The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

The imperial family’s tour, naturally, did not proceed in the same manner as the Emperor’s.

Unlike the Emperor, who had freely traveled up to the front lines of Lemea Valley, the princess and princes were only allowed to tour within restricted areas.

This was for their safety, and no one objected, nor did the imperial family request additional tours.

Thus, the first day of the tour came to an end, and night fell.

Outside the boundary gate was the imperial family’s villa.

Guided by an imperial knight, Alice arrived in front of a door after a short while.

-Knock knock

Not exactly nervous, but not at ease either, a small sigh escaped her as she knocked.

“Come in.”

With the room’s owner permitting entry, Alice stepped inside without hesitation.

“Welcome, Alice!”

The room’s owner greeted her much-anticipated guest with a joyous smile.

Violet Severus, the Second Princess of the Ushif Empire.

She was the one who had invited Alice to this place.

“You’ve become even more beautiful and impressive since we last met. I can hardly face you directly because you’re so dazzling.”

“Thank you for seeing me in such a positive light.”

Their interaction was like that of old friends. Although they were of the same age and had the connection of being classmates at the Royal Academy, they weren’t close enough to share personal stories.

To be precise, the Second Princess herself didn’t try to be close with anyone.

Unlike the First Prince, she was incredibly introverted, to the point of disliking even showing her face, which resulted in her not taking part in public activities much.

However, she was by no means an incompetent princess.

Among the five children of Emperor Dione, it was known that she had inherited the Emperor’s magical abilities the best, reaching an 8-star level, and at the time of graduation from the Royal Academy, she was the only one along with Alice to achieve a 6-star rating.

“I’m sorry for imposing on you. Having Miss Alice by my side seems very reassuring…”

It was she who had requested Alice for personal escorting, a task related to the personal mission of guarding the imperial family, giving Alice no particular reason to refuse.

“It’s an honor for me to be of assistance to Your Highness.”

Alice responded in a perfectly formal tone.

“It’s truly reassuring to be protected like this, especially by a scion of the Duke of Vert’s family…”

Despite the kind words, Alice couldn’t bring herself to smile, her lips barely curving.

After ending the conversation, Alice immediately left the villa and moved to the knight’s quarters.

Under the night sky, where the full moon shone brighter than the sun, Aschel was waiting, just as she emerged.

“Thank you for accepting my request, Alice.”

Aschel expressed his gratitude with a smile.

“It’s nothing. After all, my mission from the Order of Light was to guard the imperial family. I’m thankful that I can fulfill that duty.”

“I’m also relieved to know that it’s you, not some other knight, who will be protecting the princess.”

At first glance, Aschel and Princess Violet seemed to have a very close relationship.

However, knowing that wasn’t the case, Alice couldn’t help but ask him.

“Why did you volunteer to accompany the princess?”

With a faint smile, Alice’s eyes sparkled sharply.

“…You finally asked.”

As if he knew she would eventually ask, Aschel responded with a sly smile.

“The prince asked me to.”

“Do you mean Prince Luinel?”

“Yes. He asked me to ensure her safe return from the tour in his stead, as he’s not well. It was also something the princess wished for.”

“Were you already acquainted with Princess Violet?”

Aschel shook his head.

“Actually, this tour was our first real meeting. I thought you, being her academy classmate, would have been closer to her. Seems I was mistaken.”

“Yes. She’s quite introverted, so even I haven’t seen her face that much.”

He nodded as if he understood.

A moment of silence followed the end of their conversation, suggesting that Alice might still want to discuss something.

“Is there anything else you want to say?”

“Is that all?”

For a moment, Aschel’s pupils slightly trembled.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean the reason you volunteered to accompany the princess. Is that really all there is to it?”

Alice’s eyes were filled with seriousness.

“I’m not sure what you’re implying. Do you think I have some other motive?”

His previously playful tone became slightly heavier.

An invisible tension began to build between them, each reacting to the other’s aura.

“Just wondering.”

Alice smiled nonchalantly as if nothing was amiss.

“I thought maybe you, as my brother, would have some greater plans in mind.”

Though her words were light, the underlying meaning was not.

“Greater plans… What exactly are you referring to?”

“That, I don’t know. What you consider great, I’m not sure…”

In that moment, Aschel’s gaze turned icy.

Although he continued to smile, it was clear from his face that he was not pleased.

Trying not to acknowledge it, Alice naturally averted her gaze.

