Regressor of the Fallen Family novel Chapter 263

“Logan McLean… Logan McLean… How odd… He’s defied all expectations.”

Muttering to himself, the second prince’s voice echoed in the room, causing Leos, who stood by his side, to stiffen his initially expressionless face. Having confidently given advice related to the McLean Kingdom that all proved wrong, he took the prince’s murmurings as subtle criticism directed at himself.

“My apologies, Your Highness. It was my lack. I am sorry.”

Officially, archivists assigned to each prince for the imperial succession were neutral. Their purpose was to assess the capabilities of their respective princes and to provide objective indicators of those results to the emperor. However, tradition had somehow solidified that the newly ascended emperor would not only obliterate his competing brothers but also their archivists, either through assassination or exile. Consequently, archivists were compelled to support the prince they served with all their might, their survival dependent on his victory.

Naturally, Leos had no choice but to do his utmost to ensure the second prince’s triumph. The prince knew this all too well.

The accumulated score for the imperial succession still favored the second prince.

Moreover, the recent completion of an operation against a coalition of minor kingdoms had been successful thanks to Leos’s stratagem.

“No, no. If you were lacking, who wouldn’t be? It’s just that man… He’s the one who’s strange…”

The second prince spoke shortly, clicking his tongue.

“Setting aside the past events, what do you think is the main reason we couldn’t predict this incident?”

Leos promptly answered the question.

“Logan McLean. His behavior defies all common sense.”

“Be specific.”

“It is clear that the McLean Kingdom has an undisclosed source of substantial funds. However, its usage was peculiar.”

“Peculiar how?”

“If they had such a source of funds, they needn’t have risked the side effects of rapidly growing their military. Given the estimated size of their funds, they would have easily built their army in five years.”

“But they chose to do it in a year, accepting all those side effects, is that right? Wasn’t it a ploy to reorganize their own nobility?”

“They could have easily suppressed the nobles after the army was created. Even before that, the king had considerable royal power and could’ve dealt with any rebellious noble by just exercising his rights.”

“So why did he rush?”

“There are two possibilities. One is that his nature couldn’t bear the wait…”

“That’s not it.”

Leos nodded in agreement with the second prince’s assertive response. Given the man’s behavior and speech before the emperor, it was an obvious conclusion.

“Then there’s only one other possibility left.”

Leos paused before cautiously continuing.

“He knows about our empire’s ‘grand plan.’”

At those words, both Leos and the second prince could not help but harden their expressions.

“Yes. That would make sense. And yet, it also doesn’t.”

The second prince smirked bitterly. A minor kingdom’s king knew of plans that only the emperor, his archivists, and the participating princes of the imperial succession were aware of? Plans developed and refined over the last 20 years by the reclusive emperor?

Anyone with even a slight knowledge of the imperial security policies would find such a claim unbelievable.

Leos, too, chuckled bitterly, rubbing the small magic tattoo etched on his temples.

“Are we just speculating?”

“Speculating alone doesn’t drive a nation’s policies to the brink of disaster.”

“Right. That’s true. But then how did he find out?”

“That, I do not know. I apologize.”

“Don’t you have even a guess?”

“No.”

“Well, then. We’re in quite the predicament, aren’t we…”

Finger-drumming on the armrest, the second prince asked again.

“What can be confirmed right now?”

“We should be able to conclude the tracing of their funds in a month or two.”

“Do you have any expectations?”

“Discovery of a rare mineral mine or an ancient ruin. One of those.”

“Either way, it means they hit a jackpot. Not good for us… But whether it’s ore or artifacts, shouldn’t we have noticed if they were in circulation?”

“The only item traded between the McLean Kingdom and our empire was grain.”

“Then?”

“While dealing with the minor kingdoms coalition, we discovered a vast sum of money flowing into McLean. It wasn’t grain, and we are currently investigating the transaction details.”

“Just from the minor kingdoms coalition? And ours was just grain?”

“Yes.”

“It really seems like they know about the grand plan. Otherwise…”

Leos agreed with the second prince’s murmuring but refrained from commenting.

He could give advice but the final decision was entirely up to the prince.

With such thoughts, he waited for the decision when suddenly, the prince uttered an unexpected proposition.

“It seems I must go take a look myself.”

“Pardon?”

“With the invitation having already arrived, I shall go. Prepare the ‘ghosts’.”

“Your Highness!! Is that really necessary…?!”

Surprised by the prince’s rare expression of emotion, Leos was met with a chilling smile from the second prince. Perhaps His Majesty the Emperor would not be interested in such minor details. After all, even if that small kingdom knew of the grand plan, it certainly could never thwart the empire.

‘But I am not so sure. I have a bad feeling.’

The black irises of the second prince, Baros van Ares, shimmered intensely.

* * *

After the Kingdom of McLean announced their national marriage.

As winter approached, marking the end of the year, a large procession crossed the eastern borders of the McLean Kingdom against the biting cold winds.

The procession, easily numbering over a thousand, stretched on with wagons and people in tow.

An annoyed voice came from the front of the line, “Usually, marriages, especially national ones, are held in spring, aren’t they? In the middle of winter…”

“Well, they must have their reasons. Let’s focus on our task rather than such trivial details, Roy.”

“Yes, I know that. It’s just the weather is so cold…”

Lagon fully understood the young officer’s grumbling heart. As a mid-tier knight, he wouldn’t really feel the cold due to the gusty winter wind.

‘It’s not the weather that’s cold; it’s your heart.’

He felt the same.

‘Where did it all go wrong…?’

Their homeland, the Kingdom of Tria, within a coalition of seven minor countries, was the most powerful and had long held its leadership since the formation of the coalition.

Last summer, though only a duchy in name and more akin to a large territory of McLean, the sudden and unexpected request from the Duchy of Tahiti for a reconsideration of their decision-making power resulted in a change of the coalition’s leader. It was an incomprehensible move, but from within the coalition, it wasn’t such a significant change.

However, Tria was already shaking due to its newly diminished influence. New coalition resolutions required the reduction of border guards and lowering tariff rates for merchants.

For Tria, occurring income from trade between kingdoms was significant due to its central location in the coalition. Naturally, this situation was expected. freёwebnovel-com

Verify captcha to read the contentVerify