The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

————

Chapter 165: The Truth Revealed (2)

With a rustle, Kundel opened his eyes wide and roughly crumpled the letter in his hand.

Now, it wasn’t surprising, it didn’t even raise questions anymore.

The mysterious giant who single-handedly defeated the Devil Dragon that appeared in Axilium—a few days ago, it had been the work of an audacious boy who had left the academy on his own accord.

There was no evidence, just the continued insistence of an old man who had lived for decades, throwing his unwavering conviction that the boy was the culprit.

How could he exude such a strong presence so soon after leaving?

Kundel’s head was in a whirlwind.

Amidst this, the door to the chancellor’s office suddenly swung open without a knock.

A man barged in as if it were his own living room, despite not being granted entry by the owner of the room.

Although he covered his face like a commoner, Kundel was already frowning as if he had grasped his identity.

He was none other than Louisnel Sevellerus, the first prince of the Ushif Empire.

“What’s going on here, Louisnel?”

Louisnel threw his cloak aside and sat down abruptly in the chair in front of the desk, acting as if he were the master of the room.

“Don’t make such an obvious expression of disdain. Even if you’re my maternal grandfather, my mental state is not in a good enough place to handle such unpleasantness right now.”

Louisnel tossed his cloak aside roughly and sat down in the chair in front of the desk.

“I didn’t come here because I wanted to. Since it’s been a while, let’s finish the conversation we didn’t finish in the Imperial Palace.”

Even in the face of Louisnel’s presumptuous behavior, as if he were the master of the room, the Chancellor sat down with an unfazed, bold face.

“Did you come to the Imperial Palace to blackmail me?”

“What are you talking about?”

“Don’t play dumb! Didn’t you already tell His Majesty everything I’ve done behind the scenes?!”

Do you even realize that what you call “behind-the-scenes” is not even honorable enough to be called that?

Nevertheless, Prince Louisnel’s face showed no sign of acknowledging wrongdoing or remorse; it was filled only with baseless confidence.

“Understood. From your perspective, everything I’ve done seems like irrational behavior that violates ethics and laws. However, this was never just for my sake! Ultimately, don’t you want it too, grandfather? When I ascend to the throne, the prestige of the Quazel family will also…”

“I’ve never told you to ascend to the throne.”

Kundel cut off Louisnel’s outburst with a single sentence.

“Experience… when I see it like this, it doesn’t just look foolish, it looks naive.”

It was an incredibly insulting remark, with no respect to be found even if you searched with a magnifying glass.

“Do you really think a peaceful succession to the throne is possible, Grandfather? Don’t you know how His Majesty ascended to the throne? The siblings I saw when I was young, I haven’t even heard a peep about where they are or what they’re doing now!”

“…”

“Violet, Fabian, Nerobian… even that puppet of a girl, Arin! Can you guarantee that they won’t covet the throne, Grandfather? You, who know the Imperial Court situation better than anyone, how can you say such naive things?!”

Louisnel shouted, his voice filled with malice as he spewed out his anger.

Kundle looked at Louisnel with a gaze that was half-pitying.

“Do you really think that you, who ascended to the throne through such means, can maintain peace on the continent?”

His voice was also gradually rising.

“The emperor’s duty is to protect the country, not his own interests! Can someone like you, who protects his own rice bowl while rejecting everyone else, maintain the peace of the empire and the continent? Doubts are now turning into suspicions!”

“As the emperor’s position stabilizes, peace in the empire and the continent will naturally follow! After all, who else besides me can handle the throne? In a yard where polishing a meager stone won’t turn it into a gemstone!”

Louisnel continued to speak without stepping back.

“That’s something you don’t know. The value of a person can change anytime, anyhow. Just like how a jewel emitting a rainbow of colors might appear like a mere stone covered in dust…”

“To bring that up now…!”

*Tock tock.*

Amidst the heightened tension, a calm knock was heard from the door.

“Come in.”

The chancellor immediately granted entry.

*Creak.*

Unlike Louisnel, a young girl entered the room with a gentle opening of the door.

Upon spotting her, Louisnel immediately narrowed his eyes and asked,

“What does this mean?”

“Don’t misunderstand. It’s a prior arrangement that was in place before you arrived.”

The girl, after a momentary fluster upon seeing Louisnel’s face, soon composed herself and respectfully lowered her head towards the chancellor.

“I am Arin Sevellerus, a third-year student of the Royal Academy. I’ve come for a meeting with the chancellor…”

Today’s meeting with the chancellor was arranged for Arin Sevellerus, the fifth princess of the Ushif Empire.

“Brother Louisnel. Without even giving notice, what brings you to the academy?”

“This is none of your concern. Leave. We’re in the middle of a conversation more important than your petty meeting…”

Louisnel dismissed Arin’s prior arrangement lightly, instructing her to leave with disdain.

“Not even observing such basic courtesy, how do you expect to become emperor? The one who should leave is not Arin but you, Louisnel. There’s nothing more to say. Get out of my room…”

*Bam!*

Finally exploding, Louisnel slammed the desk forcefully and stood up abruptly.

Instead of glaring at Kundel like before, he turned his head and marched towards Arin.

Arin maintained her composure, meeting his gaze directly.

“You’ve grown a lot, Arin. You even know how to look me straight in the eyes…”

“People are creatures that grow. I can’t keep bowing my head in front of you forever…”

Her audacious response made Louisnel, who had been taken aback, tremble slightly.

