The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Step by step, all eyes converged on him as he moved forward.

The murmurs and whispers were just an added nuisance.

Naturally, there were no pleasant stories being exchanged.

“So, that rascal and Princess Arin are engaged? What a waste on Princess Arin!”

“I’m telling you! Even if he’s from the Vert Duchy, I’d rather live single than live with such a man who finds this world bothersome.”

“That gloomy look in his eyes! It makes me sick every time I see him!”

Unless one leaned in close, these words would go unheard.

Yet, strangely enough, the boy heard every word.

However, he didn’t show any reaction and simply continued on his way silently.

Meanwhile, as Arin ascended the stairs, she came face to face with the boy and couldn’t help but startle.

“Oh, hi Cyan.”

She tried to greet him as naturally as possible, but her face betrayed her embarassment.

-Bow

Instead of a response, the boy just nodded and casually passed by her.

“What’s this? Now he won’t even greet us!”

Feeling ignored, Arin puffed up her cheeks and formed a sullen expression.

Whether to say something or not, the boy simply walked past everyone and soon arrived at his room.

-Creak

As he opened the door as if nothing had happened,

“Good job.”

Cyan, who had been waiting, greeted him.

With a faint smile, the boy replied,

-Boom!

With a strange sound, his true form was revealed.

“Wasn’t it difficult?”

“Yeah! It was so much fun transforming into Papa and walking around!”

The boy’s true identity was Nana, who had been transforming into Cyan.

Though it was a brief journey, it seemed to have been incredibly enjoyable as her face was filled with a happy grin.

In a gesture of gratitude, Cyan affectionately ruffled Nana’s hair.

Watching this, Kaeram couldn’t help but laugh in disbelief.

* * *

[You must be crazy, huh?]

“I’m not denying it.”

Because if I wasn’t a little crazy, I wouldn’t be doing this.

[So you’re leaving that unpredictable kid in charge, not knowing when she’ll go on a rampage? You seem to enjoy this kind of thing, don’t you? Honestly, tell me! Does it not matter if you get caught?]

[PR/N: He def loves doing shit that’ll come bite his ass later. Like just deal with it dude ur a damn regressor]

“I wish I could say it didn’t.”

I’m doing this to avoid getting caught, after all.

I understand Kaeram’s feelings, but what can I do?

If there’s even a slight loophole I can exploit to slip away, I should take full advantage of it.

“I’m back, Master!”

Following Nana, Brian returned.

“Good job. How was it?”

“There didn’t seem to be any particular problems. Nana imitated you so well that even I was a bit confused…”

All I told her was to keep her mouth shut and look clueless, but she managed to follow quite closely.

Is this why they say children are a reflection of their parents?

Perhaps there’s some truth to those old sayings after all.

“Master, are you really okay? Even if it’s just the students, can you deceive not only them but also those close to you like Instructor Silica?”

“Of course, I’m not okay. Won’t the leader figure it out right away?”

“Um? Then what should I do?”

“Just say I ordered it.”

With a mischievous grin, Brian scratched his head.

“Th-Then will it be okay? Won’t Instructor Silica be upset?”

“Not upset, but angry? Still, if you say I did it, she won’t kill you.”

Brian’s face turned pale at once.

It’s not a lie.

Depending on how she feels that day, there’s about a 60% chance I can survive.

That’s more than half, so it’s fine.

I’m well aware of the risks.

Since I’ve lived without attending classes anyway, I don’t plan to send her away, but rather keep Brian with her periodically to keep an eye on her.

With the Headmaster out of his seat and Princess Arin likely to avoid me for a while, theoretically, there shouldn’t be any major issues for now…

I’ll just feel more comfortable if I finish my work quickly and return.

I’ll think about the aftermath later.

[…]

Kaeram was looking at me with a thoughtful gaze.

“Do you have something to say?”

[Do you really need to find that Tome?]

I’ve been feeling this way for a while now, and by now, it’s almost certain.

She doesn’t seem to want me to find the parchment.

“Instead of just expressing your dislike outright, why don’t you tell me the reason? Is there a reason why I shouldn’t find the parchment?”

Kaeram savored the somewhat direct question.

After briefly contemplating whether to say something or not, she finally turned her head away.

[Fine, fine. What’s the point of saying it? Do whatever you want, Master~]

Master, huh?

She really is an unpredictable woman.

* * *

On the morning of the dawn, with a blue veil spread over the black sky, the figure in the distance waved at me.

“Hurry up! Cyan Vert! Are you ready?”

I’d rather have that than the sound of the morning roosters.

It’s so noisy it would make sneaking out pointless.

But upon closer inspection, the kid had no luggage.

“Where’s your stuff?”

“Huh? What do I need to bring? My body is enough to go to Nodelli!”

