Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 261

“Cough. Cough,” Jim coughed, a harsh sound in the cold air.

Jack, Jim’s neighbour and good friend from their village, frowned, watching him. “Jim, you sound awful. If you’ve caught a cold, shouldn’t you be home in bed?”

Jim shook his head, his face stubborn. “What are you talking about?” he said, his voice a little rough. “Moving around will shake off this little cold. Why rest when I can make money in the winter?”

“Man, we had a good harvest this year,” Jack said, still worried. “You should look after yourself.”

Jim waved his hand dismissively. “Don’t even think about it. Who knows if next year will be good? We have to make money when we can.” Jim coughed again, but straightened his shoulders.

Jack shifted his feet, a little uneasy. He didn’t want to catch Jim’s cold. He changed the subject quickly. “Hey, Jim, I heard they opened a healers’ place in the city. Why don’t you go there after training?”

“Healers’ place?” Jim asked, his eyebrows going up.

“Yeah. They say they use herbs to cure sickness. And fix injuries too.”

“Herbs?” Jim repeated, sounding doubtful. “You don’t think it’s some kind of strange cult, do you?”

“No, no! Ganon from the next village went. He got some medicine and his bad cold went away like magic. They say it costs a little money…”

“Money?” Jim’s face tightened. “Then forget it. It’s just a cold!”

“They say it’s only one silver?” Jack said, watching Jim carefully.

“……What?” Jim’s eyes widened slightly.

Long ago, the way people used money changed. Silver coins became worth very little. For someone like Jim, one silver coin was only enough to buy a small meal.

It was enough to make even someone as careful with money as Jim think twice.

“Is that true?” Jim asked.

“Do you think I’m lying to you? It’s true! Go and see!” Jack replied.

Jim wasn’t a fool, and he was worried about giving his cold to his family.

‘A healers’ place, huh? I should go have a look,’ Jim thought.

With that decided, Jim looked ahead again.

Before Jim, the training grounds stretched out, a muddy field filled with men and women. Some were clumsily holding crossbows, looking confused. Others were laughing and chatting, waiting for their turn. The air smelled of damp earth and woodsmoke from small fires burning nearby.

This winter, the kingdom started volunteer army training. It was to prepare for trouble and give people work. At first, people were unsure, but when they heard they would get paid, everyone was happy to join.

“Hey! This is military training, why are you women here!” a man shouted.

“They’re giving us money, you blockhead!” a woman retorted. “Are you going to earn that money for us!? If not, shut your mouth!”

“Well, geez,” the man mumbled.

“And the royal family is raising female soldiers too, so what are you opposing, opposing!” the woman continued.

“Ah, I got it. Augh, woman. Always so fierce… I definitely married the wrong…” the man grumbled.

“What, you punk!?” the woman snapped.

“I married well. You’re definitely reliable. Yes,” the man quickly corrected himself.

Also, besides army training, people could work on building sewers. The King wanted to make the cities cleaner and healthier, so he started this big project. Most people didn’t know why sewers were important, but they were happy for the work.

“Where else would they give you money without forcing you to work! All hail His Majesty the King!” someone shouted.

“Long live, long live!” the crowd responded.

“Hahaha,” a man laughed.

Around the territories of McLaine and Esperanza, the people in the royal lands were always smiling.

Even in areas where the harvest wasn’t good, they had enough grain because of the tax cuts, and the farmers worked happily through the winter.

All of this was reported to the royal family.

“The healers are only charging that little money?” Logan asked, surprised by Damian’s report.

It didn’t seem like one silver would even pay for the herbs.

“Guild Master Gilbert says they will offer low-cost services until people trust them. He said that even if they raise prices later, it won’t be too much for regular people,” Damian explained.

“I see. If they want to do it, we don’t need to stop them. The mana stone work and army training are going well too,” Logan said.

“Yes. The kingdom is stable overall. There are no big problems, just small accidents,” Damian replied.

“Keep watching the news and what people think. I need to know right away if there’s a problem,” Logan instructed.

“Yes, of course,” Damian confirmed.

“Also, is there anything strange happening in the Empire?” Logan asked.

