At Ghislain's bold words, Baron Margell burst into loud laughter. Then, he glared at Ghislain with a cruel look.
"You insolent mercenary. How dare you present such terms to me?"
The knights reached for their swords, and the soldiers raised their weapons. They were ready to capture Ghislain the moment the command was given.
The atmosphere turned tense in an instant. The spectators also stepped back, sensing the tension.
Yet, even in such a heavy atmosphere, Ghislain maintained his composure.
"Isn't it allowed to set any condition in an honorable duel?"
"Do you think it makes sense to wager land?"
"And why wouldn't it? The Lacus family is also a noble house. We're more than qualified to receive land."
"..."
Baron Margell's cheeks twitched. There was no flaw in Ghislain's argument.
There had been cases where lords sold their territories after going bankrupt. So, obtaining land through a duel wasn't entirely impossible—just exceedingly rare due to the insanity of such a wager.
Baron Margell, who had been glaring at Ghislain for a long time, twisted one corner of his mouth into a grin.
"You said you'd risk everything? Does that include your life?"
"Of course. Life is always part of 'everything.'"
At those words, the Lacus family members were all shocked. How could he wager someone else's life so recklessly?
Even Rio, who had fainted earlier, twitched in response.
Despite this, Ghislain remained calm. Baron Margell questioned him again.
"Would you wager the lives of your mercenary group as well?"
"Are you asking about that? Naturally, we'll wager those too."
This time, Yulian, Deneb, and Kyle were taken aback. Why was he gambling with their lives without permission?
Seeing Ghislain's audacity, Baron Margell bit his lip and spoke.
"Fine. I accept the duel."
Everyone around them was shocked.
From the lord's perspective, there was no reason to accept Ghislain's proposal.
The strongest knight in the territory had already died. To face Yulian, he would have to hire an even more skilled knight from another region, which was exceedingly difficult.
Rejecting the proposal now would've been far less humiliating.
"My lord!"
"There's no need to engage in a duel."
"Please reconsider once more..."
The vassals tried to dissuade him, but Baron Margell brushed them aside and continued speaking.
"However, I have conditions."
"Please state them."
"First. Since I came here this time, next time you'll come to me. I'll inform you of the location later."
"Agreed."
"Second. This time, it won't be public. Only the Lacus family's guards and related personnel are allowed. I'll select the observers."
Baron Margell swept his sharp gaze over the surroundings.
"It's unpleasant to be humiliated in front of spectators."
At his words, the gathered crowd bowed their heads.
It was understandable that his pride was wounded, but everyone knew this was just an excuse. The real intent was obvious.
If the duel was held privately, no one would know what underhanded tricks the lord might employ.
Baron Margell gave a vicious smile.
"What do you say? Will you accept? If you refuse, I'll hold you accountable for insulting me right here."
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The knights and soldiers drew their weapons and stepped forward.
It was a trap, no matter how one looked at it. Refusal would give the lord an excuse to execute them on the spot.
The companions, who had been trying to stop Ghislain, were at a loss due to the sudden turn of events.
But Ghislain answered with a leisurely smile.
"What's so hard about that? Let's proceed as you wish."
Baron Margell twitched his cheeks several times and glared at Ghislain before finally turning away.
"Let's go."
He didn't even glance at the corpse of Bendok. A dead knight was of no use to him.
The moment Baron Margell left, the three companions rushed at Ghislain.
"Ghislain! What the hell were you thinking?"
"Wouldn't it have been better to end it here?"
"Have you completely lost your mind?"
All three were pale with fear. It was obvious the lord wouldn't approach the duel fairly.
This looked like it could escalate into an actual war against the lord's army. The potential casualties worried them.
The Lacus family members weren't much different. They crowded around Ghislain, their faces just as grim.
"Wh-why did you do this?"
"The lord will surely use this chance to kill us all."
"You need to apologize immediately. You've only given him justification."
Ghislain yawned, feigning annoyance as if they were making a fuss over nothing.
Rio was still lying unconscious. Ghislain walked over and crouched next to him.
