The Reincarnated Assassin is a Genius Swordsman
Chapter 857:

After seeing Denier off, Raon entered Federick’s mansion.

“There are a lot of guests today.”

Federick greeted him, waving his hand with his index and middle fingers pressed together.

“Did the party end well?”

“It’s not over yet.”

Raon shook his head, saying it was still in full swing.

“Then why are you here?”

Federick waved his hand, telling him to go back and have fun.

“I brought some food and dessert.”

Raon unwrapped his bundle and set the buffet dishes and beaded ice cream he had prepared on the table.

“Please eat now. I brought it fresh, so it should still be warm.”

“Hm! I actually was getting hungry…”

Federick licked his lips at the sight of the steaming dishes.

“As I thought, you’re the only one who takes care of me! Even that so-called friend of mine is too busy stuffing his own face to even show up.”

He snorted, grumbling about Glenn.

“Thanks. I’ll eat well.”

“It’s nothing.”

Raon bowed his head, thanking Federick for staying in Zieghart.

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be here either. You don’t have to say things like that.”

Federick clicked his tongue.

“To be honest, I do miss wandering from place to place, but I’ve decided I’ll only go traveling again after making sure Aris is fully healed.”

He gave a soft smile, saying he couldn’t just leave a patient behind.

“Well, let’s eat, then.”

Federick pondered what to pick first and reached for the pizza.

-Keng! He doesn’t know how to eat! With buffet food, you’re supposed to start by warming your insides with hot soup!

Wrath frowned in disappointment.

‘Huh? Didn’t you say to eat pizza first?’

-That, that was only because this king was starving because of you…

‘If anything, you should warm up your stomach even more then, right?’

-Lalalalala!

He hummed and turned his head as if he didn’t hear.

‘Whatever.’

Raon chuckled and picked up the other two bundles.

“I’ll go give some food to Aunt and Merlin as well.”

“Alright. Aris’s internal injuries have mostly healed, so she should be able to eat regular food. Merlin, it’s even better, since she needs to regain her strength.”

Federick nodded, telling him to deliver the food.

“Yes.”

Raon thanked Federick again and knocked on the door of Aris’s room first.

“Come in.”

Hearing Aris’s voice, he opened the door.

“Aunt… huh?”

Raon called out to Aris but widened his eyes. She was on the floor, doing push-ups.

He hadn’t expected her to be exercising, and his mouth dropped open.

“R-Raon?”

Aris caught her breath, surprised to see Raon and not Federick.

“Is it really okay for you to exercise?”

Raon set the food bundle on the table and looked at Aris.

“Ah, it’s fine…”

Aris nodded awkwardly with a smile.

“I felt my body stiffening up just sitting still, so I tried moving around a bit.”

She rotated her shoulders, saying her condition wasn’t bad.

“I heard you visited often, thank you.”

Aris lowered her gaze to her toes, like someone burdened by guilt.

“It was only natural to visit.”

Raon shook his head and opened the bundle, laying out the food on the table.

“They’re having a small party at the annex, so I brought some food.”

“…I heard. They said it was to celebrate Sia waking up.”

Aris nodded, as if she already knew.

“I should have joined too. Sorry.”

She still seemed apologetic.

“It’s alright. You can come next time.”

Following Wrath’s advice, Raon handed Aris the warm stew first.

“…Thank you.”

With trembling hands, Aris received the bowl of stew.

“Let’s see… Oh, it’s good!”

She forced a smile as she took a spoonful.

“Aunt.”

Raon closed his eyes briefly, then took Aris’s shaking hand.

“I understand that you feel guilty toward me and the Light Wind Division. But we’ve already said goodbye to our teacher.”

He shook his head, saying that not just himself, but everyone in the Light Wind Division had accepted Rimmer’s death.

“Master smiled and left, satisfied to have saved you and Dorian.”

He held Aris’s now violently shaking hand even tighter.

“If you keep avoiding us and acting so distant, that would be an insult to both Master and the entire Light Wind Division.”

Raon nodded calmly, meeting Aris’s wavering gaze.

“A Zieghart swordsman who grips a sword always has death at his back.”

“Mmm…”

Aris looked at him, biting her lip.

“Raon. You’re so steadfast. I’m envious, and… a little regretful…”

“……”

Raon let out a small sigh, understanding what Aris meant by envy and regret.

“Alright. I understand your—no, everyone’s feelings. Since everyone says that, I should pull myself together, too.”

She thanked him and began eating all the stew in her hand.

“Everyone?”

Raon murmured, looking at Aris.

“Yes. Denier came and told me something similar to what you said.”

