Regressor Of The Fallen Family [EN]: Chapter 88

Patrick looked up from his reports. “By the way,” he said, “do you and the Duchess ever spend time together, just the two of you?”

Logan was busy reading troop training updates. He looked up, confused. “Pardon?”

“The Duchess, Aileen. You are engaged, even if the ceremony hasn’t happened yet. But you both seem to be working all the time. It feels a bit cold, Logan.”

Logan replied, unsure what to say. “Ah… Haha. Yes, you’re right. I should visit her when things calm down…” He looked back down at his desk, avoiding his father’s eyes.

Patrick didn’t let it go. “Even though I’ve given you so much work, I don’t want to stop you from romance, son. I’ll take over for today. Go and relax.”

“Really?”

“Yes! Spend the day with Aileen. She is free today too.”

Logan started to protest. “Father, I…”

“I’m not forcing you to marry her. You two liked each other enough to get engaged, so don’t delay! Go on, quickly!”

*Bang!*

Patrick pushed Logan out of the office and slammed the door.

Logan stared at the closed door, stunned. He sighed quietly. *A civil war is coming. There’s no time for dates,* he thought. *But Father is so insistent.*

Maybe one day wouldn’t hurt. Without thinking, his steps became lighter as he walked away.

“Milady!” Lyla called, bursting into the room.

Aileen grumbled from under the blankets. “Go away! I’m staying in bed all day!”

Lyla didn’t give up. “You can’t! Lord Logan is here to see you!”

“What?!”

Aileen’s eyes flew open. One moment she was half-asleep, wanting to stay hidden under the covers forever. The next, she was wide awake, all thoughts of sleep gone. She jumped out of bed. “Lo-Lord Logan? Why?”

Lyla said excitedly. “Oh, Milady! It’s obvious! It’s a date! A date! I was starting to wonder when he would come!” Her happy words made Aileen’s cheeks turn pink.

*A date?* Aileen thought, surprised. She had scared off so many annoying suitors in the past that she thought dates were something she’d never have to worry about. Now, she felt flustered and confused.

Lyla said, pushing Aileen towards the bathroom. “What are you waiting for? Go wash up! I’ve already drawn your bath!”

Aileen stammered. “Oh! Yes, yes!”

Lyla beamed. “I’ll get your clothes ready. Finally, I can bring out *the* dress!”

Aileen asked, still dazed. “D-dress?”

Lyla insisted, gently but firmly pushing Aileen into the bathroom. “You’re not going on a date in armor, are you? Hurry and wash!”

Three hours later, Logan waited outside. When Aileen finally appeared, he almost didn’t recognize her.

Aileen said, a little breathless. “I-I’m so sorry I’m late, Lord Logan. Did you wait long?”

Logan started to say, “It’s alright,” but his words stopped as he really looked at her.

She wore a dress he’d never seen before. It was white silk, with tiny blue flowers scattered across it. The dress showed off her slim waist and flowed around her like water when she moved. A thick shawl covered her shoulders, but underneath, he could see the delicate fabric. Around her neck and in her ears, she wore sparkling amethyst jewelry that matched the deep red of her hair. She looked stunning.

*Huh!* Logan thought, surprised. He had only ever seen Aileen in practical clothes or armor. He just stared for a moment, speechless.

Aileen’s smile wavered as she saw his expression. Her face fell slightly. “Is it… strange? Are these clothes too much? Maybe they are uncomfortable…”

Logan said quickly. “No! Absolutely not. It’s just… I was surprised, Duchess. You look beautiful. Really beautiful.”

A faint smile returned to Aileen’s face.

Logan smiled back, a little awkwardly. Then, he frowned slightly. “But… won’t you be cold? It’s winter, and that shawl looks thin.”

Aileen said a little too quickly, her smile becoming a bit stiff. “No! I’m warm enough!” She turned her head away, hiding her face slightly.

*Clop. Clop.*

A grand carriage, painted a deep blue and pulled by four strong horses, arrived. People in the estate stopped to stare.

Someone whispered, “What a carriage!”

“It must be Lord Logan’s.”

“But it doesn’t have his crest…”

“Look! It’s for the Archduke’s fiancée!”

Aileen glanced out the carriage window at the whispers. Logan gently placed his own red cloak around her shoulders.

