The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

When people encounter something they never expected, doubt often precedes certainty.

That’s exactly my current state of mind.

I repeated doubt and certainty in my head countless times to determine whether the thing right in front of me was indeed real and not just an illusion.

So, what was right in front of me?

A doll.

But not an ordinary doll.

It wasn’t cute or adorable; instead, it exuded a repulsive atmosphere, as if it had been sucking blood from within.

It was a Marionette doll.

Marionette’s ability was to infuse mana into a soulless body and control it like a puppet.

The doll served as a medium connecting the mana and the corpse.

Usually, it was small enough to fit in an adult’s palm, but the one before me was so large that it was barely recognizable as a doll, towering right in front of me.

It was so huge that even calling it a doll seemed ambiguous.

There wasn’t just one; there were about ten visible ones.

Were they planning to create a doll army with these?

“What is this?”

I asked, glancing at the figure that had approached me, wrapping my arms around its neck.

“You probably won’t believe it, but it’s a Marionette doll. Lord Galas prepared it secretly to show to Prince Louisnel…”

Prepared it for the first prince?

I couldn’t help but snicker at the absurdity of it all.

Well, let’s consider it a secret gift prepared with the desire to catch the attention of the next emperor.

However, no matter how outstanding and magnificent the gift may seem, if there’s no way to use it, it will be treated as worthless.

That’s exactly the case with this doll.

Perhaps if the first prince had seen it, he would have said something like, ‘How do you plan to infuse mana into this giant doll?’

Controlling a dead creature requires immense power beyond imagination.

As mentioned earlier, to cast Marionette, mana equivalent to that power must be infused into the doll.

As the size of the doll increases, so does the mana required.

If there’s no way to control such a giant corpse, there’s no point in increasing the size of the doll unnecessarily.

With this size, it would be impossible to infuse mana in the first place.

It’s not just about feasibility; it’s about what made them dare to create such a doll in the first place.

It seemed reckless yet courageous in a way.

“Do you think this is possible?”

“Perhaps not everything… but I believe some things are possible…”

Not everything is possible.

That statement implied that not everything is possible, but some things are.

“If I inject all the mana I have, I think I could make a few of them possible…”

Still, it meant that some things were not entirely impossible.

“Do you realize what might happen if this becomes a reality?”

“Surely it wouldn’t be a good thing…”

Boris cried out, seemingly wanting to appeal his injustice.

“I understand! This doll isn’t meant to help people; it’s a presence that can bring terrible suffering! It may sound like a pitiful excuse, but I didn’t want to create this! Using my power for something like this…”

It’s a pathetic excuse, indeed.

Even though I knew it was wrong, I couldn’t help it.

I had to do it for the residents of Slums.

But attaching such lame justifications doesn’t make the actions right.

In the end, there’s no denying that he contributed to an act that could bring great disaster to this continent beyond the empire.

That’s probably why he asked for death from me.

Knowing it’s wrong but having no way out, he seeks salvation through death, using me as the means.

It’s truly absurd beyond words.

Despite my closed mouth out of frustration, my hand naturally moved towards Kaeram.

First, I’ll get rid of this eerie and grotesque doll.

Then I’ll deal with him, the lord, and everyone else…

Tap, tap, tap!

At that moment, several sets of footsteps approached our direction.

Roughly thirty of them, give or take.

Most of them seemed to be heavily armed, judging by the solid sound of their footsteps in armor.

“….!”

Soon, dozens of armed knights arrived at the scene, all of them casting suspicious glances in our direction.

Among them, a man with furrowed brows yelled at Boris with intensity.

“B-Boris! You traitor!”

It was Lord Galas Avon, the lord of Axilium, the mastermind behind this space.

* * *

Two years ago, somewhere near Slums.

Kneeling before Galas on the stone steps, a man with knights as his escort occupied the space.

“To make a Marionette doll? One that resembles the size of a human?”

“Yes.”

Even with vague and insufficient words, Galas chuckled in disbelief.

“Are you mocking me? I’m not ignorant of magic, nor am I unfamiliar with the principles of Marionette. Yet here you are, babbling about such impossible notions before me?”

“Even if the possibility is slim, I won’t say it’s entirely impossible.”

“You’re good with words. Fine, I’ll entertain your deception.”

As if urging him to speak, Galas narrowed his eyes at the man.

“The principle of Marionette involves transferring mana stored in the doll to a dead body, using the power of magic to move it.”

“I know. It involves infusing a living human’s blood to create it, a forbidden process.”

At the mention of “forbidden,” the man smirked oddly.

“In the end, it all comes down to how much mana you can contain in the doll. But there’s something many people, including you, don’t know. That the doll created through the forbidden process doesn’t lose the mana once transferred, even as time passes…”

Galas’s pupils shook with astonishment.

