I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 20

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (20)

The baron and the grand duke.

Among the twenty knights watching their argument was Menhattan, the commander of the baron’s knights.

He looked at Ethan.

Ethan.

The author must be insane. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have the guts to act so brazenly in front of twenty knights.

I heard he woke up after ten years.

That means it’s only been a little over a month since he saw the outside world.

“Huu…”

Today might be the last day the Grand Duke sees the outside world. Judging by the baron’s rampage, he would most likely be thrown into a dungeon.

The dungeon inside the inner castle was the most notorious prison in the baron’s domain.

It was a damp underground space without a single ray of sunlight and not even a blanket to keep warm.

On top of that, it was filled with all kinds of evil people. It was a place where even a normal person would go insane in less than a month.

Thinking about the Grand Prince going there, I couldn’t help but feel sorry for him.

“How did the Ardan family come to this?”

Once upon a time.

There was a time when he admired the Duke so much that he idolized him. That was still the case now.

The Duke was a true knight who had protected the kingdom through honorable sacrifice.

He couldn’t help but feel uneasy. Soon, he shook his head.

“Errah.”

What good would it do to feel this way?

After all, as a knight, he had to obey the orders of the noble he called his lord, even if they were unreasonable.

“Knights, subdue the Grand Duke immediately! If necessary, cut off one of his arms or legs! And crush his mana hole completely!”

The order was given.

There was nothing he could do now.

Twenty knights began to approach the Grand Duke. They were slowly closing in on him.

“Huh?”

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Manhattan tilted his head.

The Grand Duke was holding a huge two-handed sword.

The heat around the sword was being sucked in like a tidal wave.

It was as if the duke had sucked in an unimaginable amount of heat, causing the air around him to shimmer like a mirage. The knight commander swallowed hard without realizing it.

Even he, a four-star knight, couldn’t begin to imagine the power of the heat enveloping the sword.

Any sense of ease he had felt just moments ago was long gone.

Manhattan gritted his teeth and shouted.

“Everyone, charge! Hurry!”

Twenty knights poured mana into their legs.

Their speed increased.

However…

“It’s too late.”

Manhattan had a sudden realization.

And his prediction was accurate. Ethan looked at the knights.

“They’re slow.”

The essence of fire that had taken root in his flesh was burning fiercely.

The technique was already complete.

[Fire Sword 1]

[Flame Snake]

He swung the huge two-handed sword in front of him. The heat gathered above the sword turned into a giant snake.

The snake, hot enough to melt anything it touched, swept around him.

The knights couldn’t dodge or block it.

They didn’t even have time to feel pain.

Not only did the mana enveloping their bodies evaporate in an instant, but it also quickly began to turn to ash.

“…Oh my god.”

Manhattan’s expression froze.

Exactly half of the twenty knights had disappeared without even leaving a corpse behind with that single blow.

What was even more surprising was that despite the intense heat that had swept through the area, he and ten other knights were still alive.

“Why?”

He looked down at the floor.

The floor around the ten knights who had survived was the only part that had not been scorched by the heat.

“…He deliberately spared them.”

The knight commander’s expression hardened.

It was already impressive enough to emit such intense heat, but the Grand Duke’s skill was far beyond that.

“He can control fire at will.”

It meant that they were no match for him.

Manhattan and the remaining knights lost all will to fight after this blow.

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How could they possibly defeat such a man?

It was obvious that no one below a five-star knight would stand a chance against him.

Meanwhile.

“Wh-what!”

The baron’s cry of horror could be heard from behind. Even a single knight could slaughter dozens of soldiers.

Not just one, but twenty of those beings had attacked.

It was as if all the knights in the baron’s domain had been brought here.

And yet, half of them had disappeared just like that?

It was a nightmare-like situation. He pointed at Ethan with trembling hands.

“Damn it! That guy must be exhausted! What are the knights doing? Whoever cuts off his arms and legs will be rewarded with five hundred gold coins!”

Helmut yelled at the top of his lungs. However, despite the promise of five hundred gold coins, not a single knight moved.

The Grand Duke was a knight of a completely different caliber.

Moreover, he had been saved from death once. Even if it was the baron’s order, they did not have the loyalty to rush in with the expectation of dying.

While the baron was shouting loudly,

Ethan looked at his own body.

“A lot of fire energy has been depleted.”

Fire Sword.

It was one of the duke’s secret sword techniques that could be used by harnessing the essence of fire. It required a tremendous amount of fire energy inherent in the body.

Without the blessing of the Lord of Fire, it would have taken him another six months to master this technique.

“I need to recover my fire energy.”

If he had been in the cycle stage, his body would have recovered the fire energy on its own. However, he was only in the sowing stage.

Still, there was a way.

Ethan vibrated the essence of fire.

Brrrr.

The essence of fire vibrated and raised the temperature. In an instant, the heat in the air and the waves of his body were in sync, and the heat that had been scattered in the air began to gather at his command.

The essence of fire greedily absorbed the heat.

“I saved about 70%.”

30% was not bad considering it was the price for using his technique.

Ethan lifted Dexter’s head once more.

Smiling faintly, he looked at the baron and said as if making an announcement.

“All of your sons have learned the breathing technique of the Duke’s family.”

“……”

“Not only your sons, but you seem to have spread the breathing technique to all sorts of thugs. Do you know that? Knights who have learned the breathing technique of the family are nothing more than toys to me.”

“What?”

“The direct descendants of the family learn how to seal their mana in case a traitor emerges.”

