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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 16
Chapter Title: The Villainess's Reason for Wielding a Sword
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Her entire body felt heavy. It seemed to be from overexerting her frail, delicate body, followed by getting caught in the rain.
‘I also feel terrible.’
She stared blankly at her hands.
The sensation of killing something was always loathsome, no matter how many times she experienced it.
Yet, as if she had grown accustomed to that foul feeling, she could kill without hesitation.
In the past, she had been a girl who struggled to even kill a single insect.
She was an unfortunate but ordinary young lady of a marquisate, who loved the occasional cake, dresses gifted by Resus Marquis, and flowers.
But that Erin Resus no longer existed.
Because if she didn't kill, she would be killed.
Erin dragged her heavy body and continued to move forward.
The Extermination Squad wasn't far.
When she got there, Ashili Princess and Karon, who were alive, would be waiting for her. And Ferdin would be there too...
‘Waiting?’
Erin's steps gradually slowed. She wasn't sure if returning to the Extermination Squad was the right choice.
Would they truly wait for her?
Erin looked down at her hands. Her palms were crimson, stained with a mix of her blood and the monsters' blood.
Ferdin's probationary knights disliked her, but they were all kind people.
If not for them, her past self would undoubtedly have died long ago.
Erin recalled the faces of those who had died trying to protect her.
The Princess survived. So wouldn't the future also change?
If Erin Resus were to die here as a monster... then a better future might unfold.
The future where Ferdin would be troubled because of her would also disappear.
If only she weren't here... everyone else might be happy.
‘No. There are still things that need to be changed...’
There were many things that still needed to be changed.
Erin thought so and took another heavy step. But even then, she lacked conviction.
Was "there are many things that need to be changed" just an excuse? Was she just forcing herself to believe it because she wanted to belong with them?
In her previous life, she had always been lonely.
Though she was engaged to Ferdin and thus unavoidably with them, she always knew her presence was an anomaly.
She was useless, often causing trouble for everyone, and only tarnishing Ferdin's honor.
But even so, she had always wanted to be with them.
She wanted to laugh and chat among his knights.
"Sir Erin...?"
Erin turned her head at the sound of someone calling her.
Ferdin was there.
Their gazes met, his eyes a deep, sapphire blue, like the abyss of a lake.
Erin swallowed.
With the sensitive senses unique to a Sword Master, she knew someone was there, but she hadn't expected it to be Ferdin.
Erin stopped walking and stared at Ferdin. For some reason, he was alone.
He seemed to have been rushing somewhere, drenched in sweat, gazing at her with disbelief.
His ragged breaths revealed how much he had hurried.
Was he busy looking after the Princess? Erin thought so and lowered her eyelashes.
"What on earth..."
At Ferdin's words, Erin recalled her current appearance.
Ferdin's golden hair, wet from the rain, had lost its vigor and clung to his face, but he was as beautiful as ever.
However, her own appearance, surely covered in blood, must have been utterly wretched.
It made no sense for an ordinary person to face a horde of monsters and not even get a scratch.
No, the very act of returning alive was abnormal.
That's why Erin had deliberately become covered in blood.
But she didn't want to show this side of herself to Ferdin. Didn't she look like a murderer?
While it wasn't exactly wrong, revealing this raw side of herself was a different matter.
As Erin was lost in thought, Ferdin quickly approached her and checked her condition. His eyes spotted a large, torn wound and lingering red stains.
At that, Ferdin took off his own clothes and carefully wrapped them around her blood-stained body.
Erin looked up at Ferdin, her face etched with questions. She could feel Ferdin's ragged breath close by.
Why... why on earth?
In her previous life, she had caused this man's death.
If she continued to stay by his side, incidents like today wouldn't be a one-time occurrence.
Unexplained trials would surely continue to befall them.
"Don't do this to me."
"..."
"Don't be kind to me."
As Erin spoke, Ferdin's eyes widened.
"Just hate me."
Like everyone else...
Erin swallowed the words she couldn't bring herself to utter.
She had always wanted to say it. That if he had blamed her, he would have survived.
He should have cursed her as a coward and despised her as a villainess, just like others. If he had, he would have lived the future that was predestined.
‘Perhaps things will be different now.’
Since the Princess survived, Ferdin would now be happy with her.
Now, if only she could finish everything and disappear, everyone could be happy.
Erin thought so and tried to move.
She didn't want others to see her alone with Ferdin.
She didn't want to leave even the slightest possibility that he might suffer harm because of it.
However, her body was in a far worse condition than she had anticipated.
Her frail, delicate body, from her past, reached its limit with just a little movement.
After taking a few steps, Erin felt her body sway.
‘Not now...’
Her current body was still too weak to contain the prowess of her previous life.
She felt the strength drain from her legs. The ground was rushing towards her.
No, it was more accurate to say her body was collapsing.
‘It’s going to hurt when I wake up.’
With that final thought, Erin lost consciousness.
***
Resus Marquis's castle.
The sturdy castle gates were massive, as if they would never permit enemy invasion, and the knights within exuded an impressive aura.
This powerful force, too strong for a mere Marquis to possess, was something Resus Marquis had built up over a lifetime of guarding the borders.
The Marquis's Wife reigned there like a queen.
Resus Marquis rarely visited his castle due to guarding the borders, and Karon was also too busy with training to concern himself with household affairs.
Because of this, the power the Marquis had accumulated became the Marquis's Wife's entirely.
The Marquis's Wife, Corelia, looked down from the top of the Marquis's castle.
‘Such fools.’
She recalled the foolishly kind people of the Marquisate and twisted her lips into a smirk.
Everything was going smoothly. If things continued this way, everything would undoubtedly go according to plan.
She was waiting for a messenger who would soon rush to the Marquis's castle. The news he brought would give her a small pleasure.
"Raymond."
At Corelia's call, the man waiting in a corner of the room moved.
His movements were strangely stealthy for an ordinary person.
"Did you properly investigate the news Sir Rekken brought a while ago?"
"Yes, according to those who participated in the merchant caravan, Erin Resus truly used a sword. They even said she seemed skilled."
Corelia frowned, as if annoyed.
"Is that even possible?"
"It should be impossible, originally."
"You know how much I tried to prevent *it* from wielding a sword, don't you?"
Corelia Resus. Few knew her true identity.
In truth, she was a High Knight, stronger than Resus Marquis, who had lived as the Marquis's Wife for over a decade, concealing her true abilities.
Corelia looked at her own hands, clean and without a single callus.
The true appearance of the hands she concealed with black magic was that of a knight's, full of scars and calluses.
She was also the one who witnessed the moment Erin first picked up a sword. It was hard to explain with ten mouths how fortunate that was.
As a High Knight, Corelia recognized Erin's talent the moment she wielded the sword.
The one chosen by the 'Sword' in this generation was not Karon Resus, but Erin Resus.
Geniuses were different from the moment they first picked up a sword. Erin Resus was performing the Resus sword technique just by watching the knights train in the practice arena.
The sword path drawn by her small body was astonishingly perfect.
Corelia couldn't help but marvel at the small girl's talent. However, it was something she could never tolerate.
‘It truly was a relief.’
Corelia thought so, recalling the eyes that had looked up at her.
"May I call you Mother?"
The girl who had clung to her, asking that question, was coldly cast aside.
And it wasn't just that; it was Corelia who had made it so Erin couldn't wield a sword.
