The Regressed Son of a Duke is an Assassin

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Chapter 26: Return (4)

From the moment the door opened until exactly 10 seconds passed, I couldn’t utter a word or make a move.

Only my right hand wandering in the air and my restless gaze portrayed the instability of my current state of mind.

“You don’t seem to remember me, huh? Well, I guess that’s understandable. After all, the last time I saw you was before Academy admission….”

The disgustingly smug figure smirked at me.

Just looking at that smirk made my heart boil and my veins feel like they were about to burst.

Stay calm. There’s nothing to gain from getting excited now.

This was a situation that was bound to arise someday, wasn’t it?

He’s the one I vowed to obliterate the very existence of, right down to the last morsel, by my own hands. If I can’t control myself from the start, I’ll only veer further off course in the end.

Yes, for now, let’s just set everything aside and continue as if everything is normal, without any suspicion.

To do that, we need to engage in conversation with a relaxed mind… with a relaxed mind…

…

Do you think you can?

Tearing apart limbs, shredding them into pieces, grinding bones, and scattering them into a volcano pit wouldn’t be enough for this guy!

And now he’s right in front of me, but I’m not killing him? What am I doing?

To thoroughly crush his future?

Do I really need to bother seeing into the future?

No! I can just kill him right here!

No need to drag it out, just cut off the cycle of reincarnation right here!

As if responding to my will, my wandering right hand reached towards my chest.

And eventually, within my grasp was Kaeram’s sword hilt.

The moment I gripped the hilt, all the clutter in my mind vanished, leaving only one feeling: resolve.

-Click.

“…?!”

Suddenly, a mysterious hand grabbed my wrist.

[If you don’t want your head to split open, snap out of it.]

A calm yet firm whisper from the sentient sword.

At the same time, the overwhelming surge of resolve that had been consuming me rapidly began to ease.

“I, Cyan, youngest son of the Vert family, greet my elder brother…”

After smoothly withdrawing my hand from my chest, I immediately bowed my head.

It was the best course of action for me to take at the moment.

“Do you remember me?”

“Of course. As your younger brother, how could I not recognize your face?”

“I’m glad. Honestly, I was worried you wouldn’t recognize me, but I’m relieved you remembered me at first sight.”

Aschel patted my head as if impressed.

I fiercely suppressed the surge of emotions threatening to overwhelm me once again.

“First, I should apologize. I’m sorry for entering your room without permission. You must have felt uncomfortable having a stranger invade your space.”

“It’s okay. It was just an empty room without an owner anyway.”

“I’ve been waiting for this moment, Cyan, you probably don’t know. I came here today solely to meet you.”

You came to meet me? You?

The last time I met him in my previous life was after graduating from the academy.

And now you, who never spared a glance for a superfluous existence like me, came to meet me?

Without a hidden agenda, it seemed unlikely. But the moment I sensed some intention from him, strangely, my boiling emotions subsided and my thoughts became rational.

I spoke honestly while concealing all my feelings.

“I, too, have longed to meet you, elder brother.”

* * *

“He really doesn’t have much luggage, so what if he carries it on his own? Anyway, our young master has no clue how to cater to women, does he?”

Emily climbed the stairs with a bag containing nothing but clothes.

Having finished organizing with the maids, she headed to Cyan’s room with the last of his belongings.

But for some reason, the maids helping her pack seemed uneasy.

It felt like they were hiding something only they knew.

One of the maids, who was particularly close to Emily, even pushed her towards Cyan’s room, urging her to go in.

Emily wondered if perhaps they had prepared a surprise gift for her, but it seemed unlikely.

Finally, Emily reached Cyan’s door and absentmindedly knocked.

– Knock, knock.

“…”

The response was only an indifferent silence.

With a puzzled expression, Emily knocked on the door once more.

– Knock, knock.

“Young master, it’s Emily! I’ve brought your luggage!”

After a moment, Cyan’s deep voice came from behind the door.

“…Come in.”

Slightly taken aback by the unexpected atmosphere, Emily opened the door and stepped inside.

“I just brought up the luggage without fussing, and then you go and…”

Her usual grumbling was cut short as Emily froze in place, her entire body stiffening at the sight before her.

In her eyes were exactly two men.

“Oh, isn’t this the lady? The maid who served with you on the front lines?”

The unfamiliar man spoke with a bright smile, and Emily recognized him instantly.

He had a charm about him that made him seem almost otherworldly, as if a being from the divine realm had descended to the mortal world.

In this noble’s household, there was only one person who possessed such a striking appearance.

“Y-Young Master Aschel…?”

The eldest son of the family, Aschel Vert.

For reasons unknown, he was now sitting quietly in Cyan’s room.

Feeling suddenly stifled, Emily quickly lowered her head.

“I-I’m sorry! I didn’t realize the eldest young master was here and acted so rudely!”

Feeling like she wanted to disappear into a mouse hole, Emily displayed a demeanor far too casual for someone considered the most adored among the servants.

“Haha, it seems you two have a genuine bond. Considering Cyan took you to the front lines, you must have been a cherished maid.”

“…”

Cyan responded with silence.

It seemed there had been some conversation before she arrived, as Aschel was already preparing to leave.

“Sorry for taking up your time right after you returned, especially when you must be tired.”

