The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Anyway, how can you not be startled when someone appears behind you in the dead of night?”

Her eyes, usually straight and focused, slightly narrowed.

“I don’t know if it’s because you were kidnapped before, but you seem as clueless and naive as a bear cub.”

I couldn’t deny it, so I remained silent.

“If you think I reacted without any thought, you’re mistaken. I knew you were coming from about 20 meters away.”

“Huh? Based on what?”

“Your scent.”

“My scent?”

“There’s a distinct aroma emanating from you. It’s not pleasant enough to bury your nose in, but it’s like a perfume made from human blood. Anyway, I could tell you were coming because of that smell.”

For a moment, I felt utterly speechless.

Was there really an enhancement in olfactory senses among the results of experiments?

“And besides, I don’t just allow anyone to approach me so easily. If it wasn’t you but someone else with ill intentions, I would’ve conjured multiple mana guns and fired them all into their bodies. Let them explode from the inside…”

This brat really doesn’t hold back.

“Do your guardians know you’re here?”

“Of course not. If they knew, there would be chaos. Before leaving, I created a magical illusion of myself in bed. They’ll probably think I’m sleeping under the covers.”

Huh?

Without realizing it, I found myself shaking my head.

Even if they were sent by the Garam Magic Society, they would likely be at least level 6 or 7 mages.

Did she really manage to bypass all of their surveillance?

“Don’t be surprised. Surveillance here at the academy is less strict, so I’ve escaped from the society to meet with you before.”

I had a hard time holding back from asking why this thorough-minded person was kidnapped.

I felt like it would be a long story if I said more, so I thought it would be better to just accept it at this point.

“So, my great junior, what are you doing in the research center this late at night?”

“Well, probably for the same reason as you, Senior?”

“How would you know why I’m here?”

“You’re here to investigate the new instructor, Boris, aren’t you?”

A drop of cold sweat trickled down my back.

“Why would you think that?”

“It was my first time seeing it. The senior looked so angry. Rather than trying to protect Senior Arin, you seemed to hate Boris as a person. So I thought you would definitely do a background check on that person.”

It felt like she had read my mind from the start.

I felt like a mouse caught in a pre-set trap.

“So, you knew from the beginning that I would come here?”

“Well, sort of. It was just a guess, not a certainty. But thanks for coming anyway.”

Seemingly pleased that her prediction was correct, she raised an eyebrow.

Now I understood a bit more.

Mixing words with this brat would only make things more complicated for me.

I should seriously consider whether removing her heart curve was a mistake.

“Well, it seems like a personal matter for you, so I won’t ask. Anyway, what’s important now is that we act together as one with the same purpose.”

She’s talking weird again.

“Hey, junior. Can we draw the line here? I’ve never agreed to work with you.”

Her lips curled up abruptly, expressing a hint of displeasure.

But then, she quickly regained composure and asked.

“Do you seem to have a misunderstanding, Senior? I have nothing to lose.”

Hmm?

“In other words, I might start interfering with what senior is trying to do right now.”

It was more outrageous than laughable.

“Hold on, are you threatening me right now?”

She replied without batting an eye.

“It’s natural to negotiate if our goals align during the course of our work. But it seems like you’re not willing to do that, acting as if you’ve always done everything alone…”

The more she spoke, the more it felt like each layer of clothing was being stripped away.

It seemed futile to continue with the plan as it was.

“Alright, I’ll ask you one thing.”

“Go ahead.”

“Why are you investigating that person?”

I knew there was no special contact between Luna and Boris.

It wasn’t like she wanted to get to know the teacher out of pure admiration.

Given her personality, there had to be something fishy.

She replied promptly.

“It’s just my personal curiosity.”

“Curiosity?”

“Yes. That person Boris is said to be an 8th-grade mage, a name I’ve never heard of before. I’ve never even heard of the Ruchelheim family. None of the members of the society who came with me knew who he was either.”

It was natural not to know.

After all, the Ruchelheim family was nowhere to be found in the records of the continent.

“But the most puzzling thing was that. Despite having an 8th-grade mana, there was no mana radiating outward.”

Her eyes showed not just curiosity but suspicion as well.

Come to think of it, she had the ability to sense the mana of others, didn’t she?

“Well, I’d have to physically touch to know for sure, but it was definitely something new. He was as mysterious as you, Senior, but even more so.”

