The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

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Chapter 461: Do You Work Out These Days? (2)

At Giselle’s question, Elena responded, flustered.

“Uh, I don’t do things like exercise.”

Elena is a noble young lady. Unless she is from a completely fallen noble family, there’s no reason for an ordinary noble young lady to exert herself in life.

Even if Perdium is a poor territory, he was a marquis receiving support from the kingdom. He could at least afford a servant.

So, Elena had no particular need to exert herself. She didn’t train at all.

She only took lessons to cultivate her dignity as a young lady. Her strength only went as far as that.

This was truly the first time in her life she had exerted herself with all her might.

“Ugh, ugh…”

Feeling uncomfortable with the people’s gazes, Elena began to look around nervously.

She had lived her life without ever considering how strong her own strength was. She just lived without knowing her limits. It was only natural since she had never had to exert herself.

Giselle stroked her chin with a serious expression.

‘Right, now that I think about it, definitely back then…’

— Oh, big brother! Let’s run away!

— It’s fine, let go. You’re surprisingly strong, right?

— Hurry, let’s escape!

When three assassins had come to kill Elena, she had grabbed Giselle’s arm and urged him to run away.

At that time, Giselle couldn’t easily shake her off.

— Why are you suddenly this strong? Do you work out?

Though he said it like that, he had only thought she was a bit stronger than a normal girl.

At that moment, he had been too busy dealing with the assassins to think deeply, and even later, right after the regression, he figured her strength was unstable.

‘There was another instance like that…’

When she had won against Cain and agreed to take the money, Elena had slyly wrapped her arm around Giselle, trying to get something from him.

At that time too, Giselle attempted to pull his arm away easily but failed.

— No, do you really work out? What strength is this?

Strange thoughts swarmed in Giselle’s mind. Things he had casually brushed aside.

Belinda felt confused as well. She too had raised Elena, thinking she was just an unusually healthy yet ordinary girl.

‘That’s right, the young lady has never been sick. She hasn’t even caught the common cold, unlike the young master, who was always sniffling and coughing…’

At that time, having to care for the frail (?) Giselle, she inevitably paid less attention to the relatively healthy Elena.

‘No, still, she wasn’t this strong when she was younger.’

She was just above average compared to her peers; she wasn’t at the level of being stronger than an adult. Therefore, she had quickly dismissed any thoughts regarding Anette.

‘Wait, thinking back, there was that time…’

When Alfoy and the wizards first arrived in the territory, Elena had carried their luggage easily while Giselle was scolded by Elena.

They had been ordered to carry the burden themselves, but Alfoy and the wizards could barely lift it. One could imagine how weak they were if the coachman they brought had to help.

At that time, Elena had appeared with both arms filled lightly with their luggage.

“—Oh my, isn’t it heavy? You must be working out lately!”

“—Oh come on, it’s not that heavy.”

They thought it was just that Alfoy and the wizards were too weak. Though they’re healthier now, they truly were frail back then.

Giselle and Belinda held their foreheads with their hands. Both were hit with the same thought.

‘It’s divine power. She must have been born with it.’

‘Who would’ve thought Anette’s divine power would pass down to the young lady?’

Why hadn’t they thought to investigate this back then? Why had they just thought she was a somewhat strong girl?

Honestly, the reason that divine power isn’t something anyone can be born with played a big part in why they didn’t think of it.

‘It would take time to see if she has divine power.’

Since they hadn’t seen her use her strength properly since childhood and didn’t pay attention, there was no way to know.

Those with divine power have a different muscle density and structure than commoners, enabling them to exert strong strength… but it’s not like they can exert extreme strength since birth.

Typically, as one ages, the muscles grow as well, and strength increases. Therefore, it’s essential to consistently pay attention to determine whether one is born with divine power.

However, there was no luxury to nurture Elena in Perdium. As they got used to Elena’s gradually increasing strength, some things undoubtedly passed without much thought.

It was likely that Elena herself hadn’t noticed either since she had never had to use her strength. She probably faced a crisis where she had to use all her strength for the first time.

Giselle’s eyes sparkled.

‘To think there is such a gem in our household. I can’t let this go to waste.’

Honestly, the fact that the assassin’s arm broke was purely due to luck. The assassin was caught off guard and couldn’t react.

No matter how much she was born with divine power, in a real fight, Elena couldn’t handle even a beginner knight. If she doesn’t learn magic and techniques, there will always be limits regardless of how strong she is.

‘In my past life, I had no idea because I was attacked by an assassin…’

Perhaps the assassins in her past life had accidentally broken an arm or two from a struggling Elena?

Giselle approached Elena with a bright smile, pretending to be friendly.

“Elena, you were scared, right? You’ve been through a lot.”

