I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 6

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (6)

Elena looked at Myers practicing in the yard.

Normally, she would have called her drinking buddies as soon as she opened her eyes and vented her feelings to them.

But now, she was different.

Two days ago, she had been dragged home by Ethan, drunk as a skunk.

Since finding out he was awake, he had been training with renewed vigor, as if he were a completely different person.

Elena smiled quietly.

Come to think of it, her brother Ethan had always been the one who stood out since they were children.

“If only there had been a little more of our family’s secret techniques left.”

He wouldn’t have fallen so helplessly. With the passing of his grandfather and father, almost all of the family’s secret techniques, which had been passed down through incantations, had disappeared.

It was precisely because of those lost techniques that Ethan felt such a heavy burden.

Her heart ached for him.

The Gong family had been around for over 200 years. It was the first time in all that time that the secret techniques had been completely lost.

Who would have thought that the head of the family and the current head would both pass away at the same time?

No one in the family had ever imagined such a thing.

Even when the Yongin tribe attacked, no one had thought it possible.

Her grandfather and father were master swordsmen who had reached the level of transcendence at a young age.

That was why they were so confident of victory before they left.

That was also why they had made no special preparations for the future.

“I’ll be back soon.”

She remembered the faces of the two men who smiled as if they would return at any moment and stroked her head.

Little did she know that would be the last time she would see them.

Elena quietly gazed at the courtyard, thinking of her grandfather and father, whose faces she could no longer remember clearly, then stepped outside.

The scenery around the villa had changed greatly.

The dusty rooms had been cleaned, and maids bustled about the kitchen, busily preparing meals.

All of these changes had begun after Ethan opened his eyes.

“I should prepare some refreshments.”

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That was all she could do for Ethan at the moment.

That was when she arrived at the dining room.

Hans, who was busily working inside, saw Elena and smiled brightly.

“What are you doing here, Grand Duchess?”

“Oh, I’m just making some snacks for my siblings…”

As Elena spoke, her gaze fell on Hans’s hands.

The bowl he was holding was filled with cookies.

“Haha. It seems we were thinking the same thing. I was just thinking the same thing. Oh, by the way, is there anything you need?”

Elena stared at Hans as he asked with a slight smile.

Just a few days ago, this was something she could never have imagined.

This was all a change that came about when Ethan woke up.

“I’m fine.”

“I’m glad. The sun is shining, so how about some tea? I’ll prepare some refreshments.”

She was suddenly curious.

Hans began to change three days ago, after breakfast with Ethan.

What on earth did his brother say to him that caused his attitude to change so drastically?

“He said he just gave him a few words of advice…”

Did a few words really cause the butler to change so drastically?

“Butler.”

“Yes, Grand Duchess.”

“Is this because of what Ethan said?”

“What?”

“Ethan told me that he had a conversation with you a few days ago… Is that why you’re being so kind to me?”

Hans struggled to keep his expression from changing.

What? Advice?

Where in the world would someone take advice and have three teeth knocked out?

If that was advice, then stabbing him with a knife was a loving punishment. It was truly unbelievable, but he couldn’t admit that he had been beaten by the Grand Duke.

It was obvious that he was hiding the truth from his sister.

“Haha. That’s right. I still vividly remember how the Grand Duke’s words made me come to my senses.”

“What on earth did he say…?”

She was genuinely curious as to what the chamberlain, who hadn’t even listened to her words, had heard to cause such a complete change in his attitude.

Just then,

Hans, who had been staring at the oven, quickly said,

“Ah! The cookies are done! Would you like to try one, Grand Duchess?”

“Sure.”

Elena put a cookie in her mouth. It crunched and spread a sweet taste throughout her mouth.

“How is it?”

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“It’s delicious.”

She was secretly impressed.

Hans’ baking skills were far beyond acceptable.

“Come to think of it, yesterday morning, His Highness was looking after the youngest prince and said…”

Hans continued to change the subject. Seeing this, Elena decided to stop asking questions.

Whatever made him change his mind, as long as he behaved well now, it would be fine.

Elena and Hans continued their conversation.

* * *

After busily directing the servants and finishing the housework, Hans entered his room.

He took a magic crystal out of his drawer.

Once a month, on this day, he would carefully take out a piece of low-grade mana stone.

Today was the day he regularly contacted the Duke.

He carefully took out a low-grade mana stone.

He had to handle it with care as this small piece was more expensive than his monthly salary.

When he placed the mana stone near the crystal ball, it began to glow.

“Long time no see, Hans.”

“Baron Helmut! How have you been?”

“Yes. I read the letter you sent. The Grand Duke has awakened?”

“That’s right! It seems that the Grand Duke knows how to use mana.”

“Mana. So that talent isn’t completely dead after all.”

The baron nodded and spoke.

“I sent a letter to the Count of Pernes. A council of elders will be convened soon. In the meantime, keep an eye on the Grand Duke and report any unusual developments.”

“If it’s a council of elders, won’t it take at least four months before we get a result? Then we’ll be too late to respond…”

“It’s an important matter, so it won’t take that long. Two months at most.”