“No. It was truly an honor to have a conversation with my eldest brother.”

Rising from his seat, Aschel gently patted Cyan’s head as he stood.

Cyan simply accepted the gesture silently.

“Well then, I’ll go see Mother now. If you ever need anything, especially if there’s trouble at the academy, don’t hesitate to contact me.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

With a gentle smile, Aschel ended the conversation and left the room.

As his footsteps faded away into the distance down the hallway, Emily let out a deep breath she had been holding.

“Phew! I thought I was going to die from the tension! Those idiots! Couldn’t they have at least told us when the eldest young master was coming?”

“…”

Despite Emily’s grumbling, Cyan remained silent.

“What did you talk about with the eldest young master? He doesn’t just come home for no reason! Did he come to see you? If that’s the case, then he must really…”

“Emily…”

At Cyan’s call, Emily’s mouth snapped shut.

Startled, Emily cautiously met Cyan’s gaze.

“Sorry, can you leave me alone for a bit…”

His murmured words carried a weight that could sink the ground.

“Why, why are you suddenly…”

“Don’t make me repeat myself.”

Seeing Cyan’s expression, Emily could no longer speak.

After displaying an always relaxed demeanor, especially after the duel with Cranz, for the first time, he was showing a dark side.

If he had a knife in his hand, it seemed like he would ruthlessly slaughter anyone without hesitation.

That’s how full of anger and murderous intent Cyan’s face was at the moment.

* * *

As I unleashed my suppressed instincts, I felt a sensation as if the blood flowing through my body was reversing. I couldn’t bear it any longer and eventually rushed to the bathroom in the room.

“Uwaaagh!”

As I looked at the vomit coming out, it felt like I was witnessing my own despicable lies and pretenses.

“Hewek…”

Even so, I couldn’t believe how I managed to endure that moment, and a bitter laugh escaped me.

[Was it him?]

I raised my head slightly, and there was Kaeram’s face, looking down with his arms crossed.

If she hadn’t stopped me, I would have surely torn him apart right then and there.

Despite laughing like a lunatic, I softly asked her, “Why did you stop me?”

[Shouldn’t you say thank you first?]

[It was a chance for you too, you know? If I had killed him right there, you would have had the perfect opportunity to absorb me, wouldn’t you?]

Few things are as easy to devour as a soul lost to its primal instincts.

A human consumed by madness and murderous intent is the perfect prey desired by a demonic sword.

If Kaeram had truly desired it, she could have unleashed the nature of the sword, consuming me, her master, and taking control.

But she didn’t.

Instead, she desperately prevented it from happening.

That’s why I can still converse with her now, wide-eyed and alert.

[Don’t be mistaken. You’re just raw meat that hasn’t aged yet. If you eat it raw just because it has some soot on it, you will only end up throwing it away. You need to ripen more…….]

The cold gaze and the smirk on her lips were a grotesque smile unique to a demonic sword, unseen anywhere else in the world.

It would have been a chilling sight for an ordinary human, but I could only laugh.

That’s how my twisted destiny unfolds!

[But seeing his face, I understand why you growled like a rabid dog. How was it? Meeting your nemesis from a past life?]

“Lucky, I guess.”

[Lucky?]

Kaeram raised an eyebrow as if surprised.

“I’ve pondered this ridiculous life countless times. When did the person I trusted and followed all my life start hating me? Was it because my abilities surpassed his, causing envy? Did that envy turn into resentment? Then, what if I hadn’t been by his side from the beginning? Could I have avoided such a miserable death?”

[You’re too complacent. Why? Did you start feeling sorry for him, thinking of him as a brother?]

“What do you take me for? He’s just an empty shell without any convictions. Even if I were to seek revenge against such a pathetic creature, it wouldn’t alleviate the anger pent up inside me.”

If it were 20 years later, Aschel might have been more refined, but now he’s merely an unfinished foundation.

To put it bluntly, it is safe to say that he is someone entirely different from the owner of the Holy Sword that pierced my heart. What would killing such a person accomplish?

“But, I knew right away when I faced him…”

[What did you know?]

As my heart aches, that moment comes to mind again.

When the golden Holy Sword pierced my heart, he said he had never fully trusted me during our time together.

The vile gaze I saw then.

He had the same chilling eyes back then as he does now.

“It wasn’t because of me that he changed, but because he was despicable from the start. He would suck the blood out of you when he needed it, then discard you mercilessly when he didn’t… That’s just who he was from the beginning.”

Even if hidden behind a deceitful smile, I am someone who has already seen his true nature.

It was like an indelible mark engraved on my body, something that could never be erased, and I recognized it immediately upon first sight.

“So, how fortunate am I? Knowing that Aschel Vert, the one I would gladly inflict all the world’s suffering on, exists just as I want him to…”

Even so, I won’t kill him just yet.

As Kaeram said, meat tastes best when it’s fully ripe. If you eat it before it’s ready, you won’t experience its true flavor.

“Things are going to get very interesting from now on, Kaeram.”

[They better. That way, I won’t regret what happened today.]

A life where I’ve vowed to achieve everything on my own.

In that life, there is no room for Aschel Vert.

Even if there is a god behind him, it doesn’t matter.

I will thoroughly erase him from this world.

———