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He wasn’t in perfect condition, but just being able to move at this point meant that he had significantly shortened his recovery time.

As Gillian was lining up the mercenaries, he suddenly hesitated, sneaking a glance at Ghislain.

Ghislain, initially puzzled, quickly realized why. From the direction of the mansion, Belinda was walking towards them at a leisurely pace.

“What’s this? Are you here to see us off?”

Ghislain joked, but Belinda snorted and shook her head.

“See you off? I’m coming with you.”

Ghislain furrowed his brow slightly.

Although her twisted mana had somewhat stabilized, she still hadn’t fully recovered.

“Wouldn’t it be better for you to rest more, Belinda? You don’t have to come along.”

“No way. What if you run into some bandits? Anyone who sees a Runestone like mine won’t be able to resist attacking. I’ll be too worried to rest if I don’t come.”

She stated firmly, throwing on her robe.

Ghislain shook his head with a sigh. Seeing her so determined, he couldn’t find it in himself to oppose her.

After all, Belinda had been looking after him since he was young. It wasn’t easy for him to harden his heart against her.

Ghislain sighed and made a promise.

“If it gets tough for you at any point, make sure to say something.”

“I know. Are we heading straight out of the estate?”

“No, we must pick up what we left behind first.”

Ghislain led the mercenaries back into the Forest of Beasts to retrieve the Dirus Ent’s inner bark and the Blood Python’s remaining corpse.

Unlike when they first entered, the group moved quickly on horseback this time.

“Are you planning to collect more Runestones as well?” Gillian asked.

Ghislain shook his head.

“No, we don’t have the time for that. We’ll just gather the corpses and go sell the Runestones immediately.”

At the mention of selling the Runestones, the mercenaries’ faces lit up.

After all, selling Runestones meant they would receive hefty rewards.

“Alright, let’s move quickly.”

Thanks to having rested sufficiently, the mercenaries were full of energy. In just half a day, they had collected all the monster corpses and returned to the estate.

“Since the inner bark won’t spoil, store it as is. As for the python’s corpse, separate the poison, blood, flesh, and skin, and make sure to store them properly so they don’t rot.”

After entrusting the workers with the task of processing and storing the corpses, Ghislain again led the mercenaries out of the estate.

As they hurriedly followed Ghislain, who seemed to be rushing as if something were chasing him, the mercenaries shouted excitedly.

“Wow, the boss seems really antsy!”

“Hahaha, with this many Runestones to sell, we’re going to make a fortune. Just thinking about it makes my heart race.”

Despite the mercenaries’ light-hearted banter, Gillian voiced his concern.

“Young Lord, is there really a need to move so urgently? You’re still not fully recovered; you shouldn’t overdo it.”

Although Gillian knew from Ghislain what the situation was, he hadn’t expected him to be in such a hurry.

They were riding so fast that the wagons loaded with Runestones couldn’t keep up properly.

“That’s possible, but always remember—time is not on our side.”

Even as Ghislain spoke, he didn’t slow down. He reluctantly reduced speed a little when the horses pulling the wagons fell behind.

“Keep the pace as it is. Let’s move as quickly as possible.”

Since the mercenaries had no reason to complain about getting their money sooner, they eagerly followed Ghislain’s lead.

“Wow, our boss really knows how to ride, doesn’t he? Is he a centaur or something?”

“He’s better than most knights I’ve seen!”

“Is there anything he can’t do at such a young age?”

Although horsemanship was considered an essential skill for nobles, Ghislain’s riding was far beyond the typical level of refinement.

Even the seasoned mercenaries who had survived countless battlefields had never seen anyone handle a horse as well as he did.

Every time they saw him, his skills and poise seemed beyond his years, leaving them amazed.

Whether or not Ghislain heard the mercenaries marveling behind him, he remained silent, galloping southward.

It wasn’t until much later that the mercenaries, who had been following him without question, began to realize something was odd.

“But why are we going this way?”

“That’s what I was wondering. If we’re trying to find a large merchant guild, Raypold would be the fastest.”

“Isn’t he just riding without thinking?”

Raypold was the wealthiest estate in the north. It had many large merchant guilds, so selling anything there would be the easiest and quickest option.

Yet, Ghislain was bypassing the Zimbar Estate, heading further south.

As days passed and they continued traveling, murmurs of confusion among the mercenaries grew louder.

Kaor, representing the mercenaries, finally asked Ghislain.

“Young Lord, where exactly are we headed? We’ve already passed all the major estates with large merchant guilds.”

Ghislain smirked.

“We’re going to the Brivant Estate.”

No one had expected that answer. Kaor and the other mercenaries looked surprised and asked again.

“Why go all the way there?”

“Is there a large merchant guild in Brivant?”

The Brivant Estate was small, located in the north, but it was famous enough that no one in the kingdom knew about it.

The mercenaries, who had been murmuring amongst themselves, soon recalled why Brivant was well-known and gasped in realization.

“Brivant… Oh, don’t tell me!”

“Are we really going there?”

Ghislain nodded.

“Yes, we’re heading to the Magic Tower.”

The mere mention of the Magic Tower immediately made it clear what Ghislain had in mind.

“Ah, so you’re planning to sell the Runestones directly to the Magic Tower! That way, you’ll get more money!”

“That’s right. The Young Lord is more frugal than we thought!”

Only a few merchant guilds in the north could buy a large quantity of Runestones. Even those would take a considerable profit for themselves before giving a price.

