The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

“I was half in doubt, but it turns out to be true. Seeing that silly look in your eyes, I was immediately certain. It’s been a long time. Boris…”

“Oh, it has indeed been a long time, Lord Galas!”

Boris, unable to lift his head, simply sweated profusely.

Lord of Axillium, Galas Aiven, looked at his pitiful state with a displeased gaze.

In a secluded alley, untouched by the frequent comings and goings of people, not in the city center where the lord resides.

Seemingly not wanting news of this meeting to spread outside, men in black masks were guarding the surroundings.

“I even heard you were appointed as an instructor at the Royal Academy recently. What brings you back to Axillium all of a sudden?”

“The Academy instructor, you say?”

Boris’s eyes widened as if hearing this for the first time.

“I’m sorry, my lord! I must report with regret that I have no memory of the past few years…”

Boris explained to the lord, just as he had to Cyan, that his memory was not functioning correctly.

Upon hearing this, Galas frowned deeply and said,

“Ha! Amnesia… And here I thought you might be on some secret mission for the prince. It’s strange to think that cursed bloodlines like yours could maintain a proper state of mind.”

Despite the derogatory comments, Boris maintained his composure.

“So, do you plan to stay here?”

“I suppose so. If you would allow it, my lord, I would like to continue working for the people, as before.”

“What are you saying, Boris? There’s no need for that.”

Galas dismissed Boris’s words outright.

“You’re not to work for the people as before, but for me instead.”

“For you, my lord?”

“Don’t play dumb. You must remember, don’t you? The ambitious plan prepared for Prince Luinel, which fell through when you left for the royal palace. This time, it’s not for the prince, but entirely for me.”

Boris could not immediately respond and just swallowed hard.

“There’s no need for you to take on menial tasks in the streets under the guise of helping people. As long as you exert your strength for me, the slums’ residents won’t starve.”

Although it might sound like a thoughtful offer at first glance, it was in fact an imposition without the right to refuse.

Boris, knowing this all too well, could only nod reluctantly.

“I will follow your command, my lord…”

After the conversation, Boris quietly turned around and started walking back towards the slums from whence he came.

Galas watched him leave, then discreetly called a subordinate and issued an order.

“Make sure no one outside Axillium learns that he’s here. Monitor his every move from morning till night!”

“Understood, my lord!”

Only then did Galas show a satisfied smile.

“Just like two years ago. He seemed like a different person when he saw the prince, but now he’s back to the man I know…”

Whatever had happened in the nearly two years, the current dominion of an unknown amnesia over him was an exceptionally favorable turn for Galas.

Watching the direction Boris had disappeared in with a meaningful gaze for but a brief moment.

“……!”

Sensing an unusual presence, Galas immediately turned his head.

It felt as though a predator had spotted its prey, baring its fangs and sending a chilling murderous intent.

“What’s that?”

But when he turned, only the lonely night wind was swirling desolately.

* * *

As you know, I’m not fond of books.

But just because I don’t like them doesn’t mean I don’t understand their value.

There were hundreds of books crammed into this tiny space that would be cramped even for five people to sit in.

From high-level magic textbooks that only academy researchers would read to research papers from academies across various nations that couldn’t be easily obtained.

I don’t know where he got them, but these books certainly didn’t belong in a slum.

“……You followed me.”

He entered the shack abruptly and asked, seeing my back.

Since it wasn’t particularly a secret worth hiding, I didn’t deny it.

The tension and fear that filled me moments ago had now vanished.

Then, he suddenly began to tidily arrange the books scattered around as if he would never return to this place again.

“I won’t beg pitifully. Please kill me……”

Eventually, as if giving up on everything, he knelt before me, begging for death.

In my past life, I had often received pleas for death, contrary to pleas for life.

During what was called the time of repentance, when I inflicted pain worse than death, their pleas always desperately begged for death.

Not that I particularly enjoyed it, but,

The sight before me now felt particularly unimpressive among all the death pleas I had witnessed.

Annoying.

Even the slight intention I had to kill him for the sake of preventing future problems had completely vanished.

As I recalled Boris’s scheming smile, which he must be watching from somewhere, anger surged within me again, grinding my teeth.

“People might be right. A cursed clan that shouldn’t exist. It’s truly pitiful that I’m only realizing this now……”

“What do you mean?”

Boris weakly lifted his head and picked up a book that was lying beside him.

“The world always told us. We were unnecessary, meaningless existences that shouldn’t exist… I always hated those words and wanted to refute them. That we, too, have the right to exist proudly on this continent……”

The book he picked up was a basic magic textbook that a freshman just entering the academy might read.

“I had something called talent. I manifested mana for the first time when I was ten and conquered various elements of magic in less than a year. The only thing I could rely on then was this magic textbook I managed to obtain with difficulty.”

The book was in such a worn state that one would believe it had been looked through thousands of times.

“The reason I wanted to hone my magic was simple. I thought if my power could help others beyond the slums, the world’s view of us would change. So, I crazily grew my power and lived distributing it among the people. But what I got in return was……”

Suddenly, his voice choked up, and he couldn’t continue.