Logan said as they settled into the carriage, “I was thinking, I haven’t shown you the estate properly yet. I thought we could see the town, but… it’s quite cold, even in the carriage. Maybe we should just have tea inside?” Snow fell softly outside, a quiet white curtain. It was pretty, but Logan worried Aileen’s dress and shawl, even with his cloak, wouldn’t be warm enough.

Aileen said firmly. “No, I’m fine. Really, I am.” Her cheeks were a little pink, but she insisted she was okay. Logan didn’t want to argue.

Logan thought, smiling. “Alright then. Let’s go. I’ll show you around.” *She’s a Force user. She’ll be fine,*

Logan pointed. “Over there are the sewers. It smells a little, so let’s not get too close. It’s how we carry waste water from the houses away from the town.”

Aileen commented, wrinkling her nose slightly. “It smells much less than Gran. I thought it was just because Maclane was new.” Gran was the capital city, known for its crowded and less clean conditions.

Logan explained, sounding proud. “No, the sewers here are much better designed. It means people here are cleaner.”

Aileen observed, looking at the townspeople who still watched them from a distance. “I can see more people smiling,”

Their clothes were simple, like common people everywhere, but their faces did seem cleaner, and some did offer small smiles as Logan and Aileen passed.

Aileen wondered, her initial excitement fading. *But besides that… Is this really a date?*

Logan continued, “Actually, if we have enough time…” He went on to explain more about the town’s water system, his voice enthusiastic. But Aileen found herself barely listening. She thought he could have just sent a servant to show her this.

Logan’s cloak was warm around her shoulders, a comforting weight. But inside, she felt a chill growing. This wasn’t what she had imagined. Disappointment settled in her chest, heavy and unexpected.

She thought, feeling a little ashamed. *How silly of me.* What had she expected? This engagement was based on an agreement, not romance.

She tightened her grip on Logan’s cloak, trying to ignore the growing coldness inside.

Logan’s voice became hesitant. “Are you… not enjoying this? I’m sorry. This is all I know how to do…”

Aileen said quickly, waving her hand. “No, no! The town is very interesting. And, uh…” She trailed off, realizing how awkward her words sounded even to her own ears.

Logan’s face became a little stiff. Aileen felt a pang of guilt, but she couldn’t think of anything to say to make it better. Her mind went blank, and she just looked down at her hands, feeling foolish and sad.

Logan thought, equally lost. *Oh dear,* He had no idea what he was doing wrong. His past experiences with women were… limited. He remembered the tough female mercenaries he’d worked with, and the knight who had betrayed him.

He thought with a sad smile. *If you could even call that knowing women,* With so little experience, he doubted anything he said now would make things better.

“Shall we ride horses instead? It would be much more fun than a stuffy carriage, don’t you think?” Logan asked.

To suggest riding horses to a woman in a fancy gown! He was taken aback by his own words.

“Yes, yes! That sounds lovely!” Eileen replied with unexpected enthusiasm.

“Let’s race to the foot of the mountains!” Eileen pointed towards the distant peaks, her eyes bright with excitement. “The loser has to do whatever the winner says! A favour, you know?”

Logan blinked, surprised. “A… favour?”

“Ready, set… go!” Eileen cried, not waiting for an answer.

Her horse whinnied happily and leaped forward. *Clip-clop, clip-clop* went its hooves on the grassy path as Eileen urged it into a gallop. She laughed, the wind tugging at her hair. She had changed quickly into her riding clothes, and now, free from the heavy gown, she felt like she could fly. Eileen always did things her own way, and she wasn’t about to wait for Logan to agree before starting the fun.

She looked beautiful in her dress, but Eileen seemed far more vibrant and suited to riding in her simple combat clothes.

‘Should I have done this sooner?’ Logan chuckled and spurred his horse to follow the path Eileen had taken, a moment behind.

‘Indeed, behaving demurely in a dress doesn’t suit my personality,’ Eileen thought as she laughed freely.

How long had it been since she’d ridden a horse for leisure rather than training? She cheered, feeling the wind rush past her.

“Then, if you’ll excuse me!”

A horse, radiating a shimmer of golden light, seemed to ripple around the horse, shot past her like an arrow.

‘What? Force?’ Momentarily stunned, she laughed in disbelief.

“That’s not fair! I can’t do that yet!” She shouted, quickly spurring her horse to chase after him.

Yet, strangely, in that quick moment, she felt something touch her heart more deeply than all the time they spent in the carriage. It was a feeling she couldn’t explain. Unbeknownst to her, a bright smile had settled on Eileen’s face.

“Whoa there, whoa. Ha! I won. Agreed?”

