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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 50
Chapter Title: 그 악녀가 검을 든 이유 50화
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The Erin she had imagined, entering the banquet hall with a rustic, timid face, was nowhere to be found.
Everyone's gaze was directed towards the party hall's entrance.
Because Ferdin was a handsome prince?
No, that wasn't it. Everyone was watching Erin, who entered with a confident stride beside him.
Charlotte, standing behind Corelia, murmured in a voice so low only Corelia could hear.
"Erin Resus has certainly... changed."
"Indeed, she has changed. It's as if... she's a different person."
At Charlotte's words, Corelia's lips twisted into a smirk. Her heart pounded with intrigue.
Now, how long had it been since she felt this sensation? Since she witnessed something new that surpassed her expectations?
Corelia recalled a memory from over a decade ago. The moment Erin first picked up a sword.
"It wasn't Karon Resus, it was you."
And now, seeing Erin make her entrance, Corelia couldn't help but feel the same surprise as back then.
"She looks so beautiful and dignified... and she even dares to defy me."
"..."
"It's astonishing. Quite intriguing, Charlotte. Erin... seems to know how to wield a sword. Can you feel the unusual force about her?"
"Yes, it seems so."
"Annoying..."
The dress Erin Resus wore was not one Corelia had sent.
The fact that Erin hadn't listened to her command came as a fresh shock to her.
But what disturbed Corelia more was the fact that Erin didn't cower when she saw her.
Ferdin and Erin, having entered the banquet hall, slowly approached Ditrion and Corelia. Erin did not lower her head to avoid Corelia's gaze, as she usually did.
Ferdin and Erin greeted Ditrion, the host of the banquet.
And until that moment, Ditrion hadn't quite collected himself.
'That's Erin Resus?'
While Erin was beautiful, there were plenty of people just as beautiful in the banquet hall.
But more than her appearance, she possessed an aura that drew people in.
Ditrion didn't know it, but it was the kind of aura Erin could exude as a Sword Master.
The feeling he experienced was akin to awe, the kind one might feel towards a person who wields a sword.
Ditrion unconsciously gripped the armrest of his chair.
Then his eyes met Erin's. Unlike when she looked at Ferdin, her eyes were utterly cold.
Overwhelmed by her beauty and the suffocating atmosphere, Ditrion had no time to concern himself with that look.
He simply looked at Erin and thought.
'I want her.'
To him, Erin Resus was no different from a useless insect.
Ditrion remembered Erin from the distant past, when she used to look at him with eyes full of awe.
When she looked at him with such eyes, she seemed insignificant... So why was she so coveted now?
'Because she belongs to Ferdin?'
Was that why?
A strange yearning flickered in Ditrion's eyes as he smiled, one corner of his mouth lifting.
* * *
With the arrival of the banquet's main figures, the party's fervor intensified.
As Ferdin scanned the banquet hall, he witnessed Ditrion's gaze completely transform.
It was a look Ferdin had seen often since he was a child. His eyes darkened as he watched Ditrion.
Ferdin realized that Erin had caught Ditrion's eye.
It was inevitable. The current Erin was shining brighter than anyone else. She wouldn't appear that way only to him.
Anyone would covet Erin.
What should he do if Erin wanted to go to Ditrion, as she had done until now?
He had never held back anyone who wished to leave his side until now.
"I've decided to become His Royal Highness Ditrion's wet nurse starting tomorrow."
"His Royal Highness Ditrion was short on knights, so I had no choice, Your Royal Highness."
Every time he saw the backs of those he cherished, a complex feeling arose within him. But by repeating this, Ferdin learned to give up in order to protect.
After all, if they remained by his side, they might suffer harm due to Ditrion's machinations.
So Ferdin let them all go with a smile. And he protected their lives.
Just then, Erin took his hand. He felt a firm, knightly grip.
Ferdin turned his head sideways to look at Erin. He saw her smiling beautifully.
"Sir Ferdin."
"..."
"Would you dance with me?"
