The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

It’s dark.

No matter where she looks, nothing is visible.

Instead of seeing the future, there’s only dark mist all around.

‘There’s no hope…’

Upon opening her eyes, Hastia clutched her head and shook her face.

Even though she bestowed the Blessing of Foresight, which she had yearned for so much, to Cyan, the blessing didn’t react because he was a hopeless individual(?). A blessing that doesn’t react cannot show the future, and a prophet who can’t see the future is of no use.

‘At this rate, what’s the point of following Cyan?’

Of course, Hastia didn’t follow him blindly. Even if she couldn’t see the future through the blessing, she intended to guide Cyan based on the grand future of the world shown by the power of foresight.

However, for two days now, the power of foresight had not shown Hastia any future.

Sitting in the corner, clutching her head, Hastia cautiously looked toward Cyan.

Since returning from the frozen land, Cyan had secluded himself in his spatial chamber and focused solely on training. When she was in Pruina, she had seen Garnian train a few times, but the intensity of Cyan’s training was on a different level.

It was truly desperate, to the point of seeming pitiable, as he pushed his body to its limits. His focus was so intense that Hastia couldn’t even bring herself to say, ‘Please take it easy.’

Watching him silently, Hastia felt a pang of sorrow in her heart.

Cyan was pushing his body to such extremes to survive, while she, who came along to help, couldn’t offer even a word of advice, let alone guide him.

Things couldn’t continue this way.

Hastia closed her eyes again and focused her mind to see the future.

However, when she opened her eyes again, disheartened by the unchanged reality,

‘…!’

Hastia was startled and let out a silent scream.

Cyan, who was training ahead just a few minutes ago, had now approached right up to her.

“I’m not usually a patient person….”

Cyan spoke, holding Hastia’s hand.

“But this time, I tried being patient and waiting, you know? Yet, the prophet who was supposed to guide my future has been silent until now?”

Cyan’s voice, as he recited point by point, was cold.

“Isn’t it about time you showed me the way? Surely, you won’t tell me you still can’t see anything, right?”

Hastia’s face flushed red.

The heat from Cyan’s exposed torso and the sweat beads rolling down intensified her heartbeat.

The moment she feared had finally come.

However, it was a situation that wasn’t unexpected.

In preparation for this moment, Hastia had something ready.

As she tried to calm her pounding head, Hastia communicated through her empathic link.

‘To be honest, there’s a bit of a problem….’

Cyan’s face immediately twisted.

Hastia didn’t stop and continued her empathic link.

‘The power of foresight is influenced by nature!’

“Nature?”

‘Yes! The flow of nature is unpredictable, isn’t it? Sometimes bright sunlight covers the world, and sometimes fierce rain storms or blizzards engulf everything! Just like this, if I accept the unexpected flow of nature, then perhaps the blessing will show the future!’

“…What are you talking about?”

Even she didn’t fully understand.

Because Hastia’s brain overheated, she couldn’t articulate what she had prepared properly. She was merely rambling with the flow of her thoughts, resulting in something she herself found hard to comprehend.

‘What I’m trying to say is, you need to get some fresh air from other places…’

Hastia’s empathic link gradually weakened and died down.

Cyan stared intently into Hastia’s eyes, which were trying to avoid his gaze, and said,

“So, you want to go outside. Is that it?”

Hastia nodded her head without any empathic link.

* * *

Cyan promptly crossed into Aer’s subspace, accompanied by Hastia.

When Cyan conveyed what Hastia had said verbatim to Aer, Aer rubbed his chin expressionlessly.

[So, what you’re saying is that you need me to create some free time for you two to go on a date… Is that it?]

“How on earth did you interpret it that way?” Cyan’s face showed genuine contempt.

[Didn’t Silica tell you to lie low for a while? She would be furious if she found out.]

“That’s exactly why I’m asking you to do it now, while she’s away.”

Currently, Silica had left to attend to business at the academy. With only the fool god left in the subspace, this was the perfect opportunity.

“We don’t even need a full day. Just a few hours will suffice, so please, just give us that much time.”

[You’re being quite arrogant for someone making a request.]

“If you’re not happy, feel free to replace your successor.”

Aer vehemently refused, lamenting that it would take too long to nurture another. In the end, like before, Aer brought out a dagger and pierced the marked area with the symbol of revelation, transferring the suppressive energy of the mist onto Cyan’s body.

[You must return by dusk. Silica said she would be back around then.]

As Cyan was putting his clothes back on and turning to leave, a thought suddenly crossed his mind.

Given the choice between dying at the hands of a Nephilim or at the hands of Silica, which would be better?

Both were terrible, but the former seemed like the lesser evil.

* * *

Currently, Luwen had transitioned into the vacation season following the academy’s graduation ceremony.

With students returning to their homes and merchants scaling back their activities, it was the time of year when the town was at its emptiest.

For Cyan and Hastia, it was the perfect time to wander around.

Clad in Cyan’s black cloak, Hastia emerged outside, marveling at the human domain she was seeing for the first time.

Having lived her entire life in a frozen land, everything felt new to her.

The two passed through the quiet streets and arrived at a park on the outskirts of town.

The park, too, was devoid of people.

Growing tired of walking, Cyan settled on a bench in a corner of the park.

Hastia, still deeply tucked into Cyan’s cloak, busily wandered around.

Since there was no one around, as long as she stayed within his line of sight, Cyan didn’t bother to stop her.

