Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 35

When Phillip heard what Logan said, he looked confused.

“A thief? And you, Logan, couldn’t catch them?”

“Not at all. I couldn’t even touch them. I also didn’t really sense them moving.”

“Hmm. That means they must be a strong Force User, at least ‘upper-level’. It’s strange that someone like that would steal.”

Phillip had only heard how skilled Logan was. So, he thought it was simple.

But Logan couldn’t accept it so easily.

When Logan meditates, his senses become much stronger than normal.

Even with the Force Core making him stronger and his senses sharper, and with his focus from meditation, he could barely sense them.

‘Upper level is not right. They are at least a ‘top-tier’ Force User. No, even that might not be enough. It wasn’t just skill. It felt like something completely different. Could it be…?’

It’s bad to think the enemy is weaker than they are, but it’s also bad to think they are stronger than they are.

So, Logan tried not to guess too quickly. But his gut feeling told him his guess was right, even though he had no proof.

“An Aura User… a thief? What utter nonsense….”

He couldn’t help but chuckle at the absurdity of his own thoughts.

Aura Users are stronger than Force Users. They have power that is beyond everything else. They are truly superhuman.

Even if they were born ordinary, they could become nobles right away. If they went to the Empire, they could even become counts. That’s how powerful they are.

And would an Aura User really steal something small?

Phillip also waved his hands, not believing it.

“Come on, Logan. You’re going too far. Don’t say such silly things. Just check if anything is missing.”

“Almost nothing, but…”

“……Almost?”

“We packaged our Imporic properly, right?”

“Of course. We’re selling it to nobles. We checked several times… Wait? Could it be?”

“Two Imporic pills are missing from one box. It’s too unclear, which is worrying, but that’s all that’s missing.”

If someone wanted to steal, why not take the whole box?

Opening the box and taking just two pills is very strange.

‘We might have made a mistake in the packaging, but….’

It seemed highly likely that the thief had taken them.

But connecting it with the previous speculation made it even stranger.

An Aura User stole just two doses of a love potion.

‘Why on earth?’

An Aura User who had awakened to the pinnacle of Force and wielded the superior power of Aura.

Aura Users are superhuman. They are much stronger and healthier than normal people. Even in terms of having children.

So, most Aura Users have many wives and many children, sometimes dozens!

Why would an Aura User need a love potion?

‘No. Imporic is not just a love potion. It’s said to be a miracle cure. It can even help with problems having children. Could that be it?’

Again, it was just a hunch, with no clear evidence.

Then, Logan had a sudden feeling and said to Phillip.

“That data from before! Did that data include Aura Users?”

“What? That was top secret, and they charged extra for it, so you refused, Logan. You said it wasn’t necessary.”

“Ah, right. Then…”

“Didn’t you say you didn’t need the data because you already knew everything?”

“What?”

“There’s only one Aura User in the capital, isn’t there? The one without any descendants.”

“Ah!”

It was a distant memory for Logan.

He suddenly remembered information about Aura Users, the most powerful people. He never thought he would have anything to do with them.

There are five Aura Users in the Grandia Kingdom. Two of them live in the capital city.

One of them was like that. An Aura User who was very strong and healthy, and should have been able to have many children, but he had no children at all.

The morning sun warmed the cobblestones of the street as children chased each other, their shouts and laughter echoing in the clear air. It was a scene that should have brought a smile to anyone’s face – a picture of pure joy. But Felix, watching from the tall window of his grand, grey mansion, felt only a cold bitterness settle in his heart. The sounds of children, usually so cheerful, were like tiny knives twisting inside him.

‘Children…….’

He had lived a life without regrets. A life to be proud of.

He could say for sure that he had lived a life everyone would admire.

And most people who knew him would agree.

But, if he had one regret in his proud life, it was that he had no children.

Only that one thing.

Of course, he never showed these feelings to anyone.

Having only one regret in life also meant he was very happy.

He wasn’t greedy or foolish enough not to know that.

But sometimes, when he saw happy, cute children like now, he felt a small pain deep in his heart, like a needle prick.

Even when he tried to look away, he could only smile sadly.

“……What are you looking at?”

Then, a beautiful voice familiar to him made him turn around hastily.

“Ah! My dear. Haha, I was just enjoying the scenery outside for a moment. The wind is chilly; I must have opened the window for no reason. Let’s go inside.”

He felt silly for saying the warm summer breeze was chilly.

His beloved wife’s eyes were already fixed on the children outside.

“You, again…….”

Pain flickered in her large eyes.

Her look hurt him even more.

So, before she could say anything more, he quickly stepped forward.

“No, I was just enjoying the scenery outside. Don’t think unnecessary thoughts. Come now, let’s go inside.”

The pain started with him, but he was making it worse again.

He hid his sad face and quickly turned around. Then, suddenly, he was hugged.

Soft hands hugged him from behind.

“You know I’m happy we’re together, right?”

He felt a lump in his throat and looked up at the ceiling for a moment.

“Yeah… me too. More than anything.”

He answered a little late because of that, but his words were truly sincere.

“So don’t be in too much pain. We…… are together, aren’t we?”

It was such a grateful thing to say, but that was why he couldn’t look at his wife’s face even more.

Maybe it was because he was getting older, but he felt tears coming again.

He just kept touching the small, soft hands that hugged him and looked at the plain ceiling.

