The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“Waiter! Add another whole pig roast here!”

“Our table has run out of alcohol! Bring us more quickly!”

Amidst the noisy atmosphere, the rough drinking bouts of intoxicated men took place.

It was hardly a fitting place for an eleven-year-old boy, but it didn’t matter.

This country wasn’t so harsh as to forbid minors from drinking alcohol.

I nonchalantly found an empty seat and sat down.

As if it were expected, dozens of gazes turned towards me.

I, too, scanned the appearances of those seated at the tables.

Plain swords and armors, nothing special.

Most of them were common mercenaries living off commissions.

“This isn’t quite the place for a young master, is it?”

A grown woman dressed in red silk approached to take the order.

Her age seemed to be in the late twenties?

The deeply plunging neckline was eye-catching, but I didn’t pay much mind.

“It doesn’t seem like you’re here to drink, so what would you like to order?”

Her tone was somewhat annoyed and stiff.

“Of course. Bring me the thing you’re most confident in here.”

Without showing any reaction, I took out a gold coin from my pocket and handed it to her.

“Hm?”

The woman’s eyes sparkled for a moment as she received the coin.

“This- this could buy the entire menu here and still have some left over…?”

“Then throw in a drink to go with it, the rest is a tip.”

At the mention of a tip, her face instantly brightened.

“What a generous young master! Please wait a moment. Customer~!”

Her tone had changed, and she quickly ran off to the kitchen.

The surrounding people’s gazes returned to me.

Some seemed to smell money on me, licking their lips.

“Did the wealthy family’s heir come for a city tour?”

Eventually, a man from across the room approached my table to start a conversation.

He was a mercenary with a bulky build that couldn’t be fully appreciated at a glance.

So much so that when he sat down in front of me, the table shook and rattled.

“I didn’t ask you to sit down?”

He reeks of sweat.

Did he even bathe today?

“Don’t be so stiff! I’d like to put a few bruises on that pretty face of yours! Kuahaha!”

Is that supposed to be a joke?

Looking at his laughing face, I felt like I’d be the one making bruises.

“You’re still young, so you might not know how the world works. Money, you see, should be spent where it’s useful! It’s not meant to be wasted on tipping girls who just shake their chests!”

I wonder what he’s getting at.

“Moreover, in times like these, if you wander alone without a bodyguard, you could end up dead without anyone knowing! How about it? I don’t know where you’re headed, but wouldn’t you consider hiring me to ensure your journey is safe?”

I couldn’t help but let out a snicker.

With even knights being conscripted, are there places that resort to employing such low-quality mercenaries?

He was not worth considering.

“Young lord, I’ll make it especially cheap for you…….”

“Get lost.”

The surroundings began to buzz again.

“What did you just say?”

“I said get lost. I don’t want to eat while looking at your face.”

The mercenary’s face suddenly turned red with anger.

“Quite the sharp-tongued young master, aren’t you? But you see, you should watch who you’re talking to. Mess up, and that pretty face of yours could get smashed.”

He was trying to intimidate me with an unconvincing murderous intent.

I just came here to fill my stomach, and now some worthless guy is trying to rile me up.

I considered whether to gouge out his eyes and throw them into his mouth while he was still alive, or twist off his fingers and shove them into every hole in his body, but…

In the end, whatever I did would only dirty my hands.

And I didn’t want to eat with such hands, so I just silently stared into the mercenary’s eyes.

A wild beast does not recklessly attack when it meets another of its kind.

They exchange glances, comparing their murderous intent, and the one who feels outmatched first tucks its tail and backs off.

Would humans be any different?

Such a large, beast-like creature, if truly suppressed with real murderous intent, that would be the end of it.

-Hissss

The rising red aura made my hair flutter.

Soon, the air itself felt heavy with the dominating murderous intent.

“……!?”

The guy started to stagger back under the pressure.

The trembling pupils and a single line of sweat running down his cheek revealed his anxious inner thoughts.

If he didn’t want his limbs torn off, he felt the silent pressure to disappear from my sight immediately.

“This- this has been an unfortunate disturbance to your meal…….”

With a cowardly apology, the mercenary promptly stood up.

Then, as if he was returning to his own seat, he suddenly fled out of the tavern like he was running away.

He turned out to be more of a coward than I thought.

“What’s happening here?”

The woman who took my order had, at some point, sat down next to me with food.

“Did you just send that thug packing?”

“He left on his own.”

I feigned ignorance.

“That guy, he’s well-known around here! He approaches wealthy outsiders, offers to stand guard for a day, then demands a hefty fee for his services!”

Hmm, that’s none of my business.

My purpose here was merely to have a meal.

I quietly began to prepare for my meal.

She had brought a stew with a fragrant smell and several large pieces of meat inside, along with fresh fruit juice.

“I asked the kitchen sister to add a bit more meat especially for you! It’s considered a delicacy of Saphern, so I’m sure you’ll be satisfied!”

Well, I’ll have to taste it to know.

I scooped up a spoonful and put it in my mouth.

The creamy butter and the chewy, plump meat blended well together, creating a harmonious flavor.

I continued to eat the meat quietly without much comment.

“But are you really traveling alone? In times like these, it’s rare for nobles to move without a guard.”

“I don’t see the need…”

If I really needed someone, maybe just a coachman.

“Still, it might be better to have one or two people with you? Especially now, when there are terrifying assassins roaming the country…”

The mention of assassins made me pause for a moment.

