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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: The Villainess Who Wields a Sword Chapter 31
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Erin sat on a tree trunk, eyes closed, resting.
Ferdin stared intently at Erin. Even within the Werewolf Tribe's territory, she showed no sign of fear.
It was normal for someone entering the land of the strong and belligerent Werewolf Tribe to be afraid.
No, they wouldn't even think of entering this land in the first place.
"Looking at you, Sir, I feel a sense of familiarity."
"..."
"It feels like I've forgotten something."
Ferdin uttered those words almost impulsively.
But his softly spoken words were enough to shake Erin. Her fingertips trembled faintly.
Ferdin, unaware of Erin's reaction, continued speaking.
"Something... something very important, it feels like."
No sooner had he finished speaking than Erin recalled Ferdin's unique ability.
In the past, when it was revealed that he possessed the 'Eyes that See Truth,' the Emperor persecuted Ferdin even more.
She had only known it as an ability to see others' pasts, but could it have been something more?
If so, could he have seen his own past?
Erin grew afraid.
If he had seen those tragic futures... if he were to learn that he died because of her...
"Sir Erin?"
Erin snapped back to attention at Ferdin's call. His clear, blue eyes held her reflection.
Erin's lips tightened at the sight of herself reflected in his eyes. She looked like a lost puppy abandoned by its owner.
To Ferdin, it must have been an unappealing sight.
Erin managed to open her mouth and answer him.
"What do you mean?"
"...Never mind. I must have gotten confused suddenly due to the tension. This isn't a safe place, after all."
In response to her question, Ferdin finally realized he had misspoken. It must have been a perplexing thing for Erin to hear.
Erin feigned ignorance, letting his words pass and posing a new question.
"Are you worried about being harmed by the Werewolf Tribe?"
Erin rose and stood before Ferdin. She then looked down at him as he sat.
"Then why did you come all the way here?"
"I couldn't leave you. Amon, Lilia, and Sir Erin—all of you came here because of me."
"..."
"Until now, many people have sacrificed themselves to protect me. I didn't want to irresponsibly stand by and watch that happen again."
"No one will think that."
At Erin's words, Ferdin smiled faintly.
"Then that's a relief. Still, if I came here, Lilia and Amon wouldn't die. Even if I were taken hostage in their place, they wouldn't dare kill me once they knew my identity."
"Probably."
Ferdin added, fiddling with his necklace. Then he smiled bitterly, looking at Erin.
She was looking at him with pained eyes.
In fact, at some point, Erin had started looking at him with such sad eyes.
Ferdin couldn't pinpoint exactly when it began.
So, vaguely, he had even wondered if Erin liked him, as the rumors suggested.
He realized that wasn't the case, however, when he heard her say she wanted to break off their engagement.
Could it be that Resus Marquis, who had remained neutral, sided with the Emperor? And that Erin was forced to get engaged to him to monitor him...
If so, her words about wanting to break off the engagement made some sense.
Ferdin couldn't forget Erin, who had been covered in blood trying to protect Amon and the Princess. Her telling him to hate her.
At the time, he hadn't understood the meaning of those words.
But the meaning of the look Erin gave him, he could clearly understand.
Unlike her words telling him to hate her, the look in her eyes held a desperate intensity.
Ferdin was already quite accustomed to the gazes of those who admired or claimed to love him.
It wasn't uncommon for people he didn't even know to unilaterally whisper words of love to him.
But Erin's gaze was different from theirs. If asked what kind of emotion it was, Ferdin himself wouldn't dare put it into words.
He couldn't possibly fathom the depth of that emotion...
"Sir Erin, why do you want to break off our engagement?"
At his words, Erin's lips pressed into a firm line.
"I... I don't want to break off our engagement with you."
The wind blew, ruffling Ferdin's hair.
As the sunset painted the sky, his golden hair took on a reddish hue.
His resolute lips and beautiful blue eyes... Erin felt her stomach churn.
She tried to interpret the words she had just heard.
Was she dreaming? What had Ferdin just said...?
"Why...?"
Why do you look at me with the same eyes as in the past...?
Why do those kind eyes... make me misunderstand?
Just as Erin was about to open her mouth. Suddenly sensing a presence, she couldn't speak and quickly turned around.
Ferdin also realized the situation and quickly stood up. Their gazes converged on one spot.
"Run!"
"Hurry, move!"
Several members of the Werewolf Tribe were gathered there. And in front of them, a small child was visible.
Each time they made a threatening move, faint whimpers escaped. At a glance, there wasn't a single uninjured spot on the child's body.
The Werewolf Tribe forcibly dragged the child, who could barely move.
The child tried to defend themselves somehow, but only incurred more injuries. The movements of their scrawny arms were pitiful.
Erin examined the child's eyes. The empty gaze had already half lost its will to live.
Curly black hair and red eyes. Erin recognized the child's identity at a glance.
He was the mage who, in the future, would lead the Werewolf Tribe and massacre the Imperial citizens.
Erin and Ferdin's eyes met. He must have been thinking the exact same thing as her.
They quietly followed the Werewolf Tribe.
Every time the child let out a short scream, Erin felt a wave of revulsion.
She had surmised that the mage who massacred humans in the past was one of the refugees, but she had never imagined he would be treated like this.
The child's appearance closely resembled her own past.
Erin felt as if she was about to vomit.
'This is... too much.'
Her body twitched, wanting to rush out immediately. But Erin suppressed that feeling with superhuman patience.
"What about those who entered our territory?"
"They said to leave them be. They'll deal with them once this task is finished."
Erin's body stiffened. The Werewolf Tribe's mage she had seen in the future was blind. She finally understood why.
Ferdin pulled Erin's arm, which was twitching as if to lunge forward, and spoke.
"Forcing them to do such a thing... why on earth?"
"We have to follow them."
"There's no chance, Sir Erin. If we go, we'll just be kidnapped by the Werewolf Tribe and taken hostage."
Erin's body froze. Ferdin's words were cold, but true.
Because following the Werewolf Tribe in this situation was tantamount to asking to be killed.
But at Ferdin's next words, she felt an inexpressible emotion.
"Sir Erin, find Lilia and Amon and escape. I'll draw their attention. That way, we can also protect that child's eyes. No matter what, my father wouldn't let me die at the hands of the beastmen."
"..."
The look in his eyes, as he gazed at her, was clear and resolute.
Erin closed her mouth, looking at Ferdin.
A kind person. He was exactly as Ferdin had been, the one she knew from before.
The Werewolf Tribe led the child to a large clearing. Nearly six members of the Werewolf Tribe were already gathered there.
Among them, a Werewolf Tribe member holding a whip roughly pushed the child to the ground.
Erin grimaced, watching their actions closely.
Something heated by fire was held in the Werewolf Tribe member's hand.
If she hesitated even a little, something irreversible might happen.
Ferdin couldn't yet imbue his sword with mana, but his swordsmanship was excellent enough that he would soon become an advanced knight.
Erin too had set her own prodigious skill level to be similar to an advanced knight.
It would be difficult for two advanced knights to defeat ten Werewolf Tribe members.
Therefore, Ferdin might doubt her abilities if he saw her confronting the Werewolf Tribe.
'But there's no other way.'
She had to finish them quickly. Thinking so, Erin adjusted her grip on her sword.
"Let's finish this quickly and go. The chieftain said they captured a human female mage and a male knight. And there are intruders, too, I hear?"
"Intruders? Do they want to die?"
