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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 22
Chapter Title: The Villainess's Reason for Holding a Sword
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Erin suddenly came to her senses and looked around.
Other students from the sword academy were also staring at her, looking somewhat dazed.
"Philip, what did we just see?"
"Erin defeated Sir Amon...?"
Perhaps I overdid it. The moment Erin saw their reactions, she felt a slight regret.
'I was too focused on the sparring.'
But it was an equally enjoyable spar.
Erin turned her head and looked forward again. She saw Amon, his face flushed.
"That was a good spar, Sir Erin."
Amon's tone returned to normal.
Only then did Erin feel at ease. Formal speech truly didn't suit Amon Hedor.
After shaking hands with Amon, Erin turned her head to confirm the intense gaze she had felt for a while.
Duke Ashili. He was staring at her as if to burn her.
Other students, following Erin's gaze, turned their heads and looked surprised to see Duke Ashili.
Everyone had been so focused on Erin and Amon's spar that they hadn't even noticed Duke Ashili's arrival.
"Your Grace, Duke Ashili!"
"When did you arrive?"
The students quickly placed their fists on their chests and bowed their upper bodies forward.
Amon was no different. He too bowed, his eyes full of admiration like the other students.
Among them, only Erin stood unbowed, looking directly at Duke Ashili.
The Duke's eyes gleamed with a strange light as he met Erin's gaze.
In the past, she had felt immense guilt towards him. So, whenever she saw the Duke, she would tremble, not knowing what to do.
There was even a time, at a party, when she fainted from the Duke's gaze.
But in this life, the Princess was alive, so she could completely shake off the burden on her heart regarding him.
Thinking that, Erin gave the Duke a light nod instead of bowing.
Erin knew the respect other knights held for Duke Ashili.
If she were an ordinary knight, she would have bowed deeply in this situation.
But as a fellow Sword Master, she didn't want to show excessive deference.
Rather, as a knight of the same caliber, a competitive spirit welled up within her.
The Duke looked at her with amusement, but Erin deliberately ignored him.
As a Sword Master himself, Duke Ashili might have sensed something about her.
However, knights of the same level cannot fully gauge each other's strength, so the Duke would probably only consider her a talented academy student.
In fact, it might even earn her more favor. Perhaps he was satisfied with her audacious behavior.
After all, the Duke was someone who believed that geniuses should possess a corresponding arrogance.
His appearance here was unexpected, but it had nothing to do with her.
There was something else that concerned her more.
Erin turned her gaze from the Duke and looked towards one side of the training ground.
She saw Raymond watching her from afar.
Short black hair and a kind-looking face. He was a person with a faint presence.
Erin now knew that this presence was intentional on his part.
Raymond was shouting something towards her. Erin read his lips.
'Erin! Long time no see.'
Raymond was smiling brightly, as if genuinely happy to see her.
The moment Erin saw him, she felt as if she was being pulled out of a strange, happy dream and into reality.
'Today was truly strange.'
Karon had worried about her, the Princess had treated her with a smile. And Amon had acted as if he acknowledged her.
But all of that was nothing short of a dream. Erin's reality was here, now.
Thinking that, she gave a small wave in response to Raymond's smile.
'Happiness doesn't suit me, does it?'
Erin recalled the words the Marquis's Wife always uttered during disciplinary sessions.
"You can never be happy, Erin."
Raymond's smiling face was familiar to her.
He always smiled so brightly whenever he saw Erin. In the past, she liked that smile.
If he hadn't been smiling like that even when he killed her... she wouldn't feel like throwing up now.
Her neck, pierced in her previous life, felt chillingly painful.
* * *
Raymond was observing Erin's class for a while.
For the students' smooth class, the First Knight Order had long since left.
However, for some reason, only Duke Ashili remained, standing alone with his large frame, continuously staring at Erin Resus.
It was such an persistent gaze that if Raymond were Erin, he would have felt pressured.
'What the... she's good? Corelia has reason to worry. Is that the Resus family's talent? How did she fool us and train her sword skills? It's chilling.'
However, he smiled without much concern as he looked at Erin.
No matter how splendid a tree a sprout might grow into, it could be trampled before it bloomed. And that was what Corelia did best.
Everything would be resolved if he properly carried out the mission she entrusted to him.
No matter how skilled one became at the sword academy, without practical experience, they were just a greenhorn dreaming of becoming a knight.
Raymond thought that and recalled his conversation with Corelia.
Her plans were always perfect and never knew failure. Sometimes she did crazy things, but her cunning mind was extraordinarily sharp.
After the messenger left, Corelia explained her future plans to him.
"Soon, the Emperor will order Ferdin Lexia to go to the Werewolf Tribe's land, subjugate the Werewolf Tribe, and rescue the hostages. Those useless refugees, I mean. He made a mistake in the monster subjugation, so he'll have no choice but to obey."
The Werewolf Tribe. Raymond realized the Emperor was truly determined this time.
Was he really trying to eliminate his second son, who was an eyesore to him?
"Ferdin Lexia and his provisional knight order will definitely be dispatched. Even if Leon Count accompanies them, there will be no real support."
"Quite a lot of people will die, then."
"Exactly. But there are more people who support Ferdin Lexia than Ditrion, the First Prince, so he's nothing but an eyesore to the Emperor. He might think he's struggling to survive, but what's the point? No matter what he does, the Emperor will try to kill him."
"..."
"I can't wait for that moment. When the Second Prince dies, Erin will blame herself for everything, won't she? It's obvious she'll think everything started to go wrong after she got engaged to him. Even though they're both in the same predicament."
She continued, as if something suddenly occurred to her.
"If her fiancé dies because of this, what will Erin think? She seems to have gotten quite arrogant since going to the sword academy... It might be fun to crush her so she can never wield a sword again."
She's a devil incarnate. Raymond shook his head, listening to Corelia's words.
"This time, she really won't escape. A passing Sword Master? Let's see if that kind of luck strikes twice."
Yes, this time it wouldn't happen.
Raymond calmly recalled what he had to do next.
He planned to quietly trail Ferdin Lexia's mission and create a situation where he and Erin would be alone before they reached the Werewolf Tribe's land.
And when that time came... he would take decisive measures to ensure Erin could never wield a sword again.
How should he do it? Still, since there was some affection, he intended to make it as painless as possible.
'If I could create an incident disguised as an accident... then foolish Erin would keep clinging to me.'
If that happened, it would also be easy for her to withdraw from the mission under the pretext of being injured.
Raymond looked at Erin, thinking such thoughts.
Her figure, swinging her sword and sweating, looked no different from the students next to her.
'This isn't fun.'
He had imagined her being frustrated and unable to do anything at the sword academy, but she was adapting far better than he expected.
Raymond made a displeased expression.
Erin being among many people was completely different from how she always isolated herself at the Marquis's estate when he wasn't there.
Her frustrated expression suited her best.
And every time, her face, filled with hope from the sliver of warmth he offered, was the most amusing...
As soon as the class ended, the students began to put away their swords and pack their belongings.
At the same time, Duke Ashili, who was next to Raymond, also left, as if his business was concluded.
His gaze never left Erin until the very end.