Just as he had done to Rune, he completely sealed Dexter’s mana hole.

He then grabbed both of their heads and lifted them up.

“These two will no longer be able to use mana. Unless I release the seal, they will remain that way forever.”

“…”

“Now, only your punishment remains.”

He approached Helmut.

Helmut, whose hands were trembling, drew his sword.

Mana flowed out, but it wasn’t very powerful.

It was only enough for a third-rank knight. One punch to the stomach was enough to knock him unconscious.

He had also learned the Duke’s mana breathing technique.

And just as poorly as his two sons. After sealing the baron’s mana hole, he looked at the knights.

“Where is the dungeon?”

“No way…”

“I’m afraid you’re right.”

What in the world?

They were going to lock the baron in the dungeon!

The tables had completely turned.

Ethan looked at Menhattan and said.

“Knight Commander?”

“…Yes.”

“From now on, I want you to be the warden of the dungeon.”

“You want us to watch over you? Even if you saved our lives, we cannot obey that order!”

“If the baron and his two sons escape from the dungeon, I will have all the members of the baron’s family beheaded. You must protect the family, mustn’t you?”

“……”

Manhattan’s body shivered when he looked into Ethan’s eyes.

“He’s serious.”

After thinking about it for a while, he nodded. He had no choice but to obey for now.

After all, it was not him but the Grand Duke who held the power.

* * *

The capital of the Kingdom of Haidern, Felantium.

A royal council was currently being held in the royal palace there.

Everything from the kingdom’s revenue to policies and military matters was being decided at this meeting.

“I think we’ll end today’s royal council here.”

Delphrión said, looking at the ministers. Important matters had already been agreed upon with the seven families of the kingdom.

It was time to end the meeting.

Just then,

someone raised their hand and said,

“Your Majesty, I have something to report.”

“…Viscount Bloten?”

Viscount Bloten.

He was one of the ministers participating in the meeting as the head of the Vessos family, but he was usually quiet and unobtrusive.

This was especially true since his family’s fortune had declined dramatically fifteen years ago.

What could such a man have to say that he would raise his hand to speak?

Delphreon nodded.

“What is it?”

“The Crown Prince of the Ardan family has submitted a petition directly to His Majesty.”

“…A petition?”

Delphreon narrowed his eyes.

Ethan, the crown prince of the Ardan family.

It was said that he had only just awakened a month ago.

Considering that he had been in a coma for ten years, a month was not enough time to recover.

Nevertheless, he was surprised that he had something important enough to write a letter and send it to him…

‘When did he establish ties with the Bessos family?’

He was even more surprised to learn that the head of the Bessos family was in charge of communicating this matter.

“What does it say?”

“It is a petition stating that the Count of Karagas, one of the vassal families of the Ardan family, has violated the vassal contract.”

“Violated the vassal contract?”

“Yes. The evidence is contained in this memory modification device. The baron collected taxes exceeding the maximum rate stipulated in the feudal contract, reaping excessive profits, and not only circumvented the restrictions on the number of private soldiers by using various organizations, but also…”

The marquis continued speaking until he reached the final sentence.

“Furthermore, the baron illegally transmitted the duke’s technology to others.”

“…

It was that moment.

The atmosphere in the conference room turned cold as ice.

The atmosphere emanating from the members of the Seven Families of the kingdom was even more so.

It was a subtle pressure not to discuss this topic any further.

However, Viscount Bloten did not bat an eye at such pressure.

“This is a request to hear the king’s decision on the punishment of the viscount.”

“……”

Delphreon fell into deep thought. Seeing this, the ministers quietly lit up their eyes.

Ardan!

At that name, the people of the Kingdom of Haiden cheered, cried, and laughed.

The names of those who sacrificed themselves to stop the monster known as the Yongin tribe were treated as legends.

Even the previous king, Sigmund, had no choice but to grant the Grand Duke extraordinary immunity, such was their reputation.

How would the king respond?

Delphrion’s response so far had been close to indifference.

“Even if I order it, it will be difficult to cover up this incident.”

The situation had been exposed to the public. Even the king could not cover it up.

Even with the power of the seven royal families, it would be impossible.

They could not give the impression that they were destroying the family they had named their guardians with their own hands.

This was even more so now, less than twenty years after the war with the Yongin tribe had ended.

As if he had gathered his thoughts, Delphreon smiled gently and asked,

“Really? Is that so?”

“Yes. The evidence is clear.”

“How shameful. I don’t know how to view the late Duke Malon after his death. Well… What punishment does the Grand Duke desire?”

“He wants to terminate the vassal contract and reclaim the castle of Karagas that was given to him by the Duke.”

In other words, not only would the viscount be demoted to a commoner, but the 10 branches of the family would be reduced to 9.

“I see. I would like to help him, but the previous king established the Council of Elders to resolve such issues on their own, so I cannot interfere…”

He tapped the throne and came to a conclusion.

“In the end, I think this is a matter between the 10 branches of the family and the direct line. It wouldn’t look good for me, a stranger, to interfere in what is essentially a family matter. Tell the Grand Duke to resolve it himself.”

At his words, the ministers’ eyes lit up.

“In the end, he’s not going to side with Ardan.”

This decision was tantamount to siding with the 10 collateral branches.

With the mana hole broken, there was no way the Grand Duke could do anything to the Count of Karagas.

In the end, the Grand Duke’s petition was rendered meaningless. That was what most of the nobles gathered there thought.

“I will convey that to him.”

Only the eyes of the Marquis of Bloten, who bowed his head humbly, shone quietly.