How a Two-Life Scoundrel Lives - Chapter 85
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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【Chapter 85】
Marder and Wilson left Carlisle’s side as if fleeing the moment they arrived in Decaron.
It seemed that as mere soldiers, they felt uncomfortable around Carlisle, who was of noble birth.
Within the unit, Carlisle was just a lowly private and the youngest member of the scout unit, but in Decaron, he was the lord’s son and the second Young Master of House Sigmund.
Grand Duke Guntram’s carriage came to a stop.
Grand Duke Guntram, who got out first, gazed quietly at Carlisle’s group’s carriage, which had stopped belatedly.
“Do you have something to say?”
“You did well.”
“Yes.”
“…”
“Oh, and also.”
Carlisle spoke as if he had suddenly remembered something.
“Please send just one mage to the unit.”
“A mage?”
“Yes.”
“Do you know that mages are precious when you ask this?”
“That’s true in the Northern Region.”
“As you know, most mages are deployed to the front lines.”
“Then it can’t be helped.”
“You give up quickly.”
“There’s no choice. If there aren’t any.”
“Don’t you think about making a deal?”
“A deal?”
“Don’t you think it’s shameless to ask for a mage without offering anything in return? Didn’t you always expect something in return when dealing with this father of yours?”
“How is that shameless?”
Carlisle questioned back as if asking what Grand Duke Guntram was talking about in response to his attack.
“If there’s a mage in the unit, does only I benefit?”
“…That’s.”
“I asked you to send a mage for the sake of the unit, not for my own convenience. I’m not the only one in the unit. Bowden Fortress has about 100 troops, and all those people are Decaron’s territory residents and Father’s subjects. So why should I pay a price?”
“Ahem.”
“And I was planning to use even my own money to supply weapons to the unit and hire mercenaries…”
“…”
“If you don’t want to send one, it can’t be helped. I’ll make a request to a mercenary guild or something and hire one. That’s fine, right?”
Maranello, who had been listening quietly, cleared his throat with a cough.
Since it wasn’t a common sight for Maranello to see Grand Duke Guntram in a predicament, he had to desperately try not to laugh.
“I’ll…send you a mage.”
Grand Duke Guntram said with his eyes tightly shut.
“However, I can’t guarantee that I’ll send you an outstanding mage. There are so few mages in the Northern Region.”
“Then wouldn’t hiring one be better?”
“I cannot allow that.”
“Why?”
“Hiring mercenaries isn’t something that can be decided easily. Security aside, it’s too dangerous.”
“Because you don’t know when they might turn into enemies?”
“That’s right.”
“Wouldn’t it be fine if it’s a trustworthy mercenary company?”
“Such mercenary companies are generally expensive. Can you afford it?”
“That’s true too.”
“And most mages belonging to mercenary companies are problematic individuals. So while infantry forces might be fine, I’m against hiring mercenary mages.”
“I understand what you mean.”
“Well then, I’ll be going now.”
“Take care.”
Carlisle nodded slightly and then headed toward his room.
Right after Carlisle disappeared around the corner.
“It seems you’ve been had.”
“I know that too.”
Grand Duke Guntram replied curtly to Maranello’s subtle remark.
“Don’t laugh.”
“Hehe.”
“I told you not to laugh.”
Grand Duke Guntram glared at Maranello.
“Somehow I feel like I’m being played by that boy.”
“How could that be? Hehe.”
“Hmm.”
“Still, it’s thanks to the second young master becoming a new person, so I hope you don’t think of it as a loss, this old man wishes.”
“Where in the world is there a parent who beats their child? While I never want to lose even once on the battlefield, children are an exception. I’m fine with losing to them any number of times.”
“Your Grace the Grand Duke…”
“I’ll be going now. I need to carefully examine that boy’s proposal before the Victory Day celebration begins.”
Grand Duke Guntram left with those words, and Maranello watched his lord’s retreating figure with eyes full of respect.
He couldn’t help but admire the attitude of not dismissing even the proposal of his son, who was the world’s greatest scoundrel, but seriously considering it.
* * *
Alicia encountered Carlisle coming toward her while she was taking a walk due to her frustrated feelings.
As always, Carlisle didn’t even glance at Alicia.
Since Alicia knew Carlisle’s stance toward the Loren Family and his personality, she decided to accept it.
At first, she had been angry at Carlisle’s attitude of thoroughly ignoring her, but now she thought it was understandable and didn’t give it much thought.
However, separate from that, seeing Carlisle made her think something.
‘I feel this every time I see him, but he really is handsome.’
Certainly, Carlisle’s appearance had something that made viewers gasp in admiration.
As Carlisle passed by her side, a soliloquy unconsciously flowed from Alicia’s lips.
“I’m envious. Being able to live like that…”
“…?”
Carlisle, who had stopped walking, stared intently at Alicia.
Thump!
When Alicia met eyes with Carlisle, she felt her heart sink.
Alicia realized for the first time.
That looking directly into the eyes of a truly handsome man was an extremely breathtaking and heart-pounding experience.
“What, why.”
The flustered Alicia snapped back as if spitting out the words.
“What do you mean by living like that?”
“Uh…”
“Do you think I just play around and live off others?”
“That, that’s not what I meant?”
“Really?”
“Yeah.”
“Hmm.”
Carlisle glanced at Alicia for a moment, then nodded as if he understood.
