"The territory is in danger? Why?" Belinda asked, clearly startled by the sudden declaration.

The major issue for the territory had been the lack of funds, but discovering the runestone had largely solved that problem. With that wealth, the territory now had the potential to develop just like other regions.

"As long as you don't waste all the money recklessly, there shouldn't be any danger, right? It seems like you have more than enough to last a lifetime."

In reality, the biggest potential threat to the territory, as far as Belinda could see, was standing right in front of her—Ghislain. After all, this was the man who had constantly caused trouble, and now, with an enormous amount of money in his hands, the potential for even bigger disasters loomed large.

Hearing him talk about danger to the territory almost felt like he was preemptively announcing some new trouble.

"Hmm, how should I explain this?" Ghislain mused, clearly considering his next words carefully. After a moment, he dismissed all the maids and soldiers from the room, leaving only Belinda and Gillian behind.

If he left things as they were, the people around him would never truly understand why he was acting so urgently. Up until now, they'd followed him without fully comprehending his motives.

But he knew he couldn’t count on their unquestioning loyalty forever. It was time to give them a better understanding of the situation.

"You both think that obtaining the runestone is enough to solve all of our problems, don't you?" Ghislain asked.

Gillian nodded. "The runestone we acquired should be more than enough to fix the territory’s chronic issues. Isn't that what you wanted?"

"It’s true that I wanted that. But it’s not all good news."

"What do you mean by that?" Belinda and Gillian both looked puzzled by Ghislain’s words.

Having resources that could solve the territory's problems seemed like a blessing. Why would it not be a good thing?

Ghislain remained silent for a moment, gathering his thoughts, and then finally spoke.

"Someone is watching us."

"Huh?" Gillian blinked in confusion, wondering if Ghislain was suffering from some form of paranoia.

Who could possibly be watching them?

Belinda, however, seemed to consider Ghislain’s words seriously and asked, "Are you talking about Lady Amelia? Is it because you took her money? Can’t we just compensate her and resolve things peacefully?"

Gillian nodded, understanding the reference. They had already dealt with assassins who had been sent before, and it was logical to think that Amelia might still be seeking revenge.

But Ghislain shook his head. "No, this goes back much further than Amelia. These people have been watching us for a long time."

"For a long time? Who...?" Before either of them could finish their questions, Ghislain continued.

"This is something neither my father nor the retainers know. Only Elena and I are aware of this. Someone is targeting our territory."

Ghislain explained the incidents involving Elena's attack, the discovery of Prince Digald's corpse, and how he had removed both the bodies of Frank and Prince Digald to prevent a war from breaking out.

As Ghislain spoke, Belinda and Gillian’s expressions grew darker.

They finally began to understand why Ghislain had been moving so urgently.

After taking a moment to process what he'd heard, Gillian asked, “But, my lord, forgive me, but why would anyone want this territory? There’s no real value here. If anything, occupying it would mean constant battles with the barbarians. It's more of a liability than an asset.”

"That’s how it was. But how about now?"

"Well, now we have the runestone..." Gillian trailed off as the realization hit him.

Weak military strength, an impoverished territory, and citizens constantly worn down by endless fighting—it was true that Perdiem had been practically worthless before.

But with the discovery of such a valuable resource, things had changed.

Now, anyone who wanted the runestone would undoubtedly come after it.

Belinda swallowed nervously and answered in Gillian’s place, "W-War?"

She shook her head immediately after saying it, trying to dismiss the thought.

"No, no. The runestone was just discovered. How could the enemy know about it already?"

That didn’t make sense. If the enemy had known about the runestone, they would have attacked long ago.

Ghislain nodded. "You’re right. I don’t think they were watching us because of the runestone. If they had known, they would’ve invaded already. There’s some other reason they’re targeting us."

With a bitter smile, Ghislain continued, "But now that we’ve discovered the runestone, they’ll definitely come after us. I’ve just accelerated the inevitable war. It would’ve happened eventually, anyway."

Gillian’s expression grew more serious. It was bad enough that Amelia, his former fiancée, was sending assassins after him, but now, unknown enemies were targeting the entire territory.

"Do you have any idea who might be behind this?"

Ghislain shook his head.

He suspected Duke Delfine, but he had no solid evidence to prove it. There were too many unknown foreign actors involved, including the people linked to his past life as Aiden.

“There’s no clear answer yet, but sooner or later, the truth will come out. That’s why I’m trying to prepare as quickly as possible,” Ghislain explained.

Belinda’s eyes hardened as she nodded.

The story of Jamal and Philip, which had seemed full of holes before, now made sense. In the past, she might have doubted it, but after witnessing Ghislain’s power in the Forest of Beasts, she no longer had any reason to question him.

