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Chapter – 10
How a Mercenary Enters the Castle (1)
“That may be worrying too far ahead, but if one of us gets the wrong idea while pretending to be husband and wife, that would be troublesome. I absolutely do not want to become a noble. I want to remain a mercenary forever.”
“That’s your reason?”
“Yes. It’s an important reason to me.”
There had not only been peaceful moments in his life, but never had anything felt quite this absurd. Watching Valentin’s lips twitch for a long while, Regina accepted even this reaction humbly.
‘He must think it’s ridiculous. But when carrying out missions, all kinds of things can happen.’
Predicting possible complications during a commission and drawing boundaries beforehand was one of Regina’s habits. Situations always changed suddenly, and when things went wrong, the mercenary was always blamed.
Truthfully, Regina’s concern sounded like an insolent threat from a commoner toward a noble. Of course, it was also her promise that she would never harbor foolish feelings for him.
Even if he became angry and told her to stop talking nonsense, she would have considered it reasonable. Unless his response was something entirely unexpected, she was prepared to calmly continue explaining herself.
“And what if that does happen?”
“…Then I’ll probably leave to find a place where I can die as a mercenary.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. But don’t worry. That won’t happen.”
Having finally calmed his laughter, Valentin wore a faint smile as he wiped away the sweat still lingering on Regina’s round forehead.
The gesture was gentle, yet Regina felt as if she were being teasingly mocked. It was irritating, embarrassing, and left behind a light but stinging sense of humiliation.
“Then let’s write up the contract.”
Using the rolled parchment, she lightly pushed away the hand lingering on her forehead. All that remained now were their signatures upon the paper.
After sending Regina off to return to the capital and prepare both herself and Persona Guild for her departure, Valentin remained alone in his room, humming quietly. His low voice spread softly through the still night, dragging the atmosphere down with it.
“She’s out of her mind.”
She had talked about love over nothing more than a paid commission. In front of a madman, no less. Thinking about the unexpectedly innocent side of the mercenary lady, he occasionally let out hollow laughter between his humming.
Soon, a polite knock sounded alongside Allen’s voice.
“I’m coming in.”
Even if he asked permission, no answer ever came back, so Allen simply announced himself politely before opening the door. But Valentin’s expression looked rather suspicious.
“Did your discussion go well?”
“She took the contract with her.”
“Will you tell her the truth as well?”
At Allen’s question, Valentin leaned against his arm and slowly shook his head.
The commission he had given her was to protect him as his wife and clean out the rats surrounding him.
He did not want her to devote herself to him out of pity after learning the tragic truth of his past. She only needed to protect her pitifully insane husband—as both wife and mercenary.
“What do you think they’ll do once they hear I’m getting married?”
“They’ll either refuse to acknowledge the marriage or try to eliminate her.”
Allen answered immediately.
“The first possibility is the problem. The Regina Ropeman I saw doesn’t seem like someone who’d be easily eliminated.”
“Then I’ll go tell Madam Baymon to prepare a room. Judging by the situation, it won’t take long for the rats to spread the news and for Count Renzier to start moving.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
That day, when given instructions to prepare a room for the future wife of the Julius Ducal House—a commoner woman, and a mercenary at that—Pinet nearly collapsed from shock.
She had spent nearly forty years serving as a maid in prestigious noble households thanks to good fortune, but never once had she served a mistress who not only was a commoner woman but also wielded a sword and stained her hands with blood.
A few hours later, Thomas saw Pinet hurriedly leaving the ducal castle and immediately reported it to Valentin.
Meanwhile, inside Persona Guild, Maut was on the verge of clutching the back of his neck in frustration after entering Regina’s room.
He had expected the guild members, who were like family, to worry—but not to react this violently.
‘I should’ve just left without telling them.’
“I won’t allow this!”
“So this is why you rushed out on horseback earlier? Don’t talk nonsense!”
As Regina had expected, Maut and Gaile exploded the moment they heard the story. Maut was so furious that Regina had to stop him from hunting down Gellon, one of the causes of this disaster. Though they probably wouldn’t find him anyway.
“There’s no other choice.”
“No. Regina, Maut and I can work ourselves to the bone instead. That’ll solve it.”
“You brat, I told you to call me Father.”
