The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“There is no chance.”

A rejection that came as swiftly as the proposal was made.

The speed was embarrassingly quick, considering the significance of what had been said.

The princess’s face turned red with anger or perhaps frustration, not having expected such an immediate response.

“Why not!?”

“Don’t you know the reason better than anyone, Your Highness?”

No grand reason was needed; these words alone were enough to silence the princess.

“That’s right. It’s because I have no power whatsoever…”

Becoming someone’s person is akin to grabbing onto an unstable rope.

If the rope is strong and durable, one might climb to the heavens, but if it is old and rotten, it will break before one gets far, leading to a fall.

Although Princess Airen is a member of the imperial family, she has no backing or power, just a newly twisted thread.

From the beginning, I had resolved to live this life for myself, so the thought of becoming someone’s person was not even worth the dirt under my nails.

She said nothing more, merely lowering her head.

If she truly wanted me, she should have at least thought of a proposal to match, not just blindly ask for help.

Even though I told her to become the emperor, the truth is, without anything to her name, her ascending the throne would be impossible unless the four siblings above her suddenly died.

This is why I did not want to get involved…

Her clenched fists betrayed her frustration.

But this did not mean I intended to completely dismiss her.

Especially now that I knew she was under that demon’s gaze…

“Then, may I ask for some time?”

“Time?”

“Right now, Your Highness has nothing. No power to protect yourself, no forces to back you, nothing at all. That’s the biggest reason I cannot become your person. Becoming the person of a princess in such a void state is, to anyone, a risk too great, isn’t it?”

“That’s… true… You’re right.”

The princess nodded as if fully acknowledging the point.

“But one of the things in the world you cannot underestimate is the potential of a human being. Who knows how Your Highness will change in 1 year, 3 years, or 10 years? Since I am not currently looking to serve anyone, I suppose I can afford to watch Your Highness grow over a long period.”

“You’re going to watch over me?”

“Yes. Although it’s an indefinite time, if one day I come to truly wish to serve you as my sovereign, then I will take your hand. If you’re okay with that, would you give me that time?”

On the surface, it might have seemed like I was asking for time, but in reality, I was giving her time.

In other words, if she wanted to win me over, she needed to grow to the point where she could show that capability.

It did not take long for her to grasp my meaning.

“So, I need to develop to the point where I can earn your recognition?”

I answered with silence.

“I understand what you’re saying. I don’t know if I can live up to your satisfaction, but I’ll try. I don’t know when it will be, but once I’m qualified to become the emperor, I’ll ask you once more! To become my person!”

As I have said repeatedly, it all depends on her.

Even if she truly becomes qualified to be the emperor, whether I will stay by her side is uncertain even to me.

However, at this moment, Princess Airen’s face showed a determination sharper than at any other time.

Having finished her business, she stood up.

“So, we’ll meet at the Royal Academy in a year? I hope you stay healthy until then. According to your maid, you’re quite the tough one, so you probably won’t die easily!”

“…I’ll take that as a compliment.”

Gone was her subdued demeanor, replaced by a regained sense of ease.

As the princess turned towards the door, she paused and looked back at me.

“May I ask you one thing?”

“Please, go ahead.”

After a brief pause, she asked with a slight smile, “What do you want to live for?”

Caught off guard by the question, I did not answer immediately.

“Ever since I first saw you, I felt that you, like me, have a clear goal you’re pursuing. If it’s not too much trouble, could you tell me?”

There was no reason it would be troublesome.

After all, at this point, I am not living my life for anyone else.

From my first death to receiving a second chance at life, there is only one thing I have pursued.

“I will live for myself.”

* * *

Ten months had passed since the Emperor’s inspection tour.

The dry season had passed, and now, the cold snowflakes were swirling in the winter that had arrived.

Although a beautiful scene unfolded as the snow curtain covered the barren gorge, as always, what is seen is not all there is.

Beneath that pristine white curtain lay a horrific curtain of blood…

“Pant, pant!”

Somewhere on the outskirts of the rear camp.

A man wrapped in a white cloak was rushing towards somewhere.

After a while, he arrived at a deserted spot in the middle of the forest.

Ensuring no one was around, he sat down on the ground and took something out of his embrace.

It was a cube-shaped box with a transparent exterior, about the size of a palm.

-Ping!

He concentrated a small amount of mana on his fingertip and touched the box, which opened a small dimensional gate with a short burst of light.

“Not much left…”

The man looked inside and seemed very pleased.

Just as he slowly reached into the box to take out its contents,

“Stop right there.”

A cold voice sliced through the air, freezing his nerves.

At the same time, his entire body’s senses stopped as if lying.

“What is this?”

-Crunch, crunch

Soon, the sound of firm footsteps crunching the thick snow could be heard.

Exactly five steps behind him.

An unfamiliar presence was felt, along with a strange aura.

He wanted to verify what it was, but the man could not turn his stiffened head.

“A small dimension box… An artifact I haven’t seen in a while? Ah, it must still be before its commercialization now, right?”

“…!”

“A high-grade artifact that can store anything infinitely in a small box filled with magical power, a masterpiece created by the Garam Kingdom’s Magic Academy, wasn’t it?”

The footsteps and the voice got increasingly closer.

Until the figure reached directly behind him, the man was unable to do anything.

Only his right hand, holding the artifact, trembled like a leaf.

