I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 2

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (2)

The Kingdom of Haidern.

It was one of the seven kingdoms in the Western Continent.

Although it was the smallest kingdom, the Ardan family was considered the best swordsmanship family in the kingdom.

Even when humanity was on the brink of extinction due to the dragon clan’s invasion, they didn’t live in such a shack.

What?

“We’ve lived here for over ten years?”

Elena quietly nodded.

“Wow, really…”

It was so surprising that it gave her goosebumps. Even when she faced the Dragon Lord, she didn’t feel this creepy.

“Why? Fifteen years ago, our family suffered great losses fighting the dragon lords. Shouldn’t the king have given you something in return?”

They sacrificed their lives for the country. Isn’t it only natural that they should receive something in return?

It made me wonder what the kingdom had been doing while the descendants of the duke’s family were living like this.

If the king had really abandoned the duke’s family without giving them anything, I would have cut off his head.

Just thinking that such a stupid man was sitting above us was enough to make me sick.

Elena shook her head at his words.

“No, Ethan. We received compensation for our sacrifice.”

“Compensation? What did you receive that allows you to live like this?”

“Immunity.”

“Immunity?”

“His Majesty Sigmund, the 17th king, said he would treat our duke’s family as guardians of the kingdom.”

“Wait a minute. Sigmund?”

“Yes.”

It was a name I had never heard before.

‘Has even the king changed?’

Well,

considering that we signed a non-aggression pact with those damn dragon-headed creatures, it wasn’t surprising that the king of a country would change.

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“So?”

“As the heir to the family, you will be granted immunity from punishment for any wrongdoing, as long as you do not commit treason.”

“Only me?”

“Yes. Only you. As far as I know, that right will be passed down to your descendants for three generations.”

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

He realized that Sigmund wasn’t as incompetent as he had thought. The right to be forgiven for any wrongdoing, as long as it wasn’t treason.

This was tremendous power.

It meant that if there was a nobleman he didn’t like, he could beat him half to death and still be innocent.

No, in fact, he could kill him and still be innocent.

Of course, it would be a little obvious if he went around cutting off people’s heads, but…

Still, it seemed like something he could use to his advantage at the right moment.

But…

Ethan’s generosity was too limited to forgive Sigmund for just that.

“But surely that’s not all?”

“He gave you a lot of gold and silver.”

“Wait… a lot?”

“Yes, a lot.”

“Where did all that gold and silver go?”

“…It’s being kept by the family.”

“This isn’t our family’s house?”

“No. After you collapsed, our entire family was expelled.”

“So we’re living in a hunting lodge because the duke’s family went bankrupt?”

Ethan was momentarily taken aback.

Anger erupted in his head like a volcano.

“Who could have driven us out of our family?”

“…The collateral branches of the family. Ten years ago, after you collapsed, they began to show their true colors.”

“The collateral branches?”

What Elena told him after that was beyond belief.

After his grandfather and father, who were direct descendants of the family, died in the war against the Yongin clan,

the previous king, Zigmund, ordered the establishment of a council of elders in the duke’s family.

The council of elders was an institution that could act as a proxy for the head of the family, consisting of ten members selected from among the remaining collateral branches.

The reason for establishing the council of elders was simple.

At that time, the remaining direct descendants of the duke’s family were too young to rule the family.

On top of that, I, who had immunity, could abuse my power at a young age, so they said that a proxy ruler was necessary until I became an adult.

All sorts of reasons were tacked on.

“Damn him. He left a pile of shit at the end.”

Ethan stuck out his tongue.

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As a bonus, his opinion of Zigmund plummeted.

Power is not something that should be entrusted to others.

Look at them now.

As soon as they gained power, those bastards from the collateral line started messing with the family without knowing their place.

“So what about the position of head of the family?”

“We decided that you would become the head of the family when you turn twenty.”

“It’s not definite?”

“It was supposed to be, but a lot has happened in the last ten years.”

“I see.”

He had been down for ten years.

On top of that, before he fell, he had worked very hard for the family.

I was so devoted to restoring the clan’s lost technology that I collapsed for ten years.

“And now I have immunity.”

The collateral branches would never have wanted someone like me to become the head of the clan.

If they did, there could have been a bloody purge.

So, it was obvious that they would have pushed the third or fourth son forward in the past ten years.

“I have about eight months left until I turn twenty.”

Ethan was deep in thought.

“If I had behaved a little better, it wouldn’t have come to this… I’m sorry.”

Elena’s eyes reddened.

After his grandfather and father passed away, not only was the family’s visionary technology lost overnight, but the collateral branches began to enter the family in earnest. Amidst all that, it was his younger brother who struggled alone.

The reason the family had managed to maintain a precarious balance under the rule of the collateral branches was precisely because of her.

However, ten years ago.

After Ethan, who had been learning various techniques to restore the family’s lost vision, collapsed due to a mana surge, the balance began to collapse rapidly and uncontrollably.

As descendants of the family with no real power, she and her siblings had no way to stop the collateral branches.

The result was the current situation.

“Stop crying, sister. It’s not your fault.”

“I should have done something… I should have protected the family…”

Ethan shook his head.

Ten years ago, when he collapsed, his sister was only ten years old.

