Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 255

Whump whump whump.

The ground shook like an earthquake from the loud hooves of the warhorses.

Right after, flags at the front waved quickly. Then, almost three thousand soldiers on horses turned together and shot many arrows at once.

Pabat! Pabat! Pabat!

Dwayne watched the many arrows fly like rain, hitting the target area. He sighed quietly.

“The cost of buying those three thousand horses alone….”

Dwayne looked to the side, annoyed. But the person he was annoyed with was just looking up at the sky.

Dwayne added with a small laugh, “At least it seems to be effective, thankfully.”

Logan smiled a little. Heinckel and Kaisolon watched the soldiers finish training and get into position. Their faces looked a little happier. They turned to Logan and bowed.

“As you have seen, we report the completion of the Royal Crossbow Cavalry.”

The smile on Logan’s face grew wider at those words.

“Good. Well done, all of you.”

Logan patted their shoulders, looking pleased. Then, quiet clapping came from behind them.

It was the nobles, and they looked unhappy.

The nobles were not happy. They had been watching the king’s soldiers and knights train all morning. The king’s own army showed great power, and the nobles did not like this.

However, one person seemed different.

“As expected of an army that His Majesty cares about, it is very strong. You must feel very sure of yourself, Your Majesty.”

Jacques Huan was a middle-aged man with brown hair. He looked very careful and neat. He bowed, looking truly happy.

Logan smiled back warmly.

“It is all thanks to your concern.”

“Haha. What could we have done? It is all thanks to Your Majesty’s kindness.”

“I am grateful that you say so.”

“Ah, but Your Majesty, I have heard a slightly worrying rumor….”

“A rumor?”

Logan looked at him, asking what he meant.

“There is a strange rumor that the soldiers’ food has been getting less for about a month….”

“That’s not true! Should a noble like you listen to such silly talk?”

“Ah, I apologize. Of course, it must be a rumor with no basis. Forgive me, Your Majesty.”

Jacques quickly lowered his head when he saw the king’s angry red eyes. But under his bowed head, he was smiling.

After seeing the king give food away for free, Jacques had looked into it. He found out that a lot of food had come into the kingdom through different ways. He also found out that this had stopped, and that for the last few months, food had been given through the Esperanza and Maclane lands.

‘I’ve even found out that this stopped last month.’

In other words, the foolish king had hurt himself with just this one army.

If the king had stayed still, Jacques might have had some doubt. But with this foolish public training, he was sure. He had seen for himself that the army’s food was getting less every day.

‘This public training is just to scare us. This army looks good, but it is not being fed properly.’

The plan was ready.

Jacques made a fist, hiding his strong desire for power.

Logan watched him with a meaningful look as he bowed his head.

“Now that the royal family is strong, we must also make the kingdom strong. All nobles, get ready for the Grand Council!”

“We will obey!”

Jacques Huan and a few other nobles smiled at each other as all the nobles bowed together.

Three days passed. The Grand Council was held. All the nobles were called together for the first time in a long time. The topic was ‘What Direction Should the Kingdom Take After the Harvest Season?’

“Are you sure?”

“Today will be the start of the history we make.”

More accurately, the history I make.

Jacques Huan smiled and nodded to the nobles who greeted him. The other nobles were talking quietly among themselves.

– His Majesty the King enters.

With a loud voice, the doors of the Grand Hall opened. Logan walked in, wearing armor.

The king in armor was now a normal sight.

The king saw all the nobles standing up and looking at him. He sat on the throne and, as before, got straight to the point.

“Let us start the council right away. First….”

Before he could finish, Jacques Huan stepped forward.

“Your Majesty, I would like to say something.”

The Sword Master next to Logan raised his eyebrow at this rude behavior. But Jacques Huan was not bothered. He kept his head up and looked at the king.

Logan smiled slightly and let him speak.

“Count Jacques Huan. Very well, speak.”

“Thank you for forgiving my rudeness, Your Majesty. But before we talk about the new direction of the kingdom, I think it is more important to keep the promises of the past.”

“Promises of the past?”

Logan asked, pretending not to know what he was talking about.

‘Is he going to avoid the question?’

Jacques smiled. He thought the king seemed calm because he was embarrassed.

“Yes. I hope Your Majesty will announce again that you will lower taxes for the royal family, as you promised.”

“Ah… tax cuts?”

Logan nodded as if he had just remembered. Jacques and the nobles smiled widely. But what he said next was not what they expected.

“I do not plan to do that.”

“No, what do you mean…!”

“Your Majesty!”

“What are you saying?!”

The nobles were very surprised by this.

Suddenly, the Grand Hall became noisy.

Jacques Huan stopped talking. A small change showed on his face.

He had not expected the king to agree easily, but such boldness?

Jacques tried hard to ignore the bad feeling he was starting to get. He spoke again.

“If a king does not keep his promises, what can his people believe in and follow? I hope you will think again.”

“Ah, of course, taxes must be lowered.”

That’s right.

A smile came back to Jacques’ face.

“The people of the kingdom have suffered a lot over the past year. The lords have taken so much from them that they cannot live properly.”

Jacques’ face changed slightly at these unexpected words, and the Grand Hall became silent.

‘Who is taking from whom?’

‘Who raised taxes first?’

‘What is he doing now….’

In that cold hall, Logan continued in a calm tone.

“Therefore, from now on, I will limit the authority of the lords and the amount of tax they can collect from the people to 50%. However, the tax that the royal family collects from the nobles will remain at the current rate of 60%.”

This shocking news made the grand hall erupt with noise like a busy market.

