The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Two individuals who have maintained a secretive relationship since their first visit to the Chancellor’s office, claiming objections on the warning letter.

Look at the determined and cold eyes, not fitting for a 13-year-old boy.

Those were the unmistakable eyes of Cyan Vert, which Kundel had been seeing for the past two years.

If there was anything different, it was that his demeanor was much heavier than usual.

“Chancellor, Cyan?!”

Following them, officials came into Cyan’s room one by one.

Kundel didn’t even give them a glance and casually said.

“Everyone leave. Stay far away from the door…”

The officials, who were exchanging glances with each other, soon left the room quietly without any objections.

“You too, leave.”

Cyan also instructed his aides to go outside.

Emily and Brian, with anxious looks, glanced at each other for a moment before closing their eyes tightly and leaving the room.

Soon, only the two of them were left in the room.

– Hum

As soon as Kundel sat down, he erected a barrier to prevent eavesdropping.

“Why are you trying to have a secret conversation?”

“Be grateful I didn’t create a restrictive barrier…”

The Chancellor replied in a chilly tone mixed with sarcasm.

“Were you here the whole time I was absent?”

“Wasn’t that what you ordered?”

It was a somewhat ambiguous answer that was hard to determine its truthfulness.

“I’ll ask straightforwardly. Are you involved in this incident?”

“No.”

“I’ll ask again. Were you at the scene?”

“No, I wasn’t.”

“While I was in the palace, I heard that you and Set applied for Field Experience. Is that correct?”

“Yes. I did apply, but it was rejected.”

“So why did Set leave the academy then? Didn’t he know his application was rejected?”

“He just went out on his own regardless of approval. Or maybe he misunderstood the meaning of rejection.”

With each indifferent response, Kundel’s distrust deepened.

On the other hand, whether it mattered or not, Cyan’s eyes remained infinitely inscrutable.

“A moment ago, when I entered the room, I saw your shoes. There was sand on the floor.”

Cyan only moved the corner of his mouth slightly, not replying.

“It was fine golden sand that you can only see in the desert. In other words, it is something that you can never step on even if you travel around the entire Academy, as well as all of Luwen. I distinctly told you not to engage in any extracurricular activities, didn’t I?”

“…”

“I still vividly remember the day you first came. You told me it’s enough to see you as just an ordinary being, didn’t I?”

“Yes, I did.”

“Do you know that? The true nature of humans cannot always be hidden just because they try to hide it themselves. Perhaps you tried to draw the line that you’re ordinary, but judging from your actions, you were more than just extraordinary, almost bizarre.”

“…”

“Can you tell me one speculation that crosses my mind right now? You and Set probably left the academy together, not alone. But unlike Set, you kept revealing yourself at the academy. That means, you left a substitute for yourself at this academy.”

As if exercising the right to remain silent, Cyan’s mouth didn’t open.

“Why did you leave the academy without permission? I don’t know. Whatever the two students did wherever they went, a simple punishment or reprimand would have sufficed. But I have another reason for looking at you with such suspicion.”

Kundel’s gaze shifted not to Cyan, but behind Cyan, to a firmly closed door.

“Answer me. What was the existence you replaced you with?”

Cyan spoke with indifferent eyes that didn’t even blink.

“There seems to be no reason for me to answer that.”

“I’ll ask again. What is the presence in that room?”

“…”

The already heavy air seemed to press down even more heavily.

Their fixed gazes showed no signs of wavering, and an invisible, fierce current surged between them.

“My answer remains the same. Whatever is inside, there’s no reason for me to tell the Chancellor.”

“What will you do if I force my way in?”

Kundel’s eyes were filled with a momentum that seemed like he could break down that closed door at any moment.

Once again, a brief moment of silence passed,

“Go ahead, open it.”

As Cyan’s mouth, which had been casually closed, finally opened,

– Whoosh!

A violent gust swept through the room as if a hurricane had struck.

Hair fluttered in all directions, and despite the falling objects in the room, Cyan’s expression remained unchanged.

“…!”

On the other hand, Kundel’s face was contorted in seriousness.

“What have you… done?”

“Why ask if you already know? I simply prevented the Chancellor from opening the door.”

It wasn’t out of ignorance that he asked.

Kundel had known from the moment he entered the room that there was magic cast on that firmly closed door.

Not just simply casting magic, but thoroughly concealing any traces of magic so as not to be noticed.

But the eyes of a rare 9th-tier archmage on the continent couldn’t be deceived.

This Royal Academy was a place he had cultivated for decades, and he thought there was no space beyond his reach.

The consideration for this arrogant little brat was gone beyond his mind with a thought of using his mana to open the door.

‘How can this be?’

He couldn’t open it.

Despite the spread of Kundel’s mana as an archmage, the door did not open.

What could that mean?

It meant that the boy in front of him had a mana power that matched his own.

Just a mere 13-year-old boy.

‘Could this boy truly be a reincarnation of a god?’

Kundel had always thought that there would be no rival in this land when it came to magic, so beyond surprise, it had now entered the realm of his pride.

At this point, Kundel thought.

He would never leave this room without opening that door.

“Let me say this for the last time. Release the magic and open that door right now. If not…”

“If not, what will you do?”

