I Regressed to My Ruined Family Chapter 24

＃When they returned, the family was ruined (24)

Frexian and Lawrence.

I returned to Naeseong with two people. Frexian was immediately entrusted with overall administration.

After he left.

Only Lawrence and Ethan were left in the office.

“Lawrence.”

“yes. “Your Majesty.”

“Why don’t you try my trick?”

“Character… you mean?”

Lawrence’s eyes widened.

For commoners, a nobleman’s strategy was one of the best ways to get ahead. Since the opportunity had come so quickly, it was no wonder that I was so surprised.

“okay. “I think you would be a good fit for that position.”

The guy who was muttering at those words spoke first.

“Hey, Archduke.”

“Why are you doing that?”

“That’s actually… there’s something I couldn’t tell you.”

“What.”

Lawrence said, closing his eyes tightly at those words.

“Actually, I’m not a man.”

If his voice before was like that of a soft boy, this time it had a completely feminine feel.

In an instant, the voice changed. Despite this, there was no change in Ethan’s expression.

“okay.”

I just nodded curtly.

In his previous life, he was a transcendent.

No matter how far away you looked, you could tell at a glance whether the other person was a man or a woman.

So I already knew about her gender.

Lawrence was startled by the calm answer. The Archduke was furious, asking if she had deceived him, and did not even try to retract the offer he made to her, saying she was a woman.

This is a completely unexpected reaction. Lawrence tilted his head.

“…Did you by any chance know?”

“uh.”

“But why didn’t you say anything?”

“Does it matter?”

Ethan was a knight who survived until humanity was close to extinction.

What was most important at that time was not trivial factors like gender.

ability.

Only this one thing was important. At that time, the standards for judging a person’s usefulness were completely solidified.

That’s why I didn’t mention the guy’s gender.

“…I have been wandering the streets since I was young.”

“is it.”

His parents did not give him any love since he was born.

What they wanted was their eldest son, not their eldest daughter.

From a very young age, Laurence and Sylvia realized that it was much more advantageous to live as a man than a woman in this world.

Even when the Barony’s tax collector would chew his mouth every time he saw him.

Even when, after the family starved to death due to excessive exploitation, they ran away from home and spent a long time rolling on the ground.

It was always like that.

He spent nearly nine years rolling around on the ground before being picked up by Frexian.

“That’s why I dressed up as a man. “It was something I had to do to protect myself…”

“I understand.”

“…I hope you don’t mention it to me, Master.”

“Doesn’t even Frexian know?”

“yes.”

Sylvia smiled bitterly.

She recalled the story she heard while receiving training from Frexian.

He said that he was a bright child, so even if he was a commoner, he would definitely be able to rise to a high position.

However, Frexian had no idea that she was a woman.

If I had known, I wouldn’t have said that.

Just being a poor person is a big limitation, and it’s even worse if you’re a woman.

Maybe it was just a night service, but if it wasn’t, it was obvious that no noble would put much effort into it.

That would be the same for the Archduke in front of me.

Maybe he was looking at himself with such a calm face because he had completely missed the time to get angry. Or maybe they are showing that attitude because they are very patient.

“So the Archduke’s proposal cannot be accepted….”

“Why? As I said before, gender is not an important factor to me.”

Lawrence’s eyes widened.

Even if it was just once for the sake of respect, you can’t believe you’re repeating the same thing twice.

“Are you really planning to keep me as your agent?”

“If you do your job well, why not?”

“…If it turns out that I am a woman, many people will point fingers at the Archduke.”

He is said to be a bookkeeper and waits around at night. Ethan chuckled at those words.

“Are you pointing a finger at me? Do you really think their fingers will be safe?”

“….”

“Well, if you don’t like it, I won’t force you. “You can just live by the side of Frexian and take on auxiliary work.”

I was given a choice.

So, it was right for you to make your own judgment.

‘If you don’t like it, there’s nothing you can do about it.’

Even the king can’t do something if he doesn’t like it.

Ethan quietly waited for an answer.

She said after thinking for a while.

“…If it’s okay with you, Grand Duke, I’d like to give it a try. Instead, can I tell people that my gender is male?”

“If it’s comfortable for you, do it.”

Since you have been cross-dressing for a long time, you will feel much more comfortable doing it in public. She lowered her head at those words.

“thank you.”

“Why with something like this?”

“…Oh. “My real name is Sylvia.”

“So Lawrence is a pseudonym?”

“It’s my little brother’s name.”

‘I see.’

The reason she was called Lawrence in her past life was probably because she used her younger brother’s name.

Ethan nodded.

“okay. “Take care of me, Sylvia.”

“Yes, Archduke.”

A bookkeeper has been added.

Now it was time to leave the work to him.

“I’m thinking of sending out my first mission.”

“What is?”

The voice changed to the boy’s again.

“Wouldn’t your neck hurt if you do that?”

“We’ve been doing this for a long time, so we’re used to it now.”

“Right.”

Ethan nodded and handed over a ledger.

It was a ledger that I had received from the eldest son of the writer Baron last time, and it was a ledger in which the organizations that gave monthly payments were written down.

Of these, as many as 80% were concentrated in the small town of Poert.

It is a city that has rotted away as much as it has developed.

“They say the eight groups running rampant in this city are called the Eight Gates of Darkness.”

“Ah…”

“Do you know anything?”

“I heard this a lot when I used to live on the streets. To put it in one word, it is a collection of trash.”

