I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 17

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (17)

Over the past three days, I arrested the baron’s tax collectors like they were trash.

“By now, they must know everything.”

Baron Helmut.

I was looking forward to seeing how he would respond.

If he’s going to resist, he might as well do it thoroughly. The more fiercely he fights back, the greater the satisfaction will be when he’s completely crushed.

“It’ll also serve as an example to the others.”

Although it was the weakest of the ten collateral branches, it was still a member of the Council of Elders.

The more he crushed him, the more the other branches would begin to feel the chill.

Ethan smiled slightly.

Meanwhile, a knock sounded at his door.

“You called me?”

“Come in.”

Meyers opened the door and walked in with long strides. Hans was following close behind him.

“Why did you call me and Hans?”

“You have something to do.”

“What is it?”

“Go to another branch of the family.”

“What? Why are you suddenly acting like this? I’m not going! We made a promise! I said I would protect you!”

“No one is abandoning you. Relax a little.”

Only then did Myers breathe a sigh of relief.

“…Then why are you sending me away?”

“You know roughly what’s going on with the family, don’t you?”

“I know a little. I heard it from the butler.”

After Ethan collapsed.

There were only two heirs left in the family. They were the third son, Theron, and the youngest son, Myers.

Among them, Myers was the one who had been designated as the powerful heir to the family in the past.

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This was because the third son, Theron, had entrusted himself to one of the seven royal families nine years ago.

In other words, he was an outsider. Naturally, Myers, who had remained in the duke’s domain, was given extra points.

Moreover, as he was the heir apparent chosen by the ten collateral branches, many believed that he would become the head of the family unless something unexpected happened.

He looked at Myers and said,

“I’m going to destroy all the collateral branches.”

“Yeah, I thought you would.”

“What will they do if I go crazy like this?”

“Hmm, I wonder how they’ll react… Will they send an assassin?”

Ethan chuckled.

What a naive boy.

“They could send one, but that wouldn’t be a fundamental solution.”

“Why?”

“Let’s assume that I’m killed by an assassin. Would the 10 branches be able to avoid responsibility?”

In this situation, they had formed a council of elders to rule on behalf of the family because they were considered too young.

If the heir died without a successor, the ten branches would not be able to escape responsibility.

Hans nodded. The Grand Duke’s words were correct.

‘The moment the Grand Duke is assassinated, the question of responsibility will arise.

And the target of that responsibility would likely be all ten branches of the collateral line.

Ethan looked at Hans.

Nodding, he immediately explained.

“The more the Grand Prince acts, the more the collateral branches will start pushing the youngest prince to die in his place. Even now, they are acting so violently, so they will think that if the Grand Prince becomes the head of the family, something really bad will happen.”

“Ah…”

“If the youngest prince takes an active stance and relies on the collateral branches, he will receive numerous training resources instead of alcohol and women.”

Myers was the closest person to the heir of the family.

The reason he had been drinking heavily for the past three years was probably because they wanted to make him a puppet head of the family.

However, the situation was different now.

An unexpected variable named Ethan had appeared.

He was the eldest son of the family.

Unless something unexpected happened, it would not be unusual for him to be elected head of the family.

In order to push another heir instead of the crown prince, it was necessary to prove that the heir was at least similar to the crown prince or even better than him.

That way, they could replace the Grand Duke without any problems.

“Ah… So you want me to go to them and pretend to be on their side while getting all the benefits?”

“That’s right, youngest prince! Let me explain the plan. First, go to the Count of Pernes, who is the head of the ten collateral branches of the family…”

Myers began to nod frantically at Hans’ advice.

Ethan felt the same way.

It was a pretty good plan for one that had been made on the spot.

“I got it. So I should act that way?”

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“Yes. The more you act that way, the easier it will be for the Grand Duke to make his move.”

Myers snorted vigorously at the words that would help Ethan.

“I’ll do it. Then I can leave today?”

It didn’t matter.

He had already surpassed the stage of resonance and entered the stage of sowing.

This was because, since receiving the blessing of fire last time, not only had the speed at which he accumulated mana increased, but his affinity for fire had also greatly improved.

If it weren’t for the blessing, he would have had to train for several more months before he could plant the essence of fire.

“Let’s leave tomorrow. I’ll see my sister off. If you leave now, you’ll have to stay there for quite a while.”

“How long will you be gone?”

“More than half a year.”

“That long?”

“Yeah. Stay there as long as possible.”

The longer he stayed there, the more benefits he would receive from his collateral relatives.

‘If I’m lucky, I might even get some elixir.’

Myers told him everything from the stage after completing the stage of resonance, which was sowing, to the stages of circulation and flowering.

So it won’t be difficult for him to train according to his family’s methods even when he gets there.

“Oh, right. As I mentioned earlier, when you are able to release the black flame, reveal it as slowly as possible. Hans will let you know when the time is right.”

“What? Is the chamberlain coming with me?”

“That is the plan.”

It would be better to send him with Hans, who is quick-witted, than to send him alone, as it would create more opportunities.

So it was better to keep them together. Hans nodded vigorously at Ethan’s words.

“I will do my best to serve the youngest young master according to His Highness’s wishes.”

“Yes.”

The two men left the room.

Ethan looked at the door and thought of his third son, Teron.

After he collapsed, Teron witnessed his family slowly fall into ruin. He had heard that Teron had sought refuge with the Laysian Duke, who was second only to the Ardan Duke in the seven great families of the kingdom.

He said he would learn some other skills there since he couldn’t restore his vision.

That’s what he said before he left.

To Ethan, it seemed like a complete waste of time.

“Their technology is completely worthless. Tsk.”

The most prominent family in the Kingdom of Haidern was the Ardan family, followed by the Reysian family.

