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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 18
Chapter Title: The Reason the Villainess Took Up the Sword
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Erin opened her eyes.
‘Where am I?’
For a moment, she didn’t recognize her surroundings. But soon, she realized it was a familiar place.
It was her room within Atenz Academy.
‘I feel stifled.’
Her whole body felt heavy. It felt as if something was pressing down on her.
Sure enough, when she turned her gaze, she saw Karon sleeping soundly beside her.
He was holding her hand tightly.
Karon’s face looked utterly exhausted.
‘How many days have passed?’
Erin lifted her hand. She saw her hand, tightly wrapped in bandages.
What about her body?
Her clothes had already been changed entirely.
Who on earth had changed them?
The fact that her clothes had been changed meant that someone had seen the injuries still scattered across her body.
They were wounds she didn't want anyone to see. Erin unconsciously tightened her grip.
At that moment, Karon’s eyes snapped open.
He stared at the awakened Erin, as if he couldn't believe his eyes.
Soon, as if coming to his senses, Karon shouted.
“You… you really…”
“…”
“You almost died… Do you have any sense at all, huh? How strong do you think you are, trying to sacrifice yourself alone? Do you really think it makes sense to face a horde of monsters by yourself?”
Her head throbbed.
As she moved her heavy body to touch her forehead, she saw Karon fidgeting anxiously.
If he was going to act like that, why did he yell? She thought, checking Karon’s right arm. Then she carefully touched his arm.
She felt Karon staring at her with a flustered expression. Erin murmured softly as she looked at his arm.
“That’s a relief.”
However, Karon seemed to interpret her words differently, as his face flushed crimson.
It even looked as if tears welled up in his eyes. Erin gazed at Karon with a puzzled expression.
‘Must be my imagination.’
Karon, seeing Erin stare at him, shouted in anger.
“So… why do things that could kill you?!”
“…”
“Next time, absolutely, never do that again. If you think you’re going to die, just run away by yourself! Understand? It’s a good thing you weren’t seriously injured, otherwise, truly…”
Karon, who had been huffing for a while, looked down at Erin’s hand.
Unlike its former delicate and beautiful state, her hand now looked rough and covered in scars.
He looked upset for a moment, then continued.
“You woke up when Ferdin Lexia wasn’t here.”
At Karon’s words, Erin tilted her head slightly. Seeing her reaction, Karon sighed softly and continued.
“That guy, he kept coming every day while you were asleep, it was annoying.”
“Don’t joke.”
Erin shook her head as if it were absurd. She showed no sign of believing Karon’s words at all.
‘Well, it’s got nothing to do with me.’
Karon thought that, and gazed blankly at Erin.
And then, as if something occurred to him, he spoke.
“Still, it’s a relief.”
“A relief?”
At Erin’s puzzled tone, Karon took her hand with a relieved expression.
And for a long time, he gently caressed it.
“Sir Raymond is coming to visit.”
“Raymond…”
“Yes, Sir Raymond. You know, the knight who often played with us when we were little. The knight Father cherishes so much. Mother must have been worried after hearing about this incident. Sir Raymond will take over as your escort for a while. Then, something like this won’t happen again.”
“…”
“Even the Academy approved it, saying it was a special case. So why do things that make Mother worry, you fool?”
Erin replied, “I see,” and gave a small smile.
Karon was relieved to see her expression.
As expected, Erin liked Sir Raymond too. Indeed, even though she disliked most people in the Marquis’s estate, she trusted and followed him.
Sir Raymond would protect Erin well enough so she wouldn’t have to struggle like this.
Karon’s face brightened at the thought.
“You always liked Sir Raymond, didn’t you? You wouldn’t even talk to other people, but strangely, you always listened to him well.”
At Karon’s words, Erin recalled Raymond.
Raymond. An unforgettable name.
* * *
Raymond was someone she had greatly relied on in her past. He was also the knight who always came to comfort her after the Marquis’s Wife’s disciplinary sessions.
Just as Karon said, Erin had liked him very much. In the Marquis’s estate, where she felt she had no one on her side, he alone had stood by her.
