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what?"

The Marquis of Branford squinted and looked around, wondering if he had misheard.

Everyone around them was frozen like a statue, mouths wide open.

Even the Marquis's butler, who never lost his composure, had a look of confusion on his face.

How dare you ask something of the Marquis!

Even the prime minister, the second most powerful man in the kingdom, cannot speak so openly. Those in power in similar positions only hint at their intentions.

This was by far the first time a madman had demanded something from the Marquis so blatantly.

The Marquis of Branford turned completely and looked straight at Giselle.

"Say that again."

Jiselle also looked me in the eye and spoke confidently.

"I know that your Majesty has great influence in the kingdom. If I succeed, wouldn't it be possible for you to grant me a favor?"

"How dare you use my daughter's weakness as an excuse to make a deal?"

"Yes, I think it wouldn't be difficult for Your Majesty to grant me one favor, right?"

Yes, it won't be difficult. I'll probably be able to answer most of your questions.

But he couldn't stand to see her use her daughter as an excuse to make a deal with him.

A glint of murder began to appear in the Marquis of Branford's eyes.

"It's a business-like offer, but you don't seem to be able to do the math. You're asking me to pay you for treating your daughter. Do you really think it's worth that much?"

Even though the voice was as cold as ice, Giselle paid no attention.

"Yes, I think it's worth it. What good is having power if you can't even protect your family?"

"this guy!"

Everyone was so shocked by the provocation that they couldn't even breathe properly.

Only the old castle of the Marquis of Branford filled the surroundings.

Belinda tugged at Giselle's sleeve with a pale expression.

'You know this guy is a famously scary Marquis! Why do you keep picking on him!'

Claude also pulled at the other sleeve.

'Please stop, you crazy bastard… … '

Cold sweat flowed from my eyes like tears.

But Jiselle didn't understand their feelings and just grabbed their sleeves and said.

"Oh, let go. Your Majesty, what are you going to do? Are you really going to give up on the treatment?"

Giselle straightened her back and handed the choice over to the Marquis of Branford.

'This guy… is he really crazy?'

The Marquis of Branford laughed in vain. His anger cooled for a moment at the absurdity of the situation.

There is no provocation like this provocation.

It was the first time since the Marquis came to power that he had found himself in such a perplexing situation.

"Kekekeke."

The Marquis of Branford twisted his lips into a strange laugh.

"Okay. Give it a try. If it works, I'll give you whatever you want. But… … ."

He glared at Giselle with cold eyes.

"The price you pay for asking me for something is not cheap. Your life alone is not enough. I need to add more weight."

"Please tell me anything."

The Marquis of Branford spat it out chewed.

"Wage your family line."

Those who followed Giselle all turned pale.

The Marquis' words seemed to weigh heavily on those around him.

What it means to stake your family is that if Giselle fails, the entire Ferdium will be ruined.

It was a situation where Giselle could not take responsibility alone.

But Jiselle opened her mouth calmly as if to ask what the problem was.

"I think I should do that much to balance things out with your Majesty. Let's do that."

The Marquis of Branford smiled cruelly.

"How much time do you need?"

"A fortnight is enough."

It's getting more and more amazing.

Even the writer is trying to solve a problem that couldn't be solved for over a year in just two weeks?

The Marquis of Branford looked back at his butler, suppressing a laugh.

"butler."

"yes."

"Tell the royal treasurer to prepare to cut off support to Perdium in two weeks."

Even though he was not a king, the Marquis spoke as if he were one.

He had that much power.

No one can stop this man unless he is a great lord with a strong foundation.

"All right."

The butler nodded as if it was natural. This kind of thing was familiar to them.

The grim orders didn't end there.

"No manager."

This time, a large man in armor bowed his head.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"Surround Baron Fenris' mansion in the capital. From this time on, no one is allowed in."

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"All right."

"Baron Fenris and his men who have come here are also prohibited from going out for two weeks. After two weeks, we will review the results and decide whether or not to execute them."

Belinda and Claude's faces turned pale in an instant.

I came here without thinking much, but what the heck is this?

If the royal family moves, the lords of the borderlands, such as Fenris and Ferdium, will be destroyed in an instant.

And it was obvious that all the main characters would be dragged away one after another like fish tangled together and have their heads cut off.

'What is happening because of that crazy person? What did I do wrong?'

Claude had a sad look on his face, but he couldn't even think of opening his mouth.

This is no joke. This isn't something you can just shrug off like you usually do.

Gillian, who had been standing quietly behind Giselle, lowered her eyes and let out a long sigh.

'I should also find a way to escape the capital in case things go wrong.'

Giselle was staring blankly at the Marquis of Branford, seemingly unaware of the anxiety his subordinates were feeling inside.

The Marquis spat dryly, looking at him who didn't even pretend to be scared.

"Do whatever you want, Giselle Ferdium."

* * *

As Giselle's mansion came under siege by the Marquis' forces, sales of cosmetics were also halted.

The terrified servants of the noble family turned away without even protesting.

There was an uproar among the nobles when they heard the news.

I'm already anxious because of the rumors going around that supplies are getting increasingly scarce, so who would dare to disrupt an event for the nobles?

