Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 274

Sunghwa, the Inquisitors need help. They say people are stopping them from doing their investigation.

The voice was calm and echoed in the room.

The man listening frowned. His eyebrows were very white.

“…Pathetic.”

They couldn’t talk directly, so they complained to others.

‘It has been too quiet. Time to cause some trouble.’

The Pope thought about Eisel Fabrun, and how he had changed him.

They say they can’t even start the investigation. They also can’t catch the Forsaken.

“Did that fool not understand my words at all…?”

“Pardon?”

He smiled sadly. It was too late to change who was in charge of the investigation. The Pope spoke with a chilling expression.

“Send a message to the Kingdom of Maclane again. Tell Cardinal Eisel to be ready to die for his faith. If the investigation team comes back safe, I will punish him.”

“…Yes? Ah, yes. I understand.”

Seeing the bishop’s confused reaction, the Pope was annoyed and waved his hand to dismiss the bishop.

“‘There isn’t a single one who understands me the first time.'”

People who grew up in the strict rules of the temple were usually one of two types.

They were either stubborn and wouldn’t listen, or they were completely dishonest.

As a leader, he thought dishonest people were easier to control than stubborn people. So, he thought he had made the right choice.

‘Indeed, change is needed.’

He thought of the young man who had greatly changed his mind.

– By doing what the temple should have been doing all along, you will gain the support of the next emperor of the Empire.

Even without the very big donation, that one sentence had touched him deeply.

‘Prince Barros. He is certainly a remarkable one.’

Prince Barros hadn’t said it clearly, but he seemed to know exactly what he wanted.

The Pope didn’t need to say no to a suggestion that helped him do what he already wanted to do.

As the most important leader of a religion that was powerful across the land, he already had a lot of money and fame.

But he still wanted more.

“Now, I want people to remember my name in history too.”

He had waited too long. The old story of a poor person from Aserian becoming Pope was not enough for him.

What he wanted was for his name to be remembered forever.

Also, he wanted people across the land to think of the Pope as more powerful than even the Emperor.

Julio Umberto I, the Pope who came from a poor, unknown family and became the most powerful man in the world.

‘First, I will get rid of those who don’t follow our religion in the east and make the temple stronger. That is just the start.’

He would take control of a small, faraway country to become very powerful in the east.

The Pope who stopped people from having different beliefs and made the church bigger.

The Pope who made even the Emperor of the Empire bow his head.

He felt like he could achieve great things that would be written in the church’s history books.

Of course, there would be problems, but he thought he could solve them all.

“Where has Bishop Ilia reached?”

“The report says he should arrive in about a week.”

“Good.”

If he got the Saintess, even the people in the church who disagreed with him would have to be quiet.

‘If she doesn’t have the holy marks, I can just get rid of her.’

That alone would be a very strong warning to those who disagreed with him.

It would show everyone that even a bishop could be arrested by the Inquisition and burned to death.

‘Whichever way it goes, that will be the real beginning.’

Julio Umberto I smiled in a mean way as he looked out the window.

The holy city of Noviens was as big as the capital city of Aserian. It was peaceful, which seemed strange because the Pope had such mean plans.

(Message from someone to Logan): Cardinal Eisel keeps asking for the ‘Forsaken’ people – those who are not affected by holy power. We are saying no. But the Inquisitors are getting angrier. We even had to use the knights of the 3rd Legion to control them.

“Thank you for working so hard, Master. Please be patient a little longer.”

[If the investigation team is this troublesome, I imagine there must be talk even within the temple?]

“Yes, we got another message. They are asking if the royal family is going against the temple.”

[The temple is acting faster than I thought.]

“I will just ignore them for now. Please be patient a little longer. The time I talked about is coming soon.”

[Yes, I understand.]

‘Soon… I should start preparing as well.’

After the message, Logan thought about when to act. He checked again to make sure nothing would go wrong.

Logan was walking to the main palace, thinking hard, when suddenly someone called out.

