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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 5
Chapter Title: 그 악녀가 검을 든 이유 5화
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The moment he stepped into the training grounds, Edward Flon let out another sigh, feeling the fierce aura.
But the moment he saw Erin, he couldn't help but wear a puzzled expression.
She seemed completely unfazed, as if she hadn't even noticed the students' formidable presence.
Was that even possible? It was unthinkable for an ordinary person to withstand the aura of prospective knights, just as a herbivore couldn't help but fear a carnivore.
'Well, that's something new.'
However, Edward didn't dwell on the strange feeling. Perhaps Erin was simply exceptionally insensitive.
Forcing himself to think so, he walked to the center of the training grounds. He could feel the students' gazes converge on him.
"Good morning."
Edward greeted them curtly.
Though some students outranked him, such distinctions held no sway within Atenz Academy.
He felt the sharp atmosphere soften slightly.
"You all seem well-rested, your faces are glowing."
He said, then swept his gaze across the students.
The students of Atenz Academy's Swordplay Department were all exceptional prodigies.
Especially for those from the kingdoms, not the Empire, only the top three from their respective kingdoms were granted admission.
In other words, it was a place everyone who aspired to be a knight yearned to attend.
Everyone, except for one person.
Edward fixed his gaze on Erin, who stood before him.
He saw her abundant brown hair and fair skin that looked as if it had never properly seen sunlight.
'She looks like she can't even properly hold a sword.'
His assessment was swift.
"On the first day, we'll begin with a light swordplay assessment."
Edward said, then pointed to a student.
It was the start of the swordplay assessment.
* * *
Philip of the Kingdom of Edwin, Bianca of the Kingdom of Liamonde, Homer of the Kingdom of Russell...
Erin calmly waited for the other students' turns to finish.
She knew the order in which Edward called out names.
On the first day of swordplay class, the Advanced Class and Beginner Class specifically attended together.
'They're going in order of strength.'
Ferdin and Derek, from the Advanced Class, had already completed their swordplay assessments long ago and left the training grounds.
Ferdin's swordplay was weighty and deliberate, while Derek's was sharp and incisive.
A strange glint appeared in Erin's eyes at their surprisingly powerful and fierce presence.
Erin watched every single person performing their swordplay assessment without missing a beat.
As she did, someone approached her.
Erin knew who he was. It was Philip from the Kingdom of Edwin, who had just finished his swordplay assessment.
'He used to despise me.'
More than anyone else, he took immense pride in being a student of Atenz Academy's Swordplay Department.
And within the Swordplay Department, he despised Erin the most.
"Do you think anything will change just by watching like that?"
Instead of answering, she looked up at him.
Philip was extremely tall; Erin, being on the shorter side, had to tilt her head back significantly just to see his face.
Philip frowned menacingly as he spoke to her.
"Shall I tell you what's going to happen to you? How utterly humiliated you're going to be."
"Do you have prophetic abilities or something?"
"What did you say?"
Philip was genuinely surprised by Erin's reply. He had intended to make a fool of her.
Philip was well aware of how intimidating his physique was.
His body was packed with muscle, enough to stand shoulder to shoulder with even the most powerfully built knights.
Philip believed that his mere presence would exert immense psychological pressure.
But she answered so calmly? She didn't even seem particularly nervous.
On the contrary, when their eyes met, he felt a suffocating sensation.
His opponent was just a small, ordinary person who hadn't even learned swordplay. So why?
Regardless of his bewilderment, Philip couldn't just let Erin be.
He opened his mouth with all his might. Yet, strangely, cold sweat continued to trickle down him even as he tried to speak.
"You're not even a knight..."
Erin felt a fresh wave of emotion at hearing those words again after so long. It was what Philip had always said to her in the past.
The Erin of the past had no way to refute Philip's words. Just as he said, she wasn't even a prospective knight.
Who would acknowledge someone who couldn't even properly hold a sword as a student of the Swordplay Department?
But if the Erin of the past had been given a choice, she would have become a knight without hesitation.
Therefore, she had no reason to endure his insults any longer.
Erin began to unwrap the bandage from her hand.
Philip frowned, watching her strange action. He had been thinking it was absurd that Erin had wrapped a bandage around her hand.
That, too, must surely be a feigned injury.
