Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 280

A guard announced, “Second Prince Baros van Acer wants to see you!”

A deep voice answered, “Let him in.”

The office door opened with a soft sound. Baros took a deep breath and stepped inside. The Emperor sat behind a large wooden desk, a giant of a man who looked like he hadn’t moved an inch. His eyes, sharp and dark, watched Baros with a strange light in them.

“I greet you, Your Imperial Majesty,” Baros said, bowing low as soon as their eyes met. His knees bent almost without him thinking. Was it just habit, from years of practice? Or was it the powerful presence of his Imperial Father? He wasn’t sure.

‘Maybe it’s just the power of being Emperor,’ Baros thought.

He would understand one day. When he had earned the right to sit on that throne after this difficult path. Or when his Imperial Father finally saw him as worthy.

“What do you want?” the Emperor asked, his voice deep and calm.

“What happens if you kill a king from another country?”

The tone was calm, even though he was talking about something scary.

At those words, the Second Prince nodded confidently.

“As it is a new kingdom, many want to make it look bad. I want to say it was the old king’s people.”

At those words, the Emperor’s eyebrows twitched.

“The masses are foolish, but not ignorant.”

The words seemed out of context.

But Baros flinched at the remark, and the Emperor’s calm tone continued immediately.

“I believe I have told you this before. Do you still not understand its meaning?”

Pathetic.

The voice was even more indifferent than before. The words hidden behind it seemed to ring clearly in his ears.

At the same time, the moment he saw the Emperor’s fingers move, Baros, anticipating the next words, cried out urgently.

“I know! It is easy to manipulate public opinion, but the means must be based on truth. The words of Arius, the great scholar of the Empire 300 years ago.”

“Hoo?”

Seeing his Imperial Father’s fingers lower again, Baros inwardly sighed in relief and immediately continued.

“The psychology of the masses is easily swayed, but to create that current, there must be a clear basis. A current created by falsehoods must be prepared to face several times the backlash when it is revealed.”

“Knowing that, you still said it?”

“If Logan McLaine is assassinated, the only place with the resources to instigate it is our Empire. Many will think so. But even while suspecting that, the public will not want to believe it.”

“Not want to believe it?”

“Yes. Under Your Majesty’s reign, the Empire has been pursuing a policy of peace for 20 years.”

“Hmm?”

Seeing his Imperial Father not stopping him, Baros continued in a strong voice.

“Is it the work of those who dream of revenge for the old kings, or is it a secret attack by the Empire? When two absurd assumptions collide, people tend to believe what they want to believe. Even if it is poison to themselves.”

Rather than thinking the Empire is starting a war, they will believe in the idea of the old kings coming back.

At that, the Emperor let out a chuckle for the first time.

“Interesting, Baros. But even if that is the case, it is only the thoughts of the masses. It will not completely dispel the suspicions of the leaders of each country.”

“Even if they suspect, it will not lead to actions such as a coalition of nations. Just once, before the big ceremony to decide who will be the next ruler, the Grand Succession, allow the activities of the Ghosts.”

“Logan McLaine. Is eliminating that child worth risking the exposure of the Ghosts’ existence?”

“Yes, it is.”

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The time the Emperor’s fingers tapped on the armrest was only brief, but it felt incredibly long to Baros.

Finally, the Emperor opened his mouth.

“Very well. I permit the Ghosts’ operation.”

Fortunately, his Imperial Father had granted his request.

Of course.

“However, as a penalty for violating the rules of the Succession War, I will deduct 10% from your score. Will you still proceed?”

He had not gained only benefits.

His Imperial Father was looking at him with a peculiar glint in his eyes, as if asking if he still wanted to proceed with the matter even with these conditions.

However.

‘That fellow must be eliminated.’

That fellow will ruin everything. It was a vague bad feeling that had been constantly lingering in his mind recently.

Acting on a baseless premonition was a method he despised, but for some reason, even while being aware of that fact, he nodded.

“Yes. I will bear it.”

Was that answer unexpected?

The Emperor, who had paused for a moment, soon chuckled and nodded.

It was merely a coincidence that Rick noticed something strange about some of the servants.

He had caught servants who were uniformly gloomy or silent, that is, friendless, exchanging hand signals with each other.

At first, he simply chuckled inwardly and ignored it.

‘Cute lads.’

It reminded him of the memories of when Logan was causing trouble at his home, and Rick had created hand signals for the other servants and maids.

He just thought that people who were not friendly were finding their own way to connect.

However.

“I’m John.”

“Ken. Nice to meet you……”

He had changed the shifts at the detached palace to help them become closer, but the fellows who had clearly exchanged hand signals were greeting each other as if they were meeting for the first time.

That bothered him slightly.

‘Some kind of secret friends? Grown men? Ugh.’

He found it funny and had strange imaginings, so he chuckled to himself, but then he suddenly remembered a conversation he had overheard from other servants.

– Between men? Hey, even if you’re lonely.

– I’m telling you, it’s true! There are guys like that.

– I’ve heard it too. Over there in the Kingdom Federation, a group of countries, it’s common among those who serve for 10 years.

‘Could it be those guys?’

Rick had also heard rumors about people loving someone of the same sex. But he couldn’t understand it at all, so he soon erased it from his mind.

However, the moment he recalled the servants’ conversation, he could understand the situation.

‘Ah. So that’s why they pretended not to know each other.’

The reason they were acting strangely was immediately understood.

It was an area that Rick didn’t particularly want to get involved in, but the problem was that this was the royal palace, not just any place.

‘Between the servants of the royal palace, such…….’

It was a place where face and dignity had to be maintained, even if it meant respecting the preferences of the individuals involved.

If it were really true, and it was discovered, the whole palace would be in chaos. And the result would surely come back to him, the chief of the royal servants.

