I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 26

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (26)

“Your Highness! How have you been?”

Hans entered the office and bowed his head.

“What are the results?”

“Count Cheymen did not seem to be very suspicious of our joining them. On the contrary, as soon as we arrived, he welcomed us with open arms.”

He must be on edge after destroying the viscount’s territory.

Ethan nodded.

“You plan to use the conflict between the two factions to your advantage. That’s a brilliant strategy. So, our next target is the Romenton viscount?”

“…Yes.”

Only then did Hans’ gaze shift to the boy standing near the Grand Duke.

Who is he?

Judging by how close he is standing, it seems they have established a relationship of trust.

Hans looked at Ethan.

“That man is…”

“My strategist.”

“His name is Lawrence.”

He introduced himself with an expressionless face.

A strategist!

It was a position that was clearly meant to be closest to the Grand Duke.

“He’s only been away for a week or so.”

If he had been able to secure such an important position in such a short period of time, he must be very talented.

Or else…

Hans’ gaze turned to Lawrence’s face.

“He’s quite handsome for a man.”

His limbs were slender, giving him a distinctly androgynous appearance.

Could it be that the Grand Duke has a preference for that sort of thing?

Hans’ secret thoughts were cut short.

Get notified for updates: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“What about Myers?”

“The youngest prince has decided to enter seclusion for a while. He is very determined, so I’m sure he will catch the count’s eye.”

“What about you?”

“I’ve earned his trust. It seems that Cheyman is quite curious about the grand duke.”

Hans told him everything that had happened during his meeting with the count.

“All right. Pass on the information as appropriate. Lawrence?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

“Hans, the junior nobleman here, is my butler. You will have a lot of work to do together, so please get to know each other.”

“Yes, sir.”

The two bowed and left the office.

* *

A small meeting room in the viscount’s residence.

Hans and Lawrence sat facing each other. His eyes were filled with suspicion as he looked at Lawrence.

Strategist.

In a word, it meant schemer.

In his thirty-two years, Hans had never been told that he lacked cunning.

“That was my seat…”

Some guy had suddenly taken his place overnight.

And it was someone who looked like a bookworm, the kind of person Hans hated the most.

“You think you’re so smart?”

He had spent more than twenty-five years rubbing his palms together until they were worn out.

How could that nerd ever match his experience, gained through years of hard work?

He was using the two factions against each other.

And he had no doubt that he had learned through eavesdropping that the Baron of Romenton was the Grand Duke’s next target.

Hans was maintaining an uncomfortable silence when the butler suddenly spoke.

“I guess you don’t like me very much, butler.”

“… Ahem!”

“That’s good.”

“… Huh?”

“I don’t like people like you very much either.”

“Are you saying that because you know me well?”

“I’ve seen many people like you before.”

Lawrence, or Silvia, had lived in the back alleys for more than nine years. During that time, he had observed countless human characters.

Hans was the type of person who would wag his tail at the strong and try to devour the weak.

They would have to work together on many projects in the future. If he showed weakness to someone like that, he would surely continue to be ignored.

He was like that even now.

What kind of unpleasant thoughts was he thinking? His eyes were filled with a sinister look.

Join our discord and ping me to update more chapters. Discord: https://discord.gg/93rmBjgP6B

“He’s not even a noble, just a quasi-noble.”

Although he was a commoner, he had been directly appointed as a strategist by the duke, so there was no reason for him to back down in a power struggle. Hans flinched at Lawrence’s harsh words.

A blank expression and a blunt tone of voice.

Because of that, I thought he had little emotional fluctuation.

“But he’s more temperamental than I thought.”

He has quite a temper.

He had assumed he was just a gentle soul based on his appearance, but he was completely wrong.

“This could get tiresome.”

From their superior-subordinate relationship to their work collaboration.

There were many issues they would have to resolve in the future.

“Should I bow down? Or…”

Just as Hans was contemplating the unexpected response,

“We both have the same ultimate goal, so there’s no need to oppose each other.”

“…Ahem!”