“Uh? Hmm?”

“Ah, it’s a bit my fault, so I feel a little sorry. As a reward, I’ll also buy you some clothes and accessories.”

Elena took a suspicious glance and stepped back a bit.

Everyone in the kingdom now knows that Giselle is incredibly wealthy. But he is also famous for not indulging in luxuries.

He poured all of his earnings into territory development and combat preparations. He even used the bribes he received for that.

‘He’s wealthy, but he’s never given me a decent gift!’

It wasn’t the first time she had cursed Rachel about that. What good was a wealthy territory if she remained a poor young lady?

But now, suddenly, he acts friendly and claims he’ll buy something for her? It was clear he had something in mind.

“What is it? Why the sudden change?”

“Ah, I just feel sorry. I think I haven’t cared for my sister enough.”

“Ugh, you’re funny. You’re not the type of person to act like this. Huh? Stay away. You’re acting very suspicious.”

Giselle paused his steps at Elena’s warning. Still, he spoke with earnestness.

“I’m serious! This time, I’ll buy you whatever you want. Just say it!”

“R-really?”

“Of course! I’m serious! I’ll buy you everything you desire! I’m being generous this time.”

“Really, really?”

“Yep! But can you do me one favor?”

Of course. He wouldn’t just give something away. With a sulky expression, Elena asked.

“What is it? What do you want?”

“Huh…”

Giselle let out a big sigh. This was the dealbreaker. Now he had to persuade her.

With utmost sincerity and seriousness like never before, he said.

“Join the Northern Army.”

*

“Phew, it’s finally over.”

“Yeah, you all did a great job.”

Giselle, sitting across from Belinda, leaned back heavily in his chair, showing a slightly tired expression.

He had been really busy these past few days. The Duke’s family seemed determined to succeed this time, even releasing some quite expensive bait.

After somehow solving the problems, exhaustion washed over him.

Belinda asked, wearing a somewhat troubled expression.

“Are you really going to take Lady Elena with you?”

“I have to. It would be a crime to let her talent just go to waste.”

“Doesn’t she dislike the idea very much?”

“Hmm…”

One of Giselle’s cheeks bore the red mark of a handprint. He had been convincing Elena for hours, and finally, she had slapped him.

Giselle had allowed the slap for persuasion, but at that moment, he nearly turned his neck and killed himself.

After some contemplation, he shook his head.

“No. If you’re a noble, you must fulfill your duties as a noble. It would be a crime for someone with that kind of talent not to fight. I’m going to drag her along, no matter what.”

“Phew…”

Belinda just shrugged her shoulders. She had opposed this multiple times as being too dangerous, but Giselle remained resolute.

“This isn’t just about the divine power. After experiencing this event, I believe Elena should be able to protect herself. Rachel is the same. Even if I don’t make them participate in a battle right away, I’ll take them with me for training.”

Since this wasn’t entirely unreasonable, Belinda couldn’t oppose it to the end. Perhaps being by Giselle’s and her side would be the safest place for them.

Teaching them weapon techniques and mana training, she felt it was her only option to protect them well.

Worried that Belinda would oppose again, Giselle quickly changed the subject.

“Let’s handle Elena’s situation for now. Let’s get into the details about our mother. What exactly happened? It seems a bit off with what I was told about when I was born.”

“It’s not over thirty years, so I just said about twenty years. It’s been a bit longer than that.”

“…So how old are you really, Belinda?”

“What did I always teach you?”

“…Never ask a woman’s ‘real’ age.”

“Exactly.”

“…”

Giselle shook his head, speechless at her cheeky reply.

“Ugh… so what’s the real identity of our mother? How did she end up in Perdium? What sort of story led that Melchior guy to chase after our mother?”

“Phew…”

Belinda sighed and placed an old box on the table.

She had brought it, knowing they would talk about this since Giselle called for her.

“What’s this?”

“I’ve hidden this in Perdium all along. I thought it would be good for you to know about the organization that Anette and I were a part of.”

Belinda had hidden most of her personal belongings in Perdium while following Giselle.

As Giselle moved from Penris to Cabaldy to Desmond, the important items were stored here until he settled down.

“In here… is the secret about our mother…”

Giselle gulped and opened the box.

Click.

Inside the box were three booklets. Two were relatively clean, and one looked significantly worn out.

The stark contrast in the book’s appearance made Giselle tremble as he first looked at the two books.

The title on the covers alone was unusual.

“This is… our mother’s secret?”

“Yep.”

Giselle blinked several times and checked the book names again.

[My Ex-Husband Who Lost His Memory Turned Out to Be the Crown Prince of the Empire?]

[After Being Hit by a Wagon, I Reincarnated as a Princess of the Kingdom.]

