A Mercenary’s Rebirth Among Nobles

‘Someday you will pay the price for that arrogance.’

Marquis Bernhardt barely managed to suppress the urge to spit those words out.

What would change by saying them?

An empty curse that could not affect the opponent was nothing more than air. On the contrary, it would only make him a laughingstock for barking loudly without being able to bite. In that case, it was better to shut his mouth and say nothing.

“W-what are you all doing!? Everyone return to your posts!”

“Yes, sir!”

After restraining his anger, the marquis shouted at the soldiers.

The men of the marquis’s house, startled by their lord’s fury, immediately scattered.

However, the soldiers under Lucian’s command remained where they were.

Their authority was not the marquis, but Lucian.

Lucian shrugged at the marquis’s sharp glare and raised his voice.

“You all return to your quarters as well. It’s almost dinner time, and if you keep wandering around, you’ll end up drinking only cold soup later.”

“Yes, majesty!”

Unlike the marquis’s soldiers, Lucian’s troops responded cheerfully, as if they were heading home after enjoying an entertaining spectacle.

Seeing that attitude, Marquis Bernhardt’s face tightened and he turned on his heel.

Judging by the haste of his steps, he did not want to remain there even one second longer.

When the soldiers dispersed, Hugo and Felicia approached Lucian and bowed their heads.

“Good work, majesty.”

“Felicia did the work. I told you to take revenge however you liked, but I didn’t expect someone from that side to dare approach first.”

“Thanks to that, I obtained a perfect justification and was able to take revenge the way I wanted. For me, it was ideal.”

As she said that, Felicia’s face lit up with a radiant smile.

It seemed that, after more than ten years of accumulated resentment, at least a part of it had been relieved.

Lucian watched her and asked,

“I’m glad to hear that, but you’re not thinking of ending your revenge with just this, are you?”

“No. But I also don’t think it’s necessary for me to make the first move.”

“What do you mean?”

“I’m sure Marquis Bernhardt will attempt another maneuver. Rather than acting first, it will be better to counterattack when he makes his move.”

Even if one could crush the opponent through sheer force, having or not having justification made a world of difference.

Without justification, one could only exercise moderate revenge; but if one caught the enemy’s scheme and struck back, the damage could be multiplied.

For Felicia, who had accumulated far too many unsettled accounts with the house of Marquis Roglan, the latter was far more appealing.

Lucian nodded at her opinion, though his expression grew subtly complex.

“It would be better if he moved first, but after this, will the marquis really not give up and come at us again?”

“Yes. I’m certain.”

Felicia answered without the slightest hesitation.

The Marquis Bernhardt she knew was perfectly capable of that.

“If Your Majesty were to return to the north soon, the marquis would have given up. But we’ve just arrived and still plan to stay for quite a while.”

In other words, the marquis would have to endure today’s humiliation for a long time.

With his temperament, he was not someone who could silently endure until Lucian returned.

Without a doubt, he would plot another conspiracy to reverse the situation.

“He will probably try to act just before Your Majesty returns. After barely recovering his pride, he won’t want to give time for a counterblow.”

“To win decisively at the end and then drive us out? If he loses, everything will be over with no chance for revenge.”

“He’s bad at improvising, but when he prepares thoroughly, he almost never fails. He probably doesn’t even consider the possibility of losing.”

“I see.”

Up until now, the marquis had been outplayed by Lucian mainly due to a lack of information.

Now that he knew Lucian’s power, he likely believed he could corner him.

At Felicia’s analysis, coming from someone who knew the marquis’s character better than anyone, Lucian formed a mocking smile.

“How ridiculous. Does he really think that what I showed in the west is all I have?”

The person the marquis truly needed to fear was someone else.

Someone who, though hidden beneath the shadow of others, was in truth the most unpredictable of all.

Lucian shifted his gaze away from Felicia and addressed the shadow standing behind them.

“Marius.”

“Yes, majesty.”

“Do you have enough mana?”

At Lucian’s question, Marius showed a deep smile.

“More than enough.”

***

“The duke has crossed the line!”

“Even if it was the third young master who started the provocation, wasn’t that an excessive response!?”

“We must protest immediately! We can’t let this stand!”

In the residence of the feudal lord, the relatives of the house of Marquis Roglan were causing an uproar.

Every single word they uttered was a reproach directed at Lucian and Felicia.

“If we let this matter slide, the authority of the house of Marquis Roglan will fall even further!”

“It could even happen that some of our allies turn their backs on us!”

“…”

Marquis Bernhardt silently observed his relatives, who kept talking like parrots.

His attitude seemed to tell them to say whatever they wanted.

However, no matter how much time passed, the voices did not diminish; some even repeated the same things over and over again.

Finally, his patience exhausted, the marquis opened his mouth.

“So then?”

“Huh?”

“How exactly are we supposed to protest to the duke?”

“W-well, we should point out his abuses and demand the compensation that corresponds…”

“And in what way? Do you think that just by shouting that it was all his fault he’ll simply hand over compensation?”

“…”

The relatives, who until a moment ago had been shouting, fell silent all at once.