With the gentle sunlight streaming down and the cool breeze blowing, a feeling of drowsiness naturally crept over him.

How long had it been since he last experienced such a leisurely, peaceful moment?

Not too long ago, he’d been fighting the Nephilim and had nearly crossed the river of the underworld, a reality that now seemed hard to believe.

“It feels strange…,” Cyan muttered, but he knew deep inside that he shouldn’t be lazing around like this.

The almighty God of Light above could send someone at any moment, and the irritable demonic sword could suddenly appear and take over his body, so wasting time like this was not ideal.

He knew this, but…

Was it because he hadn’t experienced the fresh outdoor air for so long?

Cyan suddenly felt a sense of hopelessness over a life where even such trivial moments were denied to him.

Just then, a cute voice broke his thoughts.

“Papa!”

Cyan instinctively opened his eyes and turned his head.

A cute little girl, about ten years old, was running toward her father, holding a crepe as big as her face.

“Yes, my adorable daughter!”

The father beamed widely as he hugged the girl, who smiled happily, as if she had everything in the world.

The sight wasn’t unfamiliar to Cyan.

“Crepe. Nana’s favorite food…”

(E/n: thought it was human)

When he was at the academy, Brian would sometimes bring snacks, and Nana would often eat them while sitting on Cyan’s lap.

Emily often scolded him, saying that letting a grown child sit on his lap would spoil her, but Nana, whether as a baby or as she grew up, stubbornly preferred Cyan’s lap.

Watching the scene now, he couldn’t help but think of Nana.

The only word Cyan received from Silica was that they were doing well, but he hadn’t heard any specifics.

To be precise, he hadn’t tried to hear them.

Emily, Brian, Nana.

Now, for them, his absence was probably safer than his presence…

Perhaps because he had focused solely on training without proper rest since returning from the frozen land, Cyan’s drowsiness was overwhelming, and his eyelids slowly began to droop.

Even though dusk was still far off, the thought of sleeping comfortably in such a place was quite pitiful, even to him. Yet, with a ‘come what may’ mindset, Cyan slowly closed his eyes.

How long did he drift off?

“Cyan, Cyan!”

Hastia’s voice roused him gently.

Hastia was so close that she could kiss him if she fell forward, her face flushed as she held Cyan’s hands.

“It’s here, Cyan! Finally, it’s here!”

“…What is?”

“The prophecy! The prophecy! The path for you, Cyan, has finally been revealed!”

* * *

About an hour before Cyan fell asleep on the park bench.

Flowers, trees, fountains, statues—Hastia was busy admiring the new environment and sculptures she could never see in the frozen land. She had temporarily forgotten her current situation.

While sightseeing in the park was fascinating, what intrigued her most were the people.

Families out for a walk in the nice weather, educators out to clear their heads after demanding studies, people out for pruning, tending to the park, and such.

For Hastia, who had never had a chance to see people, everything was astonishing.

“Let me tell you your future.”

At that moment, a voice caught Hastia’s pointed ears. She immediately turned her head.

In the corner of the park was a purple tent of indeterminate purpose.

“Hmm. The woman you’re seeing now will only weigh you down more in the future. It’s best you let her go and find another woman. For now, it’s better for your future to live alone.”

Inside the tent, an old woman in a robe was telling a person about their future.

Intrigued, Hastia was drawn to it.

The old woman welcomed Hastia warmly just as she sent off her previous guest.

“Oh! A cute young lady I’ve never seen before. Are you here for a card reading?”

“Card reading?”

Unable to speak, Hastia only blinked.

“Life doesn’t always go as planned. Tell me what’s troubling you. This old woman will show you the way to resolve it.”

Hastia unknowingly opened her mouth.

In a new place she had never been to, the moment the person she had never met before asked her what her concerns were, she couldn’t help but be surprised.

It was as if the person was a prophet.

“Do you have no worries? Or perhaps, do you have worries that are too complex to explain? In that case, think about your concerns while you pick a card.”

The old woman skillfully shuffled the cards and displayed them.

After some contemplation, Hastia selected a card, and the old woman immediately flipped it over.

It was a card depicting eight golden cups.

“Hmm. The Eight of Cups, is it…? It seems that the current situation isn’t satisfying for you. You want to help someone, but you’ve encountered unexpected difficulties and hit a wall.”

Hastia silently screamed and covered her mouth.

The old woman had pinpointed the exact concern she had been brooding over, unable to share it with anyone.

‘What… what is this? Is this person a prophet too?’

While Hastia was in awe, the old woman took out another deck and shuffled it.

“Now, we need to find a way to resolve that concern, don’t we? Go ahead and pick another card.”

Hastia carefully selected the next card.

The old woman flipped the card and exclaimed, “Ho-ho!”

“The Hierophant card, huh? The person you want to help is probably stubborn and doesn’t listen to others.”

Another accurate prediction.

Hastia, once again surprised, covered her mouth.

“In this case, you shouldn’t seek the answer far away. Instead of looking at places you can’t immediately go, you should look around your immediate surroundings. The answer could unexpectedly be right in front of you.”

‘…Around me?’

Nodding as if in agreement, Hastia thought.

If her inherent power of foresight couldn’t help Cyan, shouldn’t she help him in a different way by finding an answer nearby?

The answer was right in front of her.

Grabbing the hand of the old woman, who was organizing the cards, Hastia conveyed her intention.

‘Please teach me this divination too!’

(Continued in the next part)