No matter how you looked at it, they were novels sold in the market. Just like Gordon’s old novel, “Transparent Swordmaster,” they were simply novels.

But to think that there was a secret about their mother here, he couldn’t disregard it.

Giselle cautiously asked.

“W-was she remarried?”

“Yes? What are you talking about?”

“Did she secretly have the identity of the hidden princess of the kingdom?”

“What on earth are you talking about?”

Giselle, with a cold expression, picked up the two books.

“Then what is this?”

“Oh, oh! Why is that there?”

Only then did Belinda look startled and quickly snatch it away.

It was a novel she read occasionally when tired of raising Giselle and Elena a long time ago. It seemed like she had completely forgotten about it after saying she would keep it safely.

With a slightly embarrassed smile, Belinda said.

“Oh, I didn’t realize that was in there. Don’t mind this. Just read the others.”

“…Alright.”

Coming back to his senses, Giselle picked up the remaining book. It was quite worn and old.

It contained information about an organization and the techniques that Belinda had learned.

“The Shadow Knight Group…”

He hadn’t heard of it, even in his past life. The booklet only mentioned that their mission was to secretly protect the Ruthania royal family.

A secret organization that eliminated threats to the royal family. The leader of this organization was his own mother.

The Shadow Knight Group was a powerful organization that held all information in the kingdom and drafted kill lists for the nobles.

However, the origin of their creation and how it was founded wasn’t mentioned. It felt as though some records had been cut off.

Only a peculiar point remained…

“A family monopolized the position of the leader? In this kingdom?”

“Yes, it’s been handed down through generations. Only from Anette’s family could one learn the vision and take on the position of the Shadow Knight Leader.”

“Huh? But Belinda passed it down, didn’t she?”

“Anette intended to break that tradition. That’s why she passed it down to me. I don’t know why she thought that way, though.”

“Didn’t mother have any other family?”

“No, as far as I know. She was quite a secretive person… And she even mentioned that such secrets were charming.”

Giselle realized that the teachings Belinda had shared with him had originally come from his mother. Her education had continued down to him.

“…I see. But there’s nothing written about when this organization was created or why.”

Such a powerful organization couldn’t have come into existence for no reason. Moreover, there had been traces of battling against the Salvation Society long ago. There was no way to dismiss such a matter.

As Giselle seemed to finish reading, Belinda added some explanations.

“I think it might have existed since the founding king’s era. So, perhaps it protected the Ruthania royal family? Although, I can’t be sure since there are no records.”

“Then does the Shadow Knight Group still exist with the royal family today?”

“No, as far as I know, it was wiped out because of Melchior. There were no survivors left. I don’t know if it has been rebuilt since then.”

“Was he a traitor?”

“Yes, Melchior was the deputy leader.”

Belinda calmly recounted the past events. Melchior, who had been the deputy leader, had ambushed Anette and inflicted severe injuries.

At that time, most members had died, and the Shadow Knight Group was dismantled.

The young Belinda had just thought that Melchior and the traitors had merely launched a coordinated attack.

“But now that I look back, it doesn’t seem so. It seems they had teamed up with external forces to strike Anette. The Duke’s family and the Salvation Society.”

“Did you hear anything else about the enemy while fighting?”

“I was just an apprentice member at that time. Anette didn’t talk about that incident, so I couldn’t know the details.”

“I see… But I think I have a rough idea.”

Though the Duke’s family had only started showing ambition a little over a decade ago, it meant they had prepared to turn the country inside out for over twenty years.

Up until then, the Salvation Society had shown no movements at all. There must have been a reason why they began to act when the Shadow Knight Group fell.

Giselle narrowed his eyes and sunk into thought.

“They are a group that hides so much; it’s hard to tell. It doesn’t seem like they are a new religion either.”

The black energy they used was a force completely different from mana or divine power. Such a power had suddenly appeared in the world.

While one could think that the Salvation Society discovered a new power, judging by Ereness’s reactions, it seemed that it had existed for a very long time.

Nonetheless, the fact that there are no records or even spoken tales about them seemed very odd upon reflection.

‘It feels like there has been some massive manipulation…’

It would be the only explanation if it weren’t so.

‘I should probably ask Ereness whenever I get the chance.’

Since Ereness likely wouldn’t speak freely, he’d have to dig for information little by little.

And… there was one more person he wanted to meet. It was more a hunch than a logical reason.

‘They surely must know something.’

The intent of the Salvation Society helping Melchior could only be seen as aiming to take down the royal family by destroying the Shadow Knight Group.

So, he thought it was necessary to meet the king of Ruthania, their goal.

Elena’s family, the Salvation Society, and the royal family. These three were surely intertwined in some way that he didn’t understand.