“Oh!? Uncle……!”

“Stella! Be polite!!”

“Hehe. Your Majesty!”

Tap tap tap!

He didn’t even have time to turn around before he heard small footsteps coming closer.

Logan saw a noblewoman and knights standing back a little, looking unsure. Then, Stella was right in front of him and jumped into his arms.

“Oof!”

Logan pretended to be surprised as he held Stella. He smiled happily.

Stella was very small, her head only reaching Logan’s thigh. She had short blonde hair that moved as she moved. Her blue eyes were very big and bright, taking up most of her face. They sparkled as she looked at him.

Stella smiled brightly, her cheeks round and soft. Logan smiled back and gently pulled her cheek.

“Oh my, our little lady. What brings you here? Did you come to see your uncle?”

“Umm. Uh. I, I came to find Daddy……”

Stella stopped talking, looking a little shy because of his greeting.

Logan’s eyes twinkled playfully when he saw how cute she was. He pretended to be sad and said,

“Ah, is that so? You didn’t want to see your uncle.”

He pretended to be sad and started to put her down, but then—

“No, that’s not it. I wanted to see Uncle too……!”

Stella’s eyes got even bigger. She waved her arms and shook her head quickly.

Logan laughed because she was so sweet and picked her up again.

She was his master’s daughter. Because there wasn’t a good name for their relationship, she called him uncle. Now, he felt like she was more than just a niece to him.

“I know, I know. Hehe, Uncle missed Stella very much too.”

“Hee hee.”

Rubbing his face against her plump, soft cheeks felt like melting away all the worries of the world.

As he was smiling, a slightly embarrassed voice came from the side.

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty. Stella is very stubborn……. I took her for a walk to see the palace, but I didn’t think we would meet you here……”

Seeing the troubled face of Rose Meyer, the Duchess and his master’s wife, Logan immediately waved his hand.

“Not at all. I felt bad for giving Master so much work. You can come here anytime. I am Stella’s godfather, you know.”

“Godfather? Uncle, what’s a godfather?”

“Stella! Be polite!”

“Hing……. Y-Your Majesty?”

Stella looked like she was going to cry because her mother scolded her. She then said the polite words.

Even that sight was so adorable that Logan couldn’t help but hug the child tightly again.

“Hehehe. You don’t need to use formal names for me, Stella.”

“Right? You’re the best, Uncle!”

“But, Your Majesty……!”

“Haha. It’s alright. Just be careful when Master is around, that’s all.”

“The child’s manners……”

“So, just when her father isn’t here. Is that okay?”

“……As you wish.”

At Logan’s words, the Duchess shook her head with a small sigh, and Stella grinned, climbing onto Logan’s shoulders.

“Uncle! Over there!”

“Alright.”

Stella forgot why she came to find her father. She pointed to a part of the palace.

Stella’s innocent face and the warm feeling he had for her made Logan smile even more.

“Uncle! Here, here! Hee hee.”

Watching Stella play made Logan’s stress disappear.

“But where did my daddy go?”

He was surprised by the question.

“Oh? Uh… he’ll be here soon.”

“Hmph. I want to see Daddy…”

“Uncle will bring Daddy to see Stella soon. It’ll be quick. Now, promise.”

“Re, really?”

“Of course, really! Has Uncle ever broken a promise?”

“Nope!”

“That’s right. So, I promise. Now, promise.”

“Pwomise!”

Seeing Stella smile brightly after their pinky promise, the story of the temple suddenly came to mind again.

‘To call a child like this…’

A forsaken one?

Such a lovable child?

Stella showed him that he had gone back in time and changed the future. She was proof that things were different now.

“…Huh?”

At that moment, Logan suddenly had a strange feeling.

Why hadn’t he thought of this until now?

The future he changed?

A child born in the changed future?

Could it be that all the children similar to Stella are…?

“Nah, no way…”

If that guess were true, things would become too big.

