The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

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Chapter 253: The Princess’s Tour (3)

“These are not wild beasts. They have been forcibly restrained somewhere.”

Given that the tour group was composed of elite imperial knights and special attendants, the subjugation of the hellhounds was easily accomplished.

After the subjugation, as she was inspecting the corpses of the hellhounds, Luna stood up and said,

“I don’t sense any magical energy. They weren’t summoned by magic.”

“Then, that means…”

“It means someone captured the beasts from the gorge and deliberately released them.”

The entire tour group was taken aback by this revelation.

Some knights pinched their noses due to the stench emanating from the corpses.

“We should resume our journey to Velias immediately.”

“If we leave now, when will we arrive?”

“At the latest, we should reach the gates of Velias by dawn.”

Having been attacked by beasts, it was possible that the traces and smells would attract other beasts or predators.

It was too dangerous to set up camp in such a place.

“As the leader of this tour group, I command that we resume our journey to Velias at once!”

The tour group moved with precision.

Thus, the carriages of the tour group resumed their journey, guided by the moonlight, moving without rest.

As the dark night lifted and the first light of dawn began to appear in the eastern sky,

The tour group arrived at the gates of Velias.

Although they arrived much earlier than scheduled, all preparations to welcome the tour group had already been completed in front of the gates.

Arin stepped out of the carriage and confidently approached the lined-up knights.

“Welcome to Velias, the land of guardianship!”

The knights of Velias bowed their heads in unison, showing their respect to the princess.

“You’ve had a long journey. How about relieving some of your fatigue? Allow us to guide you to the residence.”

“We’re not here to relax. Take me to Duke Vert immediately.”

Arin refused the knight’s suggestion and demanded to meet the Duke right away.

The knights complied with her demand and led the tour group into the territory.

Despite the early hour, the residents of the territory came out to the streets to welcome the tour group.

The unchanged buildings and streets.

Much stricter security compared to other territories and cities.

An atmosphere that felt somewhat eerie.

On the surface, it didn’t seem much different from the Velias Arin had seen 10 years ago.

Meanwhile, among the attendants following Arin,

“It’s awkward to ask, but wasn’t Velias relatively wealthy compared to other territories?”

Schurz, who had been carefully observing the faces of the residents, asked Luna.

“Not necessarily. Since most of the territory’s operating funds are spent on maintaining the frontlines, they probably can’t accumulate wealth easily.”

However, it wasn’t a poor city either.

Despite spending over half of its operating funds on military expenses, Velias was known throughout the empire for its transparent financial management.

As a result, the residents rarely went hungry, and grain production was adequately maintained.

“Is there something unusual?”

“Well, it’s not certain, but…”

Schurz narrowed his eyes and continued.

“Many of the residents look like they haven’t eaten for days.”

What wouldn’t be visible to the eyes of the royalty or nobles, who were born into abundance, was clear to Schurz, who came from a lowly background.

From a couple of days to up to a week.

The signs of hunger were evident on the faces of the residents.

However, he did not raise any objections and continued to follow the tour group.

The princess’s tour group soon arrived at the border gate.

The long stone walls extending on both sides of the border gate were just as grand as they had been 10 years ago.

Normally, Duke Vert would greet the tour group at this location as a matter of protocol and courtesy.

“I will escort you inside, Your Highness.”

The knight continued walking without stopping, trying to lead the tour group beyond the border gate.

“What are you doing?”

Arin stopped and angrily glared at the knights in front.

“Where is Duke Vert?”

“He is waiting at the rear camp beyond the border gate.”

The knight replied calmly, without any sign of panic.

“As the leader of this tour group, I command you! Bring Duke Vert to me immediately!”

The atmosphere grew tense, and the gentle breeze seemed to turn into a sharp blade, slicing through the air.

The knights at the front said nothing and remained silent.

In response, Arin confidently displayed the emperor’s appointment letter she had been holding.

“I am here as the representative of the esteemed emperor, my father, to oversee this tour. I have heard that Duke Vert has always greeted the tour groups outside the border gate, whether it was the emperor himself or other royal siblings on their tours.”

This was also the case 10 years ago.

“There are no exceptions for me! Unless you are disrespecting me and the royal family, tell Duke Vert to come out to the border gate and formally apologize to me. Until I receive an apology, our tour group will not move an inch!”

Arin’s stance was firm.

She was here as the rightful representative of the emperor to carry out her duties.

As the official representative performing the emperor’s duties, it was only right that she receive the same treatment as the emperor.

Although the knights might have been expected to be flustered by the princess’s unexpected response, they did not even bat an eye.

“We will follow your orders, Princess.”

Then, some of the knights headed inside the gate to fetch the duke, as if they were calmly accepting this as well.

Arin and the tour group stood firm, not taking a single step as they had stated.

After a short while,

Duke Vert appeared with numerous knights beyond the gate.

* * *

Due to the royal visit, all eyes in the territory were likely focused on the tour group.

This meant that the other areas would inevitably be less guarded.