However, if they sold directly to the Magic Tower, things would be different.

Runestones were one of the most commonly used materials in magical research.

If the mages, who were fanatical about Runestones, saw a large supply, they’d undoubtedly buy it all. The price they offered would also be higher than what any merchant guild could pay.

The mercenaries, who were little more than country bumpkins living at the far end of the North, seemed excited as they talked about getting to visit the famous Mage Tower.

Since they had made some money and could do some sightseeing, they grinned and said they were glad they had followed Ghislain.

However, after thinking for a moment, Kaor asked Ghislain a question.

“Young Lord, the Mage Tower in Brivant is the Crimson Flame Tower. Wouldn’t we get a much better price if we went to the Scarlet Tower instead?”

“Oh, you’re right. Then, there’s no need for us to go all the way to the Brivant Estate, is there?”

“Exactly. Nowadays, the Scarlet Tower is the best in the North. They’d probably offer the best price, too.”

After hearing Kaor’s words, the mercenaries began chattering among themselves.

Since they were selling to a Mage Tower anyway, it only made sense to sell the Runestone to the place that would offer the highest price.

Smaller towers wouldn’t be able to handle the current supply of Runestones, so they needed to go to a more powerful Mage Tower.

The largest and most powerful tower in the North was the Scarlet Tower. It was also known for paying generously and purchasing the most.

That’s why most merchant guilds primarily traded with the Scarlet Tower.

However, Ghislain shook his head.

“No, we’re going to the Crimson Flame Tower.”

“What? Why?”

Kaor and the other mercenaries were surprised and asked again.

The Crimson Flame Tower was once the wealthiest and most powerful in the North.

But after Delmud, the Tower Master of the rival Scarlet Tower, became a 7th-circle Archmage and gained widespread fame, the situation had completely reversed.

Though the Crimson Flame Tower had been biding its time, hoping to reclaim its former glory, catching up to the now-massive Scarlet Tower was no easy task.

“Uh, you’re not mistaken, are you?”

“The one in Brivant isn’t the Scarlet Tower; it’s the Crimson Flame Tower.”

“With this much supply, we should go to the most successful tower.”

The mercenaries couldn’t help but think that Ghislain had made a mistake. Why would they willingly take a loss when they could earn more money?

As the mercenaries chattered amongst themselves, Belinda furrowed her brows.

She didn’t like how these rude and ignorant men acted brazenly toward Ghislain.

Without him noticing, she jabbed Gillian in the side. When he turned to look, Belinda narrowed her eyes and mouthed, “Teach them some manners.”

However, Ghislain himself didn’t seem to mind their disrespectful behavior at all.

“It’s not a mistake. We’re going to the Crimson Flame Tower. I have my reasons, so just follow me.”

The mercenaries didn’t understand his intentions but stopped talking and quietly followed Ghislain.

Just like in the Forest of Beasts, half of them trusted that Ghislain had something in mind, and the other half didn’t care as long as it wasn’t their loss to worry about.

After passing through several more estates, they finally saw a tall tower in the distance.

The mercenaries began to laugh and joke amongst themselves as they caught sight of the Mage Tower.

Ghislain let out a brief chuckle and spurred his horse forward.

* * *

By the time Ghislain arrived at the Brivant Estate, Count Harold Desmond was staring at a document with trembling eyes, gripping it tightly.

It was a report delivered by the spies he had planted in the Ferdium Estate.

Harold tossed the report onto his desk, sighing in frustration.

“Runestone… Runestone, of all things. And in such large quantities?”

Just as Ghislain had anticipated, the news that he had obtained the Runestone had reached Harold’s ears in just a few days.

With a grim expression, Harold closed his eyes and stroked his mustache, lost in thought.

‘The plan has completely fallen apart.’

He had intended to weaken the Ferdium Estate slowly, but now that they had acquired the Runestone, that wouldn’t be an easy task.

‘Tsk, should I have just forced them into a fight?’

Even though Gilmore Digald’s corpse had disappeared, he could have still found a way to provoke a battle.

However, he couldn’t understand who had taken the body, so he had decided to observe a little longer… but he hadn’t expected things to turn out this way.

‘I thought it was madness when I heard he went into the Forest of Beasts with mercenaries.’

The fact that Ghislain’s name had come up when he lost contact with Frank left Harold with a nagging feeling.

Since then, Harold had been steadily receiving reports on Ghislain’s every move.

While it seemed like Ghislain’s personality had changed slightly, none of the reports indicated that he had grown skilled enough to defeat Frank.

After receiving the report that Ghislain had entered the Forest of Beasts with mercenaries, Harold had wholly stopped paying attention to him.

After all, he had assumed Ghislain would die there.

But now, hearing that Ghislain had successfully acquired the Runestone, his nagging feeling had turned into full-blown anxiety.

‘He wasn’t supposed to be that capable.’

Harold had spent a long time conducting research to swallow up the northern estates.

Naturally, he had investigated all the key figures, and based on the information at the time, Ghislain had been deemed someone unworthy of attention.

Yet now, he had heard his name twice recently. That meant there was a flaw in the information.

Harold issued new orders to the lieutenant standing by his side.

“Gather information on the key figures in the north again. Forget the previous findings; start from scratch.”

“Understood.”

The newly appointed lieutenant was better at gathering information than scheming, so Harold was confident he would handle the task well.

Feeling an odd sense of unease, Harold gazed out the window.

The crimson glow of the setting sun was gradually coloring his room.