The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Are you sure about this? Isn’t this a dangerous thing to do?”

“Oh, don’t worry! I’ve thoroughly checked with my own eyes for days!”

A cabin located in the remote mountains, with sparse human presence.

In fact, it was more like a mansion than a cabin, large enough to be called a mansion without any hesitation.

“It’s hard to believe even after seeing it with my own eyes! It’s unbelievable that such a big house exists in these mountains, and that only two young women live inside?”

“There seems to be one man living there too! But he’s probably not here now. He usually goes out early in the morning and comes back late at night! I saw him once in the village, he didn’t look strong or capable at all! Haha.”

The man with a pointed beard reassured his companion not to worry.

“You’d be smitten too if you saw her face! Have you ever seen such a beautiful woman? She must be from some noble family!”

“Why would a noblewoman hide in these mountains?”

“Well, there must be some complicated reasons! Anyway, our job is to kidnap that woman without anyone knowing! Surely we can sell her off for a good price elsewhere! It wouldn’t hurt for us to make some profit before selling her off!”

“There’s another person? Then let’s just kidnap them all!”

As if the job had already succeeded, the men chuckled at each other.

Until the voice of a slender woman from behind was heard.

“Do you have business with our house?”

“Gah!”

Startled, the men quickly turned their heads and then seemed to lose their wits, awkwardly pursing their lips.

A woman with rare pink hair, with an innocent face fluttering her light pink hair, smiled sweetly at them.

Could this feeling of overwhelming one’s heart just by looking at her be real?

She appeared to be around nineteen or twenty, extremely cute despite her young age.

“No response? Are you speechless?”

The woman chuckled, urging for a response.

Upon this, the man with the pointed beard cleared his throat and stepped forward.

“Are you the owner of that house?”

“Not the owner, just living there. The owner is our Papa!”

At the mention of ‘Papa,’ the men inwardly sighed in relief.

They were convinced she was from a noble family.

“I see, I see! We’re not bad people! Rather, you could say we’ve come to help! It seems like living in these mountains without any knights for protection could be risky. We’re here to offer some help in that regard…”

“Lies.”

With firmness in her voice, the woman cut off the man.

“With such a foul smell emanating, you came to do good deeds? You can’t fool me.”

“A foul smell? What do you mean…?”

“I should eat before Emily sees us.”

As if suddenly reminded of delicious food, she extended her tongue and licked her lips.

The sight was so eerie that sweat dripped involuntarily from the men’s backs.

But that biological reaction was only temporary.

The uneasiness the men felt soon turned into fear.

“What… what’s happening?”

The woman, who had been smiling angelically at them, no longer had a human appearance.

The hearts that had fluttered with excitement now pounded with fear, and despite the desire to flee, their feet, invaded by terror, refused to move.

“I’ll enjoy this meal….”

It was the beginning of a pleasant dining time.

* * *

“What’s up? Where have you been?”

“Oh, just went outside for a moment to get some fresh air!”

In case she suspected something, Nana hurriedly wiped her mouth.

“Is Brian late again today?”

“It seems so. Probably caught up doing some useless chores for the villagers…”

Emily stirred the ladle in the soup pot, her expression somewhat displeased.

“There seems to be more food than usual today, can you finish it all, kiddo?”

“Um, yes! I can finish it all!”

“Why the expression? Did you go somewhere to eat?”

“W-well, what do you mean? I’ll be in my room, call me when it’s ready, sis!”

Nana rushed to her room as if fleeing.

“…?”

Without feeling anything strange, Emily focused on cooking the soup again.

“Sigh…”

Nana, who had rushed to her room, flopped onto the bed.

After seeming to rest with her eyes closed for a while, she suddenly remembered something, then opened the drawer next to her and took out a letter.

The letter itself was quite worn out, as if it had been read dozens of times at least.

“…”

Nana seemed absorbed in reading the letter, but soon sighed weakly and put it down.

“I miss you…”

“Who?”

Suddenly hearing a familiar voice, Nana sat up abruptly.

The confident gaze she had just moments ago disappeared completely, replaced by eyes full of surprise and joy.

“Papa!”

Cyan, who had returned unnoticed, sat calmly in front of Nana.

“What were you doing that you couldn’t even smell me?”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing!”

Nana hurriedly hid the letter she was reading.

“Oh? When did the young master arrive?”

Emily, who had sensed Cyan’s presence, also entered Nana’s room.

As if genuinely pleased to see the master after a long time, Emily looked Cyan up and down.

“Do you only eat and wander around? Your face seems even more gaunt than last time.”

Looking at the more slender face than before, Emily asked with concern.