“Assassins?”

Was there a group that had emerged with the purpose of killing, not for wealth?

“Do you know the name of these assassin groups?”

“Their name? Mi… something like that?”

Just then, Brian, whom I had sent on an errand, entered the tavern.

“Ah, you were here, young master!”

He seemed to have been looking for me for a while, sweating profusely.

“Get him something to drink, something decent.”

“Yes, right away! Please wait a moment”

The woman who took my order stood up.

“What are you doing? Sit down.”

“Th-thank you!”

Brian, who had been awkwardly looking around, finally sat down. “Did you find out what I asked?”

After we arrived at the inn and unpacked, I had given him a task (?). It was to find out why the empire was currently looking for guards.

He started speaking with a confident look in his eyes.

“Well, it wasn’t too hard to find out. It seems to be something happening across the entire empire, not just in Saphern. Even the street kids know about it.”

Even the kids on the streets knew about it?

Feeling somewhat uneasy that I was unaware of such a widely known story.

“Roughly speaking, I heard it’s because assassins have appeared, right?”

“Yes, a group of assassins known as Mist…”

Plop
The spoon I was holding fell into the stew.

My previously indifferent eyes widened in surprise, and Brian looked unsure of what to do.

“Is there a problem?”

“Do you know what Mist is when you speak of it?”

I asked with a measured gaze.

“Well, it’s a rather famous organization, isn’t it? Decades ago, after the ‘Temple Massacre,’ some followers who inherited the wrath of the god of mist formed an assassin group and have been assassinating nobles across the continent…”

Right.

But that’s the story as it’s publicly known.

Of course, there might be distortions even within that, but that’s not what’s important right now.

“What makes you think they’ve appeared?”

“People say that the bodies they leave behind are always dismembered into dozens of pieces, and black mist surrounds the area. Moreover, the victims are usually corrupt officials or nobles, which matches the group’s past actions…”

The server, who was bringing drinks, chimed in as well.

“Yes, that’s right! That’s why there are so many guards around the city these days! Wealthy people and nobles are hiring guards recklessly to protect themselves. Even the local lord has…”

I put down my spoon and leaned back in my chair, lost in thought.

How should I react to this unexpected and unusual situation?

Normally, I would have just walked away, but coincidentally, this wasn’t a matter I could simply ignore.

Well, the solution is simple.

I just need to see it with my own eyes.

-Swish

I pushed back my chair and stood up.

“Where are you going?”

“For a walk.”

Before leaving, I handed the half-finished bowl of stew to Brian.

“What’s this?”

“It seemed tasty enough, but I couldn’t quite appreciate it.”

Leaving a puzzled Brian and the server woman behind, I calmly walked out of the tavern.

The street was now enveloped in night, an eerie chill circulating in the darkness. Before they knew it, the sun had set and an eerie chill was roaming the streets at night.

* * *

“Who did you say came? The son of Duke Vert?”

The bald man, swirling his glass, asked with half-open eyes.

“Yes! He stopped by on his way to the Royal Academy.”

“Ah, you mean that incompetent of the Vert ducal family. I heard he has grown enough to move in and out of the front lines over the past year, but it’s none of my business.”

The man snorted, as if it were of no importance.

“What about the new information I asked you to find out?”

“We are thoroughly searching, even scouring foreign mercenaries with passion and diligence… But my lord, isn’t this enough? Increasing the guard excessively might affect the management of your lands…”

“Why? Do you also wish I had been defeated by those scoundrels?”

“No, that’s not what I meant…”

-Thud

“Ugh!”

The servant, struck in the head by the thrown glass, fell backwards.

“Do you think I’m hiring guards just to save my own neck? What’s the point if I only tremble in fear of mere assassins? We need to capture and crush them to show them not to mess with us!”

“My lord, I’m sorry for not understanding your profound intentions!”

Without a moment to nurse his pain, the servant bowed deeply, apologizing.

“Then stop talking back and have the men I called for ready by tomorrow! Make sure the people around us keep their mouths shut!”

“Yes! I understand, my lord!”

The servant, clutching his bleeding wound, quickly left the room.

Left alone, the lord violently poured himself a drink, cursing profusely.

“Stupid fools. What have they done to deserve their keep? Do you think you’ll take my place if I die?”

The lord, barely keeping his balance, stood up.

“I’m Lord Paqaron of Saphern! Followers of the Black Mist? Come if you dare! I’ll tear your bodies to pieces and use them for my drink snacks! Kuahaha!”

The drunken lord roamed the room, shouting all manner of things.

“……Bullshit.”

Suddenly, a strange voice was heard from somewhere in the room.

Feeling a chill, the lord stopped shouting and looked around.

“What- what’s that?”

Though he looked around sharply, nothing was visible.

However, from a corner of the room, strange black smoke began to rise, soon enveloping the lord.

“Hiieek!”

The lord immediately ran towards the door.

-Bang bang bang

“What? Why won’t it open!”

The door had somehow locked itself, and despite his shouting, there was no response from outside.

“Hey! Is nobody there? Come quickly! The followers of the Black Mist have appeared…!”

With a short sound of struggle, the lord’s body collapsed lifelessly.

Shortly after, his body was dragged away by something, disappearing into the darkness.

The room was left empty, with only scattered empty bottles rolling around.

(To be continued)