“I will acknowledge your domain. So please respect mine as well.”

If Lawrence had shown even the slightest weakness, Hans would have tried to take control of him.

But not now.

“Yeah. There’s no rush.”

The job of a strategist is to find the best strategy to satisfy the demanding tastes of the Grand Duke.

It wasn’t going to be easy.

How long could a kid who didn’t even look like an adult last?

He would surely give up and quit being a strategist in a matter of days.

Time was on his side.

Hans came to a clear conclusion.

“Haha. I guess I was too curious because I suddenly gained a colleague. Come to think of it, I think I was too rude. I apologize if I offended you.”

“Then, shall we talk about our work? We need to exchange information so that we can better serve the prince.”

“Yes.”

Lawrence took out some documents.

“This is what happened in the city while Hans was away.”

Hans’s eyes widened as he looked at the documents.

“Are Baron Helmut and his two sons in the dungeon right now?”

“Yes. It seems that the Grand Duke intends to have the three of them executed.”

What if I had continued to follow Helmut?

Hans’ spine shivered involuntarily. If he had, his fate would not have been much different from theirs.

It was fortunate that he had switched sides. His gaze then fell on the underlined part.

“The Eight Gates of Darkness have been destroyed? In just one day…”

“Yes.”

The documents detailed the process of wiping out the Eight Gates of Darkness.

“Did the author orchestrate this?”

That vicious group was completely destroyed in a single day.

The strategy used in the process was extremely cruel.

“Of course, they were trash who deserved to die like this…”

Even considering that, there seemed to be no hesitation. Gulp.

Hans swallowed his saliva without realizing it.

“I thought he was a nice guy.”

He had a cruel heart that even a professional assassin would shake his head at.

Hans realized at that moment.

Time was not on his side, but on the side of this man named Lawrence.

It seemed like they would be working together for a very long time.

In addition to the destruction of the Eight Gates of Darkness, there were quite a few other matters to attend to, from tax reforms to personnel transfers.

Hans carefully reviewed the documents and put them down.

“I’ve read everything.”

“How do you plan to proceed from here?”

“For now, I think I should build trust with the count by providing him with some information.”

“And then?”

“I plan to smooth things over so that the youngest prince and the count can become closer. That way, we will be able to receive many benefits.”

“And then?”

“Yes?”

“Is that all?”

“Um…”

Hans was at a loss for words.

He hadn’t even been living at the count’s house for a day yet. What more could they possibly want from him?

“There’s a saying that if you don’t have teeth, your gums hurt. Simply dividing the two factions and stirring up trouble won’t be enough to completely prevent the earl from interfering. Isn’t that a little too simplistic?” “……”

What on earth is going through his head to make him treat me like this?

“……Then what should I do?”

Hans, feeling frustrated, immediately asked back.

“First…”

Lawrence began to give various instructions.

After listening to him for five minutes, Hans took out a pen and paper, and after twenty minutes, he was so busy writing down what Lawrence was saying that he couldn’t even answer.

“Did you write everything down?”

“That… Could you repeat it one more time…?”

“Sure.”

This time, it took about ten minutes.

Hans read through the instructions he had written down.

They were all reasonable suggestions.

Moreover, as a strategist, it was not really interference in his work.

In any case, one thing was certain.

He had been completely defeated in their first battle.

On the surface, they appeared to be equals, but in the end, he had been unable to utter a single word and had been forced to follow her orders.

“Then I’ll leave it to you.”

“…Yes. I’ll go first.”

Hans left the conference room.

Silvia stared blankly at the door.

“Hans.”

People like him were the type who would turn their backs on you at any moment if they saw a greater benefit for themselves.

“The Grand Duke must know that.”

Even so, keeping him around meant that he was useful in some way.

She didn’t particularly like him, but there was no need to make a fuss.

The most important thing to her was for the Grand Duke, who had given her this opportunity, to rise high in the sky.

“If he betrays me…”

She would just have to deal with him then.

She left the conference room.

