Chapter 31: How a Mercenary Gets a Bonus (1)
Still, after watching everything so far, Regina’s actions somehow made sense.
“…But my lady’s connections don’t stop there.”
“Excuse me?”
“No, nothing.”
Allen gave a short, unimpressed response. He glanced at Thomas, who looked boring as usual, then turned his eyes to the new head maid, Aileen, who was picking up a pile of ledgers. There were quite a few.
“Sir Thomas, you managed to get the merchant records back pretty quickly.”
“I had help.”
Thomas showed Allen a small silver earring. It was the one Regina had given him, engraved with the name Persona. But to Allen, it didn’t look like anything special.
“What is it?”
“My lady gave it to me.”
As sunlight glinted off the silver earring, Thomas remembered what had happened in the capital.
Thomas Hen Fin. Born to a poor baronet family on the eastern frontier, he had come to the capital chasing big dreams. Through hard work, he became a knight of the Imperial Guard—something he was proud of.
And whenever he saw mercenaries on the streets, they reminded him of the thugs who used to harass girls in his village. He hated them. Especially those without honor.
He never imagined that one day, he’d be taking orders and encouragement from a female mercenary.
When Regina handed him the earring, Thomas had inwardly scoffed, thinking she was bluffing.
But when he arrived in the capital and mentioned Duke Julius’s name, the merchants were startled. And when he said Regina’s name—they went pale.
“W-why are you saying that name?”
“…Is it that important?”
“Of course! She’s Gellen’s daughter—Regina of Persona! Maybe nobles don’t care about that kind of world, but in our circles, everyone knows who she is.”
Just who was this woman? Thomas had barely arrived in the capital and already collected three full sets of records overnight. He was still confused.
And the next morning, when he went to retrieve the fourth ledger, he got more answers.
“Gellen was once called the king of mercenaries. They said he could unite every mercenary on the continent. And she’s his daughter. She’s basically royalty to us.”
“She’s really that important?”
The old merchant laughed at Thomas’s disbelief.
“What makes Regina so amazing is that she rounded up all the monsters among the mercenaries and trapped them under Persona. She controls them like a master. Maybe the nobles laugh at that, but not us.”
Could anyone call something that made merchants tremble “insignificant”? In just two days of hearing Regina’s name hundreds of times, Thomas’s ears were practically ringing.
“Did she do that to your left eye?”
The old merchant, who had just jokingly called her a “princess,” suddenly covered his mouth—realizing he’d said too much in front of a noble.
“What did you call her?”
Thomas subtly turned his head, covering his bruised left eye.
“S-sorry, sir. Among mercenaries, they call her ‘princess’—not as a noble title, but because she’s Gellen Roffman’s daughter and the head of Persona. It’s kind of a joke. The princess of mercenaries.”
Just a few days ago, Thomas would’ve laughed at the nickname. But now… he couldn’t.
Large, powerful merchant guilds were often more influential than poor nobles who only had their family names. And the ones delivering goods to House Julius were no small-timers.
Yet every single one of them respected one name: Regina Roffman.
This woman… she’s dangerous.
“And sir, is it true? That Regina Roffman has caught the Duke’s eye?”
Rumors were likely already spreading about what happened in Valmen. And who hears rumors fastest? Merchants who travel the entire continent.
A Duke marrying a mercenary? That’ll shake the empire for sure.
When Thomas didn’t answer, the old merchant laughed in disbelief.
“That can’t be true. The world’s gone mad.”
“Watch your words.”
Thomas couldn’t overlook someone mocking his master. But still, he thought… Maybe the world really is going mad.
“What’s so crazy about it?”
A surprised voice suddenly cut in. The merchant turned in shock toward the window. Sitting on a thick tree branch with tousled red curls was a man Thomas recognized right away. His eyes narrowed as he approached.
“Why are you eavesdropping?”
“I came to get my escort fee. But when I heard Regina’s name, I couldn’t ignore it.”
Knights like Thomas looked down on mercenaries. Especially Regina. Just that was enough to make Gyle dislike him.
