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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: The Reason That Villainess Took Up The Sword 26
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“Raymond.”
Raymond turned his head at the sound of his name.
Erin, who had clearly been talking to Ferdin Lexia just moments ago, was now standing beside him.
Her eyes, illuminated by the moonlight, gleamed strangely.
‘What? When did she move?’
Raymond was momentarily flustered. Why was Erin, whom he had just been watching, here?
He had definitely been observing Ferdin and Erin.
His own skill level wasn't so low that the Swordsmanship Department novices could sense him.
So, for her to have discovered him was beyond comprehension.
Besides, hadn't Erin just dodged Ferdin's attempt to hold her and run away?
Only a moment ago, he had thought that Corelia would have found it amusing if she had seen that.
But she had come to his side so quickly?
The spot where he stood wasn't even close to where they had been.
Raymond stared blankly at Erin, feeling as if he had seen a ghost.
Although she seemed to have changed a little since coming to the Academy, the Erin in his mind was still foolish and pathetic.
She was just a girl perfect for toying with, yet… something felt off.
“What were you looking at there? And with your sword drawn?”
As Erin said, Raymond was holding his sword.
He had even completed his draw, ready to lunge forward at any moment.
Erin slowly approached Raymond.
From her, he felt an overwhelming pressure, unbelievable for someone who had been speaking so meekly with Ferdin earlier.
Erin tilted her head and asked,
“Why aren’t you answering?”
Perhaps it was the moon? Raymond found Erin Resus, with her eyes shining under the moonlight, incredibly unfamiliar.
Why, in the world?
‘Calm down, Raymond. Your opponent is Erin Resus. It’s ridiculous to be nervous.’
He had already reached the rank of an Advanced Knight, and Erin Resus, standing before him, was merely a novice who had just taken up a sword in the Swordsmanship Department.
Raymond tried to remind himself of the difference in their skill levels, but his body was slowly retreating.
His tightly gripped sword felt pitiful.
“How strange.”
Erin said that, then placed a hand on the scabbard tied to her waist and drew her sword.
“What were you planning to do here? Why were you hiding like a rat, spying on Sir Ferdin and me?”
Raymond had intended to knock Erin unconscious and complete the mission Corelia had given him.
So, as he was assessing the situation, Ferdin and Erin happened to move away from their party, and he thought it was the perfect opportunity.
Moreover, if he followed the Extermination Squad any further, he could be in danger himself.
Knowing what was about to happen, Raymond planned to harm Erin and use that as an excuse to escape.
Yes, it was an easy task.
Raymond recalled his plan, steeling his resolve.
The moon must have bewitched him. To be scared of the tiny girl in front of him.
Anyone who saw him would mock him endlessly.
Raymond tightened his grip on his sword and slowly approached Erin, saying,
“Erin, calling me a rat… you must be mistaken. I was just worried when you and Sir Ferdin went off alone, so I followed. No matter if you’re engaged, if you go deep into the forest late at night, what if…”
“You were worried about me?”
“Yes. You’re too careless. Don’t trust him too much. You haven’t known him for long, have you? Sir Ferdin is different from me, so you need to be careful.”
“Don’t… trust him…”
That was the funniest thing Erin had ever heard.
If she hadn't died by Raymond's hand in the past, she might have believed his words.
She would have thought, Raymond is my friend, he’s on my side.
If there was one thing she gained after losing her life, it was the ability to discern who to truly trust.
Just before her death, only Ferdin and his knights had protected her.
The worm-like man before her dared not tell her who to trust and who not to.
“Raymond, do you know? When a sword pierces your neck, it hurts. You don’t even die right away; you writhe in pain for a long time before you finally go…”
Raymond stared at Erin as if she were a madwoman.
It was both bizarre and terrifying that she was stating such obvious facts with a blank expression.
He didn't know what had happened to Erin, but she must have hit her head.
‘Did Corelia discipline her too harshly? I told her to go easy on her, really.’
It was unexpected that Erin had discovered he was secretly watching, but in retrospect, it had no bearing on his mission.
After observing her for two months, Raymond keenly felt that Erin had changed.
Her gentle eyes, so easy to tease, were gone, replaced by an inscrutable gaze that always seemed to watch him.
Raymond was puzzled by the reason for Erin's change, but he didn't think much of it.
No matter how much she changed, her essence was still Erin Resus.
It was obvious that she would soon cling to him again, begging for affection.
After all, no one at the Academy would love Erin.
No matter what he did here, no matter what she said, no one would believe Erin’s words.
And Erin, who had obeyed Corelia her entire life, wouldn't be able to do anything on her own.
Raymond had known her since she was very young.
Erin Resus, sitting in the tower of the Marquis’s castle with lonely eyes, unable to do anything.
That image was deeply ingrained in his mind.
She was someone who knew nothing but how to wait.
“Erin, I don’t know what you’re talking about… but come here for now. I’ll take you back to the campsite. Then we can talk slowly.”
Raymond intended to approach Erin and overpower her. He would strike her neck to knock her out, then proceed with his original plan.
The sword in his hand glinted in the moonlight. At that moment, Raymond swiftly closed the distance and grabbed Erin’s arm.
‘Just as I thought.’
He let out an empty laugh. Even as he grabbed Erin's arm, she offered no resistance.
That strange feeling from before must have been his imagination.
Raymond immediately reversed his grip on the sword, aiming to strike the back of Erin’s neck.
The series of movements was extremely fast. With such close proximity, even an Advanced Knight would never be able to block it.
But his sword’s blunt edge never struck Erin.
Raymond didn’t realize what had happened to him.
His sword fell, unable to reach Erin. But it wasn’t just the sword that fell.
He saw Erin cleanly blocking the blood spatters that had flown into his eyes with her sword.
It was astonishingly clean swordsmanship.
But where did those blood spatters come from…?
Raymond stared blankly at the blood spatters.
‘My hand…?’
His hand lay beside the sword.
Raymond’s mind went numb for a moment, unable to comprehend what had occurred.
He only came to his senses after an indescribable pain surged through him.
“Ugh—!”
Raymond tried to scream, but Erin was quicker, covering his mouth.
“Raymond, I truly despise cowardice.”
Through the gap in the hand tightly covering his mouth, he barely managed to utter a single word.
“Sa… save me.”
Already, it didn’t matter to Raymond how Erin had managed to overpower him.
He was going to die. He might truly die.
He had already lost all will to fight.
Erin knew where the fear Raymond was currently feeling came from.
She wasn’t controlling the unique aura of a Sword Master that she usually concealed.
He was instinctively sensing it. That the small girl in front of him could, indeed, kill him.
Erin looked at him with a blank face and spoke.
Raymond felt a chill run down his spine at her face, devoid of human emotion.
“I was like that too.”
“What…?”
“I begged to be saved. I clung to your feet and pleaded for you to just let me go…”
“…”
“I tried to survive no matter what, even if that place was hell…”
A small tear fell from Erin’s eyes.
Poor Erin Resus.
She pitied her past self. She desperately wanted to live.
“But you killed me. And now you were trying to do the same thing to me.”
If she hadn’t been a Sword Master, she would have been the one lying here, not Raymond.
In the past, Raymond had killed Erin, who was clinging to his feet and begging, without any sympathy.
‘I truly liked you…’
Erin didn’t utter those words. Instead, she asked him,
“What were you trying to do to me? Did the Marquis’s Wife order you to make sure I couldn’t hold a sword?”
At her words, Raymond’s eyes widened.
