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“Grand Duke? Are you mistaking the King of Mercenaries for someone else and daring to lock me up here?”

“Hah, where in the world is there such a king? Are you playing king this time? What is it that you’re so dissatisfied with again?”

Overwhelmed for a moment by the soldier’s irritated tone, Ghislain unwittingly spoke his honest thoughts.

“… I don’t like being here.”

“Ah, then please, just leave! You were napping, so why are you suddenly acting like this?”

“Just leave? You’re telling me that someone like you has the authority to release me?”

“No, what authority! You followed us of your own accord, didn’t you? You can just leave whenever you want!”

The voice was far too sincere to be an act. Only then did Ghislain sense something was wrong and cautiously asked.

“…Where are we?”

“Where? We’re here to exterminate the orcs that appeared near the estate, aren’t we?”

Something seemed to tickle the back of his neck, like a memory trying to surface.

“…How did you suppress my mana?”

At that, the soldier let out an incredulous chuckle.

“What mana? You don’t even train. Do you even know what mana is?”

“…”

Even this blatant disrespect felt strangely familiar. Startled, Ghislain began to look around his surroundings again. Then, he spotted a flag hanging on one side of the tent and widened his eyes.

A black background with a white wolf emblem.

Why was the banner of Ferdium, a family that had already fallen, hanging here?

“Why is that here? Is this some kind of joke? Are you mocking me, waiting to see my reaction?”

The soldier, now too fed up to even respond, pushed Ghislain’s arm away and shoved the sword aside.

As Ghislain helplessly let the soldier have his way, his own hand came into view.

“What the hell… What happened to my hand?”

The hand, which had once been covered in unsightly scars, was now white and smooth. It looked like the hand of someone who had never trained a day in his life.

Astonished, Ghislain stared at his hand and then hurried over to a water basin in the corner.

“What? What?”

He gasped in horror at the reflection in the water.

Lustrous golden hair, fair and transparent skin, delicate features.

This was not the face of the Mercenary King, whose face was permanently scarred, and his eyes were sunken from alcohol.

“Aaaahhh!”

As Ghislain screamed, startled by his own reflection, the soldier clicked his tongue.

“He’s lost it. Finally, he’s completely lost it. I knew this day would come.”

Ghislain took a step back, shocked at his own face. He cautiously looked into the basin again, only to be shocked again.

Sure, the Grand Duke was a good-looking man, but being this surprised by his own face seemed like a bit much. It was clearly too much self-admiration.

But Ghislain was too busy examining his reflection to care about the soldier’s thoughts.

“……I’ve gotten younger, haven’t I?”

No matter how much I checked, I looked no older than my late teens. Could this be a dream? Ghislain pinched his arm slightly. The sharp pain snapped him back to reality.

‘It’s not a dream!’

Then, was it the memory of becoming the King of Mercenaries that was a dream? He shook his head internally. It was far too vivid and brutal to have been a dream.

‘It couldn’t have been a dream.’

Every sense was screaming that this situation was real. Everything was real, not a dream. I had returned to the past with the memories of a life lived in the future.

“Hah!”

With a dazed expression, Ghislain looked at the soldier and then covered his mouth with his hand. The soldier’s attire and insignia were undoubtedly from the Ferdium Estate.

Pointing at the soldier with trembling fingers, Ghislain’s lips flapped without producing any sound until he finally let out one word of admiration.

“Wow.”

The soldier sighed, looking up at the ceiling with an exasperated expression.

“Please eat and return to the castle. You don’t look well.”

The soldier turned as if to leave, but Ghislain hurriedly grabbed him.

“Wait! Wait!”

“What is it?”

“Uh, so… right, what’s your name?”

“Ricardo.”

“Hmm, that’s a cool name. You’ve got a pretty handsome face, too.”

“Yes, yes, thank you. You’re handsome as well, Grand Duke.”

At that, Ghislain waved his hand awkwardly and laughed.

“Ah, it’s been a while since I’ve heard that. After I got all these scars on my face, no one called me handsome.”

“…….”

Ricardo stared at Ghislain’s smooth, white face, momentarily lost in thought. This guy doesn’t even train properly, complaining about calluses on his hands—so what’s all this about scars on his face?

