I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 104

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (105)

Ethan dressed himself in his clothes.

A sword fighting tournament was held, and countless people flocked to the city.

As such, they planned to hold a huge festival along with the sword fighting tournament.

In order to proceed with the festival,

Ethan began to move toward the central square in the city.

The central square was filled with not only commoners but also nobles who had gathered to see the duke.

“His Excellency Duke Ethan, the 18th head of the Ardan family, is entering!”

Poo!

A loud horn sounded, followed by majestic music.

Soon after, the duke ascended the large platform set up in the central square.

“Waaah!”

Cheers erupted from the square, filling the air.

Not only was he reviving the duchy, which had been on the verge of collapse, but he was also known as the most talented of all the dukes in history.

It was only natural that the crowd erupted in cheers so loud they seemed to set the air on fire. Just then, Ethan looked around.

“Huh.”

His eyes lit up.

He sensed tremendous power coming from one of the people in the square.

It was a figure cloaked in black.

He seemed to be hiding his presence, appearing quite ordinary at first glance.

However, his power was not enough to deceive Ethan’s senses, which had reached the peak of mana control.

“Count Marek.”

He was a superhuman Ethan had faced before.

He was on par with that man. There were few warriors in the west who possessed such power.

Who could it be?

After a moment of thought, a person came to Ethan’s mind.

The Marquis of Turian.

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“He’s an impatient man.”

He clearly remembered telling him to wait, but he couldn’t wait and came to the duke’s domain himself.

Ethan smiled quietly as he looked at him and took out his sacred sword.

It was a huge sword with a contrasting white hilt and black blade.

The villagers’ eyes lit up when they saw the sword.

The hilt was made of tree branches.

The legend of the sacred sword was already well known to them.

Then, it happened.

Hwa-rak!

The duke, whose sword blade was engulfed in white flames, spoke.

“Today is a day of celebration. Eat, drink, and be merry!”

As soon as the duke finished speaking, he swung his sword toward the sky.

Mana in the form of white flames began to fly toward the sky.

It looked like a phoenix from a legend.

The mana emitted by the duke was flying through the air in the shape of a giant bird.

The people of the domain cheered as they looked up at the spectacular sight.

While the people were simply enjoying the scene before their eyes, the Viscount of Turian was different.

He was silently expressing his shock.

“What is this!”

Not only was he able to give shape to mana, but he was also able to control it to the point where he could float it in midair and move it around at will?

Even he himself could not easily display such a sight.

The duke’s achievement was several levels beyond what he had heard from Count Marek.

Suddenly, he remembered the duke’s gaze that had suddenly turned toward him earlier. He felt uneasy. Soon after, the marquis shook his head.

“He couldn’t have recognized me.”

He was a master who had surpassed even superhumans. No matter how outstanding the duke’s achievement was,

It was impossible for him to recognize someone who had hidden his presence so perfectly.

He must have looked like an ordinary passerby to anyone watching.

That was when it happened.

“We will begin a festival more spectacular than any other city!”

At the height of the excitement, the duke shouted loudly, filled with mana.

“Waaah!”

Amidst the cheers and shouts, the festival of Londinium began.

* *

Thanks to the crowds gathered for the festival, it was not difficult to enter Londinium.

All one needed was a carefully forged ID card to enter the city immediately.

The viscount recalled a memory from the past.

Five years ago.

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The Marquis of Turian had visited Londinium himself.

The city was not like this back then.

The streets were filled with starving serfs, commerce was in shambles, and despair filled the city.

But now.

“…Has it changed?”

Londinium was changing so much that the change was obvious at a glance.

Basically, the appearance of the serfs was different.

Residents passed by the main road with smiles full of hope on their faces.

The voices of merchants selling goods rang out vigorously throughout the streets, and old buildings were being replaced one by one with neat and clean new structures.

“It’s full of vitality.”

Even the spirits he controlled were stirred by the vivid energy rising within the city.

The viscount quietly marveled.

However, he was not simply marveling. A sense of caution slowly rose between his pupils.

He recalled the rumors about Ethan. He was known to have unparalleled talent as a knight.

However, looking at the scene before him now,

it seemed that he was not simply skilled with a sword.

“Does he have that talent in politics as well?”

It had not even been three months since the duke’s territory was restored. It was not enough time to transform such a huge city.

The fact that he had accomplished that meant that he was not just a man who was good with a sword.

As the marquis wandered around the city, he began to see something very strange.

People were lined up in front of a tavern.

If it had just been a line of people, he would have thought it was a place with amazing food and passed by without a second glance.

However, there were several things that caught the marquis’s eye.

