The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Do you know what one must have while living their life?

It’s a place to come back to.

Wherever you go, whatever you do, a space where you can come back anytime and rest comfortably.

With that, one can truly say they are living their life.

Whether it’s short, a month, or long, over half a year.

Regardless of whether there’s leisure or not, once the work is done, without delay, come back here and check on the state of my belongings.

It’s been like that before, and it will continue to be so in the future.

At least as long as I continue living in this world with my eyes open, I think it’ll always be like that.

The evening sky beyond the western horizon is dyed red.

Sitting side by side on the hill overlooking the village, we were watching the very ordinary flow of nature.

“Papa. I actually ate someone earlier.”

“Oh?”

Having already seen traces on the way, I wasn’t particularly surprised.

“Yeah. They’ve been coming to our house for days, giving off a bad smell, so I just ate them secretly from Emily.”

“Good job.”

I gently stroked her head without any special reaction.

She leaned her head on my shoulder as if the touch felt really good.

She’s grown a lot.

If she goes out like this, she’ll probably look like someone of my age.

It’s not bad to grow up fast.

As long as you don’t age too fast.

“Earlier… did you see?”

“What? A letter?”

“You saw it…”

Feeling a little embarrassed, Nana smirked.

“It was the one you received through Brian before, right?”

“Yeah. It was the last letter Sister Arin wrote to me. I don’t know why, but I think of her from time to time. I wonder what Sister Arin is doing now…”

It’s not unreasonable.

Whether it’s a person or a dragon, it’s natural to miss someone who showed kindness to you.

The better the memories with that being, the more you’ll inevitably recall.

“Someday, when I grow up enough to live without Brian or Papa’s protection, will I be able to go meet Sister Arin by myself?”

“Of course. You can go wherever you want.”

It’s not just empty words, it’s sincere.

The problem is, when that time comes, whether Princess Arin will be alive, let alone me, I can’t guarantee.

-Jeobeojeobeok

Whenever I feel like taking a break, it feels like something comes up without fail.

Fifty steps behind us.

Someone familiar was coming to deliver something not very welcome.

“… ”

A man with a black mask appeared and bowed as soon as he saw me.

He’s a member of the Mist.

He silently handed me black papers.

“The leader asked me to deliver this.”

Considering there were at least ten sheets, it’s not an order.

Then it must mean to read the contents and decide what I’m going to do from now on.

I started reading the documents I received calmly.

“… ”

Then his face contorted as if the paper had been crumpled.

* * *

Seven years ago, after the so-called ‘Day the Mist Took Light,’ naturally, my existence, Cyan Vert, was considered the root of evil that must be eradicated from this continent.

So I hid for a while.

They told me to do whatever I wanted, and I loudly claimed I was ready to fully accept that.

But when I thought about the annoying things that would accompany it, I realized there wasn’t much point in thrashing about, so I just lived like a dead rat.

Of course, due to the occasional purification efforts I had been making, I was called by all sorts of strange titles like “the black-haired demon,” but.

But this crazy world seems never to leave me alone.

It feels like it keeps demanding something from me.

I’m not a blind fool seeking salvation, so why do I keep getting pushed into this?

I simply can’t understand.

-Terbuckterbuck

On an ambitious moonlit night.

Footsteps from outside the house could be heard.

It wasn’t a night visitor coming for trivial purposes.

-Taktaktak!

The leisurely steps soon turned into urgent ones, speeding up.

-Kerchunk!

And then, the door opened.

“You, young master? When did you arrive?”

My ever clumsy servant, Brian, is awkward no matter how many times I see him.

“Not too long ago.”

“I see…”

Brian scratched his head, looking quite uneasy.

“What did you go there for?”

“I, I went down to the village to help the elders with some work. Since there aren’t many young people in the village, if I’m not there, nothing gets done…”

“Why aren’t there many young people?”

“They said they went to big cities to find jobs.”

There seemed to be something uncomfortable to say, and Brian avoided eye contact.

“Never mind. Read this once.”

I handed Brian the black documents I had been reading a moment ago.

Receiving them unexpectedly, Brian cautiously began to read what was written inside.

“What do you think from your perspective?”

“Excuse me?”

“You’ve been going down to the village occasionally to work, right? Then you must have heard some of the gossip going around.”

For a moment, wearing a somewhat embarrassed expression,

Brian soon opened his mouth with a calm look in his eyes.

“Since your true form was revealed seven years ago, haven’t there been more movements to suppress everything related to you, including you, young master?”

I nodded without saying a word.

“But, apart from that, there seems to be a growing trend of people following you. Lately, I’ve been hearing quite frequently that one of the reasons young people are moving to the city is to become followers of the Mist…”

“Followers of the Mist?”

