The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

A royal decree bearing the name of Princess Violet Sevellerus was sent to each noble family.

Upon receiving the decree, the faces of the nobles were filled with concern.

On the surface, it seemed like a simple request to attend a meeting to discuss the reorganization of the Knights Order and the direction of the empire.

However, the true meaning hidden within was not simple at all.

The Order of Light.

A group of holy knights who fought evil in the name of the gods.

Regardless of status, anyone with talent in martial arts and magic could join, and sometimes, the value of the name “Light” was so great that it could bring even more glory than a noble title.

This Order of Light was to be reorganized?

In the first place, why was the Order of Light so famous that even the children of high-ranking noble families dreamed of joining from a young age?

It was because they had the glory of being the messengers of the gods, receiving the grace of the saintess, and carrying out the missions given by Lumendel, the God of Light.

However, there is no saintess in the Order of Light now.

The spiritual leader, who was also the symbol of the Order, is dead.

And the nobles all knew what it meant for them to reorganize the Order of Light without a saintess.

Through the new name of the Order of Salvation, the emperor was making a declaration that all high-ranking knights belonging to the Order would be included in the imperial forces.

The nobles thought to themselves.

They didn’t want to go.

But they couldn’t not go.

Prince Louisnel, who was a strong contender for the throne, had fallen, and Emperor Dionne, who was already in poor health, had been unable to handle state affairs for a long time.

In such a whirlwind, Princess Violet was stirring up a storm.

Not attending the meeting in this situation was tantamount to proving that they would not follow the rapidly changing order of the empire.

The imperial family, who knew all too well the situation of these nobles, couldn’t help but smile.

The Princess’s Office in the Great Chamber of the Imperial Palace.

Four people, two men and two women, were seated around a round table, facing each other.

They were Violet, Aschel, Boris, and Arin.

Boris, who had picked up a document and stood up from his seat, looked around at them and said.

“Of the 20 families to whom the decree was sent, 18 have responded that they will attend. Two have not yet responded.”

“Where are they?”

“The Kundel duchy and the Vert duchy.”

Violet and Aschel both chuckled at the same time.

Ironically, these were the two families that were related to them.

“It seems my grandfather’s influence is at work. Even though it’s been over 10 years since he handed over the title, he still can’t seem to let go of family affairs.”

Violet sighed and shook her head.

She was sure that her uncle and current head of the family, Pietro Quazel, did not have the guts to do so.

“There’s no need to worry too much. He’s just trying to see how the other families react. He’ll probably send a reply saying he’ll attend soon.”

Violet’s gaze then turned to Aschel, who was sitting opposite her.

“What about you, Aschel? It seems Lord Vert is not very happy about this yet?”

“He’s a very busy man, so maybe he just hasn’t had a chance to check it out yet. I’ll just approve it on behalf of Lord Vert. I’ll explain it to my father later.”

“……?”

Arin thought for a moment that she had heard wrong.

In fact, wasn’t it the frontier Velias, including the Imperial Palace, that had the most Knights of Light stationed?

The person who commands and leads these numerous knights is Duke Vert, and he even has the ability to lead them as he sees fit.

So he’s just going to go ahead and do it and explain it later?

Even as the eldest son of the Vert family, it was something Arin couldn’t understand.

However, unlike her, Violet and Boris seemed to be understanding.

So Arin decided to keep quiet for now.

The meeting ended like that, and Aschel and Violet left the room right away.

Boris approached Arin, who was sorting through documents without paying attention, and spoke to her.

“Princess Arin?”

“Yes?”

“Can we talk for a moment?”

“Is there anything else you need to tell me?”

“No. It’s just that I think you’ve been using the power of the Holy Sword lately.”

Arin flinched inwardly, but continued speaking without showing it.

“Did it bother you?”

“I could still feel the light magic that hasn’t subsided from you. I thought I’d pretend I didn’t know, but I couldn’t help but be curious. Did you happen to use the power of the Holy Sword?”

“I was just feeling a little lighthearted that day. So I decided to practice and see how well I could control my abilities. The results, well, I’m embarrassed to say.”

“Haha. That’s okay. You don’t have to be too disappointed. As the saintess, I’m sure you’ll be able to wield the power of the Holy Sword properly soon enough.”

“Thank you for always thinking so highly of me.”

Somehow, she managed to get away with it.

It seemed like he wasn’t going to ask any more questions, so she thought she could get through this without any problems.

However, Arin did not do that.

She had one question she wanted to ask today.

“Boris, do you think we can defeat the beings of mist as we are now?”

“You mean the master of the demonic sword?”

Boris mentioned Cyan without hesitation.

“Honestly, I think it’s going to be tough right now. We don’t know the true power he possesses.”

Unlike what Arin had thought, he readily acknowledged the current situation.

“That’s why we need someone like you, Princess. The power of light comes from faith and unity. If that’s the case, then defeating the being of mist may not be an impossible task.”

Faith and unity.