It wasn’t particularly surprising, so I just nodded.

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you? After this field trip, you’re going to spar with me! That’s why I’m personally guiding you!”

If I may add, the field trip application submitted by Set was immediately rejected at the head’s end.

In other words, this isn’t a field trip, it’s an outright unauthorized outing.

I came up with my own excuse, but he just believed he was granted permission for a field trip.

Since he’s more interested in sparring with me than attending classes, I don’t think it will matter even later.

It’s exactly 10 minutes before the morning shift change of the guards.

Taking advantage of this brief moment of handover, I’ll swiftly leave the city.

Spania.

This is a place I haven’t set foot in since the War of Unification of the Continent, so has it been almost 20 years since I visited?

A desert parched all year round.

As someone who dislikes heat more than cold, it’s a place I can’t bear…

“Where are you guys off to?”

Both Set and I froze simultaneously.

Unlike the guy who hastily turned his head, I couldn’t turn my neck at all.

I already know who it is just by hearing the voice.

I turned around with a small sigh and a bug-bitten expression.

“You guys are so diligent….”

She is stroking her lips with one hand and smiling eerily at me.

It is Luna.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a corner.

-Thunk!

I swiftly slammed her hand against the wall.

“You’re too forward…”

There’s no point in useless words.

There’s no hesitation about ignoring those kinds of words.

“What are you doing here? How did you get here?”

“Isn’t that my question to ask? What are two men doing together so early in the morning?”

“Wh-We’re just here to exercise!”

“If you’re going to make excuses, at least make them believable. I can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous it is.”

Her gloomy eyes stared at me as if I were pathetic.

“I heard that senior applied for experiential learning, but it was rejected, right? That’s why you’re going out secretly with Prince Set, and you’re going to an unnamed ruin located in Spania Nodelli.”

I asked back with a face that controlled my emotions as much as possible.

“You read too many books, huh? Or is writing novels your hobby?”

“No need to be sarcastic. Since I already know why Senior is going there.”

She pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket and handed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“Check it out.”

On one side of the paper was the emblem of the Garam Magic Society.

With a bewildered heart, I checked the contents.

“….”

I froze on the spot.

“This is recent data our society discovered. During the past Holy War, a demon summoned through the power of the tome lived in that ruin. The locals call it Remiharam, the same name as the demon….”

Emotions swirled within me, and a cold sweat dripped down my back.

“You knew that the name of the demon is Remiharam, right? It’s quite fascinating. It’s supposed to be a highly confidential matter known only to a handful of members in our society, so how did you, who has no connection to the society, know about it? It’s not something anyone can just tell you.”

A mediocre excuse would only dig my own grave.

All I can do is remain silent, which is meaningless.

She continued without pause.

“To be honest, I wasn’t sure. Just because you knew the name of the demon didn’t guarantee that you would go to that ruin. But recently, I noticed you hanging out with Prince Set often, so I started to suspect something. And when I heard about the field trip, I became convinced. I thought you would go to that ruin…”

I was speechless.

Wait, did I apply for the field trip?

Shouldn’t it have been rejected at the head’s end, so it wouldn’t even have reached the ears of other instructors?

Could it be…?

“Oh, by the way, I heard about your field trip from that guy.”

Her delicate finger pointed at Set.

“I saw him wandering alone in the park on the weekend, looking pathetic, so I asked him out of curiosity. And he told me everything, saying to keep it a secret. That you and him will go on a field trip soon…”

In a moment of anger, my fists clenched involuntarily.

Well, who else can I blame?

It’s my fault for trying to work with that idiot.

When I glared at him with angry eyes, he just scratched his head and chuckled.

“What do you want?”

Eventually, in the current situation, I had no choice but to say what she wanted to hear.

Luna pointedly smiled with satisfaction before answering.

“It’s simple. Take me to that ruin too. I won’t ask how you found out about it or why you’re looking for the Tome. I just want to accompany you as someone who also wants to verify the truth of the Tome.”

Besides the information she provided earlier, she pulled out more data from her pocket.

“These are other materials related to the Demon from our society. They’re precious items that can’t be found anywhere else, so they’ll definitely be helpful to you.”

Just by skimming through them, I could tell they were highly confidential materials from the society.

By now, it was beyond doubt and into suspicion.

This is clearly an obsession that goes beyond the scope of assistance.

Although I may have extended her lifespan, without notifying her of my actions, why is she fixated on me for some reason?

“Why?”

“Huh?”

“There must be a reason. Why are you fixated on me to this extent?”

Unexpectedly, she chuckled, her head tilted.

“A reason for fixating on you? Well, is there even a reason?”

“What?”

“I’m just fixating on you because I like you…”

Her unusually innocent smile left me speechless once again.

I’ve always believed that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but at this moment, my decades-long belief wavered.

————