Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 28

Two days later, the main force of the McLane family, led by Patrick McLane, arrived at Tesron Castle.

As soon as he arrived, Patrick summoned Logan after hearing about the ‘events’ Logan had set in motion.

Patrick McLane stopped in the castle entrance, looking around at the unfamiliar stone walls of Tesron Castle. He turned to Logan, his voice full of doubt. “Harman… killed himself?”

Patrick’s voice showed he couldn’t believe it. It was unbelievable news.

Logan looked directly at his father, his face calm. “Yes, Father. He must have been too frustrated.”

Patrick’s eyes narrowed slightly. “Did you kill him, Logan?”

Logan’s eyes flickered away for a moment, just a quick movement. “No, Father.”

Patrick sighed, a long, heavy sound. He watched Logan’s gaze drift towards the window, as if Logan was looking at something far away.

“Haaah… And then, Harman’s sons too? All in duels with you?” Patrick asked.

“They challenged me to duels because they didn’t know their place and insulted me,” Logan replied.

The people who died thought they deserved special treatment because they were nobles. They would be angry to hear Logan say this.

“A Force user against commoners?” Patrick questioned.

“Honor has nothing to do with the Force,” Logan stated.

“Ugh… Logan, you can be honest with me,” Patrick said with frustration.

Patrick’s words came after a groan and a long sigh, as if he were suppressing something. Logan, seeing the change in his father’s eyes, calmly spoke the truth.

“Yes, Father. I killed them on purpose.”

“Why?” Patrick asked.

“The Tesron territory must be under the McLane family again. I didn’t want to leave any seeds of dissent by keeping their bloodline alive,” Logan explained.

“Didn’t you consider keeping them alive and making them your vassals?” Patrick inquired.

“No, Father,” Logan replied immediately.

Patrick frowned slightly at the short, immediate answer.

But he didn’t get angry or press him like before.

This war had made him fully aware that his eldest son had grown into an adult who was no longer under his wing.

He acknowledged him not as someone to be taught and refined for his mistakes, but as an adult with his own thoughts.

‘His methods were excessive, but he must have his reasons.’

This was a complete turnaround from the thoughts he had just a few days ago.

The son who had protected the family amidst neglect and disregard deserved such trust.

And there were more pressing matters at hand than dwelling on such ‘minor’ issues.

“Haaah……” Patrick sighed.

A long sigh replaced the unspoken disappointment.

“Alright, I understand. Let’s go inside. What about the other matters?” Patrick asked.

“The precious metals and valuables have been gathered in one place. I’ve had the Tesron administrators prepare a report on all other matters,” Logan informed him.

“Administrators?” Patrick asked.

“Twelve in total. I didn’t bother touching the administrative staff, as they seemed necessary,” Logan explained.

“……Good, well done,” Patrick said.

The leader of the conquerors and his son entered the grand hall of Tesron Castle to survey the fruits of their victory.

A week after the start of the war, the McLane family’s forces returned to their main territory.

The actual war had ended in a single day, so the journey to and from the Tesron territory accounted for the entire duration.

Nevertheless, the territory’s residents welcomed the returning troops with cheers, as if they were greeting war heroes returning after years.

“Long live the McLane family!”

“Long live Patrick McLane!”

People embraced their safely returned fathers and sons, endlessly shouting their praises with tears of joy.

As the war had begun in a desperate situation, the victory was all the more exhilarating.

Amidst all the cheers, the most unexpected shout reached Logan’s ears.

“Long live Grand Duke Logan!”

Taken aback by the unexpected cheer, Logan waved his hand with a bewildered expression.

‘Has it only been a few days…’

He was slightly taken aback by the rapid change, but the rumors had already spread far and wide.

Grand Duke Logan had made the greatest contribution to the war.

Initially, many people didn’t believe it, but the testimonies of their returning family members only amplified the rumors.

As a result, the negative rumors about Logan that had accumulated over time vanished without a trace.

In their place were only excessive praises that even the person in question found embarrassing.

People even thought Karok’s strange actions, like eating meat, were just signs of his genius that normal people couldn’t understand.

