NOVEL NEXT Chapter 663
“I’m all in!”
Ghislaine’s bold words made Baron Magrell burst out laughing. But then, he glared at her with a cruel look in his eyes.
“You insolent mercenary! How dare you propose such conditions to me?”
The knights had their hands on their swords, and the soldiers raised their weapons. At the next command, they would leap to seize Ghislaine.
The atmosphere turned grim in an instant. The onlookers stepped back, glancing nervously at each other.
Yet amidst this heavy tension, Ghislaine remained unfazed and spoke up.
“Aren’t the conditions for an Honor Duel negotiable?”
“You can’t seriously be suggesting to stake a territory!”
“What’s wrong with that? The House of Rax is an aristocratic family, so we are fully qualified to receive a territory.”
“……”
Baron Magrell twitched his cheek. Ghislaine’s statement held no errors.
It wasn’t uncommon for lords to declare bankruptcy and sell off their territories. So, claiming one through a duel wasn’t entirely out of the question, though there were rarely any fools willing to do such a thing.
After staring at Ghislaine for some time, Baron Magrell curled one side of his mouth into a smirk.
“Did you say you’d stake everything? Even your life?”
“Of course! Everything includes life.”
At that, the members of the House of Rax gasped in shock. Why would anyone casually gamble with someone else’s life!
Even Rio, who had already fainted, flinched in his unconscious state.
Regardless, Ghislaine carried on with her calm demeanor as Baron Magrell asked again.
“Are you wagering the lives of your mercenary group as well?”
“Are you kidding? Of course, we must!”
This time, Yulien, Deneb, and Kyle were taken aback. Why would anyone just throw around other people’s lives!
Baron Magrell chewed his lips at Ghislaine’s reckless bravado.
“Fine, I accept your duel.”
The crowd around them gasped in surprise.
From the lord’s perspective, there was no logical reason to accept Ghislaine’s proposal.
After all, the greatest knight of the territory was already dead. To face Yulien, he’d need to hire a better knight from another territory, which would be exceedingly difficult. It would be less painful for the pride to flat out refuse the offer now.
“My Lord!”
“There’s really no need for a duel.”
“Please reconsider…”
The retainers tried to dissuade him, but Baron Magrell brushed them off and continued.
“However, there are conditions.”
“Go ahead.”
“First. This time, I’ve come, so next time, you’ll have to come to me. I’ll specify the location later.”
“Done deal!”
“Second. This time, we won’t do it publicly. Only the House of Rax’s guards and relevant individuals may attend. I will invite the spectators myself.”
Baron Magrell scanned the crowd with a piercing gaze.
“I don’t fancy being humiliated in front of onlookers.”
The people watching bowed their heads at that.
It was a blow to pride, and understandably upsetting. But deep down, everyone knew that it was just an excuse; there was a hidden agenda at play.
Without announcing the duel’s procedures publicly, anything the lord cooked up would remain under wraps.
Baron Magrell wore a fierce grin.
“So, what do you say? Will you accept? If you decline, I’ll take it as an insult right here.”
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knights and soldiers drew their weapons and stepped forward.
It was clear to everyone that it was a trap. They were crafting a justification to dispose of Ghislaine if she refused.
Rio and the others who tried to intervene found themselves bewildered by the sudden turn of events.
But Ghislaine still wore a relaxed smile as she responded.
“What’s so difficult about it? I’ll proceed as you wish.”
Baron Magrell twitched his cheek several times while glaring at Ghislaine. After standing silently for a while, he finally turned to leave.
“Let’s go.”
He didn’t even bother looking back at Bendock’s corpse. The dead knight was of no use to him anymore.
As soon as Baron Magrell retreated, the three rushed toward Ghislaine.
“Ghislaine! What on earth were you thinking!”
“Things could end peacefully!”
“Are you out of your mind!?”
The three were in a panic. There was no way that the lord would take this duel in good faith.
It looked as though they’d really be going to war with the lord’s army. How many lives were about to be lost weighed heavily on their minds.
The members of the House of Rax felt the same. Their faces were ashen as they approached Ghislaine, questioning her.
“Wh-what were you thinking?”
“The lord is sure to kill us all this time.”
“You need to apologize! You just gave him a reason!”