Watching Erin, Ferdin felt something twist within his heart.
'Even if she wants to leave, I want to be with her.'
Erin, as she danced, was breathtakingly beautiful. A tingle ran through his hand where it met hers, and goosebumps rose wherever Erin's gaze landed.
However, Ferdin found it difficult to focus on the dance.
The image of Ditrion's sneering smile wouldn't leave his mind.
He didn't want to leave Ditrion alone after he had looked at Erin with such a filthy gaze.
'Now is not the time to upset Ditrion.'
Ferdin was someone who knew when to bide his time. Provoking Ditrion was not yet the right moment.
But Ditrion regarded Erin as merely an amusing and intriguing plaything.
'She's not someone to be treated that way.'
Therefore, if someone like Ditrion dared to act as he pleased with Erin, Ferdin would no longer tolerate it.
Ferdin recalled the conversation he had with the Princess a while ago.
"Fate has changed. And at the center of that change is Sir Erin."
After the Princess uttered those words, she added something else.
"This is, perhaps... a very remote possibility, but... perhaps she knows a future that hasn't happened yet."
"What do you mean, Princess?"
"No... pretend you didn't hear that. It's the first oracle I've received, so I don't fully understand it either."
What if those words he shared with the Princess were true?
Then it would explain how she, who had never held a sword before, could instantly reach the level of a Sword Master.
Ferdin's expression grew complicated as he looked at Erin.
What kind of future did she know that could make an ordinary lady grasp the ultimate secrets of the sword?
If Erin was enduring everything alone to change a predetermined fate, the weight of the burden on her small shoulders would be heavier than he could ever dare to imagine.
His hand trembled faintly.
He couldn't bear the pity he felt for her. Ferdin felt a tightness in his chest.
Erin turned elegantly and asked.
"Sir Ferdin, what have you been thinking about so intently?"
"Ah... I apologize, Sir Erin."
She had been wondering about Ferdin, who seemed somewhat distracted for a while now.
'Was it shocking that I didn't tell him beforehand?'
Erin thought that and surveyed her surroundings.
Upon entering the banquet hall, she unleashed the aura she had kept hidden.
The effect was immediate. Ashili Duke began to look at her with a terrifyingly stern face, and Corelia and Ditrion were the same.
Several nobles in the banquet hall also stared at her with surprised expressions.
'Still, they won't think I'm a Sword Master.'
However, anyone who had even briefly handled a sword would notice that her talent was extraordinary.
And they would realize. That it was Erin Resus, not Karon Resus, who had been chosen by the sword.
Today, Erin had thrown herself to the wolves.
'I need confirmation.'
She needed confirmation of what she had been suspecting until now. That's why she stepped forward confidently before them.
Because by taking this action, she had to confirm how Corelia, Ditrion, and the others would react.
After the dance ended, Erin and Ferdin moved away from the center. Just then, Derek approached Ferdin and spoke to him.
"Ferdin, His Royal Highness Ditrion is calling for you."
It was time for Ditrion to deliver the Emperor's congratulatory address.
Once Ferdin left, Erin moved towards the balcony, intending to catch her breath while the address continued.
As she did so, she thought of Karon. Having seen him briefly in the banquet hall, he still wore a confused expression.
He seemed to be having difficulty making up his mind and choosing a side.
He had probably guessed how Corelia had tormented Erin, seeing the rustic dress she had sent, but Karon had spent too many years with the Marquis's Wife.
Erin didn't feel any resentment towards Karon. She hadn't expected everything to be resolved with just a word from her, to begin with.
'If they can't believe, then I'll make them believe.'
Erin sensed someone approaching the balcony where she stood. It was a very familiar presence.
The person she had never once forgotten throughout her three lives was approaching the balcony.
Even after dying a miserable death and being reincarnated, Erin had nightmares of Corelia coming for her.
And those nightmares weren't much different from the current situation.
Thinking such thoughts, Erin slowly turned around.
Corelia was opening the balcony door and stepping inside.
