I Regressed to My Ruined Family – 75

 #I returned, and my family was ruined (76)

―It’s been a while since the meeting. How have you been?

Chaymon appeared relaxed inside the Seongju District.

“You’re planning to hold a coming-of-age ceremony?”

―Yes. The five elders have made a decision. It will be held in a month.

“A month?”

—That should be enough time for all the direct descendants to receive the letters. Even Prince Teron in the seventh branch of the royal family should have received it by then. Except for Prince Teron, who is located far away, I don’t think the schedule is that tight…

Cheiman smiled meaningfully and spoke.

“Are you pretending not to know His Majesty Sigmund’s intentions?”

―What do you mean, his will? What are you talking about?

“I’m not twenty yet.”

It was immediately clear what the Grand Duke was insisting on.

Sigmund, the 17th king.

One of his last wishes was that the Grand Duke should elect the head of the Duke’s family when he came of age.

“I know that. But you will soon become an adult. Holding the coming-of-age ceremony a little early does not mean you are disobeying the late king’s will.”

No matter what the Grand Duke said, he intended to proceed with the coming-of-age ceremony as planned.

“There is no time.”

The territory occupied by the Grand Duke was becoming more stable with each passing day.

He had lowered taxes and banned the circulation of the Dragon Clan Scriptures, eliminating any direct justification for attacking this area.

However, that did not mean that they were completely safe from the Grand Duke’s clutches.

It was easy to fabricate a justification. The people of the territory would cheer the Grand Duke the moment he arrived.

“Furthermore…”

Rumors were spreading that even the assassins sent by Irdan had been defeated, though no one knew how.

It was said that the Grand Duke’s power was greater than anyone had imagined. Therefore, Myers had to be elected as the head of the family as soon as possible.

The youngest prince.

If he became the head of the family, it would be possible to restrict the Grand Duke’s actions.

“The decision of the Council of Elders has already been made. No matter what the Grand Duke says, the schedule will not change. I will see you in a month.”

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The connection with Su-kyung was cut off.

“Good.”

They would speed up the opening ceremony?

From his perspective, it was actually a blessing. The ceremony would be held quickly, which meant that the head of the family would be chosen quickly. I was grateful that he would take care of it.

“A month.”

It wasn’t that long.

* *

A week passed.

Most of the important tasks in the viscount’s domain had been taken care of.

Plexian and Elena.

Not only were they both highly capable administrators, but the decisive factor was the help they received from Silvia.

She was a versatile talent when it came to intellectual work.

If it weren’t for her, it would have been impossible to get everything done so neatly in just a week.

He was taking a breather after finishing his work when Elena entered his office.

“Ethan, can we talk for a moment?”

“Ethan. Can we talk for a moment?”

“Of course.”

He entered the office and sat down. Elena sat down next to him and fidgeted with her hands before speaking.

“About Lawrence, he’s a good kid, isn’t he?”

“He’s smart.”

He may be blunt, but he’s a talented person when it comes to thinking. He was thinking about Sylvia at that moment.

It was a strange situation.

“But why are you suddenly bringing up Lawrence?”

“It’s been four months since we met Lawrence. I’ve been watching him closely, and I think there’s something wrong with him.”

“Something wrong?”

“Apart from his lack of emotion, I’ve never seen him sleep.”

“Insomnia?”

“I think so. According to his maids, he drinks every night.”

“Alcohol?”

Ethan tilted his head.

“Yes. It’s a habit. He says he needs strong alcohol to fall asleep. The problem is that even after drinking, he still can’t sleep.”

Drinking itself wasn’t a problem. There was no law saying adults couldn’t drink.

At seventeen, no one could really say anything.

“Does she drink a lot?”

“I heard she drinks two bowls of rum every night.”

“…Bowls, not glasses?”

“Yeah, the bowls you’re thinking of.”

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She was a heavier drinker than I had imagined.

Even the reporters would have a splitting headache the next day after drinking two bowls of rum.

“That’s not all. Not only does she spend most of her waking hours working, but she also hardly eats anything when she does eat.”

This was news to me.

Was Sylvia like that in her previous life?

‘Come to think of it…’

In her previous life, Sylvia was always thin.

It was the same now.

“There seems to be a problem.”

If Elena was right, this was a serious problem.

All she drank was alcohol.

She suffered from insomnia.

If she didn’t eat properly even though she used her brain all day long, anyone would say that she was bound to die young.

“You’re seventeen, the prime of your life. You’re small for a boy, almost like a girl. Something’s wrong with you.”

“…”

It wasn’t because she was a boy, but because she was a girl.

Of course, she was on the small side even for a girl.

She had no intention of telling Elena this fact.

Silvia didn’t want her to find out that she was a girl.

“I told the Prexian Chief Administrator, but he didn’t seem to notice. We’ve talked about it a few times, but he won’t listen. So, I was wondering…”

Elena handed him a bracelet.

“You talk to him. Give him this too.”

“…Me?”

“You’re his advisor.”

She wasn’t wrong.

Ethan took the bracelet.

Even after a quick glance, he could tell what it was for.

‘An artifact that helps restore fatigue.

It was a pretty effective item. He must have paid a lot of money for it.

