The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

After the meeting with Aer ended, the next day dawned.

It was now the point where the official opening of the academy was just a day away.

For the students, it was time to prepare various items necessary for academy life, including classes.

Of course, that’s for the real freshmen who have a lot to learn.

I haven’t even bought the textbooks yet.

Still, thinking I should at least prepare, I was about to go out to the street when…

“What… what is this situation, young master…?”

Brian, who couldn’t understand the situation in front of him, asked me.

“I’m sorry, but I have nothing else to say. Just let it go for now…”

This situation was never my intention from the start.

[My goodness~! Where else would you find an instructor visiting a student’s dormitory so early in the morning? Would anyone think this is a normal situation if they saw it? Huh~?]

Kaeram, who was lying on the sofa in a seductive pose, blinked her eyes and said.

“Of course! It’s a perfectly normal situation where an academic instructor brings textbooks for the student’s proper classes!”

Silica responded without batting an eye.

No matter what, where would you find an instructor personally delivering textbooks to a student?

Especially you, being an academic instructor and not even an assistant…

[Shouldn’t a teacher like you be more cautious? This isn’t even a forbidden relationship between a student and a teacher, but if you keep coming and going like this, haven’t you thought that our master could be suspected~?]

“Kaeram, you’re the one being careless. Even though Aer granted you life energy and you’ve become able to materialize freely, this is an academy. It’s a place filled with experts sensitive to mana and spiritual energy. If your existence is discovered, wouldn’t it trouble our student Cyan?”

The fierce verbal exchange between the two women showed no sign of letting up, and I couldn’t find an opportunity to intervene.

I decided to just watch for a bit longer.

[Oh my~! What trouble would there be? Our master isn’t just there for decoration, can’t he just sweep everything away with me~?]

“That’s why it’s not possible! If we were going to sweep everything away from the start, why did we come here? Are you planning to ruin the master’s plan?”

A chilling laughter echoed in the spacious room.

Brian eventually hugged himself as if he had goosebumps.

Having no choice, I finally spoke up.

“Excuse me, Clan Leader, but isn’t this a bit too much? For an academic instructor to come all the way to a student’s dormitory…”

At the moment our eyes met, I involuntarily flinched.

“Cyan, you should watch your words. Clan Leader? If someone hears that, it could cause a big problem…”

Why are you suddenly using formal language?

Finally, she walked up to me and said in a lowered voice.

“In the academy, we are just a student and an instructor. Please be more careful with your titles in the future.”

Is this about separating public and private matters?

I understand you’re interested in the successor, but this is a bit…

“Not that we should be stiff with each other! We’re going to be seeing a lot of each other, aren’t we? There’s a lot to learn and we must continue to grow! So that…”

Her smile, as she patted my head, was brief,

Her half-circled eyes suddenly flashed brightly.

“Won’t you lead our organization wonderfully? Successor Cyan Vert?”

The obsession in her blazing eyes was directed at me.

Is it just me, or has she become more obsessed than in my previous life?

Just when I was wondering if she had a split personality,

-Whoosh

A dark mana sphere flew between me and her.

The culprit was Kaeram.

[Where do you think you’re putting your hands?]

Cold anger and displeasure were evident in her eyes.

Ah, I feel much more tired than when I was fighting monsters.

Staying here would only make me uncomfortable.

Leaving the two women, who were like territorial lionesses, I quietly slipped away.

“Are you going for a walk, young master?”

“Yes. If they ask where I went, just say you don’t know. They won’t have the time to care while they’re snarling at each other anyway.”

Indeed, they were like a volcano about to erupt, busy fighting each other.

I left the room and exited the Royal Hall entirely.

The streets of Luwen were bathed in morning sunlight.

Indeed, this city, brighter and more vibrant than the other gloomy cities, was bustling with life.

Naturally, being at the crossroads of three countries, it had grown into an intermediary city thriving on trade and commerce due to frequent exchanges.

Originally, I came out to prepare, including buying textbooks, but since Silica gave them all to me as an excuse for visiting, there was no point in coming out.

“…….”

Peaceful.

How often have I felt such peaceful moments in my life?

Honestly, peace is a word that doesn’t really suit me.

Not thinking negatively, but really.

Covered in blood and involved in all sorts of dirty work, that was me.

Walking down this street with a warm and familiar feel under the blue sky…

Well, it’s not too uncomfortable.

It seems I still retain a minimum of human decency.

Deciding to do something even more unsuitable, I headed towards Luwen’s pride, the natural park.

Under the warm sunlight, the park was filled with nameless flowers in full bloom.

