Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 8

‘That little… Even when you say nice things, he gets angry!’

Dwayne was very angry inside. He had to keep smiling, but it was hard.

This is the important part now, Dwayne thought. I can’t make a mistake. Not even one wrong word. He took a deep breath.

“In these hard times for the family, three million gold is like rain in a desert. Thanks to your smart thinking, young master, the family can relax a little.”

Dwayne thought, Now, give me the money… He tried to smile like a grown-up, but it didn’t work.

“Why would the family relax? It’s my money, isn’t it? Didn’t you hear Father yesterday?”

Dwayne was shocked by the young boy’s words.

‘Could it be? Is it really happening?’

He felt like his face was going to twitch, but he couldn’t let it.

Dwayne tried to stay calm. He had been the Maclane family’s finance manager for twenty years, so he was very good at looking like a servant.

‘I have to be nice to him… very nice…’

But before he could speak, his assistants started to argue loudly.

“That’s crazy, young master!”

“You can’t spend that much money by yourself!”

“That’s wrong!”

The young master’s face became serious right away.

“What are you doing! How dare you! Get out, all of you!”

Dwayne’s face was even more serious than Logan’s. He yelled first.

The assistants were surprised because Dwayne, who they thought was on their side, was yelling at them. They looked very ashamed and unhappy. They realized they had made a mistake and left, looking like they had lost a battle.

‘Dwayne, please think about the food first.’

‘No, the castle walls!’

‘The soldiers’ equipment…’

They all looked at Dwayne, hoping he could help them.

‘I’ll do my best.’

After they left, Dwayne watched them with a determined look and locked the door.

“Haha. Young master, my assistants were very rude. They are usually more sensible, but the family is in such a bad situation… Haha.”

“Is the family really in such a bad situation?”

‘Great!’

Even though his assistants were not helpful, they had still done something good.

Dwayne tried not to clench his fists and spoke with a slightly sad look.

“As you know, we owe Kupers Bank three million gold. The interest alone is…”

“150,000 gold.”

“…You knew?”

“Yes. I heard it from Kupers yesterday. After I put three million gold in the bank, that is.”

Dwayne swallowed hard as he looked at the deposit paper in the young master’s hand.

“Then it will be easier to talk. The interest is almost due, and if we pay that debt, the family will be safe for years…”

“Isn’t it harvest time now? We should be able to pay the interest, right? And they will give us more time to pay.”

‘…How does he know so much? Even the head of the family doesn’t know this much about banking…’

Dwayne was confused for a moment but quickly calmed down. That wasn’t important.

“Haha. Running the land costs money, and we never have enough. If you could just help us a little…”

Dwayne’s request was not as strong as he had planned. He didn’t even realize it.

“You want me to help pay for the land?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

It worked!

Dwayne was about to start cheering inside…

“Sorry, but no.”

The calm voice made his good mood disappear quickly.

“No? Why?!”

Dwayne shouted without thinking.

The young master’s strong look made him a little scared, but he tried hard for the family.

He had to stop the money from being wasted.

“Why, why is that? I thought you were going against the head of the family to help the land?!”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“See? That’s… What?”

“I will use this money for the family. But not to pay for things right away. We need to plan for the future.”

He had never thought of that answer, and it did not make Dwayne feel better. He felt like he would explode.

‘What do you know? Just let me do it!’

Dwayne stopped himself from saying what he really thought and took a breath.

“For the future…?”

“Let’s say I help pay for the land and pay off the debt. How much will that really change things?”

“Well… we will have more money, so it will be easier to manage things for a few years. It will be a good change.”

Logan smiled a little at Dwayne’s answer. It was what he expected.

“And then what?”

“……Yes?”

“We’ll be in debt again, won’t we? We don’t have anything special to sell. It’s a bad pattern.”

“Ahem. Th, th-that’s…”

“I’m trying to stop that bad pattern. So, I’ll use this money the way I planned.”

‘W-wait. Is this the same young master I knew? The one who didn’t think?’