‘Absolutely not!’

So Rick decided to tell the King about this small thing. At least he wanted to avoid his own responsibility.

“There are strange fellows among the servants?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. There are some fellows who seem to be in a slightly strange relationship……. I, it’s definitely not my responsibility! I only found out recently…….”

“Then isn’t it your job to kick them out? I didn’t give you the position of chief servant for nothing.”

“Well, I haven’t caught any evidence yet.”

“Hmm?”

“Well, it’s a bit awkward to say……. Really.”

Seeing Rick sweating profusely, Logan chuckled.

He was very happy about his old friend’s request. It didn’t happen often. Since becoming king, he felt he hadn’t spent enough time with his friend. This was a chance to help.

“Very well. I’ll go myself.”

The King had finished his important work for the day, so he felt relaxed. He was also feeling extra kind.

“Pardon? Your, Your Majesty? N-no. This is too much trouble for you! Such an outrageous… honor!”

“Outrageous?” The King raised an eyebrow, a small smile playing on his lips.

“N-no, that’s… I… It’s just… not necessary, Your Majesty!”

Thinking about this made him remember when he used to travel around Maclaine lands. Now, as King, doing something similar felt like going back to those days, but in a new way.

So, Logan decided to go right away.

“Okay, you mentioned it, now show me the way. Let’s go now.”

“N-no! Your Majesty really doesn’t need to come yourself!”

But Logan grabbed Rick by the back of his collar, Rick waved his hands wildly, trying to stop him, but the King pulled him along…

Rick shouted loudly, “The King is here to check on the servants himself! Everyone, pay attention!”

It was like a sudden thunderclap in the quiet servants’ quarters.

“W-what’s happening?”

“Why… is the King here…?”

“Oh my goodness!”

*Thump thump* went Rick’s heart. He looked sadly at the servants rushing around and forming lines.

“Goodness me. What has the head servant been doing? Is everything always this messy?”

Logan had been pretending to be stern to joke with Rick. But his face became serious when he stood in front of the two men Rick had talked about.

The two men bowed their heads, looking at the ground and sweating a lot.

They seemed as nervous as the other servants. But Logan felt something different about them.

Logan’s senses were incredibly sharp, much better than before. He was almost like a master of sensing hidden things. Even with his amazing senses, which he knew were better than most magic for finding hidden people, he only noticed these men when they were very close. They were very good at hiding!

Logan felt a cold shiver go down his back. Without thinking, he reached out his hand.

*Whack!*

“Gack!”

“Ugh!”

*Bang!*

The two men were surprised. Logan’s hand glowed with a faint gold light as it hit them. They cried out and flew back against the wall.

Logan’s eyes changed again, becoming hard. He had wanted to knock them out with one hit, but the men were quick. They twisted their bodies at the last second and jumped back.

A dangerous look filled Logan’s red eyes.

“Y-Your Majesty! But… but even if they did something wrong, it’s not a reason to kill them!” Rick said in a panic.

Logan didn’t have time to answer Rick’s panicked words. He felt the two men, who had been thrown back, trying to run away in different directions. Now they weren’t hiding their power anymore. Logan could clearly feel what they were planning to do.

Golden light burst out from Logan’s waist like bright rays.

*Snikt.*

*Crack.*

In a blink of an eye, the men had run more than ten steps away from each other. But the golden light twisted and turned like a snake in the air, quickly catching up to them. It sliced through one man’s leg and the other man’s lower body.

“Tie them up! They are spies! Find out how they got in here, what they want, everything!”

“Yes, Your Majesty!” The royal knights, who were waiting close by, ran over, looking shocked.

But then… *Ooooong.*

“What is that!?” Logan’s eyebrows shot up as he saw the two men’s bodies glowing bright red.

“Get back, now!” Logan didn’t have time to explain. He jumped in front of the knights and servants.

Golden light exploded from his body and wrapped tightly around the two men.

*Kwaaaaang!*

A huge explosion broke through the light, and a powerful wind blew everywhere.

“Aaargh!”

“W-what’s happening!?”

“Mommy!”

Servants, including Rick, screamed and fell down. The knights stared at their king, their faces white with shock.

A small line of blood dripped from the corner of Logan’s mouth. He had stopped the two men from blowing themselves up.

“What is this…?”

Logan was shocked, but he knew he couldn’t waste time being surprised by this strange situation.

A memory from his past life suddenly came to his mind. Logan’s face became even more serious. Then, a slow but powerful voice spoke, breaking his thoughts. Baros quickly looked up. “I need to ask something for the future of the Empire.”

“……A request?”

“Let me use the Ghosts’ Blades.”

“Hmm? Oh? Why do you want to do that?” The Emperor’s voice, which had sounded bored and emotionless, now showed a little curiosity.

Baros bowed again quickly. “I want to kill Logan Maclaine, the King of Maclaine. Please let me do it, Your Majesty.”

The Emperor answered quickly, his voice cold. “……How weak, Baros.”

The small bit of curiosity was gone. Now, Baros felt a heavy weight pressing down on him.

He knew why the Emperor said that. The Emperor wanted to cause trouble in other countries, but he didn’t want to use the Empire’s armies. The Emperor’s secret group, the Ghosts, were only supposed to find information, not fight.

Baros quickly yelled, before he felt like he couldn’t even speak, because the Emperor’s power was pressing down on him. “Logan Maclaine! That man will stop the Empire’s big plans! I think it’s best to get rid of him now!”

“Isn’t it your job to remove problems? Are you saying you can’t do your job?” The Emperor’s cold words made Baros feel brave again.

“I know I’m not good enough,” Baros said, “but I still think we must get rid of him for the Empire’s sake!” Because Baros had said bad things about himself, the Emperor’s heavy power felt a little bit lighter. But then, the Emperor asked again.