Of course, less guarded did not mean unguarded.

What is this?

Compared to other places, the security here is overwhelmingly tight.

At least the strength of a company.

The forces stationed at the gate where the princess’s tour group was now were similarly matched.

[This place is more of a fortress than a mansion,] thought Kaeram, expressing her admiration.

I was at none other than the mansion of the Vert family.

I had come to my childhood home, where I had lived and grown up.

I came to check on something while the attention of the frontline knights was drawn to the tour group,

But this situation was unexpected.

To my knowledge, the only people living in that house now were the duchess, Margaret, and her son, Cranz.

It seemed unlikely that such a large increase in guards would be just to protect those two.

In other words, there must be something else inside the mansion that desperately needed protection.

Having no reason to turn back, I headed directly to the back gate of the mansion.

There were many knights patrolling near the back gate as well, but it wasn’t impenetrable like the front gate.

After observing the patrol patterns of the knights for about a minute, I swiftly slipped into the mansion during a brief five-second gap.

The familiar scent of my childhood home, which should have brought tears to my eyes, instead carried a stale, musty odor.

In stark contrast to the heavily guarded exterior, the inside of the mansion was eerily quiet.

I cautiously stepped out into the hallway, but the atmosphere remained unchanged.

Where have all the many maids and servants gone?

The mansion felt more like a ghost house than the Vert family mansion.

I continued forward, ready for any unexpected situations.

Finally, I arrived at a familiar door.

It was the room of Duchess Margaret Erzeth.

Pressing my ear gently against the door, I sensed movement inside.

-Knock knock

I carefully knocked on the door, but there was no response.

As I attempted to open the door,

“…!”

Sensing danger, I quickly stepped back.

Magic.

A thin stream of magical energy was flowing through the small gap under the door.

This meant that the duchess’s room was surrounded by a complex magical barrier.

This only made me more determined to enter.

How could I just pass by when they were so blatantly hiding something?

However, the barrier was so intricately designed that it would take a long time to dismantle it using pure magic.

The fastest and most certain way would be to simply break the barrier, but

That would defeat the purpose of sneaking in.

-Click, clack

At that moment, I heard footsteps and the sound of people approaching from around the corner of the hallway.

I quickly hid around the opposite corner of the hallway and cautiously peeked out to observe the approaching figures.

Five armed knights and a strange blonde woman were approaching.

I tried to recall if I had seen her before,

But I hadn’t.

She was a stranger to me.

Was there such a woman in the Vert family?

They stopped in front of the duchess’s door, and the knights stepped aside to make room for the woman.

The woman stepped forward and a white magic circle formed in her hands, glowing.

She began the process of dismantling the barrier.

It took her less than ten seconds to perfectly dissolve the barrier.

Then, she entered the room with three knights, leaving the remaining two to stand guard outside the door.

Judging by how effortlessly she dismantled the complex barrier, she was likely the one who created it.

I suddenly wondered if the presence being protected by all the troops outside the mansion was this woman.

What could I do? I had to find out.

Waiting silently for the woman to reappear,

“Hmm…”

I heard a faint sound.

A faint groan suddenly came from the other direction down the hallway.

“Did you hear that?”

[Yeah.]

Both Kaeram and I heard it clearly.

It was definitely the groan of someone in pain.

I naturally started moving towards the source of the sound.

Soon, I arrived at an old room at the end of the hallway.

As far as I remembered, this room was used as a storage space for household goods.

Just like before, I pressed my ear against the door,

“Ugh…”

The groan was clearer this time.

Unlike the duchess’s room, there was no restrictive barrier here.

After checking my surroundings one more time, I swiftly opened the door and stepped inside.

I pushed through the piled-up furniture and household items and moved deeper into the room.

Soon, I found someone covered in dust and bound tightly.

“Who, who’s there?”

Realizing someone had come, he asked in surprise.

Although his face was covered with a cloth, I recognized his voice immediately.

I approached him and removed the cloth.

“…!”

His eyes widened in shock like a startled rabbit when he saw me.

Anyone would think he had seen a ghost.

“What the…? Are you Cyan?”

“Keep your voice down, or I’ll choke you.”

Even though we shared the same blood, I had no intention of being friendly with the fourth son of the Vert family, Cranz Vert.

“I’ll be asking the questions. Don’t speak unless you answer me.”

Whispering low in his ear while gripping his throat, he nodded, sweating nervously.

“There was a woman in the mansion I didn’t recognize. Who is she?”

There was no need to ask unnecessary questions like why the mansion was so quiet or why he was tied up here.

Just this one question should suffice.

Cranz swallowed hard and began to speak.

“You know that Aschel came to Velias because of you, right?”

I was curious about why he specifically mentioned it was because of me, but I decided to let it slide for now.

“She came shortly after he arrived! We thought she was dead, but she wasn’t!”

So who exactly is she?

I was about to tighten my grip if he spouted more nonsense,

-Click, clack

I heard footsteps again from behind.

-Creak

And the sound of a door opening.

Someone else had entered the room.

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