Regressor of the Fallen Family

Episode 6

“Ah…”

“Hmm…”

“Oh dear…”

As the number of people nodding their heads increased while alternating glances between Logan and Riina,

“Damn it…”

Logan struggled to suppress the curse that reached his throat and tried his best to manage his expression.

The young Riina had indeed been a lively and cute child.

The two had been close friends and spent a lot of time together during a certain period.

– Do you really think you suit me? Know your place and get lost. Why carry a sword when you even lose to children…

During his previous life around this time.

Her whisper that had pushed him to the edge and exploded with emotion.

The memory of that day, still vivid in his mind, was just nonsense.

Yet he had to restrain himself for now. It wasn’t the time to stand out.

As he nodded with a hardened expression, the atmosphere in the great hall shifted in an odd direction.

“But as a body bound to the family, not following that command was not an option, so I thought the best I could do was to meet Baron Padrick and Young Master Logan personally to apologize.”

The tears on the lovely lady’s face were indeed a powerful weapon that could shake any man’s heart, regardless of his age.

“Oh dear…”

“The grace of the young lady…”

“Such rumors might have become understated…”

Excluding the servants, only two in the grand hall remained unmoved by that face.

“So, Miss Riina, what’s the reason for the Wolves’ persistence? I’d like to hear the unavoidable reasons.”

At the words of one of the two, Riina paused momentarily.

‘Well done!’

He never thought he’d cheer for his stepmother.

Logan forcibly controlled the spasms in his eyebrows as his stepmother, Merian, intervened.

“…I apologize. It’s a story I am not privy to. I have no words to give.”

“You claim to have no idea despite it being your own marriage prospect?”

“I am a woman. A body to be married off and become part of another family. My father does not discuss important family matters with me.”

“Then are we to take it that you’ve come to inform us of the annulled engagement without any reason?”

As the verbal battle between the two ladies ensued, Padrick’s face grew taut with sternness once again.

“Instead, we intend to clearly identify that the cause of this annulment lies with Riina Wolves and our family, and we will apologize and compensate for it.”

Riina’s plaintive voice continued.

However.

“Compensate… Are you saying you’ll end the harmed honor of the Maclaine with just a word of apology?”

A chill-inducing icy tone. Padrick’s expression became unshakable as well.

Riina bit her lip hard, hesitated for a while, and then struggled to speak again.

“…The Wolves family is willing to pay three million gold in compensation for this annulment.”

‘Yes!’

Logan’s eyes sparkled at the words he had been waiting to hear, and everyone in the great hall turned their gaze back to the upper seats.

Objectively, Riina’s hesitation was understandable, but in reality, it was no different than saying take the money and leave us.

Furthermore, the person hearing those words was none other than Padrick Maclaine, the head of the Maclaine family; the aftermath was predictably severe.

“How dare you!!”

His voice boomed like an erupting volcano.

“Gah!”

Some of the lower-powered retainers staggered, and even those who were somewhat trained paled in the face of the murderous aura that filled the hall.

“Ugh…!”

“Lady, get behind me!”

As Riina’s complexion also turned pale in an instant, her guardian knight, Rockfern, leaped forward and shielded her.

His simple movement cut through Padrick’s momentum and relieved Riina of suffocation.

“Knight of the Wolves, Rockfern implores Baron Maclaine. Please calm down and let us continue our dialogue!”

A voice as resonant as Padrick’s rang through the great hall, easing the dangerously tense atmosphere.

Padrick then paused his fury and glared at the knight.

“A senior knight? At that young age? Quite impressive.”

He looked to be in his thirties.

The knight named Rockfern, to everyone’s surprise, matched Padrick in ability.

Certainly a prodigy who would be expected to become a future Aura User.

‘But that doesn’t mean he will really become one. Like me…’

Regardless of Padrick’s bitter reflection, a senior knight was indeed someone capable of single-handedly protecting Riina, the younger daughter of the Wolves family.

But this knowledge only fueled his killing intent.

“The life of a promising Wolves. That would be a fair exchange for the tarnished honor of the Maclaines.”