* * *

The viscount’s inner strength.

Jae-ron’s expression was stiff as he visited that place.

He looked at the letter in his hand.

It was a letter from his father, Viscount Bloten.

“As expected.”

The current king, Delphrion, had no intention of siding with the Duke’s family.

That much was clear from his response, which was to let them deal with their “family matters” themselves. This was not good news for the Grand Duke.

He knocked on the door of the office.

“Come in.”

Now, it didn’t seem strange at all to see Ethan sitting in the baron’s office.

It was as if he belonged there, as if it was the place he was meant to be.

“As expected of the Grand Duke…”

He was a natural leader.

That was easy to guess, considering how he was working diligently under him.

Jae-ron looked at Ethan and tilted his head.

That was because there was a young man with a small build standing behind him.

“Who is that?”

“My strategist.”

“Your advisor? May I ask your name?”

“Lawrence.”

Did the young man in front of him know his identity?

After hesitating for a moment, he opened his mouth.

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Lawrence. I am Mikelan, the head of the Misas Trading Company.”

Lawrence bowed politely in response.

Her greeting was formal, as if she were addressing a noble. Could the grand duke have revealed his identity?

Jae-ron’s gaze turned to Ethan. He shook his head.

It meant that he hadn’t revealed it.

Ethan smiled as if amused and nodded to Jae-ron.

It meant to reveal his identity.

“Let me introduce myself again. I am Jayron Besos.”

“You are the young master of the marquis’s family.”

“That is correct. But how did you discover my identity?”

“I sensed the manners of a nobleman in your behavior. Moreover, His Highness the Grand Duke values efficiency above all else. If you were just an ordinary merchant, he would not have bothered to meet you in person.” “I see.”

“Please feel free to speak freely. I am just a commoner.”

“It’s fine. It’s just a habit.”

He said that, but his true feelings were different.

“Was it Lawrence?”

He was talented enough to be kept close by the prickly Grand Duke.

He certainly wasn’t a mediocre person.

Therefore, it was better to just respect each other. In order to continue accompanying the Grand Duke in the future, it would be good to build relationships with the people around him.

Soon after, Jayron handed a letter to Ethan.

“My father asked me to deliver this letter. It was sent directly from His Majesty.”

Ethan opened the letter and glanced at the contents.

“I knew it.”

Delphreon.

His reaction this time confirmed it. This guy doesn’t like the Duke very much.

“Perhaps he is involved in the affairs of the collateral branches to some extent.”

The ten collateral branches.

The tacit approval of the current king must have played a part in these guys treating the Duke so openly.

It was clear that it would be impossible to get along with this man.

Ethan was not a man who showed mercy to his enemies.

Not even if they were the king of a country.

“This guy can’t even write properly.”

“…What?”

“You said the king wrote this himself? Then why is his handwriting so terrible?”

“…”

It was indeed bad handwriting.

But it was the first time he had ever said so to the prince’s face. Jayron shook his head as if giving up.

“It seems that His Majesty has no intention of getting involved in this matter.”

“He can’t get involved. If he does, he’ll have no choice but to punish the collateral branches.”

There were still many who remembered the appearance of the Yongin clan and the sacrifices of the Duke’s family.

In such a situation, he wouldn’t want to give the impression that he was destroying the hero of the kingdom with his own hands.

That was precisely why he was turning a blind eye.

“Anyway, it’s good.”

Ethan said with a slight smile.

“What do you mean, it’s good?”

The king refused to help, so how is that good?

Seeing Jayron’s puzzled look, Lawrence said.

“I’m sure the Grand Prince knew the king would respond this way when he sent the letter.”

“That’s right. Thanks to that, this has become just a ‘family matter.’”

“Ah…”

Even the king of a country was not getting involved in what was considered a family matter.

Even the seven royal families could not openly intervene in this matter. It also meant that the stage was set for them to have some fun.

In any case, family matters should ultimately be resolved among the family members themselves, shouldn’t they?

“I’m grateful.”

Ethan smiled slightly.