The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations - Chapter 297

Chapter 297 : Not Yet the Right Time. (3)

As soon as Amelia saw Ghislain, an intense murderous intent surged within her.

“Should I kill him now?”

He was far too irritating and dangerous to keep alive. The current situation alone was proof enough.

Ghislain, noticing her hand rising slowly, responded with a sly grin.

‘Stay put, Amelia. It’s not time to kill you yet.’

Amelia was like a double-edged sword—a rose laden with thorns and poison. The ducal family was still unaware of her true nature or her real capabilities.

She had no true allies. The only thing she cared about was her ambition. For that very reason, she could prove useful to him.

‘As long as you keep pulling off moves the ducal family couldn’t anticipate, it’ll make them easier for me to handle.’

There was no faction currently capable of defeating the ducal family head-on. Thus, Amelia, as an unpredictable wild card, was essential.

In his previous life, when the ducal family was weakened because of him, she had immediately bared her fangs. She even tried to betray Harold, who had become the Duke of the North.

It was obvious that the more chaos he caused now, the more Amelia would seek to exploit it.

Of course, even Ghislain, who prided himself on knowing her best, couldn’t guarantee everything that she would do.

Amelia had a tendency to act impulsively, pulling off completely unpredictable stunts from time to time.

Though her actions could pose some risk to him, he was willing to bear it if it meant going up against the mighty ducal family.

‘So, think carefully, Amelia.’

If he had truly intended to kill her, he would have tried the moment he regressed. While the circumstances then hadn’t allowed for it, now that he had decided to use her, it was better to see it through to the end.

But if she attacked now, he would have no choice but to kill her.

‘One chance… that’s all I’ll get.’

His grip tightened around the spear. If they fought, he would have to pierce her head in a single blow. Failing to do so with his current strength would ensure defeat.

Even the men standing beside her weren’t ordinary. Their postures, sharp gazes, and poised movements suggested they were ready to attack at any moment.

‘If a fight breaks out, I’ll need to kill those men first.’

He was too exhausted and heavily injured right now. If they clashed with Amelia’s forces, the Fenris soldiers with him would be in grave danger.

In such a scenario, killing Amelia wouldn’t mean much—it would come at too high a cost. The victory over Harold, achieved with minimal losses, would become meaningless.

If they fought now, it would only benefit the ducal family.

Amelia had to know this as well.

As her hand continued to rise slowly, Ghislain mirrored the motion, raising his spear just as deliberately.

At this, the Fenris knights behind him began exuding a menacing aura, their hostility palpable. In response, Amelia’s attendants and knights also radiated killing intent, a suffocating atmosphere descending on the scene.

Amelia’s narrowed eyes glimmered with consideration.

‘Perhaps this is the opportunity.’

Ghislain was a dangerous man. Thus far, he had achieved near-miraculous feats.

Even now, his exact knowledge and abilities remain unclear. He was someone who needed to be eliminated.

‘It’s possible.’

Ghislain and his knights appeared exhausted. Covered in blood and still dust-ridden, it was clear they had only just arrived.

No matter how strong Ghislain and his followers were, they wouldn’t be able to fend off an assault from Raypold’s forces in their current state.

Her own troops were fatigued, too, but their numbers were overwhelmingly superior.

It was undeniably an opportunity—one she couldn’t afford to waste. Yet her hand refused to rise fully.

‘If I kill him now… the Third Legion and Ferdium will strike us immediately.’

Killing Ghislain here would create chaos even she couldn’t handle.

She hadn’t yet earned proper recognition from the ducal family. She couldn’t afford an open conflict with Marquis Branford’s royalist faction just yet.

While she had the justification, attacking first would be a world apart from securing the position and initiating negotiations.

But that wasn’t the only reason she hesitated. Perhaps her rationalizations were merely a result of unconscious self-justification.

What truly worried her was something else.

‘I might die, too.’

Amelia trusted her instincts. They were screaming at her that attacking now would be dangerous, sending unrelenting signals of warning.

‘Why?’

Despite being in a favorable situation, Amelia couldn’t shake the feeling of unease.

Even though she thought she might be able to handle fighting the royalist faction, a persistent signal in her mind told her it was a mistake.

Biting her lip, she slowly lowered her raised hand.

Seeing this, Ghislain also let his spear drop gradually, a faint smile crossing his face.

‘That sense of hers… just like in the previous life.’

It had been the same back then. Amelia had an uncanny knack for avoiding him and escaping at the last moment. She undoubtedly possessed some extraordinary danger detection ability.