"Hey, wake up. I know you're awake."
"..."
"Wake up, I said."
Rio slowly opened his eyes. He was hoping this was all just a bad dream.
"O-Older brother... We won, right? Everything after that is just a dream, right?"
"Nope. It's all real."
"Ughhhh!"
Rio wailed while lying down. The family was doomed now. A hired mercenary had wagered their entire house without permission.
"Why are you crying? It's a gift. A surprise gift."
"What kind of gift is this?!"
"If you win, Baron Margell's territory will be yours. Isn't that great?"
"There's no way we'll win! We're all going to die. What's so great about that?!"
Rio thought Ghislain must really be a devil. He seemed to resolve crises only to create even bigger disasters.
Making deals with devils always led to ruin in the end.
While Rio sobbed, Ghislain clicked his tongue.
"Tsk, tsk. Think about it. Let's say we didn't mention another duel. Then this victory would've been an even bigger problem."
"What?"
"A knight serving the lord died in front of all these people. He lost his pride and got nothing in return. Do you think Baron Margell would've let that slide?"
"Th-then we could negotiate and offer back the gold mine..."
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. You still don't get it. The lord already considers the gold mine his. Do you think offering it would be a fair deal?"
"What?"
"A man like that wouldn't have acted this way otherwise. It's obvious."
"Th-then..."
"Exactly. He'll demand compensation for his humiliation and the dead knight. And he'll take it with your lives—by any means necessary."
Rio turned pale at Ghislain's blunt statement.
He had tried many ways to avoid ruin—gathering crowds to prevent the lord from acting rashly—but it had only caused bigger problems.
Could they really escape the lord's grasp?
Watching Rio's troubled face, Ghislain grinned.
"Leave this to me. Breaking guys like that is my specialty."
"Older brother, can you really handle this?"
"Of course. I've got it all planned out."
Rio grabbed Ghislain's leg and cried out.
"I'll trust you with everything!"
"Ugh, stop clinging to me like that. I said I've got this."
Everyone bowed their heads at Ghislain's words. It was all true. In the end, the lord would keep harassing them until he completely took over the Lacus family.
They wanted to pack up and run, but while laborers might escape, there was no way the lord would let the key figures go.
They also hadn't identified the traitor within the merchant guild. Whatever they did, the lord would find out.
Just as everyone seemed to accept their grim situation, Dark suddenly shouted.
"You're all screwed now! Nothing my master does ever ends quietly!"
"...."
"If I were you, I'd just ditch everything and run! What are you even relying on—"
Thud!
"Gah!"
Dark, who had been stirring up anxiety and mocking them, was silenced by Ghislain's punch.
The gathered crowd scattered, and even the merchant guild workers moved away.
Seizing the moment when everyone's attention had shifted, Kyle cautiously asked Ghislain.
"You're planning to run away, right?"
"....."
"It's fine, just tell us secretly. When are we leaving?"
"I'm not."
"You're seriously going to fight again? It's obviously a trap!"
"That's exactly why I'm doing it. It'll make things look even better."
Speaking in riddles, Ghislain paused and then called for Rio.
"How many armed guards does the merchant guild have?"
"Well… if we gather everyone, about 50."
"What if we arm the laborers too?"
"Then maybe around 100."
"Good. Gather them all and arm them."
"But even if we arm them, it won't matter. You're not actually thinking of fighting the lord's army, are you? We can't possibly win!"
Rio's face turned pale. Arming untrained laborers wouldn't achieve anything.
They lacked soldiers, knights, and training. No matter how skilled Yulian's mercenaries were, they couldn't defeat the lord's army head-on.
Ghislain shook his head.
"We're not fighting. Just arm them. They have other roles to play."
"You're not going to tell us, are you?"
"Nope. You said there's a traitor in the merchant guild. Just get them armed. We'll take them along as escorts for the duel."
In truth, Ghislain simply didn't feel like explaining. Even if he did, they wouldn't believe him and would only argue.
