The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Although the physical trauma has healed to some extent, to recover from the internal injuries, it’s necessary to rest and stabilize. So, it’s best not to move today and take a rest here.”

“Thank you very much. I wonder how I can repay this kindness…”

Although gratitude was expressed, the expression didn’t quite match.

This is a healing center located in the heart of Luwen.

They were brought here by Princess Arin to heal Ressimus, who was assaulted by a group of thugs.

The blonde lunatic tried to play with mana spheres, but then ran away like an arrow, saying he would do it next time.

Actually, I thought about forcing him into ‘treatment’, but for now, healing Ressimus seemed to be the priority, so I accompanied Princess Arin to the healing center.

Including fractures, internal organ ruptures, and even minor concussions.

Honestly, looking at her condition, she wouldn’t improve in a day or two of treatment.

It’s actually quite useful to maintain sanity like that.

Is it the spirit of the Continent’s Greatest Sword?

“If it’s okay, may I ask when they started bothering you?” Princess Arin asked.

Ressimus hesitated for a moment at the princess’s question.

“…From the moment I arrived. It seemed like they were targeting me intentionally.”

In the end, she admitted to being harassed.

“I almost got into big trouble. I never expected them to be so shameless. Trying to force their mana sphere into someone else’s mouth…”

It was truly a moment of crisis.

If Princess Arin hadn’t appeared at that moment to intervene.

Otherwise, by now Ressimus would have been undergoing major surgery in the intensive care unit, not resting in a regular ward.

But if things continued like this, their harassment would surely repeat itself.

Whether Ressimus knew that fact or not, her expression was consistently gloomy.

“Um, I’ve been curious since earlier…”

Ressimus, who had been watching, suddenly turned her eyes towards me.

“Do you know?”

“Hmm?”

“No, you’ve been staring at me since earlier…”

I know.

Ressimus Klein, the Continent’s Greatest Sword.

A knight who was revered as having reached the realm of a god with a single sword stroke, beheading hundreds of people.

The last defender who protected the Kingdom of Garam until the very end in the Continent Unification War that erupted after the suppression of the Demon King’s army.

But as mentioned earlier, she was the one I killed.

Originally, she was a citizen of the Ushif Empire.

However, after graduating from the academy, she entered the Klein Viscount household, a noble family in Garam, and changed her surname, and later changed her nationality.

At that time, the Empire had captured all the castles of the Kingdom of Garam and only left the territory of Klein.

In order to achieve the complete unification of the continent, I tried to induce her to defect if possible, but Ressimus refused to abandon the kingdom that recognized her for the first time as someone remarkable.

In the end, the Empire, who judged that her will could not be broken, ordered me to assassinate her.

The Empire’s order was to assassinate, but the reason I infiltrated the castle was to request a formal duel with her.

There wasn’t much reason.

Before becoming an assassin, as a fellow swordsman, I didn’t want to kill the greatest sword of the continent so easily.

In fact, she wasn’t a woman who would easily fall victim to assassination.

After the battle with the Demon King, she was a strong woman who gave me the feeling of defeat that I thought would never happen again.

By the way, she was also famous as a swordsman who didn’t use magic.

Most knights with a lineage of swords usually incorporate mana and magic into their swordsmanship, but she was a swordsman who reached the pinnacle solely through her unique swordsmanship.

Now that I think about it, it wasn’t that she didn’t use magic; she couldn’t.

Because of that blonde lunatic, her mana flow must have been disrupted since childhood.

Yet, despite that, she became the Greatest Sword of the continent. If she had integrated magic into her sword, how much further would she have progressed?

I imagine she would have reached a much higher level than before. Was this what Aeru meant by looking around?

For now, I decided to treat her with caution.

“I just thought you looked a bit like someone I used to know. But it seems like that wasn’t the case.”

“Ah, I see…”

With the end of the conversation, an awkward silence fell.

Princess Arin tried to improve the atmosphere by changing the subject.

“By the way, Ressimus, how did you get into the Royal Academy? I heard they specially recruit people with exceptional talents among the commoners, and the instructors make special selections. Did you go through that?”

“Yes, that’s right. I was selected for swordsmanship by Instructor Jade, who was a swordsmanship instructor at the academy, and he promised to sponsor me afterward… But the day before I enrolled, he suddenly got expelled from the academy…”

It was a sudden expulsion of the instructor who was supposed to sponsor her.

It might be crossing the line to think so, but it didn’t seem like a coincidence.

“I see… So, where are you staying now?”

It’s obvious.

There was only one place where commoners like her who were neither royalty nor nobility could stay.

“The Communal Hall…”

A dormitory exclusively for commoners, where about 5% of the academy’s students reside.

It’s not that the facilities were old or anything, but there was a difference compared to other dormitories.

In fact, the academy didn’t intend to neglect it.

As I mentioned earlier, it was because the noble patrons vigorously protested against how lowly commoners could receive the same treatment as them.

