The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“I extend my deepest gratitude to all of you who have taken the time to come here personally for the future of the Empire, despite being busy with matters in your respective territories.”

Violet raised her skirt slightly and gracefully lowered her head.

“Before we begin the meeting, I have one question.”

At this, Lord Julian Barrens, seated in the center of the conference table, raised his hand to inquire.

“Is the host of this meeting the royal family, or is it His Majesty the Emperor?”

“I’m not sure of the purpose of your question. Our royal family acts according to the will of His Majesty the Emperor, and His Majesty himself is undoubtedly a part of the royal family. So, wouldn’t this meeting naturally reflect the will of His Majesty the Emperor?”

Violet replied with a relaxed tone, as if to say, ‘What’s the issue?’

“But hasn’t His Majesty the Emperor been away from state affairs for a long time? There are even rumors circulating that His Majesty the Emperor is completely unaware of the current situation of the Empire. We follow His Majesty the Emperor, not the Crown Princess.”

It was a bold assertion of loyalty to the Emperor.

However, Violet nodded as if she understood their sentiments.

“I understand your concerns. You may suspect whether the Knights’ reorganization aims to manipulate the royal family, or whether I, taking advantage of His Majesty’s illness, intend to establish a new order for the Empire. However, let me make it clear from the outset that this is not the case.”

Some nobles blinked in surprise at her unexpectedly swift declaration.

“The Order of Salvation exists not to maintain the power of the royal family but to uphold peace on the continent, just as the former Knights of Light did. We simply aim to establish an order based on that mission, not on the light.”

At this, another noble in the front row raised his hand.

It was Lord Daiden Aberico, the head of the Aberico family.

“I’ve heard that recently, through the royal family, scriptures praising the Black Mist have been distributed to each territory and city. I doubt there is anyone here unaware of this fact.”

Most of the nobles nodded in agreement.

“How can the royal family, which claims to pursue a new order, cause confusion among the people with such baseless scriptures? You should explain here what purpose you had in mind when promoting such actions.”

Lord Aberico produced the mentioned scriptures as if to emphasize his point.

Just as some other nobles seemed to be about to join in solidarity,

– Clang!

Suddenly, one of the knights guarding the conference room climbed onto the table and caused a commotion.

For a moment, amidst the unexpected situation, the knight who drew his sword stabbed it into the ground and manifested mana.

“Stay back from the table!”

A nobleman who felt threatened shouted urgently, but a circular black barrier had already formed around the table where the nobles were seated.

“W-What’s going on?”

“Who’s out there?”

“I knew this would happen!”

In confusion or hesitation, some nobles called for the knights waiting outside the conference room, or the Crown Princess, with an expression that seemed to suggest she had anticipated this, or turned on the spotlights towards where the Crown Princess was present, the nobles’ reactions to the sudden situation varied.

– Kiaang!

At that moment, a beam of light pierced through the black barrier and appeared before the eyes of the nobles, and soon, from within it, a woman wielding a sword emerged.

“Hah!”

– Thump!

With a powerful strike, the woman swung her sword diagonally.

The knight who couldn’t block the blow was thrown out of the barrier in an instant.

The barrier he had created also disappeared simultaneously.

“…?”

Upon seeing the woman, the nobles all looked at her in disbelief.

With her sparkling silver hair fluttering proudly, the woman stood confidently on the table.

Her sword emitted a holy aura reminiscent of a divine weapon wielded by a god.

“Oh, Princess Arin?”

The owner of the sword was the 5th Princess, Arin Severellus.

She gracefully descended from the table as if nothing had happened and helped the fallen knight to his feet.

In the face of this incomprehensible situation, the nobles could only blink in disbelief.

“Did you enjoy the little spectacle I prepared to ease your tension?”

Princess Violet asked, her face serene as ever.

“B-But, even so, isn’t this a bit too much?”

The nobles were speechless with incredulity.

– Swish!

Then, Aschel, who had remained silent since the start of the meeting, stood up and stepped forward without any greeting or explanation.

Suddenly, he created a golden mana orb.

The orb soon transformed into a long sword.

With it, the noble and majestic figure of the Holy Sword Lumendel, hidden until then, was revealed.

Upon seeing it, the nobles collectively thought: That’s definitely no ordinary sword.

It was Durandal, the divine weapon bestowed upon humans by the God of Light.

“As some of you may know,”

Aschel began as he gently grasped the summoned sword with both hands,

“Seven years ago, I fought my brother, who was the wielder of the Demonic Sword. It was a shock to discover that my beloved brother was actually a follower of the Mist, but what hurt me even more was the realization that even with the power of this noble sword, I couldn’t save him.”

Who wouldn’t know about the event that shook the world and instilled doubt about the Mist among the people?

“Because of that, I lived every day in fear and anxiety. The fear of not knowing when they might appear again, and the realization that I alone could never defeat them made me even weaker. But soon, I realized that to overcome them, I needed the power of unwavering faith…”

– Swoosh!

Suddenly, the knights guarding the conference room all drew their swords at once.

From the dozens of swords aimed at the ceiling, a golden light similar to Aschel’s and Arin’s swords shimmered distinctly.

It was as if the replicated power of the Holy Swords was being witnessed.

“It is true that it was our royal family who spread the scriptures praising the Mist. If you ask what the purpose was, it was to empower the true followers of the Mist.”

Violet stepped forward again after stepping back for a while.

“W-What do you mean by that?”

