The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

A report of a suspected Devil Dragon sighting in the northern city of Axilium, part of the Ushif Empire, reached the authorities precisely half a day later.

The reinforcements dispatched from the Royal Palace finally arrived, only to find that the situation had already been resolved long before their arrival.

All that remained at the scene were charred traces, with no sign of the creature’s body.

The reinforcements couldn’t help but harbor doubts upon witnessing a scene less severe than anticipated.

The number of casualties was minimal, almost negligible.

Despite claims by Lord Galas of his calm and precise command handling the situation, accounts from those present at the scene suggested otherwise.

Most were too paralyzed by fear to approach the Devil Dragon, let alone take action.

Some couldn’t even recall what transpired due to sheer terror.

However, amidst the confusion, there was a common thread in the testimonies – the figure responsible for dealing with the creature.

Though shrouded in a black cloak, making it impossible to discern his face, most witnesses agreed that he appeared more akin to a youth than an adult.

Additionally, peculiar entities, reminiscent of his doppelgangers, seemed to emerge throughout the city, preventing potential secondary harm.

Some even went as far as to dub them saviors.

“Are you telling me to believe this?”

Prince Louisnel, reading the report, scoffed incredulously.

“Well, I’m simply relaying the report I received…”

The aide had no satisfactory explanation.

While other aspects might be conceded, the notion that a single human had dealt with a creature presumed to be the Devil Dragon was so preposterous as to be staggering.

“And now, what? Are we to pour our resources into that damned nuisance only to find…?”

Louisnel crumpled the report in frustration.

Everything unfolding was disagreeable.

It felt as though the world had deemed him worthless.

A cautious attendant presented another missive.

“This… This was sent directly by Lord Galas…”

“Directly?”

“Yes. He insisted that Your Highness should personally verify its contents. It seems there’s something crucial he couldn’t convey through official channels…”

There was no time for hesitation.

Louisnel swiftly tore open the envelope and began perusing its contents.

Initially, there was nothing remarkable.

Praises for the royal family, coupled with a lament of innocence regarding the current crisis.

Louisnel restrained his urge to discard it immediately.

“Furthermore, there’s another piece of information I received…”

“What is it?”

“He’s dead. Lord Galas…”

Louisnel raised his gaze, locking eyes with the aide for about ten seconds.

“What nonsense is this?”

“He was found in his chambers, torn into pieces. It’s suspected to be a homicide, but the culprit remains unknown…”

Despite his incredulity, Louisnel couldn’t help but let out a bitter laugh.

Yet, his attention returned to the missive.

“….?”

At the very bottom, despite the uncertainty of its content, it effectively captured Louisnel’s attention.

Before the appearance of the creature in the city, an unidentified assassin had approached him.

The assassin was suspected to be the one responsible for dealing with the creature.

While there was no certainty, the missive suggested a striking resemblance to someone he had seen at a prior event in the Royal Palace.

He is the youngest son of Duke Vert, the guardian of the continent, and recently became the fiancé of Princess Arin…

– Knock

The knock shattered the silence, and Louisnel’s gaze turned towards the door.

Though it was a simple knock, as if recognizing the visitor, Louisnel swiftly rose and hurried to the door.

With an urgent push, Louisnel swung open the door, immediately captivated by a smile of delight as if feeling a thrill.

“Aschel!”

It was his long-awaited friend.

“It’s been a while, Your Highness…”

Aschel greeted Louisnel with the same gentle smile as before.

“Where on earth have you been? Why didn’t you respond to my calls? The anxiety and pain I felt in your absence could have kept me up all night!”

Louisnel continued, seemingly attempting to release the frustration that had built up.

“Now is not the time. We must devise a plan to eliminate Violet as soon as possible. If not, she will…”

Despite Louisnel’s outburst, Aschel maintained his unwavering smile, offering no response.

Sensing an unsettling atmosphere, Louisnel furrowed his brow.

He seemed familiar, yet subtly different from the friend he knew.

It was as if he was facing a divine being rather than a human, feeling oppressed in a way he had never experienced before.

“You don’t need to be so desperate.”

After a moment of silence, Aschel spoke calmly.

“No matter how thick the darkness, it cannot hide the faint light. We just need to follow that light.”

Louisnel’s eyes, unable to comprehend Aschel’s words, trembled vigorously.

“Let’s go. Towards the path of truth…”

“W-where are you talking about?”

“The Royal Academy.”

An unexpected and seemingly out-of-place destination.

Just as Louisnel was about to inquire about the reason, he saw it.

In that fleeting moment when he blinked naturally,

The figure of a noblewoman with flowing, curly blonde hair briefly appeared behind Aschel before vanishing…

* * *

“The Devil Dragon?”

