The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

Chapter 201. Contact (4)

The absurdity of me sprawled out on a park bench asleep is one thing,

but what this naive elf prophesized to me just now is even more absurd.

I looked at Hastia, who was beaming with bright eyes, with an expression as if I had chewed on a bug and asked,

“What’s the prophecy?”

‘Don’t look far and instead observe your immediate surroundings! The answer to Cyan’s troubles is right there,’ she said!

“…That’s it?”

Hastia energetically nodded her head.

I tilted my head back and stared up at the sky, pondering seriously for a moment.

Should I use the warp gate one more time?

It seems appropriate to return this elf back to the frozen lands.

After all, despite showing something of worth, I brought her along thinking I was half deceived,

yet here she is, spouting something that even common street fortune-tellers would say as a prophecy.

Seeing my disgusted expression, Hastia subtly withdrew her smile.

Now I noticed she was tightly hiding something behind her back.

Considering she kept it hidden until the end, it seemed she had something she shouldn’t show me.

Just as I reached out to check,

“Are you really sure about this, princess?”

An unfamiliar voice came from the opposite side of the bench.

“Stop asking, Resimus! What’s done is done. It’s not like we can undo it.”

It wasn’t just unfamiliar, it was a voice I was all too familiar with.

The last person I wanted to encounter in my uncertain life.

And now, that woman was approaching this way.

* * *

Gloomy Afternoon with Cloudy Skies

In the uncertain weather that threatened rain at any moment, Arin and Resimus found themselves in the park.

Arin plopped down on a bench that had been occupied just moments before.

“Since you’ve expressed your refusal to comply with the imperial command, the imperial court will not grant permission for Princess Arin to visit the ruins.”

“Then I must go secretly. I never expected them to grant permission easily, nor did I foresee this kind of response…”

Arin had flatly refused the proposal to conduct her visit to the Romar ruins under the supervision of a joint party from the Imperial Magic Academy and the imperial court.

The royal response was a denial.

The reason was clear: the empire could not risk sending a princess without any escort to an unverified ruin.

Of course, this was just the superficial reason; it also implied a prohibition on any personal actions that did not comply with imperial directives.

“If it really comes down to it, I could go to the imperial city and ask Father myself.”

As she spoke, Arin realized she really did not want to resort to that option.

Currently, Emperor Dione’s health had deteriorated significantly over the past three years, and some of his duties had been transferred to Princess Violet.

Though his imperial authority remained intact, Arin did not wish to burden her already ailing father with further troubles.

With a heavy heart, Arin sighed and looked around the park.

“It’s so quiet here…”

The park in Ruwen was utterly peaceful with no one around.

“Was it here? Resimus, the place where you and I first met?”

“Yes. Your Highness saved me when I was being beaten by Barrett and his gang.”

There was another person present at that time, but neither mentioned them.

“Perhaps those were the best days.”

Lost in her thoughts, Arin slowly closed her eyes and then spoke softly.

“Isn’t it better for you to come out now?”

Silence flowed quietly.

Arin still had her eyes closed, while Resimus placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.

“I know you’ve been following us for a while. It would be better for you to come out before things escalate.”

-Swish

From the bushes about twenty paces from the bench where Arin was sitting, a man leaning against a tree stepped out.

He approached the bench where the princess was sitting, knelt on one knee, and bowed respectfully.

“Gale Marantz. I greet Princess Arin.”

Arin recognized the man’s face.

Gale Marantz, a knight of the imperial guard.

She had often seen him at the imperial city, accompanying Princess Violet.

Arin asked without showing any emotion.

“Among the imperial knights who protect me, I don’t recall seeing you. How come?”

“I am terribly sorry to report this. I was on a covert mission assigned secretly by the empire. I was instructed to protect Princess Arin from the shadows.”

“I see. It was a secret mission, then?”

Arin’s voice, seemingly agreeing, carried a sharpness.

“You just mentioned that you received a mission from the empire. Was it an order from His Majesty the Emperor, or another member of the royal family?”

Gale hesitated to answer.

There were unseen watchers, and Arin had known about them for some time.

She had merely overlooked them.

But now, the situation was different.

Gale eventually bowed his head.

“I’m sorry. Unfortunately, due to the nature of the secret mission, I cannot disclose that part.”

“Cannot disclose it… So now, I am under protection from an unclear entity, not knowing who the higher-ups are? And I am not just anyone, but the princess of the empire? Is this situation really acceptable?”

Taken aback, Gale found himself speechless.

“How am I supposed to believe that you are here under the empire’s orders? It seems more plausible to suspect and overpower you for interrogation.”

Resimus had already drawn his sword, aiming it at Gale.

“Moreover, you might not know this park is under the jurisdiction of the Royal Academy. If a bloodshed occurs here, Chancellor Kundel will not stand by idly. I can’t even begin to imagine how far he would take the responsibility.”

Only then did Gale raise his head.

There was no room for rebuttal in Arin’s words.

Though it was not meant to be discovered, he had not anticipated that Princess Arin would press him so methodically and decisively even if it were.

