The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

———

Chapter 25: Return (3)

A multitude of wagons stationed at the rear camp.

Inside the wagons were supplies essential for battle: provisions, weapons, artifacts, all tightly packed.

It was the arrival of the supplies from imperial castle that came every quarterly.

Supply personnel disembarking from the wagons began unloading the goods according to the arranged formation.

Amidst the hustle and bustle of everyone, including the knights, unloading the supplies, two supply personnel in charge of provisions exchanged some unknown signs.

Faces fraught with anxiety, as if searching for something hidden.

Just as they began moving the items, they hurriedly ran to the food storage.

The foodstuffs were meticulously arranged in their designated places, as befitting a frontline warehouse.

Among them, the destination of the supply personnel was a pile of salt sacks.

One of them, as always, kept watch, while the other began rummaging through the salt sacks.

“There it is!”

The expression of the supply personnel who found what they wanted brightened suddenly.

What he lifted out of the salt sack was two wooden crates.

“What’s this? Two this time?”

“It seems there were many slaughtered demons this time! Can we skim a bit more this time?”

They eagerly opened the first crate.

Inside were glass bottles containing a dark liquid.

“Huh? There’s much more than last time, isn’t there?”

“To be honest, last time’s amount was too small to even consider skimming, but it looks like Renald has had some trouble this time! Hehe!”

The supply personnel, already grinning at the thought of skimming, still had the second crate left.

“Oh, this one feels quite hefty?”

The second crate weighed twice as much as the first.

When they lightly shook it, instead of the clinking of bottles, there was a dull thud.

“What is this? Did they put in the unprocessed carcasses of demons or something?”

Feeling a different vibe than usual, they carefully set the crate down.

As they cautiously opened the crate with a sense of unease,

“Eek!”

“What, what is this!”

Both soldiers hastily retreated from the crate without even discussing who would go first.

The contents of the crate were not anything they had anticipated.

“Oh, what have we just seen?”

“T-That, wasn’t that, L-Lord Renald…?”

They crawled back to the box once more, apprehensively.

A box exactly the size of a human head.

Inside lay the severed head of 7th-grade mage knight Renald Crimson, a sight that filled them with horror and shock.

“H-How did this happen? Why is Lord Renald here?”

The head of the provider who supplied them with demonic blood, discovered so abruptly, left the two supply personnel utterly flabbergasted.

“Wait! Then what’s in that bottle? It’s supposed to be demonic blood, right!?”

A strong sense of unease swept through their minds and bodies.

Their gaze instinctively shifted towards the glass bottle they had taken out of the first crate.

Blood, unusually vivid red today, emitted a distinct crimson hue.

The blood, mixed from various demonic creatures, generally had a deep crimson color, but this vivid red hue was unheard of.

This was undoubtedly the blood of a creature other than a demonic beast.

“Could this possibly be… Lord Renald’s…?”

“Who on earth would do such a thing!?”

The supply personnel, engulfed in shock and terror, felt as though they were losing their minds.

They glanced around in case the perpetrator was nearby, but all they saw was swirling dust; there was nothing visible.

In Renald’s eyes within the box, there seemed to be a stiff warning, as if urging them to flee.

* * *

The soldiers, having completed the transportation of supplies, were boarding the wagons once again.

Among them, two supply personnel trembled noticeably.

This isn’t like ‘oh, I’m just trembling’ kind of trembling…

It was evident that those two were collaborators with Renald Crimson, who had skimmed the demonic blood.

– Swish! Swish!

They turned their heads in all directions, keeping a vigilant eye.

Seems like they’ve properly checked the gift I left behind; their frightened state was quite satisfying.

Having confirmed even the collaborators, I turned away without any hesitation.

[Are we just letting them go?]

“We can’t kill those who still have work to do. They have a very important mission to send my warning to the Garam Kingdom.”

The demonic blood skimmed from the front lines was supplied under the leadership of Renald Crimson, a mage knight from the Garam Kingdom.

Before incinerating the carcasses of the dead demonic creatures, they would remove bits of their bodies and store them in small dimension boxes, then transport them through collaborating supply personnel who entered and exited quarterly to extract their blood, reportedly.

The final destination for the transfer was the magical society of the Garam Kingdom.

What’s the reason, you ask?

Perhaps human curiosity and the desire for exploration went a bit too far?

The Garam Kingdom’s magical society is where some of the craziest wizards on the continent gather.

If the Ushif Empire’s magical society gathers talent based on already standardized magic and trains them to master it, then the Garam Society is the opposite.

It’s a place where the origin and foundation of magic itself are studied, always striving to create new magic and pushing humanity to new heights.

Simply put, it’s where the craziest magic enthusiasts gather.

The demonic blood was also just one piece of data for their research.

I didn’t expect them to be up to these antics already.

Perhaps if those foolish supply personnel hadn’t gotten greedy and skimmed off the top, the supply would have continued for at least a few more years.

For now, they might just stick to creating practical artifacts like these small dimension boxes, but considering the crazy things they did in their past lives, it’s hard to just sit back and watch.

At least for now, this level of warning should suffice.

Since they know that there are people at the front lines who know about their plot, they won’t even be able to get close for the time being.

[How is it that someone who says he lives for himself gets into trouble every time he goes? Why don’t you just change your job to a problem solver who solves other people’s problems?]

As awful as it sounds, I can’t deny it.

Ever since my return, I’ve found myself getting tangled up in troublesome situations without even realizing it.

