The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

The sun is on the eastern edge, and the sky is very reddish.

It reminds one of an evening sky as if the sunset is about to happen, but surprisingly, it is morning.

A sight completely opposite to the blue skies of the vast continent.

A dry wind blew over the cliffs that were sharply cut down.

Below, the vista of Lemea Valley, brimming with all kinds of murderous aura, was spread out.

To live and end up coming back here again.

[Hmm~ This smell filled with vigor! It’s the most refreshing feeling I’ve had since waking up!]

Kaeram was already intoxicated with energy, even to the point of twisting her body.

[Hey, master! When are we going to hunt the beasts? Let’s go quickly! I can hardly wait!]

She even went so far as to put her face over my head and initiated weird skinship.

Cold sweat ran down my face, and my fist clenched on its own.

Ah, I really want to press her down right now…

“How do you feel being on the front lines, Cyan?”

“Sa, it’s much quieter than I thought! Is Lemea Valley always like this?”

“It may seem so for now. However, this place is dangerous, where you never know when and where you will encounter the shadow of death. Therefore, one must always be vigilant. Moreover…”

The Duke was explaining various things, but I could not hear any of it.

All that is in my head right now is the intense dilemma of how to deal with this perverted magic sword.

[Why is your face all scrunched up? Don’t tell me it’s because of me?]

‘Of course, it is because of you!’

This perverted magic sword, she knows what she is doing.

Right now, there are dozens of knights including the Duke by my side.

With over a hundred pairs of eyes gathered around, yet the only one who can see her is me.

Knowing that I can not act rashly, she is satisfying her desires (?) that she has not been able to release until now.

I have been holding back from flicking my fingers charged with energy multiple times.

“…thus, even if you face a crisis, do not expect help from anyone. One must take care of their own life. I, too, will do the same.”

“I’ll-I’ll keep that in mind, father!”

That statement was a lie.

Probably, if a battle with the monsters begins, my father would be the first to try to protect me.

I managed to come to the front lines as I wished, but there were still many watching eyes.

Meaning, my range of actions I could take was very limited.

However, this was entirely expected.

After all, an excellent assassin must move secretly and grandly without being caught by anyone.

Especially now more than ever….

After touring the camp with the Duke, I headed to the private camp he had prepared for me.

As it was a place where anything could happen at any moment, there were no luxurious houses.

There was a safe house for high-ranking visitors, but I did not want it.

Still, I received some consideration from my father and was given a single-person tent.

Of course, I was not living alone…

As I opened the tent, I saw a woman sitting on the bed, wrapped tightly in a blanket.

It was Emily, my only direct maid.

“Oh, you’ve arrived, young master?”

When she confirmed my arrival, she poked her head out.

[Why did you bring her along?]

Kaeram asked grumpily as she followed me in.

Ignoring her question, I approached Emily.

“Why are you wrapped in a blanket if you’re not sick?”

“You, young master, really have a strong heart! Even so, this is the front lines! Who knows when or where the demons will appear and devour us!”

She eventually buried her face in the bed, wrapping herself up.

It was both funny and pitiable.

[Really, what’s she doing? Can she even serve as a maid like this? Or did you bring her for another purpose?]

“At least it’s not the purpose you’re thinking of…”

[Oh? How do you know what I was thinking?]

Kaeram chuckled and patted my back.

In fact, Emily’s presence here was not by her own will.

Chores could be handled by the ordinary soldiers.

If it was for me, the Duke could attach a dozen people to serve me.

She was purely a companion I had requested from the Duke.

“What did you say, young master?”

“Nothing. But are you going to stay wrapped up like that?”

“For the time being, I suppose? Even if I am the irreplaceable maid of the young master, I wonder if I can serve you well here…”

Certainly, it was not for a purpose like ‘You’re my only servant, so you have to be with me!’ found in third-rate novels.

The reason I brought her was clearly different.

“Do you want to go back now?”

“Really?”

“Yes. It seems I was only thinking of myself when I brought you here. You’re not a child, and I foolishly acted out of pride…”

“You’re right, my lord. You are a child…”

I relaxed my momentarily clenched fist with a generous heart.

“Anyway, if you want to leave, I’ll talk to the knights and send you back right away. It’s just menial work; I can do it myself.”

As the atmosphere seemed genuinely inclined towards sending her back, Emily appeared to be deep in thought.

[What? Then why did you really bring her here?]

Kaeram asked, unable to understand, but it is okay.

Now that I have said this, she definitely will not go back.

“Was it your will to come here, my lord?”

“Of course.”

With my immediate response, her tense face began to relax a bit.

“Ye-yes, it seems like my lord really can’t do without me. It-it’s scary, but I’ll try to stay and bear it.”

“Are you sure? You don’t have to overdo it.”

“But if the demons attack, you have to protect me, okay? You got that?”

I could not help but let out a hollow laugh.