“Yes. Although witnesses at the scene mentioned it, there’s no solid evidence. Everything seems to have vanished without a trace…”

It had been a day since the incident in Axilium.

The news spread far and wide, reaching even the distant Royal Academy.

“Rumors suggest that a man cloaked in black managed to defeat the Devil Dragon alone, but it sounds unbelievable. We’re currently investigating that aspect thoroughly here at the Academy.”

“…”

Luna followed the conversation in stunned silence.

“No matter how you look at it, it seems like an exaggerated rumor. Even the elite knights of the continent would find it difficult to defeat such a formidable creature alone. It’s probably just an embellished tale.”

Lamella dismissed, but Luna’s thoughts were not so easily swayed.

For some reason, one person naturally came to mind.

Though uncertain, the thought of that man being Cyan lingered in Luna’s mind.

“Perhaps the person who supposedly defeated the Devil Dragon…”

Before Luna could continue their inquiry…

*knock*

A member of the society rushed in urgently, without even waiting for permission.

“Something terrible has happened, Luna!”

“What’s wrong?”

The urgency of the situation left no room for questioning the rudeness of the intrusion; the society member’s face was visibly pale.

“The President has arrived in Luwen!”

“…!”

Both Luna and Lamella stood up abruptly, showing signs of shock.

“What does that mean? Why would the President suddenly…”

“I, I’m not sure! There was no prior notice; it’s the first time the President has visited Lunwen without warning…”

As the other members of the society busied themselves, Luna’s expression quickly returned to composure, as if realizing that something expected had finally arrived.

Then came news that the President had arrived at the entrance of the noble quarter.

Despite this, Luna showed no intention of going to meet him.

Instead, they calmly sat back down in their room, resuming their interrupted reading.

Shortly after, the President of the Garam Magic Society, Regens Rainriver, entered her room.

All the members of the society, including Lamella, lowered their heads in respect.

“Uh, President, what brings you to the academy without prior notice?”

Observing them silently, Regens soon spoke in a restrained tone.

“Everyone, leave us.”

Lamella immediately understood the implication of those words.

Everyone was to leave, and Luna was exempt.

Though clashes between them were not uncommon, today’s atmosphere felt more ominous than usual.

The way the Headmaster looked at Luna was not with the gentle gaze one would give to their granddaughter; instead, it was filled with an inexplicable anger, as if he could unleash a devastating spell at any moment.

After a while, when all the members had left the room, Luna, in their usual indifferent tone, asked.

“Will you resolve everything I asked you to?”

She was referring to matters related to the Auram Society.

Instead of answering the question, Regens, with suppressed anger, spoke quietly.

“As your grandfather, I’ll give you one last chance. Tell me everything you know.”

“What are you talking about?”

“About Cyan Vert.”

She looked at him with a skeptical glance.

“Why didn’t you mention that Cyan Vert was in Nodeli?”

“There was no need to. I thought there was no point in mentioning something without solid evidence.”

“No point?”

His suppressed anger started to show on his face.

“You’ve forgotten the extensive damage that boy caused to our society already?”

“I thought it was just baseless speculation. There wasn’t a single piece of concrete evidence…”

“Luna!!!”

Finally exploding, Regens yelled at her.

“Your attitude towards the Auram Society is the same! If you had spoken up a little sooner, there wouldn’t have been the kidnapping, and they wouldn’t have continued to gain influence within the society. I always said you were the future of our society! What have you done for the society…?”

“The future of the society?”

When she heard the word “future,” she laughed as if it was ridiculous.

“Why should I live for the society? The society has done nothing for me.”

“What?”

“If I hadn’t been part of the society, there wouldn’t have been a kidnapping, and they wouldn’t have gained power within the society. Ultimately, the society has brought nothing but trouble to me. It’s absurd for me to step up for the society…”

Regens’ face turned pale with anger.

“I don’t know who exactly said that, but they say trust in human relationships doesn’t grow even after living together for 20 years. It seems to be true. For you, grandfather, I was just an experimental subject needed for the society’s future. There was never any affection between us.”

“Right. For you, the important thing was not the society, but that boy Cyan Vert, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.”

There was no hesitation in her firm answer.

“I understand what you mean. You brought all of this on yourself. Don’t regret it later, Luna…”

With a determined resolve, Regens manifested mana and created a restraining barrier around them.

“I was prepared for this anyway. But don’t think it will be easy. After all, you are the granddaughter of Regens Rainriver, the 9th-grade Grand Arcanist and head of the Garam Magic Society. You will probably need to rest for a few days.”

With that, the conversation ended, and Luna’s eyes remained calm to the end.

Within the cramped room where only two people were present, an immense mana surged, enough to easily obliterate a city.