CHAPTER 5: I won’t fall for it a second time (1)

"Oppa?"

When Ghislain suddenly grabbed her face, his shoulders shaking, Elena looked slightly frightened.

It was because her brother was the type who could explode in anger at any time, in any place, doing unpredictable and crazy things.

"Huh? Ah, no, it's nothing. Anyway, it's been a really long time!"

Ghislain looked emotional, spreading his arms wide.

Elena's death had haunted him his entire life.

Now, to meet her again, alive and well, filled him with an overwhelming joy that tightened his chest.

He wasn't one to express himself in words. True to the title of Mercenary King, he always expressed himself through action.

"Elena!"

As Ghislain approached with open arms, Elena's face turned pale for a moment.

"Wh-What?"

"I missed you so much!"

"But we saw each other just a few days ago… Wait! Why are you doing this all of a sudden? Don't come any closer!"

Grab!

Ghislain hugged Elena tightly, closing his eyes. He was overwhelmed with emotion, so intense it almost brought him to tears.

"Argh! Why are you acting so creepy all of a sudden?"

Elena was genuinely flustered.

In reality, she and Ghislain didn't get along very well.

Ghislain, plagued by feelings of inferiority, was always angry and made people around him exhausted. Naturally, he didn't treat his younger sister warmly either.

"What kind of prank is this? What kind of trouble are you trying to cause?"

Elena twisted her body, trying to push Ghislain away.

Just as she was about to retort with something biting, she paused when she saw his face.

Soft eyes, a smile, and a look filled with an inexplicable longing.

Elena's heart ached as she saw an expression on Ghislain's face she had never seen before.

She didn't understand why she felt this way.

'What's wrong with him? Did he get into trouble again? And why are his eyes so annoyingly moist?'

Elena looked at Ghislain with a suspicious gaze.

He was still smiling, seemingly happier than ever.

For reasons unknown, his expression felt genuine this time.

'Almost like the brother I used to know?'

Their father was always off on expeditions, so after their mother passed away when they were young, the siblings had depended on each other.

As time passed and Ghislain grew into a troublemaker, their relationship became somewhat distant.

As Elena squinted at him, Ghislain cleared his throat.

"Hmm, I'm just happy to see you. But why are you in my room?"

"Wow."

Elena looked at him with an expression of disbelief.

Just days before, he hadn't reacted this way when she visited.

—"Get lost. Don't loiter around in front of me and annoy me. Your very breath is disgusting."

That was the typical way he spoke.

She hadn't wanted to visit, but hearing that he had nearly been killed by an orc, she'd come as a formality.

"No reason, really. Belinda suggested I check on you… I heard you had a close call with an orc, but you seem fine."

Belinda tended to view everything rather simply.

She probably thought that if Elena visited, their sibling bond would magically improve.

Since Belinda kept insisting, Elena had no choice but to come, but upon arrival, Ghislain seemed perfectly fine.

She'd expected him to be bedridden with a fever, not greeting her so warmly.

"Orcs? I handled them myself. It was no big deal. I'm really strong, you know."

Seeing Ghislain shrug boastfully, Elena stifled a laugh.

"Really? Says the guy who came back practically half-dead."

"Oh, come on, listen to this. Do you know how I took them down…."

Suddenly, he started gesturing wildly, boasting about his feats, making Elena laugh.

His bluffing was amusing, and it wasn't bad to see this brighter side of her brother.

"So, then I called for Ricardo…."

"Oh, I know him. The flirtatious soldier, right?"

"You know him? He is pretty handsome."

"He's famous. The women really love him."

"Hm, another scoundrel like Idun, I see."

"Idun? Who's that?"

"Oh, someone. A real piece of work."

A hint of menace flashed in Ghislain's eyes. Elena looked at him with a knowing expression.

She thought he was doing better, but clearly, he wasn't completely back to normal.

Still, this was an improvement. She'd have to keep an eye on him to see how long this would last.

"I'm heading out. Take care of yourself."

"Alright, next time I'll tell you about the time I slayed a dragon."

"You slayed it in your dreams? Do you even know what a dragon is?"

After hearing Ghislain's exaggerated tale, Elena left in high spirits.

Even though he was a little strange, seeing him boast was far better than his previous temperament.

Before, his foul mood made even brief conversations unbearable.

Ghislain continued staring at the door long after Elena left, a slight smile on his face.

"I never forgot you, not even for a moment."

The sight of Elena's mutilated body, brutally slain, was an image he would never erase from his memory.

"I haven't forgotten any of them either."

When he returned to the estate, he also couldn't forget the faces of his father and vassals, who had been found beheaded and hung at the castle gates.

"I was a coward, a disgrace."

He remembered his own pathetic self, too terrified to do anything but run away.

Ghislain's smiling face suddenly took on a dark, cold atmosphere.

"Now that I have the chance to set things right…."

He was no longer the pathetic, reckless young lord of his past life.

"I will prevent the fall of Perdium."

Ghislain grabbed a pen and paper, hurriedly jotting down every piece of future information he could recall.

He roughly remembered the major events that had unfolded across the continent.

He couldn't recall exact dates, but he knew the general timing. This would be invaluable in planning his next moves.

"For now, saving Elena is my top priority…."

In a week, the festival will begin. This celebration for prosperity also marked the start of the harvest season.

Even in the harsh northern territory, where battles with barbarians were unending, people held festivals to pray for prosperity.

"Let's think… If I remember correctly…."

At that time, Ghislain had been so criticized and ignored that he'd decided to leave the family.

