The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“What is this? What on earth is going on?”

A cloudless, sunny morning.

Contrary to the clear sky, Emily’s face was incredibly dark.

Nana discovered the official document casually placed on the table after her secret morning walk.

After confirming its contents, she couldn’t help but be shocked.

“They’re pardoning our young master’s crime?”

Although there was a wanted order for Aschel in the previous content, Emily didn’t register any of that.

Her eyes, filled with confusion, immediately turned to Nana.

“Hey, little one! Where did you get this?”

“It was scattered all over the village, you know? I thought it was an interesting read, so I brought one!”

Nana, sitting at the dining table, replied with a bright smile.

“Our father’s crime is pardoned! Does that mean I can freely roam around with Papa now? Is that true?”

Nana, filled with anticipation, brightened her eyes.

“It’s not that easy to say! Ugh, my head hurts! What has Brian been doing with the young master?”

Emily, struggling with a sudden headache, furrowed her brow.

*Tock, tock*

At that moment, there was a knock on the door.

“I’ll go check!”

Surprised Emily, Nana dashed to the door.

“Just a moment! Do you know who it is before opening? What if they’re bad people?”

“It’s okay! I don’t sense any malice.”

Nana reassured Emily not to worry.

Then, she unlocked the house’s barrier and swung the door open.

“Greetings to Lady Emily and Nana.”

Four men and women dressed in neat uniforms greeted Nana.

“W-who are you?”

Following Nana’s lead, Emily cautiously asked.

“We’ve come under the orders of the Lord, to escort you both.”

“The Lord?”

“Yes. Lord Cyan has requested us to bring you both to where he is.”

Nana and Emily’s eyes widened simultaneously.

Cyan is the Lord?

What absurdity is this?

While Emily was bewildered by the situation, unlike her, Nana’s sunny expression quickly turned stiff.

* * *

A somber and heavy atmosphere filled with a chilly air.

It was a mood Brian was accustomed to, but today, the darkness seemed even thicker than usual.

Cyan stood alone in the midst of that darkness, and Brian approached him.

“Young master, there’s news. Lady Emily and Nana are safely on their way here.”

“…”

Cyan didn’t respond.

Brian had already heard about what had happened to Cyan.

In such a situation, all Brian could do was silently stand by his side.

Offering empty words of comfort was beyond imagination.

“Brian.”

After a long silence, Cyan finally called him.

“Yes, young master.”

“Do you not understand the situation?”

It was a question that Brian couldn’t answer directly, a difficult question.

“W-what do you mean?”

“You must have been curious all this time, following me. How a young person like me possesses such formidable power, how I ended up in the assassination group called the Mist, and…”

Brian swallowed hard, unable to speak.

“Why I harbor such hatred towards Aschel, whom you see as my older brother and successor to the family.”

If he said he wasn’t curious, it would be a lie.

But Brian had never once asked Cyan about these questions.

The reason was simple.

“I am a follower and knight serving the young master, the heir of the family. Thus, questioning the young master’s intentions has never been right in my mind! I have always trusted the young master…”

“Didn’t I tell you once? Blind trust is as dangerous as anything.”

——————

HEL SCANS

[Translator – Night]

[Proofreader – Gun]

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——————

Brian remained silent, lost in thought.

“The first person I spoke the truth to is no longer in this world. That means there’s no one left in this world who can dispel my doubts.”

Cyan’s expression was dark yet serious.

“Listen carefully from now on. What I’m about to say is something I won’t repeat elsewhere.”

Starting with those words, Cyan’s story continued for about five minutes, shocking and deeply saddening Brian more than any prophecy of the world’s end.

No one in this world would have experienced what Brian felt, learning about the tragedy that his master had suffered in the past.

“How, how could that happen?”

Even though it was an unbelievable story, if taken as true, it could explain Cyan’s abnormal behavior.

I see.

So that’s how it was.

Brian’s face, upon learning the truth, was filled with various negative emotions, and Cyan looked at him with the same indifferent eyes.

“Are your doubts resolved?”

“Yes. Very well…”

“Then remember it well. If the time comes when I disappear from this world, you will have to explain to others the doubts you had about me.”

“I will engrave your words into my heart!”

Brian knelt down and pledged to follow Cyan now and in the future.

“You’re going overboard again…”

Cyan’s expression turned slightly uncomfortable at Brian’s fervor.

– Knock, knock.

Then, sensing someone approaching from the opposite direction, Cyan turned his head discreetly.

It was Mia.

