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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 12
Chapter Title: The Villainess Who Wields a Sword
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‘Don’t make me laugh!’
He had trained with a sword since childhood, from a time he could barely remember.
Of course, he often got scolded by Duke Hedor for being lazy, but he could confidently say that he had trained with a sword for far longer than Erin Resus.
Amon’s mind was still fixated on Erin Resus’s delicate hands, which he had seen before.
It hadn't even been a year since he witnessed her hands at a party.
Even if Erin Resus had started practicing swordsmanship since then, there was no way she could be stronger than him.
Amon followed the trajectory of Erin’s sword.
She showed no panic in the face of his fierce attacks. She parried the attacks, imbued with killing intent, with fluid grace.
It was a composure unimaginable for someone with no real combat experience. And yet, the sword thrusts she occasionally delivered were surprisingly formidable.
Amon instinctively knew that if she had intended to kill him, she could have done so multiple times over.
Before he knew it, cold sweat ran down his back.
He was a prodigy. People always said he would become a great knight.
If so, then what was Erin Resus, who clearly hadn't held a sword for even a year?
Amon felt a sense of powerlessness for the first time in his life.
‘That’s impossible. My swordsmanship, which I’ve honed for over ten years… in less than a year…’
Erin’s sword sliced past his hair.
If this were a real fight, he would have lost his life to that very sword just now.
Amon’s sword, which had initially pushed Erin back, gradually lost its power.
Finally, her sword stopped right before his face.
This time, there was no room for excuses. Amon’s eyes were bloodshot with rage.
He couldn’t believe this outcome.
But Erin’s sword, right before his eyes, clearly told him.
That he had lost.
That he had been defeated by Erin Resus.
* * *
“The duel has ended.”
Ashili Princess calmly assessed the situation.
She didn't seem surprised at all. She remained unfazed, as if she had expected this outcome.
Amon remained motionless for a long time even after the Princess spoke.
Erin could see his hands trembling faintly.
He was clearly in shock. It was unfortunate, but also something he had to face eventually.
Erin, intending to leave, sheathed her sword.
She didn't particularly want to watch someone else’s shock, and she needed to rest to prepare for the monster attack in a few days.
This utterly frail body of hers was already feeling tired from the short spar.
‘I need to recover quickly.’
Dealing with a horde of monsters wouldn’t be easy.
No matter how much Amon provoked her, considering her stamina, it was something she shouldn’t have accepted.
‘Maybe she just wanted to teach him a lesson.’
She admitted she had been somewhat impulsive.
As Erin was about to turn to leave and return to the Extermination Squad, Amon approached her.
His clenched fists were red. She could understand Amon’s emotions.
People become powerless in the face of insurmountable strength.
Some people give up in despair and do nothing. But the Amon Erin knew wasn't like that.
He would grow stronger out of anger towards her; he wouldn’t despair. He’d likely be even more fired up, unable to accept that a villainess with no concept of honor was stronger than him.
Because he was that kind of person. Unlike the Erin Resus of the past.
Amon asked, looking down at Erin with a trembling voice.
“How… how is that even possible?”
“I’m not sure what you’re referring to.”
“You haven’t been holding a sword for long. I remember seeing it at the party. Your hands were…”
But why are you stronger than me? His pale face held a hint of shock.
Erin recalled the time Amon was referring to. Her helpless self, waiting for time to pass in a corner of the party hall.
Amon’s last memory of her must have been then.
However, there was no way to explain why she had suddenly grown so strong. She didn’t think he’d believe the truth that she had died and come back to life three times.
“Turns out I’m more of a genius than I thought.”
“What?”
Amon’s face twisted at Erin’s words. He seemed to think she was toying with him.
But what she said to Amon was also true. Her past self had indeed been a genius surpassing Amon.
Even if she had learned swordsmanship through conventional means, the outcome wouldn’t have been different.
She saw his face redden with humiliation. He gritted his teeth and spoke to Erin.
“Yes. You were always that kind of person. I had no expectations anyway.”
“…”
“I don’t know why someone like you has such talent. The gods are truly heartless. To bestow such a blessing upon someone who knows no honor…”
Amon glared at Erin and forced the words out.
“I lost. I won’t deny it. Do as you wish.”
Amon closed his eyes after saying that. His posture implied she could kill or spare him as she wished.
That’s when she felt something was off.
The vibrations in the ground were changing.
* * *
Amon also felt something strange about the sudden vibrations.
There shouldn't be such vibrations around here, should there?
He quickly opened his tightly shut eyes and saw Erin Resus approaching him.
She grabbed his collar and embraced him with one hand.
It happened before Amon could even react.
Had Erin Resus lost her mind? Suddenly embracing him?
“It’s faster than before…”
Erin muttered something he couldn’t understand.
Amon couldn’t help but be flustered. A faint scent of blood hung in the air. But when Erin and he fought, neither of them drew blood.
Amon bent his head to look at her, who was shorter than him.
Erin’s back was torn open in a long gash by something.
Amon looked straight ahead with a grim expression. A monster that looked at least mid-tier was there.
But what startled him more was Erin’s body, visible through the torn clothes.
Beneath the wound inflicted by the monster, there were marks that looked like she had been repeatedly slashed all over her body.
Those weren't wounds from the monster just now. They were traces of old torment.
Those marks, not yet fully healed, on her white back, remained etched in his eyes.
They were scratches, tears, and stab wounds, horrific marks, just imagining how they came to be.
They were unnatural marks to be on the body of someone who had lived as a Marquis’s Young Lady.
Amon had seen someone with such scars before.
A prisoner held in the dungeon when he accompanied his father.
Erin’s back bore wounds similar to those he had seen on that man, whose very existence was questionable.
“Those people ended up like that because they committed sins.”
Duke Hedor said that, covering Amon’s eyes, because it was too gruesome a sight for his young self.
Recalling that time, Amon held onto Erin, who was embracing him, forgetting to breathe.
Clear evidence that she had been abused was there.
‘Why did Erin Resus have such wounds on her body?’
Amon couldn’t believe the marks even as he saw them with his own eyes.
Stories about Marquis Resus’s love for Erin Resus were famous. No matter what she did, the Marquis was quick to cover up his daughter’s misdeeds.
People even frowned at such blatant affection.
A person surrounded by dazzling jewels and beautiful dresses, living life however she pleased. That was the Erin Resus known to the public.
But now, Amon wondered. Was the woman in his arms truly the villainess of rumor?
If all of that were true, then why did her body bear such wounds?
Did Karon Resus know about this? Marquis Resus? No, who on earth could have inflicted such wounds on her?
Could it really have been Erin Resus who murdered Calips…?
He felt like he had seen a secret he shouldn’t have known.
“You…”
“Sir Amon, this isn’t the time to stand still.”
Erin’s words made Amon snap back to reality.
She had clearly been injured protecting him. Amon couldn't even understand that action.
“Why on earth…”
Erin didn’t answer him.
She frowned briefly, as if the wound on her back was bothersome. But then she immediately gripped the sword at her hip.
Kieeeek—!
Erin swung her sword towards the monster, which was letting out a grotesque shriek.
To kill a mid-tier monster, one had to at least be able to imbue their sword with mana, and it was only possible for those who had reached the level of a high-ranking knight.
That was a level Amon had not yet reached. Yet, Erin easily imbued her sword with mana and displayed her swordsmanship.
‘Erin Resus is a high-ranking knight?’
Amon couldn’t take his eyes off Erin, her movements so natural, as if she and mana were one.
