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Ghislain discreetly counted the remaining orcs.

‘Wow, there are still five left?’

According to the initial calculation, I should have dealt with all of them by now. But my body was even more pathetic than I thought. Forget killing all the orcs—it was hard enough just to stay on my feet.

“Krrrk, krrr.”

Fortunately, it seemed my bluff had worked as the orcs slowly began to retreat.

Though orcs were famous as a warrior race, wandering orcs valued their own lives more than battle. As soon as they realized they couldn’t defeat the human before them, they completely lost their fighting spirit.

‘Damn it, they can’t run away.’

Growing anxious, I prepared to attack the orcs right away.

But just as I moved, my legs suddenly gave out, and I stumbled to the ground.

“…?”

Seeing my flustered expression, the orcs’ eyes gleamed.

“Graaa!”

One of the quick-witted orcs, wielding an axe, immediately charged at me. Skovan, who saw this, shouted in alarm as he rushed forward.

“Your Highness!”

Skovan’s panicked cry rang out, and the orc’s axe swung toward me.

Kwaaang!

Rolling on the ground, I barely dodged the axe, which struck the earth just a hair’s breadth away.

Seizing the opportunity, I sprang up and swung my sword at the orc’s neck.

Paaaak!

With a spray of blood, the orc collapsed. Skovan, who had been running toward me, abruptly halted his steps.

I swept my hair back, flashing a relaxed smile.

“Heh, the plan succeeded.”

“Krrr!”

The orcs began to retreat again. They must have thought I had deliberately shown a weakness to lure them in.

But Skovan, staring at me with a confused look, seemed unsure.

‘Is this real? Did he actually deceive them? Then why are his legs shaking like that?’

It wasn’t just my legs. The hand holding my sword was trembling ever so slightly, too.

That was a sign that my muscles weren’t responding properly.

And yet, my expression was as carefree as if I were out for a stroll.

If this were all an act, I would have had the talent to become a renowned stage actor.

As both the orcs and Skovan hesitated, uncertain of what was happening, I made up my mind.

‘No choice. It’s embarrassing, but I can’t help it.’

Earlier, I had confidently told them just to watch, but now it was time to mobilize the soldiers.

To be honest, moving my body was genuinely difficult. But I couldn’t afford to show any weakness here.

The enemy’s morale would rise even further when I appeared weak.

Putting on a stern expression, I turned to the soldiers.

“At this point, you should be able to handle them. Attack the remaining orcs now!”

“……”

However, the soldiers just blinked, not even thinking about moving.

It was true that Ghislain had displayed some impressive skills, but it was so unexpected that they couldn’t adjust to it.

Ghislain also blinked as he stared at the soldiers.

‘Not a single one… is moving?’

He suddenly realized how utterly insignificant his treatment had been during this time period.

Sure, he had been a scoundrel, but he never imagined the soldiers would disregard him to this extent.

There was no choice. He had to call out names and give direct orders in times like this.

“Ricardo! At least you step up! Block the front!”

He reluctantly called on someone he knew, but the handsome Ricardo cried out in horror.

“No, I won’t! Don’t do this! Why are you doing this to me?”

“Wow, this is driving me crazy. Is there seriously not a single person here who listens to me?”

Since the soldiers wouldn’t obey him, he had no choice but to yell at the real commander.

“Skovan! What are you doing? The orcs are escaping! Move already! Do you all want to die, you bastards?!”

Only after hearing Ghislain’s furious roar did the dazed Skovan snap back to reality.

“Huh? Yes! Yes! Everyone, attack!”

As expected, a real commander was different. The moment the order was given, the soldiers moved like clockwork.

“Waaah!”

Skovan quickly stepped in to block the path of the orcs.

The orcs had already turned to flee, but he was a knight capable of using mana.

No one here could match his speed.

While Skovan darted around, slowing the orcs’ escape, the soldiers began to surround them.

Ghislain wanted to join in and deal with the remaining orcs, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

‘Ugh, it feels like my bones are twisting.’

Ultimately, he gave up moving and stylishly sat on the ground.

In a battle, confidence, and spirit were everything. Showing weakness was never an option.

This was the essence of the mercenaries’ fundamental principles of “bluff” and “swagger.”

Thankfully, Skovan was a skilled enough knight that handling the remaining orcs wasn’t difficult.

“Kraaaagh!”

Thud, thud!

Before long, the remaining orcs all collapsed.

Ghislain, who had been sitting and pretending to watch casually, smiled.

“They’re all dead. No one’s injured or killed, right? So, how was it? Wasn’t it manageable for all of you?”

At Ghislain’s question, the soldiers silently nodded in response.

Honestly, they felt like they should say something, but no words would come out.

The Ghislain they knew was a pathetic piece of trash.

He never trained or exercised properly, weak as could be, yet overflowing with arrogance.

But that very same piece of trash had just displayed incredible swordsmanship and single-handedly slaughtered nearly twenty orcs.

If people had known I was this skilled, I wouldn’t have been treated so poorly all this time.

“Y-Your Highness, are you alright?” Skovan asked, his eyes trembling as he looked at Ghislain.

He felt no different from the soldiers. This was unbelievable.

Even the commander of the Ferdium Knights wouldn’t have been able to show such swordsmanship.

He wanted to grab Ghislain and ask him how this was possible, but Ghislain spoke first.

“Ah, I’m fine. Anyway, are we heading back to the castle now?”

“Yes. We should return to the castle since we’ve killed all the orcs.”

“Good. Then return to the castle right away.”

“Huh?”

Skovan was puzzled by the urgency in Ghislain’s voice, but he couldn’t bring himself to ask why.

“Make sure to transport this body to the castle quickly and safely. We can’t afford to die again, right?”