It was a place where even janitors hesitated to work once a month, let alone guardian knights.

“That’s a tough situation. You have to return, and those people might come back again…”

Even in such a situation, with the instructor who promised to sponsor her being expelled, it wouldn’t be strange if those blonde lunatics came back and caused trouble again.

The princess seemed to be pondering if there was any good solution, her lips gently touching each other.

I looked at her and said, “Then why don’t you take him with you?”

“Huh?”

She shook her head, as if she thought she had misheard.

“Take him personally and make him a retainer? After all, there is no rule in the academy that says you cannot stay in someone else’s residence instead of your own.”

It’s not like any ordinary commoner would dare to share a room with a noble, everyone refused, saying it was impossible.

“W-what are you talking about? How could I possibly share a room with a man I just met today…?”

“I’m a girl.”

“….?”

Princess Arin looked at Ressimus with a face of disbelief.

“I… I didn’t mean to deceive you…”

Blushing face and neatly clasped hands.

It was a somewhat awkward appearance reminiscent of an eleven-year-old girl.

As a result, the princess’s face also turned red.

“I-I’m sorry! I thought you were a boy because you have short hair!”

“T-there’s no need to apologize! I’m the one who made the mistake…”

In fact, it wasn’t really a mistake.

A commoner without a guardian attending the academy? A girl instead of a boy?

It would be no surprise if she suddenly turned up one day as a barefoot beggar.

Disguising as a man was just one means to protect her.

In fact, there were quite a few female knights in the Empire who disguised their gender and joined the knighthood.

Arin looked at her with even more sympathetic eyes.

“It must have been really hard for you…”

It seemed like her own reflection was projected in her.

Even empathy was sensed from the princess towards her.

“If she was recruited for her swordsmanship talent, she must have had considerable skill. If you personally take her under your wing, not only can you learn from her, but you could also appoint her as your personal guardian knight later on. It’s not a bad deal.”

Judging from the princess’s expression, she didn’t seem like she would ponder for long.

“May I ask where you’re from?”

“I’m from the southern city of the Ushif Empire, ‘Brenu’.”

Moreover, she’s still a citizen of the Empire. It was sufficient justification to take her as a retainer even though she wasn’t a foreigner.

“What do you think? I think Cyan’s suggestion is reasonable. If you become my retainer, you can live comfortably without being harassed by those bad people. You can learn what you want and do what you like…”

Ressimus had a complex and subtle expression.

Perhaps the current situation was incomprehensible to her.

Out of the blue, the princess rescued her, and now she was offering to live together.

“Why… why me?”

“I am a princess of the Empire. It’s natural for me as a member of the royal family to save the people. I won’t take you without any compensation. Since you have skill in swordsmanship, I also want to learn a lot from you.”

Tears began to well up in her eyes.

“Actually, I just feel lonely by myself. There are no friends to talk to in the spacious dormitory. Wouldn’t it be fun to live together?”

At this moment, Ressimus might have thought that a goddess descended from the sky.

A savior appeared suddenly in a future that seemed bleak.

She cried and leaned into the princess’s arms.

This was truly a beautiful scene that couldn’t be witnessed without tears.

At this point, my role seemed to be finished. I quietly got up from my seat and left the hospital room.

Why did I change my mind? Not at all.

I simply judged that leaving her by her side was better than personally taking her.

It might just be a small sapling for now. But when that sapling grows into a tree, and those trees multiply to form a forest, that’s when it becomes one’s own domain and power.

I merely provided a path for making the future Greatest Sword of the continent an ally, and it was the princess who nurtured that sapling.

What happens next is up to her.

However, there is one thing to be wary of.

Creating one ally is akin to creating several enemies.

Just as my enemy could become an ally, eventually, an ally’s enemy could become mine too.

You never know.

* * *

At the moment…

*Bam! Bam! Bam!*

“Aaah!”

Barrett let out a roar of humiliation that he had never felt before in his life. Being pushed back by the momentum for the first time, his emotions were beyond words.

“Arin Sevellerus… lecturing me, a mere 5th princess shell?”

The pride of the nobility was nowhere to be found, truly ridiculous and not even worthy of laughter.

“Who does she think she is, telling me what to do?! She should just quietly mind her own business like everyone else!”

Before he could quell his anger towards her, another person came to mind.

“Cyan Vert…”

No one had ever looked at him with such eyes until now.

A condescending gaze as if he was nothing.

It couldn’t be anything but an immense humiliation that twisted his entire body.

“Aaah!”

Barrett began to smash everything around him with the sword he held in his hand.

“This won’t do…! This is unacceptable!”

Barrett began to break everything into finer pieces, unsatisfied until the debris turned to powder.

“I’ll make all of you just like this! I’ll make you suffer so much that you won’t even beg for mercy! I’ll make sure to repay every slight that made me angry! ”

Barrett smiled satisfactorily as the shattered remains hinted at their future.

———