“No. We’re getting information with Philip’s McLaine Trading Company, but there haven’t been any big changes,” Damian reported.

“Hmm. Is that so?” Logan wondered. ‘Is this a good thing?’

Logan thought the kingdom’s changes were very big. If the Empire was going to invade, there should be some reaction by now.

“We haven’t been able to get a spy into the Imperial Family, have we?” Logan asked.

“No. The background checks are too strict. It would take at least ten years to get someone into the Imperial Family. If you order it, I will start now,” Damian said.

“No, there’s no time for that. Use that effort somewhere else,” Logan decided.

“We are still trying to get close to the Empire’s high-ranking nobles. I will try to make connections with people who can give us information about the Imperial Family,” Damian assured him.

“Good,” Logan said.

It was too bad, but it seemed like that was the best they could do for now.

Logan sighed, feeling uneasy. Damian hesitated, then brought up another matter.

“Your Majesty, Grand Duke Patrick McLaine asked me for a favor,” Damian said.

“What?” Logan asked, surprised.

Damian and his intelligence group were controlled directly by Logan. To prepare for war with the Empire, Logan didn’t want anyone else to have the power to command them, so they could gather information quickly.

Logan’s brow furrowed, but he understood when Damian explained, “He asked if I could find out where Prince Ronian is. He asked me to keep it a secret from you, but I thought I should tell you…”

“Ronian…” Logan murmured.

Now that things were going well, the only thing he worried about was his brother. It had been over a year since he had heard from him, after Ronian said he was going into the southern mountains.

‘Maybe I should have left him in the territory and trained him,’ Logan thought.

Knowing how Viktor and Eilen were improving with their master, and how Burdel was almost at the top level, he regretted it even more.

But he couldn’t do anything about it now.

“The southern mountains were vast and dangerous, a wild place of jagged peaks and dark forests. People told stories of creatures and dangers hidden deep within them. It was not a place to wander into lightly. We can’t just let anyone in. To reduce casualties, we need to know at least a trace…” Logan said.

Hearing about Ronian made him worry again.

He had been forgetting about it because he was busy, but he knew he couldn’t just rely on his brother.

But Damian said something unexpected.

“We’re not sure, but we got a report today that a young man with red hair bought food and disappeared in a village at the edge of the southern mountains. The villagers said he had the same red eyes, so they remembered him,” Damian reported.

“What?!” Logan exclaimed.

“I’m sorry. I took some actions because he is your brother,” Damian apologized.

“No, you did well. Hmm, so he was alive. Yes. I believed it,” Logan said.

He said that, but he felt relieved. Then, a strange thought came to him.

“But if it’s really him, wouldn’t he have heard about the kingdom’s changes and come back? Or am I just wrong?” Logan wondered.

His family had become royalty.

People were saying strange things about the missing prince, Ronian. If anyone had heard these whispers, they should have turned back immediately.

“They say they only bought supplies and turned right back without even a moment to talk. So, we need to start tracking them from that village, but as you know, the southern mountain range is a bit dangerous….”

“…I have the right person.”

The other person leaned forward, interested. “Really? Who is it?”

“There is a powerful hunter who used to hunt in the Demon Forest of the North, a place comparable to the southern mountain range.”

Logan recalled the future superhuman his father had brought years ago.

A top-tier Force User archer, rare even on the continent.

And a truly unique talent, a former monster hunter who might soon master the Aura realm, Burdel. Even the name sounded like the snap of a bowstring. He was a hunter known for his skill, even in the dangerous Demon Forest of the North, a place of twisted trees and shadows, where even sunlight seemed afraid to tread.

“I’ll entrust it to Sir Burdel. Have him investigate the trail from that village and bring Ronian back. The deadline is one year. Tell him he can return if he can’t find him.”

“Shall I deliver the message myself?”

“Yes, and… you’ll need to tell him about the village too, of course.”

“Understood.”

“Good.”

Logan’s shoulders relaxed slightly, the knot of worry in his chest loosening a little.

Just then, a knight’s voice was heard from outside the office.

– Your Majesty. Grand Duke Patrick McLain and Count Roberts Floyd have requested an audience.

Hmm?