Thud.

Before Skovan could respond, Ghislain lost consciousness and collapsed. Even the bluff and swagger of a mercenary had its limits.

* * *

The first thing Ghislain saw when he opened his eyes was a clean ceiling, and he breathed a sigh of relief.

“I’m alive.”

Having pushed his body to its absolute limit without mana, he had passed out. The aftereffects were still painful but proved this wasn’t a dream.

“Oh, this place…”

The room wasn’t very large, but it was tidy and elegant, like something a noble would stay in.

For some reason, the environment felt familiar, and Ghislain tilted his head as if trying to recall a memory that was just out of reach.

“It looks like I’m back at the castle. Is this my room?”

It seemed quite some time had passed since he lost consciousness.

Creak.

Suddenly, the door swung open, and a woman entered. When she saw Ghislain looking around the room, she exclaimed in surprise.

“Young Master! You’ve woken up!”

“Huh?”

The woman, dressed neatly and with her black hair tied up, clapped her hands joyfully.

Her face seemed oddly familiar.

Startled, Ghislain called out her name.

“Belinda?”

The woman standing before him was undoubtedly Belinda, his personal head maid and tutor.

Even when all of Ferdium despised Ghislain, she had always stood by his side.

To meet her again like this…

“Belinda!”

Ghislain leaped from the bed and hugged her tightly.

“Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? Did you do something wrong again?” Belinda asked gently, trying to calm him down.

Ghislain stepped back and gave her a broad smile as he answered.

“No, I’m just happy to see you.”

“We see each other every day. What’s suddenly making you so happy?”

As she eyed him suspiciously, Ghislain met her gaze and spoke earnestly.

“The truth is, I died and came back to life…”

“Yes, yes. You died to an orc and then resurrected in your bed. Wow, how amazing,” she cut him off, sensing he was about to spout nonsense again.

“…No, that’s not it.”

She quietly approached Ghislain and whispered in his ear.

“Master, you do realize you’re in a dangerous situation, right? If the maids hear and rumors spread, you could really end up locked up.”

“…”

At her words, Ghislain nodded with a resigned expression. As expected, conveying sincerity was complicated when one had terrible credit.

“By the way, where am I?”

“Where else? You’re in your room, Master. Anyway, I’m glad you’ve woken up.”

He looked around again. It was a sight deeply ingrained in his memory.

Familiar, yet distant—a space that evoked memories. It was definitely the room he used when he was younger.

Belinda continued speaking as he took in the room with a fresh perspective.

“You seem to be feeling better… You’ve sweat quite a bit, so you should bathe first.”

She turned around and shook the golden bell that was on the table a few times.

Ding, ding.

Soon after, the door opened, and a few maids rushed in.

“Prepare the bath for the Master.”

“Yes, Head Maid.”

The maids hurried over to Ghislain, practically dragging him away as if they were about to lift him.

“Huh? Huh?”

Flustered, Ghislain was taken away just like that.

* * *

After he finished freshening up, Ghislain stood in front of the mirror again.

Unlike his reflection in the water, the image in the mirror appeared vividly real.

‘…I can’t believe this.’

The person reflected in the mirror was the picture of a nobleman.

The scars that used to cover his face, the cruel glint in his eyes, and the terrifying expression he had grown used to—none of them were there anymore. Only the handsome, bright face of the past Ghislain remained.

Belinda chuckled softly while he stood there staring at the mirror with a dazed expression.

“Do you like your face that much?”

“Yes, I like it a lot.”

Belinda made a slightly awkward expression at his confident reply, with no hint of shame.

As she watched, Ghislain continued to gaze endlessly into the mirror.

It wasn’t easy for someone to suddenly become so captivated by their own face.

‘Wow, he really seems to like it. Well, staring at the mirror is better than causing trouble, I guess.’

Though the atmosphere felt a bit strange today, it wasn’t unusual for the Master to act odd now and then.

“You should rest a little more.”

With those words, Belinda shook her head and left the room.

Even after she left, Ghislain continued staring at the mirror for a long time.

Creak.

He had no idea how much time had passed when the door quietly opened, and a young girl peeked her face in.

“Brother?”

“Elena?”

Ghislain, seeing her face, shouted in surprise.

A girl of about sixteen or seventeen with blonde hair.

It was his younger sister, Elena.

Seeing her, Ghislain felt as though his heart had dropped.

Suddenly thrust back into the past, he had been so busy fighting battles that he hadn’t had the chance to organize his thoughts.

But at the sight of his sister’s face, one event came into sharp focus in his mind, untangling from the jumble of memories.

‘Wait, how many days are left?’

In his previous life, Ghislain faced a torrent of blame after the subjugation force was annihilated.

Although he’d caused many problems, that was the first time so many people had died because of him.

‘If only I hadn’t given such a sloppy command back then.’

The vassals had insisted on imprisoning him, and unable to bear the situation, Ghislain had resolved to leave his family.

‘Yes, the battle with the orcs was just the beginning.’

His heart began to race.

While he was living with that heavy decision to leave, the incident had occurred.

The accident that happened to Elena had been the decisive factor in his leaving the family.

“Elena!”

As Ghislain called her name grimly, Elena, startled, answered.

“Huh? What?”

“How long until the festival?”

“Uh, a week?”

Ghislain covered his face with his hands so she wouldn’t see and laughed silently. He couldn’t suppress the laughter.

If the day he failed to defeat the orcs and decided to leave amidst all the blame had been a turning point, then there was another day that truly changed his life.

How could he forget, even after decades?

His eyes, hidden behind his hands, filled with a cold, murderous intent.

‘The day I most wished I could go back to. The memory that tormented me all my life.’

In a week, Elena would die.