As Padrick’s killing intent focused on one point, Rockfern’s complexion turned deathly pale in an instant.

On the surface, they were of the same rank, but Padrick had been a senior knight for over 20 years.

He had also never slacked in his training since, thus accumulating a different level of strength.

Rockfern was acutely aware of this more than anyone.

“I trust you will not do so.”

“Regretful. If you even guess a little of my mood now, you would know that your hope is vain.”

“Our family head asserted with certainty that your lordship knows what honor is, and not to oppress a young lady or a junior. I trust in these words.”

As Rockfern referenced the Earl of Wolves and spoke of honor, Padrick’s gaze wavered.

“It is not our intention to buy honor with money. Instead, we want to show our sincerity to preserve the friendship between both families in light of the unavoidable circumstances.”

Riina’s words added on, and Padrick gritted his teeth.

‘Cairon Wolves…’

Pressuring the other party any further would only label him as one who knows not honor.

Even though it was the other side that first insulted him and his family, the target was merely a knight over thirty and a girl not yet an adult.

‘Is this what they aim for, sending only them?’

Padrick swallowed his anger quietly as he thought of his old friend and fellow student with silver hair.

The suffocating tension that had dominated the hall began to dissipate as if it were all a lie.

“…Such a daring child has grown into a confident young lady. Accompanied by a sturdy shield.”

Observing Riina’s complexion returned to normal, Padrick declared with a stern face.

“Although the reason for the visit is not beautiful, a guest is still a guest. The Maclaine does not oppress visitors.”

Riina and Rockfern breathed a sigh of relief at that when.

“However, we will not accept the unilateral proposal of the Wolves.”

Padrick’s resolute declaration once again hardened their expressions.

“The Maclaine family has only one request as compensation for the broken engagement.”

Riina and Rockfern waited anxiously for Padrick’s words with tense expressions.

“Envoy Riina Wolves, apologize politely to my son, the party concerned. We will decline any other compensation.”

The calm voice of a man who understands honor filled the hall.

“…As expected of the family head.”

“That’s the true nobility.”

“Indeed…”

As the majority of the retainers nodded, Logan, who had been quietly observing the situation, decided to intervene to overturn the atmosphere.

‘I must obtain it.’

Money.

That was his goal in this incident, what he was determined to secure, and what he needed for the future.

‘Think of apologizing with words and let it go? Madness.’

Three million gold was nearly a year’s worth of Maclaine’s budget, inclusive of support from the Kairos family.

In his view, his father and the agreeing retainers all seemed out of their minds for refusing that compensation.

Only a few administrators seemed to share his sane thinking, showing rotten expressions.

‘How can a near-bankrupt family refuse money like that? Without support, we’ll face bankruptcy any moment.’

Therefore, he had to secure that money to lay the foundation for overcoming future crises.

“What is it, Logan? Speak your mind.”

“I’d like to accept the Wolves family’s conditions of apology.”

“What?!”

Naturally, this rational approach ignited his father’s anger.

“Are you saying that you will overturn my decision, Logan?”

Padrick directed his furious gaze straight at him, his face fixed with severity.

Although his tone was calm, the sharp aura that covered Logan pressed him threatfully.

‘Gah! Indeed…’

A senior knight was a senior knight. Clearly, his current self couldn’t handle the pressure.

The problem was that even this father of his was nothing more than a minnow in the grand scheme, barely registering as a strong figure kingdom-wide.

In front of top-tier knights or Aura Users classified as superhumans, he couldn’t even present a name card.

Not to mention, in the empire, there existed not just Aura Users but legendary Aura Masters.

‘If I can’t withstand even this much… I won’t be able to achieve anything in the future.’

Logan clenched his teeth and endured the pouring aura.

Although it was a small achievement, the core lodged in his heart provided aid to Logan.

“As the party involved in the annulment, I believe I have the right to voice my opinion. Moreover, I think my suggestion would benefit the family more.”

Logan defiantly met his father’s gaze.

“…Help? You are mistaken. Logan. The Maclaine is not so destitute that we would sell our honor for money.”