Felix Esperanza. This was the regret in the heart of the man known as the kingdom’s greatest swordsman.

Long ago, when he was young, something bad happened.

He was hurt in a battle for his country. The injury was to his groin. For a man, this was a very serious problem.

When he was younger, he didn’t worry about it much.

He was living the life he chose, and the injury happened while he was doing what he loved.

He used to say, “A knight got hurt fighting for his country. It’s just a wound to be proud of.”

He didn’t want to show it off, but he wasn’t embarrassed by it either.

He thought he was just disappointed.

But as he got older, the regret in his heart grew stronger and stronger. It became a deep, painful sadness.

He started thinking, “I need to have children to carry on my family name.”

When he turned fifty and became famous as the strongest man in the kingdom, this thought hit him hard.

What was the point of making his land bigger and becoming more famous?

If he had no child to take over after him, it all felt empty and pointless.

This regret was the reason he trained so hard when he was young.

Now, it felt like a constant ache, a deep sadness that wouldn’t go away.

Then, he met the woman who is now his wife.

At first, he thought he felt sorry for her.

She was a young woman, full of life, but her eyes looked so sad, like she was losing hope. He just wanted to make her happy again.

Felix didn’t understand it was love at first.

She was very thankful to him. More than that, she showed him clearly that she loved him.

At first, he felt a little uncomfortable with this. He even told her about his injury right away, without holding back.

– Oh, how much pain you must have suffered.

When he saw her cry, even more sadly than he felt himself, it was like the sadness in his heart, which he thought was just regret, started to disappear.

In that moment, he finally understood what love was. And he also understood her pain.

– If you will let me, my lord, please let me stay with you. I will be grateful to you forever.

He felt he didn’t deserve her. He didn’t deserve such love.

Despite his advisors disagreeing, they got married.

Ten years had passed since he married his wife.

They were happy years, but the sadness in his heart was still there.

In fact, because everything else was so good, he couldn’t stop thinking about that one regret.

Because of this regret, he sometimes did silly things.

“Ahem,” he cleared his throat. “I have some work to do, my dear. I might be a little late.”

“Are you sure you’re okay?” his wife asked, worried.

“Of course! Who do you think I am?” He puffed out his chest, trying to look strong and young, even though he was almost seventy. Anything was better than letting his wife see him cry.

“The report is finished,” the adjutant said quietly.

“Good job,” Felix replied.

But even though the report was done, the adjutant didn’t leave. Felix knew he had something else to say.

“Louis, if you have something on your mind, just say it.”

“My lord… well… it’s about… that thing again…”

Duke Felix frowned at his adjutant’s nervous words.

“Adoption again?”

“Yes… The advisors are really pushing for it.”

“Do they want me gone already?” Felix asked, annoyed.

“No, my lord! They are just worried about who will lead the family after you.”

“Hmph! I don’t want to hear it! How many times do I have to say no? By the time I die, the distant relatives they’re talking about will be old men themselves! And they want to choose my heir now?”

He was almost seventy years old. But because he was known as the strongest ‘Aura user’ in the kingdom, he looked much younger, maybe forty.

So, what he said about living a long time wasn’t completely wrong. But everyone knew that even the strongest Aura users couldn’t stay young forever.

Unless they became legendary ‘Aura Masters,’ Aura users usually got old suddenly and died.

The advisors knew this and were worried. But they couldn’t just say, ‘We’re worried you’ll die soon!’ So, Louis stayed quiet again.

Felix also felt uneasy seeing Louis like this. He knew he was being unfair.

‘But not yet, not yet,’ he thought.

To him, adopting a child felt like giving up completely on the last hope in his heart. Even though he knew it was almost impossible, he didn’t want to give up yet.

‘Not yet, just a little longer…’ Even if it was silly. Even if it was foolish.

“But, my lord,” Louis said carefully.

“I have something to tell you.”

“What is it?” Felix asked.

“Recently, a medicine that people say is very good has become popular in the capital city.”

“Medicine?”

“Yes… it’s called Imporic. They say it’s very helpful for men…” Louis closed his eyes tightly, waiting for Felix to get angry.

“Is that so,” Felix said quietly.

Louis was surprised. He expected Felix to be angry, but he wasn’t. Feeling braver, Louis quickly added the most important thing he knew.

“They say it’s a miracle medicine! It can even heal injuries!”

“Haa…” Felix sighed.

“Of course, I know you might not believe it, but people who have used it say it really works. Everyone is talking about it.”

“Huh,” Felix chuckled sadly, looking at his adjutant who was still looking down.

Of course, Felix knew Louis was telling him this because he cared. Felix had already heard about this medicine. He had even… ‘I already tried it,’ he thought.

His face turned red as he remembered last night. Yesterday evening, he saw his wife watching children playing outside as the sun went down. She looked just like he felt now, sad and tearful.

Suddenly, he couldn’t control himself anymore. He did something he would normally never do – he stole. He had taken two pills of Imporic, feeling ashamed of himself. He had already swallowed them.

But… nothing happened. No miracle.

“Louis, don’t believe everything you hear. How can a simple medicine fix something that even Aura power can’t?”

He felt foolish for hoping for a miracle.

“I’m sorry, my lord,” Louis said quietly.

It seemed like the day would end with this strange conversation.

“My lord!” A knight rushed in with surprising news.