Ghislaine rolled her eyes, showing her annoyance. They were all too scared to see the truth of the matter.
Rio was still laying unconscious. Ghislaine squatted next to him.
“Hey, wake up. I know you’re conscious.”
“……”
“I said wake up.”
Slowly, Rio opened his eyes, praying it was all a dream.
“Brother… We won, right? Everything that happened afterward is just a dream, right?”
“Nope, it’s reality.”
“Uwaah!”
Rio broke down in tears. Their family was ruined. The mercenary they hired just gambled with their entire house.
“Why are you crying? This is a gift—a surprise gift.”
“What kind of gift is this!”
“If we win, the Magrell Barony will be yours. Isn’t that good?”
“There’s no way we can win! We’re all going to die. What’s good about that!”
Rio was convinced Ghislaine was indeed a devil. A devil that brought even greater crisis while pretending to help.
Clearly, making a deal with a devil isn’t a good idea. It always ends in destruction.
Seeing Rio wailing, Ghislaine clicked her tongue.
“Tsk tsk, think about it. What if we didn’t even mention the next duel? How much of a bigger problem would winning this duel alone become?”
“Huh?”
“A noble’s knight was killed in front of everyone. We’d only be humiliated without achieving anything. Do you really think the baron would let that slide?”
“So, you mean to negotiate to give the gold mine back…”
“Tsk tsk tsk, you really know nothing. The baron would think the gold mine belonged to him in the first place, right? How can handing it back be a negotiation?”
“Huh?”
“He wouldn’t be acting like this if he didn’t think so. This is just how he operates.”
“Then…?”
“Right. It’s only natural to reclaim what’s his. And now he must also collect for his humiliation and for the knight’s death. He’ll want your lives in some way, shape, or form, and he’ll stop at nothing to get them.”
At Ghislaine’s declaration, Rio’s face went pale.
In an effort to escape doom, he had considered many ways to get out of this mess. He had spread rumors to gather spectators, so that if the lord lost, he wouldn’t act hastily.
But now that very tactic seemed to have brought an even bigger problem upon them. Were they really never going to escape from the lord’s grasp?
Observing Rio’s conflicted expression, Ghislaine chuckled.
“So leave this to me. I’m an expert at smashing scumbags like him.”
“Br-brother. Do you really think you can handle this?”
“Of course! I have a plan.”
Rio grasped Ghislaine’s leg, desperately calling out.
“I really only trust you, brother.”
“Ugh, why are you being so clingy all of a sudden? Fine, I got it.”
The others lowered their heads, realizing Ghislaine was right. The lord would continue to harass them until he completely seized the House of Rax.
They wanted to pack up and run, but the lord would never let key figures like themselves go so easily.
They couldn’t even identify the traitor among the merchant group. Whatever they did, it would inevitably lead them back to the lord.
As everyone seemed to accept this grim reality, Dark suddenly shouted.
“You guys are done for! Nothing good ever comes from what the master does!”
“……”
“If I were you, I’d ditch everything and run! What are you even holding onto…?”
Thwack!
“Gah!”
Dark, who had been taunting everyone to instill fear, was abruptly shut up with a punch from Ghislaine.
The crowd scattered, and those from the merchant group shifted their positions. As everyone turned away, Kyle cautiously approached Ghislaine.
“Are we going to run?”
“……”
“It’s fine. Just tell us in secret when we’re leaving.”
“Not going.”
“Are we really going to face the next duel? It’s clearly a trap!”
“It’s a trap, which is why we have to do it. It makes for a better show.”
Ghislaine muttered some cryptic words before pondering for a moment and calling out to Rio.
“How many armed workers do we have in the merchant group?”
“Well… if we gather them all, maybe about 50.”
“What if we arm the workers too?”
“That might bring it up to 100.”
“Good. Gather everyone and arm them.”
“But it won’t mean anything! You can’t seriously think we’ll fight the lord’s army, right? We’ll never win!”
Rio’s face turned ashen. What good was arming untrained workers? They were short on soldiers and knights. No matter how good the mercenaries led by Yulien were, they would never win against the lord’s army head-on.
Ghislaine shook her head.
“We’re not planning to fight; we’re just arming them. Everyone has their own tasks.”
“You’re not going to tell us, are you?”
“Nope. There’s a traitor in the merchant group. Simply arm everyone; I’ll take them as guards during the duel.”
