The Regressed Mercenary’s Machinations

“Hire us.”

“……”

King Alex of Flovitz was taken aback by Ghislain’s proposal.

Though mercenaries were of lowly status, he had allowed them to be present among the lords. It was only because the lords had insisted. While he understood why they valued them, it was still offensive that a mere mercenary dared to speak so boldly, bypassing the nobles altogether.

Even a lowly mercenary dares to look down on me now?

Andrew and Leo had been elevated to the rank of counts. Since they had taken control of Count Crest’s and Count Swipel’s territories, it was only natural.

Killing Count Crest, who was a vassal of Marquis Falkenheim, meant they had outright rejected the marquis’s faction. That was why Alex had been trying to bring both of them over to his side.@@novelbin@@

Yet, both Count Nodehill and Count Raks had been frustratingly passive. And now, to make matters worse, a mere mercenary had the audacity to speak up.

“Julien… was it? The vice commander of the mercenary corps?”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

Alex’s lips twitched. The man’s words and actions were polite, yet something about his demeanor wasn’t.

His smirking, overly relaxed attitude was unnerving.

With a scowl of barely restrained anger, Alex asked,

“Do you take me for a fool?”

Alex had ascended to the throne suddenly and hadn’t yet solidified his authority.

No—he had been nothing more than a puppet from the start. He hadn't even known a territorial war was happening until Andrew and Leo arrived. That was how blind and deaf he had been. Marquis Falkenheim’s people filled the royal palace, leaving him surrounded on all sides.

A king who could die at any moment. That was Alex’s reality.

And now, all his pent-up resentment and feelings of inadequacy erupted in response to Ghislain’s attitude.

“I asked you—do you think I’m a fool?”

“……”

Ghislain simply stared at him.

He had already investigated the situation in Flovitz. He knew exactly why Alex was acting like this.

A man cornered and tasting the threat of death every day could not remain sane. Ghislain had once been in the same position—when he had lost his family and lands and had been forced into hiding.

But this situation was actually to his advantage. It would make it even easier to establish Andrew and Leo as the real powers of the kingdom.