Regressor of the Fallen Family novel Chapter 170

Chapter 170

Just ten or so days ago, the MacLaine estate posted an announcement seeking management personnel throughout all its castles. Yet before even a month— the prescribed hiring period— had elapsed, the MacLaine Town’s government office was swarming with applicants.

“Now, now. Please form a line, a line!”

“My god, everyone who wants to become a manager, please maintain some order… Ah, come on!”

“Hey there! If you keep cutting the line, it’ll be a mark against you during the interview!”

Despite the advertisement specifying a recruitment of thirty individuals, the count of applicants on that day alone had surpassed three hundred. As around a dozen soldiers sweated bullets trying to control the crowd.

All of which had to be interviewed and vetted by Dwayne, Lupen and Ferran, whose faces already looked considerably wearied.

A real-time scene of the MacLaine manor’s chubby trio forced into a diet.

Eventually, Ferran, his cheeks already half their former size, tossed the documents he was carrying.

“Oh, why is there so much! We can’t even get to our own work!”

“Quiet, Ferran. It’s not just you who’s having a tough time!”

“But still—”

“All of you, shut it.”

With dark circles under his eyes that reached his jawline, Dwayne suppressed the commotion among his subordinates with an ominous voice.

His hair and beard, untouched for days, were so wild that one wouldn’t know where to begin sorting them out, adding an even more frightening aura to his presence.

Lupen shrank his neck and went back to scanning the resumes.

“Damn it. They’re all nobles.”

A good number of the applicants were riffraff, sure, but there were also plenty with decent experience. The issue was that most of these seemingly qualified individuals turned out to be aristocrats bearing titles.

It did not matter if they were untitled nobles or petty barons without succession rights; as a commoner himself, it would only mean more people for him to serve if they were to be admitted as managers.

‘How on Earth did the people from the Kallia estate know to come before we even made our announcements? This is maddening.’

For some reason, lower managers from a fallen grand estate had flocked en masse.

Already fraught with internal conflict, the stress from this discord—and not just from the fatigue of continuous interviews—was almost unbearable.

Dwayne may have been inscrutable, but at least Ferran shared a similar expression.

Though they heaved sighs, not much else would change.

After all, the final decision was not theirs to make.

“Send all the managers coming from a grand estate background on to the second round of interviews. The lord will judge them as necessary.”

“Dwayne, sir, does that mean we’ll end up having to serve these managers…?”

“Enough. Isn’t the estate’s business more important than ours?”

“Dwayne— no, brother! Then what about us…?!”

“Keep it down. Everyone can hear us outside. And well, the lord will surely take good care of us.”

Dwayne’s voice remained calm as he chided them, but Lupen still looked dissatisfied.

“No, but still—”

“After the war ends and the rewards are paid, we’ll have enough to live on for a lifetime, Lupen. Let’s not be too greedy.”

“Ha… Ah, my lord, you truly are a loyal subject. I am just narrow-minded.”

“I, too, am pained, you fool.”

“Enough, it’s just me. I’m the bad one. Only me.”

At Lupen’s grumbling, Ferran chimed in.

“You lose weight when you’re stressed. You might as well just sleep it off.”

“Shut up, Ferran! You pig! What are you stuffing your face with now—”

“Enough! Both of you stop!!”

Lupen and Ferran continued to bicker but fell in line with Dwayne’s decision.

The furry financial administrator, serving the MacLaine estate for nearly two decades, looked at the applicants waiting outside with a bitter expression.

‘Our estate must be doing that well. Yeah, let’s think positively.’

But somehow, that sight didn’t bring him as much joy as it should have.

* * *

“How are the preparations for the harvest season in Theseron Castle?”

“I’ve laid them on your desk, Administrator.”

“What about the Town barrier construction?”

“The documents are on the right side of your desk.”

“And next, umm…”

“It was concerning the road construction from Theseron to Sylvan and Vipros. It’s still being organized. I’ll have it ready for you by tomorrow morning.”

“Take your time with it, Fabian… sir.”

“It’s nothing, Dwayne sir. I must show the abilities that the lord has chosen me for.”

Dwayne, unlike the thin and young Administrator Fabian, could only nod in response to his words.

It wasn’t wrong at all.

The documents were impeccably organized, the work was done quickly, and there was nothing to fault in their content.

‘Was he from Douglas?’

Dwayne finally realized the announcements initially intended for the internal MacLaine estate had somehow spread unknown to the top brass, to the capital, and across the kingdom.

Thanks to that, the MacLaine estate had easily obtained the much-needed managerial manpower, yet Dwayne could not rejoice at the situation.

The biggest reason was that among the applicants, the two who received the highest evaluations—Fabian and the middle-aged gentleman, Lockman—turned out to be petty barons.

In other words,

‘Damn it. I have to show deference to my subordinates now.’

At least they showed decorum toward him, but what troubled him more…

“Ah, I have corrected a few errors in the document you reviewed before. Please, I ask for your approval again.”

“Errors?”

“There were minor mistakes in the budget calculation. If verified with the Rohiter method of cross-validation…”

…was the fact that they could fluently discuss theories he hardly understood and apply them to their tasks. Watching them do so filled him with self-doubt.

That persistent sense of inadequacy day after day.

After much thought, Dwayne finally came to a decision.

Bang!

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“Dwayne, sir?”

“Where are you going?!”

Ignoring the voices calling after him, Dwayne’s steps were brisk, yet oddly they seemed heavy.

Bang.

“Here are the documents for approval, Your Highness.”

“Just leave them. You are getting faster, aren’t you?”

Observing the angle of the sun outside the window, Logan chuckled as he looked up at Dwayne.

“Yes. Most of the newly hired managers are doing their part well. Especially Mr. Fabian and Mr. Lockman, they perform even better than me.”

“Oh? Is that so?”

Logan cocked his head in response to Dwayne’s words, and his expression stiffened slightly.

But he did not forget what he had to say; his feelings and work were separate matters.

“Yes. They are truly exceptional. As we continue to hire more managers, I suspect the volume of documents for Your Highness to review will significantly decrease.”

“Oh, good news. I need to normalize operations and keep my hands free as much as possible. Alright, you’ve done well. You may leave now.”

“But Your Highness.”

“Hmm?”

Sensing a shift in the atmosphere, Logan looked at Dwayne with a puzzled expression.

“That’s why I wanted to tell you, um…”