“If you followed me, you must have heard what Lord Galas said to me……”

He suddenly took something out of his pocket and showed it to me.

An artifact all too familiar and infuriating to me.

It was a marionette doll.

“It seems you know what it is.”

I couldn’t possibly be unaware of the artifact that might as well be your specialty.

“Even working in the streets every day, there was a limit to what I could do alone. When I distributed food to the residents of the slums, there would ultimately be nothing left. Then one day, Lord Galas came to me. He asked if I was interested in working with him.”

“Work?”

“Yes. He said if I could produce results, he would significantly increase the support for the residents of the slums. I had no choice but to accept his offer.”

“And that was to make marionettes?”

“That’s right…”

I looked at Boris with a hint of suspicion.

The lord of Axillium, Galas Aiven.

A high-ranking magician who had reached the seventh-star status, he was an oddity among the empire’s officials, having graduated from the Ushif Empire’s magic academy. He actively utilized his specialty in magic to secretly produce a large number of magic artifacts, intending to establish his own independent force.

Once his actions were discovered, an assassination order was immediately issued.

Afterward, I assassinated him with the members of Mist and incinerated all the artifacts he had made, leaving no trace behind.

The concern of our leader about me going to Axillium alone was due to this reason.

Dealing with Galas wasn’t difficult, but there were unexpectedly many artifacts he had made, requiring the deployment of quite a few members to handle them.

It was almost on the level of those produced by academies.

What puzzled me was,

Among the artifacts of his that we destroyed, there was no marionette.

Not even an artifact similar to a marionette.

And now, to hear that in the meantime, this unknown person had teamed up to make marionettes?

It wasn’t something I could just accept without question.

“If I said I didn’t know, it would be a lie. Regardless of the reason, I knew these artifacts would definitely be used in the wrong places.”

“…”

“Yet, knowing that, I couldn’t stop. The naive belief that my power was being used for something worthwhile, and the inability to abandon the people of the slums who relied on me, dragged me down to this point.”

“…”

“But now I’m tired. I don’t want to do anything anymore. Even though it’s a time I don’t remember, in those two years, people have even tried to kill me, so what’s the point of continuing to live? It seems right for me to die now. So please…!”

-Crack

Having heard enough of his worthless talk, I grabbed his head instead of responding and thrust his face towards me.

“Lead the way.”

“Excuse me?”

“Lead the way…”

The outward appearance of a person is not trivially important.

Despite knowing that the inner being was entirely different, the face of the man before me now,

“Surely, there must have been a place where you unleashed that great power. Lead me there.”

Before he could run away from me,

His face, a bizarre mix of panic and confusion, eerily resembled the one that gave me chills.

* * *

-Screech!

“Damn, an intruder! Quickly, call for reinforcements…!”

-Screech!

The knight’s attempt to call for reinforcements was cut short as his head soared into the air, only to fall powerlessly to the ground.

Exactly twenty men.

Far too many troops for merely hiding treasure.

And the location was quite remote, far from the city’s center.

It was blatantly obvious, even to children with runny noses, that something important was hidden here.

Having dealt with the light infantry, I approached the door without hesitation.

-Clang

Naturally, the door did not open.

It wasn’t locked with a bolt or a lock, but with some other artificial locking mechanism.

A barrier seal.

Judging by the magic power, which felt at least of the 7th rank, it seemed the owner of this place had personally set it.

Unlocking it wasn’t particularly difficult, but…

“What are you doing?”

“Excuse me?”

“Unlock it.”

There was no need for me to do it myself.

I ordered Boris, who was staring blankly as if his soul had left his body, to open the door.

He hurriedly ran to the door and manifested his mana.

-Woosh

Soon, with a small light and the sound of fine dust swirling, the barrier was undone.

“It- it’s done!”

-Bang

As soon as it was unlocked, I kicked the door open forcefully.

“……Lead the way.”

“Yes, sir!”

Swallowing his nervousness, Boris quickly took the lead.

I silently followed him.

Despite the pitch-black darkness, he continued on the path without hesitation or pause.

His occasional glances back to check on me were somewhat irritating, but I didn’t show it.

After about 5 minutes?

We were confronted by an iron door even larger than the entrance’s main gate.

Without delay, Boris proceeded to unlock the barrier.

“Can- can I ask just one thing?”

I responded with silence.

“What did I ever do wrong to you…?”

Unable to face me with that question, his gaze remained fixed on the door.

“Even if I can’t remember anything, I can’t understand at all. What kind of confidence did I have to commit such a crime against someone with such tremendous power…!”

-Bang!

Instead of responding, I grabbed his throat and slammed him against the wall.

“If you don’t want to die, keep your tongue in check…”

What’s the use of explaining in detail to someone who can’t even remember?

Whatever reason you have, whatever you say, it’s irrelevant to me; it’s nothing more than a petty provocation.

The fact that I cannot kill you and must vent my anger in this way is incredibly annoying to me.

Unable to withstand the fury enveloping me again, the closed door began to slowly open.

The light from the space behind the door flashed brightly, revealing something unfamiliar the moment it was fully opened.

“……!?”

I doubted my eyes.

(To be continued)