335

Episode 335: What's so good about it? (1)

The Drake Company is the largest mercenary company in the West.

It has a whopping 500 mercenaries and dozens of subordinate mercenary groups.

When all of these were gathered together, they would number about 3,000 troops. It could truly be called the largest mercenary group in the kingdom.

The North has only sloppy mercenaries, and while there are a few decent mercenary groups in the East, they are nothing compared to the West.

The West was home to many merchants and nobles, so there was more work and more money than anywhere else. So there had to be a lot of mercenaries.

And the one who commanded this largest mercenary group in the West like his own hands and feet was none other than Martin, the son of the Marquis Rodrik.

The Drake Company does a lot of the regular mercenary work, but they also do a lot of the dirty work for Marquis Rodrik.

So, as his fame grew, his notoriety also grew considerably.

"Phew… … ."

Dominic, the leader of the Drake mercenary group, drank alcohol with an angry expression every day. The subtle murderous glint in his eyes made his already sharp impression look even more fierce.

He was the one who had raised the Drake mercenary group to this point, but he had a strong desire to just throw everything away and run away.

"That son of a bitch… … ."

The object of his insults was Martin.

Dominic did countless dirty deeds on Martin's orders. Not only did he get involved in power struggles, but he also had to do other dirty things like kidnapping and killing innocent people for no reason.

The reason he had no choice but to follow Martin's orders was because his family had been falsely accused and taken hostage.

"I have to follow my enemy's words… … ."

Martin had already killed one of Dominic's family members as an example. Even though he was an enemy who could not live under the same sky, he could not rebel against him because the lives of his remaining family were at stake.

Not only that, Martin was a very vile man who even held the families of other executives hostage in case Dominic was ousted.

"There seems to be no way out… … ."

All the key figures in the mercenary group had their weaknesses captured by that guy, so there was no way to escape.

There were times when he tried to befriend other nobles or ask for help. However, whenever he tried to do something even a little suspicious, Martin immediately killed the hostage in a brutal manner.

The other executives also had their families killed, so they couldn't do anything to Martin. That's why the Drake mercenary group had no choice but to do whatever he said.

"The world is really f*cked up when such a devilish guy holds power and influence."

His father is Marquis Rodrik, the commander-in-chief of the Western Army and the leader of the West. No matter how strong the Drake mercenary group was, they could not stand up to Marquis Rodrik.

So, I have no choice but to drink alcohol every day to comfort my rotten heart.

While Dominic was drinking endlessly, one of his subordinates came in and said.

"Captain, new orders have arrived."

"Who else did you tell me to kill?"

"… … Yes, they want you to disguise yourself as a bandit and raid the Kembel upper class."

"You crazy kid."

The Kembel upper group competes with the upper group led by Martin. It has considerable financial power and there are rumors that the nobles are supporting it.

They are telling us to raid and trample on such a place without any hesitation. If we get caught, we won't be safe.

But Martin treated them like this.

"Do you trust my father, Marquis Rodrik? No matter what, he's going to sweep away the other nobles' upper class… … That bastard seems nervous too."

Martin was also greedy and wanted to push his brother aside and take the place of successor himself.

That is why he did not hesitate to carry out unreasonable measures if it meant increasing his power and influence.

Dominic put down his glass and sighed again.

"If this continues, we'll be the ones to die first."

As the days passed, their demands became more and more extreme. No matter how powerful a mercenary group they were, their power was limited.

If they are not careful, they could be attacked by the nobles and die. Then, the hostages would die too.

Marquis Rodrik and Martin will pretend not to know even if they die. No, even if they die, they won't let them die alone.

They would probably throw them into a fight with their enemies and kill each other, because they are such cruel and vicious guys.

The Drake mercenary group was already well on its way to destruction.

"I should have gone north a long time ago."

Dominic sighed.

The north of the city is said to be much more vibrant than before. Thanks to Earl Fenris, many industries have developed and there is more work for mercenaries, and rumors have already spread.