He will continue to change the future, and the children born because of that changed future will continue to increase.

Would that be limited to Maclane alone?

‘No way.’

What if 10 years, 20 years, or even much longer passed?

The descendants of those children born in Maclane will spread all over the world.

If that happens, in the end…

‘The divine power, will the place for God disappear?’

His heart felt like it was sinking.

Reaching a terrifying conclusion, his face twitched.

“It can’t be. No way…”

Even as he said that, he had an ominous feeling that his guess was correct.

Even though he was a regressor, Logan was still a human of this continent who had lived under the faith of the nine gods.

Logan’s face went pale suddenly. He felt like everything he believed about the world was falling apart inside him.

“Uncle?”

Stella tilted her head at his hardened face.

“Your Majesty, are you unwell?”

Even the Duchess and the escort knights, who were a little further away, approached him and asked with worried faces.

“No, it’s nothing.”

There must be another reason.

There will be.

Suddenly, he felt impatient.

“I must contact my teacher, I must communicate with my teacher.”

“Yes? Suddenly?”

“I need to check what those investigation team guys are trying to do to those children…”

“Yes? Ah, yes. If Your Majesty wishes…”

The confusion on Logan’s face quickly spread to the people around him.

Logan knew that too, but the desire to confirm that uneasy feeling was greater.

But then.

“Uncle…, why are you being like this?”

Stella’s anxious face stopped Logan in his tracks.

Only then did he notice again that the little finger he had extended was still touching the child’s small hand.

“Stella…”

How would the adults around him appear to this child?

Moreover, what if the adult facing him suddenly acted like this?

“I’m sorry. Something urgent has come up, so I have to go now. Uncle will be back soon to play with you again.”

Tears quickly welled up in Stella’s big eyes at those words.

He briefly wondered if those were harsh words.

“Won’t you pwomise? Stella, won’t I be able to meet Daddy soon?”

Logan, who was about to move urgently, stopped at the child’s words.

Logan, who regained his composure and smiled, met the child’s gaze, wiped away her tears, and said.

“No. Absolutely not. You can meet him soon. Now, pwomise. Don’t cry, look at Uncle. Now, promise!”

“Heh… that’s a relief.”

As the small hand wiped away the tears, a smiling face reappeared.

But his face, reflected in her big eyes, still looked worried, even to himself.

How would that look in the child’s eyes?

At that moment.

A certain stubbornness that arose from deep within his heart suppressed the collapsing faith.

‘Divine power disappears? So what?’

If those like this child spread further and the influence of God disappears, what problems will arise?

Are the already corrupt priests and temples really necessary for the people?

Above all.

The good thing is right here with me, in Stella’s sweet smile?

“Yeah. Our little lady’s smiling face is much more important. More than that god.”

“Eh? Hee hee. Is Stella important?”

“Of course. The most important in the world.”

“Hee hee.”

With that lovely smile, the faint anxiety that remained in Logan’s heart disappeared.

‘Yeah. What does it matter?’

From the beginning, he was thinking of fighting the temple if necessary.

What does it matter if the temple disappears or the faith disappears in dozens or hundreds of years?

‘Just check if it will actually become a variable.’

That too, after the plan proceeds as intended and he gets out of the temple’s threat.

At that time, he can test it through Bishop Ilia or another priest. There is no need to confirm the story about those forsaken ones that Eisel mentioned now.

‘Faith is just a tool.’

If it doesn’t help the future to be pioneered, if it doesn’t help my life, then just throw it away.

He felt his heart, which had been worried, becoming stronger.

“Thank you, Stella.”

“Ung? Why?”

“Just because.”

Logan lightly kissed Stella’s cheek and smiled.

Then, he hugged this lovely child again.

“Why is our little lady so cute?”

“Hee hee. I, it tickles.”

Not many days passed since that day when Logan’s heart became even stronger.

“Your Majesty! News has arrived!”

The news he had been waiting for was heard. With renewed determination, Logan knew what he had to do next.