Gillian cautiously asked, "Shouldn’t we inform the lord and the retainers and come up with a plan together?"

"No, not yet," Ghislain replied. "We can’t be sure who’s an enemy and who’s a friend, even among the retainers. Even Elena’s knights betrayed her. There are likely spies everywhere."

"The news about the runestone will spread quickly," Gillian added.

"Exactly. We need to sell the runestone and prepare before the enemies find out."

Ghislain shrugged. "And let’s not forget, Amelia will continue to target me, runestone or not. She’s more persistent than I expected."

"As soon as the enemies hear about the runestone, they’ll make their move," Belinda said.

"Right. So, we need to prepare for war. Now you understand why there’s no time to rest?" Ghislain asked with a smile.

Gillian furrowed his brow in concern. "In other territories, it would take about two or three months to prepare for war and launch an attack. But in that time, there’s no way Perdiem could build up enough strength to defend itself."

Ghislain nodded in agreement. If the enemies attacked, they would undoubtedly come prepared to crush Perdiem. They were likely already familiar with the territory’s limited military strength.

The best strategy would be to increase their forces and upgrade their equipment, but there wasn’t enough time or money to fully prepare.

Gillian understood the situation and couldn’t hide his worried expression.

"It would take at least six months to a year to build a reliable force and properly equip them. Even then, they’d only be able to complete basic training," Gillian said.

Belinda sighed and, with a frustrated expression, asked, "So... we’re preparing for war, right?"

"In short, yes," Ghislain replied.

"Ugh, why did you have to make it sound so complicated? Alright, count me in. I’ll help you prepare."

"Huh? Belinda, you need to rest. Your body still isn’t fully healed. Why would you get involved now?"

"The territory is in danger, right? I’m not really interested in war, but if we’re going to fight, all we need to do is take the enemy commander’s head, right? I’m good at that," Belinda said confidently.

Ghislain chuckled, half-amused, half-impressed by her words.

"That’s reassuring to hear. And while you’re not wrong, we can’t just rely on that. You need to focus on getting better first."

"Thanks to you, I feel a lot better already. I think I’ll be fully recovered soon. Besides, look at you—you’re moving just fine. Wait... how are you even moving around so easily? And what about using mana like that earlier?"

"Wait... you’re right," Ghislain muttered, suddenly frowning as he realized Belinda had a point.

He had been moving and using mana without a second thought, but it was odd when he considered it.

He had been severely injured, barely able to move at all just a few days ago. On the first day, he’d passed out completely. On the second day, he had only been able to move with great effort, and he hadn’t been able to use mana at all.

That’s why Gillian and Kaor had to take care of the Blood Python’s corpse.

But now, he was walking around and using mana freely. While he wasn’t at his peak, he was certainly moving well enough to function normally.

There was no way his body could have recovered so quickly in just three days.

Belinda tilted her head curiously. "Could this be related to the mana technique you’ve been using? Your recovery rate is incredible."

Gillian also stared at Ghislain, clearly curious. He had noticed how quickly Ghislain had recovered, especially given the severity of his injuries.

Ghislain shook his head.

This had nothing to do with his mana technique.

Although stronger mana could influence physical recovery to some extent, he hadn’t built up that much mana yet. Besides, his technique was designed more for extreme destruction than for healing.

"This is strange," Ghislain admitted.

He had been so focused on his father’s summons that he hadn’t thought much about it, but the injuries he had sustained should have taken at least two weeks to heal.

His bones had been fractured, his muscles torn, and he had even been poisoned, albeit in small amounts, by the Blood Python’s deadly venom. It should have taken much longer to recover from that.

"My muscles have almost completely healed already," Ghislain murmured.

While he wasn’t fully battle-ready, his body was mostly functional, and the pain had reduced to a mild ache. The bones and muscles were nearly repaired, and the poison had completely disappeared.

"I don’t understand this either. I’ll take the day to rest and examine my condition."

Belinda shot him a suspicious look.

Given how often Ghislain had dodged questions in the past, she couldn’t help but wonder if he was hiding something again.

"Fine. If you’re going to rest, that’s good. Once you’re fully recovered, let’s make our next move together."

"Sure. Once I know how I’m doing, we’ll make plans. For now, focus on recovering," Ghislain said, preparing to leave with Gillian.

As they were about to exit, Belinda suddenly asked, "Wait, didn’t you say basic training would take at least six months? Even if we start now, isn’t it already too late?"

Ghislain gave her a meaningful look and smirked.

"I already have a force ready."

"What do you mean? Are you planning to gather more mercenaries?"

While mercenaries were certainly an option, Ghislain shook his head with a confident smile.

"We’ll definitely need more mercenaries. But I’ve got something else—a force no one else can use."