If he had grown his power in the North, he would not have been captured by Marquis Rodrik like this.

"If I had stayed in the North, I might have met the famous Earl of Fenris."

"Perhaps… … if we ever meet, it will be during the war."

"I guess so."

Dominic let out a self-deprecating laugh.

Marquis Rodrik is a high lord of the duke's faction. And Earl Fenris is a lord who is hostile to the duke's faction. If war breaks out, they will have no choice but to meet as enemies.

"Still, I really want to meet him at least once before I die. I heard that he started out with mercenaries and achieved such great things. Maybe it's because I'm a mercenary myself, but just hearing his story makes my heart race."

Dominic heard about Giselle and decided that if he were to follow someone, he would rather follow someone like that.

Perhaps it was because his situation was so miserable that he only followed the orders of the dirty one.

So, I admired and admired the person named Jiselle even more. I was constantly interested in him and tried to hear all the news about him.

Because that was the only joy he had left.

But Soo-ha spoke coldly about reality.

"If we meet secretly, this prince of Rodrik will not stay still. He will kill the hostages one by one."

"Yeah, now I'm in a situation where I can't even meet a single person properly."

Dominic let out another self-deprecating laugh.

His life is now no different from ending here. He will live his whole life tied to someone else's dog and end up with a lot of notoriety.

At that moment, a loud noise was heard outside.

"Whoaaaaah! It's an attack!"

"What are these kids doing! Why are they so fast!"

"Go to where the captain is! Catch him! Stop him quickly!"

Dominic frowned at the loud noise and looked toward the door.

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Boom!

Soon the door broke open and a group of people came in. They were really big-headed. Where did they come from to cause such a mess?

Soon dozens of his men rushed in and surrounded the intruders. They couldn't get everyone inside, so they set up camp outside as well.

Dominic looked at the young man at the head of the invaders and asked.

"What are you?"

The man snickered as he looked at Dominic.

"I heard a rumor that you're a fan of mine. The conversation will get a little faster."

"what?"

"I am the Earl of Fenris."

The one who suddenly burst in was Giselle. He pointed at himself with his thumb and made an arrogant expression.

Dominic frowned and looked at Giselle.

The subordinates were at a loss as to what to do as they were told that the person who suddenly barged in was a nobleman.

'Tsk tsk, everyone has lost their spirit because they were treated so badly by the Marquis. I have nothing to say either.'

Dominic clicked his tongue and shook his head.

Count Fenris is a person I admire and respect. Of course, it is true that I definitely want to meet him.

But I couldn't believe what the person in front of me was saying.

What kind of Northern Lord would suddenly invade like this? And he only brought a handful of attendants with him?

Unless you're crazy, that's not possible. If the nobles of the Duke's faction find out, they'll cause a scene and try to assassinate you.

No matter how much I thought about it, it was something that didn't make sense. And there was another reason Dominic was so sure that the other person was lying.

"You are not the Earl of Fenris."

"What are you talking about? I am the Earl of Fenris."

"I know the face of the Earl of Fenris."

"What? My face?"

"It's not you, it's the face of Earl Fenris. That's why I know you so well. You must have heard about me somewhere and come here to commit fraud, but such a foolish trick won't work."

"...?"

This time, Giselle made a bewildered expression.

'You know my face, but you're not the Earl of Fenris? Who is pretending to be me?'

"It's true that I came here in secret, but are you the Earl of Fenris?"

Jiselle took out her ID card and held it out. It was a noble ID card with a very luxurious emblem engraved on it.

Dominic laughed at that too.

"Anyway, if you have enough money, it's not hard to forge an ID. We also do that kind of work. If you put your mind to it, you can make as many as you want."

"...."

Jiselle felt her chest tighten as if she had eaten a sweet potato. She had been treated like a loser countless times, but this was the first time her identity had been denied.

So I asked him questioningly.

