The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

It seemed as though delicate white snow had settled on her smooth hair and milk-like skin.

Her flawless blue eyes, devoid of any malice, portrayed pure innocence.

In the faint tremble of her eyes, curiosity and apprehension about me were evident.

At first glance, one might find her appearance slightly peculiar, yet undeniably beautiful, until, of course, they saw the ears hidden beneath her long hair.

She was what they called a White Elf.

Residing in the northern regions of the continent, they were the inhabitants of the frigid lands of Pruina, which had been isolated from human interaction for centuries following the Holy War.

When I attempted to communicate with her telepathically, she responded in kind, but to my surprise, there was no reply.

“Why aren’t you speaking? Didn’t you hear me?”

‘I, I’m sorry! This is my first time attempting to communicate telepathically with a human…’

she replied hesitantly in my head again.

She apologized, bowing her head slightly.

Unable to speak verbally, she explained.

‘I’m sorry, I can only communicate like this since I can’t speak at the moment. I’m really sorry!’

Is she in a situation where she can’t speak?

Has she fallen under some kind of silent spell?

Kaeam said she is under the protection of God, but somehow I don’t see anything special about her to my eyes.

I didn’t feel any special mana, nor did I feel the power of a god like me.

Why was a woman who was said to be under the protection of God kidnapped by these idiots who couldn’t even form a camp in the first place?

In a situation where I couldn’t decide on anything, she spoke again.

‘Are you, um, the one who rescued me?’

“Don’t get ahead of yourself. I didn’t rescue you out of the goodness of my heart. From now on, just answer my questions.”

‘Okay. I understand…’

She seemed a little intimidated and nodded her head, putting her hands together neatly.

In truth, I had interrogated the thugs who were escorting her before she woke up, but I had obtained nothing special.

They had only received orders to transport the carriage somewhere, without even knowing what was inside.

And the destination was none other than the capital of the Garam Kingdom, Gaul.

It all seemed excessively complicated.

It’s something I don’t particularly prefer.

“Why were you kidnapped by Imperial knights?”

‘Imperial knights?’

She blinked her eyes in confusion, apparently hearing the term for the first time.

‘If you mean the Empire, then are you referring to the Ushif Empire?’

I simply nodded.

‘I’m not from here, as you may have guessed from my appearance. I belong to the White Elf tribe from the northern region of the continent called Pruina.’

It was already a known fact, so I didn’t question her further.

‘We generally don’t interact with other tribes, but due to the dire situation we’re facing, I came to request help from the humans!’

“Help?”

‘Yes! Actually, we have one member of our tribe who has been assimilated into human society. They’re quite famous, with many people following them, so we came to meet them and seek their assistance…’

“You came all the way here alone from a distant land?”

‘Not alone! I came with a few members of our tribe, but we were suddenly ambushed while sleeping and I couldn’t resist being taken here…’

So, she didn’t even know why she had been kidnapped.

Yet, she claimed there was a White Elf assimilated into human society?

That too, very famous?

This is a story I’ve never heard of in my entire life.

Even if I don’t know who or what they are, if they’re known, it could cause quite a stir depending on the situation…

Wait a moment.

Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind and passed by.

A White Elf assimilated into human society.

So famous that many people follow them?

‘Is something wrong?’

I closed my mouth abruptly and pondered, but she approached me and asked.

“Where were you originally planning to go?”

‘Well, it was Gaul. I heard it’s the capital of the Garam Kingdom…’

The original destination I had in mind and the destination the kidnappers intended to take her were the same.

This was definitely not something to take lightly.

Especially since it wasn’t entirely unrelated to me…

‘I have no other words than to express my gratitude for rescuing me! But, it’s a really shameless request, but could you possibly take me to that Gaul?’

“Come with me.”

“Huh?”

Her eyes widened like startled rabbits.

“Come with me. Since you have to meet your tribe members again in Gaul anyway, I’ll take you there. Just follow me.”

‘Really?’

She opened her mouth for a moment as if she had not expected it at all, but then she nodded her head vigorously with a bright smile.

‘Yes!’

Approaching me hesitantly, she clasped her hands together and revealed sparkling eyes.

It was quite an unusual sight, being willingly accepted by a stranger in a foreign land.

Slightly bewildered, I chuckled.

‘Uh, hey!’

“Why?”

‘Don’t you have one more question to ask?’

“Nope?”

I knew why she came here and what she planned to do next.

There was nothing more to ask.

Any further information would just be unnecessary gossip.

‘My name… Aren’t you curious?’

“So?”

‘But still, shouldn’t you ask?’

“Why?”

‘Even so, we’ll be traveling together in the future…’

“Fine. What is it?”

‘Hastia! Can you please call me Hastia?’

As if waiting for this moment, she spoke with a voice mixed with aegyo.