He said that those were the most important factors in increasing the power of light.

However, in Arin’s heart right now,

Instead of a strong faith in the bright light,

There was more doubt about the dark mist.

“The scripture you gave me…”

“…”

“How did you get it? You said it wasn’t written by you yourself.”

Instead of answering, Boris smiled strangely.

“Can I explain it as a legacy left by my one and only precious friend?”

“A precious friend?”

“Yes. A friend with a very close bond, we were more interested in each other than anyone else and tried to subdue each other. And…”

“Yes?”

“No.”

“I would appreciate it if you just knew that much for now. I’ll tell you everything when the opportunity arises.”

“I understand. Thank you for your answer.”

There was a lot that was suspicious, but Arin knew that asking any more questions would only raise suspicion.

She left the room.

Boris, left alone, stood in the middle of the room, unable to hide his laughter.

He chuckled softly and muttered to himself.

“And the previous master of the demonic sword…”

* * *

The Rear Camp of the Velias Frontline, the Western Border of the Empire

After reading the imperial decree, Duke Vert raised his head and looked at Eulken, who had delivered the decree, and asked.

“How is the mood among the knights?”

“They’re not too shaken, but I don’t think they’re completely indifferent either.”

No matter how important it is to protect the continent, no knight could just ignore the fact that the duty of their organization had changed without their knowledge.

“What about you?”

“Wh-what do you mean?”

“You know very well what the reorganization of the Order means, don’t you? I’m not a Knight of Light. I’m just a leader here to command you. This reorganization could change the direction you’ll have to follow. So, are you sure you can still follow me even in the midst of all this?”

“Sir Eulken Darius! Even if the end of the demon world is where you go, I will follow you to the end!”

Eulken declared his ambition without hesitation.

“Even though we carry out the mission of the gods under the protection of light, I, along with the knights on the frontlines, have served you for decades. We will continue to do so in the future, and no one else but you can give us orders!”

“I guess I haven’t lived a bad life.”

Duke Vert smiled bitterly, but also with a sense of pride.

“It seems that the other nobles of the empire have already sent their replies to attend the meeting. What do you think you should do, Duke?”

“I don’t follow anyone’s orders but the Emperor’s. And I certainly won’t follow a decree sent by a princess.”

“But in the Imperial Palace now…”

Eulken was about to say something about Aschel, but then he swallowed his words after checking the Duke’s expression.

“Let’s just observe the situation for a bit longer. The meeting won’t be canceled just because I don’t go. Just make sure the knights don’t get too agitated.”

“I will follow your orders.”

After receiving his orders, Eulken quickly left the barracks.

The Duke also came out of the barracks and looked up at the unusually red sky of the frontlines.

‘Leave us alone.’

If he wanted his children to achieve the peace he so desired for the continent, he had to leave them alone.

The words of his youngest son, who had disappeared seven years ago, echoed faintly in his mind.

He said there was no need to trust him.

In such a situation, all he could do was watch the current flow from the perspective of a bystander.

“What are you trying to do, Cyan?”

The Duke’s heart was filled with doubt rather than trust.

* * *

A week passed after the imperial decree was sent to the nobles of the empire.

The procession of nobles who had sent their replies began to appear in the Imperial Palace one by one.

There were no nobles who decorated themselves with extravagant ornaments.

Each of them was accompanied by an escort of troops of at least a company size, creating an atmosphere of solemnity and tension in the Imperial Palace.

And so, the high-level meeting hall in the Imperial Palace was reached.

The nobles who attended the meeting were busy checking each other’s mood with tense faces.

If there were two figures who could have the most influence on this meeting, they were undoubtedly Kundel Quazel, the former father-in-law of the emperor and the de facto power of the Quazel duchy, and Willius Vert, the guardian of the continent.

However, no matter how hard they looked, they were nowhere to be seen.

On the Quazel side, Duke Pietro Quazel, the current head of the family, attended in his place, and the seat of the Vert duchy remained vacant.

And so, as the time for the meeting approached.

In the midst of the continuing silence, the back door of the meeting room suddenly opened and a blond, handsome man entered.

It was Aschel Vert, the eldest son of the Vert duchy.

As he sat down casually in the empty seat with a relaxed expression, the nobles all reacted negatively.

It was practically unthinkable for Duke Vert, who was responsible for protecting the frontlines, to attend the meeting in person.

In the end, he had sent his eldest son as a proxy to respond to the summons of the imperial family.

The fact that Duke Vert had accepted the summons of the imperial family, not the emperor’s order, was a shock to the other nobles.

-Bang

After a while, the front door of the meeting room opened and the procession of the imperial family, who were hosting this meeting, entered.

At the forefront was the 2nd Princess Violet, followed by the 5th Princess Arin.

The 3rd Prince and 4th Prince were not seen.

Who could have anticipated such a situation?

In an atmosphere filled with anxiety and nervousness, Violet opened her mouth with a moved expression in front of the nobles.