The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“…!”

Even before feeling the excitement of the reunion, Arin’s restless eyes quickly turned to Cyan’s right hand.

A sharp crimson blade, emitting dense malice.

As Arin followed the arm holding the sword and finally met Cyan’s eyes, she realized.

Right now, Cyan intends to kill her.

“Step back, Your Highness!”

Recognizing this, Ressimus stepped forward to block Arin.

Drawing her sword, she infused it with mana in an instant.

In just a second.

– Vroom

As the sword resonated with mana, a blue aura emerged.

Ressimus was well aware that the man before her was Cyan, the assassin of Mist, not the youngest son of Duke Vert.

Even facing a demon, she wouldn’t tremble like this.

Despite feeling the overwhelming bloodlust and malice emanating from Cyan, Ressimus couldn’t retreat.

She was the sword protecting the princess.

Even if the opponent were not a demon but a devil, she had to protect her.

– Jebuk

Despite the strong magic emanating from the longsword, Cyan continued forward.

“If you come any closer, I’ll consider it a threat and respond!”

Ressimus shouted firmly, but Cyan didn’t even react.

Without waiting, Ressimus rushed forward, swinging her sword with swift and concise movements.

– Whoosh

Eliminating all unnecessary movements, it was the best course of action to subdue the opponent.

It was a flawless move, showing no openings for counterattacks, but…

– Clang!

Cyan easily blocked her sword with a simple motion, as if already predicting her every move, with an incredibly calm face.

“Haa!”

However, Ressimus didn’t panic; she gathered more strength and pushed harder against Cyan’s dagger, combining her strength and magic to slowly push it away, gaining a more advantageous position.

“…”

Cyan’s previously numb eyes finally reacted.

Seeming slightly surprised by her unexpected strength, his gaze shifted, but only briefly.

“…!”

Ressimus’s sword began to retreat again.

– Clang!

In that moment, Ressimus quickly changed her stance, pivoting her foot to redirect Cyan’s sword in another direction, then swiftly withdrew to increase the distance between them.

“Haa, haa…”

Though it was only a brief exchange lasting a few seconds, Ressimus found herself breathing heavily like never before.

Soon she realized.

Cyan had just spared her.

When she changed her stance, there was clearly an opportunity for a counterattack.

The fact that Cyan redirected her sword towards him instead of attacking directly was proof of that.

Ressimus had thought until then that she would be the one in danger.

However, contrary to her concerns, Cyan didn’t swing his sword, allowing her to easily create distance between them.

Whether it was a deception or consideration, it was still unclear.

But one thing was certain, she couldn’t defeat him by normal means.

So Ressimus glanced at Arin and whispered quietly,

“Your Highness! I’ll buy you some time, please run outside and seek help!”

“What do you mean, Ressimus?”

“Unfortunately, I can’t subdue that man with my strength alone yet! But I’ll try to hold him off as much as possible, so please trust me and flee!”

For Arin, it was an impossible task.

Even if Ressimus was her knight, how could she abandon her, who was willing to risk her life for her?

But for Arin at that moment, even the time to ponder over such dilemmas was a luxury.

“Haa!”

As Cyan took another step forward, Ressimus rushed without hesitation to intercept his movement.

“…”

Cyan effortlessly blocked her strike.

His gaze was solely on Arin, not Ressimus.

“Do as your knight says.”

Kundel, who had been silently observing the situation, finally spoke up.

“My careless thoughts have caused trouble for you two. Although considering his personality, he probably won’t kill either me or your knight… ”

As Kundel noticed the negative emotions swirling in Cyan’s reddened eyes,

“He definitely seems determined to kill you.”

He furrowed his brows instinctively.

Then he raised his hand, pointing towards the door where Arin had entered.

“I’ll temporarily lift the barrier. Hurry and go out to the knights of the estate, and request help in my name. That way, he probably won’t try to attack further.”

“But, Chancellor!”

“Right now, what you should worry about is not me, but yourself. Princess Arin…”

Kundel’s firm response left Arin speechless.

In a situation where Cyan was trying to kill her and Ressimus was trying to protect her, Arin, the weak princess, had no choice but to flee.

The worst-case scenario, which she had promised herself would never happen again, was unfolding before her eyes once more.

“I’ll be back soon!”

With those words, Arin quickly dashed out through the door.

In the streets engulfed by night, there were no knights, let alone people, in sight.

To request help, she had to find where the knights were stationed.

The first places that came to mind were the training grounds and the lord’s mansion.

But both were far away.

If there was one place relatively closer,

“The city gate!”

It was the gate where the guards’ barracks were located.

There, she hoped there would still be knights on duty.

Arin hurriedly raced in that direction.

