The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

A small shield-sized, brilliant magic stone.

Surrounding the magic stone were sages draped in blue robes.

Currently, there were hardly any among them who wore normal expressions.

More were standing than sitting.

Most had eyes widened in shock and mouths agape, merely staring at the face of the informant who had come to deliver news.

“What… what are you saying? Lord Lucion and Lady Cadelina are missing…?”

“I am conveying exactly that. Since the last manifestation of their power near Luwen, their presence has completely vanished.”

The informant spoke with a calm tone, as if he had already anticipated the reaction of the sages, but he himself couldn’t comprehend the current situation.

The disappearance of the dragons, the supreme race of the land.

Though termed as ‘missing’, it was practically tantamount to extinction since there was no trace of their presence left on this land.

The two artifacts, both losing their light, were evidence of that.

“As you can see, both of these ‘Dragon Stones’ have lost their light. When they handed over these artifacts to us initially, they clearly stated that when the light of these stones disappears, they would cease to exist in this world…”

Of course, such a thing would never happen, and they were simply commanded to follow our instructions verbatim.

Although the dragons who spoke and the sages who listened had never anticipated such an event.

“Lu, you said it was near Luwen, right? Have you been to the place where their energy was last manifested?”

“Investigators searched in every possible way, even using detection magic, but only a series of battle traces were found, and nothing else was found. Even small things like blood stains or scales…….”

The more they heard, the more absurd it was.

While everyone is making blank faces, unable to accept reality,

A middle-aged man sitting closest to the rainbow-colored magic stone was watching the current situation with a very serious expression.

It was ‘Regens Rainriver,’ the head of the Garam Kingdom’s Magic Society and one of the few people on the continent who holds the title of Great Sage.

“Hmm…….”

All the eyes of the wise men turned to him at the brief sigh that came out along with the wind from his nose.

Regens’ gaze was directed to the faded Dragon Stone.

“It was near Luwen, right? If there were traces of a battle, then Lucion and Cadelina… would have perished in that battle, wouldn’t they?”

“Y-Yes! However, Lord Lucion and Lady Cadelina possessed power equivalent to 8th rank…”

“Assigning titles to the deceased serves no purpose. There’s no need to elevate them further.”

Regens raised his hand, halting the respect for the dragons.

“But we should consider the battle more carefully. If not even a drop of blood was found, perhaps the individual who killed those two dragons erased traces with magic?”

“But, Lord Regens! As you know, the magic proficiency of the investigators is not low. Most were at least 7th rank or higher. If they couldn’t detect anything with their detection magic, wouldn’t the perpetrator need to be at least 8th rank or higher…”

“Likely a Dark attribute user.”

Specialized in concealment and deception rather than combat-oriented magic.

If indeed traces were erased by magic, the caster’s magical prowess would need to be far superior to that of the investigators.

“He killed a dragon instead of anything else, but if he really did that, it wouldn’t be at the level of the investigators.”

Regens remarked as if it wasn’t particularly surprising.

“Even so, Dark attribute…”

Even among the highly-ranked magicians known to the public, Dark attribute users were exceedingly rare.

In fact, the likelihood of possessing a Dark attribute and ascending to high ranks was slim.

However, Regens seemed fixated on the Dark attribute, repeatedly muttering the word to himself while tapping his desk with his fingers.

“Luwen was where the Royal Academy is located, right?”

Once again, he mentioned nothing other than the Academy.

“Yes. However, the only person capable of killing Lucion and Cadelina would be Chancellor Kundle. But his attribute is not Dark…”

“There’s no guarantee it must be the Chancellor. The specialty of Dark attribute is concealment, so perhaps a highly-ranked Dark attribute user with hidden power could be harbored there. It’s worth investigating. Expand the investigation range to include the Academy.”

“Yes, Lord Regens!”

As the instructed investigator left, Regens closed his eyes.

Everyone in the chamber remained silent, watching him.

Until he opened his eyes and spoke again, no one dared to break the silence.

“Sometimes, it seems like we’re in the midst of chaos, just like in the old days. Even though it was said that occasionally trouble may arise.”

Though his tone was composed, it carried an underlying sense of discomfort.

“What about finding a new trader?”

“We are currently scouring the entire continent for a capable trader, but it may take some time to find someone as competent and resourceful as Zikermann Albas.”

“What about investigating alternatives for the supply of demonic blood?”

“We’re looking into that in all directions, but it seems difficult to secure additional supply unless we can infiltrate new suppliers into the front lines. Most of the blood diverted by ignorant suppliers to the black market has already been recovered.”

Regens sighed deeply again.

“Do you all think that everything that has happened so far is just a coincidence?”

A collective gulp was heard from those present.