“W-What nonsense are you spouting? Even if it were true, how could someone like you possibly know such an extraordinary fact?”

“Why I know isn’t important. What I know is. What you should pay attention to, Lord Galas, is what I know.”

A bead of cold sweat trickled down Galas’s back as he forced a smile.

“So, you’re saying you can create a Marionette doll the size of a human by yourself?”

The man stood silently with a mysterious smile, offering no reply or nod.

“You will be responsible for your words, Boris…”

Back to the present.

If someone were to tell you that only two humans managed to penetrate this place, even with the most elite knights from Axilium, would you believe it?

Galas couldn’t believe it.

Despite the knights’ objections, he rushed forward, only to witness an unbelievable sight.

There were only two humans visible at the moment.

Boris, with whom he had just had a private conversation, and a boy with an unfamiliar atmosphere standing before the Marionette doll.

The boy had a sharp gaze contrasting his youthful face, exuding a sinister aura.

In that overwhelming atmosphere, everyone present seemed to hold their breath.

Swoosh!

At that moment, a cruel sound resounded, and droplets of blood flew in all directions.

“Protect Lord Galas!”

In an attempt to shield the startled lord, the knights stepped forward, but…

Thunk!

As bones and flesh were severed, the sturdy knights began to fall one by one.

Galas’s pupils shook violently as he watched the scene unfold.

“W-What… who is that?”

“You must avoid him, my lord!”

Sensing the threat, Galas immediately turned to flee.

“An assassin? No, it can’t be! Why would an assassin be here?”

Attempting to deny the speculations racing through his mind, he continued to run without looking back.

Swoosh!

The merciless execution continued without pause.

As the number of knights dwindled rapidly, some couldn’t even scream.

Gasp!

As the last remaining knight’s sword fell limply to the ground, Galas came to a sudden halt.

He realized that further escape was futile.

“W-What do you want?”

Too afraid to turn around, Galas barely managed to open his mouth.

“Why did you create the doll?”

For the first time, the black-haired boy spoke.

“W-What?”

“Why did you create the doll? What absurdity made you create such a thing to control?”

“I… I just wanted to help Prince Louisnel…”

Thunk!

Perhaps it wasn’t the answer he wanted to hear.

The boy immediately grabbed Galas by the throat and slammed him to the ground.

“I-I don’t know!”

“H-How would I know? I merely accepted the proposal from that spineless fellow!”

“What?”

“It wasn’t me who suggested creating the doll in the first place! It was Boris! Boris was the one who suggested making Marionette dolls from the beginning!”

In the face of death’s shadow, Galas’s eyes were filled not with pretense but with genuine sincerity.

* * *

Meanwhile, after Cyan disappeared chasing Galas, Boris was left alone.

Seemingly intoxicated by the scent of blood scattered all around, his feet refused to move.

His bitter gaze fell upon none other than the Marionette doll.

Although it was a perfect creation made with his own hands and mana, ironically, Boris had no memory related to this doll.

There were no memories, but his body reacted involuntarily, sending unfamiliar signals.

For what reason, through what process, and with what result in mind had he tried to create this doll, Boris knew nothing.

Thus, Boris naturally raised his hand to stroke the doll’s face.

Zap!

At that moment, an unknown light emanated from the doll.

The generated current flowed like the wind, leading to an unknown space behind.

Drawn to that atmosphere, Boris followed the current.

It felt as though he was walking through a sacred space enveloped not by the ground but by a curtain of light.

He didn’t know what was there or where it led, but Boris didn’t stop walking.

Arriving at another space, Boris found himself outdoors, under the touch of a lonely night breeze.

Before him lay none other than a small grave.

Evidence of someone’s touch was apparent, with signs of disturbance scattered around.

Despite being a place so unfamiliar it could make one doubt its existence in Axilium, it didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar.

There must have been traces of his visit to this place, erased somewhere in his memories.

Otherwise, the familiarity he felt now couldn’t be explained.

Thud.

Boris, who had been staring at the grave, suddenly dropped to his knees.

In the lifeless pupils of his eyes flickered an unknown figure, sending a plea for salvation as if begging to be rescued.

Moved by that plea, Boris began to scoop away the dirt with his rough hands.

Soon enough, a shiny silver box appeared.

There were no signs of it being buried in the soil, not even the slightest scratch.

Upon seeing it, Boris thought.

He was certain he had seen this box before.

Not just seen it, but also opened it to check its contents.

As the scattered fragments of memories pieced together, the anxiety in his heart gradually subsided.

“…”

Without a moment of hesitation, Boris opened the box.