I nodded absentmindedly, then turned my head again.

-Chin.

This time, she grabbed my wrist and stopped me in my tracks.

“Why?”

‘You too? You have to tell me your name!’

“Just call me whatever.”

‘But why? Living a life where your own name isn’t used is a very unhappy life! If you’re uncomfortable with other people knowing, don’t worry! I have no intention of telling anyone!’

It’s not that, but for the past seven years, except for a specific person, I’ve never been called by my name.

I’ve occasionally used aliases, but my real name, Cyan Vert, has rarely been directly spoken.

Of course, I’ve never even told my real name to someone I met for the first time.

‘…!’

As if urging me to speak my name, she blinked her wide eyes expectantly.

“Cyan.”

I blurted out unexpectedly.

It felt incredibly awkward, probably because it had been so long since I had spoken.

‘What a nice name. I’ll count on you, Cyan!’

Instead of a gaze filled with despair and fear, Hastia looked at me with what seemed to be genuine affection.

This stirred up emotions within me that I had forgotten about for a while.

* * *

“Hastia is missing?”

“Yes! The knights who were trying to transport her to Gaul have all disappeared near Uito. We were about to deploy emergency forces for a search, but we heard there are members of the Garam Magic Society there, so we haven’t been able to conduct a detailed investigation.”

“What’s wrong with having members of the Garam Magic Society there? We have people who use magic on our side too, don’t we?”

The lady’s firm question silenced the knight as he held his breath.

“T-the fact that Luna Rainriver is there as well…”

“Luna Rainriver?”

Slightly taken aback, she tilted her head slightly and asked.

“Yes. It’s a situation where everything about us could be exposed. I’ve ordered caution for now. Once she and the members of the Garam Magic Society leave the city, then we can investigate…”

“Gather all available forces and head to Gaul.”

“To the capital?”

“Yes. Since her destination is already determined, she’ll come on her own if we wait.”

“B-but…”

The knight, who seemed to want to say more, soon resigned and bowed his head.

“I will follow the orders of the Holy Maiden.”

With that, he quickly left the room, leaving the woman alone to offer a sacred prayer towards the central statue.

“Nothing ever goes smoothly, does it? That’s what makes life interesting, isn’t it?”

The statue seemed to agree with her words, emitting a faint light.

Reflected in that light, the woman’s white hair fluttered gracefully.

* * *

The chilly air brushed against their skin in the mountainous night.

Finding a suitable cave for the night, Cyan immediately sat down and lit a fire.

Hastia, still wrapped in the cloak Cyan had given her, watched him start the fire intently.

Despite being accustomed to the cold of the polar region, she seemed to appreciate Cyan’s warmth emanating from the cloak, as she didn’t consider taking it off.

‘….’

Among them, Hastia, who was closely observing Cyan’s hands, began to gently touch her own body.

‘You seem to be very proficient in healing magic, Cyan. I had a lot of painful spots before, but now they’re all healed!’

“….”

‘Were you passing by where I was?’

“….”

Despite her repeated questions, Cyan remained silent, ignoring her completely.

Hastia looked away with a sullen expression as he continued to ignore her even though he was clearly hearing it in his head.

Though she was in a position to receive help, there was nothing to say, but she still hoped for some kind of interaction and development of their relationship.

However, it seemed that he simply didn’t want to talk to her.

As she was about to sigh with disappointment.

‘….?’

Suddenly, long black hair fell over her shoulder.

[Understand. Our master hasn’t had a chance to talk to new people for years.]

‘…!’

Startled, she turned her head back, only to see the woman with black hair and crimson eyes she had seen on the carriage smiling at her.

“What are you doing?”

[Why? We’re going to travel together anyway, right? Isn’t it awkward not to exchange greetings at least?]

Cyan, showing a very uncomfortable expression, asked as if he knew of her existence.

Hastia quickly calmed her heart and cautiously examined the woman’s figure.

Following the faint mist trailing her footsteps, she saw a connection to the sword next to Cyan.

Realizing something, Hastia clapped her hands and said.

‘You’re the Demonic Sword!’

[Oh my? You know me?]

‘Of course! We’ve heard a lot of stories since we were young! You were the one who saved our tribe a long time ago! If you’re a White Elf, you must know about him, right?’

[…..!]

In an instant, Karam’s gaze flickered slightly.

“Who saved who?”

Cyan furrowed his brow in disbelief.

‘I’ve heard so many stories since I was young! About the owner who was with her back then and in the war…!’

The cold fingers of the Demonic Sword silenced Hastia’s tender lips.

Confused, Hastia blinked her eyes.

[You shouldn’t talk about things you don’t need to, little one.]

With a slight tilt of her waist, she leaned closer to her ear and whispered softly.

[If you don’t want to die… you’d better keep quiet…]