“Renald Crimson, who supplied demonic blood, was assassinated on the front lines, and Zikermann Albas, who provided us with research materials and human test subjects for years, was also assassinated out of the blue. And now, Lucion and Cadelina, the two dragons who have contributed the most to our society, have vanished. Could all of these events really be just coincidences?”

Regens’ eyes showed a mixture of anger and doubt.

“I don’t believe so. There must be some connection to the misfortunes befalling us. Until we understand and address it, the progress of our Magic Society will be hindered.”

It was more of an intuition than evidence.

However, the other sages couldn’t help but think that there must be some correlation between these series of events.

But as of now, they had no way of knowing, and it was frustrating.

Rising from his seat, Regens warned the sages seated at the table.

“So, everyone needs to brace themselves. It seems like there’s an ominous change happening on this continent. We must overcome it to move towards a brighter future!”

With that, Regens disappeared into the darkness, leaving behind the glowing emblem of the society engraved on his robe.

* * *

“Hey, how is it? Delicious?”

“Yeah! It’s really delicious! Snacks from Sister Arin are the best!”

Nana’s face was radiant as if she didn’t need heaven.

Her cheeks were filled with snacks brought by Princess Arin.

They seemed to be having a great time, just like two affectionate young sisters.

Actually, I am the one who gave permission to her to come see Nana, so I am at a loss to say anything.

It feels strange, though.

It’s the first time I’ve brought a stranger into my room.

It’s not like I’ve stacked up corpses or anything, and there’s no reason to prevent them from coming in, but the fact that a stranger who isn’t my seed has entered is not particularly pleasant.

*Clunk clunk*

Still, Brian, considering the guest valuable, quietly set up a table in front of the sofa and boiled some tea.

Sweat was dripping down his tense face as if it were raining.

He’s really doing what he wasn’t asked to do.

Never mind the tea, Arin, seeing Brian’s appearance, asked me,

“Is it really just Brian, no other knights?”

“As you can see, yes.”

Actually, he wasn’t even supposed to be here.

“Surprising, isn’t it? I thought you might bring the maid from the mansion. Her name was Emily, right?”

She remembered her name surprisingly well.

Well, it’s not surprising if a maid with that kind of presence is missed.

“I didn’t want to bring her, a mere maid, to the academy. I had no desire to resort to tricks either.”

I thought it would be better for her to stay in Velias than to come to the academy with me.

“Arin, it’s time for your classical literature class.”

“Oh, is it already that time?”

Ressimus, checking the clock, informed us that class time was approaching.

Upon which Princess Arin hastily tidied up her belongings and began to prepare to leave.

Well, now it’ll quiet down a bit.

Once those two are gone, maybe I can relax and do some exercise…

“Hmm?”

Arin suddenly stood up and was staring directly at my face.

“Is there something you want to say?”

“Why are you like that?”

Her unexpected question caught me off guard.

“Don’t you have class to attend? We have the same class.”

*Sigh*

Deep inside, I let out a sigh.

Is the princess deliberately doing this?

“Nana! I’m going to class with Papa! Play nicely with Brian until then!”

“Yeah! Have a good time, Arin sis!”

My opinion didn’t matter anymore.

With Nana’s cheerful face waving goodbye, my body was already outside the dormitory.

“Surely you weren’t planning to skip class again? While taking care of Nana is important, the primary duty of a student is to attend class! If you keep skipping and end up failing, won’t that be a problem, Cyan?!”

She really is considerate.

I just turned my gaze slightly and contemplated slipping away.

At that moment, a familiar figure approached.

It was Cranz.

He spotted me, hesitated for a moment, then quickly turned and left.

There was no mistaking it, I had instructed him to do just that.

He was to disappear as soon as he saw me.

“Wasn’t he your brother just now?”

“Yes, but we’re not that close.”

I cut off any further conversation.

Moving on, as I arrived at the main building, I encountered another familiar face at the end of the hallway.

It was Barrett Louisemill, supported by knights and bowing with one leg raised.

His arrogant face remained unchanged.

“Hmph!”

Upon spotting me, he screamed and ordered the knights to carry him away before fleeing.

It was almost as fast as an assassin eliminating a target and disappearing.

“What’s wrong, Cyan? Is there something there?”

“Nothing.”

I ascended the stairs without revealing anything.

The chatter of dozens of students suddenly fell silent, all eyes turning towards me.

Their expressions seemed to question why I was there.

Ignoring those curious glances, I took my seat.

It had been two months since I entered the academy.

As I’ve said before, this place is just a fence to protect my current status.

Despite some interesting incidents, I need to quietly continue my life here, avoiding any unwanted attention.

I must gradually mend everything I should have but couldn’t do before.

I must continue to connect the faint links I have now.

Then, it will all collapse on its own.

It’s like the cunning plan of a wicked little demon’s child.

Thinking about that moment, a smile unknowingly formed on my lips.

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