Aris pointed to a fruit basket on top of the wardrobe.

“He always seemed empty inside, but today, when he encouraged me, it felt genuine.”

She smiled softly, saying she saw Denier in a new light.

“That’s why I was working out, trying to encourage myself, even if just a little.”

“…I see.”

Raon nodded calmly, keeping his composure.

‘Denier gave her advice?’

-…What exactly is that guy? What is he thinking?

‘I don’t know.’

If Aris said that much, there must have been some sincerity in Denier’s words.

It was hard to figure out what Denier was thinking or aiming for.

‘Why is he trying to get Aunt back on her feet?’

Honestly, for Aris to return would take a long time, and there was no guarantee she’d regain her original strength.

From an enemy’s perspective, there’s no real value in using her, so I can’t figure out his intentions.

‘So, is he not an enemy?’

No, if he wanted to use her as a hostage, it’d make sense to get her back on her feet….

As Raon tilted his head in thought, Aris shook her chin.

“And there’s one more.”

Aris raised her finger.

“Huh? One more?”

“There’s someone else who keeps making things troublesome for me….”

As she sighed, the hospital room door swung open.

“Raon!”

It was Merlin. She stepped in, half-wearing her mask, stomping her feet.

“You should come to me first! I was waiting to see when you’d come, why haven’t you come yet!”

She complained, asking why he was only spending time with Aris.

-Eek!

Wrath gulped in fear, even though Merlin didn’t appear as an animal anymore.

“That’s her.”

Aris chuckled and pointed at Merlin.

“She said she came here to recover after waking up, but instead of focusing on that, she comes to chat with me every day. I’m exhausted.”

She shook her head, saying it was tiring to hear so many strange stories from Merlin.

“A-auntie! That’s so mean! We had fun together!”

Merlin muttered and nudged Aris with her elbow. Seeing them, it was clear the two had become close.

“I brought yours, too.”

Raon smiled and unwrapped the bundle of food he’d prepared for Merlin.

“My hand hurts…”

Merlin shrank her shoulders, claiming her fine hand now hurt.

“Your hand?”

“Yeah. So…”

She leaned forward and parted her red lips.

“Will you feed me? Ah!”

Merlin closed her eyes, asking to be fed directly.

“There she goes again.”

Aris looked at Merlin and let out a wry laugh.

“But really, with a face like that, I don’t know why she keeps wearing a mask.”

She shook her head, saying Merlin’s looks didn’t lose out to Runaan or Martha.

“Ugh.”

As soon as the topic of her mask came up, Merlin fell silent and firmly adjusted her mask.

“Merlin?”

“Oh, right. I have fruit too.”

She excused herself for a moment, then brought back a fruit basket identical to the one in Aris’s room.

“This is…”

“Your uncle brought it.”

Merlin smiled, saying Denier gave it to her.

“He was really considerate.”

She nodded, saying he seemed like a good person.

“Auntie! Let’s eat together!”

Merlin put her food on the table, making a small buffet.

“To think the Queen of Fear, Merlin, could be so cute.”

Aris said it was amazing and let out a laugh.

“I’m not like this with just anyone!”

Merlin said it was because Raon was there, giving a bright smile.

“Raon, you’re really lucky with women.”

Aris smiled faintly as she ate her ribs.

“It’s not luck with women, it’s just my luck.”

Merlin frowned, saying she alone was enough.

-No! It’s Demon King luck!

Wrath shook his head vigorously, saying he was the greatest blessing of all.

‘Sure. Think whatever you like…’

Raon shook his head and looked at the two fruit baskets Denier had brought.

‘Denier Zieghart….’

—

The next day at noon.

Raon stood in front of a massive building, so lavish it was almost overdone, and took a short breath.

When he knocked on the silver iron doors standing guard over the building, the grand doors opened with a deep sound and a middle-aged man with an intelligent air bowed his head.

“We’ve been waiting for you, Light Wind Division Leader.”

The middle-aged man slowly raised his head and introduced himself.

“I am Gotarn, general manager of the True Martial Palace.”

“I’m Raon from the Light Wind Division.”

Raon bowed back to Gotarn.

“This way, please. The Palace Master is waiting for you.”

Gotarn said he would guide Raon and led him into the True Martial Palace’s main building, which was almost laughably extravagant.

“Yes.”

Raon followed Gotarn into the corridor, glancing around.

‘There are a lot of decorations…’

But there’s no sense of order. It’s all over the place.

Originally, high-class ornaments should be placed in balanced arrangements.

Swords with swords, armor with armor, and artwork with artwork. But here, luxury items were just scattered everywhere.

It didn’t feel like the True Martial Palace of Zieghart, but more like a marketplace.

