The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“What on earth is going on here?”

Princess Arin peeked into the restaurant through the old window.

Inside, an unbelievable scene was unfolding.

“Fine, Luna, but why is Mia here too? Who is that white-haired woman? And who is that woman standing so close to Cyan?”

With just one person, it would have been confusing enough, but there were four women crowded around Cyan.

Arin didn’t know what to do and nervously paced back and forth.

Seeing her pitiful state, Ressimus reluctantly asked,

“Shouldn’t we just go in?”

“Go in? Wouldn’t it be strange if we just went in without any reason? What excuse should we give?”

Arin’s hesitation was reminiscent of seven years ago when she was at the academy.

“What’s the point of having an excuse? We could just say we heard there was news here and came.”

“I can’t give such a careless excuse! I’ve put off my work to come here! Cyan will definitely look down on me!”

Looks like she knows.

Part of her wanted to forcefully drag her into her restaurant, but she couldn’t bring herself to do that.

Frustrated, she sighed deeply.

“What should we do? Should we go in and ask what’s going on?”

As the meaningless debate continued, a familiar voice that stirred memories reached Arin’s ears.

“Sister Arin, is that you?”

Arin immediately turned her head in the direction of the sound.

About twenty steps away from where they were, three familiar faces were looking at Arin and Ressimus with surprise.

“Princess Arin?”

Brian and Emily also blinked in surprise at the unexpected encounter.

Among them, there was another woman with bright pink hair and innocent eyes that reminded Arin of someone she cherished more than Cyan, the one who had been a grateful link to Cyan and had cared for her more than anyone else.

“Nana?”

It was Nana.

* * *

“Didn’t you see the sign outside?”

“I did. Very well…”

Luna spoke with an indifferent gaze.

“I came thinking this was a special place prepared by my senior for us to spend some quiet time together… I didn’t expect such an absurd situation to unfold.”

What is she saying now?

Luna glanced around my table, where I could see three women.

Hastia, Mia, and Kaeram, who was sitting next to me and guarding the spot.

Her sharp gaze scanned everyone present, including Jereon, his knight, and even Schurz who had come with Luna, all of them sweating profusely.

“Can you please explain it to me, senior?”

“What explanation do you need?”

“Whatever it is, you should explain. Otherwise…”

She extended a mana sphere infused with manipulable magic towards me as if to show me.

“I might just destroy this restaurant right now.”

A gaze full of bloodlust that I hadn’t seen before.

At this, I thought to myself,

She’s serious right now.

Why? What on earth is causing her to act like this?

“It’s a vibe that rivals that of a killer. Do you want me to kill you?”

Mia tightened her grip on the knife as if she were about to kill Luna with it right away.

I immediately took the knife away, telling her to please stay still.

[You should have stopped earlier, shouldn’t you? You keep enchanting people’s hearts without thinking about the consequences. Isn’t that why we’re in this situation now?]

Kaeram seemed to find the situation with Cyan endlessly amusing and chuckled continuously.

I felt like I was going crazy.

My mind was already in turmoil, and now I was getting a headache.

Tock, tock, tock!

At that moment, footsteps were heard approaching.

Finally, the ones who should be here were arriving.

“Papa!”

Before exchanging any greetings, a cute voice filled with joy echoed in my ears.

And then, without any hesitation, a pink-haired adorable young lady jumped into my arms.

It was none other than Nana.

“I missed you, Papa!”

“Sorry, I couldn’t come to pick you up myself because I was busy.”

“It’s okay. Just seeing you again makes me so happy!”

Nana smiled with her usual sincere and bright smile.

Watching her, a smile naturally formed on my lips, and I felt the chaos in my mind slowly settling down.

“What’s wrong? Why has the young master’s face become so skinny again? What on earth have you been doing in places without me?”

My cheeky maid, as always, examined my face and asked.

“Well, various things.”

“What kind of answer is that? I was so surprised to hear that the young master had disappeared without a trace! I came here with a worried heart, wondering if something would happen during our journey!”

Her confident demeanor remained unchanged.

It seemed like nothing had changed about either of them, so I felt relieved.

However,

“Papa?”

The gazes of the three women who were facing Nana turned back to me.

‘Cyan, did you get married?’

“It seems like there’s more to explain, senior?”

“Do you want me to kill that person too?”

It’s a complete mess.

Feeling helpless, I gave up on trying to explain.

“Oh right! I met Princess Arin right in front of the restaurant!”

Nana pointed vividly towards the door, where Princess Arin and Ressimus were hesitating whether to enter or not.

Well, I had noticed that they had been peeking at us from outside the restaurant.

Wasn’t this a busy time because of work?

Why on earth did that woman come here?

“What, why are you all gathered here like this?”

Anyone would think it’s a conspiracy.

“Don’t you see? It’s just a very ordinary dining occasion.”