If they only demanded compensation with words, they would most likely be completely ignored.

At the very least, there would have to be some kind of retaliation for them to even pretend to listen.

The problem was that the opponent was not someone who would back down just because he was punished.

“He’s a madman who, after turning the third’s face into a rag in the front yard of my own house, still had the nerve to demand apologies from me. What am I supposed to do against someone like that? Do you really want us to start a war?”

“N-no, that’s not it…”

“Then what is it? I hope you didn’t talk about protesting without being willing to go to war. Opening your mouth without having a plan is something even a newborn chick can do.”

The marquis’s face was calm, but his tone was sharp like a blade.

Faced with that unsettling atmosphere, the relatives immediately fell silent.

In the middle of the stillness, the marquis sighed and murmured,

“All of you, get out.”

“B-but, head of the family…”

“Get out.”

Faced with that firm tone, which admitted no objections, the relatives withdrew in a rush.

When he was left alone, Marquis Bernhardt closed his eyes and leaned back in his chair.

A little later, while he still remained with his eyes closed, Dirk approached.

“I came because Your Excellency summoned me.”

“Sir Dirk.”

“Yes, Excellency.”

“I’m going to need you to do some dirty work with me.”

At those unexpected words, Dirk’s eyes opened wide.

It was well known that the marquis carried out maneuvers in the shadows, but with rare exceptions, he did not involve the knights in them.

He knew how important honor was to a knight; in a sense, it was a consideration toward those upright men.

And yet, now he was saying something like that, and precisely to Dirk.

“Excellency.”

“Shut up.”

“…”

“You should have stopped Felicia at that moment. It didn’t matter whether you felt you owed her something because of the past or whether you considered the third’s suffering to be just retribution. You had to stop her. And what did you do? Just stand there watching?”

“Excellency.”

“That’s enough. I’m not going to consider you anymore. From now on, you’ll have to move with me.”

“I can’t do that.”

At Dirk’s firm tone, Marquis Bernhardt blinked.

He couldn’t do it? Had he just refused to obey an order? He, who had always spoken of loyalty to one’s lord as a knight’s duty?

“What did you just say?”

“I can’t do it. I beg you to reconsider.”

“Even in a situation like this, you’re still determined to protect your honor?”

“That’s not it. Let the duke leave as things are.”

The marquis’s eyes opened wide.

Was it not enough that Emil, the captain of the garrison of Castle Belfor, had said the same, but now even Dirk?

Dirk spoke calmly to the marquis, who was speechless with shock and fury.

“Excellency, the duke’s ability is one level above yours.”

“…!”

“He may be young, but he prepares countermeasures for every action, and even when something unexpected occurs, he is capable of reversing the flow of the situation to his advantage. If you confront him through intrigues, Excellency has no chance.”

“How dare you!”

“I understand your feelings, but pressing on will only make things worse. It is true that the duke has caused us great losses, but we have also gained something. If in the future he is faced as a ruler commanding an army—”

“Shut up already!”

Bang!

With a loud crash, Marquis Bernhardt’s fist struck the table.

Unable to contain his anger, he instinctively grabbed the glass cup beside him, though he did not throw it.

No matter how insolent he was, Dirk had been one of his closest attendants since his youth.

“…I don’t want to see your face. Get out of here right now!”

After setting the cup down on the table and shouting, Dirk bowed his head with a bitter expression and withdrew.

Marquis Bernhardt clenched his teeth as he watched him leave.

‘He says I’m beneath that brat? Damn it, he underestimates me too much.’

Recalling Dirk’s words, anger burned inside him, but he forced himself to contain it.

It wouldn’t be long before Dirk was proven wrong.

But if Lucian really managed to push through even that trap head-on and counterattack—

‘…Then I’ll acknowledge his advice. I’ll admit that that boy was above me.’

Of course, that would not happen.

No warrior could do anything against attacks executed from a distance beyond his reach.

***

After Gaemon was beaten into a pulp by Felicia, the hierarchy between the two sides was completely defined.

The soldiers on Lucian’s side walked with their heads held high, even knowing that this was another’s land.

In contrast, the soldiers of the house of Marquis Roglan wandered through their own territory with slumped shoulders, avoiding Lucian’s men.

The scene was such that anyone might think the west was the homeland of Lucian’s troops, and that the soldiers of Marquis Roglan were the outsiders.

“What are you doing in front of the guests!? Pull yourselves together already!”

“Even a rabbit becomes brave inside its own burrow! Why are you behaving so miserably?”

“The one who was beaten was the third young master, not you! Walk with your backs straight!”

The marquis’s knights scolded the soldiers, but there was little effect.

The confidence of soldiers came from the dignity of their commander-in-chief.

And in the conflict with Lucian, Marquis Bernhardt had shown nothing but an image of constant defeat.

It was only natural that the soldiers could not recover their confidence.

But it wasn’t only the fall in morale that tormented the knights.

In fact, that problem was secondary.

Dejected soldiers could still be pressured, but Felicia, who was freely walking around the marquis’s domains, was someone no one could stop.