Even I, almost a hermit in my previous life, had visited this place more than a few times.

Sitting on a suitable bench, I sighed and looked around.

Indeed, it is worthy of being called Luwen’s landmark.

Decorated splendidly enough to remind one of the gardens of the divine realm.

Fountains, statues, and other touches of a tourist spot were scattered throughout.

Hmm…

Watching this peaceful scene, I couldn’t help but imagine white flowers stained with blood and green trees burning fiercely.

It shows how sick I am.

I should try to change these negative thoughts. Just as I shook my head,

“……!”

I have a good sense of smell.

Not the smell of food or feces, but, let’s say, the malicious scent emanating from people’s emotions.

Precisely, from my bench at 11 o’clock, under a dense, leafy tree, I spotted four boys around my age (well, eleven) who seemed to be up to something.

From afar, they might look like mischievous kids playing some kind of game, but this Luwen is not as harmonious as it appears.

Just like the three of them.

Three little kids were now bullying another kid leaning against a tree.

Judging by their appearance, they all seemed to be academy students like me.

Normally, ostracism is something you might expect at that age, a vile act.

But this is the Royal Academy, and in the world of nobles where relationships can intertwine at any moment,

They would build relationships rather than ostracize each other among nobles.

In other words, the situation can be explained in one of two ways.

Either the bullied kid is not an academy student or not a noble.

I think it’s the latter.

That kid must be a noble, technically.

Just a noble in name.

In the Royal Academy, there are cases where instructors bring in talented commoner children, raising them for special admission to the academy.

However, since the academy rules do not allow commoners to enroll, instructors use a loophole to temporarily elevate their status.

So-called honorary nobles.

Nobles in name but empty shells in essence.

Already filled with pride and dignity, our pure nobles would feel great discomfort sharing the academy with such inferior nobles.

As I recall, about five of my classmates were honorary nobles this year.

Should I help? Well…

Honestly, this isn’t a special situation that happens once in a while, but a daily occurrence,

It wouldn’t be strange to see it anytime.

And it’s not like many people help. That’s not the case either.

If there were many willing to help this frail commoner friend, such bullying wouldn’t have occurred in the first place.

Look at that.

There are dozens of people in this park besides me, but they all pass by, right?

They know it’s not worth getting involved.

Especially if those bullies come from well-known families.

It’s often said that ambiguous help is worse than ignoring.

Even if I intervene and resolve the situation, it’s only temporary.

Eventually, that commoner friend will face more persistent bullying.

Well, it’s not like there are just a few watching eyes, so I guess they’ll sort it out and I’ll just leave…

-Slap

A refreshing crack that jolts one awake.

The blond, burly kid who was grabbing the victim’s collar slapped his face.

My hearing is good, but how hard did he hit for the sound to reach here?

-Thump thump thump

The heavy sound of consecutive hits followed.

Face, stomach, legs, they were hitting everywhere with gusto.

This is almost worse than the training of fighters.

Still, the kid being hit had quite the resilience, not falling and desperately holding on.

“……?”

I thought they would just hit a bit and stop, but the situation seems to be getting serious.

In the blond kid’s hand was a red mana sphere.

He was trying to force it into the commoner kid’s mouth, no less.

At eleven, the body is just starting to surge with mana, a critical time for adapting to its overall flow.

Forcing someone else’s mismatched mana in at such a crucial time could lead to conflict, potentially collapsing the flow of mana itself.

Then, not to mention magic, even basic tasks like infusing mana into a weapon would become impossible.

This is almost something you’d do to a mortal enemy’s parents, isn’t it?

They twisted the commoner kid’s arm, tilted his face upwards, and restrained him from resisting.

This wasn’t just a scare; they were about to actually do it.

The devilish smirk on the blond kid’s face.

Just as he was about to put the mana sphere into the commoner kid’s mouth,

“What are you doing!?”

“……!?”

A bold outcry of justice made the kids turn their heads like owls.

Just to clarify, I haven’t approached them yet.

But it seems the world isn’t completely cold-hearted yet, a hero of justice has stepped forward to save the commoner kid from injustice.

But this hero of justice… seems somewhat familiar?

“How can fellow students commit such a cruel act? Aren’t you ashamed as nobles?”

The silver hair that had grown considerably in a year suited the academy uniform quite well.

“…….”

The kids, sensing the arrival of a not-so-ordinary noble, stepped back from her.

Airen Sevellus.

The fifth princess of the Ushif Empire.

The look in her eyes, which I saw after a year, contained a sharpness that wasn’t there before.

(To be continued)