"No, why do you deny that I am the Earl of Fenris without even properly checking it out? What kind of confidence do you have to say that?"

"Because I have a portrait of the Earl of Fenris. A very detailed and accurate portrait, at that."

"...?"

Giselle blinked. No matter how much she thought about it, she had never painted a portrait before, except when she was young.

But Dominic went to a corner of the office with a confident expression on his face. Then he carefully brought out a large box.

Soon Dominic carefully took something out of the box.

It was a luxurious picture frame containing a portrait.

"Look, this is the portrait of the Earl of Fenris that I bought with a lot of money."

Dominic was slightly drunk as he had been drinking. He showed the portrait to Giselle with a confident expression.

braided!

"...wow."

Giselle was speechless when she saw the portrait Dominic proudly held out to her.

'Why is my face… … like that?'

It was a subtle resemblance. But it felt like it was overly corrected.

The nose was so pointed that the nostrils were so small that it was difficult to breathe. The chin was so narrow that if you were poked there, you would die.

The sharp angles all over his face made him look like a statue.

"You… … do you really think that portrait is the real Earl of Fenris? You believe it just by looking at it without even knowing what he looks like?"

Then Dominic said with an arrogant smile.

"I paid a large sum of money for it from a trustworthy person. It already received reliable certification."

"… … Someone you can trust?"

"I know the Earl of Fenris very well. He has so many of his favorite things."

"… … Favorite item?"

When Giselle asked with a dumbfounded expression, Dominic continued with a proud expression.

"I don't think you believe me, but I'll show you something special, you imposter. Never impersonate the Earl of Fenris again."

He seemed to be anxious to show off, not particularly. He took a thick book out of the box and held it carefully.

"This is the chronicle of the Earl of Fenris. It is a first edition that records the period from when he was called a scoundrel to his battle with Earl Desmond. There will be more editions in the future. They are also very expensive."

'Who wrote that?'

This is absolutely not a business venture in Fenris. Jiselle never directed or planned anything like it.

Dominic wasn't interested in Giselle's reaction. He was just busy showing off his stuff. He was busy taking things out of the box and showing them to Giselle.

"This is the water glass that the Earl of Fenris used. This one was also very expensive."

"...?"

"This is the saddle of the horse used by the Earl of Fenris. This one was also quite expensive and hard to obtain."

"...??"

"This is the outerwear worn by the Earl of Fenris. It was something that was obtained with great difficulty at an auction. And this is underwear… … ."

"...???"

Jiselle couldn't come to her senses when she saw the things Dominic took out. They really looked like things she had used before.

There were all sorts of things. It felt like a thief had broken into my house and robbed everything.

While I was wondering, Dominic pulled out a crucial item.

"Now, look. This is the sword that Earl Fenris himself used on the battlefield. It is a precious item that ranks high among my favorite possessions."

'That… is really my sword?'

I couldn't be sure because there were many similar items, but the black one was definitely real.

Jiselle doesn't particularly care about weapons or care about them. She just picks them up, uses them, and throws them away. That's why there are so many weapons that are thrown away on the battlefield.

Still, there was no way he wouldn't remember the sword he had used. In the first place, the lord's sword had a special seal stamped on it, so it would be strange not to be able to tell the difference.

That was definitely the sword he used. How on earth did the things he used get leaked? Even if he had left them on the battlefield, wouldn't the soldiers have collected them?

Jiselle asked with a slightly trembling voice.

"You… …where did you get all those things?"

"You said you asked someone you trust?"

"So who can you trust?"

Dominic said with an arrogant smile.

"I asked the governor of Fenris. He even wrote the certificate himself."

"… … General?"

"Yes, my subordinate personally met with the General of Fenris and received it. And it was very expensive through an auction. I wanted to go myself, but due to circumstances, it was difficult to leave this area."

"...."

After hearing Dominic's words, Giselle closed her eyes.

I had my doubts while listening to the story, but it turns out that bastard Claude was the culprit.