Though Ghislain had always been a bit lacking, now it seemed he had indeed gone mad. Since Ricardo didn’t respond, Ghislain awkwardly plopped down into a chair.

“Ahem, anyway, the thing is….”

He hesitated for a moment, unsure how to explain this situation. But he soon decided, looking up at Ricardo with a serious expression.

“Ricardo, listen… I know this is hard to believe, but the truth is, I died and came back to life… I’ve returned to the past.”

“…….”

“You don’t believe me?”

After a moment of silence, Ricardo gave Ghislain a sympathetic look.

“You’re not asking to go to a monastery or a tower, are you?”

When nobles were thought to be mentally ill, they were often sent to monasteries or towers. Ghislain’s reputation was already in the gutter due to his frequent mishaps. His status as the Grand Duke was the only thing that had kept him from being locked away, but if word spread that he was mentally ill, he would be immediately taken away.

Understanding Ricardo’s implication, Ghislain tried to hide his startled expression, forcing a loud laugh.

“Ahahaha, just joking, joking. This guy really doesn’t get jokes. Ah, how could someone go back to the past? How could they come back to life? Hahahaha.”

“…I’ll be on my way now.”

“Ah, yeah, go ahead. I’ll stay close by.”

As soon as Ricardo left, Ghislain lowered his head deeply.

“Haah, this is driving me crazy.”

Of course, no one would believe him. He, who had indeed returned to the past, could hardly believe it himself. So, how could anyone else?

“Anyway, it seems this was before I ran away from home.”

In his previous life, he’d boldly run away around this time. But since he saw a Ferdium soldier nearby, it seemed he hadn’t run away just yet.

“I should start by trying to recall everything. If I wander around recklessly, I might actually end up imprisoned.”

Gathering his thoughts, Ghislain carefully stepped out of the tent.

“Oh….”

The other tents around him, the soldiers standing guard, all caught his attention with new clarity. The tents were mainly worn out, looking like piles of trash. But because of that, Ghislain was sure he had returned to the past.

Back then, the Ferdium territory was impoverished.

The soldiers who spotted him saluted as they passed by. They showed proper respect, but their faces were filled with thinly veiled contempt.

That blatant disregard only reinforced his realization that he had returned in time.

“Heh, heh heh….”

Laughter escaped him as he found the situation unbelievable.

‘I’ve really returned to the past.’

He didn’t know what kind of phenomenon this was, but the reason behind it didn’t matter.

Right now, his heart was pounding uncontrollably.

“Ahahahahaha!”

Ghislain spread his arms wide and looked up at the sky, laughing like a madman. The soldiers around him shook their heads in disdain, staring at him with pity, but he couldn’t care less.

‘I can fix everything!’

All the regrets and mistakes of the past, and even the despair that awaited in the future.

The things that had tormented him his entire life hadn’t happened yet.

The people he’d always longed for, the ones he loved, were still alive in this time.

‘But they aren’t safe.’

Ghislain’s eyes filled with killing intent when that thought crossed his mind.

The Delfine Duchyhad destroyed the territory and the ones behind them.

He couldn’t be satisfied until he ripped those bastards to pieces.

‘I’ll kill them all.’

This time, things would be different from his past life.

His mind was filled with the knowledge of the future. If he used that, he could become stronger faster than anyone else and prepare for every threat.

‘Yes, with who I am now, I can do it. There’s no need to rush. I’ll hunt them down one by one.’

Ghislain took a deep breath, cooling his heated body and mind. The first priority was to assess the current situation.

‘Orcs, they said? If it’s an orc subjugation… Right, it’s definitely that time!’

The memory came back to him clearly. How could he forget the time he nearly died?

Unable to bear the scornful looks directed at him, he’d recklessly joined the subjugation party to prove himself.

Though, calling it a subjugation party was generous—it was just one knight and about thirty soldiers.

The orcs that appeared near the territory numbered only three. Everyone thought that force would be enough.

‘But it wasn’t.’

In reality, there were over twenty orcs in the vicinity.

Orcs, who suddenly raided their camp, had ambushed the subjugation force.

Ghislain had almost lost his life as well.