Even bad rumors about Logan from the past were now explained away by saying he was just pretending to be bad to hide how smart he really was.

Logan’s face flushed slightly at the ridiculous anecdotes being created on the spot during the triumphal procession.

“Brother, how do you feel? Everyone is praising you!” Roni asked.

“Praise? It just makes my face burn. Don’t overdo it, Roni,” Logan replied.

He meant it sincerely. It was a feat achieved solely by knowing the future.

To have it all attributed to his talent was a bit embarrassing, even for someone as thick-skinned as himself.

But there was also a reason why Logan couldn’t help but smile with satisfaction.

“I knew that the Grand Duke would eventually make something happen!” Rick said, having returned to his position as a servant from being a soldier.

“In fact, it’s as if the Young Master has already won!” Knight Commander Heinckel, who was usually taciturn, exclaimed.

“That’s right! Young Master! This victory is yours!” one of the knights said.

And none of the surrounding knights objected to the embarrassing praise.

His past life, where he was ostracized and chased away, and the ruined family…

The two sources of pain that had remained as regrets in his previous life had disappeared.

His heart felt lighter, and it was difficult to resist the urge to lift his shoulders.

‘Stay calm, stay calm. This is just the beginning. The future is even more…’

Even as he tried to calm himself, he couldn’t stop the muscles in his face from forming a gentle smile.

“Now! Let’s show everyone who the greatest contributor to this war is!” a knight shouted.

“Woooaaah!”

Following the shout of one knight, the surrounding knights rushed towards Logan.

And then, the tossing began.

“Long live Young Master Logan!”

“Long live!”

The hands of the knights raised high into the sky, the pleasant gazes of the gathered territory residents.

From Logan’s lips, thrown high into the sky, burst a joyful scream that he could no longer hide.

“Uhahahahahaha!”

After the boisterous welcoming ceremony that lasted for some time, the key figures of the territory gathered in the conference room.

Heinckel attended alone as the representative of the Knights, replacing the five garrison knights who had been left behind to temporarily manage the Tesron territory.

Five administrative officials, including the finance manager, Dwayne.

And the members of the McLane family.

With everyone in a bright atmosphere except for the gloomy-faced Merian, Patrick declared.

“From now on, we will begin the distribution of rewards for the contributions to the territory war. Dwayne.”

“Yes, Father. I will report the results,” Dwayne responded.

Dwayne spoke calmly, listing what they had won in the war. He looked around the meeting room to make sure everyone was listening. “From the Tesron family’s lands,” he announced, “we have gained 4.32 million gold in coins.” A murmur went through the room at the mention of so much money. Dwayne continued, “Also, precious metals, worth about one million gold.” Some people gasped softly. “And grains,” Dwayne added, “estimated to be worth 300,000 gold. Finally,” he said, pausing for effect, “Tesron Castle itself, and its lands – almost 500 hectares of plains.”

These were the huge gains the McLaine family had made from the war.

“That is all,” Dwayne finished simply.

“Waah!” Cheers burst out as soon as Dwayne stopped speaking. Heinkel clapped loudly, a wide grin on his face.

“It seems the Tesron family had far more money than we thought,” Dwayne added. Patrick smiled and then quietly continued.

“Everyone has worked hard. Now, let us decide on the rewards.”

First, they talked about what the knights would get. Because they were the family’s main fighters, their rewards were obvious.

But, surprisingly, even the administrators, who had not fought in the war, got a small reward. This was to make them feel like part of the family and to pay them a little extra for the lot of work they would have to do after the war.

But all of this wasn’t much compared to what they had gained. Only Knight Commander Heinkel got a large reward of 50,000 gold. The total rewards for everyone else didn’t even reach 500,000 gold.

No matter how much money they had gained, it was a small amount compared to what they spent during the war and what they would need to spend in the future.

War only uses up resources; it doesn’t make them. If they thought about how much they needed to spend on Tesron Castle, they might not have enough money until the autumn harvest. Because the war happened during the farming season, they would need to be careful with their spending until next year.

