🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter – 08
How a Mercenary Takes on a New Request (4)
“Rosy.”
Only after hearing Regina’s warning-filled voice did Rosy hurriedly cover her mouth.
When she slowly turned her head, she saw the anger already lurking on Regina’s face.
This kind of careless remark was exactly why Regina scolded her so often.
“How can you call mercenaries lowly? Especially as a member of Persona Guild.”
“…I’m sorry.”
“I’ve told you countless times that we should take pride in our work. More than anything, right now you’re just using being a mercenary as an excuse.”
Rosy lowered her head silently.
She already knew that no matter how pitiful she acted, Regina wouldn’t let things slide easily at times like this.
The heavy sigh that lingered even in the cold wind made Rosy feel unfairly hurt.
‘Of course Miss can afford to be relaxed. She already has the heart of someone amazing like Gaile. Unlike me, she isn’t just some ordinary female mercenary—she’s Gellen’s daughter, and she’s beautiful too.’
Rosy knew that Gaile, her first love, always had eyes only for Regina.
But because she also loved Regina—the one who always took care of her first—Rosy tried not to resent her.
Still, moments like this left a bitter ache in her chest.
“Let’s ride faster. You should cool your head too. Hyah!”
Watching Regina spur her horse forward and take the lead, Rosy suddenly thought:
Maybe it would be better if Regina just got married and disappeared from sight for a while.
Then perhaps she herself could finally grow closer to Gaile.
But Rosy quickly rebuked herself for such ugly thoughts.
She could never forget that Regina was the reason she had been allowed to stay in Persona Guild at all.
Even if the unfairness made tears well in her eyes.
Rosy had intended to keep quiet about everything that happened today as a form of reflection.
That was, until Gaile shoved his face toward her.
“You definitely rejected it, right?”
“…Hey, I literally just got back. I want to wash up.”
“You should’ve kicked the mouth that proposed such a shitty request.”
“He’s royalty, you know.”
Letting out a sigh, Regina shoved Gaile out of the room by the back.
He had tried resisting with both feet planted firmly, but he also knew exactly what kind of disaster followed if he irritated her too much, so he obediently left.
‘A definite rejection, huh…’
Truthfully, Regina couldn’t confidently say her refusal had been absolute.
The amount Valentin offered was simply too tempting.
That money would cover not only the penalty fee, but also a significant portion of the money Gellen had run off with.
“He said one year…”
But a fake marriage to royalty followed by divorce after a year—
That was the sort of stain that would follow someone for life.
Regina, who had originally planned to take a bath, instead collapsed onto the sofa while clutching her head.
No matter how desperate things were, surely not that.
‘Surely not…’
The moment she closed her eyes, she pictured Shanro eagerly volunteering to throw himself into war.
Even while bedridden, he looked ready to march out immediately if ordered.
‘Still… I have to protect my family. My mercenaries.’
Every member of Persona was Regina’s family.
Her treasures.
The home she had built by dedicating her entire childhood to it.
She had gathered people with nowhere else to go and even made Gellen their leader.
She had endured every hardship imaginable along the way.
But it had been worth it.
Every time she saw mercenaries—people treated worse than rags their entire lives—laughing and chatting happily inside the guild.
“So… I really have to…”
Regina never managed to finish the sentence she wanted to say before sleep swallowed her whole.
Valentin sat on the sofa absentmindedly nudging a shard of ceramic across the floor with the tip of his shoe.
It had once been a flower vase that stood out conspicuously when entering the room, but he felt no regret over breaking it.
After all, it had served its purpose in driving away Pinet’s clingy attention.
“You’ve injured your forehead.”
As soon as Regina left, the rats eager to learn what the mercenary and Duke had discussed began subtly approaching again.
So Valentin had put on a spectacular display of madness to frighten them away.
But no matter how often he scared them off, those fools always returned like stubborn rats gathering once more.
He lightly waved away Allen, who approached to inspect the wound on his forehead.
Since it barely hurt, it was probably just a scratch from fingernails.
Allen let out a deep sigh.
Though he was Valentin’s physician, he couldn’t even freely treat a minor wound.
But what choice did he have?
A mere healer who owed Valentin an enormous debt and absolute loyalty.
“According to Weil, a special tax will be issued to District C tomorrow.”
“Hm?”
“That’s the district where Persona Guild is located.”
Valentin chuckled softly at Allen’s report.
“It’s the Count Renzier family and that woman working together. Most likely their own little punishment for Persona Guild interfering with the attack.”
“I thought things had calmed down for a few days. Apparently something changed their mood again.”
The Dowager Empress, Ellerba.
Born the eldest daughter of Count Renzier’s family, she became Empress at only eighteen years old.