That meant they were first and second.

However, the actual difference in their status was not just one rank.

It was like heaven and earth.

Even those words were not enough to express the difference. The Ardan family was not a family that could be bound by the shackles of a kingdom.

There were seven kingdoms in the Western Continent. And then there was the Zeno Empire, which had a territory similar in size to all of those kingdoms combined.

Even compared to all the famous swordsmanship families in those eight countries…

“Our family is several levels above them.”

This fact had already been proven at the continental swordsmanship tournament held once every twenty years.

The Ardan family had won first place five times in the last hundred years.

The Reysian family?

Even if the head of the family came out and fought hard, they would be lucky to make it into the top 16.

“Even if visionary techniques have disappeared, why would you leave your family to learn trivial skills?”

The bloodline is moving to steal the techniques of those who are only second best in the kingdom.

The family has really fallen far.

If I had my way, I would storm into the Duke’s mansion right now and drag the third son out…

“That’s not possible right now.”

Not only was it a long way away, but it was also highly unlikely that the Laysian duke’s family would simply let him go.

It was obvious that there would be friction.

For now, dealing with the ten collateral branches was the priority.

That way, even if there was friction with the seven branches of the kingdom, it could be resolved.

“I’ll have to bring him back later.”

Ethan sighed.

* * *

Ruin Caragas, the third son of the Caragas family.

The carriage he was riding in was now climbing a rough mountain road.

Ruin spat as he looked at the guest house standing on the hill.

“It’s really built in a dirty high place.”

“You are right, young master. I wonder what those bastards are doing to make you suffer like this… My heart is aching so much I feel like it’s going to burst.”

Shuron, one of Ruin’s personal servants, rubbed his palms together.

Ruini’s mood improved slightly at the flattery and he let out a sigh.

“How much should I give them this month?”

“100 gold coins.”

“100 gold coins?!”

Ruini’s eyes widened.

‘I’m sure it was only 1 gold coin two months ago.’

He had been the one to hand over the money every two months, so there was no way he could have forgotten.

He recalled what the baron had told him last night.

“There are rumors that he’s been messing with a knight, so don’t cause any trouble and bring him back politely. While you’re at it, give him the subsidy.”

“Did he really beat up a knight?”

If not, there was no reason for the subsidy to increase a hundredfold.

He felt betrayed.

“He doesn’t give me a penny, but he’s giving that idiot a hundred gold coins?”

Recently, the baron had stopped giving him his allowance.

It was because he had squandered a “small amount” of money on gambling.

He was so stingy with his own son, yet he was willing to give such a large sum of money to a complete stranger.

It made him feel sick to his stomach.

One hundred gold coins was enough to gamble for ten days straight at the gambling house.

Ruin swallowed hard.

“Hey, Shuron.”

“Yes, young master.”

“Let me see that purse for a moment.”

“Yes?”

“Hurry up.”

“…Yes.”

Shuron handed him a purse full of gold coins. Ruin searched the carriage and took out a shabby purse.

“Put 10 gold coins in here.”

Shuron was surprised by his words, but then he felt relieved.

‘At least the youngest young master does think about things.’

Taking 10 gold coins was enough to cover his expenses.

Just as he finished dividing the gold coins,

Ruin tucked the pouch containing 90 gold coins into his bosom.

“…Young master?”

“What?”

“Are you planning to give me only 10 gold coins?”

“Yes.”

What a crazy kid!

Unable to utter the curse, Shuron asked cautiously.

“If the Grand Duke gets angry…”

“Why would he get angry?”

“Huh?”

“Last time, you only gave us one gold coin. You were even planning to give us less than that. But ten gold coins is ten times more than that!”

“…”

“And if we don’t do anything, what are they going to do? What has the Grand Duke done that we have to bow our heads and welcome him? Do they still think they are the former Duke’s family?”

Ruin chuckled.

The ignorant commoners still thought that the Duke of Ardan was the best, but cultured nobles like himself were different.

The duke’s family looked fine on the outside, but they had been rotten to the core for a long time.

“Thanks to that, our viscount’s family was spared.”

Fifteen years ago.

After most of the direct descendants of the duke’s family died, the collateral branches took on the role of acting head of the family.

The Caragas family was one of the collateral branches.

When his father became one of the elders of the duke’s family, he was able to reap many benefits.

It was a bonus that he was connected to the seven noble families of the kingdom, which were considered the most prestigious families, and received many privileges.

The duke’s children?

Not only had they not yet formally inherited the family name, but they were also nothing more than fools who couldn’t even speak up for themselves in front of the Lurins.

Even though the amount of financial support had been steadily reduced over the past ten years, they couldn’t even make a single complaint.

“What can they do?”

The outcome would be no different this time.

Lu-in smiled slyly as he held the gold.

“This should be enough to live on for ten days. Let’s finish this quickly and go. I have a good feeling that we’ll get a lot today.”

“Yes, young master.”

The carriage arrived in front of the log house. The two men who got out of the carriage looked toward the courtyard.

They saw someone swinging a sword.

“Is that the duke’s son?”

“Yes, I think so.”

Ruin jingled his pocket.

The hunting lodge.

Compared to the viscount’s mansion, it was a very shabby place.

“What a beggar.”

Anyone living in a place like this would be dazzled by the gold the moment they saw it.

It was just as Ruin took a step forward.

Ethan spun around.

Their eyes met naturally.

“Who are you?”

“I don’t care. Just take this.”

Ruin sneered and threw his purse at the man.

Clink!

A few gold coins fell out of the pouch, rolling around before coming to rest at Ethan’s feet.

An absurd situation.

It was enough to make one laugh involuntarily.

“Hah.”

What the hell is this guy doing?