“I understand. But… Baron Helmut.”

“Go ahead.”

“As mentioned in the letter, the Grand Duke is not an easy man to deal with. He is violent and quick to resort to physical force if he sees even the slightest opening…”

―That’s a bit strange. He wasn’t always that violent. Hmm… Maybe the situation has changed completely and he’s angry.

“Yes, that’s possible. He lived in the Duke’s residence until the Duke fell. He must have been shocked when he saw the annex.”

―What does it matter if that guy gets angry? The victory is already ours. We can appoint Myers as the next head of the family, so don’t worry about anything and just keep an eye on him.

“Yes, sir. However, I feel that Myers has been changing a little lately.”

―Myers?

“Yes. As soon as he saw the Grand Duke awake, he stopped drinking, which he had loved so much.”

…You’re making this difficult. I understand.

Just before the connection was cut off, Hans said urgently,

“My lord, in order to get close to the Grand Duke, I need to give him something…”

―Give him financial support and use it to win his favor as much as possible. That should work, right? “Hehe. Thank you, Baron!”

―Yes. I’ll contact you again next month.

The light from the 수정구 faded.

The corners of Hans’s mouth quietly turned up.

‘At least I got the financial support.’

In any case, whether the collateral branch or the Grand Duke won, it would not have a significant impact on him.

Therefore, it was best to play both sides and see how things played out.

“Well, it would be better if the Grand Duke won, though.”

Even if the collateral branch won, he would still be a servant in the side hall.

But what if the Grand Prince won?

If he stuck close to the Grand Prince until then, he might get a big piece of the pie.

A few days ago, when he was beaten, he was full of resentment, but now he felt differently.

The skill to subdue a group of thugs in one fell swoop.

Hans had witnessed it clearly. The Grand Prince’s potential was not to be underestimated.

“If this goes well…”

This could be a huge opportunity, not a crisis.

Hans was smiling slyly when Hans said,

“Butler! The two young masters are almost done with their training!”

Hans jumped up from his seat at the urgent voice coming from outside.

“Hey! Bring me a towel soaked in cold water and the snacks you made earlier!”

“Yes!”

He hurriedly ran outside.

* *

The sound of wooden swords clashing rang out cheerfully.

“I blocked it!”

Myers shouted loudly.

It was because he had blocked Ethan’s attack for the first time in two days. His heart was so full that it felt like it would burst.

It was at that moment.

Pah!

“Ugh!”

With a light sound, Myers collapsed.

“I told you not to let your guard down.”

“Ah… right.”

“The moment you think you’ve won is the most dangerous. Remember that.”

“Got it, bro.”

Though he said that, Ethan was secretly impressed.

It was because Myers’ progress was faster than he had expected.

This was especially true in defense. With just one more month of hellish training, he felt he could refine his defensive skills to the point where he could hold his own against a 3-star knight, who was considered a full-fledged knight.

That was when the training ended.

“Well done, Grand Prince!”

Hans, who had approached from behind, handed him a wet towel. Ethan and Myers wiped their faces with the towel.

It felt refreshing.

After wiping away the sweat, he handed the towel back to Hans.

Hans, who took the sweat-soaked towel without batting an eye, asked with a slight smile.

“How was your training today? Your Highness seems to be getting more and more handsome with each passing day.”

Ethan chuckled.

It was as if he had butter on his tongue.

As they ate the refreshments he had handed them,

Hans looked around cautiously and whispered quietly.

“Your Highness.”

“What is it?”

“I have something important to tell you. It is a matter of great importance.”

“What is it?”

“I have received a message from the Count of Karagas.”

“Contact?”

“Yes. That bastard Baron Helmut dared to say that he was to keep an eye on you! I wanted to curse him out right away, but…”

“But?”

“Hehe. As you know, I’m a nobody, so I had no choice but to accept the financial support.”

Funding.

Ethan’s eyes lit up.

“I needed some money.”

This was perfect.

“By the way, is there anything you need? The baron seems like he’ll give me some money… Just let me know, and I’ll get it to you right away.”

The guy’s intentions were obvious.

He was trying to play both sides.

Still, it didn’t bother him.

Hans’ actions could also benefit him.

Ethan took a piece of paper from his pocket.

“Pen.”

“Here you go.”

He began to draw on it.

“Make these.”

“This is a double-handed sword… What are these? Are they steel bracelets?”

“Training tools.”

“Ah, I see. They’re similar to sandbags. And this picture here is a steel shield, right?”

“Yes.”

A shield for Myers.

Along with the huge two-handed sword he had used in his previous life and the steel bracelets for training.

These were the items he needed right now.

“Got it. I’ll just rip it out of that bastard Helmut!”

“You can keep the remaining amount.”

“Oh my! Thank you!”

Hans’ eyes sparkled at the prince’s words. Money was one of his favorite things.

‘Hehe.’

Hans smiled slyly.

If he could rip off the baron under the pretext of approaching the prince…

‘That would be quite lucrative.’

The scent of money was wafting through the air.