The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Rogers, do you realize how shameless you’ve become lately?”

“What can I do? I’m just delivering the message that the Demon Lord asked me to deliver, Your Majesty…”

Rogers turned away, trying to avoid her gaze.

“Do you know what day it is today?”

“Of course I do. That’s why he said he’s going to buy a gift, right?”

He replied, but inwardly Rogers thought.

The probability is fifty-fifty.

He could know or he could not.

At this moment, he could only rely on his unreliable memory.

“Never mind. If he’s busy, he might forget. He’s roaming around the Demon Realm every day, so it’s possible to forget a day like today.”

When you don’t expect much, there’s no disappointment.

Bestia sighed with a bitter expression, as if she was trying to put her feelings aside.

“I’m here, Bestia!”

The timing was perfect as the subject of discussion, Velcarion, returned to the castle.

He entered with a smile like an innocent child, but seeing Bestia’s frozen face, he quickly asked,

“What’s wrong, Bestia? Did something happen?”

He still seemed unaware of what he had done wrong.

Rogers tried to signal Velcarion as much as possible to quickly understand the situation.

“Where did you go?”

“Oh, I went to the marshlands near the Lemea Gorge to subdue the monsters! Then…”

He was explaining excitedly, but his expression changed in an instant.

Velcarion suddenly remembered what he had asked Rogers to convey.

Trying to figure out what to do, he hurriedly searched his pockets.

“I, I went to buy a gift for you! Look at this!”

Bestia wasn’t expecting much.

It would likely be another strange magical creature or something similar, passed off as a gift.

However, this time, the item he pulled out was beyond Bestia’s expectations.

“Did you get this for me, Velcarion?”

Both Bestia and Rogers looked at him in disbelief.

“Do you like it?”

Velcarion asked cautiously, surprised by the unexpected reaction.

But Bestia, lost in the gift, couldn’t respond.

It was a pendant that was neither too flashy nor too simple, emitting a subtle, beautiful light with an unknown white gem embedded in the center, something rarely seen in the central Demon Realm.

It was a gift so amazing that it was hard to believe the Demon Lord had chosen it.

“I didn’t know you had such taste…”

“Wait and see! I’ll put it on for you myself.”

Velcarion gently put the pendant around her neck as she sat somewhat stunned.

The pendant, now on Bestia’s delicate skin, emitted an even more radiant light.

Bestia couldn’t take her eyes off it, entranced by its beauty.

“Do you remember what day it is today? Do you remember?”

“Huh? Oh, of course!”

Velcarion replied quickly, then glanced at Rogers.

Rogers gestured quickly, signaling him.

“It’s your birthday, the day I cherish the most in the Demon Realm! Despite my poor memory, I always remember this day!”

“Thank you, Velcarion. As you said, I guess I’m just a woman. Even though I know you’re busy with matters in the Demon Realm, I still hope you’ll take care of me on days like this…”…”

Bestia gently clasped the jewel of the pendant.

Seeing her in such ecstasy, Velcarion felt both joy and a hint of sadness.

After safely navigating through what could have been a crisis(?),

Velcarion, leaving the room with Rogers, immediately asked, almost accusingly,

“Hey Rogers! Why didn’t you mention that today is Bestia’s birthday?”

“Didn’t His Majesty mention it last year on Bestia’s birthday? He said not to mention it next time because he’ll definitely remember next year, no matter what.”

Even Velcarion, belatedly recalling that, fell silent.

“Still, you said you were going to buy a gift. I thought you’d remember at least this time…”

Velcarion avoided answering.

It wasn’t because it was her birthday, but because her face looked unusually dark these days, that he had prepared the gift to change her mood.

“Even so, you gave her an unexpectedly good gift that’s unlike His Majesty.”

“Oh, that? Well, I mean… Did it look good to you too?”

“Who gave it to you?”

Rogers asked, suddenly serious.

“Who gave it to me? I carefully chose it myself…”

“I know His Majesty’s taste in things better than anyone. That pendant isn’t something His Majesty would choose personally. Stop beating around the bush and be honest.”

“Ugh!”

Velcarion frowned, irritated.

“Hey Rogers, what if, just hypothetically.”

He thought for a moment about what to say, then cautiously opened his mouth.

“If I were to cross over to the human realm, what would happen?”

“Setting aside what might happen, why would you want to cross over there?”

“Someone said there’s a really bad person there who’s making their lives miserable. Just curious to see who that is.”

“Something must have happened at the gorge.”

Rogers, who sensed the Demon Lord’s intentions, immediately mentioned the Lemea Gorge.

Velcarion, realizing that hiding was pointless, recounted what had happened there just now.

“Even hearing it roughly, it sounds suspicious.”

“Yeah. It was suspicious from head to toe. Especially…”

If we were to pick one thing that stood out the most from that blond human, it would be the sword at his waist.

It was a high-quality white longsword, but it gave off a strange, eerie feeling that was hard to describe.

“To put it bluntly, Your Majesty is the ruler of the Demon Realm, not the mediator. Even if some of them come seeking help, there’s no reason for Your Majesty to intervene personally.”

Who doesn’t know that?

They said they didn’t want to get involved in others’ fights for no good reason.

Whatever happens in the human world, it’s unrelated to the Demon Realm.

For the Demon Lord, as long as they focus on the Demon Realm, that’s all that matters, regardless of what requests come from outside.

However,

“If the events in the human world start affecting the Demon Realm, then things will change. They’ve already cleared the path through the gorge by driving out monsters just to meet Your Majesty. They may try to approach Your Majesty multiple times to involve you in their affairs. If that happens…”

“If that happens?”

“Let me speak frankly, it won’t be a good thing at all.”

