The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Underneath the palace, in the secret space next to the shelter.

“Have you come?”

With no hesitation, Boris greeted as he opened the door, being the first to arrive.

“I’ve heard the news. Princess Arin has been kidnapped, is that correct?”

“It sounds like something expected, doesn’t it?”

Aschel asked with a faint smile, as if trying to read him.

Boris laughed casually, dismissing it.

“Was Princess Violet calmed down?”

“If it weren’t for the letter you sent to Princess Arin, she would have been tied up and brought here without a word.”

Aschel nodded slightly, expressing his feelings at the time.

“There is good news and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?”

“It’s better to face the bad news first.”

“Kellen, who was imprisoned, has been assassinated.”

Boris delivered the news without hesitation.

“It seems your beloved brother has found his way here.”

Aschel’s face froze instantly.

“Did Cyan come to the palace?”

“Wasn’t it something we couldn’t have anticipated? It could have happened at any time. Although I don’t know how he found this space, it seems he came while the negotiations were still ongoing.”

Aschel remained silent, his lips twitching slightly.

“There’s no need to worry too much. At least for now, his presence isn’t felt in the vicinity.”

“What’s the good news?”

Boris, as if waiting, manifested some unknown energy in his hand.

“…!”

Realizing the nature of the energy, a smile returned to Aschel’s lips.

“You obtained the energy of the Demonic Blade?”

“We collected it from Kellen’s corpse. It was the most needed but hardest to obtain, yet we managed to acquire it so easily. We can’t simply consider it a loss.”

“Is there a possibility that Cyan suspected something?”

“He may have felt suspicious, but he couldn’t have determined the truth behind it. After all, there are only three people in this palace who know about it, including you and me.”

Boris showed no concern at all.

“Can it be applied?”

“Of course. It’s not the first time we’ve done this.”

Upon hearing this, Aschel applauded.

“Indeed, Boris, your abilities are truly admirable.”

Just as the secretive and sweet laughter of the two men was about to spread widely,

The door of the space suddenly opened, and a woman entered.

“Princess?”

It was Violet.

She came running urgently, sweating profusely and breathing heavily.

“He came….”

She blurted out that she came without any delay.

“Who are you talking about?”

“Cyan Vert!”

As soon as the name of a man was uttered with a scream, the air in the room suddenly became heavy.

“Your brother came to my room!”

Violet glared at them with a face full of mixed disbelief and accusations.

* * *

“I can definitely feel the suspicious flow of dark mana….”

At Violet’s request, a detection spell was used to scan her body, but

“That’s it. There doesn’t seem to be any traces of magic that can be pinpointed.”

Boris immediately dismissed, saying there was no significant difference from her usual state.

“That can’t be! He generated a strange energy and forced it into my mouth! It was incredibly painful!”

“Perhaps it felt that way due to a clash between the light mana flowing within Princess Violet and the dark mana. When opposing attributes collide, it naturally triggers a rejection response, which may have been linked to pain.”

“It wasn’t just mana entering me! Besides that…”

“Did Cyan really go to Princess Violet’s room?”

Violet’s startled gaze suddenly turned cold and she looked back at Aschel.

“Why are you asking that? Are you implying that I’m lying?”

“That’s not it. I just…”

-Squeak

As the atmosphere was about to become more serious,

The door suddenly opened, and a short-haired woman entered.

She looked around casually and then asked quietly.

“Shall I come back later?”

“No, please come in. Mia.”

Boris personally welcomed her and led her inside.

Seeing this, Violet, still in shock, burst into a hollow laugh.

“Are you taking better care of that woman who just rolled in than me?”

About to say something more, Boris simply glanced at Aschel and then turned his head.

Aschel approached Violet quietly, grasped her shoulders gently, and whispered softly.

“We’re a bit busy right now. I’ll come to your room later, so would you please go back now, Your Highness?”

“Aschel! How could you…?”

“You don’t need to worry. Just stay still, Your Highness. If you remain calm, everything will be resolved.”

With those words, Aschel escorted Violet out of the room.

Feeling humiliated, Violet stood in front of the door, grinding her teeth.

“Stay still? I can’t do that! I’m your person, not a doll!”

Turning her back, Violet walked briskly down the corridor.

Before long, she reached none other than the Emperor’s room.

And not long after that, the news of Princess Arin being kidnapped by Mist spread throughout the palace.

* * *

The streets of Sevellinus were filled with knights from early dawn.

Regardless of whether they were commoners or nobles, all passersby were subjected to inspections.

This was a direct order from the Emperor, issued for the first time in years, and no one had the authority to refuse.

People’s faces were filled with tension and anxiety.

“Lu-Luna. How about leaving the palace right now?”