Had the young master always been this smart? Dwayne was surprised as he calmly pointed out the main problem.

Still, he had to ask one thing.

“Ahem. H-how, how will you use it for the family? Can you tell me your plan?”

Dwayne tried his best to ask politely and carefully.

“No. You don’t need to know.”

Dwayne could not be patient anymore after hearing that.

For the family? This little kid is playing with him. He was sure of it.

“You little…”

Dwayne was about to get angry and yell…

“I’ll show you what I can do.”

The strong red eyes made Dwayne try to stay calm.

“……I’ll save it, no matter what. I must. No matter what it takes.”

He mumbled the words quietly, as if he were talking to himself. But Logan’s sad eyes showed how serious he was.

‘What is this…?’

He seemed more serious than Dwayne, even though Dwayne was worried about the money for this month.

‘Why?’

Why did the young master, who had made a lot of money even though people criticized him, look so desperate?

‘He’s different…’

The way he looked when he pointed out the problems, it was like he wasn’t the Logan he knew.

Logan smiled sadly when he saw Dwayne’s confused face.

Even though he had come to get money, Dwayne was a loyal servant of the Maclane family, as everyone knew.

He felt sad that he couldn’t tell Dwayne everything.

But he didn’t have time to feel sad.

‘Now that things are like this, let’s give that job to Dwayne. And give him some money too…’

He suddenly had an idea. It was sudden, but he thought it was good, so he said it right away.

“Ah. I want to ask Dwayne to do something for the family. In that area.”

“……What do you want me to do?”

“If you do what I ask, I might give you some money for the family.”

Dwayne swallowed.

“Tell me.”

“I want you to get some mercenaries for the family.”

“……Mercenaries?”

“Yes. Well… they don’t have to be the best. They cost too much. Just mercenaries who can ride horses. Ah, C-grade would be good. At least 300 C-grade mercenaries who can ride horses. Understand?”

Dwayne’s face changed a lot when he heard the details and numbers.

“Three hundred C-grade mercenaries?”

Mercenaries were like soldiers you hired for a short time, especially when there was a war. They were used to add more fighters quickly. But the lowest ranks, E and D, were only good for simple tasks. In a real battle, they were sent to the front lines and many would die.

Mercenaries ranked C and higher were different. People saw them as real fighters, strong and skilled enough to fight trained soldiers. Fighting was their whole life, the clang of swords and axes their daily music. This made them tough, and sometimes hard to control, like wild dogs.

When there were more than 300 of these mercenaries, even Maclane, the Baron, had to pay attention.

Dwayne couldn’t help but ask why. “Why does the Young Master need so many mercenaries?”

Logan couldn’t tell him the real reason: that he needed a force he could control because he didn’t have the authority to use the family’s soldiers. ‘They’d never allow it,’ he thought.

So, he gave Dwayne an excuse he had ready.

“I’m thinking of going monster hunting.”

“Pardon?” Dwayne asked, surprised.

“To get experience and help protect the territory.”

“…Are you serious?”

Of course, it was a lie.

‘It’s easier to ask forgiveness than permission. Once I’ve gathered the mercenaries…’ Logan thought.

Logan looked confident, hiding his true thoughts.

“It’s hard to gather hundreds of people on my own. Even if I could, it would take too long. So, I want Dwayne to gather them in the family’s name.”

That was the fastest way to do it.

“That’s true, but…” Dwayne hesitated. He knew it made sense, but he wasn’t convinced.

It was understandable. Even if they were mercenaries, it meant bringing another armed group into the territory.

That needed the Baron’s permission, no matter what.

While Dwayne thought hard, Logan looked relaxed. But for a moment, Logan felt a tiny worry in his stomach. What if Dwayne *did* refuse?

‘He can’t refuse,’ Logan thought.

He was offering money and promising to help the territory. Dwayne had begged him for money, so he couldn’t refuse.

‘If Father refuses, he’ll persuade him,’ Logan thought.

So, Dwayne’s hesitation was expected.

“How much will you give?” Dwayne asked.

