Chapter 1

I am going to die.

The cool night breeze, the moon half-hidden, and the senses I have honed as an assassin all whisper the same thing.

I am going to die soon.

I looked around.

Between the garden's trees, which looked as soft as wool, numerous paths branched out.

But there is no path that leads to life. Only the path of death, reeking of decay, lies ahead.

“Raon.”

I lifted my head at the voice that pressed heavily on my heart. A middle-aged man with silver hair, like frost, appeared before me.

This is him.

Derus Robert.

The entire vast garden exuded a thick aura of death because of this man, the master of the Robert family.

“Yes.”

I swallowed hard and opened my mouth.

“You have shown results befitting your position as the leader of the shadows. Thanks to your actions in the shadows, the family's growth has accelerated even more.”

“I merely did my duty.”

I neither feigned joy nor disappointment, bowing my head like a wooden doll without emotion.

“However, Raon.”

He began in a low voice.

“Do you think a shadow needs freedom?”

Derus extended his hand. The shadow on the ground mirrored the gesture.

“A shadow only needs to follow its master. It doesn’t need thoughts, emotions, or a heart.”

“You are correct.”

“Then why did you act on your own?”

Derus's voice grew abruptly cold, tightening around my heart.

“How did you break the brainwashing?”

A chill ran down my spine. I bit my tongue to avoid showing surprise.

What?

I hadn’t done anything different from before, yet I couldn’t understand how he knew the brainwashing had been broken.

“Speak. When and how did you break the brainwashing?”

His tone made it clear he already knew everything.

“How did you know?”

I bit my lip and lifted my head.

Brainwashing.

This is how the Robert family operates the assassination organization known as the Shadows.

They kidnap or buy children, strip them of their emotions, and brainwash them to use them as assassins for life.

I was also brainwashed, but thanks to a fortuitous event, I managed to break free from that cruel shackle.

“You were preparing to run away from the family.”

Derus continued calmly.

“I placed two leashes on the assassins of the Shadows, including you. The first is brainwashing, and the second is...”

“Gasp!”

A pain like a saw cutting through my lungs and heart made me involuntarily scream.

“The Leech Worm. The worm inside your body is eating your heart at my command.”

“Leech Worm...”

The Leech Worm is the worst curse, capable of even sensing a slave's emotions.

Derus must have realized I was planning to escape using the Leech Worm.

“Pretending to be fair and square, you not only broke the brainwashing but also implanted the Leech Worm. You bastard!”

“It’s not being a bastard, it’s being thorough. You did break the brainwashing, didn’t you?”

Derus smiled with the affectionate eyes he showed to the outside world.

“Everyone wears a mask. Mine is just a bit thicker and more special.”

“Derus Robert...”

I gritted my teeth, standing up despite the pain that felt like my heart was being split in two.

I can’t die without doing anything.

I was kidnapped and raised as a hunting dog and assassin in the shadows of the Robert family when I was too young to remember.

I lived without emotions or a heart until I managed to break free from the brainwashing through a fortuitous event.

I thought I could finally live according to my will, but instead of a key to escape the cage, I was given the shackles of death.

I don’t know what sin I committed to live such a dog’s life.

Damn!

Red liquid filled the well of my dried-up emotions. It was the first time I felt anger.

“Are you standing up in this state?”

A small tremor appeared in Derus’s eyes.

“I won’t die disgracefully, even at the end.”

I gripped the sword at my waist.

The sense of death I felt upon entering the garden hadn’t changed.

I am going to die here.

If I’m going to die anyway, I won’t go quietly. At the very least, I’ll leave a mark, a wound, and then die.

“Roar!”

I unleashed the aura in my dantian and swung my sword.

At that moment.

The blade I extended broke in half.

Click.

The sound of the necklace I wore around my neck falling to the ground echoed.

The world spun, Derus’s cold eyes flipped upside down, and the moon stood on its head.

Ah...

Now I understand. My head was severed by Derus’s sword.

But an assassin’s blade is not all that is visible.

A terrifying aura hidden behind the broken blade flew toward Derus’s pale face.

“Disgusting.”

Derus waved his hand as if swatting a fly. The last sword strike extinguished like a candle.

As expected...

Derus is the strongest warrior on the continent. It’s natural that I couldn’t win.

He is strong, and I am weak. There’s nothing I can do. No, there’s no way I can accept that!

The anger that had been spreading from the bottom of my heart boiled like lava.