“D-Dining?”

“Yes. Since I invited Nana and Emily to the palace, I thought we might as well have a meal together. What’s wrong with that?”

My words were not lies but a perfect truth.

Although a place with many people like a fancy restaurant wouldn’t do, I had arranged for a comfortable place for us to eat together in peace, even going so far as to rent out the whole place.

Where did it go wrong to lead to this situation now?

No matter how much I wracked my brain, I couldn’t find an answer.

As more people arrived, the restaurant owner kept bringing out food to fill the empty tables.

Before we knew it, a table full of neatly arranged dishes was set, and Nana exclaimed with joy, her face ecstatic.

“Wow! What are we waiting for? Why isn’t everyone sitting down? Let’s eat first!”

She then sat down and started eating.

Although everyone, including myself, momentarily forgot and stared at her innocent expression,

“Y-yes, let’s sit down everyone!”

Following Emily and Brian’s guidance, one by one, people started taking their seats.

Arin hesitated but was pushed by Ressimus to sit down eventually.

Thus, unintentionally, a strange atmosphere was created where everyone who had passed through me before gathered in one place.

How do I feel about it?

Hmm? Since it’s the first time I’ve encountered such a situation, I can’t say for sure, but one thing is certain,

The lively atmosphere created by people coming together, their interactions, and the very ordinary appearance of these humans,

It wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be.

It’s okay to continue like this.

* * *

[Was it awkward?]

“Very much so.”

[How about being a bit more honest? You actually enjoyed it, didn’t you?]

I continued to remain silent without giving an answer.

On a night ambitious with the rising moon.

On the outskirts of the palace, in the middle of an empty plain.

The moon, brightly shining in the dark sky, stood alone, revealing a lonely day.

If there’s one thing I’ve seen more than corpses throughout my past lives, it’s that moon.

There wasn’t any particular reason for watching it.

But in a secluded space where no one else existed, just staring at the moon that rose in the sky,

It felt like the loneliness in my heart was slightly relieved.

And now, I have such thoughts again.

I must be lonely.

That day, the god of light, Lumendel, brought me a small despair of losing my leader.

Of course, it was a small despair from him, but for me, it was the worst despair I could never endure again.

In other words, he can continue to bring me this small despair, or perhaps even more extreme despair, whenever he wants.

Not just the leader,

Taking away someone else from me as well.

As someone who doesn’t want that,

It’s better to stay alone like this.

Even if someone sticks to me because they think it’s good for them, they’ll only be in danger, and it won’t help at all.

Honestly, at this point, it might already be too late.

So, I have to take responsibility.

Otherwise,

I might end up like Kaeram’s previous master.

“Hey, Kaeram.”

[What?]

“Do you still have thoughts of devouring me?”

For some reason, Kaeram didn’t immediately respond.

There was a brief silence, but it didn’t last long.

[Let me tell you something. Since I first appeared in this miserable world, I’ve had one philosophy that I’ve adhered to.]

It was quite awkward for her to suddenly bring up philosophy like that.

[If I can’t have it, no one can. I may not know anything else, but I’ve thoroughly stuck to this one thing.]

I understood what she meant.

[Whether it’s Lumendel or anyone else, I can’t stand seeing them create despair for my owner. Rather than witnessing such a collapse…]

Kaeram didn’t continue her sentence.

And I didn’t pursue it further either.

But one thing was certain.

No matter how despairing my future might become,

She would be there with me until my last moment.

That was enough for me.

[Stop trembling and start looking back.]

“What?”

[She’s been waiting for you.]

Just as I was about to ask what she meant,

Belatedly sensing her presence, I immediately turned around.

“…!”

At that moment, everything seemed to freeze, and my arms and legs trembled.

What? Was I hallucinating from exhaustion?

No, that couldn’t be it.

Even in this dark plain, there was a figure emitting a brighter light than the moon.

I couldn’t not recognize her, could I?

-Thud

Instead of moving, she stepped forward and approached me.

Step by step, slowly, she came closer to me, and each time I saw her, my heart beat even more intensely.

And finally, when she was within touching distance of me,

She smiled faintly and asked me.

“Have you been well, Cyan?”

I nodded slightly in response.

“Wow, you’ve grown so tall, surpassing your sister’s height. You’ve really become a man now.”

She gently raised her hand and stroked my rough skin.

“Isn’t that impressive? Even without me taking care of you, you’ve grown up so dignified.”

Her appearance, voice, and feeling remained unchanged even after seven years.

She was always there to comfort and soothe my tired and weary heart.

“Was it tough?”

As soon as those words came out, I pulled her into a tight hug.

Alice Vert.

Another person I desperately wanted to protect in this life.

She didn’t say anything or react, just gently comforted my body.

As if she knew and understood all the exhaustion and hardship I had been through.