Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 323

Chapter 323: A New Pope – Austin Fluit I.

Most people did not care about the news. To them, it was just a new leader for a religious group. Only people who knew the order well, or those who wished the bad things in the temples would be fixed, were really interested.

But then, during his first speech as Pope, he announced something that shocked the leaders of the world: he wanted to work with the Empire.

News of this reached the Emperor quickly in the Imperial Palace of Aserian, the grand palace in the middle of the land. The Emperor called for Baros, his Second Prince. Baros had been sent away to live in the Eastern Royal Residence, almost like an exile.

“You asked for me, Your Majesty?” Baros asked, his voice weak. His face was thin and pale. He slowly raised his head. Worry and sadness had made it even harder to face the Emperor. The Emperor always seemed so powerful and frightening.

Maybe this time, things would be better, Baros thought hopefully.

“They have done what they promised,” the Emperor said calmly. “The Holy Kingdom has taken a completely new position.”

Hearing the Emperor’s calm voice, Baros felt some of the stress leave his body. His face looked a little less pale.

“…Yes, I heard,” Baros replied quietly.

“Good. As I said I would, I am letting you come back, starting now.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty. Thank you,” Baros said quickly.

*Thud.*

He quickly bowed low to the floor, touching his forehead to the ground. He didn’t want the Emperor to change his mind. He had to show his thanks immediately.

But Baros sensed that there was more to come. It wasn’t all good news.

“I keep my promises,” the Emperor continued, his voice still calm. “But this situation has also created a serious problem. Do you know what it is?”

The Emperor’s voice was flat, without any feeling. It made Baros feel cold inside.

Baros had been in a very bad place recently. This was like seeing a light at the end of a dark tunnel. He had to be careful. He couldn’t speak too quickly and mess things up again.

He tried hard to think, but he couldn’t guess what the Emperor was worried about.

If he didn’t know…

“…I don’t know, Your Majesty. I’m sorry,” Baros said clearly, still bowing, his eyes tightly shut.

It was better to admit he didn’t know than to pretend. He had no pride left when he was in front of the Emperor.

It seemed he had made the right choice.

“The new Pope has always been a man of strong beliefs. Yet, he has changed one of the most important rules of his Order. Do you still not see the problem?”

Baros’s eyes opened wide. Now he understood.

“That means…!”

The Emperor looked at him, waiting for him to finish the sentence.

“…Those people… they have found a way to control even holy power and brainwash people…” Baros said, his voice shaking slightly.

A cold fear went through Baros.

The Emperor’s voice became even deeper, even more serious. Baros was still bowed low.

“Exactly. So, how will you control these people now?”

The room became very quiet after those words.

Suddenly, Baros understood why he was really called here.

*This is a test,* he thought.

If there was no way to stop their magic, the Emperor would not have let him come back. Instead, he would have blamed Baros, punished him, and tried to destroy those people.

So, the Emperor’s words were a way to test him.

Or, in another way…

*This is my chance to show what I can do,* Baros thought.

Baros made a fist, took a deep breath, and tried to be brave.

Suddenly, he had an idea. He knew the best answer.

“We don’t need to control them,” Baros said, looking up.

“No need?” the Emperor repeated, sounding surprised.

“No,” Baros said firmly. “If they keep their promise, it helps the Empire. If they break their promise, we show everyone their lies and make the Order look bad. Either way, the Holy Kingdom, which is the only thing stopping our Empire, will be destroyed.”

Baros held his head up high, looking straight at the Emperor.

The Emperor’s face was hard to read. He asked again, “So, you would just let these people, who could become a secret danger, do whatever they want?”

“After the Holy Kingdom is defeated, we tell everyone that this was their plan all along. We make them the enemy of the whole world. People who are brainwashed will have signs, and it will be easy to find proof. If the Emperor’s family says it is true, everyone will believe it.”

Baros saw a small smile appear at the corner of the Emperor’s mouth. He knew he had said the right thing.

“It seems you are not stupid after all,” the Emperor said.

The Emperor had also checked again if Baros himself had been brainwashed. He was satisfied.

“Good. From now on, the fight to become the next Emperor starts again. But listen carefully: the next Emperor will be chosen after next year’s harvest. You have to show me everything you can do before then.”

The Emperor had also suddenly made the deadline much sooner.

*Why is he doing this?* Baros wondered.

He was confused.

Everyone, even the people who write things down and the other princes, knew the fight for the throne would end much later. The Emperor had moved the date forward by more than a year.

*Does he think he has already gotten rid of the Holy Kingdom, so he can decide faster?* Baros thought.

This wasn’t good news for Baros.

He had made mistakes recently and lost points in the Emperor’s eyes. Also, the Emperor never gave points twice for the same thing. So, helping with the Holy Kingdom wouldn’t give him any more points now that he was back in favor.

As if reading his mind, the Emperor added, “You will have to work much harder to beat your brother.”

Baros clenched his jaw tightly. He bowed again and left the room, feeling angry and determined.

“How is things going in McLaine?” Baros asked.

[Heh heh. Why are you rushing, Prince? We have time, don’t we?] the old man’s voice chuckled from the small device. He sounded mocking.

Usually, Baros would have enjoyed playing mind games like this, but not now. He was too stressed.

*Bang!* Baros slammed his hand on the table.

“Six months!” he shouted into the device. “You have to get results in six months!”

After winter, everything would be decided by the next harvest.

