The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

With every step taken, gazes from around gathered.

Whispering and covering of mouths was an added bonus.

Naturally, the conversations were not favorable.

“Is that ruffian really engaged to Princess Arin? What a waste for the princess!”

“Exactly! Even if he’s from the Duke’s family, Vert, to live with a man who finds living in this world bothersome, I’d rather stay single.”

“Look at those gloomy eyes! I always feel uncomfortable seeing him!”

Though these were whispers not meant to be heard without leaning in, coincidentally, the boy heard them all.

However, he showed no particular reaction or expression and just quietly continued on his way.

“……!”

During this, Arin came up the stairs and was startled upon encountering the boy.

“Ah, hello, Cyan?”

She tried to greet him with the most natural face she could muster, but her face was clearly flustered.

-Nod

Instead of responding, the boy just slightly nodded and passed her indifferently.

“What? So you’re not even going to say hi now!”

Feeling ignored, Arin puffed her cheeks and made a sulky expression.

Regardless, the boy calmly passed everyone and soon arrived at his room.

-Creak

As if nothing had happened, he opened the door,

“You did well.”

and was greeted by Cyan, who had been waiting for him.

At the words of encouragement, the boy smiled brightly,

-Boom!

and with a strange explosive sound, revealed his true form.

“Was it difficult?”

“Nope! It was super fun pretending to be Papa!”

The boy’s true identity was Nana, who had been transformed into Cyan.

It seemed to have been a very fun journey for her, as a happy smile filled her face.

Cyan, feeling proud, affectionately stroked Nana’s head.

Watching this scene, Kaeram chuckled as if it was all too absurd.

* * *

[You really have gone mad, haven’t you?]

“I won’t deny it.”

If I weren’t mad, I doubt I’d be doing this.

[So you’re leaving after setting up that kid, who might explode at any moment, as your stand-in? You seem to enjoy this kind of thing, honestly, admit it! You don’t care if you’re caught, right?]

“I wish that were the case.”

I’m doing this precisely to avoid getting caught.

I don’t blame Kaeram for feeling this way, but what can I do?

If there’s even a sliver of a chance to slip through, I have to take full advantage of it.

“I’m back, Young Master!”

Following Nana, Brian returned.

“You’ve done well. How was it?”

“It seemed to go without any particular issues. Even I was slightly fooled, given how well Nana mimicked you…”

All I had asked for was to keep quiet and walk around with a lackluster look in their eyes, but it seems she managed to imitate me quite closely.

Is this what they mean by children being a reflection of their parents?

It seems old sayings aren’t without reason.

“Young Master, are you sure this is okay? I could understand fooling the students, but deceiving Instructor Silica and others close to you…”

“Of course, it’s not okay. The leader will probably catch on right away.”

“What? Then what should we do?”

“Just say I ordered it.”

Brian’s eyes widened as he scratched his head and continued.

“Would that really work? Wouldn’t Instructor Silica be shocked?”

“Shocked? She’d be furious. But if you say I ordered it, she won’t kill you.”

Brian’s face turned pale as he froze in place.

It’s not a lie.

Depending on her mood that day, I’d say there’s about a 60% chance of survival.

More than half, so it’s good enough.

I’m fully aware of the risks involved.

Since I’ve lived without attending classes anyway, I don’t plan to start now. I’ll just have Brian accompany me periodically to make our presence known.

With the headmaster away and Princess Arin likely to avoid me for a while, theoretically, there shouldn’t be any major problems…

It would be more comfortable for me to just finish my business quickly and return.

I’ll think about what comes after when the time comes.

[….]

Kaeram was staring at me with a sullen look.

“Got something to say?”

[Do you really need to find that scrap of paper?]

I’ve felt this for a while, but by now, it seems almost certain.

She doesn’t seem to want me to find the manuscript.

“Don’t just hint at your disapproval, tell me why. Is there a reason I shouldn’t find the manuscript?”

After a direct question, Kaeram moistened her lips.

She seemed to ponder whether to speak or not for a moment but ultimately turned her head away.

[Forget it. What’s the point in telling you? Do whatever you want, Master~]

Calling me “Master” doesn’t suit her at all.

Once again, I’m reminded of how inscrutable she can be.

* * *

The dawn’s arrival draped a blue curtain across the dark sky.

A towering figure in the distance waved at me.

“Come quickly! Cyan Vert! Are you ready?”

His shouting was preferable to his singing, at least.

It made the idea of sneaking out seem pointless with how loudly he was bellowing.

But looking closely, I noticed he didn’t have any luggage with him.

“Your luggage?”

“Hm? What else would I need to bring? I myself am enough to get to Nodeli!”

It wasn’t surprising, so I simply nodded in agreement.

“You haven’t forgotten our promise, have you? After this field trip, you’re dueling with me! That’s why I’m personally guiding you!”

It should be noted that Set’s field trip application was immediately rejected at the leader’s level.