Here she was, asking a kid much younger than herself for protection.

She might be clueless, odd, and her cooking skills might be scraping the bottom, but she was a strangely endearing maid, and I did not dislike her at all.

I placed my hand on the head of her, who had only her face sticking out.

“Don’t worry. The demons won’t even dare come near this place. As long as I’m here, you’ll be safe, Emily…”

Perhaps feeling touched by my somewhat masterly demeanor?

Emily was staring at me intently.

“Maybe? But I think the demons won’t come not because of you but because they’re afraid of knights like Eulken.”

“…”

Should I just send her away?

* * *

Dang! Dang! Dang!

The heavy bell tolls resonated throughout the entire camp.

Simultaneously, a yellow glow rose in the sky to the northwest of the camp.

A signal indicating the appearance of a mid-level demon realm creature.

All knights on standby nearby immediately headed in that direction.

“Kuwooo!”

Monsters wielding giant hand axes were letting out fierce screams.

These were the ‘Ogres,’ flesh-eating monsters known for their indiscriminate nature, devouring anything they could get their hands on.

Despite appearing dumb and slow, getting caught in their grip meant an instant crushing of every bone in one’s body.

The reason they had invaded this place over the valley was simple.

They were hungry.

They too were living beings that engage in feeding activities.

To survive, they needed to eat, and to eat, they had to find food.

They had come here following the scent of their next meal, but they had stepped into the wrong place.

This was where the strongest knights of the human realm were gathered.

“Immediately establish a formation and proceed with the annihilation operation. Do not let a single one escape!”

Upon the Duke’s command, the first to act were the magic knights wrapped in white robes, releasing their mana.

“May the judgment of light redeem the wicked…”

-Ziiing

Along with the incantation, a pure white magic circle appeared beneath the Ogres’ feet.

Soon after, white chains sprang from below, pulling their bodies down.

-Thud!

Several Ogres, unable to withstand the force, fell over.

The light attribute magic ‘Restraints of Salvation’.

An advanced combat magic that only those among the high-ranking magicians of 8 stars or above, who possessed the light attribute, could use.

Some of the Ogres could not even open their eyes and soon started collapsing like dominoes, pushing each other down.

The rest of the knights did not miss this opportunity and soared into the sky.

-Swish!

With their sword dances in the sky, the Ogres were helplessly butchered.

Their skin was harder than most metals, but it could not withstand the sword aura of the high-ranking knights.

-Thud

Finally, the last resisting Ogre was beheaded and fell.

After confirming that all were annihilated, the Duke issued another command.

“After checking for any abnormalities, incinerate them all. Then quickly return to your original areas…”

The knights efficiently managed the situation without any disorder.

Having observed all these scenes without missing a thing, I caught the Duke’s eye as he was turning around.

“……”

He was giving me a faint smile.

I simply bowed my head without any particular reaction.

It has already been a month since I arrived at the front lines.

Situations like this had become almost routine here at the front.

Battles with mid to low-level monsters occur about 3 to 4 times a day, and under the command of Duke Vert, they are all annihilated.

Although it seems easy at a glance, it is because well-established response manuals exist for dealing with the monsters that appear.

Naturally, I do not participate in those battles.

Not only do I have no intention to, but the knights would immediately stop me if I so much as touched a sword.

My place is always at the very back, the safest spot from the battle.

After all, it is madness to expect a ten-year-old boy to pick up a sword and fight.

Soon, the fire attribute magicians appeared and began to burn the bodies of the monsters.

Once the situation was resolved, the knights returned to their original areas as if nothing had happened.

I, too, returned to my tent.

“You’re back, my lord?”

Emily, who was tidying up, greeted me warmly.

“What was it this time?”

“Ogres.”

“Ugh, do those bugs have food for brains? They really come here every day like clockwork!”

Despite trembling at the mere mention of ‘demon’ before, she had now grown accustomed enough to freely criticize the monsters, at least within the confines of the camp.

Before long, the sun had set in the western sky, and darkness fell.

The night at the front was as black as anywhere else on the continent.

That meant my real activity time was approaching.

“Are you going out for exercise again tonight?”

Emily asked, seeing me prepare something hastily.

“Of course. Consistency is important for exercise.”

“The Duke would be really proud if he knew. But do we really need to keep it a secret?”

“Just do as usual. From now on, I’m ‘sleeping,’ okay?”

On the bed, there were bundles roughly the size of my body.

It was a crude disguise, but from a distance, it looked pretty convincing.

Having finished preparing, I immediately left the tent.

Dodging the eyes of the patrolling knights, I soon dashed into the forest located behind the camp.

After passing through the dense bushes, I came upon a cliff where you could not see an inch ahead.

A step misplaced could easily send one plummeting down the steep drop.

-Whooosh

A chilling killing intent seemed to warn against jumping down from here.

Without a second of hesitation, I threw myself off the edge.

(To be continued)