Soon, she spotted a few knights standing guard along with the city wall.

Just as she was about to continue running with a sense of relief,

Arin’s feet suddenly stopped dead in their tracks.

Was this truly the best she could do?

Had she spent the past seven years running breathlessly like this just to flee so desperately in a time of crisis?

Was she really going to show such a pitiful sight, despite her determination to uphold the dignity of being a princess?

Realizing once again what she needed to do, Arin confidently grasped the royal sword at her waist.

With a resolute heart and a firm resolve, she turned her body once more.

“…!”

Arin unknowingly took a step back.

Just a few minutes ago, Cyan, who had been facing off against Ressimus with swords drawn, was now standing barely a dozen paces away, facing her.

Numerous thoughts ran through her mind.

What happened to Ressimus and Kundel, who vowed to stop him?

What if he even killed them and came to her?

With an anxious gaze, Arin drew her sword and aimed its tip at Cyan, asking,

“What happened to Ressimus and the Chancellor?”

Cyan didn’t answer.

“But still, they were once like a mentor to you, a person who you saved. Did you really kill them without any emotion?”

“This isn’t a situation to worry about such things, don’t you realize that?”

An emotion-laden tone, filled with frustration, burst out from Cyan.

“It was just a few seconds.”

“…?”

“If you had run a few seconds more, the knights at the city gate would have found you. Then they would have rushed to protect you. Even then, I would have given up and retreated.”

Despite wanting to argue back, Arin’s lips remained sealed from the moment she heard Cyan’s first words.

“Do not misunderstand. I only abandoned my intention to avoid being dragged into annoying affairs by regaining my composure, not because I can’t kill you. Even if you, Princess, are protected by all the knights in Aquiel, I can still kill you…”

Cyan’s words were a perfect truth with no hint of pretense.

Arin knew that too well.

“But, despite having a chance to live, you hesitated, Princess.”

“I didn’t hesitate! I just…!”

“I specifically told you to approach! To distinguish between right and wrong, to discern what can and cannot be done! I must have reminded you of the consequences of feeling powerless!”

In Cyan’s voice, beyond anger, a sense of despair could now be felt.

“It seems, Princess, you’ve forgotten about that…”

Had she forgotten?

Could she forget?

The past seven years she had lived to fulfill that promise, to remember that word and put it into action.

It was highly unfair to Arin.

“What you should have done, Princess, was not to oppose me.”

Cyan once again stepped towards Arin.

“Fleeing pathetically to request help. That was the best thing you could do in this situation.”

But even that best course of action she didn’t take, only a cruel death awaited her.

Cyan slowly continued to approach Arin, thinking that giving her any more future without realizing what she should do would be meaningless, both for her and for himself.

However,

“Who says so? Who says what I should do is to run away?”

Arin denied it.

“What I should do here is to subdue you and make you yield!”

She was preparing to confront Cyan, even adjusting her grip on the sword.

Cyan’s foot froze in response to her unexpected reaction.

“Why do you think I can’t do it? Do you think it’s impossible?”

It wasn’t the baseless arrogance of the powerless.

In Arin’s eyes, along with the belief that she could remedy this situation, there was a firm determination that it would happen.

“Sorry, Cyan. I was living the impossibility itself for the past seven years. You have no idea how hard I’ve worked to turn the impossible into possible… You’ll never know.”

Normally, this should have been a situation that would evoke incredulity or even laughter.

Yet for some reason, Cyan couldn’t muster that reaction.

Was it because he thought this foolish princess had lost her mind, or was there something else she believed in, causing an unexpected anxiety to rise within him?

Arin looked at the perplexed Cyan and confidently declared,

“In the name of Arin Sevellerus, Fifth Princess of the Ushif Empire, I command.”

“…?”

“Cyan Vert, the son of Duke Vert, the Guardian of the Continent, will kneel before me and surrender at this moment!”

There was a moment of silence, lasting about ten seconds.

Arin concluded her command without further words.

Suppressing her trembling heart as best as she could, she waited for Cyan’s response.

“Have you gone mad?”

Cyan asked with a mix of incredulity and disdain.

“Yeah, maybe I have to be mad to face you. But I’m not mad. I haven’t been mad, and everything I’ve said so far has been sincere.”

Arin replied confidently, without flinching.

“Do you still see me as the youngest son of Duke Vert, hiding under the guise of nobility?”

“Do you still see me as a princess wearing the mask of royalty?”

Cyan couldn’t bring himself to retort.

“Stop trying to teach me like a child and just do what you intended. I’m ready to face you…”

Before Cyan stood not the incompetent princess who couldn’t do anything seven years ago.

It was simply a woman named Arin Sevellerus, capable of much and willing to do much.