Now she wielded the greatest political power any woman had ever held in imperial history while acting as regent for the current Emperor.
Anyone who had seen Ellerba up close noticed her severe emotional instability.
Especially Valentin, who once had to beg her for his life.
As he stared out the window where the moon had already risen, recalling hazy yet hateful memories, Allen cautiously asked:
“So negotiations with that female mercenary didn’t go well?”
“She rejected me for now. But it wasn’t a complete refusal either. Not judging by her expression.”
“Oh dear. Then perhaps we should prepare other options as well. I heard Persona Guild is suffering serious financial trouble, so I expected her to accept immediately.”
Allen cleaned his glasses with his sleeve, disappointment obvious on his face.
Judging from how she handled Pinet earlier, Regina truly seemed like a strong woman.
Valentin finally looked away from the window and smiled.
‘Financial trouble, huh.’
After Regina left, Valentin had spent some time thinking.
Why had she hesitated before leaving despite clearly finding his absurd proposal ridiculous?
Perhaps the answer lay in the blue eyes that sparkled at the mention of the payment.
And he suspected he was right.
“I want it to be her.”
“But we still need to consider alternatives. That mercenary looked extremely stubborn.”
No.
After speaking with her directly, he was even more convinced.
Even now, rats were probably wandering the hallways outside.
And no cat could drive them away more perfectly than that insolent mercenary woman.
Valentin gestured for Allen to lower his voice.
At least the old castle’s thick doors were sturdy enough to offer some privacy.
“But she’ll come.”
Did the Dowager Empress Ellerba even realize?
That the ripples she created had moved the very ship she herself was sailing on.
“She’s a sincere mercenary. The kind of woman who would move to save her guild once the special taxes put it in danger.”
“So she might return to Valmen as soon as tomorrow.”
Valentin shrugged lightly in agreement.
Allen could already picture Thomas’s utterly crushed face when he learned the news.
‘Sir Thomas will be even more devastated if he hears this.’
Thomas was a knight who lived solely for swordsmanship and honor.
He already hated the idea of a female mercenary protecting Valentin from the beginning.
He certainly wouldn’t welcome this development.
But what could anyone do?
Valentin was not the type of man to listen to the opinions of subordinates.
As Allen expected, Valentin wasn’t considering Thomas’s reaction at all.
He simply looked like a man waiting for a guest who would soon return.
Considering she had fallen asleep on the sofa while clutching her head, Regina actually slept surprisingly well.
She even overslept.
‘Today I should buy some pudding and visit the injured members again.’
Leaving those monkey-like lunatics unattended in the infirmary really did seem unfair to the healer.
At this rate, the healer might collapse before the patients did.
“And I should sharpen my sword and look around for merchant companies needing cargo escorts.”
After stretching, Regina threw open the window and enjoyed the refreshing air.
She had so much to do that oversleeping almost felt like a mistake.
It was time to get moving again.
“Regina, hurry downstairs. I think something serious happened.”
Of course, she had not wished to become involved in another disaster.
What happened this time?
At Persona, where incidents and accidents were endless, Regina was the guild’s reliable problem solver.
Which was exactly why people always called for her first.
Hearing the urgent voice outside her door, she abandoned even closing the window and immediately flung the door open.
“What happened now?”
“No idea. Even Maut looked angry.”
Among the mercenaries with explosive tempers, Maut was actually one of the calmer ones.
Realizing this was likely something truly troublesome, Regina headed toward the lobby where the mercenaries usually gathered.
And there she was immediately greeted by a tax notice that had arrived absurdly early.
Seasonal tax notices normally came once whenever the seasons changed.
But spring had barely even begun.
For one to arrive now was extremely unusual—and extremely bad.
“What is this? A special tax notice?”
Regina asked in disbelief.
But from the moment they saw the sudden bomb dropped on them, both Maut and Rosy had already looked half dead inside.
“They’re collecting another special tax only from District C. Merchant companies and guilds especially are being charged more.”
Receiving the breakdown from Maut, Regina’s face turned pale.
A total of 2,000 rel.
More than double the 900 rel seasonal tax they had paid in winter.
It was outright extortion.
But they couldn’t simply ignore it.
Taxes collected in the capital flowed directly into the imperial palace.
“Out of all the districts… why District C?”
“How would people like us know what those nobles are thinking?”
“The owner of the Dongmor Merchant Company next door said someone in District C must’ve offended someone important…”
Refusing taxes meant refusing an imperial order.
Exaggerated far enough, it could even be considered treason.
Especially for guilds, merchants, and shops officially licensed by the empire.
If they failed to pay, imperial knights could come storming in.
‘Why now… of all times.’