Honestly, it was just laziness that kept her from sharing her plan. No one would believe it, and they’d only try to object.
That was it; there was no other alternative. Rio prepared the workers’ armament while crying.
In fact, that too didn’t go smoothly. Hearing the rumors, a few workers fled regardless.
Only those who had nowhere else to go, stuck in this town, remained behind, hesitantly holding on.
After a few days, news finally arrived from Baron Magrell.
Rio rushed over with the letter in hand.
“The location has been decided! But the place is…”
It was the training ground adjacent to the lord’s castle. At first glance, it looked decent—but no one was unaware of the lord’s intentions.
Ghislaine nonchalantly replied,
“That works perfectly. We can lead our troops deep into the lord’s castle.”
“Aren’t you afraid? The lord’s army will be waiting there.”
“The only thing that scares me is Belinda’s nagging. I’m grown up now; nagging doesn’t frighten me anymore.”
“Who is that…? ”
“Just someone who could easily wipe out a barony like Magrell’s by herself.”
‘My brother surely has a flare for exaggeration. Where would such a person exist in the world?’
To Rio, who had only ever lived in a small barony, Ghislaine’s claim sounded like a tall tale.
Ghislaine marched forward, leading the merchant troops. Due to the many who had fled, the armed force was a mere 60 men in total.
All of them shook with fear as they followed Ghislaine, their marching order a complete wreck since they were untrained.
Still, they held one trust as they moved.
‘Yulien will handle this somehow.’
‘The best knight of the territory has already won, right?’
‘She might even take down more than ten single-handedly.’
The one they believed in wasn’t Ghislaine. It was Yulien, who had displayed her astonishing capability just recently.
Meanwhile, the concerned party was just as tense and nervous.
None of them knew Ghislaine was a 5th Circle mage. She had kept that secret from Rio for fear that the lord might catch wind of it and prepare.
The city where the lord’s castle sat was not far away. Their group soon stood before the castle.
With dozens of armed figures marching in, the guards immediately blocked their path. Soon, the head guard appeared, shouting.
“Halt! What’s going on here? From where does this army come?”
This ragtag band might not even qualify as an army, but they were still armed. The guards tensed, surrounding the group.
Rio stuttered,
“I-I am Rio from the House of Rax. We have come to face the lord in an Honor Duel.”
“And you dare bring an armed force here?”
The chief guard growled, brandishing his spear.
Even if they were fallen nobles, they were still nobility. Therefore, treating them this way was a breach of etiquette.
Yet the chief guard seemed unconcerned with etiquette. He, along with everyone else, believed that the House of Rax would cease to exist today.
Rio endured his humiliation and answered per Ghislaine’s instructions.
“The lord said it was fine to bring guards. This is my entire escort.”
“Huh…?”
The chief guard was taken aback. Who interprets a situation like that?
But unless specific conditions were spelled out, the speaker had to bear the consequences of their words.
With no way out, the chief guard grudgingly verified the number of men and sent word to the lord.
After a brief wait, the lord’s response came.
“He says it’s fine to admit them.”
The chief guard nodded contemptuously.
“You may enter.”
Rio hung his head low as he stepped inside. His makeshift army of untrained soldiers followed closely behind.
The chief guard laughed under his breath at the sight.
“Are they seriously trying to wage war with a bunch of idiots like these? I could bring just a few people and wipe them all out. How pathetic, trying to cling to life.”
At that, Rio felt a rush of humiliation, biting his lip. But he had no words of rebuttal and lacked the courage to respond.
Of course, Ghislaine was nothing like Rio.
“Hey, I’m memorizing your face. Be prepared for a thorough beating later. Just so you know, dukes never forget a grudge.”
“W-what? A duke? You insignificant crazy brat!”
The chief guard drew his sword, but he couldn’t bring himself to attack. He had no authority to stop the group entering on the lord’s orders.
The chief guard could only sneer at Ghislaine.
“You’re going to die anyway once you enter…”
That was the only consolation he could find while suppressing his anger.
The group was escorted into the training ground.
The vast training ground had an eerily empty atmosphere. Rio scanned the surroundings with apprehension.
After a brief moment, precarious sounds echoed.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
Hundreds of fully armed soldiers began surrounding them.