“I understand that my elder brother does not approve. But as your sister, I cannot simply become a useless figure who provides no help to you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“People’s growth can sometimes be driven by threats. Even if I’m insignificant and lacking, if I become a small threat that makes you, my brother, uneasy, what could be more meaningful? That would be the greatest evidence that you, my brother, have acknowledged me.”

Louisnel and even Kundel, who had been silently listening, were left speechless by her bold statement.

“Hah!”

After repeating a few hollow laughs as if dumbfounded, Louisnel bent down and brought his face level with Arin’s.

“Yeah. Then, as your brother, I should give you a very important piece of advice not to forget.”

He grabbed her shoulders and leaned in close to her ear, whispering softly.

“Do you want to die?”

Arin flinched at the chillingly threatening coercion.

“You’ve become quite cocky just because His Majesty took an interest in you. This is why those with no roots are dangerous. Give them an inch, and they think they can do whatever they want and act recklessly…”

Louisnel’s eyes were filled not only with anger but also with a sense of menace that transcended it.

“Don’t delude yourself. Right now, I’m in a position where I can strangle you to death right here. No one will protect you. Being by my side won’t bring any benefits, just like a meaningless shell…”

“I will protect myself!”

Arin replied with a fierce gaze filled with sincerity.

“No one expects anyone to protect me. I am a princess of the empire! If a princess cannot even protect her own body, then there is nothing more foolish. Becoming a dignified member of the royal family, one who is not ashamed in front of everyone! That is the path I wish to take as a princess.”

Calm yet resolute, Arin conveyed her firm determination to Louisnel, leaving the listeners with doubts about whether she was genuine.

Overwhelmed, Louisnel could no longer say anything.

As the struggle between two key members of the imperial family, who could be considered the future of the empire, continued, *knock knock*, once again a clear knock was heard from the door.

All eyes turned towards the door.

“May I come in?”

A soft voice that instantly calmed the somewhat dizzying atmosphere.

A voice so captivating that once heard, it could never be forgotten, and ironically, all three people in the room knew its owner.

Seeing Kundel’s speechlessness at the unexpected visit, the door opened cautiously a moment later, and a blond man stepped inside.

“It’s been a while, Chancellor Kundel.”

How could one stay angry when faced with that smile?

As if a messenger of peace had arrived, the atmosphere, which seemed about to ignite at any moment, instantly calmed down.

Arin’s gaze couldn’t help but linger on the man.

“A-Aschel?”

The eldest son of Duke Vert, and the elder brother of Cyan Vert, who was until recently her fiancé.

Aschel Vert had come to the chancellor’s office.

“What brings you here too?”

“I have some important news to deliver. I came here with the prince.”

“Important news?”

“Yes. I’m glad Princess Arin is here too. It was just about to bring her over.”

“M-Me?”

To think he was talking about her, Arin was dumbfounded.

“From now on, I swear to all of you that there will be no falsehood in what I am about to say, I swear by the Light of Lumendel.”

In a somewhat bewildering situation, not only did he appear out of nowhere, but he also solemnly swore to the gods, causing a somewhat awkward atmosphere.

However, his morning-sun-like refreshing smile quickly turned cold like the dawn’s frost, and the atmosphere in the room changed along with it.

“W-What exactly do you intend to say?”

Kundel managed to speak up with doubt.

“I have something to tell you all about my brother, Cyan…”

Aschel replied with a strange expression, a mixture of joy and sorrow.

* * *

“Hoo, hoo…”

Regens struggled to catch his breath, drenched in sweat.

How long had it been since he, at the pinnacle of enlightenment, had struggled like this?

And it was none other than his own granddaughter.

“Couldn’t you have used that power for the Society?”

He asked, his question laden with complexity, but there was no reply.

“…”

Luna, with her head bowed deeply like a dew-covered blade of grass, only the sound of her labored breathing echoing faintly.

Now that he had obtained what he wanted, there was no need to prolong this situation any further.

Regens released the restrictive barrier he had created and left the room.

Shortly afterward…

“Luna!”

Lamella and the members of the Society, who were waiting outside, hurried in calling for Luna.

“Luna! Snap out of it!”

Judging by the pitiful sound of her breath, it seemed she had lost consciousness.

“Even so, doing this to your granddaughter…”

Just by observing the situation, one could roughly understand what had happened.

Regens, the head of the society, had cast a spell of mental breakdown on her.

A higher-level mental magic that gradually erodes the target’s solid mind to induce a confession.

If the intensity is severe, it could potentially lead to mental instability.

He had cast such a terrifying spell on his own granddaughter.

Even though he valued public matters greatly, was it necessary to go this far with his own flesh and blood?

As he was about to quickly cast a recovery spell to take care of her first, Luna, who had awakened, raised her hand to stop him.

“Enough, Lamella…”

“Are you, are you awake, Luna?”

“I’m talking because I heard you. Stop yelling so much, it hurts my ears.”

Lamella wiped her chest and breathed a sigh of relief.

But just for a moment…

A torrent of complaints followed soon after.

“What on earth were you thinking to do such a reckless thing? Why did the Society President have to exert this much power? It could have been a disaster!”

“You’ll hear all the complaints later. For now, please just listen to one request from me.”

“A request… you say?”

At the mention of an unexpected request, Lamella chuckled.

“Yes. There’s no one else I can ask but you, Lamella…”

Lamella looked somewhat puzzled.

Seeing her, who had never relied on anyone before, show such a vulnerable side, Lamella felt her heart naturally leaning toward Luna in a strange yet very human way.

“Please, tell me, Luna…”

————