‘This is the battle that Darius wins.’

Even after the meeting ended, I was still captivated by that story.

With the great victory in the Tiberius territory war, Darius, who had been a crouching Grand Duke of the North, would start to make a name for himself in earnest.

‘I even know how he won.’

The weather that day, Darius’ tactics, even the surprising strategies, all of it.

Tiberius’ territory was bordered by Shire’s territory in the front and connected to the harsh North at the back.

What this means is that when war breaks out in Tiberius, the only route for Count Tiberius to request reinforcements would naturally be our Northern Inkhart.

Because Shire would be blocking the other side. So this time too, Count Tiberius, not realizing that a real war was about to break out, would frantically request reinforcements from us only after it started.

But now we don’t need money that urgently, so it seems we won’t respond to this.

‘It’s such a shame not to go out when I know we’ll win.’

But how can a respectable Grand Duke get involved in a conflict between a viscount and a count and fight as a proxy? We’re not mercenaries.

‘… Mercenaries?’

I remembered one of my forgotten dreams.

* * *

Nicola Graus earned ten months’ salary in the first month of his appointment. Given that his annual contract was based on incentives, there’s no need to mention how much income he had restored to Inkhart territory.

I have dedicated myself sufficiently to Inkhart territory thus far.

What does this mean?

“It’s time I started making money for myself.”

If Darius doesn’t settle my territory contribution when we divorce, though that would be inhuman. Anyway, for a possible future, shouldn’t I have at least one reliable slush fund route of my own?

“Let’s find a promising fellow and create my own mercenary unit.”

The dream of ‘The Black Rose of House Ines’ is not over yet. Just wait, I’ll safely divorce the male lead and go to parties to hunt men.

From then on, I’ll change the genre to reverse harem. I’ll show that even an extra can build a harem!

‘As it happens, I have a strong candidate for the mercenary captain.’

Inkhart territory, famous for mercenaries. In the original story, there was a man from this territory who would achieve the title of Mercenary King.

‘Though he didn’t appear much in the original story. I think he appeared as a volunteer soldier when armies were gathered from all over the country for the final battle with the Demon King, right?’

Given that he had no connection with Darius despite being from our territory, he might have been a character that the author created but forgot to introduce.

‘But still, his title is Mercenary King anyway.’

Our boy grew up well to become the Mercenary King even if the author forgot about him. How admirable.

I knew his place of origin, I knew how he would turn out in the future, and I knew his name.

So I asked the Knight Commander, Sir Lucian.

“Sir Lucian! Do you know a man called Barbarossa? He should be working as a mercenary.”

“… Barbarossa?”

I had never seen such contempt on Sir Lucian’s face before.

Even when he disliked me the most for coming from the South, Sir Lucian had always maintained outward courtesy.

“You don’t mean the former knight trainee Barbarossa, do you?”

However, upon learning of the ‘Barbarossa’ I was looking for, Sir Lucian flatly warned that I should not be associated with him.

“I trained with him when I was a squire. He was a talented person, but that makes him all the more unforgivable.”

Barbarossa was an illegitimate child. Even as a bastard, Barbarossa, who had a famous knight for a father, was able to join the Inkhart Knights. However, due to his background, he was given a special condition.

“To live as a lifelong bachelor and devote himself only to chivalry. That was the condition for admitting him, a bastard, to the knights.”

Barbarossa seemed to be overcoming his unfortunate circumstances and diligently joining high society. However.

“On the day of his knighting ceremony, when he was supposed to swear to remain pure for life, he didn’t show up.”

Contrary to his resolve to live a pure life and atone for the sin of being born a bastard, Barbarossa was secretly meeting with a lover.

He was in a situation where he had to choose between joining the knights and starting a family with his lover, and in the end, he betrayed those who had believed in him. After that day, no one saw Barbarossa in Inkhart Castle.

“I heard he quit his knight training and became even more of a good-for-nothing, wandering the back alleys. I heard he eventually broke up with the woman who caused the problem too.”

Sir Lucian coldly evaluated Barbarossa.

“He was always followed by bad rumors because of his illegitimate birth. I tried not to have preconceptions about him, but in the end, he only disappointed the knights and is now ruining his own life.”

For the noble-minded Sir Lucian, it was displeasing both that someone he once highly regarded had fallen so miserably, and that Barbarossa couldn’t endure the adversity given to him.

“In fact, even as a trainee, he wasn’t particularly diligent. He enjoyed frequenting taverns and talking with women without restraint, knowing full well that many people were watching him. I thought he would exercise self-control when the time came, but…”

At this point, Sir Lucian frowned.

“I don’t know why you’re looking for him, but he’s absolutely not someone worthy of meeting the noble lady. Putting aside the fact that he gave up the path of knighthood, his conduct itself is not upright.”

‘Huh. I guess to become a famous Mercenary King mentioned in the original story, one needs this kind of past.’

I listened to Sir Lucian’s story with my mouth agape, not knowing that the person I was looking for had such a past.

As if to prove this was indeed a novel, even minor supporting characters had secrets of birth. But who he was wasn’t really important to me.

I smiled brightly at the stern-faced Sir Lucian.

“Sir Lucian, I’ll judge that for myself after meeting Barbarossa in person.”

“Lady Anette!”

“Sir Lucian, you’ve opposed my actions before too. But how did those turn out?”

“Saving Rose and Barbarossa are…!”

“If I meet him and think he’s someone I can’t handle, I’ll give up too. But for now, despite that tumultuous past, I’m intrigued by the fact that you still acknowledge he had skill.”

As expected of the future Mercenary King. It wasn’t suddenly emerged fighting skills, but skills honed through the regular knight course.

“Could you find him for me? Oh, and please keep it a secret from Darius that I’m looking for him. I’ll tell him myself when the outline of what I’m planning becomes clear.”

In truth, I’m asking for secrecy because I’m trying to establish a mercenary unit under my command without Darius knowing, to make a separate purse.

“Seeing that you know how he’s living now, I believe you could give me more detailed information if you set your mind to it. Please. Who else could I ask for such a favor if not you, Sir Lucian? Hmm?”

Does a money source need good character? Barbarossa is the Mercenary King acknowledged by the original story, and he smells of money. That’s all that matters to me.