The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Honestly, my heart has been heavy lately due to various matters, but that heaviness vanished in an instant.

What?

The only truth in this world?

Still blabbering such nonsense without even understanding their own position.

They say no matter how much you polish, the inner self doesn’t change, and indeed, the words of the old folks are never wrong.

Letting the excitement settle for a moment,

I focused my attention on the situation unfolding before my eyes.

Aschel and Princess Arin, wielding the power of the Holy Sword Durandal.

Seeing them clashing swords, it seemed that this foolish princess, in her arrogance, had activated her power before the true owner of the Holy Sword,

And indeed, the power displayed was much more refined than what I had seen in Aquiel.

But still, it’s just a replica, and to surpass the source of power, Durandal, would be practically impossible.

Nevertheless, it doesn’t seem entirely hopeless.

The fact that they are clashing at this level demonstrates how little progress the owner of the Holy Sword has made in seven years.

With a light leap, I swung my sword, Kaeram, to separate the two.

“C-Cyan! When did you arrive?”

“Just now. I apologize for being late.”

Pushing aside the bewildered girl, I stepped forward.

“It’s been a while, Cyan.”

Aschel greeted me with a nonchalant expression.

Though the warmth in his smile was almost sickeningly friendly for a meeting between enemies, I didn’t show any reaction.

“Have you been well, brother?”

“What a cruel question. Don’t you know better than anyone that I haven’t been?’

Though his laughter contained a hint of sarcasm, there was a sharp edge concealed within.

He’s clearly engulfed in anxiety and anger right now.

“What about the woman who went to meet you?”

He was referring to the missing person.

“If she hadn’t gone somewhere on her own, she should still be at the Imperial Library. I left her alive for now, considering you seemed to have put a lot of effort into creating her, but… I must say, I’m disappointed.”

“Disappointed?”

He chuckled ironically.

“All you prepared for seven years just to make me surrender was that mere doll? Not even the former wielder of the Demon Sword just the descendant? I told you to do everything you could, didn’t I?”

“I know. I didn’t expect that girl to defeat you, but I also didn’t expect her to break through so easily. This wasn’t part of my plan, you know? And because of you, my plans are gradually falling apart, Cyan.”

Well?

You may say that, but I haven’t done anything properly yet, have I?

Isn’t it natural to be taken aback when someone says such things to a person who hasn’t shown anything yet?

*Kugugung!*

Just as I was about to ask what was so dissatisfying, a tremendous roar came from directly in front of me, precisely at 11 o’clock.

Accompanied by a streak of lightning.

Not a natural lightning strike in the clear sky, mind you, but an artificial one created by magic.

Magic is magic, but where that lightning struck is also important.

If my eyes didn’t deceive me, that’s the location of the Royal Assembly Hall where the royal event is currently taking place.

“…!”

Of course, both I and Princess Arin couldn’t hide our surprise.

In other words, it means that nobody here predicted the situation.

The culprit who summoned the lightning had a rough idea.

“It’s the Light Attribute Magic, God’s Strike. I believe there’s only one person capable of casting that magic at that location.”

The holder of the Light Attribute magic, evaluated as the child of the Emperor and possessing the best magical talent, Violet Sevellerus.

There was no one else but her.

“Didn’t Her Highness mention that I visited?”

“What did you do to Princess Violet?”

What did I do?

Just infused a small amount of mana into her body.

That’s all.

There might be a slight resistance in her body, but it wouldn’t cause any harm to her life.

Moreover, I didn’t engage in any magical or trivial tricks.

“I just sowed suspicions.”

Humans inherently live with cunning.

Always hoping for things to go their way, or at least, for the person they like to pay attention to them.

Princess Violet.

From the moment I met her in her room, I could feel an immense madness, obsession, and desire for her to be the only one he looked at.

If she were an ordinary person, she would have already burst with frustration, but she barely managed to contain it, trying to maintain her dignity as a princess.

Haven’t they said that holding in everything will turn into illness?

With a compassionate heart, I only added a tiny bit of emotion to alleviate her desires.

The feelings that drove Violet to summon that lightning were probably something like this.

‘Without Aschel, I have to solve everything myself. Only then will he look back at me.’

It’s truly a tearful affection.

Although I recall some fool who did the same thing in a past life, I can’t help but laugh.

“Why?”

He asked me again, sighing and bowing his head.

“I didn’t do anything to you, Cyan. You didn’t exist in the future I dreamed of. You were just the incompetent youngest of the Vert family, destined to fade away without any attention! Why do you keep appearing in front of me and interfering with my plans?”

Look.

It’s such a pathetic, almost desperate sight.

A human driven to cry out to deny the given situation, clinging to the edge of the cliff.

Yes, your words aren’t entirely wrong.

I was originally a worthless existence in the family, if not necessary in the family at all.

You didn’t show interest in me from the beginning, just like the rest of the family.

But,

“I told you, didn’t I?”

“…!”

“I’m just one human who knows your true nature very well. From the standpoint of someone who knows that the future you dream of is not a good one for me, how can I not try to stop you?”

Perhaps moved by my answer, he didn’t say anything.

After a considerable silence,

“Haha…”

What came out of his mouth was nothing but laughter.