The damage had been more significant because Ghislain had insisted on commanding.
‘No doubt about it, it’s today.’

Looking at the surrounding landscape and the layout of the tents, he was sure of it.

Before they could even spend a night here, they had been ambushed by orcs and suffered near annihilation.

‘Wait, how much time do I have left?’

Ghislain hurriedly looked up at the sky. It was just past noon, and the sun had begun its slow descent.

‘I need to prepare immediately.’

The orcs had charged in before sunset.

At this rate, the orcs would appear soon.

‘They didn’t plan the attack either, so I still have a chance.’

The orcs had attacked the subjugation force merely by chance after encountering them.

As long as he prepared in advance, they wouldn’t suffer the same heavy losses as they did in his past life.

‘If I was going to return to the past, couldn’t it have been a little earlier!’

Ghislain grumbled inwardly.

Being suddenly thrown back to the past left him bewildered and disoriented.

He hadn’t even adjusted to the current situation, and now he had to deal with orcs immediately.

‘Not like I can avoid it, though.’

In his previous life, many people had died here because of him.

Although he had barely survived, he couldn’t escape the blame. It was one of the reasons he had decided to leave his family.

Now, he had a chance to correct the starting point of all those regrets. Avoiding it would only be foolish.

‘Alright, let’s think of it positively. This is the first step toward changing the future.’

From this day forward, the territory’s future would be completely different from his past life.

When Ghislain raised his head, there was no more confusion on his face. Only firm resolve remained.

“Well then, I suppose I should tell them there are twenty orcs, not just three…”

Ghislain, who had been walking to find the commander of the subjugation force, stopped momentarily.

At this time, he was considered the northern region’s scoundrel and a piece of trash.

If he suddenly claimed that there were more orcs and they needed to prepare, they’d just dismiss it as another one of his insane ramblings.

“What should I do? I doubt they’ll listen to reason.”

Persuasion only works when there’s a basis and trust.

In his current state, he would obviously be ignored, no matter what he said.

After contemplating briefly, Ghislain came up with a clear solution.

“I have no choice. I’ll just have to take command myself. That’s the only way.”

It left him feeling a bit uneasy, as it wasn’t much different from his past life, but there was no other option.

“How did I take command back then?”

Ghislain carefully searched his memory. He vaguely recalled what had happened.

— “I’ll take command! There are only three orcs!”

— “You think you’ll get away with defying me? Once I inherit the territory, do you think I’ll let you live?”

— “Are you looking down on me? I can do it! Just give it to me!”

…He had simply thrown a tantrum.

“Haha… I really acted like a brat.”

Ghislain let out a self-deprecating laugh.

He had been so desperate not to be ignored despite lacking any real ability. It was the kind of thing that would make him kick his blankets in embarrassment later on.

“Hmph, there’s no need to go that far.”

He still had to seize command, but he had no intention of behaving childishly like before.
Unlike then, he had matured and gained a lot of experience.

“Alright, let’s approach this politely and with dignity. I’m an adult now.”

With a lighter step, Ghislain went to find the knight leading the subjugation force.

The knight immediately displayed his displeasure upon seeing Ghislain.

“What brings you here?”

Ghislain calmed himself with a cough at the blatant look of disdain.

‘Wow, it’s been a while since someone looked at me like that. Not used to it. But still, I should speak softly and kindly.’

“Ahem, well… um, what was your name again?”

“It’s Skovan.”

Skovan clicked his tongue inwardly.

How could someone who was supposed to be the Grand Duke of the territory not even know the name of one of his family’s knights?

This man clearly had no qualifications.

Unaware of Skovan’s thoughts, Ghislain raised his voice deliberately.

“Oh, right. Sir Skovan, I came to talk about something important.”

“What is it?”

Despite Skovan’s blunt tone, Ghislain didn’t lose his smile.

‘I need to speak politely, very politely… but wait, shouldn’t he just give it to me if I ask?’
“Give it to me.”

“What?”

At the abrupt demand, Skovan looked puzzled. Ghislain answered firmly.

“The command. Hand it over.”

To Ghislain, this was polite enough.

After all, he wasn’t hitting anyone.