“And tell him to eat more rice instead of drinking alcohol. I’m sure he’ll listen to you. Got it?”

“Yeah.”

“I’ll be going now.”

Elena stepped out of the office.

Ethan, who had been staring at the bracelet, called out to Silvia.

* *

“Yes, sir?”

“Sit down here.”

She sat down near Ethan.

“I heard from your sister. You suffer from insomnia, right?”

Silvia flinched.

This was something she didn’t want the Grand Duke to know.

“…Yes. But it’s not to the point where it’s affecting my work…”

“I heard you can’t sleep more than three hours a day. That’s enough to wear out even the most seasoned knight.”

“…

“Are you eating properly?”

“That’s…”

“You’re not eating, are you?”

The Grand Duke said, meeting her eyes.

“Didn’t you want to stay with me for a long time?”

“…Yes.”

It was a chance connection.

However, this connection was like a golden rope. Silvia had no desire to let go of it.

“If you want to work for a long time, you have to take care of your body. You’re young now, so you may not realize it, but it will become a problem later on.”

“…Yes.”

“It’s difficult to correct everything in a day. I understand. So, let’s start with eating properly. Eating well is one of the ways to increase work efficiency. Do you agree?”

“…Yes.”

“And this.”

Ethan handed her a bracelet.

“It’s an artifact related to fatigue recovery. It’s a gift, so wear it whenever you can.”

“Thank you, Grand Duke.”

She carefully took the bracelet.

“Get some rest today.”

“Yes. I’ll be going now.”

Silvia left the office.

Back in her room, she stared blankly at the bracelet.

It was the first time in her life that she had ever received a gift from someone.

A blue bracelet.

It looked like it was very expensive.

“Is it okay for me to accept this?”

She had even been told that since it was a gift, she should wear it.

Not wearing the bracelet here could disappoint her lord.

After much deliberation, she finally put the bracelet on her wrist and left the room. The knights belonging to the Yongsal Corps naturally followed behind her.

They were her bodyguards.

Lawrence.

One of the knights looked at his face and tilted his head.

“…Huh?”

It was because there was a change in his expression, which had been so blunt that it seemed to exude coldness.

“What on earth has changed?”

The knight who was cautiously watching the bookkeeper’s face finally noticed the change.

It was very faint, but

If you looked closely, the corners of his mouth were slightly turned up, unlike usual.

“…Did something good happen?”

Something that would make that cold-hearted bookkeeper smile like that!

The interior of the count’s mansion.

The cries of agony might be heard again from the underground dungeon located there…

The knight, trembling, cautiously followed the bookkeeper.

* *

Two weeks had passed since he gave the bracelet to Sylvia.

Recently, she had been eating regularly.

Not only that, but perhaps thanks to wearing the bracelet, her complexion had become brighter. She was finally in an environment where she could think clearly.

Sylvia wasn’t the only one who had begun to change.

Two weeks had passed.

With no work to do, Ethan was able to devote himself to training.

“The stage of physical transformation is almost complete.”

He had completely adapted to the fire.

Now it was time to enter the realm of understanding, where he would explore the origins of fire.

This was a time when mental training was even more important than physical training.

He spent his days sitting cross-legged, imagining and exploring what fire was.

“The breath of black flame.”

At first glance, it seemed like a perfect training method, but it couldn’t be called perfect.

If it were perfect, there would be no reason to stain pure flame with black.

He continued to contemplate fire.

“Come to think of it, I’ve always fought using black flames.”

He remembered what the lord of fire had said when he had unleashed his fire essence before.

[You mixed negative emotions with pure flames to create the fire of corruption.

[Eventually, you will reach your limits. It is as if you continue to carry imperfection within your body.]

What is pure fire?

Black flames were, to put it bluntly, energy covered with various additional effects.

The theft of energy, internal turmoil, and even curses.

These were the representative effects of black flame. They were also the reason why the Duke could reign as the continent’s greatest swordsman.

However.

“If only I could strengthen pure fire.”

There was no need for such useless functions. If it could be burned before it even touched anything, wouldn’t everything be perfect?

His past life.

In order to break through the enormous wall he faced when he became a transcendent being,

he had to lay a solid foundation from now on.

That was why he was meditating and imagining pure fire.

“Fire.”

He spent the entire day thinking about fire. Those were days of spiritual growth, not physical growth.

As his contemplation continued, Ethan was able to gradually shed the shadow of black flames that had bound him.

“Fire is just fire.”

There was no need for any unnecessary functions.

Suddenly, he felt a tingling sensation.

It was a sensation that seemed to be just out of reach.

Ethan immediately drew his great sword.

Imagining the hottest flame in the world, he breathed mana into his sword.

Crack!

Flames rose from the black sword.

Unlike the usual red flames, these flames were as white as snow.

It was as if they had stripped away all the impure energy in the world.

The pure white flames lasted only a moment.

“I’ve got it.”

Ethan realized

that he had surpassed the stage of embodying fire and reached the stage of understanding the origin of fire.

“White flames.”

It was an unknown realm that no one in his family had ever seen before.

He had left the first footprint in that realm. A footprint as white as snow.

The preparations for the blooming ceremony were now complete.