“Although Cyan warned us, it wasn’t exactly unexpected, was it? It’s quite a large-scale issue, but I still think it’s lacking.”

Luna dismissed Schurz’ concerns with a consistently indifferent tone.

They were currently in an alleyway a bit away from the center of Sevellinus.

The situation was at its most serious, but Luna seemed to be watching it with interest.

“To be honest, I’m still not sure. Did we really need to come here, ignoring that person’s warning?”

“How could we not? He was blatantly making faces that seemed to provoke me.”

Cyan had clearly warned not to come to the palace, but Luna was not one to follow that advice.

“As long as we don’t get caught, it’s fine. Without someone watching, we’re just non-existent people.”

It was a remarkably clear, if not audacious, response.

Schurz rubbed his forehead in frustration and merely nodded.

He couldn’t help but feel regret for following along.

“If Mist, the ones who kidnapped Princess Arin, are really behind this, then we need to consider why they went through the trouble of kidnapping her instead of simply assassinating her.”

“What do you mean?”

“When we look at the targets Mist has killed so far, Princess Arin doesn’t fit the criteria at all.”

Schurz agreed with this point.

Princess Arin’s reputation extended beyond just the empire; she was well-known even among other kingdoms and wandering mercenaries.

And it was all positive.

From her regular imperial visits for charity work to her frequent visits to the slums to listen to the residents’ voices, her fame was such that there were even calls for her to become the emperor in some circles.

Yet, it didn’t match Mist’s targets of assassination, which primarily consisted of corrupt nobles and wrongdoers.

“There must be some other purpose they’re trying to achieve.”

“Did Cyan have something to do with this?”

“No. It’s unlikely that Cyan had anything to do with it. He might not even be involved in this at all.”

“Why do you think that?”

“Just a hunch.”

Once again, it was a clear and astonishing response.

As Luna pondered with her fingers on her lips, she suddenly closed her eyes and began to meditate.

“… ”

Then she began to murmur something incomprehensible.

Just as Schurz, feeling a bit strange, was about to step back, Luna suddenly sat down on the ground and began to write something on the floor as if she were writing a letter.

Schurz secretly hoped that it was a spatial transition magic to escape from the palace, but it wasn’t.

“…!”

It was something else.

If one were to make a small guess about what it was, even though its true nature was still uncertain, it seemed as if she was creating a space.

It was an incredibly surreal space, not like the physical space on the ground, but rather something akin to the interior of a giant mana sphere.

Schurz couldn’t help but be amazed by the bizarre sight.

“Lu-Luna, what are you doing?”

“I’ve thought about it. If Princess was kidnapped last night, she should have left the palace by now, right? Given the current situation where the palace is being searched thoroughly, even hiding her within the palace wouldn’t get her far…”

After finishing his preparations, Luna stood up dully.

“In that case, there’s a possibility that she’s hidden in a completely different space rather than the real space. For example, in a divine space…”

In front of her was an unknown space harmoniously blended with black and white light.

The space seemed to beckon her to enter with a sparkling aura.

“If we can find that space, we can find where Princess Arin is.”

While Schurz stared absentmindedly at the space,

Luna discreetly tucked something she had been holding into her bosom.

Then she boldly stepped into the space.

“W-Wait for me, Luna!”

Schurz, also taken aback, followed her into the space.

Inside was filled with books and shelves, akin to a substantial library.

Luna settled herself in the center, as if she were the librarian of this place.

“It might take some time from now. It could be a few hours or even days. If you’re bored, feel free to pick up any book and read, although understanding its contents might be difficult.”

“What are you planning to do, Luna?”

“I’m going to search for the Mist’s dimensional space. I need to find and interpret every energy around here to create a path, so please refrain from interfering unless necessary.”

With that, Luna closed her eyes and resumed her meditation.

Schurz, still bewildered, could only stare blankly, unable to comprehend everything.

Deciding it might be best to just wait quietly, he prepared to sit down when suddenly,

“…!”

Not long after closing her eyes, Luna abruptly stood up.

Without waiting for any questions, she once again manifested mana from her hands and drew a circle in the air.

-Whiing

After a moment, another space similar to the one they entered before materialized.

Without hesitation, Luna immediately threw herself into it, followed hastily by Schurz.

Arriving in yet another unfamiliar place, they found themselves in a gloomy space shrouded in black mist.

Curiously, there were others present besides them, each looking equally perplexed as to why they were there.

“…?”

They exchanged uncertain glances, displaying their confusion about their presence there.

Despite their mutual confusion, there was no sense of hostility among them.

“Why are you all here?”

“We could ask you the same thing…”

Hastia and Brian.

Cyan’s companions whom they had encountered in Roland were now unexpectedly here before them.