Drug trafficking, kidnapping, theft, etc.

Eight representative groups of the underworld that are involved in all kinds of crimes.

They were called the Eight Gates of Darkness.

Ethan quietly nodded to Sylvia’s explanation.

“They are irredeemable trash.”

“It wasn’t to this extent originally, but over the past ten years, as the Baron continued to ignore them, they began to act more and more boldly. It is certainly true that, as the Grand Duke said, relief is impossible.”

“Our first mission is to deal with these guys. “So neatly that you never see me again.”

“If you give me just one day, I will figure it out.”

Sylvia quietly opened her eyes.

Depending on how this matter is handled, the Archduke’s perspective on himself will also change.

A difficult opportunity to seize.

I had no intention of handling it roughly.

“I will assign knights and soldiers. “Your role is that of a staff member.”

“yes. Oh. “Your Majesty.”

“say.”

“After this matter is taken care of, can I use the interest for personal use?”

“What are you going to use it for?”

“I’m trying to create an intelligence group.”

It’s an information group.

As long as the cleanup was done well, it was none of Ethan’s business whether he would kill them or utilize them.

“Do whatever you want.”

“We will move right away.”

“Have a nice trip.”

Sylvia left the office.

* * *

Hans and Myers.

A carriage carrying two people passed the large outer castle.

Hermes, a large city where the head family of Count Pernes is located.

We have finally arrived here.

Myers, looking at the magnificent appearance of the city, let out an exclamation.

“wow. “It’s really big.”

“young master. From now on, you need to be alert. “Our role is truly important.”

“That’s right.”

“You memorized all the instructions I gave you, right?”

“uh. “I memorized everything.”

Hans breathed a sigh of relief.

Now he had no choice but to stick close to Myers.

This means that depending on how Myers behaves, the treatment he will receive will be completely different.

I hope Myers does well.

While Hans was praying in his heart, the carriage that had passed the outer castle began to enter the inner castle.

Kelmont Castle.

When I saw what was considered one of the most luxurious castles in the western part of the continent, I couldn’t help but swallow my saliva.

Passing was accomplished without difficulty.

And I was able to receive a much bigger welcome than I expected.

Because the head of the family, Count Chaman, came out to greet the two in person.

“Youngest Confucius, it’s been a long time. How were you?”

“I’ve been doing well. How have you been, Count?”

“There’s so much work going on these days… ah, let’s not do this here, let’s go inside.”

Hans tilted his head.

‘The Count is welcoming us more than I expected.’

Myers said they had met each other a few times in the past, but that probably wasn’t the reason for him to be so welcoming.

If we were really that close, we wouldn’t have drunk people and tried to ruin them.

‘Why is the Count like that…?’

As Hans pondered for a moment, an assumption crossed his mind.

‘no way.’

Has the Archduke already made his move?

Otherwise, there was no reason for the heavy-assed Count to greet Myers with such excitement.

It was clear that something had changed.

Just before entering the office.

The Count looked at Hans.

“Who is the author?”

“Ah, this is my favorite attendant. “I keep him by my side because he is quick-witted and kind-hearted.”

“haha. okay.”

“Can we go in together?”

“Of course.”

Three people entered the office. The Count sat at the head table and Myers sat next to him.

“Anyway, why did you come here? “The distance is quite long, and it must have been a while since the Archduke woke up.”

“Whew. That’s actually….”

Myers, who was messing up his hair, sighed and said.

“My eldest brother has become a bit… very strange.”

“The Archduke?”

“Let’s take a look here.”

Myers lifted his jacket. His shirt was covered with all kinds of scars.

There were even areas where scabs had not yet healed.

It was clearly a trace of Jingeom passing by.

“How on earth is this happening? Who treated the youngest Confucius like this….”

“The eldest brother is like that. “Not only me, but also Hans here was beaten up as well.”

Hans opened his mouth like lightning.

A sparse empty space was visible between the insides of his mouth.

It was a sign that a tooth had fallen out.

“I couldn’t bear it. As the Count knows, my eldest brother used to be very calm and dependable…”

“…It was definitely like that.”

“But now you’re just going crazy as if you’ve completely changed?”

Go crazy.

Chayman twitched the corner of his eyes.

Among the news I heard recently, there was one interesting story.

It is news that Baron Kargath has been completely harpooned by one of the archdukes. It is a rumor whose truth has not yet been properly determined.

But one thing was certain.

‘The Baron isn’t answering calls.’

Even if they try to contact the Baron in a way that only they know, they keep getting no news.

There was no doubt that it was four months old.

What if the Archduke was beginning to reveal his ambitions?

‘We also have to push one person.’

The Three Confucius are not allowed.

Because he was already a puppet of the seven kingdoms.

The Archduke was also in trouble.

He is a known human who killed one of the 10 collateral families without saying a word.

Moreover, putting a person with immunity on top of one’s head was the worst option.

‘It’s completely impossible to be a grand duchess.’

It may be that all men turned a blind eye, otherwise there were no cases of titles being handed down to women.

The only option worth pushing is the Myers in front of you.

It was right then.

“Count.”

“huh?”

“I know for a fact.”

“What do you mean?”

“The 10th branch of the clan tried to turn me into a drunken idiot and put me in the position of head of the family as a scarecrow.”

“…!”

Chaiman showed a puzzled expression for the first time at the sudden, fastball-like words.