friendship fee?"

Unbelievable. Do people have to pay to make friends these days?

'Friendship fee? What ridiculous nonsense… I was just a sucker.'

Ghislain shook his head.

As they argued, the memories became clearer. Honestly, he hadn't wanted to give the money, but with Kane's fists raised, he'd had no choice.

"People who take things by force always say stuff like that. Well, after the duel, you'll have to pay it back, even if you don't want to."

Ghislain raised his fist, grinning.

"After a few hits, people seem to find money they didn't know they had."

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