‘No, we are in need. Without Kairos’s support, we’ll go bankrupt immediately.’

Logan wanted to shout that out loud, but it was not something he could say in public.

Therefore, he brought up another reason why they couldn’t help but accept the knightly family’s terms.

“It’s precisely because of that honor!”

“You’re saying overturning my words would actually be for honor’s sake?”

“Albeit reluctantly, the Earl of Wolves ranks higher than our family. And they also rule as lords over the Eastern Border.”

“So what?”

“While the Wolves family is a dominant power in the East, they are not the lord we serve. If you just accept an apology and conclude the matter, I fear rumors might spread that our family has been subjugated by the Wolves.”

Murmurs arose in the previously silent hall.

Luckily, it seemed to have some effect.

Specifically, the administrators, always troubled by budget issues, showed signs of cheer on their faces.

Taking advantage of this, Riina, formerly withdrawn, stepped forward.

“Wolves is not a family ignorant of such propriety. We respect the honor of the Maclaine to the utmost…”

But.

“Coming here to demand an annulment and then talking about propriety, isn’t that a bit funny, Miss?”

Before she could reach her main point, Logan interrupted her.

The gaze he directed at his fairy-pretty ex-fiancee was filled with cynicism.

Her face, ‘acting’ sorrowful, was aggravating.

Just glancing at her recalled memories that were still unpleasant, even as flashbacks.

In his past life, he was dragged out to face the public during his house arrest, and he received an apology in public according to his father’s declaration.

His pretty and lively childhood friend, now breathtakingly beautiful, had bowed her head crying before him.

Her reason was the annulled engagement, causing heartache, and his own pitiable situation brought tears to his eyes as well.

He thought his beautiful fiancee was genuinely mourning their ‘unavoidable’ fate.

“Please make one last memory with me. Would you come to my room tonight?”

And looking into her beautiful eyes as she whispered to him, he decided to elope out of love.

His life was already ruined as a Maclaine son; he was willing to risk everything for the woman he loved.

And that night.

When he secretly snuck into her room, he found her strangely cold, smiling as she ripped her own clothes with a dagger.

“Screaaaaam!”

The young lady’s scream echoed through the manor, and she threw the dagger at him.

As he instinctively drew his longsword and knocked away the dagger, Rockfern burst into the room and subdued him.

All the servants of the house witnessed the sight.

The sight of the eldest son wielding a longsword and being restrained by a knight, in front of a beautiful young lady with torn clothes, crying, in her room at midnight.

“Oh, no! Riina. Why are you doing this? You called upon me!”

Logan’s desperate cry was nothing more than an excuse.

Already condemned, not even his family believed him.

And.

“Do you really think you suit me? Know your place and get lost. Losing to a child, why do you even carry a sword… Thanks to you, this is easy. Thank you.”

The small whisper he heard as he was taken away.

At that voice, Logan’s reasoning broke, and his defiance was taken for truth.

As a result, the Maclaine family had to apologize to the Wolves and even pay a hefty compensation.

The problematic delinquent of the family being banished was just an afterthought.

The incident, which Logan experienced before he was of age, influenced his life significantly thereafter.

In a very negative way.

‘I became distrustful of women because of you, you damn wretch.’

He ground his teeth inwardly while outwardly he maintained composure and spoke again.

His past life grievances were just that, past. The pressing matter was different.

“If you’re truly sorry, wouldn’t it be normal to accept compensation? Right now, Miss, it seems like you actually want us to refuse that compensation.”

With that, the mood in the great hall shifted once again.

“That’s right?”

“Certainly quite…”

“It does look like persuading us not to accept it.”

Noticing the hall’s buzzing, Riina bit her lip hard, a momentary flash of confusion on her face.

“Representing the Wolves family, I will offer a sincere apology once more as the party involved in the engagement. Regardless of which choice your lordship makes, I will ensure the promised amount is paid.”

The sorrowful expression of the beautiful woman once again targeted the high seats.

Faced with her gaze, Baron Maclaine’s face turned frighteningly rigid.