It was…

[Tavern Festival!]

―One of the shops offering half-price drinks and food during the festival!

―Try card games for free!

Along with promotional signs plastered on the tavern.

[Special Card Bundle Sale]

―Limited time sale during the festival!

―50 silver per bundle.

―Due to limited stock, each person can only purchase up to ten bundles.

“Give me a hundred bundles of the special card bundle!”

“Um… Count Halaym. We have a limited supply…”

“What are you doing? I’m a count! Sell them to me first!”

“It was a special order from His Highness the Duke. I apologize.”

“Ugh…”

“If anyone hears you, they’ll think you’re the only count in the world! Sell it to me first! I’ll buy ten bundles!”

“Me too! Please give me ten bundles!”

It was a scene where a group of people who looked like nobles were buying something called a “special card bundle” with bundles of money in their hands. That scene was not only visible to the nobles.

On the opposite side of where the nobles were gathered, commoners were crowded together, buying card bundles.

[General Card Bundle Sales Booth]

―50 cuper per bundle.

―Enjoy an exciting game at a reasonable price!

“50 cuper? That’s incredibly cheap! Isn’t that the price of three chicken skewers?”

“That’s right! I tried it earlier, and it was really fun. Let’s buy some and take them with us.”

“Okay. Give us ten card bundles!”

“Five here too!”

“I’ll take thirty!”

“What?”

The people who handed over their money received small boxes.

They immediately opened the boxes and took out the cards inside.

“What? There are no legendary cards?”

“Oh! It’s a rare card! Hehe. I won.”

“This one even has a unique card in it!”

“What… What! A unique card? Is that really true, Baron Murenton?”

“Look here. Can’t you see the beautiful purple color?”

The marquis, who had been eavesdropping on the conversation, opened his mouth wide.

If it had been commoners behaving like that, it would have been understandable.

However, what made the marquis’s hair stand on end was that

the people cheering like that were the heads of the noble families of the central region, Count Belmont and Count Halayim.

“…What on earth is this card game?”

Marquis Turian.

He naturally looked toward the tavern. He could see a very long line stretching between the taverns.

If he revealed his identity, he could ignore the line, but this was not his territory.

After a moment’s hesitation, he used the wind spirit to hide his body and began to enter the tavern.

* *

“…What is this?”

Turian looked at the calendar.

A week had already passed since he had decided to analyze Londinium by looking around the city.

What had he done during that week?

It was simple.

Card games.

He had enjoyed them incessantly.

He started with a special card pack that could only be purchased ten at a time, and then moved on to regular card packs that could be purchased in unlimited quantities.

His pocket space was already filled with hundreds of card packs.

“…Heh heh.”

It had been a long time since he had enjoyed a game so much.

It was a game that seemed more lively and unpredictable than chess.

The only downside was that luck played a big role.

“Even that was fun.”

That was because the essence of the game was a fierce battle of wits combined with luck. Soon, the viscount’s expression slowly hardened.

“Duke Ethan. You are truly a formidable man.”

The essence of card games.

It wasn’t just about raking in money.

By turning the people of the duke’s domain into “characters,” it was possible to make them naturally stick in people’s memories.

There were rumors that the duke was planning to actively promote card games, holding not only sword fighting tournaments but also card game tournaments.

“Ardan.”

Even now, it was considered the highest-ranking castle among the citizens of the kingdom.

The more the card game spread throughout the kingdom, the more obvious the phenomenon would become.

The viscount’s heart grew heavy.

“…As expected. There are limits to what can be achieved from behind a desk.”

The viscount smiled bitterly.

―The duke’s domain is developing rapidly.

The report’s core message was nothing more than this one line. At the time, he didn’t think much of it.

However, after visiting Londinium himself over the past week, he realized

that the duke was a man with dangerous potential.

“Power. Strategy.”

He was truly extraordinary.

The marquis, who had been lost in thought for a moment, stood up from his seat.

“I’ve looked into all the internal affairs.”

Now it was time to take a look at the main tournament of the sword fighting competition that was to begin today.

By watching those matches, he would be able to see with his own eyes just how sharp the swords of the duke’s family were.

The marquis hurriedly made his way there and soon arrived at the large training ground inside the castle.

He was waiting for the finals to begin, seated in one of the reserved seats.

A person wearing a black robe like his sat down next to him.

The marquis paid no attention to the person next to him. He did not sense any particular aura from him.

He judged him to be no more than a knight of moderate skill.

At that moment.

“Did you enjoy the city tour, Turian Marquis?”

“……!”

The voice of someone very familiar came from the seat next to him.