“You’re just like me, Cyan.”

Did he finally go mad?

“You’re saying dreadful things.”

“No need to deny it. You are like me. You don’t trust others and always remain wary of what’s around you. You prefer revealing malice born of instinct over baseless kindness and view humans very negatively, not feeling any moral qualms about using or killing them.”

It seemed like he wasn’t wrong, so I decided to continue listening for now.

“If you’re human, then you should naturally uphold conscience and goodness. I didn’t know why I had to uphold them. I just heard that upholding them was the order of the world. So, I tried to uphold them to some extent. But now, I realize how meaningless it is, all because of you.”

The light of the Holy Sword, which had been dimmed for a moment, began to shine brightly again.

Aschel slowly raised the Holy Sword.

“If my plans were ruined because of you, it would be right to eliminate you and start anew. But I won’t do that.”

“What do you intend to do, then?”

“I am someone who seeks to reach the highest position attainable by humans. I can’t claim to have the qualifications to reach that place without subjugating even one human like you, can I?”

Light emitted from the tip of the Holy Sword soaring into the sky.

The emitted light scattered in all directions, and for a moment, the golden-haired spirit of the Holy Sword flickered before disappearing.

“I admit it, Cyan. Even after seven years, I can’t defeat you. What’s the point of possessing a power that I can’t defeat alone? So, I’ve decided to share that power with everyone who will aim their swords at you!”

*Swoosh!*

At that moment, a sword flew from behind me.

I managed to dodge it lightly, but I couldn’t hide my surprise.

The one who swung the sword was none other than Princess Arin.

“Wait, Cyan! This isn’t my will!”

She was denying the situation with a confused expression as if it wasn’t her own intention.

“Something is… forcing me to move! It keeps controlling my body!”

Princess Arin trembled uncontrollably as if she couldn’t control her body herself.

It seemed as if someone unseen was forcibly pulling her body.

*Thud, thud*

As her words ended, the ominous sound of heavy footsteps echoed in our ears.

Naturally, our gaze turned back.

The moment we discovered the figure of a stranger in the splendid armor shimmering with the light of the sun,

“…!”

I blinked.

The magnificent golden armor radiated a solemn and majestic aura.

Even the distinct royal insignia engraved on his chest.

In this imperial city, indeed in this empire, there was only one person who could wear such armor.

“Fa… Father?”

The Emperor of the Empire, Dionne Sevellerus.

The golden aura akin to the Holy Sword was vividly manifesting in his sword.

* * *

“Protect us from the imminent danger!”

With the incantation, a giant white shield appeared in the air.

*Zap!*

The lightning struck the shield instead of the ground, sparking in all directions, blindingly bright before gradually subsiding.

Jereon breathed a sigh of relief at the miraculous turn of events.

People were left dumbfounded by the inexplicable sight.

“Did Commander Jereon just protect the assassins?”

“No! It was Princess Arin and us who he protected! If it weren’t for that shield, we surely would have been harmed too!”

“Violet, you attacked Princess Arin? Really?”

The assassins were equally bewildered.

As the situation was so sudden, there was no time for evasion or defense.

Thanks to Jereon’s quick response, we were unscathed.

“…”

The assassins exchanged glances momentarily before,

*Thud*

Suddenly, Princess Arin was thrown onto the stage and disappeared into a black mist.

The knights looked back and forth between Jereon and Violet, unsure of what to do.

However, Violet’s face was distorted to the point where she seemed unable to make a rational judgment.

“Escort Princess Violet.”

Without any hesitation, Jereon calmly gave orders.

“What are you doing, Jereon! The assassins escaped because of you! Why are you interfering with my affairs!”

Clearing out before things got worse was the best course of action.

Jereon didn’t care and approached the motionless Princess Arin.

It was a fake.

She was nothing more than an intricately crafted artificial corpse manipulated by magic.

The knights who had come with him were astonished.

“Did we buy enough time?”

Since they didn’t even know their true purpose, it was all futile for Jereon.

“What should we do, Jereon?”

What use was demanding orders from someone with no authority?

But knowing it was an unavoidable situation, he issued orders, drawing on his experience as a commander.

“First, calm the people down. Let them know that Princess Arin is unharmed and there is nothing to worry about. End the investigation now.”

The knights bowed and immediately left.

As Jereon was about to rise from his seat,

*Phew!*

With an unknown sound, a golden light suddenly shot up from the west.

It was undoubtedly the direction of the Imperial Library.

For a moment, everyone was bewildered by the unfamiliar situation.

“…!”

Some knights suddenly stopped in their tracks and began twisting their bodies.

“W-what’s happening?”

“M-My body is moving on its own?”

The commonality was that each knight’s sword was manifesting a golden light.

It wasn’t just the Imperial and Salvation Knights.

Turning their gaze down from the stage, they saw that some observers of the investigation were also twisting their bodies in the same way.

Most of them were the personal knights of nobles who had come from various territories for the conference.

As the situation became increasingly eerie,

“…”

The bodies of the knights showing abnormal behavior suddenly stiffened like stone.

Their eyes immediately turned towards the Imperial Library, seeming to ignore any words or commands.

“For salvation…”

Muttering incomprehensible words, they all started running towards that place.