Logan smiled because he knew Dwayne had agreed, even if he didn’t say ‘yes’ directly yet.

“I’ll give you 100,000 gold.”

“Only…”

“Take it or leave it.”

Dwayne felt a headache coming on because Logan was so firm.

“…If the Lord doesn’t allow it, I can’t do anything,” Dwayne said.

“Then I’ll take the money back.”

“It’s the Young Master’s family.”

“It’s my father’s family, and it’s my money I’m spending.”

Logan looked straight into Dwayne’s eyes, not blinking. Dwayne’s gaze was just as strong for a second, but then he looked down, defeated.

Dwayne, the administrator, always had money problems. He lowered his head first, and that meant the deal was finished.

Logan gave Dwayne the huge amount of 100,000 gold and started getting ready to leave the territory right away.

He had just come back from training, but he wouldn’t be gone for long.

‘A month at most. That should be enough,’ he thought.

This was something Logan had planned from the beginning. It was important for him to do it. But, as expected, the people around him did not understand.

“Young Master, are you really leaving?” Rick asked, worried.

“Yes,” Logan replied.

“No, but why?”

“There are many reasons, but if I had to pick one… to make money?”

“Don’t you have plenty of money already!”

“I need much more.”

“What does that…”

Rick was confused, but Logan was serious.

In just a year, the Territory War would begin, and in ten years, the Imperial War would erupt.

What was most important to protect the family and survive? It was simple: a strong military force, overwhelming strength.

And to get that power, he needed money.

Whether it was getting more soldiers, more knights, better equipment, or storing food, it all cost money.

That was why Logan needed money. Much more than he had now.

‘Even if I don’t worry about the Territory War, facing the Empire…’

He couldn’t even guess how much money he would need.

That was why he was leaving the territory now, to start making money.

“The Lord won’t allow it,” Rick said. His voice trembled, and he wrung his hands.

No matter how good his reasons, there was a problem. Logan was still young. He hadn’t even had the ceremony to mark him becoming an adult.

Also, the family didn’t approve of him for many reasons, so they wouldn’t like him going on a trip.

Rick was right, and Logan knew it.

“You’re probably right,” Logan admitted.

“I am… Huh?” Rick blinked, surprised.

“So, I’m thinking of sneaking out.”

“Eeeh?!” Rick exclaimed.

If history stayed the same, the Territory War would start in less than nine months.

If he couldn’t change things within the family, he had to make changes from the outside.

‘Luckily, there are many things I can do from the outside,’ he thought.

It was strange that he only thought of it after the engagement was broken.

Logan knew more about what happened outside the family during this time than what happened inside.

‘Because I was kicked out and wandered around the kingdom,’ he remembered.

The information he knew was still very valuable.

If he used it well, the 2.9 million gold he had could be worth much more.

‘Of course, I have to prepare for the Territory War for now. So, as quickly as possible…’

He had to find a way to increase his forces from the outside and come back.

Of course, no one else understood what he was thinking.

“What on earth are you thinking! Running away now! What will the Lord think…” Rick cried. His face was pale, and his voice trembled.

It had only been a few months since he thought Logan was getting better, and now he was causing trouble again.

He was even trying to run away, not just cause problems in the family.

‘What about me!’ Rick thought, his hands fidgeting.

So, he lay down on the floor.

“If you’re going, take me with you! Otherwise, you can’t go! Absolutely not!”

He had to clean up Logan’s messes. He couldn’t handle Logan running away on top of everything else.

But Logan had other plans.

“I’ll leave a letter. No one will blame you.”

“That’s what you think, Young Master!”

“…I’m going to write it directly to Father?”

“Wh-What are you going to write? Something that will make him even angrier?”

“Of course!”

It would be different if the Lord allowed Logan to run away.

But the next day…

“The one who stubbornly insisted and squeezed out money is saying what?!” The Lord shouted, his face red with anger.

Rick had to endure the Lord’s anger and wet himself.

Due to the great heartbreak caused by the broken engagement, I will take a break to get some fresh air and return.

Logan, respectfully.