“I’ve been watching for a year. Setting aside how it was secured, how was it stored, and how was it transported out of the frontline area? I could only think of one possibility.”

The mysterious figure boldly lifted the artifact held in the man’s hand.

“What if it was hidden in a dimensional space unknown to others but known only to oneself? And what if someone capable of possessing such a space was within this frontline area?”

A strange black mist drifted in front of the stiffened man’s face.

A vast amount of murderous intent was felt from within the mist.

Soon, the mysterious being wrapped in that mist revealed itself in front of him.

“You’re the only one it could be. Leonard Crimson, a 7th-tier magic knight from the Garam Kingdom…”

“Who are you?”

As if seeing something absurd, Leonard cocked his head in confusion.

The figure that had appeared was so unexpectedly out of place.

Small enough to meet his sitting height eye to eye, with a slender and fragile body.

Such a physique was hardly befitting of a knight guarding the frontlines.

In this barren and remote land, there could only be one person with such a stature.

“Cyan Vert?”

The son of Duke Vert, the guardian of the continent, and the only child living on the frontline as if it were his own home.

Why was he, who had returned alive from a dragon and even caught the Emperor’s attention, here now?

Cyan was calmly examining the inside of the dimension box.

-Rustle

Turning the box upside down, its contents poured out like a waterfall.

Fingers, wrists, antennae, skin pieces — mostly parts of demonic beasts cut to sizes that could easily be hidden in a pouch.

“They’re fresh? They look lively enough to believe they were just cut. So, this is the absolute dimension that even stops the flow of time?”

Cyan went so far as to squeeze one of the severed bodies to extract blood, then put it directly into his mouth.

“…!”

“This barely makes a mouthful.”

His act of carelessly throwing away the shriveled body,

looked all too natural, as if it was something he had always done.

“You were planning to collect blood from these bodies and load it onto the supply wagon that enters and exits quarterly? There’s an insider among the suppliers…”

“What, what are you talking about?”

“No need to play dumb. You know? The blood of these demonic beasts you’ve been carefully collecting and sending is being secretly traded in the Empire’s black market. Seems like some of it has been skimmed off by a few suppliers?”

“It- it can’t be! Who in the world would… Ah!”

Realizing his slip-up, Leonard bit his lip in frustration.

However, now was not the time for self-reproach.

Though how Cyan appeared here was unknown, the circumstances no longer mattered.

No matter how extraordinary the boy was, he was ultimately just a snot-nosed kid with no real combat experience.

Quickly dealing with him and escaping the area was all that was needed.

-Swish

His stiff fingers began to move, and strength gradually returned to his body.

Cyan seemed preoccupied, rummaging through the bodies that had fallen from the dimension box.

Carefully placing a hand on the ground, mana began to coalesce from the crevice it touched.

“As the flames of hell swallow everything!”

-Whoosh

With the incantation, he thrust his hand forward, and a high-temperature flame surged upwards.

7th-tier fire attribute magic ‘Inferno Flame’

The rising flames transformed into the shape of a monstrous beast with a gaping maw, quickly engulfing the silent Cyan in an instant.

The flames, burning so intensely that they made the cold snowy field seem irrelevant, were capable of incinerating even the corpses of high-ranking demonic beasts. It was impossible for a human to withstand such flames.

Leonard let out a sigh of relief.

-Squeak

“…!”

At that moment, an unexpected sound was heard.

Leonard’s trembling eyes moved towards his left hand.

Through the blurred vision caused by the heat haze, he saw not what should have been there, but instead drops of red liquid falling, accompanied by a strange pain.

As he slowly lowered his gaze, he could see it.

His left wrist, now ownerless, was miserably spouting blood.

“Aaaaah!”

The pain was brief, for from within the burning flames, not smoke, but a black mist began to rise.

-Hissss

The small mist quickly expanded, swallowing up the infernal flames as if it were nothing.

“Black mist?”

Leonard wanted to believe it was not true.

He hoped the mist flickering before his eyes was not what he thought it was.

This was not a natural phenomenon, nor was it a product of human magic.

This was the vile power of those who follow gods but are not gods themselves.

“Why? Why here…?”

The flames he had conjured had long since died down,

And soon, from within the dispersing mist, Cyan’s body appeared, unscathed.

In one hand, he held a violet dagger, and from beneath, dark red blood dripped down.

“Such stubborn types don’t burn well anyway. If necessary, I’ll have to shake down the insiders among the suppliers.”

Around them, there were only Cyan and Leonard.

Cyan seemed to be talking to himself, his gaze fixed on some indeterminable point.

“Yo-you… were you from the Mist?”

“Not yet.”

The answer was cryptic to him.

But by then, that no longer mattered.

His mind screamed to run with all his might, but his body, paralyzed by fear, could not comply.

He sensed that the moment of death he had always known would come was now.

Resolved, Leonard opened his mouth wide to bite his tongue.

“Chk!”

But even that action was swiftly prevented.

An unbelievable strength emanated from a delicate hand, hardly half his size.

“See, this is why you types are called stubborn. You care nothing for your own life, only for some worthless deity…”

Cyan’s tone became heavier, seemingly irritated.

“From now on, it’s up to you. If you want to feel less pain, just stop being defiant and spill everything.”

The face of the young human lifting the dagger slowly could no longer be seen.

Only an assassin remained, one who would not hesitate to use any means to achieve his objective.

(To be continued)