The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

The sound of footsteps echoing on the stone floor filled the underground of the palace.

The knights of the imperial palace rushed to the underground upon receiving news of the situation.

Even Ressimus, who had been requested by the emperor himself, hurriedly arrived,

But contrary to expectations, a very unexpected situation was unfolding underground.

“….?”

Unable to understand the situation, the knights looked around in confusion.

“Your Highness!”

Ressimus, the first to regain her composure, rushed to Arin.

“Are you alright? Are you injured anywhere?”

Arin’s face was more bewildered than before, and her gaze was directed towards Cyan.

“What on earth happened? What is going on right now…?”

“Ressimus.”

Arin quietly interrupted Ressimus.

“Take all the knights and leave.”

“Yes? But…”

“It’s an order.”

It was a strangely indifferent yet firm attitude, unlike her usual self.

“Please don’t interfere with this situation. Right now, the only thing I can do for Cyan is… that.”

Ressimus couldn’t help but be greatly flustered.

“Do as Arin says.”

Adding to that, Violet interjected, and Ressimus reluctantly left the room with the knights.

Even as the knights left, Arin’s eyes never left Cyan.

“Can I ask you something, Arin?”

Seeing Arin like that, Violet asked.

“How many times have you seen such a face on that man?”

“This is my first time too.”

Honestly, who would have thought?

If Cyan was cold enough to not shed a single drop of blood even if pricked with a needle,

Would he make such a face filled with tragedy?

From Arin’s perspective, that sight was truly strange,

And incredibly pitiful.

* * *

Has there ever been such a difficult time in my life?

Even when the sword pierced right next to my heart,

Even when my whole body was torn apart by the demons, it wasn’t this hard.

Dragging my extremely heavy body, I finally reached beside my leader,

– Thud

I collapsed weakly like a guilty criminal dropping everything.

Without a word, I carefully examined the leader’s condition.

[What’s going on?]

Kaeram, reacting before me, opened her mouth with a tone of doubt.

A body with hardly any place untouched as if it had been brutally tortured.

But it’s strange.

There’s something unfamiliar in the leader’s wounds scattered all over the body.

A white glow inside the wounds where blood is flowing.

It was a very unfamiliar glow that I had never seen before.

[Lumendel, this bastard…!]

Kaeram exclaimed, her voice full of anger.

But you know what’s funny?

There’s a sword in the leader’s hand stained with blood.

Not someone else’s, but her own blood-stained sword.

I could tell right away what this meant.

The desperate state of the leader right now,

She made it herself.

“Kaeram’s fiery voice can be heard from here.”

The leader quietly opened her mouth with a smile towards me.

I asked with a stiff expression devoid of any hint of amusement.

“Isn’t this a bit too much for a surprise event?”

“….”

“I’ll admit it. I was really surprised. Now that I understand the leader’s intention to reform me, please stop now.”

Instead of replying, the leader responded with a slight smile.

Thinking there was nothing more to see, I quickly generated the light of healing.

– Snap!

The moment I tried to apply the healing light to the leader’s body, someone grabbed my wrist.

It was none other than a Mist’s member.

My body froze for a second, overwhelmed by a slightly sinking feeling.

Not only did they stand there dumbfounded until my leader reached this point, but now they’re even stopping my hand?

“Not letting go?”

I said with a feeling of wanting to cut off the hand that grabbed me right away.

However, rather than obeying my command to let go, the other members began to one by one grab my hand, preventing me from using my strength.

In their eyes, there was a full sense of reluctance to do such a thing.

“It’s the leader’s order…”

One member reluctantly spoke up.

An order?

An order?

Are they kidding with me right now?

What kind of insane leader issues such a crazy command to watch her own death!

As I tried to push away their hands, forbidding them to interfere, the leader spoke up.

“I ordered them not to do anything.”

I sighed in disbelief and bowed deeply.

“What’s the reason?”

I asked for the reason, but the leader remained silent.

And so did the other members.

No one explained this insane situation to me.

“Silica received a sentence.”

Amidst this, one person spoke up.

It was Mia.

“It’s a sentence of death that we, as humans, cannot refuse…”

A sentence?

What does that even mean?

“Do you see Silica’s wounds?”

She pointed to the white glow in the leader’s wounds.

“I’ve heard it from Professor Boris before. It’s said that the gods have the power to determine the fate of us mortals.”

Power?

“The glow you see now is evidence of that. Humans who receive a death sentence from the gods become bodies that cannot be healed. Like Silica now. And for humans who cannot heal their wounds, there is nothing but death.”

What?

I’m not suffering from any cognitive impairment right now, am I?

Why don’t I understand any of what she’s saying?

Can’t be healed?

Is that even possible?

‘Before that, let me give you a little despair.’

At that moment, before the light of the god left, those words he left with me came to mind.