The nobles who were said to be powerful in the capital went to the mansion in person.

"What are you guys? Who sent you? Why don't you open the door right now? Do these guys know where this place is!"

A nobleman pointed his finger at the soldiers surrounding the mansion and shouted.

But the knights who were surrounding the mansion didn't even blink an eye at the nobles' anger.

He simply hoisted high the Marquis of Branford's flag, featuring a roaring lion.

"… … ."

Only then did the nobles see the emblem embroidered on the flag and shut their mouths in bewilderment.

If I had known that it was the Marquis of Branford who had barricaded the mansion, I wouldn't have screamed as soon as I got there.

No, I probably wouldn't have come in the first place.

The nobles cleared their throats a few times and then spoke with an elegant smile.

"The Marquis has some business to attend to for the Baron. Thank you for your hard work."

And then they just marched away.

After the nobles left, not a single ant appeared around the mansion.

Word of the bet between Giselle and the Marquis of Branford spread like wildfire.

The nobles who heard the story all clicked their tongues.

How could a country bumpkin from the countryside dare to pick a fight with the Marquis?

According to the Marquis's nature, if Giselle failed, he would have cut off her head right away.

The nobles wished Giselle success in gambling. Not because they were particularly worried about him, but because they did not want to give up effective cosmetics.

As Meriel was involved in business with Giselle, she was very worried.

"No, why on earth did he do that? If he had just told me, this wouldn't have happened!"

Jisel also built up her own network of connections by being introduced to several nobles through Meriel.

She acted as a kind of guardian and looked after Giselle.

But no matter how high Meriel's prestige in the capital city, she could not compare to the Marquis of Branford.

"Ugh, that guy is the kind of guy who wouldn't even put a needle in his mouth. What kind of fearless thing is he doing?"

If we mobilize all the ladies of the capital, we might be able to save at least one of them, Jiselle.

But then Meriel would be politically indebted to the Marquis of Branford.

That's how nobles deal.

She was biting her fingernails out of frustration, then suddenly realized the problem and checked her remaining cosmetics.

"There are only five left?"

The cosmetics that Jiselle had given me as a gift were used up for the first time when I was promoting them, spraying them here and there to show off. Now, there wasn't much left.

She became depressed and gave some money to the maids to buy all the remaining cosmetics.

Similar incidents occurred here and there in the capital.

When sales completely stopped, other nobles were busy purchasing the unused cosmetics left by their maids.

While the capital was bustling with Giselle and cosmetics, Kaor was suddenly locked in the mansion and was grinding her teeth.

"Damn, this is so frustrating."

If I had been normal, I would have charged the surrounding troops and escaped right away, but that was not possible now.

Because the reason why it turned out like this was obvious.

"That idiot lord must have caused trouble again."

He was in charge of managing the mercenaries and guarding the mansion, so he didn't move with Giselle this time.

But from what I've seen over the years, whenever something outrageous happens, it's most often the Lord's fault.

"This time it's particularly serious."

Kaor frowned.

The force blocking the mansion was unusual in its momentum.

Seeing that such capable people had surrounded the mansion, the lord must have been in a very dangerous situation right now.

The mercenaries approached him with worried expressions and asked.

"It looks like the captain has caused trouble again since you've come this far. Should we go rescue him?"

"Hey, what are you looking for? Are you confident that you can get away with them?"

"That's not it, but… … ."

"It'll be okay for now. They didn't come right away and just stood there and watched. And… … There's no way that person would just take it easy like that."

"… … Isn't this already happening?"

"That's what I'm saying. If this happens, there are two reasons. One is that the opponent is strong enough to make that person just explode… … ."

"What about the other one?"

"The idiot lord is deliberately letting his opponent suffer in order to screw him over."

"aha."

Kaor, who had been with Giselle for a long time, came up with a deduction that was fairly close to the truth.

But inference is just inference. Given the circumstances, we had to prepare for them.

"Then what do we do?"

"hmm...."

Kaor, who had been thinking for a while with his arms crossed, opened his mouth with a serious expression.

"Let's have a drink."

"yes?"

"Let's just have a drink. Oh, I don't know. My head hurts because I think too much. Young-ju, you'll figure it out. If something comes up, we can think about it then."

The mercenaries nodded with beaming faces at Kaor's words.

"Let's do that! Let's have a drink and think about our next plan!"

"I agree! We don't need to have a headache right now, right?"

"If something goes wrong, I can just catch all the guys outside and run away! Hahahaha!"

The mercenaries decided to just enjoy today.

Soon after, merchants entered the mansion carrying a cart full of barrels of wine.

The Marquis's knight looked dumbfounded at the sight.

'… … You don't know when you'll be attacked, so you're drinking and talking? Are you crazy?'

Whatever those sent by the Marquis thought, a grand drinking party was held at the mansion.

Kaor raised his glass and shouted.

"Who will solve today's worries?"

"Tomorrow's me!"

"Who will solve tomorrow's worries?"

"Me tomorrow!"

"Then let's put off our worries until tomorrow… …for the safe return of the lord!"

"For!"

Carefree men clinked their glasses and giggled.