And Thomas wasn’t one to back down, either. The air grew tense, like a fight could break out any moment. The old merchant shouted, “Take your fight outside!”
“You’re not bothering Regina, are you?”
“…Ahem. She’s doing fine.”
Thomas was expected to grab him by the collar, but instead, he looked away first.
“You’ve softened up a bit, haven’t you?”
Gyle stared curiously, then noticed the blue bruise under Thomas’s eye. That had to be Regina’s work. She must’ve crushed this knight just like she used to do back in Persona.
“What are you looking at?”
“Anyway, you’re related to the Count of Renzier, right?”
“Watch your tone. And why are you asking that?”
At the mention of House Renzier, Thomas’s eyes sharpened again. Gyle stepped down from the window frame and replied,
“That fat Count visits District C a lot. But recently, I heard through the grapevine he was heading to Valmen. Does it have anything to do with Regina?”
Damn it! The moment Thomas heard that, he took off running. If the Count was headed to Valmen, it couldn’t be for anything good.
“Wait, I was going to ask if I could head to the castle too!”
Someone shouted behind him, but Thomas didn’t even look back.
He rode hard, all the way to Duke Julius’s estate. And when he arrived—there was chaos.
The reception room was full of knights Regina had knocked out. Shubel was sitting on the floor, clutching his neck. Regina’s dress was in tatters.
It really was the end of the world.
“Then I’ll organize everything based on these ledgers and report back.”
Though she had just arrived from the distant western territory of the Marquess of Felgburg, the new head maid Aileen showed no sign of tiredness. Her arms were full of ledgers, and she bowed deeply with great energy.
When Regina offered to help carry some, Aileen firmly refused, saying she couldn’t possibly ask her lady to share her duties.
“Hm… there’s still a lot to be done. It’d be nice if someone could assist her closely. Ah—Jane.”
Just then, Jane happened to walk by. Hearing her name, she quickly ran over to Regina.
Aileen looked her over from head to toe. With her short bobbed hair and rosy cheeks, she looked like a naive girl in love. And girls like that usually didn’t play games—they were honest and hardworking.
“Could you assist the head maid for a while?”
“Yes, I’d be happy to!”
Even among maids, there was an unspoken hierarchy. Jane, now given the role of supporting the head maid, smiled brightly and nodded.
“I should greet the Duke, but I heard he’s resting. I’ll wait until later so I don’t disturb him.”
Sharing the ledgers between them, Aileen and Jane disappeared down the hall. Once Regina was sure she was alone, she let out a long sigh.
“Whew… That’s one big task finished.”
There were still smaller rats left behind, ones too small to get caught in a wide net. But getting rid of the largest group all at once was a huge win.
After such a big purge, the few remaining weak ones would probably hide for a while.
Now, with fewer enemies, Regina could pick them off slowly—one by one, like using tweezers.
After spending three days reviewing the messy ledgers Phinette had ruined and firing dozens of staff that very morning, she couldn’t ignore the mental exhaustion.
She kicked off her beautiful but uncomfortable shoes and headed up to her room, eager for a short, well-earned break. It felt like the first real moment of peace in a long time.
“You did well, didn’t you?”
Regina turned to see Valentin, leaning against the window frame. With his leg still injured, he always leaned on something when standing.
“Were you waiting for me?”
“Usually, people wait in front of the person’s room.”
“But that’s your room next door. Did you need something from me?”
Valentin looked especially cheerful—like he was expecting something.
“I want to buy you new shoes and a hairpin. I heard a merchant group selling such things arrived in Valmen today.”
“…Excuse me?”
“Why that face?”
“Thank you for the thought, but I’d really like to rest. I’d rather not go out.”
She hadn’t expected him to bring up the gifts so soon. Her reaction came from exhaustion and being caught off guard.
“I thought of that too, so I invited the merchant to the castle. Is that alright?”
“That would be fine.”
Only then did Regina’s expression brighten. Valentin tried hard not to laugh at how quickly her mood changed. Lately, he had started to notice small shifts in her usually unreadable face.