It was a statement I couldn’t react to without furrowing my brows.

“Yes. I doubted my ears when I heard it too. To the point where I wondered if I really understood what it meant…”

[Oh my? Has a support group arisen without our master’s knowledge?]

As if the situation were turning interesting, Kaeram appeared out of nowhere, laughing.

But it doesn’t seem like a situation to laugh about.

As Brian mentioned, the document given by the leaders also stated that, as followers of the Mist, the factions were increasingly emerging throughout the empire, defying the established order of light and prophesying the arrival of a new era based on a new order.

What’s ironic is that the Empire doesn’t seem to be suppressing them greatly.

Instead of suppression, they seem to be blindly observing, almost as if they wish for the faction to grow even stronger.

And most of all, the last sentence written at the end of this document was too absurd.

The prime suspect leading this situation is none other than Princess Arin.

* * *

“…!”

The saint, who had lost focus, regained her composure as her eyes lit up, returning to their original state.

“Are you feeling better, Your Holiness?”

In front of her, slowly rising to her feet, was none other than Princess Arin.

“Don’t worry. This is the Empire. We brought you here from the Kingdom of Garam because you lost consciousness. We are currently en route to Sevellinus.”

Nephrodite looked around, still holding her groggy head.

There was a large carriage traversing the vast plain and two figures inside.

There was no other energy felt.

“Why would Princess Arin herself come and not someone else?”

“I volunteered.”

“For what reason?”

“To test my abilities as a princess.”

Nephrodite’s face was filled with suspicion.

“How much did you overhear?”

She knew very well that there was definitely a price to pay for getting herself out of the situation.

Arin calmly spoke with a steady gaze.

“Whatever I heard, rest assured, I have no intention of sharing it elsewhere. Not to mention that you were a White Elf, Your Holiness.”

“…!”

Nephrodite’s eyes momentarily flashed.

“Doesn’t everyone have secrets in life? What’s important is burying those secrets and moving forward for what purpose. I’ve always appreciated the efforts of the saint for the prosperity of the Empire and the peace of the continent.”

“Do you know who caused this to happen?”

Instead of answering, Arin responded with silence.

Seeing no need to mention it, Nephrodite immediately nodded after asking.

“…!”

Nephrodite’s body trembled with a sudden chill of distrust and anxiety.

She glared at Arin with eyes full of suspicion and anxiety, while Arin met her gaze with an unchanged attitude.

“What is the meaning of this, Princess Arin?”

“I’ve already told you, haven’t I? I came to test my abilities as a princess.”

Eventually, as the carriage came to a halt, a knight waiting outside opened the door.

“Please disembark, Your Holiness.”

Without any further explanation or words, Arin instructed her to get off.

The place where they stepped down was the edge of an unknown plain, in front of a cliff where the fierce wind was cutting through the skin.

“When they first appeared over 60 years ago as the origin of the Mist, and revealed themselves when the followers of the Mist first appeared, you raised concerns about their danger. That movement had a significant influence on the formation of the Purification Army to suppress the followers of the Mist under the name of Lumendel, the god of light, and the Order of Light that followed in its wake has been dedicating its noble power to the peace of the continent.”

-Srung

As the saint looked at the landscape of the cliff, the sound of drawing swords reached her ears.

“But I cannot judge your subsequent actions as anything beneficial for the Empire and the continent.”

“What makes you think you can judge what I’ve done? I’ve been living for the peace of this continent long before you were born! What standards did you use to judge that the path I’ve taken wasn’t for peace?”

Though Nephrodite exploded with frustration, no one, including Arin, responded.

“Then verify it.”

“…?”

“If you are truly a messenger who hears the voice of Lumendel, wouldn’t he give you guidance on how to escape this situation?”

Nephrodite couldn’t bring herself to answer that she would.

“If not, you will be known to people as a fragile saint who, with a single moment of wrong choice, felt shame and sought redemption through death.”

With reverence, Arin knelt before her.

Following her lead, the other knights also expressed their final respects to the saint.

“May the blessings of Lumendel be with you…”

-Thunk

With those words, Arin’s sharp sword plunged into the saint’s heart.

Nephrodite fell without a scream, spilling blood, and Arin looked upon her pitiful form with indifferent eyes.

“Thank you for your service, Princess…”

As she finished her task, Ressimus approached her.

“Send a report to the royal family, Ressimus.”

She was no longer just a princess in appearance.

She had grown into a human who did not hesitate to stain her hands with blood to pursue the path laid out before her.

“Now, it seems we can proceed with our plans…”