He had to make sure he won before then.

[Six months? It sounds like the Emperor wants to finish everything next year?] the old man asked, his voice still unclear.

Baros’s face became angry again at the old man’s confusing question.

“Didn’t you promise me the throne? If you can’t do it, you’ll have to find another prince to help, someone else who can become Emperor!”

[Our Prince is getting impatient, it seems. But we have already started working. Just wait. Don’t worry,] the old man said, sounding like he was talking down to Baros.

Baros lost his temper at the old man’s mocking voice.

“If I don’t become the Crown Prince, do you think I’ll be the only one who suffers? You won’t be safe either!” Baros shouted, his voice angry and uncontrolled.

He was getting more and more worried. He wondered if those people had contacted his half-brother, Kleid Van Ares.

But then…

[Hmm. I told you to wait and not get upset. You will get everything you want. You saw what happened with the Holy Kingdom, didn’t you?]

“That’s why I trust you even less! Is McLaine harder than the Holy Kingdom? Is that why it’s taking so long?!”

[You should know that everything has to happen in order. You are too stressed, Prince Baros,] the old man said calmly.

Baros knew the old man was right.

Knowing this made Baros even angrier. Suddenly, he felt that same bad feeling again, the feeling that the young man with red hair he kept thinking about would stop him again.

“Then give me something, even a small thing! Tell me why Logan McLaine is bothering me so much!” Baros yelled, annoyed.

The old man’s answer surprised him.

[Ah… Haha, you’re right. We did promise you that. Well, luckily, we can do that right away.]

“…What?” Baros asked, confused.

[Logan McLaine. That man is changing what is supposed to happen. Of course, he makes people at the top of the world feel worried.]

“What rubbish are you talking about?” Baros asked, annoyed.

The answer sounded interesting, but he didn’t understand it at all.

[People whose lives will be changed the most by him will feel like he is a problem for them.]

His worry only grew after that explanation.

*Bang!* Baros slammed his fist again.

“Stop talking nonsense and tell me a real reason!”

[If you feel very worried when you see him, it means you, Prince Baros, are the one who is supposed to be his opposite. Do you understand what I mean? You are the one who should be at the top of the world if things were fair.]

He still didn’t really understand, but the big words calmed Baros down a little.

*At the top of the world?*

“…Does that mean I am meant to be Emperor?” Baros asked, his voice softer now.

[You could think of it like that,] the old man replied.

“…Then what about him? If he is going to stop me from becoming Emperor, we have to get rid of him first!”

[Haha. If you kill him now, your future, which is already mixed up with his, will only become more messed up. We will make things happen in the right way. So, don’t worry too much, Prince.]

“We don’t have time!” Baros insisted.

[Six months, you said. I will remember that. You can expect good things to happen,] the old man said confidently.

Baros felt like he would burst with anger at the old man’s confusing words and empty promises. But he couldn’t say anything else.

*Thud, thud.*

Baros’s angry footsteps echoed in the palace hallway.

Usually, he would pretend to be kind, smiling gently and greeting even the lowest servants. But now, he ignored everyone. Servants and officials bowed to him, but he walked past them quickly, heading to where he wanted to go.

“Louisa went to the McLaine royal family from the Eastern Royal Residence, right?” Baros asked.

“Yes, Your Highness,” Leos replied.

“What are they really doing there?” Baros asked impatiently.

“…Officially, it’s about selling goods and suggesting a marriage,” Leos said.

“I know that much,” Baros snapped.

Baros’s voice was sharp with impatience. He was clearly losing control.

Leos, a handsome man with smooth blue hair, sighed quietly and continued to speak.

“If they marry someone in the McLaine royal family, the Eastern Royal Residence will probably try to control McLaine’s government. For the King of McLaine, it’s a chance to become friends with the powerful Four Direction Kings of the Empire. So, he can’t easily say no.”

“Is that it?” Baros asked, sounding unsatisfied.

Leos bit his lip.

*I don’t have enough information,* he thought.

After Prince Baros disappeared and came back, things were being kept secret from him.

How could he figure anything out when he didn’t even know who “those people” were who had come from the kingdom?

Leos felt stressed, but he gave the best answer he could think of.

“This marriage plan alone probably won’t cause much trouble in McLaine. And it will take a long time. So, “those people” must be doing something else besides what we know about the princess. But I don’t know enough. I need to know more…”

*Please, give me more information,* he was trying to say without saying it directly. But Baros shook his head again.

“I can’t tell you about those people. The less people who know, the better.”

If things went wrong later, he needed to be able to get rid of any connection to them. Being linked to these dangerous people would be a disaster if something happened.

But he couldn’t just wait.

“We can’t just do nothing. What can we do right now?”

“Yes?” Leos asked, surprised.

“We can’t just wait for those people to finish whatever they are doing. We have to do something ourselves.”

Leos’s face suddenly became worried when he heard those words. He remembered Baros’s past mistakes. He could see the same rushed, reckless look on the Prince’s face now.

But he couldn’t say no.

“Right now, there’s only one thing that could really cause chaos in McLaine. But if it goes wrong, the results will be very bad.”

“What is it? Tell me!” Baros demanded.

He couldn’t be careful now. He needed to act.

“Princess Louisa is in the McLaine royal palace right now, isn’t she? If something happened to her there…” Leos’s voice became very quiet.

As Leos spoke, a cruel light appeared in Baros’s eyes.