“Using Force is cheating!”

“Here it is.” Logan puffed out his chest and looked proud, almost like he was showing off. Eileen, who had been scolding him, couldn’t help but chuckle.

Seeing her laugh, Logan also laughed heartily for the first time in a while.

“So, what is your request?”

“Sorry?”

“You said the winner gets to make a request.”

“Ah… haha. Well…”

“What? Did you just run like mad to beat me without any purpose?”

“Ah! Actually, I do have one.”

“What is it?” The person receiving the request looked at him with sparkling eyes.

“I’m getting a bit hungry. Let’s have a meal.”

“……What? That’s it?!”

“The winner’s request.”

“Oh, honestly…!”

“Oh? Were you expecting something else?”

“No, it’s not that…” Seeing her flustered, Logan laughed again, and Eileen, who had been muttering in embarrassment, soon joined in.

It was an afternoon when the lunchbox Lyla had painstakingly prepared tasted especially delicious.

The two, now much closer, continued their ride late into the afternoon, only stopping when they were just outside McLaine Castle, far from the town.

“If we go further, we’ll reach the soldiers’ training grounds. Let’s take another loop elsewhere.”

“Can’t we just go see?”

“Well, there’s no real reason why not, but I might bore you with tedious explanations.”

Eileen chuckled at Logan, who himself admitted it would be boring.

“I’m a knight too! I definitely need to see the soldiers training. It’s not like I’ll be fighting alone.”

“If you insist.” Logan smiled in response, and before long, they were watching the training of nearly a thousand crossbow cavalrymen.

“Fire!”

Quarrels rained down with the command. Horses and riders interchanged ceaselessly. The soldiers moved with clockwork precision, as if gears turning in response to the commands of Chief Instructor Kai, enough to impress even those unfamiliar with military training.

“Truly astonishing. A knight could be taken down if they’re not careful.” Eileen was genuinely surprised by the might of the crossbow cavalry she had only heard about.

Reading her expression, Logan replied with a smile.

“That’s what they’re made for.”

“I heard that crossbow was also developed by the Young Master?”

“I only provided the idea; Hamar made it.”

“I also heard the town was the Young Master’s idea.”

“Haha, yes. Just the idea.”

“There are even rumours that you turned this wasteland into a plain.”

“Ah, yes. It just sort of happened…” Logan smiled awkwardly at the continued praise.

“You’re amazing. But training soldiers and knights like this, are you perhaps thinking about war again?”

The smile faded slightly from Logan’s face at the question.

“Perhaps… was that inappropriate? I just heard rumours…”

He knew that such rumours were inevitable, given the projects he was pursuing. But Logan was honestly a little taken aback, as no one had ever asked him directly about it before.

“No, it’s not that. Um… how should I put it? Ah, I will do anything for the sake of my family. That might mean going to war, and it might also mean avoiding it.”

“Hmm. You don’t seem the type to avoid it.”

“Perhaps…” He wanted to avoid it if possible, but he would fight if he couldn’t. Logan swallowed the words that had risen to his throat and gave a wry smile, and Eileen tilted her head, watching him quietly.

The estate she had seen during her months in McLaine was truly remarkable. The land was so prosperous and the military so strong that it was strange that word hadn’t spread to the capital. And then there was the rapid-firing crossbow, a weapon she had never heard of before. McLaine Town, a developed city unlike any she had seen near the capital, and the smiling faces of its people.

It was hard to believe that all of it had been created by the single man before her, Young Master Logan. Yet, he worked tirelessly and trained whenever he had a spare moment. There were even unbelievable rumours that he didn’t sleep.

‘He seems like someone being chased by something. He’s developed the family so much… why?’ Come to think of it, she rarely saw him smile as brightly as he had when they were riding together earlier. What was he looking at?

She was becoming a little more curious about him. And she wanted to see him smile, rather than wear that troubled expression…

‘No! That’s not it!’

“I asked an unnecessary question. Let’s go back. I’ll treat you to a splendid dinner.”

“Sorry?”

Of course, it would be Lyla who would have to slave away for that splendid dinner. And when Lyla saw Eileen appear in combat attire instead of the pretty dress she had painstakingly dressed her in, she rolled her eyes dramatically, a typical reaction from her, so the dinner appointment had to be postponed until the next time.

And with that as an excuse, Logan and Eileen riding horses and galloping through the estate on the knight’s day off became as commonplace as any other daily scene in McLaine.