There were no other options anyway. Crying, Rio began preparing to arm the laborers.
But even that didn't go smoothly. After hearing the rumors, some of the laborers fled.
Only those with no other place to go—those born and raised in the region—remained, hoping for a miracle.
After a few days, word arrived from Baron Margell.
Rio rushed to Ghislain, holding the letter.
"The location has been set! But it's…"
It was the training grounds attached to the lord's castle. At first glance, it seemed reasonable, but everyone knew the lord's true intentions.
Ghislain, however, looked unfazed.
"Perfect. Now we can lead our troops deep into the lord's castle."
"Aren't you scared? The lord's soldiers will be waiting there."
"The only thing that ever scared me was Belinda's nagging. But I've grown up, so even that doesn't scare me anymore."
"Uh… who's that?"
"Someone who could wipe out Baron Margell's territory in an instant."
'He must be exaggerating.'
To Rio, who had only ever lived in a small barony, Ghislain's words sounded like nothing more than bluster.
Ghislain immediately mobilized the merchant guild's forces.
Since many had fled, the armed group numbered only about 60.
Trembling with fear, they followed Ghislain, their lack of training painfully obvious in their disorganized march.
Even so, they clung to one hope.
'Lord Yulian will make it work somehow.'
'He already defeated the strongest knight in the territory.'
'He might take down ten men on his own.'
Their faith wasn't in Ghislain but in Yulian, whose astonishing skills they had witnessed firsthand.
Of course, Yulian himself was just as scared and nervous as they were.
None of them knew that Ghislain was a 5th-circle mage. Rio had kept it a secret to avoid tipping off the traitor.
If the lord found out Ghislain's true identity, he might prepare countermeasures.
The city surrounding the lord's castle wasn't far, so the group soon arrived at the castle gates.
Seeing the armed crowd, the guards stepped forward to block their path. The captain of the guards emerged and shouted.
"Halt! State your purpose! What army are you from?"
Though calling it an army was a stretch, it was still an armed force, and the guards surrounded them nervously.
Rio stammered as he spoke.
"I-I'm Rio of the Lacus family, here for the honorable duel with the lord."
"And you dare bring armed forces?"
The captain growled and pointed his spear at them.
Even fallen nobles were still nobles, and treating them like this was a breach of etiquette.
But the captain didn't care about etiquette. Like everyone else, he assumed the Lacus family would be wiped out today.
Rio swallowed his pride and repeated what Ghislain had told him.
"T-the lord said we could bring guards. This is all my escort."
"Hah…"
The captain was dumbfounded. Who would interpret the conditions like this?
But without explicit restrictions, the speaker had to accept however their words were interpreted.
Reluctantly, the captain counted the men and sent word to the lord.
Shortly after, orders came from the lord.
"They're allowed in."
The captain gestured arrogantly with his chin.
"Go inside."
Rio bowed his head and entered, followed by the ragtag group of armed laborers.
Seeing their pathetic state, the captain sneered.
"Do they think this is a real war? They're all going to die no matter how many they bring. Struggling to survive until the last minute—how pitiful."
Rio bit his lip in humiliation, but he lacked the courage to respond.
Ghislain, however, was different.
"Hey, I'll remember your face. Get ready for a proper beating later. For the record, this duke never forgets a grudge."
"What? A duke? This insane bastard!"
The captain drew his sword but didn't dare strike. He had no authority to stop someone entering under the lord's orders.
Grinding his teeth, the captain glared at Ghislain.
"You'll die in there anyway…"
Clinging to that thought, he suppressed his anger.
The group was led to the training grounds.
The vast field was eerily empty. Rio anxiously scanned the surroundings.
Then, after a short wait—
Clank, clank, clank!
Hundreds of fully armed soldiers began surrounding them, closing in step by step.
[T/L: I need your support, dear readers. I will give discount to all those who will buy the rest of the chapters all together, so please support me the reader on my webnovel platform and read ahead chapters on my ko-fi page "RevengerScans" : https://ko-fi.com/revengerscans ]