At least everyone there knew that much.

After they decided on those smaller rewards, they finally got to the main topic.

“Everyone here knows that this war was won not by the strength of the knights, including myself, but by the strength of another.”

Even though he didn’t say a name, everyone looked at one person.

The people who had fought in the battle, like Heinkel, looked at him with great respect. But the administrators, who had not been on the battlefield, still seemed unsure.

‘Did that young duke really change the war?’ They looked like they didn’t believe it, but they couldn’t argue because of the mood in the room. People stared at Logan with mixed feelings.

But Logan didn’t react. He was thinking about something he had decided to do after the meeting. But even he was surprised by Patrick’s next words.

“The person who helped us win this war the most is my son, Logan. I want to give him 300,000 gold.”

It might not seem like much, but it was a huge reward, as much as all the knights got together. It was a lot of money for the McLaine family right now.

“Also, as the eldest son of the McLaine family, because he is truly a McLaine and did great things, I declare Logan McLaine as the heir to the family!”

Then he started talking about who would take over the family, which no one had expected. The people in the meeting room stared blankly at Patrick’s sudden announcement. They all reacted differently.

“Young Duke! Congratulations!” Heinkel clapped with a big smile, while the administrators with unhappy faces just looked at each other.

Dwayne stepped forward carefully.

“Lord Patrick,” Dwayne began slowly, “are you sure about making a decision on the heir so quickly? Perhaps we should think about it a little more?”

“Ahem. You say that because you didn’t see the young duke on the battlefield.”

“No, still, looking at only one aspect…”

Dwayne and Heinkel, the two main officials, were about to argue when—

“I apologize, but I would like to decline being the heir for now.”

Logan said this with a calm face, stopping the excitement.

“…What?”

“Did I hear wrong?”

“He said he declines…”

Patrick, looking a little upset, asked again for everyone.

“…Why? Are you still angry about what happened before?” He remembered what happened at Logan’s coming-of-age ceremony just before the war.

But Logan calmly shook his head, while the officials who didn’t know the reason looked confused.

“That is not the reason.”

“Then?”

“As I said before, Ronian, who is very talented at fighting, is more suited to be the heir of the McLaine knight family.”

“Brother?!” Ronian shouted. Merian, who had looked sad, suddenly looked up.

But most people didn’t believe it. How many knights did Logan kill in this war? And one of them was even a high-level knight. Even if he was hurt, who could be called a genius if not someone who defeated a high-level knight at only twenty years old?

Logan didn’t care how the listeners reacted and kept talking.

“Ronian became an Aura User at the age of only fourteen. That’s five years faster than me. No one knows what this guy will achieve when he comes of age.”

“Even if things go as you say, Logan, being good at fighting isn’t the only thing that makes someone the head of a family.”

‘No. It is,’ Logan thought, smiling sadly inside at his father’s normal answer.

If Ronian became the youngest Aura User on the continent, like in his past life, nothing else would matter.

Of course, there was another reason too.

‘I don’t need to be the heir.’

To be exact, it was easier to move around if he wasn’t the heir. If he had a position, many people would worry about his safety, and he would waste time on a lot of paperwork, using the excuse of teaching him to be the heir.

He wanted to make Ronian the heir right away, but he couldn’t do that yet.

“At least, as a brother, I want to give my younger brother a chance. I would like you to wait to choose the heir until the day Ronian comes of age.”

So, for now, this was the best he could do.

“Brother…” He didn’t look at Ronian’s confused face or his stepmother’s face.

Luckily, his answer seemed to impress his father and the officials.

“Indeed…”

“As expected, the young duke has changed…”

“Amazing…”

Even the administrators, who had been unsure about his contributions, looked at Logan with admiration. Knight Commander Heinkel was nodding, looking very proud.

Patrick smiled in the heartwarming atmosphere and replied.

“…Not a bad idea. I accept your wish. I will wait to choose the heir until five years from now, after Ronian comes of age.”

“Thank you. And…” Before that smile disappeared, Logan said something that shocked everyone.

“I would also like to decline the reward.”