“You will no longer receive fair treatment as a student of this academy.”

It was the last line he could draw as the Chancellor, and if he didn’t even keep this line, he wouldn’t take responsibility for whatever happened next.

At the peak of the tension that had been building up all along,

Cyan, with the same unchanged gaze from the beginning, spoke in a voice as sharp as a knife and a spear,

“Even if the royal crown were to collapse…”

He responded to the final warning.

“That door will not open.”

At the same time as those words, Kundel raised his hand and gathered the mana within him.

“Don’t regret it too late. All of this was caused by you…”

– Creak

“…!?”

The moment the two sharp eyes, like swords and spears, were aimed at each other.

The violently swirling air currents suddenly disappeared.

The door, which he had been absolutely certain wouldn’t open, opened futilely.

Not from outside, but from within.

“What in the…?”

Kundel looked towards the door with a perplexed expression he had never experienced in his lifetime.

Although she looks like a human, she does not exude human aura.

Hands tightly gathered to one side as if nervous.

Even her long, pinkish hair.

From her, he felt the same energy he had sensed earlier in the alleyways of Luwen and Arin’s room.

“Oh, hello…?”

As she nodded her head and greeted, her immature appearance made it impossible for Kundel to maintain his guard.

* * *

For a moment, my mind went blank.

I must have told her not to come out until I opened the door, right?

Is this what it feels like to see a child defy their parents’ words for the first time?

Thank goodness she came out not as a dragon, but in human form!

Look at the eerie expression on that Chancellor’s face, who wouldn’t even be surprised to see a ghost.

At least, it must be clear to ordinary humans like us that she’s not just an ordinary person.

“What… were you raising?”

“Just to clarify, I wasn’t carrying her from the beginning.”

I clutched my forehead as a sudden headache struck.

Reluctantly gesturing towards Nana, who stood awkwardly, she quickly rushed over and sat next to me.

For now, he decided to wait until the president opened his mouth again, but he was so shocked that he couldn’t open his mouth easily.

“Is… is Grandpa the owner here?”

Nana, speaking for us, asked first.

“Well, yes, but… who are you exactly?”

“My name is Nana! Nana Vert! I’ve been living here with Papa, I mean Cyan Vert, for two years! I love eating delicious food!”

“Nana Vert?”

The Chancellor chuckled incredulously.

“Are you a dragon?”

“No! I’m a human!”

With an innocent smile that couldn’t be more genuine.

They say people get flustered when someone is shameless, and the Chancellor’s face was exactly like that now.

It seemed like he wanted to say, ‘Where do you see yourself as human?’ but perhaps he couldn’t spit it out, as his lips continued to tremble.

“I’m sorry for coming out without permission while you were talking! Papa, seemed to be misunderstood, so I came out to clear things up!”

“Misunderstood?”

The Chancellor immediately asked, puzzled.

“Yes! Actually, I was the one at the scene that you mentioned, not Papa…”

“Enough, Nana. That’s all.”

Cyan interrupted Nana with a gentle finger on his lips.

“You should go back in. Dad needs to talk to Grandpa. Go on.”

“Okay, got it.”

She’s really good at listening to instructions.

As Nana bowed her head once more towards the Chancellor, she went straight back into the room.

As soon as she entered the room, he cast a barrier to prevent eavesdropping around the door.

“Now, explain it with your own mouth.”

The Chancellor, with venom back in his eyes, glared at me and asked.

“Your thoughts are correct, and so is the girl’s words.”

Mixing the undisguised truth with a bit of falsehood, I explained everything about her.

Upon hearing the story, the Chancellor looked at me almost scornfully.

“Even if she’s half, it’s no small matter! Raising a being with dragon blood here for two years. What on earth were you thinking?”

“I know you may not believe it, but I’ve considered killing her many times at first.”

But I couldn’t, and that’s why I’ve been raising her until now.

“Fine, if it’s that girl who killed those mercenaries instead of you, then I’ll have to hold her accountable for that sin from now on. Does that not matter to you?”

“She only dealt with the mercenaries who came here with impure intentions. There’s no crime in that.”

“So you’re justifying it as self-defense?”

I raised an eyebrow in agreement.

“Even for someone like me who prides themselves on seeing and experiencing everything, it’s been a long time since I’ve been so confused.”

Why am I so miserable?

“For now, we need to understand the origin of those mercenaries, so I’ll hold off on dealing with you two. But don’t get it twisted. I haven’t allowed that girl to stay here yet…”

A grim future seemed to loom, with the possibility of being summoned to the Chancellor’s office multiple times.

“I really can’t fathom what goes through your mind. You already know, but for the time being, you better behave yourself.”

“I understand.”

Reluctantly, I nodded my head.

As the conversation concluded, the Chancellor rose from his seat,

*creeak*

And Nana’s closed door opened once again.

“Goodbye, Grandpa!”

She’s so polite.

Even though I had set up a barrier to prevent eavesdropping, it seems that she sensed the Chancellor’s impending departure.

“Ahem!”

With an uncomfortable cough, the Chancellor paused before quietly turning to Nana.

“You like eating delicious food?”

“Yes!”

“Got it…”

With that, the Chancellor left the room.

That evening, Nana was treated to an extraordinary feast like no other.