No matter how early education was provided to the children of nobility, she was far too young to rule the family.

How could she, with no authority, stop the greedy invasion of the collateral branches?

He quietly took Elena’s hand.

Suddenly, he felt her rough hands.

He looked at her hands.

They were rough and calloused.

These were not the hands of a noble lady.

His heart ached.

He didn’t need to see it with his own eyes to know how she had lived these past years.

She must have endured all kinds of hardships to feed herself and her siblings.

That was obvious just by looking at this damn log cabin.

“Sister.”

“Yes.”

“I’m sorry for saying things like dress and donation earlier.”

She was telling her to donate the money she had to buy jewelry and dresses.

Looking at the worn-out clothes she was wearing, it was obvious that she didn’t even have a dress, let alone a few sets of clothes to wear.

To his sister, who had been kicked out of the family and had worked hard to raise her other siblings, those words were nothing short of an insult.

Ethan bowed his head.

“Ethan, look up.”

“…

He raised his head.

Elena was smiling brightly.

“As long as you’re healthy, I’m fine, Ethan. I mean it.”

Suddenly, Ethan’s mother flashed before his eyes. His sister, smiling like that, looked so much like his mother.

“…Did you eat well, sister? Your cooking is better than I thought.”

“You’ve had dinner, so get some rest now. You just woke up. Got it?”

“Got it. You get some rest too, sis.”

“Okay, Ethan. See you tomorrow.”

Elena left the room with an empty bowl in her hands.

Maybe it was because he had woken up after ten years.

Even though they had only exchanged a few words, her body felt tired. Ethan soon fell into a deep sleep.

* * *

Elena woke up to the morning sunlight and went downstairs.

In the living room, Hans, the butler, and several other servants were talking.

Elena sighed inwardly. They were spies sent by the collateral family.

They were like insects, eating food without doing any work.

She had been witnessing this scene for ten years already.

She couldn’t even remember how many times she had told them to just leave.

But even if they left, others would soon take their place, and the same scene would repeat itself.

She had answered Ethan’s question that there were no servants because they were so useless that it was better if they weren’t there.

Elena smiled bitterly.

“I hope Ethan won’t be disappointed when he sees this.”

It had been ten years since her brother had awakened. Not only was his body emaciated, but if he were to be shocked by the reality of his current situation, would he be able to endure it?

Elena approached the butler.

“Butler.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“I would like you to leave today.”

Hans smiled smoothly at her words.

“That would be difficult. It is our duty to stay here.”

“Please.”

“I am a member of the Count of Karagas household. The count ordered me to remain at this villa.”

“I see.”

“I apologize.”

“…I understand.”

Elena passed by the gaze that seemed to pierce through her and headed toward the dining room.

‘I should make something Ethan likes to eat.’

After finishing cooking,

she woke Ethan and took him to the dining room.

The dining room was quite far from the living room on the first floor. It was the moment when the two entered the dining room.

“Sister.”

“Yes.”

“You said there were no servants?”

“Well, there are, but…”

“But?”

“We didn’t hire them.”

“Then who did?”

“They came from several families…”

“They came to help, but they’re just sitting there chatting? Did you make this food yourself?”

“Well…”

“If they’re not going to help, it would be better to just tell them to leave.”

“But then other people will keep coming, and they won’t listen even if we tell them to leave…”

“Just eat first.”

“What about you?”

“I’m going to talk to that friend for a moment. I’ll be right back.”

Before Elena could stop him, Ethan started walking toward the living room.

* *

Hans, the butler, sat down heavily on the sofa.

“I wondered why she made such a request… Was it because the Grand Duke woke up?”

He couldn’t help but laugh when he remembered how Elena had begged him.

Who would think that woman was a descendant of a noble family?

Maybe if she were a lowly maid.

“She really got herself a good job. Hehe.”

The hunting lodge.

It was a place that people in the know referred to as “exile.”

When Hans was sent here from the Caragas family, he was speechless.

He didn’t like the idea of working in exile.

However, after spending a long time here, he realized that this place was much better than he had expected.

The 10 branch families began to make a name for themselves as they formed a council of elders to act as proxies for the head of the duke’s family.

Perhaps because he had been sent there, even the grand duchess did not treat him with disrespect.

Thanks to that, Hans had nothing to do. His daily routine consisted of chatting with the servants and taking it easy.

Still, he received his salary regularly.

Occasionally, if he asked for useful information, the reward was quite generous.

Thanks to that, he had recently been promoted to the rank of quasi-nobility, and on top of that, he had even acquired a stately house in the baron’s domain.

Where else in the world could he find such a sweet job?

“The grand duke, who had been in a coma, woke up after ten years.”

This was information that would earn him a decent reward.

“Heh heh. Prepare the letter.”

“Yes, butler.”

Hans was quietly smiling at his servant when he heard a voice behind him.

“Hey.”

Hans frowned and turned around.

Hans frowned and turned around.

Just then.

Zah!

With a loud sound, Hans’ body flew through the air and slammed into the wall.

He flew so hard that the log wall shook.

“Guh!”

The intense pain momentarily left him dazed.

“What’s going on?”

Thud. Thud.

The prince was approaching him. Hans, tears welling up in his eyes from the pain, trembled violently.