The gentle hand that stroked her hair, the face that smiled at her.
In the hellish Marquis’s estate, Raymond was like a sanctuary to her.
Until just before her death, she believed Raymond was on her side.
“You believed that?”
“Raymond… why would you…”
“It was simply amusing. A young lady who would give her liver and gall just because I was a little kind to her.”
She truly believed him, until he said that and plunged his sword into her neck.
Erin touched her neck, thinking of that moment. The sensation of the sword piercing her neck was still vivid.
She had experienced death multiple times, but no memory was as intense as her first death.
Until that fleeting moment when she was stabbed by something sharp and her breath stopped, it truly, truly hurt.
The knife plunged into her heart hurt Erin more than the one in her neck.
As Karon said, it was a relief. Because this time, it was her turn to plunge a sword into *his* neck.
* * *
Ferdin was sitting in the central hall, just as always.
His dazzling blonde hair looked unusually dull today. The dark circles under his eyes were also uncharacteristic of Ferdin.
This was not the impeccable image of the Prince he usually presented.
Derek watched Ferdin, unsure what to do, from beside him.
They were waiting for the knight order meeting to organize the report to be submitted to the Imperial Palace after the monster extermination.
So many incidents had occurred during this monster extermination that the meeting could no longer be postponed.
Normally, they should have submitted a report to the Imperial Family as soon as they returned from the monster extermination.
For Derek, who knew what Ferdin would suffer if such an important matter was procrastinated, it was extremely unsettling.
‘The Emperor is obviously going to throw a fit.’
He toyed with the teacup in front of him, a slightly impure thought crossing his mind.
He had no idea what the Emperor would demand this time, using the delayed report as an excuse.
‘Why is that Ferdin fellow acting so differently from usual?’
Ferdin knew the Emperor’s personality well. That’s why he always did his best not to provoke the Emperor.
He was already a perfect individual, but he tried even harder not to show even the slightest flaw.
But lately, Ferdin had been acting strangely. To be precise, he had become strange after meeting Erin Resus.
‘Just being kind to Erin Resus, it’s obvious the Emperor will find fault with it.’
Derek thought that and looked at Ferdin with concern.
What the Emperor would say was also painfully obvious.
He would surely say, ‘You failed to prevent the atrocities of your beloved fiancée and merely stood by, so you deserve punishment.’
Or he might find fault with him not abandoning Erin and retreating during this monster extermination.
‘You didn’t abandon Erin Resus and flee when a horde of monsters appeared? Don’t you know that Ashili Princess is more important than such a villainess?’
The voice that automatically echoed in his mind, even without hearing it, sent shivers down Derek’s spine.
Naturally, it wasn't because the Emperor genuinely cherished Ashili Princess. He would simply say such things to place blame on Ferdin.
And the Emperor would surely demand he complete some absurd task, using punishment as an excuse.
And he would scream that it was the way to purify Ferdin’s impurity.
‘He might order him to capture a Drake from the Southern Mountains, or perhaps capture Werewolf Tribe members alive.’
Derek gnashed his teeth at the Emperor’s unfairness in treating Ditrion and Ferdin differently.
Derek sighed deeply. At least it was a relief that Ferdin had clung to his last shred of sanity and hadn’t missed the meeting.
But even amidst this, seeing him look somewhat lost in thought, his condition didn't seem very good.
“Ferdin, it looks like everyone’s here.”
At Derek’s words, Ferdin’s thoughts broke. He nodded and straightened his posture.
Someone was approaching the central hall. Seeing that person, Derek exclaimed.
“Amon Hedor?”
Amon was entering the central hall.
Derek couldn’t help but be genuinely surprised.
That Amon Hedor, the epitome of laziness, showing up earlier than the appointed time!
At Derek’s reaction, Amon frowned and snapped at him.
“Don’t make a fuss over nothing.”
After returning from the monster extermination, Amon had become quite diligent.
It was a change surprising enough to astound other swordsmanship department students. And that wasn’t all.
Amon had transferred to Edward’s class. In other words, he had moved to the same Beginner Class as Erin Resus.
It was an utterly unbelievable development.