The height of the tax rate was no longer the issue.

“Your Majesty! That undermines the very foundation of the feudal system!”

“Your Majesty cannot interfere with the authority of the lords!”

“What an absurd thing to say…!”

A wave of murmurs filled the hall – some confused, some angry, some just surprised.

Most of the commotion was filled with bewilderment, confusion, and anger towards the king.

Even nobles who could be considered Logan’s close aides, such as the Swordmaster and Roberts Floyd, were equally surprised by the shocking statement.

The Swordmaster seemed quite shocked, his lips moving as if to speak, but Roberts, who held the position of Chancellor, stopped Logan with a bewildered expression.

“Your Majesty, infringing on the authority of the lords is an act that undermines the foundation of the country. Even if you are the king…”

“Even if I am the king?”

“…it turns all the nobles into enemies. I am saying this out of loyalty, so please reconsider…”

Even Roberts Floyd, who was known to support Logan, spoke out against him, and the nobles in the hall, emboldened, began to raise their voices even more.

“Please reconsider!”

“This is absurd!”

“Even if you are His Majesty, you cannot interfere with the authority of the lords!”

For a moment, it felt as if all the nobles in the hall had become one.

Logan had expected this scene, but he couldn’t help but let out a hollow laugh when he actually saw it with his own eyes.

If there was any saving grace…

“Do as you wish, Your Majesty.”

His teacher, standing next to him, supported him with a firm smile, as if he had never been embarrassed.

“I think I understand what you meant now. You should have told me in advance.”

“Unreasonable taxes are a sin. Yes, indeed.”

His retainers, including Damian and Dwayne, also expressed their unwavering support by his side.

Aileen and Viktor, along with the escort knights, gathered in front of the hall, wary of the nobles’ overheated atmosphere.

Logan, who had been pleased with the sight, was about to open his mouth again when a loud voice erupted from among the excited nobles.

“Enough! Enough! This is the royal court! Be quiet!”

It sounded like something a royal guard would say, but the owner of the voice was Jacques Juan, who could be seen as the representative of the nobles.

Logan’s strange gaze turned to him, and the eyes of others also focused on him.

Jacques Juan, wearing a faint smile as if enjoying all the attention, calmly continued.

“Your Majesty, the authority of the lords is unique and cannot be touched even by the king. Do you not intend to retract your previous statement?”

“…No. It is a measure to alleviate the suffering of the people, and I believe that any noble with good intentions will follow it.”

Words that neither the speaker nor the listener would ever believe.

At those words, Jacques Juan’s face hardened coldly.

“As the representative of the nobles of this country, I respectfully reject Your Majesty’s ‘proposal.’ And I will not pay taxes to the royal family until you retract those words and keep your original promise.”

The shocking declaration, delivered in a calm tone, shook the gazes of most of those watching him.

The nobles gathered here had never directly elected him as their representative. However, in this situation, no noble would question his statement.

Because right now, the king’s reaction to that statement was more important.

Logan, now the focus of every eye again, spoke coldly, not bothered by Jacques Juan’s challenge.

“Those words are a challenge to the royal family, Count.”

“It was Your Majesty who crossed the line first. Please uphold the duty of a righteous monarch!”

Jacques Juan also stood his ground without taking a step back.

“My will does not change. Nobles who refuse will be governed by royal decree.”

The faces of the nobles in the hall hardened at Logan’s words, which drew a line as if declaring it, without backing down even though it was clear to anyone that it was a stretch.

“We cannot accept it!”

A voice erupted that echoed through the hall, unlike anything before.

“I officially reject Your Majesty’s proposal in order to protect the rights of all the nobles in this country.”

With those words, Jacques Juan turned around.

There were voices following him as he tried to leave the hall with a relaxed attitude, as if enjoying the concentrated attention.

“I, I also agree with Count Jacques’ opinion!”

“Y-Your Excellency, I will follow you!”

“Everyone has the same idea!”

When Ivan Claude and Count Mike Teroda left the hall following Jacques Juan, dozens of small and medium-sized nobles also followed suit.

A collective action that openly declared their intention to disobey the order.

Those who remained could only watch their retreating figures with stiff faces.

“Count, are you sure this is okay?”

“What if the king uses force….”

Although they had been swept away by the atmosphere and rushed out, they couldn’t help but feel anxious.

The nobles looked at the instigator of this with worried expressions, but Jacques smiled and asserted.

“He can’t.”

“Yes?”

“An army that can’t supply itself is not an army. With the current situation of the royal family, neither the royal army nor McLaine or Esperanza can move rashly.”

He had completed cross-verification of three information guilds and even confirmed it with his own eyes.

“Everyone, return to your territories and gather your armies. If we join forces and show even a hint of uprising, the king will have no choice but to kneel immediately.”

Jacques Juan’s words were overflowing with confidence, and the surrounding nobles simply nodded at his words.

‘Now my time is coming.’

Jacques Juan clenched his fist, feeling as if his ambition was being realized before his eyes.

And at that point.

Logan, who was receiving strange glances from his close aides inside the hall, slowly opened his mouth with a grim smile.

“What is our current strength?”

At those words, Heinckel, who was beside him, wore a confident smile.

“If we combine McLaine, Esperanza, and the royal army, we are close to 50% of the kingdom’s total military power in terms of simple numbers.”

It was a reaffirmation of a fact he already knew, but even that alone made his confidence soar.

“Good. That’s perfect.”

“There is no need to confront all the nobles, Your Majesty.”

The Swordmaster added cautiously, worried about the murderous aura emanating from Logan.