Philip recalled a rumor he had heard.
"They say Erin Resus was attacked by a monster horde? If Sir Rekken hadn't been there, it could've been a disaster! Just divine retribution, I suppose."
Indeed, for someone who supposedly encountered a monster horde, she didn't seem to have a single injury apart from the bandage on her hand.
'Just as I thought, she wrapped it to evoke sympathy.'
But as Erin's hand gradually became visible, Philip's mouth snapped shut.
Her hand was covered in wounds. Philip couldn't possibly misunderstand what that meant.
They were the kind of wounds he had seen dozens of times since he was very young.
The process of tender palms getting scraped, bleeding, and eventually developing calluses.
Those were the injuries that appeared when one first began to wield a sword.
Erin's hands spoke volumes, revealing that she had been handling a sword.
Philip recalled another rumor.
"There were also rumors that Erin Resus defeated a monster horde. What an amusing bit of nonsense."
The bandage Erin had unwrapped slowly fell and landed at his feet. Philip inexplicably felt a heavy weight on the instep of his foot, where a mere piece of cloth lay.
"Just watch from there."
"..."
"See for yourself and judge whether I'm a true knight or not."
The moment Erin finished speaking, Edward called her name.
"Erin Resus."
Instantly, the gazes of the other students turned towards her.
Distrust, scorn, gazes devoid of any expectation.
Receiving those gazes, she slowly walked forward.
* * *
Erin's arm trembled as she lifted the sword. It was because she couldn't bear the weight of the iron sword.
*Pfft*. She heard someone scoff.
Edward was watching with sharp, cold eyes, so they couldn't openly criticize, but they were more than ready to enjoy Erin's tragedy.
In the past, Erin had burst into tears in this very spot upon hearing those jeers.
"Truly pathetic."
"I knew it. I wish she'd just know her place and disappear."
The words she had heard then still echoed in her ears.
No one present in that place pitied her. Erin herself didn't pity herself.
Only after living three lives did she realize that no one would care if she grieved alone.
If she felt wronged and indignant, she had to become strong.
So she worked herself to death.
Now, Erin knew how to wipe away her own tears.
Soon, the trembling in her arm ceased. The faint mana within her body, barely noticeable before, revealed its presence and lent strength to her arm.
It was the amount of mana anyone alive might possess.
An ordinary person wouldn't be able to do anything with this amount of mana.
But she was no ordinary person.
Erin extended her arm straight. Unlike the first time she held a sword, her movement was unwavering.
Resus swordplay fundamentally required a strong force to be felt from the sword.
That's why people often said Resus swordplay was unsuitable for women to wield.
'Bullshit.'
Erin could dismiss their words with a single word.
Because she could perfectly wield Resus swordplay better than anyone.
Since Resus Marquis (Lloyd) had not become a Master, everyone expected Karon to become one, and in the past, Erin had thought so too.
But in that generation, the Resus family produced no Master.
Karon Resus did not become a Master.
It was something no one had foreseen.
But the current her knew the reason better than anyone.
'It was *I* who was chosen by the sword!'
Erin's mana-enhanced body moved. The sword in her hand vibrated, emitting a heavy sound.
Perfect Resus swordplay unfolded from Erin's hands.
Each time the clean, unwavering trajectory of her sword carved itself into the air, a sharp slicing sound echoed around the training grounds.
It was a perfect display of swordplay, utterly unbelievable coming from the rumored Erin Resus.
Who could have expected such mastery from the girl who, just moments ago, had been trembling with slender arms as she tried to lift an iron sword?
Finally, as Erin concluded her brief demonstration, a deathly silence fell over the training grounds.
In that profound quiet, the instructor spoke.
"Splendid... swordplay."
The moment Edward finished speaking, Erin slid her sword back into its scabbard.
Edward made no attempt to hide his surprise. For a moment, he opened and closed his mouth repeatedly, as if he had lost his words.
It seemed he was too astonished to utter another word, even if he wanted to.
Sweat dripped from Erin's forehead. Her torn grip was soaked in blood.
The training grounds, which had been noisy with various sounds, remained enveloped in silence.
The eyes of those watching her had completely changed.
Erin's hands trembled faintly. A small thrill ran up her fingertips.
She had changed the past.
