-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Vine
Chapter: 27
Chapter Title: 그 악녀가 검을 든 이유
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Normally, he would have feigned ignorance, but he couldn't now. Raymond was pushed to his mental limits.

Erin smiled, looking at him.

Raymond, pale with fright, cried out.

"I... I sur... surrendered! For a knight to do this to someone who has surrendered... it's not right."

The pain prevented him from speaking properly.

But Raymond desperately opened his mouth. A strong premonition told him that if he stopped talking here, there would truly be no turning back.

"You... you believed that if you killed someone... you'd fall into hell..."

"That's right, Raymond. I still believe that."

Erin agreed with his words.

In her first life, naive as she was, she believed she would go to heaven.

She thought she would never kill anyone, nor would she hate anyone.

She resolved to live a good life, believing that if she did, she could go to heaven.

Long, long ago, on the day Titi, the cat she fed at Atenz Academy, died.

Erin wept before Titi's grave, praying to God.

'I'll listen to Mother and continue to live a good life, so please let me meet Titi in heaven. I won't hate anyone. Please. I want to see Titi again.'

But now she knew. To face a devil, one had to become a devil oneself.

She would not be able to meet Titi.

Because she would fall into hell.

Erin raised her sword.

Raymond, seeing this, twisted his face in terror.

His body began to tremble uncontrollably. Raymond cried out to her.

"Devil...!"

Erin had no intention of denying his words.

Her sword moved directly towards Raymond. And it delivered to him the very pain she had endured in the past.

Erin whispered.

"Go on ahead and wait."

When all is done, let's meet again in hell.

* * *

Cleaning up was not difficult.

In her third life, Erin had often been chased by monsters and knew what needed to be done to erase her tracks.

She gathered the blood-stained leaves and sprinkled powder to mask the scent.

She had prepared this even before setting out on the extermination.

The path to the Southern Mountains was very rugged and full of cliffs. Moreover, there weren't many monsters here, so various beasts had made their homes.

Erin left Raymond at the bottom of the cliff.

'With so many hungry wolves, the body should disappear quickly.'

The Extermination Party was in a situation where they had to reach the Werewolf Tribe's territory within a set period.

They couldn't deploy a large number of people for a search just because one person had suddenly disappeared.

Furthermore, Raymond was an Advanced Knight. No one would imagine that such a person would have met with an accident in the mountains.

Many would probably assume he had a change of heart and returned to the Marquis's residence.

He was neither an Atenz Academy student nor a noble. As a skilled knight, he was treated almost like a noble in social circles, but here, he was just one knight.

Many would likely consider it better for an Advanced Knight who might die from beasts or unforeseen monsters in such mountains to simply be gone.

Raymond's death was truly pathetic, just like her own death in her first life.

'Death is all the same, isn't it?'

Erin felt no particular emotion even after ending the nightmare that had tormented her for so long with her own hands.

She simply stared down at her hands for a long time with an expressionless face.

Was it truly such an insignificant thing?

Her heart thumped slowly.

Suddenly, a memory from the past surfaced.

The central hall of Atenz Academy. Erin had once visited Ferdin's prospective knight order's usual meeting room to find him.

What was the reason? No, actually, she remembered there wasn't any particular reason.

In the past, she would visit Ferdin for absurd reasons, just because she missed him.

Of course, she stopped such actions once she realized that her very existence was a hindrance to Ferdin...

Before realizing that, she had lingered around his vicinity several times to meet him.

At that time, she probably went to him claiming she had acquired some delicious tea from the Eastern Continent.

Even though she knew in her mind that he didn't like her, she couldn't stop herself from doing it.

And Ferdin, as always, greeted her kindly.

But that day, he stared at her more intently than usual.

Just as her face flushed under his gaze, Ferdin spoke in a low voice.

"I don't believe Sir Erin killed Calips."

"..."

"Because you're not someone who would kill an innocent person. At least, the Sir Erin I've known wasn't that kind of person. If you don't want to talk about what you're going through, you don't have to. However... if you ever feel ready, I will help you anytime."

Erin couldn't answer him. It was the first time anyone had ever said something like that to her.