For now, with a lingering sense of unease, I headed towards the tent where Emily would be waiting.

“What’s this? Where did you disappear off to at a time like this, sir!”

As I entered the tent, Emily greeted me with a displeased expression.

“Drink.”

“What drink are you obsessively trying to get at all hours of the day and night! Thanks to you, I had to organize everything by myself!”

Calling it ‘organizing’ is a stretch; my belongings are almost exclusively what I carry on my person.

The piles of bags in front of me were all hers.

She’s a maid with practically more baggage than her master.

Something seems seriously wrong with the master-servant relationship here.

“Well! At least this tiresome front-line life is finally over!”

As she sat on top of the pile of bags, swinging her legs back and forth, she exclaimed.

Genesis Year 986, February 15th.

Today is the day we leave the front lines, where we’ve lived for almost a year, and return to the mansion.

“Yeah, for me, it’s the beginning of a new hell…”

My sighing contrasted sharply with Emily’s demeanor.

Now that I’m old enough to be a student, I’d have to go to school. As an 11-year-old, I’m on the verge of entering the Royal Academy, which is scheduled to start in March.

As much as the Vert family values its ideals and the growth of its children, the enrollment of all children into the academy is an undeniable formula, and of course, I’m no exception.

“I’m so excited! The grand architecture and the elegant atmosphere! The place where all sorts of knowledge are gathered, and exotic foods are spread out like heaven! It’s incomparable to this dreary and gloomy place!”

I didn’t want to burst her bubble, but the Royal Academy wasn’t as fantastic as she imagined, evoking such utopian fantasies.

It’s a place where various political relationships are tangled, where intrigue and jealousy run rampant, where nobles party without learning, and where they indulge in camaraderie.

And most importantly, I had no intention of taking Emily there.

As I had brought her along to the front lines, it seemed natural that I would take her to the academy as well, but…

“Surely the instructors there must be incredibly talented, right? I’ve heard they’re so handsome too! Oh, I’m so lucky~!”

The truth might be better saved for later.

I couldn’t possibly handle her hysteria if I said it now.

* * *

The courtyard of the Duke’s mansion, unchanged from when we left.

As we got off the carriage, we saw a procession of servants busy unloading luggage.

It was undoubtedly Cranz’s carriage.

He’s also 11 years old this year, the same age as me, and he’s supposed to go to the academy with me.

Since I hadn’t seen him since the swordplay tournament a year ago, I had practically forgotten about him.

Seeing him already loading luggage, it seemed he was planning to leave before my return.

And just as I thought there was nothing wrong with that, I bumped right into Cranz as he emerged from the main door.

“Ugh!”

Despite striding out arrogantly, Cranz froze stiff as soon as he saw me, then quickly slunk away.

I was about to offer a greeting, but he fled immediately.

I lowered my raised hand, feeling a bit embarrassed.

[What’s with that stupid guy?]

Kaeram asked with a disdainful look while observing him.

“He’s Cranz, my half-brother. Not worth bothering about.”

[Half-brother? He looked like he’d seen a ghost just from looking at your face. How much did you have to beat him up to get that expression?]

If I count the number of times he was hit, I probably have more, but I feel strangely unfair.

[From the front, it looks like you don’t really trust your father, so why do you seem to be in complete conflict with everyone else?]

Isn’t that quite an assumption?

Cranz is now indifferent to whatever I do, and I’m maintaining a good relationship with Alice, my sister, without any flaws.

As we occasionally exchanged news even while on the front lines, they were practically the only family I poured my dry affection into.

There are separate brothers who are unhappy about not being able to capture prey.

Whether they’ll be able to catch and leave behind anything besides just capturing remains to be seen…

*Creak*

The central gate of the mansion opens after nearly a year.

Contrary to my expectation, the sight inside left me bewildered.

“…?”

Servants bowing their heads as if prepared.

They were doing things one might expect when a duke visits.

In just one year, my treatment had changed drastically.

The ones who didn’t even treat me as a human before were now putting on such polished manners; it felt quite awkward.

Lost in various thoughts, I reached my room without realizing it.

Emily might take a moment’s rest amidst her busy luggage organization.

As I reached for the doorknob without any hesitation,

“…?”

A sense of mystery tingled through my fingertips, sending a chill down my spine.

Where I stood was undoubtedly my room’s door.

It used to be an uninhabited, ownerless room for a year.

Yet… the sensation, the aura, the presence!

There’s someone unfamiliar inside the room right now.

And whoever that someone is, they are definitely not a presence I’d be pleased to encounter.

As evidence, my right hand, gripping the doorknob, was trembling noticeably.

Have I ever felt my body shake like this since my return?

It’s not just a feeling of unease anymore; it feels like I could tear apart the presence beyond this door right now.

Why? Why is this happening?

There’s only one reason why I could feel this way right now, isn’t there?

Surely… is it him?

That insufferable bastard who I wouldn’t be satisfied with even if I tore him apart piece by piece?

*Creak*

With a loud noise, the door opened.

The presence inside the room wasn’t me.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze from the hand still hanging in the air.

“It’s been a long time, Cyan.”

A face full of sinister malice, contrasting with sun-kissed blonde hair and porcelain skin, smiled at me.

In that moment, decades of memories flashed through my mind.

The man I thought was everything to me, the man I gave everything to, the man who drove me to death!

Aschel Vert, my brother, was standing right in front of me.

———