“It’s a bit noisy, isn’t it?”

Gotarn smiled, as if he understood.

“The Palace Master only cares about what he likes, so it ends up like this.”

He shook his head, saying Balder didn’t really listen to others.

“…I see.”

Raon nodded to Gotarn and licked his lips.

‘I definitely came to the right place.’

Buying flashy things means he likes to show off, and leaving them scattered afterwards means he’s stubborn.

I’d definitely found the right person to keep Denier in check.

“This is the Palace Master’s office.”

Gotarn stopped in front of Balder’s office, which was as grand as Glenn’s audience chamber.

“I’ll open the door.”

He knocked firmly on the iron door with his fist, then pulled the handle.

“Palace Master. I’ve brought your guest.”

“Ah! Really?”

Balder, Palace Master of True Martial Palace, was reading a thick book with rimless glasses when he let out a small sound of admiration.

“……”

“……”

Gotarn and Raon both said nothing. Both knew that display was just a flimsy act.

“Ahem! The weather was nice, so I was reading, and time just flew by.”

Balder put down the spotless book and let out a hearty laugh.

He tried to sound casual, but it was too transparent.

“Greetings, Palace Master.”

“Yes, come in.”

He stretched out his hand, gesturing to the sofa to his right.

“Thank you.”

Raon sat down on the sofa next to Balder.

“For you to come find me, that’s a surprise.”

Balder’s acting had already slipped, and he was speaking in his usual blunt tone.

“…I’ll step out.”

Gotarn, looking embarrassed, lowered his gaze slightly and left the room.

“I came because I have a request for you, Palace Master.”

As soon as Raon sat down, he got straight to the point.

“A request, huh…”

Balder nodded as if he’d been expecting it.

“Go ahead. If it’s for my nephew, of course I have to do it!”

“Um…”

Raon wetted his lips. That reaction actually made things a little more awkward.

But right now, there was no one he could trust except Balder.

“I’d like you to keep an eye on the Palace Master of the Black Tortoise Palace.”

“Denier?”

Balder called his older brother Denier by name without hesitation.

“Yes. As you know, Lady Aris still hasn’t regained her strength, but Denier seems to be trying to use some untested spells, and it worries me.”

Raon sighed, saying that Denier was trying unproven healing spells on Aris and giving her mysterious tonics.

“So in short, he’s acting like a total quack!”

Balder summed up everything Raon explained with the single word ‘quack.’

To have his words believed so easily—he really had come to the right person.

“Ah, yes. He’s definitely a quack.”

Raon nodded with a faint smile.

“It’s true, that guy’s always been so single-minded that he can’t see anything else. He looks like a blank slate on the outside, but he’s stubborn as a mule.”

Balder snorted, saying Denier only looked respectable on the surface but was ignorant on the inside.

“Right. In any case, there’s no one in Zieghart but you who could handle something like this, so that’s why I came to you.”

Raon bowed his head, asking for this favor.

“R-right? That’s true, isn’t it?”

Balder’s mouth curled up, clearly pleased at the suggestion that only he could do it.

“Ahem, it’s something I could easily do, but… hmm, these days I’m so busy developing my new martial technique, I don’t know if I’ll have the time…”

He glanced at Raon and mumbled about how difficult his training was going.

“…If you’d let me review your new martial technique when I return from my mission, I’d be happy to do so.”

Raon nodded immediately, having planned for this level of compensation from the beginning.

“R-really?”

Balder stood up in surprise, not expecting Raon to agree so quickly.

“Yes. Of course. I’d be the one gaining from your busy time, after all.”

“Ahh! My nephew really knows how to speak up! Fine! I’ll even keep track of how many pieces of bread that guy eats!”

He shouted for Raon not to worry, patting him firmly on the back.

“Thank you. And please keep this matter a secret.”

“A secret? Why?”

“Denier is acting for Lady Aris’s sake too, so I don’t want to embarrass him.”

Raon put his hands together, asking only for Balder to watch out for anything strange.

“You…”

Balder furrowed his brow and stared at Raon.

‘Did he catch on?’

Honestly, Raon thought his answer was a bit clumsy, so he’d worried—but it looked like Balder had caught on.

“Palace Master, what I mean is—”

“You’re a good kid!”

Balder declared him kindhearted and gave Raon a hearty slap on the shoulder.

“……”

Raon swallowed dryly as he watched Balder’s eyes shine.

‘Is this really okay?’

Even as everything went just as he wanted, he couldn’t help but feel a little guilty.

-Haa….

Wrath let out a sigh, dumbfounded.

-Does that human even have a brain?