Despair.

Was that the despair he spoke of?

To take the leader away from me?

“Explain, Kaeram.”

I addressed Kaeram with a disappointed heart.

“Don’t you know anything about this situation? Whether it’s a sentence or nonsense, how do we solve this?”

[….]

Despite my earnest inquiry, Kaeram did not respond.

“Answer! What should I do?!”

[Within a minute…]

Kaeram finally spoke.

[Find and kill the god who sentenced her and return.]

“….”

[Then she might be saved.]

A callous and even cruel response.

A hollow laugh involuntarily escaped my lips.

Kill?

Within a minute?

A god?

Sure, if that god were right in front of me, I’d do whatever it takes to kill them within a minute.

But that god isn’t in front of me right now, is it?

Then I have to go find them!

Whether it’s searching through dimensions or soaring into the sky, anything is better than just sitting still…

– Snap

“….!”

The leader, who had struggled to raise her hand, grabbed my arm.

“Don’t think strange thoughts. Sit quietly and listen to me. It will be the final lesson.”

It was a force weaker than that of a newborn baby’s gesture.

I could have easily pushed her away, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.

The leader simply stared at me without saying a word, then gently lifted her hand to touch my cheek.

“You’re rough.”

The heat from the leader’s bloodstained hand was transmitted to me.

“You’ve been through trials and tribulations, and as a result, you’ve become very rough.”

Then what, did she want smooth, soft skin like that of a noble’s child?

“What did you do in the astral plane?”

I was momentarily taken aback by the sudden question.

“I’ve come to have a brief, rough conversation with the existence of the god that truly dislikes us.”

“Oh? You managed to come back alive?”

The leader gently stroked my face as if genuinely relieved.

“I’m sorry. I tried to handle things on my end so that you wouldn’t clash with them, but it seems that the gaze towards us has worsened.”

“I’ll listen to that from Aeru later! So please, for now, just…”

The hand that was stroking my face suddenly covered my mouth.

“We can’t do that. If we continue like this, you’ll have nothing left.”

Although I wanted to push away that hand immediately and even chew off the god, I couldn’t.

From the trembling hand of the leader, I no longer felt the vitality of life that could sustain it.

“Do you remember what I told you before?”

The leader spoke calmly with an unchanged expression.

“That the world you desire cannot be achieved simply by wind and power…”

I remember clearly.

The leader said that to me back then.

That I needed motivation.

So I thought the motivation she spoke of was Princess Arin.

I believed that killing Princess Arin, whom I couldn’t kill before, in front of everyone would awaken me.

But the current leader…

Seems to have different thoughts.

“So, use me.”

There was not a hint of hesitation in the leader’s words.

“There’s no need to despair. All those intense and negative emotions inside you will become your strength. The driving force for creating the world you desire.”

“Why don’t you understand that you must also be present in the world I desire!”

“What can we do? The current world doesn’t allow for that…”

The leader gently wrapped her hand around my neck.

“You’re selfish, bold, and full of endless arrogance, thinking you can do everything alone. But I can’t abandon you. You’re my precious disciple, my comrade who shares my will. That’s why I chose it. I gave you everything I have.”

As the leader said that, she embraced me tightly.

Then, all the dark magic and mist power within her, along with countless other energies and sensations that couldn’t be expressed in words, flowed into me.

“I’ve given you everything I have. What you do with that power is up to you. Lead the Mist for me, live for yourself, do whatever you want. Neither path will be easy…”

After the transmission was complete, the leader lightly patted my back.

“Are you sad?”

It was the cruelest thing the leader had ever said to me.

I couldn’t respond, only continued in silence.

“Don’t forget those feelings and keep them in your heart. If you continue without forgetting the reason why I had to leave your side…”

“…”

“You will undoubtedly be able to create the world you desire.”

Something flowed from the leader’s face onto my shoulder.

I couldn’t tell if it was blood or tears.

Or perhaps it was both mixed together.

“So please, support me. As a teacher who wishes for the happiness of her disciple’s future.”

Happiness?

I wonder if the word happiness is even applicable to me, but at least for me, in that world,

The leader must exist.

If the leader didn’t exist in that world,

I would never call it a happy world.

“Please, live well. Cyan…”

– Tap

When the leader’s hand, which had been patting my back, fell lifelessly,

And even the faint sound of her breath no longer reached me,

I realized.

That the person, Sirica Nigriti, who had given me everything, had now left me.

In other words,

The one I could trust and rely on,

Was gone.

“Hah…”

Exhaling a sigh without restraint, I slowly lifted my head.

Honestly, I don’t remember much of what happened afterward.

According to what the members later told me,

I just screamed.

A cry filled with bitter anger and sorrow spread through the underground like the collapse of a palace.

So poignant that no one dared to speak, so incredibly sorrowful.

————