Rogers sharpened his previously gentle demeanor and subtly warned.

“So your point is to cut them off before they cause more trouble. Is that what you’re trying to say?”

“That’s not necessarily what I mean. It’s just that Your Majesty needs to show a firm stance. It means that Your Majesty doesn’t want to get involved in the affairs of the human world.”

In other words, it was about drawing clear boundaries.

Rogers’ suggestion was undoubtedly the most correct approach without much room for debate.

“But, about that negative existence the human mentioned…”

However, Velcarion couldn’t easily accept it.

If there was a reason for that,

“Never mind. I’ll do as you say, Rogers.”

Velcarion, who was about to say something, quickly changed his mind and swallowed his words.

Although Rogers didn’t press further, he couldn’t help but ask,

“Just a moment. Your Majesty! Did you receive the pendant that Bestia is currently wearing from that human?”

“Huh? Oh, right! He presented it as a token of their little sincerity, showing off a bunch of burdensome jewels. I found it cumbersome to carry, so I just grabbed one pendant that looked decent.”

“Are you out of your mind!!!”

Rogers shouted, scolding Velcarion sharply.

“You brought a gift from that suspicious human! No, the fact that you accepted a gift from them in the first place gives them a chance to meet you again, doesn’t it?”

“Why are you making such a fuss over just bringing back one pendant? Do you think I just accepted it? Oh, I thought my ears were going to fall off.”

“There’s nothing more to discuss. Since Your Majesty brought it, Your Majesty should deal with it.”

“How?”

“Either return it, or Your Majesty should dispose of it personally.”

Thinking he misunderstood, Velcarion smirked.

“I, I already gave it to Bestia.”

“Can’t you ask for it back? Bestia will understand.”

Velcarion couldn’t bring himself to do that, so he just looked at Rogers with pleading eyes.

* * *

Fifteen years, no, even ten years ago, demons couldn’t have imagined such a peaceful Demon Realm.

Half of the continent was inhospitable wasteland,

The other half, which was barely livable, was the habitat of monsters,

With the principle of survival of the fittest, weak demons were constantly disappearing, making the Demon Realm a land of constant decline.

And the man who could be called the strongest in the Demon Realm was undoubtedly the Demon Lord.

Unable to control his overflowing power, he engaged in pointless fights, with daily occurrences of destroying landmasses the size of villages according to his mood.

Just hearing the name Velcarion would make demons tremble with fear, and to demons, the Demon Lord was an absolutely terrifying existence.

The demon who turned him into the current sorry figure was none other than Bestia.

She was nothing more than an ordinary woman who didn’t even possess a small amount of mana in her body,

But if it weren’t for her, there would be no Demon Realm or Demon Lord as they exist now, as all demons agreed.

“Can I come in, Bestia?”

After knocking smartly on the door, Velcarion opened it and walked in.

“Welcome, Velcarion.”

Bestia greeted him with a bright smile.

“What happened with Rogers? I could hear his loud voice from here earlier.”

“Huh? Oh, it’s nothing!”

Velcarion quickly brushed off the question and changed the subject.

“You’re still wearing the pendant?”

“Of course. When else would I receive something like this from you? It’s such a wonderful gift…”

“Oh. Now that I look at it again, it’s not that pretty, is it? Something else would suit you better.”

“No, that’s not true. I really like it! There’s nothing more beautiful than this pendant!”

Bestia cut off his enthusiasm with a firm tone, showing that she was not going to let it go.

Just by looking at her determined eyes, it was clear that she would never take it off her neck.

“Are you planning to keep it forever?”

“Of course. I’ll never lose it or part with it. I’ll treasure it more than anything else!”

Bestia’s gaze was firm.

Looking at her resolute gaze, Velcarion reluctantly nodded his head.

“It’s nothing. I might get an earful from Rogers later.”

“What?”

“Nothing. I’ll be away for a while.”

As Velcarion hurriedly moved to leave the room, he turned back and approached Bestia.

Then,

“…!”

He gently kissed her forehead.

“Suddenly, what’s this!”

“Happy birthday, Bestia!”

Velcarion smiled broadly at her blushing face and quickly left the room.

Flying out of the Demon Lord’s castle and spreading his wings into the sky once again, he headed towards the Lemea Gorge.

A few hours ago, precisely at that location.

Was he silently waiting for him to return, or was it something else, the blond man was still there.

“You came back faster than I expected.”

“Let’s skip the chit-chat and get to the point. Let’s finish our face-to-face here.”

Velcarion didn’t waste time and went straight to the point.

“I have no intention of getting involved in your affairs. So from this moment on, forget about using me to do anything. Your affairs are your own responsibility.”

A straightforward expression of refusal.

However, contrary to expectations, Aschel didn’t bat an eyelid.

As if he didn’t care at all.

“However, if your affairs start affecting our Demon Realm, then the conversation will change. Then, regardless of who you are or what negative existence you talk about, I will crush it all.”

A warning following the refusal.

It was a situation that would certainly not be welcomed, but

“Haha…”

Aschel was smiling for some reason.

“Even though I had a small hope that there might be a chance, it was just as I expected. What can we do? If asking doesn’t work, then next time, I’ll have to give a warning…”

This made Velcarion’s blood boil for a moment.

“What?”

“I’ll say it again. Demon Lord Velcarion. Please consider our demands. Otherwise…”

Even in the face of the Demon Lord’s question, Aschel remained unfazed and continued with his statement.

“The peace that you currently maintain in the Demon Realm… will be broken.”

A warning in the form of a demand, followed by a moment of silence.

Watching Aschel with narrowed eyes, Velcarion finally spoke.

“Do you want to die?”