Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 311

Logan frowned at the report. It arrived at the worst possible time, like a dark cloud on a sunny day.

“A delegation from the Eastern Royal Department of the Empire? Not from the Empire itself?”

“Yes. It seems to be regarding the coordination of trade with the kingdom, which has been growing in scale recently.”

“Is Philip doing too good a job, then?”

“It’s more than that…”

“Well, refuse them. The royal family doesn’t directly involve itself in trade.”

Logan thought refusing the delegation was silly. His family company was built on trade! But he could find many reasons to refuse, even if they were weak.

However.

“That, well, I don’t think we can do that.”

“Why?”

“The person visiting as a delegate is a princess.”

“A princess?”

What was this new nonsense?

“…She has cited an engagement with Count Ronian as another reason for her visit.”

“An engagement? No, wait, forget the engagement for a moment. She’s coming here herself for that?”

“I’ve never heard of such a case either.”

Dwayne’s expression as he delivered the report was just as perplexed.

‘So that’s why he came in with Dwayne.’

Logan’s gaze naturally turned to Damian, who was standing next to Dwayne.

“Luisa von Aserian, there is a princess aged 29. It’s rare for an imperial royal to remain unmarried until that age, and for some reason, there are no records of her external activities.”

“…You’re saying that if they were determined, they could disguise a complete stranger as a princess.”

“Yes.”

“But Your Majesty,” Dwayne said, worried. “Is it possible they are lying? If this engagement happens…”

Dwayne interjected, horrified, but Logan and Damian’s expressions remained unchanged.

“It won’t be successful.”

“Yes. There’s no way it will be.”

Dwayne wore a woeful expression at the two men’s confident replies, but Logan had no time to consider his retainer’s feelings.

‘I was expecting them to pull some trick.’

A princess? An engagement?

It was an approach he had never imagined.

As he was reeling from the absurdity of it all, Damian’s voice broke through his thoughts.

“We cannot refuse the delegation.”

It was the obvious thing to say.

Not just any noble, but an imperial royal applying for an engagement? To refuse would be tantamount to declaring war.

Of course, relations with the Empire were already beyond repair. Logan knew the Empire would start a war, and the Empire knew Logan was hostile to it.

But Logan knew he couldn’t let his feelings control his decisions about the Empire.

‘Not yet. Not with the magic circle either.’

He had no intention of giving the Empire a pretext for war when his own forces were lacking.

“We have no choice but to accept.”

“Yes.”

“Tell Ronian to come to the palace, and put him in charge of ‘protecting’ the delegation. No accidents can happen. Understand?”

“…Yes, I understand.”

And it was also necessary to revise the plan in response to this unexpected move.

“That thing we were worried about, it’s not something that necessarily requires a delegation, is it? Even if they’re up to something else.”

On the way back from the office, Logan asked, as if talking to himself, feeling uneasy, and Damian immediately agreed.

“Of course.”

“But why did they come?”

“…”

Damian, who couldn’t answer immediately, continued in an uncertain tone.

“It seems the only possibility is that she’s a spy, not a princess.”

“Someone who can do something in the royal castle?”

“Yes. There are rumors about the knights, so the Empire might be curious.”

“Yes, I suppose so.”

At Damian’s words, Logan nodded with a nonchalant expression.

He had asked them to keep it as secret as possible, but the artifacts supplied to the knights of the Legion numbered as many as 30,000. It was too much to expect all of them to maintain airtight security.

Naturally, rumors about the artifacts possessed by the McLaine knights were spreading little by little, so it was not surprising that the Empire had learned about them.

“Besides, there was the recent explosion at the Magic Tower.”

Logan coughed, feeling guilty. ‘Could the explosion be connected to this too?’ he wondered.

As the person who caused the incident, Logan couldn’t help but feel ashamed.

“Of course, the artifacts are being supplied from Taren, so there’s nothing to find out in the royal castle, but I’ll focus on preparing for that.”

Oops.

Hearing those words, another worry came to mind.

The research on the Great Magic Circle.

‘It’s not complete yet.’

Logan bit his lip, thinking, ‘Could that mistake be connected to the Empire like this?’

“…Absolutely forbid anyone from approaching the Magic Tower. Even if it’s not that, there’s something we need to hide.”

“Yes, I will.”

“I’ll ask Ronian to do the same.”

“Yes.”

As Logan and the McLaine leadership were on edge.

Just a week later, the delegation from the Eastern Royal Department arrived at McLaine Royal Castle.

– The delegate from the Eastern Royal Department of the Empire, Princess Luisa von Aserian, is here to see you.

“Let them in.”

The doors to the grand hall opened, and the group slowly entered.

The first thing that caught the eye was, of course, the woman at the very front, wearing a pink dress.

A typical dress for going out that noblewomen of this era would commonly wear. In other words, it wasn’t the kind of clothes an imperial royal would wear.

Princess Luisa was breathtaking. Her blue eyes shone like jewels, and her skin was as white as fresh snow. Her lips were a perfect red, and her long, black hair framed a face that seemed sculpted from marble.

“Huh…”

“Indeed, a princess…”

“Amazing…”

Exclamations burst from the mouths of the watching nobles, and Logan’s gaze, looking down from the seat of honor, also wavered.

‘Is she really a princess?’

He had naturally assumed she would be a fake, so he was taken aback by her unexpected appearance.