“Goodnight, brother.”

Alice did not look back even once until she was completely out of Aschel’s sight.

They maintained a tense gaze filled with unspoken emotions, visible only to each other, yet laden with sentiments they could not openly share.

* * *

On the second day of the tour.

The scheduled area for today’s tour was the desolate forest to the west.

Even if they couldn’t go to the areas where magical beasts directly appeared, due to safety concerns, they could still fully experience the unique barren atmosphere of the forest.

“The desolate and eerie atmosphere stimulates all my senses. It seems we mustn’t let our guard down even for a moment while we are here.”

Prince Fabian, the third prince, expressed his thoughts about the forest, and his younger brother, Nerobian, chimed in.

“I share the same sentiment. I want to applaud the efforts of the knights who struggle daily to protect such places.”

As was the case yesterday, the tour was led by the third and fourth princes.

The second princess, who was the overall supervisor of the tour, seemed more interested in the surrounding scenery than the tour itself, leisurely moving through the middle of the procession.

Behind the princess, Alice, serving as her personal guard, kept her position.

The princess, observing her younger siblings freely expressing their thoughts about their surroundings, commented with pleasure.

“Our siblings are truly remarkable. They’re like passionate and curious students.”

However, contrary to the princess’s words, the princes’ displayed behavior was merely superficial, something that everyone present was aware of, including the second princess herself.

“Alice, you mentioned having younger siblings, right?”

“Yes, they’re attending the Royal Academy.”

“How are they?”

Though it might seem like a simple question, Alice felt there was a deeper significance to it.

“To me, as their older sister, they always seem adorable. And so, I believe it’s important to always show them a good example.”

“To show a good example… That’s a nice sentiment.”

Princess Violet’s pace began to slow suddenly.

Noticing this, Alice naturally adjusted her speed to match the princess without making a conscious effort.

“As the princess representing the empire and as an older sister who needs to set an example for her siblings, we must always show our best. Even if it means completely hiding our true selves at times…”

The duty that naturally comes with carrying the blood of the royal family.

As she said, it was as if they had to wear a kind of mask for their entire lives, hiding their true selves.

Alice understood this aspect quite well.

“But it seems different with you, Alice.”

“Me?”

“Your current demeanor seems genuinely free from pretense… I’m quite envious.”

Before Alice could fully comprehend her words,

-Boom!

Suddenly, a yellow light soared into the eastern sky.

It was a signal of a magical beast’s appearance.

Fortunately, it seemed they were far enough away to avoid a direct encounter with the beast.

“Protect the princess and princes!”

Duke Vert immediately issued an evacuation order.

The princes, who had been confidently leading the way, quickly took refuge within the knights.

As Alice hurried to protect Princess Violet,

“Your Highness, we need to evacuate…!”

She saw it.

A transparent magic circle with multicolored lights was drawn right beneath Princess Violet’s feet.

Simultaneously, a light of blue mana was emanating from the fingers she had hidden by her thigh.

Alice thought to herself,

If I’m not seeing things wrong,

This must be ‘Spatial Transference Magic’…

Between 0 and 1 second.

In that brief moment, where normal thought processes couldn’t even occur, Alice desperately hoped she was wrong.

But contrary to her wish,

-Whoosh!

Princess Violet vanished in an instant, right before everyone’s eyes.

“The princess has disappeared!!”

The knights immediately fell into panic.

This included the imperial army and even the experienced knights of the front lines.

Unsure of how to react to the sudden disappearance without any prior signs, some couldn’t even move.

Alice was no different.

“Pull yourself together, Alice!”

The one who approached her was none other than Aschel.

“Calm down and tell me what you saw. How did the princess suddenly disappear?”

Alice responded instinctively.

“She- she seemed to use magic.”

“Magic?”

Aschel’s brows furrowed deeply.

“Yes! Right before she disappeared, there was a magic circle under her feet, and though I’m not certain, it seemed like she was emanating mana from her hand…”

Alice couldn’t understand what she was saying.

Wasn’t this suggesting that the princess had orchestrated her own disappearance to escape from here?

In a moment, Alice saw it.

The teeth of Aschel, visibly grinding in agitation through his parted lips.

It was clear he was not pleased.

“Everyone! Spread out and search for the princess! We must find her, even if it means scouring all of Lemea Valley!”

Following the duke’s order, the momentarily frozen knights were spurred into action.

They quickly organized search teams and began entering the valley.

(To be continued)