Episode 22 You crazy bastard, why are you doing that! (2)
Jiselle, who had just come to her senses at her father’s question, straightened her posture and answered.
“Nothing much happened. I just had a little chat with Amelia.”
“Is that so?”
A strange light flashed in Zwalter’s eyes.
Since long ago, Jiselle had been busy avoiding him and running away.
Rather than coming to greet him first, he would often make excuses and hide when Zwalter came looking for him.
The only time the rich man met in person was when Giselle caused an accident and was arrested.
It’s so strange that Jiselle came to find me first.
It wasn’t just that. She seemed confident in her words and actions. She looked so unfamiliar that he wondered if she was the Giselle he knew.
When a person does something unusual, it’s natural to be suspicious.
‘Why is that guy acting like that? Does he hurt somewhere?’
Zwalter narrowed his eyes and looked at Giselle closely.
‘Hmm, that’s suspicious.’
As Zwalter continued to keep his mouth shut, the mood gradually became tense.
Jiselle first said hello.
“Thank you for your hard work. I heard you did a good job blocking it this time too.”
“No. I should have pushed forward completely, but I couldn’t because of the territory. Still, I’ve inflicted a considerable amount of damage, so they won’t be able to move rashly for the time being. I plan to rest for a bit and then go out again as soon as I finish organizing.”
Jiselle stared blankly at her father’s face.
Although it was not my intention, I had already heard from outside how difficult the circumstances were in Yeongji.
However, despite the difficult situation, Zwalter did not show it in front of his son and only talked about what to do next.
‘You’re still the same.’
Even though it had been a long time since he had seen his son, his blunt face remained unchanged.
If others saw me, I would look like a man without emotions, without a sense of humor, and without any fun.
I thought the same thing when I was young. I hated my strict and hard-working father so much.
But now I know what’s behind that expression.
It was fatigue, exhaustion, and a sense of responsibility that I couldn’t give up.
‘Everyone lives relying on that sense of responsibility.’
This peace, which everyone takes for granted, was actually achieved through Zwalter’s sacrifice.
As a child, I hated him because I thought he was just an ignorant person who liked to fight and didn’t care about his family.
He was envious of other noble children living in comfort and luxury in their estates. He could not understand why they were the only ones living in such poverty and hardship.
But now that I know the weight of responsibility, I think I understand how my father must feel. And how hard it is to live like that.
Giselle was lost in her emotions. Seeing her son who showed no sign of opening his mouth again, this time Zwalter asked what he had been curious about.
“I heard you killed Jamal and Phillip yourself. Is that true?”
‘Well, what should I say about this?’
It was already annoying because there were all kinds of rumors going around about that matter.
As Giselle pondered for a moment, Randolph, the commander of the knights, tilted his head and spoke.
“That’s right, there’s been a lot of talk about it lately. Be honest with me. Did you kill him yourself?”
“I didn’t kill them all myself.”
Then Ferdium’s vassals nodded with an expression that said, ‘Well, that’s right.’
From the beginning, they did not believe at all that Giselle had personally killed the two knights.
Randolph nodded again and asked again.
“I see. So they fought each other?”
“Yes, they did fight among themselves.”
It’s not wrong, since Frank killed Jamal and Philippe.
“Your Highness, you just finished it?”
“Well, that’s what happened in the end.”
It could be said that he had finished off the rest of them, including Frank, since he had killed them all.
Randolph looked satisfied with the honest(?) answer.
In fact, he was at a point where he thought it was ridiculous that a traitor had appeared in the territory, and that the knight he was leading had been defeated by that troublemaker.
“You were lucky. But it wouldn’t have been easy dealing with the knight. Well done.”
Zwalter said to Giselle with a slightly satisfied smile.
It’s amazing that a pathetic guy who’s of no use to the territory can do that much.
The Giselle he knew was the kind of person who would have abandoned her younger sister and run away.
But judging from the fact that he stayed behind to protect his younger brother, it seemed like things hadn’t gotten to the worst yet.
“I heard you won the duel with Kane. Keep training hard like that in the future.”
“All right.”
Randolph didn’t hang on for no reason, asking if it was really true that he had defeated Kane.
I heard a report from a reporter who saw the fight in person, and I thought it was just a fight between two guys of similar level.
The rumors of Giselle’s active role in the orc subjugation had died down after the confrontation with Cain, to the extent that ‘Giselle actively helped Skoban.’
Even though all the controversy was resolved, Randolph’s gaze toward Giselle was still not good.
‘Oh my, if he wasn’t your son, he would have just grabbed me and bent me over backwards.’
This time, Homer stepped forward.
“Your Highness, you must always conduct yourself properly. Always be aware that you are the successor of Ferdium. Never lose your honor… … Always serve the land… … Your Grandfather, Count Dante Ferdium… … .”
Homer’s nagging began to continue endlessly.
In his eyes, Jisel is a troublemaker in the realm despite being the Grand Duke, and is a pitiful person who is not even qualified to be the successor.
So, every time I saw him, I couldn’t help but feel displeased and nag him.
In fact, the reason Giselle developed a rebellious spirit in her previous life was partly because of that nagging. Homer couldn’t have known that, though.
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“Okay, don’t worry.”
Jiselle cut off the nagging appropriately.
‘Oh my, look at you cutting me off because you don’t want to hear it. There’s no use talking about it for a hundred days. What’s the use?’