That was why, despite ascending to the supreme rank of the Continent’s Seven Strongest, he had never been able to catch her.

Of course, Amelia wasn’t stopping solely because of her instincts. She was also assessing the political landscape.

‘There’s no benefit in us fighting now. It would only serve the ducal family’s interests.’

As long as the ducal family existed, her ambitions were an unattainable dream. However, if Ghislain, who had defeated Harold, were to ally with the royalist faction and confront the ducal family, an opportunity could arise.

There was no need for her to go out of her way to clash with the royalists and incur losses.

‘I’ll let you live this time, Ghislain. Go ahead and wreak havoc.’

Both of them understood that attacking each other now would bring no good. Neither of them liked incurring unnecessary losses, a sentiment they shared.

As the tension between them eased slightly, the killing intent from those around them began to dissipate.

After a moment of silence, Amelia broke the quiet, voicing a question that had been on her mind.

“How did you know I’d come here?”

“Isn’t it obvious? You wouldn’t pass up such a good opportunity.”

At that, Amelia’s eyebrows twitched.

This wasn’t something so obvious that anyone could predict. If it were, all the northern lords would have moved. But Ghislain spoke as if it were only natural for her to act this way.

“You seem to know more about me than I expected.”

“Of course. I might be the person who knows you best in this kingdom… no, on this entire continent.”

“You know me best? You, of all people?”

“Yeah. I’ve always been watching how you move, so don’t do anything rash. You’ll regret it if you do.”

Ghislain offered the warning with a fierce grin, but Amelia responded with an indifferent expression.

“Don’t say things that could be misunderstood. I’m no longer your fiancée.”

“…Is that really how it is?”

“……”

“……”

An awkward silence lingered for a moment.

Ghislain found himself recalling memories of his previous life. Back then, as soon as he moved through a territory, Amelia would rush in to plant her flag.

Her persistence had been so remarkable that even his subordinates gave her strange nicknames, like “The Witch of the Flag” and “Queen of Land-Grabbing.”

Even after Raypold had been crushed, her tenacity remained unyielding. She constantly ambushed the King of Mercenaries’ army and seized additional territories whenever she could.

When ducal faction nobles demanded she return the captured lands, she would always come up with elaborate excuses to hold onto them—a story well-known among those who had lived through that era.

If Ghislain had been a storm, sweeping away everything in his path, Amelia had been the tireless pursuer, maintaining her strength throughout the year-long war.

‘Now the ducal family will have no choice but to rely on Amelia.’

With no one left to manage the North if a civil war broke out, the ducal family would eventually use her to replace the fallen Harold.

But unlike his previous life, where Harold had dominated the North, the circumstances were now different. Ghislain was the strongest in the North, and Amelia wasn’t someone who moved solely for the ducal family’s benefit, as Harold had.

In the upcoming civil war, Amelia would likely become an uncontrollable maverick—a dangerous wild card.

‘She’s probably already scheming about what she can extract from the ducal family. Dealing with her will surely give Raul some serious headaches.’

The thought amused Ghislain, and he let out a chuckle. Regardless of their past or their relationship, there was no denying that Amelia was an exceptional woman in her own way.

Lowering his spear entirely, Ghislain turned his horse around and spoke.

“I’ll take my leave for today. Consider yourself lucky, Amelia.”

“The next time we meet, I’ll take your head, Ghislain.”

“Confident, aren’t you?”

“Yes. Don’t expect me to let you off so easily next time. Look forward to it.”

“Don’t say things that could be misunderstood.”

“……”

Ghislain laughed to himself as he left, giving Amelia the same verbal jab she had delivered earlier.

Amelia stared coldly at his retreating figure. Deep down, she wanted to strike him down right then and there.

But not yet. Killing him now would mean losing everything she had gained—it wouldn’t be worth it.

Ghislain was merely an obstacle in her path, not the goal itself. For that reason, she could endure for now.

She had far greater ambitions and loftier objectives.

Of course, there were countless ways to harass him. She could burn down and pillage all the nearby villages if she wanted to.

“Pointless.”

But such actions would only be a brief outlet for her frustration, offering no real gain. She wasn’t foolish enough to waste her energy on something so petty.

“Let’s go back.”

Amelia withdrew gracefully. If not now, she could always seize another opportunity later.

As the Raypold forces slowly retreated, the small group of Fenris soldiers within the fortress breathed a sigh of relief.

In their current exhausted state, a fight would have undoubtedly resulted in their deaths. Tension had been inevitable.