[It’s not enough for a man to just eat well, is it? Sometimes you gotta take in some regular nourishment too, that’s how you really enjoy life. What’s the use of keeping everything in good shape if you don’t know what to use it for?]

Kaeram, who had manifested alongside him, stretched out on the bed and spoke.

Cyan, seeming too bothered to reply, didn’t even glance in Kaeram’s direction.

“Papa! Let’s go out! I want to take a walk, Papa!”

“Sure, I understand.”

Excitedly, Nana jumped up and went outside quickly.

Even as he watched her leave, Cyan’s gaze soon turned to the drawer next to the bed.

She had been reading the letter until just now, even though he didn’t want to check its contents, the name written on the back of the letter was impossible to ignore.

[Arin]

* * *

Azelda, a border city in the northern part of the Garam Kingdom.

It was not only the closest city to the neutral city of Luwen, where the Royal Academy was located, but also the place where officials from the Ushif Empire and the Garam Kingdom had gathered for negotiations after the ‘Day the Mist Cast Light’ incident seven years ago.

Coincidentally, the two officials who had been present at the scene at that time were now facing each other as representatives for this negotiation.

Before the imperial envoy arrived, they had already agreed to the terms of compensation for this incident through written correspondence.

Thus, the face-to-face meeting currently taking place was merely to confirm the terms of the treaty.

“…”.

With the members of the academy, the guardian knights, and the vassals who accompanied them all gone, Luna and Arin remained in the meeting room.

*Humming*

To ensure a private conversation, Luna immediately created a restricted barrier.

“Long time no see, Luna? I never expected you to be the representative for this negotiation.”

“Likewise. I also never expected Her Highness to come as the envoy’s representative.”

While Luna struggled to relax her stiff expression, Arin’s face remained consistently smiling.

Luna was well aware that Arin’s smile was not one of natural ease but rather a facade to conceal herself.

“It’s been almost four years since graduating from the academy, right? I’ve noticed this before, but you seem to change every time I see you. You’ve always been noticeably growing.”

Arranging this meeting wasn’t about discussing their trivial growth.

Without any response to her praise, Luna took out a letter from her pocket and handed it to Arin.

Without asking any questions, Arin began to read the letter immediately.

Her reaction was mostly indifferent, with little surprise.

“Are you pretending not to be surprised? Or perhaps, there’s nothing to be surprised about?”

“I didn’t know. But I didn’t think much about it like you said.”

The document contained the truth about the misconduct of the Saintess, Nephrodite, along with attempts to blame it on the Garam Kingdom.

“Please don’t misunderstand. Our royal family has no connection to this side.”

“It’s not the royal family, but perhaps only Her Highness has no connection?”

In response to Luna’s direct question, Arin replied with a bitter smile.

This wasn’t something that could be easily resolved by mere tail-cutting.

If this information spread, it could lead to significant conflicts between nations.

However, all of this was being blocked by members of the Garam Magic Society, under Luna’s leadership.

“Are you showing me this because Luna also doesn’t want this truth to spread?”

Luna affirmed with silence.

“Impressive. Preventing the spread of the truth isn’t an easy task.”

“Please don’t misunderstand, Your Highness. This wasn’t done for the Ushif Empire.”

Nor was it done for the Garam Kingdom.

This was purely for Luna herself.

To prevent the fact that Cyan was involved in this incident from being revealed.

“If there’s anything else you need besides the compensation offered in this negotiation, feel free to tell me. I’ll handle everything within my power.”

“Indiscriminate compensation may not be what the royal family desires, right?”

“It’s fine because it’s what I want. After all, I’m also a member of the royal family.”

Arin firmly asserted that there was no problem at all.

“I should go now. As much as I’d like to have a more enjoyable conversation since it’s been a while, it seems there won’t be time for that.”

Arin, judging that the business was concluded, rose from her seat without hesitation.

“Until next time, Luna. It was nice meeting you.”

For some reason, the idea of “next time” didn’t sound quite pleasant.

Would there really be a next time between them?

Would she still hold the position of princess when they meet again?

Nothing was certain.

“Oh, I met Cyan, by the way.”

“…!”

Arin, who was about to leave the room, stopped in her tracks at those words.

“Did you?”

There was an unmistakable tremor beneath her casual response.

“How… has he been?”

Not asking where, how, or why they met, just a firm question about how he has been.

It was the best question Arin could come up with right now.

“He’s the same, I guess. Just passed by without a word? I’m not sure if it was intentional, but he seemed to have caught a new girl in the meantime.”

“So, he’s the same…”

Her disappointed laughter still carried poignant emotions.

“I’m glad he’s doing well…”

With that, Arin left the room.