Regretting his mistake too late changed nothing,

Gale finally spoke.

“It was His Majesty the Emperor’s command.”

Arin’s eyes, which had been steady until now, wavered for the first time.

“…It was my father’s command?”

“Yes. Among the imperial guards, only I received this secretive directive. Only one person knows that I am here. The Emperor himself.”

Arin could not believe it.

Wasn’t this Gale a man of Princess Violet?

She had expected the name of Violet or her close associates to come up, but instead, he mentioned someone much more significant, the Emperor.

Speechless for a moment, Resimus shouted in her stead.

“Who do you think you are lying to, Sir Gale!”

Gale stood his ground without faltering.

“How could a knight who has devoted himself to the Empire dare to speak falsehoods to His Majesty the Emperor! If my words are false, I shall atone with my death immediately!”

Arin clasped her face with one hand, gazing intently into Gale’s eyes.

His eyes did not seem to be lying.

However, a knight of his caliber would have mastered the art of concealing his emotions.

At the moment, the truth of his statement could not be verified.

“You will be held accountable for those words, Sir Gale…”

Arin stood up from the bench and turned around.

“Until the facts are verified, I will not accept your escort. This applies to me and also to any other royal knights stationed in Luin. Should you be discovered, I will handle you in my own way, regardless of any orders from my father. Do you understand?”

Gale avoided Arin’s eyes as he responded.

“I understand.”

Arin then proceeded towards the main building of the Academy with Resimus.

Along the way, Resimus asked,

“It doesn’t seem like he’s following, but should we just let him go?”

Arin stopped and retorted,

“Do you really think that knight was sent by my father?”

Resimus shook his head.

“I cannot confirm it. This watcher is not one who has been around before. He only appeared precisely after the princess sent a request for a permit to visit the ruins. It seems too coincidental to be related to Princess Violet…”

The problem was the mention of the emperor.

“We’ll know soon enough once we check. Let’s go speak to the Chancellor and ask to tighten the security so that the knight cannot leave Luin.”

Arin quickened her steps again.

Following her, Resimus looked back several times, seemingly suspicious.

“Why? Is there a problem?”

“Well, I’m not certain, but… at that place, I thought I sensed someone else besides the knight named Gale.”

“Another presence?”

“Yes. But it was so faint that I might have been mistaken.”

Knowing how sharp Resimus’s senses were, having worked closely with her for five years, if she was uncertain of the presence…

‘Could it be?’

Arin suppressed the rising doubt within her and continued toward the Academy.

* * *

Rejected by Arin, Gale immediately headed for the outskirts of the city to leave Luin.

“Since when did you know?”

He had not expected the princess to detect his presence so quickly.

Regardless, he could no longer continue his mission.

Gale reached a shaded area where the city walls mingled with the bushes and pulled out his communication artifact, a messenger orb.

As he was about to activate it,

-Sssss

Suddenly, he felt a cold chill from behind and turned around.

But there was nothing there.

Thinking he might have been mistaken, Gale turned his head back and,

“…!”

He screamed and staggered backward.

A strange man, who hadn’t been there moments before, now stood right in front of him.

It was Cyan.

“Who- who are you!”

Cyan simply stared at Gale’s messenger orb without responding.

Gale immediately drew a dagger and aimed it at Cyan.

Then, just in case, he asked,

“Are you one of Princess Arin’s men?”

Cyan chuckled.

It was the most absurd thing he had heard lately.

Seeing an opportunity, Gale thrust the dagger at Cyan’s throat.

Cyan twisted slightly to dodge and struck Gale’s wrist, knocking the dagger away, then caught it and stabbed it into Gale’s shoulder.

“Aaagh…!”

He then grabbed Gale’s jaw about to scream and slammed him to the ground.

Suddenly overpowered, Gale’s eyes darted around as he faced Cyan again.

‘Was there such a skilled person beside Princess Arin?’

He was an entity not mentioned in the information he had.

He had only heard about a chief of staff and a roommate who also served as a bodyguard being troublesome; the rest were essentially not worth his concern.

Where had such a person come from?

Then Cyan, his black eyes gleaming within his dark hair, muttered,

“Look for the answer close by… Well, not incorrect.”

Cyan twirled the dagger with a grin that seemed almost demonic.

Gale struggled to escape, but Cyan only tightened his grip on Gale’s jaw.

“Now, you just need to talk.”

“What, what should I say!?”

“Just everything. Whether you know it well, know it vaguely, or are just guessing, doesn’t matter. Just tell me everything.”

Gale smirked, deeming it absurd.

“Do not underestimate a knight’s loyalty. Just kill…”

“Killing you is given.”

Cyan chuckled as he drove the dagger deeper into Gale’s arm.

“The issue is how painlessly you can die. The more meaningful information you provide, the higher the chance you’ll die comfortably. But if you resist with all this talk of a knight’s spirit…”

Cyan paused, hesitating.

He had nothing else to say.

It was simply a choice between dying painfully or more painfully.

Finally, with a smirk, he continued,

“Well, it’s up to you to endure.”

(To be continued)