“You two working yourselves to death is obvious enough already. But we still need more money. You know we paid double promotion fees and taxes this time after promoting a large number of Persona members to Silver Mercenaries. And now we’re short on manpower too.”
Whenever he threw a tantrum, Gaile clung to her even tighter, but Regina forcibly pried him off.
“And now we’ve been hit with a tax bomb. If not for this, we’d have to send our guild members to the northern war immediately.”
“Regina, Persona has two Platinum Mercenaries. One of them being that damned Gellon is the problem. And besides! You and Gaile may only be Gold Mercenaries, but your skills are already close to Platinum level. So why would you accept such a ridiculous commission?”
“That’s exactly why I accepted it. I can’t stand by and watch a guild with Platinum Mercenaries collapse over financial problems. And Persona is practically my entire life.”
“Persona is only a fence to protect you, child.”
“I helped build that fence. So please don’t stop me from doing what I have to do, Uncle.”
Left speechless, Maut rubbed his forehead while Gaile continued trying to persuade her.
“Good grief. Regina, I’ve always loved that fearless side of you, but this time I have to stop you. Marriage, of all things!”
“It’s just a fake marriage. Sorry for not telling you sooner, Gaile. But I’ve already made my decision.”
“Then I’m coming with you.”
“This is a commission I have to handle myself. I won’t allow anyone interfering.”
Faced with Regina’s unshakable determination, both men finally fell silent. But they were still deeply dissatisfied.
A contractual marriage with royalty is practically national fraud. If it’s discovered, I won’t escape severe punishment.
Would the lies of a prince and the lies of a commoner be judged equally? The answer was obvious. Regina had absolutely no intention of dragging any Persona guild members into this commission.
“While I’m gone, Gaile, take care of Persona with Rosie. Uncle Maut, please watch over the guild members and their decisions.”
What were they supposed to do with this stubborn princess? Maut brushed back hair the same reddish color as Gaile’s with a sigh, his eyes growing moist.
She had always been exceptionally clever since childhood, but he never imagined she would make such a decision one day. It broke his heart to feel as though he had been unable to help her.
“And tell the other guild members that I left for another long-term commission. They’ll probably storm into Balmen worrying about me otherwise. And… Uncle Maut?”
Maut suddenly pulled the chattering Regina into a tight embrace. He knew she was not truly getting married, but it still felt as though he were sending his daughter away for real.
“Child, I’ll follow your wishes this time, but don’t try to shoulder everything alone. You have me, Gaile, and even that damned bastard Gellon behind you.”
“Yes, I understand.”
“I want a hug too.”
“Get lost, brat. Stop clinging to us.”
Ignoring Maut’s rough words, Gaile stubbornly wedged himself into the embrace between them.
Maut tried to shove his son away, but Gaile was just as strong as his father. Though in truth, he was really hugging Regina while she was held in Maut’s arms.
“Regina, don’t actually fall in love over there. I’ll cry if you do.”
“I’m not really getting married. I’m going because it’s a commission. I’ll come back when it’s over.”
“But still…”
Regina was grateful for how much the two cared about her, but she desperately wanted to escape this situation where she was trapped between them like sandwich filling. It was too hot.
“Uncle, what are you going to do if I ever say I actually want to get married someday?”
“I won’t watch it happen! I’ll gouge out my eyes and break the bastard’s legs!”
Knowing Maut, there was a very real possibility he was not joking. Having to give up marriage just to save someone’s life—Regina burst into laughter before lightly smacking his thick arms, as solid as a horse’s thighs.
“I won’t. I don’t have time for that. I need to protect Persona.”
“…Regina, Persona will protect you too. Don’t forget that.”
Gaile sighed deeply and rested his chin atop Regina’s head.
“And don’t worry about marriage either. I’ll stay by your side. When we’re older, we can just live together peacefully.”
Regina easily ignored Gaile’s usual playful teasing. She had always carelessly assumed he could not possibly mean such things seriously.
“Oh, right. Rosie will probably cry if she hears this, so Gaile, tell her after I leave.”
“I will.”
The three of them were so focused on each other that none noticed Rosie standing outside the door—practically bouncing on her feet because she wanted to congratulate Regina on her departure.