Standing atop the fortress wall, Ghislain watched Amelia leave, shaking his head slightly.

Shaking off any lingering regrets, he broke into a hearty laugh and shouted, “Leave only a minimal garrison behind! We’re heading to Desmond Castle!”

Thud!

The gates of Desmond Castle swung open as Ghislain and the Ferdium forces entered.

Following behind them, the Kingdom’s army and additional Ferdium forces marched in. The people in the castle stared in fear, whispering among themselves.

“We lost…?”

“How could an army of 30,000 be defeated…?”

“What happens now?”

The people of Desmond prided themselves on their territory being the strongest in the North. While Raypold, once considered their equal, had declined due to internal strife, Desmond was believed to be unmatched.

This crushing defeat, therefore, struck them with even greater shock.

Yet beyond their wounded pride, more immediate concerns loomed.

“Now that the war is over, they’ll start seizing everything. The Kingdom’s army and Ferdium forces are here too.”

“Isn’t Ferdium known for being one of the poorest regions in the North?”

“There’s nothing left to give…”

The castle’s central residents were relatively well-off, a result of Harold’s meticulous management. He had ensured that living standards were divided and maintained according to class.

Even so, they had borne significant expenses during the war, and now they had lost.

Given the Desmond army’s strength, it was inevitable that the invading forces would have suffered heavy losses. The locals were certain that the victors would compensate for their damages through heavy requisitioning, leaving the people of Desmond deeply worried.

As a result, they didn’t dare to meet Ghislain’s gaze as he strode into the castle, holding their breath in trepidation.

The same was true for Desmond’s retainers, who had been left behind in the castle. Believing they would win, they hadn’t prepared to flee.

With the war’s outcome reaching the castle before them, they hadn’t had time to pack their valuables or escape.

The retainers, dragged one by one into the plaza, wore expressions of disbelief.

Ghislain gazed at them coldly, prompting a few to panic and cry out.

“C-Count! The war wasn’t our decision!”

“We opposed it!”

“How could we have suggested attacking the Kingdom’s army? That’s treason! Treason!”

They desperately pleaded for their lives. But others among them were not so easily broken.

“Silence, you disgraceful cowards!”

“Even in death, the Count would not forgive this shame!”

“We fought with everything we had, and we lost. That’s all there is to it!”

These were the retainers who still swore loyalty to Harold.

Harold had been strict and cold, but he excelled in governance and carried himself with the dignity of a noble. Many of his subordinates had admired his abilities and pledged their genuine allegiance to him.

Watching the retainers bicker amongst themselves, Ghislain spoke dismissively,

“Deal with them.”

At his command, soldiers began dragging the retainers away.

“Ahhh! Please spare me!”

“You wretched invaders!”

“This is what happened because we didn’t kill that scoundrel sooner!”

Hearing one of the retainers shout that last line, Ghislain turned his gaze toward him with a flicker of interest.

The man, dressed in fine attire, seemed to hold a high position in Desmond’s administration. He glared at Ghislain with unrestrained fury and shouted.

“We should’ve gone after you instead of your sister! If only we had killed you when we had the chance!”

“Hmm…”

“This worthless wretch! I regret not persuading the Count to destroy Ferdium completely!”

Watching the man rave, Ghislain dismounted his horse and approached him.

“And who are you? You seem to know quite a lot.”

“I am the Chief Overseer of this land! Someone of your ilk would never have dared to even look at me!”

“Oh… So you were the one scheming with Harold to get rid of me?”

“Of course! You were insignificant compared to more pressing concerns, and this is what it led to! If not for the Kingdom’s army interfering, we would’ve killed you this time!”

The Overseer, unaware of the war’s true progression, assumed the Kingdom’s support had secured Fenris’s victory.

Such a misconception was understandable, given the overwhelming difference in numbers.

Still glaring at Ghislain, the Overseer continued, “Do you think this is over? While we may be finished, the ducal family won’t stand idly by! They’ll kill you, and not even the royalist faction will be able to save you!”

“Is that so? I thought the ducal family was too busy to care about me,” Ghislain mocked, fully aware of the actual situation.

The Overseer raised his voice even more, as though trying to drown out his enemy’s confidence.

“The ducal family has already identified you as a dangerous individual! They’ve sent others to deal with you! That’s why the Count rushed out, even though it was risky—to eliminate you before they could act!”

“Oh… is that so?”

A smile crept across Ghislain’s face, his interest piqued. As he had suspected, the ducal family was indeed making moves to deal with him.