“Well, I suppose so.”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s nothing.”
“Don’t say it’s nothing. If you started talking, finish it.”
“You really want me to?”
“Yeah.”
“You’re desperately running around here and there, struggling to survive, but that scoundrel, despite being a Sigmund, seems to live carelessly without doing anything. Doesn’t that piss you off?”
“…!”
Alicia flinched in surprise.
She hadn’t expected that Northern Scoundrel to see right through her inner thoughts.
“What do you know to be spouting such nonsense?”
“I know enough.”
When Alicia flared up, Carlisle snorted and replied.
“Lord Loren’s first wife and your mother, the second wife, don’t get along well. Their support bases are also bitter enemies. That’s why you and Caldor are at each other’s throats too, right? You’re fighting over the successor position.”
“Th-that’s…”
“Meanwhile, Lord Loren is probably standing back with his hands behind his back, telling you to fight each other while watching the fire from across the river.”
“You… just who are you really?”
Alicia glared at Carlisle as if she couldn’t believe it.
The words that had just flowed from Carlisle’s mouth weren’t something a person supposedly obsessed with all sorts of debauchery like alcohol, gambling, and women could say.
“What do you mean what? I’m the Northern Scoundrel.”
Carlisle replied curtly.
“Anyway, though not as much as you, I’m living my own tiresome life too, so don’t openly say such things.”
“…I’ll apologize for that.”
“Good.”
Carlisle nodded once, then turned away from Alicia and went on his way as if he had nothing more to say.
‘At least you don’t have to die at the hands of your own blood.’
Alicia couldn’t help but envy Carlisle.
* * *
“Nom nom nom!”
As soon as the Baby Dragon arrived in the room, it devoured snacks like cake and cookies, then curled up on the cushion Evangeline had made and fell fast asleep.
‘Is it because it’s a newborn? It sleeps as soon as it eats.’
Carlisle looked at the peacefully sleeping Baby Dragon, snorted softly, and sat by the window.
Sipping his tea, Carlisle fell into thought.
‘Alicia van Loren. She has ambition and is quite capable. She’s even cornered Caldor before.’
Caldor was one of the protagonist characters in the game [Overlord], the eldest son of the Loren Family and someone who would later become the lord of Schwern.
His personality was sinister, cunning, and crafty, caring nothing for reputation if it served his interests.
No wonder he was called the [Cunning Snake].
‘If left alone, she’ll die at Caldor’s hands. Not just her, but all her relatives too.’
Of course, whether Alicia lived or died was none of his concern.
To Carlisle, her life wasn’t worth even a single cookie.
However, strategically, as a means to keep the Loren Family in check, Alicia could become quite an attractive card.
‘The Loren Family bastards are disgusting. It would be good to crush them thoroughly given the chance.’
Setting aside the historical events between the two families, the Loren Family was a very troublesome and annoying existence.
The Loren Family were masters at sowing discord between other families, backstabbing, and switching sides like bats.
‘If I use Alicia well, I could destroy the Loren Family. Should I try it?’
If that happened, both Carlisle and Alicia could get what they wanted.
Carlisle could keep in check the Loren Family, House Sigmund’s long-standing nemesis that was still sucking their blood like parasites, and Alicia could save not only herself but all her relatives’ lives.
‘I need to think about this carefully. Alicia isn’t someone to be taken lightly either.’
She too had inherited the Loren Family bloodline, so she wasn’t someone who would easily play the role of a puppet.
Alicia was intelligent, sometimes cunning, and had considerable strategic insight—that was what Carlisle knew about her.
If he made a wrong move, he could be backstabbed by Alicia, and there was also the risk of House Sigmund being put in a difficult position by false information, so he couldn’t decide rashly.
Joining hands with her without a solid safety measure would very likely be a dangerous choice.
Just as there were sayings on the continent like [Don’t worry about the Sigmunds] or [Only Sigmund can defeat Sigmund], there was a reason for the saying [Trust a Loren and you’ll surely be betrayed].
‘Let’s wait and see for now.’
Carlisle left open the possibility of joining hands with Alicia.
Though it was dangerous, if things went well, both of them could get what they wanted.
As Carlisle drank his tea and looked out the window, he could see a huge white carriage racing toward them in the distance, accompanied by hundreds of knights.
‘That’s…’
Carlisle immediately recognized the identity of the huge white carriage.
A Pure White Eight-Horse Carriage pulled by no less than eight horses.
Even the horses pulling the carriage were armored in Pure White Armor.
The carriage was decorated with Pure Gold throughout, and the door had a crest shaped like an eye carved in relief.
Moreover, if there were hundreds of fully armed knights surrounding it… there was nothing more to see.
‘It’s the royal family.’
Carlisle confirmed that a royal delegation was coming and his eyes gleamed.
Oracle.
The family that had ruled the United Kingdom for hundreds of years through Prophetic Power.
Since the Current King was unable to attend to state affairs due to a long illness, that Pure White Eight-Horse Carriage most likely carried Crown Prince [Gordon von Oracle].
‘Even if it’s Victory Day, I didn’t expect the royal family to come personally. What are you scheming, Gordon?’
Crown Prince Gordon’s visit was something Carlisle had never predicted.
However, one thing was certain: the Crown Prince’s visit would definitely not be a welcome event.
The royal family always tried to keep the twelve families and the Grand Territory they ruled in check and Weaken them.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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