In this era, even a naturally beautiful child would be ruined in an instant if not properly cared for. Unless they grew up in a noble, wealthy merchant, or knight or mage family, they could be considered roughly pretty or handsome just by having smooth skin and even teeth.

In particular, having white, flawless skin proved that they had been raised preciously in a wealthy family since childhood, unless it was disguised with magic.

As Logan watched the woman, who seemed to be a real princess, with complicated eyes, the princess, leaving only two escort knights and four attendants behind, walked ten steps forward and knelt before him.

“Luisa von Aserian greets the sun of McLaine.”

A title that had now become as fixed as Logan’s nickname.

Even the tone and every gesture of her words clearly showed that she had been properly educated.

‘Either she’s a very well-trained spy, or she’s a real princess.’

If it was a trick by the Empire, the first thing to do was to look for traces of magic.

“You’ve come a long way, Princess. Please understand that the preparations are somewhat lacking due to your unexpected visit.”

The Magic Tower, no, the Magic Corps, would have examined her first, but they wouldn’t have been able to search the princess’s body in detail. Logan responded formally, carefully moving his Force and focusing on his senses.

At that moment, his expanded extrasensory perception thoroughly scanned the princess’s entire body at close range.

A moment later, Logan’s face, which had been wearing a formal smile, stiffened.

As if unaware of the change in his expression, the princess replied to Logan’s greeting with a gentle smile.

“Not at all. I am well aware that this was a sudden request. It is enough that you do not blame me for the discourtesy, ‘Your Majesty.’”

The expressions of those who knew the meaning of that title changed slightly.

An imperial royal calling the king of another country ‘Your Majesty’ instead of ‘Your Highness’?

Surprised gazes gathered, and then Logan, realizing his mistake, smiled again and looked at the princess.

The sight of Logan, sweating profusely as if he were hot despite the chilly weather heading into winter, was somewhat unfamiliar to the retainers.

“The matter of trade is something for the working-level staff to handle, but the marriage proposal was truly unexpected. Especially that the person involved would come here herself. I would like to ask if there is a special reason.”

“A special reason? Well,” the princess said with a light smile, “perhaps just a princess who is a little… behind schedule in finding a husband, and decided to take matters into her own hands.”

Those nearby chuckled at the princess’s unexpected joke, and Logan also shook his head with a hollow laugh.

“I have summoned my brother to the palace, but it seems that the timing is not right due to the princess’s arrival being earlier than expected. So please stay in the palace and wait a little longer. A welcome party has also been prepared, so please enjoy it comfortably.”

“Thank you for Your Majesty’s grace.”

Logan, finally recognizing the princess’s title, slightly hardened his expression.

“It seems she really is a princess, but what did you think?”

After the meeting in the grand hall ended, Damian, who quickly approached him, asked in a small voice.

In response, Logan erased his artificial smile and replied with a stiff face.

“She’s a mage.”

“…Yes?”

“And she’s a mage who uses the same mana as those Black Snakes. Whether she’s a real princess or not is no longer important.”

Damian’s expression also hardened at those words.

A mage? A transcendent?

That young woman?

“But the Magic Corps already inspected her…”

“It’s different from the existing magic system. It’s mana that’s specialized in hiding itself. I would have been fooled if I hadn’t faced them before.”

Logan recalled the situation a moment ago.

Even with his senses maximized, there was nothing particularly suspicious. It was only when he activated his trait due to an inexplicable ominous feeling and focused all his power on his sense of ki that he could feel it.

Six circles, secretly concealed.

It was astonishing enough that the Empire’s princess, who was not even thirty years old, was a mage, but even more so that her roots were with the Black Snakes, those bastards…

“…How can that be? Then what is this…”

Damian’s question, which sounded like a groan, represented Logan’s feelings.

“I can’t figure it out at all. I can’t… Then what was Aserian’s role?”

“I will increase the border forces to the maximum. Even if it feels a bit out of place.”

“No, no. Maintain the existing system. We can’t give them unnecessary suspicion.”

“But if she’s a mage…”

“Leave it. I’ll assign Victor and Burdel.”

“Ah, if that’s the case.”

Burdel could just monitor from afar, and Victor could escort her while hiding his aura.

Logan’s gaze hardened as he recalled the face of the smiling princess, Luisa.

And at that moment.

On the opposite side of the royal palace, the princess and her entourage were having a similar conversation.

“Have you confirmed it?”

“…”

“Your Highness?”

“No, I don’t know at all. If I can’t figure it out, it’s not even at the intermediate level, as the Second Prince said.”

Luisa frowned and shook her head with a troubled expression.

“Could he be using a special artifact? Grandia’s treasure, the Crown of the Ruler, is famous…”

“It’s just a Class 5 artifact at best. Do you think I wouldn’t be able to see through even that much?”

At the princess’s cold glare, the escort knight, no, the tower soldier disguised as an escort knight, hurriedly lowered his head.

“I-I’m sorry.”

Stupid fool.

‘The guys they brainwash always have such low intelligence.’

Clicking her tongue, Luisa turned around and secretly gave another instruction after a moment’s thought.

“I need to see the king use his power. The rumors that he used golden Force are uncertain. I need to confirm for myself whether it’s really ‘that power’ or just a unique yellow Force.”

Logan McLaine.

Is he really the one the Great Teacher is looking for?

If he is…

Luisa’s blood-red tongue licked her even redder lips seductively.