The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

A sky where the bright full moon and dark night clouds coexist.

It’s time for our little friends to go to dreamland.

Nana was curled up in bed, sound asleep.

Seemingly eating candy in her dream, she was endlessly sucking on one of her fingers.

Normally she would have gone out for her nightly activities as usual, but today that was not possible because there was no nanny to take care of this little one, who was asleep, unaware of the world.

That’s right.

Brian is not in this dormitory right now.

It was his daily routine to go out to buy snacks for Nana and return around sunset, but today, he has not come back even as the sun set and the moon rose.

It’s unlikely that he just ran off in the middle of the night,

Could he have been ambushed by some strange folks and gotten kidnapped?

[What’s with you, acting like an amateur?]

As if reading my thoughts, Kaeram appeared next to the sleeping Nana.

[You’ve been dealing with those crows around us lately, haven’t you? If something happened to that kid, it’s obviously their doing, right?]

Kaeram was wearing an intrigued smile, seemingly quite amused by the situation.

The crows…

To be more precise, they should be called watchers.

(PR: Crows can symbolize spies or watchers due to their observant nature and association with being carriers of information or omen. Also, fun fact, a group of crows is called a murder.)

Since the day after Brian and I arrived in Luwen and unpacked our bags, it was as if watchers unfamiliar to me had been on standby, immediately attaching themselves to me.

The fact that they attached themselves right after our arrival, instead of after some time, meant they had been waiting in advance.

This implies that the order to kill me did not come from the Duchess’s side.

Rather, the Duchess has been remarkably reactionless so far.

Probably, knowing her personality, the moment she realized the mess-up, she would have been anxious every day, worrying about when she’ll be caught.

In fact, the moment I knew there were watchers, I had already guessed the culprit.

So, instead of wasting time on baseless guesses, I caught those guys that very day and dealt with them.

Although they were quite tight-lipped, having been thoroughly trained, the temptation to put an end to my extensive torture was irresistible.

Under the agony of having their fingers peeled off one by one, they eventually confessed everything.

‘Ke- Kellin! It’s Kellin Diego!’

That name, familiar and even welcoming. Kellin Diego.

His official position may be listed as a knight of Vellias, but he’s likely not working in the knighthood at the moment.

Right now, he must be sticking close to that bastard in the mansion, taking care of all sorts of aftermaths.

However, in this current life, I have yet to meet him face to face.

This means that it wasn’t his unilateral decision to send watchers after me.

In the end, I was well aware that it was the directive of some suspicious figure higher up.

Then, what I had to do afterwards was simple.

Just kill them as they come.

No news is good news?

For them, every bit of information is precious.

No news only increases unnecessary anxiety.

When the flow of information stops, the one who should be worried will naturally come forward.

So, I exterminated all the additional watchers that came night after night, completely blocking off any information heading to Vellias.

In the end, Kellin himself would have to come looking.

That’s exactly what I wanted, too.

But this is strange.

As if to prove he’s not just some underling, Kellin is not one to make uncertain bets.

No matter how much information supposed to be sent keeps getting cut off, he’s not the type to resort to such reckless acts of ambushing those around me.

Especially in an academy where eyes are everywhere, it was even more impossible.

[You know, right? Aside from the original ones, recently one more group has attached itself to us. Anyway, our master is really something, huh? With this much popularity, how can he possibly meet his end at their hands?]

Is this what they call a die-hard fan?

With a sneer escaping me, my gaze turned towards the sleeping Nana.

“…….”

Seeing her sound asleep, it seems she won’t be waking up anytime soon.

Still, it would be troublesome if she woke up in the absence of a guardian, so I should return as quickly as possible.

After making sure to take Kaeram with me, I immediately went outside.

Around the Royal Wing, even outside the academy, it’s practically filled with knights from various countries including the empire and the kingdom, acting as guards.

Therefore, it would be difficult for even the most skilled watchers to reside in this vicinity.

I decided to leave the vicinity of the dormitory.

-Zzrrrr

In the silent surroundings, a sinister bird call resounds.

Not a trace of watchers, not even a hint of presence.

Usually, by the time I leave the academy, crows would start to gather one by one, but today, there was complete silence.

For now, I followed where my feet led me.

Before I knew it, I had reached the shopping streets in front of Luwen’s academy.

Given the time, though some places were lit, none were open.

It seemed more desolate than usual.

But isn’t it strange?

Not a trace of human scent… yet why is the smell of blood so distinctly perceptible?

My body naturally moved towards the source of the familiar scent.

Eventually, I reached a dead-end alley.

There seemed no need to search for the source of the smell.

Fresh bloodstains, seemingly not long spilled, were scattered right in front of me.

“Ha……”

A deep sigh escaped me without my realizing.

[No need to guess the situation, right? The answer’s clear as day, isn’t it?]

Kaeram’s gaze wasn’t on the bloodstains, but on something else around them.

Candies, bread, chocolate… exactly the kind of snacks that kids would like.

Scattered messily on the rough ground, as if they’d lost their owner.

What does this mean?

The situation fits too well, leaving no room for speculation.

These items, without a doubt, were bought by Brian.

Then whose blood is this?

Needless to ask, it’s obviously Brian’s blood.

The question is, why were his blood and the snacks he bought found in such a secluded place?

Brian wasn’t dragged here by someone.

He came here of his own volition.

He must have felt it too.

That, recently, unusual crows have been attaching themselves to me and those around me.

So, he lured them here.