Homer closed his mouth with a displeased expression.
In the past, I would nag them to grow up properly, but now I nag them out of fear that they might get into trouble.
As soon as Homer finished nagging, Albert blurted out a word as if he had been waiting for it.
“We plan to reduce the cost of maintaining dignity.”
‘Even a single piece of bread is wasted.’
Since there was no money in the estate, it was natural that the maintenance cost of the most useless insects would be reduced.
But unexpectedly, a refreshing answer came back.
“Yes, that’s right.”
‘Huh? Why did he just say he knew?’
Albert looked at Giselle suspiciously.
If it were normal, he would have been swearing, causing trouble, and even threatening to demand money.
‘Hmm, that’s suspicious.’
He never once nagged at Giselle, and just treated her like a cow or a chicken. The only time he spoke to her was when he was talking about money.
‘Let’s just wait and see for now.’
Albert kept his mouth shut, thinking that he would further cut the budget allocated to Giselle if necessary.
It’s not like these three people didn’t like Giselle from the beginning. When she was little, they really adored her like their own child.
However, after the accidents that Jiselle caused went beyond the level of understanding that ‘it’s just because she’s young’, everyone gave up.
Now, just looking at their faces made me feel like an enemy.
The other vassals also returned and paid their respects to Grand Duke Jisel.
They all had a shaky expression on their faces, as they had all suffered at least once because of Jiselle.
Zwalter laughed inwardly.
When I saw all the servants looking at Jiselle with great caution, I felt tired all of a sudden. In some ways, he was a son with a great presence.
‘He is my son, but he is truly a strange being.’
Zwalter, who had been clicking his tongue, opened his mouth in a slightly tired voice.
“Yeah, it doesn’t seem like you just came to say hello. What do you have to say?”
Jiselle nodded with a serious expression.
This is where it really got important.
“There is something I want to do, and I would like your permission.”
“You… … are going to do something?”
“Yes, I have work to do.”
“I don’t know what it is, but can’t we just do nothing?”
Jiselle spat out with a sullen expression.
“This is absolutely necessary.”
“… … Yeah, what is that?”
Zwalter asked, hiding his nervousness.
Even he, who had been hardened by the continuous battles in the North and was barely able to blink at anything, felt his heart race just by looking at his son.
They say that children are enemies from a past life, and it seems that he had committed many sins in his past life.
Giselle clicked her tongue inwardly as she looked at Zwalter’s expression full of tension.
‘Wow, what a father who looks so nervous when he sees his son.’
Not only my father, but even my servants were all tense as if they had seen savages.
Rather than being treated coldly, Giselle felt slightly amused.
These were people I hadn’t seen in decades, so I was just happy to see them, but it was funny how they treated me like I was a ghost, since I was acting completely different from usual.
It was natural for them to be wary of Jiselle, as she had been causing trouble until recently.
‘Well, at least this is good enough.’
Perhaps because he had been cursed at so much for destroying the kingdom in his previous life, he was indifferent to the reactions of his vassals.
The circumstances of the territory are so difficult, and with the Archduke always causing trouble, how much must they have suffered?
But now it’s different. Jiselle has the knowledge and ability to break through the gloomy situation in the territory.
‘It’s good for Yeongji anyway.’
Jiselle steeled herself and declared firmly.
“I will pioneer the forest of demons.”
Zwalter wiggled his eyebrows. The vassals who were listening from the side also looked visibly bewildered.
In an instant, the surrounding air became heavy and suffocatingly quiet, to the point where you could even hear people blinking.
Homer, who was speechless for a long time because he was so dumbfounded, looked at Giselle and said.
“Your Highness, are you saying that you are now developing the Forest of Demons?”
“That’s right. I’ll take care of everything. Just allow me to build a camp next to the forest and gather my troops.”
The Forest of Demons is known by many names, including the Forest of Darkness and the Forest of Silence. The one thing they all have in common is that they are all ominous names.
The forest that spreads far and wide to the north of Ferdium is full of powerful monsters. No one has ever successfully explored the Forest of the Demon.
Even in Ferdium, they couldn’t be touched rashly, and only occasionally stopped monsters that popped out from the forest.
Homer laughed heartily and spoke as if he was teaching Giselle.
“Your Highness, do you know what the Forest of Demons is like?”
Jiselle nodded slightly and smiled.
“Yes, I know very well. It’s a dangerous forest with a lot of monsters.”
The noise of the occupants’ murmurs began to grow louder.
There are things in the world that can be done and things that cannot be done. What Jiselle is claiming now is something that they see as impossible to do.
I don’t know why he suddenly came and said something like that, but it was an absurd request. I couldn’t help but think that the Archduke was causing trouble again.
Homer spoke again with a stern face.
“Not only is it impossible to develop the territory, but as a prince, I cannot recruit troops or build a garrison within the territory.”
“Yes, that’s why I came to ask permission from my father.”
At the sight of Giselle answering so casually, Homer felt his head getting hotter and hotter.
As Jiselle got older, it seemed like she was about to have a major accident.
‘In front of the lord.’
Homer tried to endure it though.
But even now, countless memories of the terrible accident that had happened to Jiselle flashed through his mind, and he couldn’t bear to see the shameless expression on the criminal’s face.
Before Zwalter could say anything, Homer exploded and shouted, spitting.
“You crazy bastard, why are you doing that!”