I was frustrated by being toyed with by Derus all my life and deeply regretted not completing the ‘Ring of Fire’ I obtained through a fortuitous event.

I can’t die like this.

Whether it’s a god or a demon, I will use any means to strip off Derus’s mask and cut off his head.

The moment my body was filled with this anger, my world turned red.

* * *

“Hm...”

Derus Robert raised his right hand and frowned.

‘I clearly blocked it.’

Despite perfectly blocking the final sword strike, a small wound appeared on the back of his hand.

A bleeding wound, something he hadn’t experienced in years.

‘Unbelievable.’

The man broke his own brainwashing, endured the pain of the Leech Worm, and even managed to wound him.

It was perplexing what had happened to a hunting dog raised as a disposable tool.

‘However.’

Raon was already dead. Though he was an extraordinary man, there was no need to pay him any more attention.

“Clean it up.”

As Derus turned his back, the warriors hiding in the garden’s shadows approached Raon’s body.

Rumble.

Raon’s necklace, soaked in red blood, emitted a blue light, but no one saw it.

[You have received the choice of <Rage>.]

[<Rage> has descended upon your body... the vessel has died!]

[An error has occurred...]

* * *

Reincarnation.

A fantastical concept that most people think exists but don’t believe in.

Raon didn’t believe in reincarnation either.

He was brainwashed for life, and when he broke free, he was too busy preparing to escape the Robert family to think about such absurd things.

He thought death was the end.

But...

“Sunshine. Look over here!”

A beautiful woman with soft blonde hair flowing over her shoulders and red eyes shook a blue rattle.

“There’s a red one too!”

She extended the red rattle in her left hand.

Clack!

I frowned at the sound of the rattles clashing, but the blonde woman didn’t stop.

“Ah.”

Raon sighed softly and extended his hand toward the rattle.

“Great! Come over here!”

The blonde woman smiled widely and shook the rattle more enthusiastically.

Now, I can see two things. Plump, sausage-like arms and a woman shaking the rattle enthusiastically.

‘I still can’t get used to it. Those arms are mine, and that woman is my mother...’

The woman’s name is Sylvia. It’s hard to believe, but I was reincarnated as her child, retaining the memories of my previous life as an assassin.

At first, I naturally thought it was a dream.

I thought it would all be over after a good night’s sleep, but the strange dream didn’t end.

As the days passed, filled with doubt, it became 100 days, and only then did Raon accept that he had been reincarnated.

“Sunshine! Over here!”

“Ow!”

As I slowly crawled toward the rattle, Sylvia took a few steps back.

“Right! A little more!”

Raon followed Sylvia, crawling and reaching out for the rattle.

“Ah...”

But the weight of his heavy head made his body tilt to the right.

“Huh!”

Sylvia threw the rattle aside and lunged to catch my falling body.

‘Fast.’

Her movements were quick. I couldn’t sense any aura, but she seemed to have some decent martial arts training.

“Scared? It’s okay. It’s okay.”

Sylvia patted Raon’s back.

“Ow.”

Raon waved his hand, trying to express that he was fine and not scared, but her patting didn’t stop.

“Sunshine. Shall we go see the flowers with Mommy?”

Sylvia picked me up and approached the window, pulling the curtains open. Warm sunlight fell softly like a down blanket.

‘Still calling me Sunshine...’

Sylvia’s “Sunshine” is obviously not a name but a nickname.

The head of the family is supposed to come and name me, but he’s so busy that he hasn’t even shown up.

So, 100 days later, I’m still being called “Sunshine.”

‘Sigh...’

Raon looked around while in Sylvia’s arms.

The room was spacious enough to run around in, with luxurious sea-colored wallpaper on the walls and a magic lamp on the ceiling that lit up at night.

Since I sleep more than 20 hours a day, I can’t grasp much, but one thing is clear.

This is a wealthy household, and a rather prestigious family.

‘Not bad.’

If I was reincarnated, it’s better to be in a wealthy or powerful family rather than an ordinary one.

‘I need to take revenge.’

The chilling moment when my head was cut off by Derus is still vivid.

I thought my emotions had been worn down from being raised as an assassin, but the memory of that moment was so intense that my anger and desire for revenge remained clear.

‘But I can’t be hasty.’

Raon calmed his breathing and settled his mind.

I’ve only lived in this room so far, so I don’t know where I am or my position.

Once I understand the situation, it won’t be too late to prepare for revenge.

Patience is the most