The festival had started, and at Elena's suggestion, he went out to see it with her.

But with his mood ruined, he couldn't enjoy the festivities and eventually returned to the castle alone.

Since the festival was within the estate and Elena had a knights escorting her, he didn't think much of it.

"And that's when Elena disappeared…."

Shortly after, Elena and her knights were found dead.

With that tragedy, Ghislain couldn't bear it any longer. He left the castle to escape the whispers of others.

That was the last time Ghislain set foot in Perdium.

"I should have been with her."

Though, even if he had been there, he likely couldn't have done anything. Back then, Ghislain had been pathetically weak.

But leaving Elena behind and returning alone was a guilt that had haunted him ever since.

"Could it be… was her death orchestrated by the Delphine duchy?"

In his past life, it was revealed that Elena's murderer was a noble from another estate who had come to see the festival.

Naturally, the accused side claimed it was a false accusation, and Perdium was dragged into a territorial dispute, suffering great losses.

Afterward, events spiraled, worsening the situation over time.

"There's a stench to all this. Like goblin dung."

Since Ghislain had left before the territorial war erupted, he didn't know the detailed aftermath.

His belated investigations only gave him a rough idea of the major events.

At first, he thought Perdium was being crushed to prevent an uprising, targeting territories that seemed poised to resist.

But when he learned that Idun was involved in Perdium's fall, he sensed a deeper conspiracy behind everything.

"Why would they destroy such a poor, worthless estate? Even if they seized it, they'd have to fend off the barbarians in our place."

There were hidden resources in the vicinity, but no one knew about them at this time.

He'd checked repeatedly in his past life, wondering if that was the reason.

"Whatever… the reason doesn't matter. I'll just kill them all."

Ghislain's expression turned icy.

In his past life, he'd only sought revenge against the Delphine duchy he believed to be behind everything, but now things were different.

He didn't know who made up Idun's 'we,' but he intended to eliminate every enemy of Perdium.

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

"Elena and the knight's bodies were found in the slums, right?"

They had no reason to visit the slums during the festival. Someone had likely called them there or dragged them by force.

"One thing's clear."

Elena's death had been the starting point for Perdium's downfall.

"If I correct things from the start, it should be fine."

With his thoughts organized, he headed out of his room.

"I'll need to build up my body quickly. The issue is time… only a week…."

Ghislain wandered around the estate.

It had been so long since he'd lived in Perdium Castle that he hardly remembered its layout or the faces of the servants.

People greeted him as he passed, but their expressions were far from warm. They looked either indifferent or disdainful.

'I'm not that bad of a person.'

At this time, he was likely considered a touchy, angry person whom everyone found difficult to be around.

"Young master! Young master Ghislain!"

As he wandered, someone ran toward him, gasping for breath.

'Oh… Old man Fergus?'

It was Fergus, the old knight. Though he was at an age when he should have retired, he remained in the castle, faithfully guarding Ghislain.

Fergus stood before Ghislain, bowing and panting heavily.

'Just how far did he run?'

If an assassin attacked right now, it was hard to tell who would be protecting whom.

But his loyalty was admirable. Later, Ghislain would learn that Fergus worried about him to his dying day after he left home.

"Ha, ha… Young master, where are you wandering around alone? Belinda didn't know either, so this old man searched for you everywhere."

Even as he spoke, Fergus was gasping for air. He must have moved in quite a hurry.

"Come on, how old do you think I am? Stop calling me 'young master.'"

"Haha, to this old man's eyes, you're still a child."

And with his weakened body, he probably did look even younger.

Ghislain sighed. In his days as the Mercenary King, he'd never imagined hearing such words.

"If you say so, old man. But why were you looking for me?"

"Haha, it's only natural for me to follow when my young master is on the move. Why ask all of a sudden?"

The old knight looked at Ghislain warmly, and he felt a twinge of guilt.

'Right.'

In those days, Ghislain, consumed by inferiority and anger, had rejected everyone—even his loyal knights.

Everyone seemed like an enemy; he felt like they all mocked him.

Except for Fergus and Belinda, who had cared for him since childhood.

Only after losing them did he realize their importance. How foolish could he have been?

Feeling a pang of emotion, Ghislain suddenly hugged Fergus tightly.

He had intended to be subtle, but the joy of reuniting with someone precious was too overwhelming to contain.

"Old man, live long. Let's live a long time together. Dying… that's a truly miserable experience."

Surprised, Fergus laughed and said, "Haha, what's come over you? You're acting like we haven't seen each other in ages…."

He'd caught on! This man hadn't aged for nothing.

But if it was Fergus, Ghislain knew he could trust him. This was the knight who had stood by him even when he was ridiculed for the orc subjugation incident.

Having made up his mind, Ghislain spoke resolutely.

"Old man, listen closely. This is important. I actually died and came back to life…."

"Haha, please stop with the jokes."

So he didn't believe him after all.

"…Alright. Just live long, okay? Coming back from the dead isn't easy."

"Of course, I must live to see you married, young master."

"Marriage, huh…"

Ghislain chuckled bitterly.

Now wasn't the time for things like love or marriage.

With the estate's ruin looming, if he died worrying about those things, who could he blame?

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Ghislain walked purposefully.

Fergus hurried after him, asking, "Where are you going so suddenly?"

"To the training grounds. I need to train."

Fergus clutched his chest in shock.

"You… you're going… to train… oh dear…!"

"What the! Old man, pull yourself together! Breathe! I said breathe!"

Why doesn't anyone believe me?

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