Whether he intended to fight them off himself or had some desperate plan to take them down with him, I don’t know…

How pathetic.

To think he, pretending to be somewhat capable, felt a sense of crisis.

That there exists a threat to me?

It’s so absurd, I’m at a loss for words.

[You really had a good one, didn’t you? Literally dedicating his all to you. Where else would you find such a follower?]

Even if it sounded like sarcasm, Kaeram was quite impressed.

I asked her softly.

“Did you know, Kaeram?”

[Hm?]

“In all my lives, past and present, I’ve never had a follower. That means, I’ve never once watched over someone who lives for me.”

Because he was the only one I thought I had to protect.

“So I thought about it. A life dedicated to living for me. Wouldn’t it be nice to have people for me? Like the past me, having my followers who would dedicate everything to me by my side. I thought it was a pretty good idea.”

[Why are you confessing all of a sudden?]

Kaeram’s eyebrows slanted down, perhaps finding it a bit out of the blue.

“Even if he lacks ability and is somewhat inferior, Brian is undeniably my first follower and my person. But now it seems like he’s in danger because of some worthless beings? What do you think I feel about that?”

Kaeram chuckled in response to my question.

[If you look at me with those eyes, there’s only one answer I can give, right?]

My eyes? Honestly, I’m not quite sure what kind of expression I’m wearing right now.

This emotion is actually new to me.

The moment someone who vowed to dedicate everything to me falls into crisis.

This is really hard to explain in words… utterly messed up.

[You’ll kill them, right? And very painfully…?]

The malevolent soul of the cursed sword smiles coldly at me.

Daring to mess with my person, when even touching me would be regrettable?

A rage difficult to control surges from within.

* * *

-Thud!

With a fierce impact, the sound of their groans echoed throughout the space.

“Such a crazy lunatic bastard! Did you hide your vocal cords under a rock or something…?”

Despite the relentless beating, Brian was just shaken around like a powerless paper doll.

In fact, he wanted to say something as badly as a chimney, but having been hit indiscriminately a moment ago, even in the throat, he hadn’t been able to utter a word since.

The thugs, unaware of this, continued to threaten and assault him, demanding a confession, driving Brian to the brink of madness internally.

His bones were already shattered from the continued beatings.

Even if his vocal cords were to recover now, he doubted he could speak due to the pain, feeling absolutely miserable.

‘I shouldn’t have just acted tough and informed the young master…

He must have thought this hundreds of times while being beaten.

Honestly, this was practically the same as being openly lured into a trap, but couldn’t they have at least attempted some conversation?

He had said it himself, but who would have known they’d rush at him in a mob without any chance for dialogue?

“This is impossible! He simply won’t think about confessing!”

Eventually, the torturer declared giving up.

A man who had been sitting and quietly watching approached Brian.

“Huff… Huff…”

Brian could only let out labored breaths.

“I thought you were some great guy being the only knight, but it turns out you can’t even manage a word?”

It was a young male’s voice, thin and light, not the robust voice of an adult.

Brian slowly lifted his head to look at the owner of the voice.

Dark purple hair, and flawless, tender skin.

A young boy, about the same age as Cyan, stood before him.

He asked Brian with a chilling smile, “Do you know why you ended up like this?”

Having never met before, it couldn’t have been a personal conflict.

Brian naturally realized it must have been an issue with Cyan.

“It’s said that when you serve an incompetent master, those below suffer. Isn’t that so true? Oh, and by the way, you probably don’t even know what your master has done, do you?”

The boy continued, smiling brightly.

“I really, really hate being lectured or looked down upon by someone. Every time I feel that way, I get so filled with rage that I want to kill everything around me! Once I lose it, no one can stop me. Not even our father…”

The boy’s tone was gradually filled with madness.

“But your master crossed me? Cyan Vert dared to look at me, Barrett Luymil, with those demeaning eyes! Along with that worthless fifth princess of the empire! It was a humiliation like I’ve never felt before! Do you think they can do that and get away with it? Absolutely not!”

His eyes, tainted with madness, cooled down.

Then, with a face that was hard to tell if it was a smile or a grimace, he whispered softly.

“Shall I tell you what I’m going to do to you? First, I’ll carve you up from head to toe and wrap you up nicely, like a surprise gift! Then I’ll send it straight to your master! I wonder what kind of face he’ll make when he receives my gift? Will he be anxious because he doesn’t know where it came from? He’ll live every day in terror, trembling in fear! And I’ll enjoy watching that! Then, when his fear peaks, I’ll kill him along with the princess!”

Suddenly, Brian remembered something Cyan used to say.

It was so trivial.

Trivial and pitiful.

Honestly, Brian didn’t know what kind of humiliation Cyan had suffered, but he knew better than anyone what happened when someone messed with him.

Who’s doing what to whom?

The sure thing was, even if he died here today, they would likely suffer moments of greater pain than himself.

As if resigned, Brian closed his eyes.

Perhaps his life was as good as over near Vellias anyway,

so he could accept his current death somewhat calmly.

He was just a bit regretful.

Wouldn’t it have been nice to have been more helpful to the lord he thought he’d serve for life?

That was a great pity.

But what can be done?

After all, they would soon be knocking on the doors of the underworld with him…

“Aaaagh!”

A cruel groan of pain echoed in his ears.

The groaning didn’t stop and continued one after another.

“Hyeeek!”

For some reason, it was a familiar situation.

The moment Brian slowly opened his eyes and lifted his head, a familiar man in front of him quietly asked.

“What are you doing?”

(To be continued)