This isn’t a field trip; it’s an unauthorized outing.

While I had my own plans in place, he believed firmly that the field trip had been approved and came out without any contingencies.

Since he’s more interested in dueling with me than attending classes, it likely won’t matter to him later on either.

The current time is exactly ten minutes before 6 AM, when the guard shift changes.

We plan to quickly slip out of the city during the brief handover period.

Spania, then.

A place untouched since the continental unification war, nearly 20 years ago.

An eternally sweltering, parched desert.

For someone like me who despises the heat more than the cold, it’s a place I can’t find any affection for…

“Going on a trip, I see?”

Both Set and I stiffened at once.

Unlike him, who hastily turned his head, my neck wouldn’t easily rotate.

I could guess who it was just by the voice.

With a small sigh and a disgusted expression, I turned around to find,

“Quite the early risers, aren’t you…”

Luna, her hand lightly touching her lips, giving me a chilling smile.

Without hesitation, I grabbed her hand and pulled her into a corner.

Bang!

I slammed one hand forcefully against the wall beside her.

“You’re quite rough…”

Ignoring meaningless words is the right choice.

I have no intention of being swayed by trifling words.

“What are you? How did you get here?”

“Shouldn’t I be the one asking that question? What are you two men doing gathering here so early in the morning?”

“No, it’s nothing! Just came out to exercise!”

“If you’re going to make an excuse, at least make it plausible. It’s so ridiculous I can’t even laugh.”

Her gloomy eyes were glaring at me as if I were pathetic.

“I heard you applied for a field trip, but it was rejected, right? So, you’re sneaking out with Prince Set, heading to an unnamed ruin located in Spania, Nodeli.”

I asked with as much emotional restraint as possible,

“You’ve read too many books, haven’t you? Or is writing novels your hobby?”

“There’s no need to feign ignorance. I already know why you intend to go there.”

She suddenly pulled out a sheet of paper from her bosom and handed it to me.

“What’s this?”

“Check it out.”

On one side of the paper, the seal of the Garam Society was stamped.

As I checked the content with a bewildered heart,

“…….”

I froze on the spot.

“It’s the latest hot document discovered by our society. A demonic beast summoned through the power of a demonic scripture during the past Demon War lives in that ruin, and the local residents call it Lemiharam, the same name as the demonic scripture…”

A streak of cold sweat ran down my back as my emotions were disturbed.

“You knew that the name of the demonic scripture was Lemiharam, didn’t you? It’s fascinating. Surely, the name of the demonic scripture is a closely guarded secret, known only to a very few within our society, but how could you, completely unrelated to the society, know? It’s not something that can be simply told by someone.”

Half-hearted excuses would only dig my grave deeper.

All I could muster was a meaningless silence.

She didn’t stop talking.

“Actually, I wasn’t sure. Just because you knew the name of the demonic scripture, it didn’t guarantee that you would visit that ruin. But recently, seeing you hanging around with Prince Set often raised some suspicions. Hearing that you applied for the field trip convinced me. I was sure you were going to visit that ruin…”

I was simply at a loss for words.

But then, how did she know I applied for the field trip?

If it was rejected by the leader, it shouldn’t have even reached the ears of the other instructors.

Could it be?

“By the way, I heard about your application for the field trip from that person.”

Her slender finger was pointing at Set.

“I saw him giggling alone in the middle of the park on the weekend, and although he seemed pitiful, I was curious, so I asked him. Then he told me everything, saying I should be the only one to know. That you and he would soon go on a field trip…”

In a moment of anger, my fist clenched instinctively.

But whom should I blame?

I’m the fool for trying to work with that idiot.

As I glared at him with an angry look, he was scratching his head and smiling foolishly.

“What do you want?”

In the end, I had no choice but to tell her what she wanted to hear in the current situation.

Luna finally smiled satisfactorily and replied.

“It’s simple. Please take me to that ruin as well. I won’t ask how you found out about it or why you’re looking for the demonic scripture. I just want to accompany you as someone who also wants to verify the authenticity of the demonic scripture.”

Besides the document she had handed over earlier, she pulled out other documents from her possession.

“These are other documents related to the demonic scripture from the society. They’re valuable items that can’t be found anywhere else, so they’ll definitely be helpful to you.”

Even a cursory glance could tell these were confidential materials from the society.

At this point, it goes beyond doubt to suspicion.

This is an obsession that goes beyond the category of help.

Although I extended her life, without revealing that I was the one who did it, why is she so obsessed with me?

“What’s the reason?”

“Pardon?”

“There must be a reason. For you to be this obsessed with me…”

Unexpectedly, she tilted her head in confusion.

“An obsession? Well, is there really a reason?”

“What?”

“I just like you, that’s all…”

Faced with her innocently genuine smile, unlike her usual self, I was left speechless again.

I always thought the world operates on give and take, and there’s no such thing as kindness without a price, but my belief, held for decades, felt momentarily shaken at this moment.

(To be continued)