“Due to the scriptures spread by the royal family, suspicions and doubts about the Mist have increased among the people. Then, those who gained power unintentionally will soon reveal their true nature. They can carry out assassinations as before and commit even more heinous crimes.”

At the mention of heinous crimes, some shuddered.

“If that happens, what should we do? Should we oppress and suppress them as in the past?”

It was a question that no one could answer lightly.

The nobles simply had to wait for Princess Violet to provide an answer to the question.

“No. We must save them.”

Aschel proposed salvation as the answer.

“We must save them through the power of light and establish a new order. This is the direction we must take to maintain peace.”

“S-So, Aschel, are you saying that we must save even the true followers of the Mist? What are you saying? About that group called the Mist, an assassination organization?”

At the mention of the Mist, the nobles collectively held their breaths.

Depending on his response, they could speculate about the direction of the order they were seeking.

It was an extremely important question.

“There are various ways to save people.”

“…?”

“We just need to extend the right hand of salvation to them, according to what suits them.”

It was a somewhat difficult answer to understand all at once.

Aschel continued without hesitation.

“I will share the power of the Holy Sword I possess with all of you. If you don’t want to accept it, you can hand it over to the guardian knights each of you brought.”

“I-Is that possible?”

“Are you not seeing it directly now? The power shown by Princess Arin and the knights is undoubtedly the power of the Holy Sword.”

Was it really possible?

They wanted to ask, but there was something else they needed to ask before that.

“Why would you give it to us?”

Why?

For what reason would he want to give their power to them, who had no connection to the Holy Sword whatsoever?

“The power of the Holy Sword becomes even stronger when people’s faith is gathered. Since I alone cannot draw out the power of the people, I need your help. Each of you can take the power of this Holy Sword and return to your own territories to do just one very small thing.”

“What do you mean by a small thing?”

Aschel hesitated for a moment before replying.

“Please cleanse the influence of the Mist that has formed in each territory through the scriptures.”

“…!”

The pupils of the nobles who had momentarily thought they misheard shook violently.

Cleanse the influence of the Mist?

The word “cleanse” was not used in a literal sense of purifying something impure.

The meaning of “cleansing” he spoke of was undoubtedly,

“Kill the believers… Is that what you’re saying?”

The intention of killing was implied.

“As I said before, the power of the Holy Sword becomes stronger when people’s faith is added to it. If people realize that the Mist, which they had doubted, was actually wrong, they will send even stronger faith towards the light again.”

“B-But! That could inadvertently harm innocent people…”

“There’s no need to worry. It was the same sixty years ago.”

The nobles were all frozen as if they had been petrified by magic.

Except for one.

Silica, who had been calmly sitting at the end of the conference room all along, apart from the others.

She was still not the leader of the Mist, but acting as a representative of Nigriti family at the conference.

“We are creating another new order in this way.”

Aschel raised the Holy Sword he held in both hands gracefully.

His sword emitted a distinctly prominent light among the dozens of swords in the conference room.

* * *

Exactly one hundred steps from the main entrance of the conference room.

Several knights stood in the middle of the corridor, occupying it.

They were the guardian knights brought personally by the nobles of each territory.

They didn’t take their eyes off the conference room, preparing for any unexpected event.

– Clang!

Sure enough, loud noises as if something huge had crashed resounded from beyond the conference room.

Upon this, the knights immediately rushed towards the conference room.

“Stay calm!”

The knights of the Imperial Army stepped forward to block them.

“How can we stay calm when we hear such a sound? Move aside immediately!”

“It’s a scheduled situation, so don’t worry. Everyone inside will be safe, and if there’s a problem, the Imperial Army will take responsibility!”

“Then we’ll just go and check!”

Those who wanted to advance and those who tried to stop them.

An inevitable clash between the knights ensued.

Amidst such heightened tension, I quietly slipped away to one side.

As if avoiding gazes, I turned towards the left corner, but instead, I stopped in my tracks and gently tapped the wall.

– Humm!

A hollow sound reminiscent of an empty space.

That was the sound I wanted.

I immediately cast a spell.

“Shadow, 2nd Formula: Spatial Shift.”

With the spell, as I reached out the mist from my hand and touched the wall,

like plunging into rippling water, my body transitioned into the wall.

After the royal banquet, the second exploration of the secret passage.

Last time, I sneaked into the 1st Prince’s room to eavesdrop on their plans.

However, where I was going now wasn’t the 1st Prince’s room or the 2nd Princess’s room; it was underground.

In my past life, around this time, Aschel had consulted with the 1st Prince and created a secret space by renovating a shelter in the palace.

To be precise, it was a workspace for their dirty deeds.

There probably wouldn’t be an exception this lifetime either, so I moved forward with that thought in mind.

And as expected, there it was.

Right next to the shelter, there was a room that looked familiar.

It emitted an overwhelmingly suspicious magical aura, and along with it, the scent of unfamiliar blood.

I immediately opened the door and stepped inside.

“Ugh…”

As the stench of rotten blood, kept for days, if not months, vibrated, a faint groan could be heard.

And soon enough, a familiar face caught my eye.

His entire body was covered in wounds, and his beard had grown long enough to touch the ground, as if he had been left to rot for not just months, but years.

Well, it wasn’t the reunion I had expected, but I wasn’t particularly surprised either.

Even though it was a familiar face, it wasn’t a welcome one.

Kellen Diego.

Aschel’s loyal follower, whom I had breathed new life into through magic.

“M-Master Cyan?”

As he noticed me, he called out my name with a desperate voice.