After that day, Mia expressed her desire to join the Mist and support Cyan, receiving Silica’s approval.

She was now a member of the Mist and had come to meet Cyan.

“Were you in the middle of a conversation?”

“No. It’s fine. Do you have something to say?”

“It seems like they’ve found that person.”

Cyan’s eyes widened momentarily.

In the current situation, there was only one person Cyan could be looking for.

“Where?”

Mia replied with her usual dry expression.

“It’s Velias.”

* * *

“It’s been a while, Eulken.”

At the western border of the Empire, Velias, the outer perimeter of the frontline border gate.

Although he was close enough to the leader here to not be considered an outsider, and fallen so far as to become an Empire’s criminal, a man smiled at the knights.

“Why are you all making such faces? As if I’m someone who shouldn’t be here.”

“I’m sure you know the reason, right? Lord Aschel?”

Eulken, who had not heard, furrowed his brow and asked.

“Unfortunately, I really don’t know. I’ve heard bits and pieces during my journey to Velias, saying that I’ve become some kind of Empire’s criminal. Is that why you’re so cautious around me?”

“There’s probably no need for further conversation. I’ll have to arrest you here, Aschel Vert.”

Eulken showed a firm resolve to arrest him according to the law.

“Fine. But please allow me to see my father just once.”

“I refuse.”

“As a dutiful son, I have come with the intention of confessing my sins. I ask just this once. Eulken.”

“Where you confess your sins is not to the Duke but to the Emperor. I won’t listen to any more. Follow me to the Imperial Palace right now.”

“Stop.”

At the solemn but commanding tone, the knights all stopped in their tracks.

Aschel kneeled down, waited, and greeted the owner of the voice.

“Aschel Vert, eldest son of Duke Vert. I humbly greet my father.”

“Follow me.”

Duke Vert brushed off his son’s greeting indifferently and led him into the perimeter camp’s main hall.

Arriving at the rear camp duke’s mansion.

The duke looked at him with an indifferent yet oppressive gaze, and Aschel responded with a calm and composed look.

Without any hesitation, the duke tossed a thick stack of papers from his desk drawer in front of Aschel.

“Do you understand what this is?”

“I’m not sure?”

“These are detailed records of the wrongdoings you’ve committed while under the royal family’s protection. They were sent to me by Princess Violet a few days ago.”

Aschel didn’t bother to inspect the papers, as if he already knew what they contained.

“Furthermore, she confessed everything, including the fact that she tried to kill Alice in the past, through a letter. And she mentioned your involvement in all of it. Do you have anything to say about this?”

“No.”

Aschel didn’t deny the facts that had already been revealed.

“I believed you could provide everything for me without a doubt. I thought there would be no problem with you supporting the family’s legacy, continuing the continent’s peace, and following me.”

“…”

“But now I wonder why. Was it because you’re the eldest son? Because of your exceptional abilities? I can’t figure out why I was so fixated on you anymore.”

Aschel listened silently to the duke’s words without responding.

“My youngest son said something similar to me before. Not to trust myself. He said he would just do what he wanted to do.”

At the mention of his youngest son, Aschel’s gaze sharpened.

“You came to ask for my help, but I have nothing more to give you. So go quietly to the Imperial Palace, Aschel. If there’s any honor left for you as a member of the Vert family.”

The duke seemed to have nothing more to say and straightened his posture, raising his chin.

Was Aschel shocked by his father’s firm response?

Aschel remained silent, shaking his head.

“How foolish you are.”

The duke momentarily doubted his ears.

“What did you just say?”

“Are you still fixated on these illusions of family, empire, and peace?”

With a bizarre laughter, Aschel slowly lifted his head.

“You don’t know why you were fixated on me? You can’t help it. Because I made you that way! Ignoring all other children, focusing solely on me! I enchanted you!”

– Swish

At lightning speed, the duke drew his sword and aimed it at Aschel.

“You must provide a valid explanation for your statement just now.”

“There’s no need for an explanation! This is evidence that this world was designed for such an existence from the beginning! This is my power that no one can refuse!”

– Ping!

A crimson light flashed in Aschel’s eyes for a moment.

Caught by that light, the duke stared blankly at Aschel for a moment before sheathing his sword.

Then, with a completely different attitude, he asked him.

“What do you want, Aschel?”

Aschel’s expression was triumphant, as if everything had gone according to plan.

He then approached the duke slowly, whispered in his ear, and said.

“Instruct all the knights on the front lines.”

What he wanted.

“Prepare for war with the demon realm immediately!”