'But Ferdin, this time you were wrong. I guess I wasn't that kind a person. I just couldn't forgive Raymond. And... I don't think I'll be able to forgive him in the future either.'

Erin thought with an expressionless face.

If she had been as kind as Ferdin thought, would she have forgiven Raymond?

If he were to find out what she had done now, would he despise her?

Ferdin was too kind; he might even forgive someone like her.

His prospective knights were the same, weren't they? They were all excessively gentle people.

Erin knew that Amon hesitated and wanted to ask her something every time he saw her.

He was probably still concerned about the wound that had scabbed over.

But even so, knowing she wanted to hide that fact, he often refrained from speaking properly.

Erin leaned against a nearby tree and watched Ferdin in the distance.

He still hadn't returned to the campsite, repeatedly scanning the surroundings, searching for something.

Watching him from afar, she thought once more.

Even if she were to go back to the past now, she would do the same thing again.

It was fine if Ferdin despised her. It didn't matter if people thought of her as a villainess for her merciless actions.

Being hated was something she was used to anyway.

If there were those who threatened Ferdin and his knights... she could become a devil again, anytime.

* * *

The quiet campsite suddenly became noisy.

It was because Ferdin, who had gone outside the camp and returned, woke them up, saying they needed to find Erin.

However, Erin was found inside the campsite.

Seeing Erin naturally emerge from a tent, Ferdin couldn't help but be flustered.

To think that Erin, who had disappeared from his sight in an instant, was already back at the campsite.

Her speed was one thing, but she seemed far too composed for someone who had just uttered the shocking words of breaking off their engagement.

Ferdin was speechless watching Erin, who nodded her head and greeted him as if nothing had happened.

Derek poked his side, where he stood dumbfounded, and asked.

"Didn't you say you were going to talk to Erin Resus? Your expression was absolutely murderous earlier... And why did you two come back separately? You didn't fight, did you? Is that what happened?"

Ferdin didn't answer Derek's fussing.

He didn't want to tell him that Erin had proposed breaking off the engagement. If Derek heard that, he would undoubtedly jump for joy.

Even the way he was asking if they had fought now had an underlying hint of expectation.

He'd probably say "good riddance" and tell him to break off the engagement immediately if he found out what they talked about.

Ferdin felt inexplicably displeased.

He looked at Derek and said.

"Shut up, Derek."

At Ferdin's words, Derek made a sullen face. But he soon glanced at Ferdin and obediently shut his mouth.

He didn't know why, but Ferdin seemed very ill at ease.

Ferdin was usually quite lenient, but messing with him at times like this could truly lead to big trouble.

Reminded of that fact, Derek narrowed his eyes and watched the two.

'Something definitely happened.'

His keen senses told him so.

But since the two involved showed absolutely no signs, there was no way to know what had transpired.

* * *

It was only when morning came that others sensed something was off.

Raymond hadn't been seen since yesterday.

While they might have thought it was temporary, his absence right up until the Extermination Party was about to depart was definitely strange.

Karon was the first to speak.

"Raymond's gone?"

Since he always hovered around Erin, it wasn't hard to notice his disappearance.

"What? Did he go back to the Marquis's castle without saying anything?"

"Shouldn't we look for him?"

"But he's an Advanced Knight. It's unlikely anything happened to him in a forest where there aren't many monsters..."

"He must have had an urgent matter. Of course, leaving the Extermination Party without a word should be punished, though."

"Or maybe he ran away... Anyway, we can't waste time now. Leon Count hates being late for appointments the most."

Although Raymond was part of the Extermination Party, he wasn't strictly obligated to follow.

His purpose was to protect Erin, but that was it; he didn't provide any special assistance to the Extermination Party.

He merely stared at Erin, to the point where it seemed gloomy to others.

"That guy was a bit creepy, wasn't he? Maybe it's for the best? The way he sometimes stared at Sir Erin was chilling..."

"Right. I know he was diligent in his duty, but it was too much."

Some of the Extermination Party members even rejoiced at the news of Raymond's disappearance.

Amidst them, only Karon tilted his head in confusion.