Logan smiled slightly. It was funny timing, he thought, that his father and father-in-law arrived just when he was thinking about them.

“Let them in.”

Creak!

With the sound of the door opening, the figures of his father and father-in-law came into view.

“Then I shall proceed accordingly.”

“Yes. Thank you for your hard work.”

Damian bowed to Logan and his father in succession as he left, but the expression on his father’s face as he passed him seemed strange.

A slightly flushed face, yet one that held a firm resolve.

Guessing what was coming, Logan took the initiative.

“We found traces believed to be Ronian’s.”

Sure enough, his father’s face lit up at those words.

“Really!? Haha. That’s a relief. I’m glad. I’m so glad.”

However, Logan still couldn’t get used to his father’s way of speaking.

“…Why are you suddenly talking so formally? It’s awkward.”

“Even if I am your parent, I shouldn’t speak informally to the monarch of a nation. I’ve decided to show proper respect from now on.”

Logan’s eyes narrowed as he subtly asked, recognizing the words and content.

“Did your master give you a hint?”

His father, momentarily startled, quickly waved his hands.

“No, no. It’s just about maintaining basic etiquette.”

Haa.

Being treated with honorifics even by his parents was more awkward for Logan, but he couldn’t bring himself to stop it.

“Well, do as you wish.”

Logan shook his head with a bitter smile, and his father, looking much brighter, continued with a smile.

“Hearing good news makes me feel even better. The country is gradually stabilizing, and I think it’s time to do something even better. Don’t you think so, in-law?”

Something even better?

In-law?

…They didn’t come because of Ronian?

With a sinking feeling, Logan’s gaze turned behind his father.

“That is correct, Grand Duke.”

The prime minister, nodding in agreement with a face full of smiles, amplified his unease.

“His Majesty is already twenty-six, so it would be good to hasten the royal marriage before it gets any later.”

The word ‘marriage’ hit Logan like a cold splash of water, stealing his breath.

“…Marriage?”

The realization that Ronian wasn’t the only thing he had forgotten shook Logan’s heart.

But whether he was flustered or not, his father continued with a smile.

“That’s right. The king’s marriage is also a significant national affair. It’s not right to keep postponing it without reason.”

Ah….

Well, that’s true, but….

“Since His Majesty has been silent, there are rumours circulating these days that my daughter has been abandoned. As a father, I can’t help but worry.”

“That’s absolutely not true!!”

Startled, he jumped up and shouted, and seeing that, a subtle smile spread across the faces of his father and father-in-law.

Logan’s expression stiffened awkwardly as he realized his mistake, and as if waiting for it, the words of the two families’ elders followed.

“Since His Majesty’s heart seems firm, we can proceed immediately.”

“When would be a good date, Your Majesty?”

Logan had always proceeded by rushing into things, but he couldn’t react that way to this matter.

‘Marriage….’

Something he was experiencing for the first time in both his past and present lives.

Regardless of whether he liked it or not, he had never specifically imagined such a thing happening to him.

If anyone knew his heart, they would think that a man who was already engaged was making cowardly excuses, but that was Logan’s honest truth.

From the beginning, his engagement with Aileen was for an important reason – to make their kingdom stronger. And it was not a wrong decision.

Beyond simply having the talent to become a superhuman, she had become a symbolic leader of the McLain Kingdom’s female soldiers and was already an indispensable talent in terms of tactical and strategic value.

But for Logan personally, it had an even greater meaning.

‘…I can’t do without her.’

Over the past few years, she had been by his side whenever he was tired and exhausted during those long, difficult times, allowing him to remain steadfast.

He was able to regain his faltering spirit.

He could no longer imagine a future without her.

But marriage.

‘I’ve always lived thinking my life was on the edge of a sword. Can someone like me even get married?’

Anxiety still lingered in one corner of his heart.

No, that’s not it.

This is just….

“…Am I just afraid?”

Tsk.

How pathetic.

“Yes?”

Logan chuckled, realizing his true feelings, and the faces of the elders in front of him were filled with questions.

Looking at their bewildered expressions, Logan declared to himself.

“Yes. I understand. However, I will tell Aileen myself.”

Smiles finally appeared on Patrick and Roberts’ faces at those words.