The way she phrased it was a bit strange, but I figured I understood her intentions, so I let it go.

Today, I had no choice but to cooperate with her.

As we continued our conversation, the lights in the research facility dimmed by nearly half.

It seemed like the perfect time to make our move.

[Hey, master.]

As I was about to step forward, Kaeram, who had been quietly observing, called out to me.

Unable to reply, I just turned my gaze calmly.

[If you’re going in, leave me here.]

“What do you mean?”

Unintentionally, I muttered aloud.

[The air over there is quite unpleasant, so I’ll stay here. Just leave me somewhere and go.]

She unexpectedly sat down on a rock.

It was surprising.

More than that, it was something Kaeram had never done before.

“Stop being so capricious, Kaeram. Why all of a sudden…”

[If I tell you to leave me, just leave me.]

Suddenly, the icy gaze of the Demonic Sword made me shiver.

It felt like I was experiencing the eerie sensation I felt when I first met her in a previous life.

“What’s wrong, Senior? Aren’t you going?”

Luna urged me on, not aware of my hesitation.

There didn’t seem to be time to hesitate.

Without her noticing, I quietly extracted Kaeram from within and stuck her between the trees.

[Take care, master~]

She bid me farewell with a comfortable smile, as if nothing had happened.

“Stop fooling around…”

It was just a warning, unsure if it would have any effect at all.

* * *

“Oooong.”

Even as I walked, I kept looking down at my feet out of curiosity.

Mana, wrapped around my feet in a blue hue, perhaps to dampen any sounds of footsteps, turned out to be quite comfortable, contrary to my expectations.

By the way, it was not me but the little one beside me who cast this spell.

“How do you even come up with thoughts like this?”

“Just by changing your perspective a bit, you can do it. There’s no need to put mana generated from our bodies only into swords or artifacts. It’s not that remarkable, I think.”

Once again, I felt that this little one was very clever.

It seemed like she understood very well how magic itself could be effectively utilized by humans.

It was somewhat different from the inclination of the previous society, which pursued purely practical matters.

Yet, she acted as if it were natural.

Eventually, we arrived at a room labeled “Boris Ruchelheim.”

Since the lights were off, it didn’t seem like anyone was inside.

As I reached for the door, Luna, a step ahead of me, pressed her ear against it.

“…!”

A moment of hesitation to sense the energy beyond the door, and then she promptly opened it.

“Creak.”

“No one seems to be here.”

“Wouldn’t it be better to at least say something before opening the door?”

As if it didn’t matter anyway, she pursed her lips.

While I didn’t expect to find anything particular, the room appeared quite ordinary.

Research materials and books were scattered around like in other labs, and there was no suspicious magical activity to be felt anywhere.

“Maybe they haven’t brought in personal items yet? There’s nothing suspicious here at all.”

She seemed disappointed that it was too ordinary.

In fact, even if we looked around like this, we probably wouldn’t find anything.

Even the room of Leader would seem perfectly normal to others.

I began to wonder if there might be a hidden knife among the books, feeling the need to check.

While she was preoccupied with meaningless objects, my gaze fell upon a book on the desk.

“Is this a history book?”

Luna, who had been looking at the title with me, asked.

It was a continental unified history book that I was quite familiar with.

“I don’t think this person was the history instructor, though?”

From the way the book was left open, it seemed like they had left in the middle of reading it.

I wasn’t sure if they were reading it out of personal preference, but I didn’t think they would just pick it up and read it absentmindedly.

I glanced through the book here and there, but it was just an ordinary history book, without any hidden secrets.

Meanwhile, I noticed something unidentifiable from the last pages of the book.

It was more like a scribble than a drawing.

“Hmm.”

What on earth did they draw?

To put it into words, there was a large sun, surrounded by what looked like clouds or unknown shapes hovering around it.

To my inexperienced eyes, it was difficult to understand what they were trying to express.

“That’s an interesting scribble.”

On the other hand, Luna, who had been looking at it with me, showed an interested response.

“What’s interesting about it?”

“It looks very intriguing. It seems like unknown shapes are gathering around the sun, as if trying to devour it with an atmosphere of ‘catching the sun.’”

Unknown shapes trying to devour the sun… As she said it, it did seem to look that way.

“So, what do you think these shapes represent?”

She thought for a moment, touching her lips, and then finally spoke.

“Mist.”

“…!”

It felt like a stone dropped on my forehead for a moment.