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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 6
Chapter Title: The Reason the Villainess Took Up the Sword, Chapter 6
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Originally, Erin Resus was supposed to fail her sword evaluation and run out crying.
But now, she executed her swordsmanship more flawlessly than anyone else.
Erin descended from the evaluation area. As she moved, those blocking her path slowly made way.
“No way.”
“How did she do that?”
She could hear others conversing in low whispers.
Her body, sensitive from mana, was still tense, easily picking up even faint whispers.
Philip, too, was staring at Erin with wide eyes.
It seemed no one understood how she had performed the Resus family's swordsmanship.
Her palms throbbed, and her overexerted body ached with muscle pain.
Her body screamed for immediate rest, but she couldn't afford it.
There was a reason she had to show a different side in this sword evaluation.
Ferdin was watching her.
Erin's throat tightened. To think such a radiant person, even just standing there, had met *her*...
Whenever her thoughts drifted, they always ended the same way.
*Because he met me... Ferdin died.*
A memory she couldn't forget over three lifetimes.
Ignoring the gazes fixed on her, Erin walked towards Ferdin, who had been watching her for some time.
She finally stood before him, hesitated for a moment, then opened her mouth.
“Sir Ferdin.”
His glorious golden hair shimmered in the sunlight. Erin felt her breath catch in her throat, gazing into the deep blue eyes of the man before her.
Seeing him up close, the reality of his being alive hit her even harder.
The memory of the day Ferdin died was still vivid.
She had cried in her room, praying for his safe return, then heard the news of his demise.
They said not even a proper corpse remained. He had become a monster's meal, gone so miserably.
It was an end unbefitting the Empire's Second Prince. And it was all her fault.
It took much courage for Erin to speak to him.
“Do you still not understand why the Prince died? It was all because he was engaged to you.”
The Marquis's Wife's words, whispered into her ear after his death, came back to her.
Erin hadn't wanted the engagement. She knew her place.
The Second Prince, beloved by all, and the villainess, loathed by everyone, were not a match.
People admired the cold yet decisive First Prince Ditrion, but they wished for the kind and tolerant Ferdin to become Emperor instead.
“He died because of you... him and his knights. Princess Ashili and the Duke were their last hope... If only the Second Prince hadn't been engaged to you, he wouldn't have died.”
The fact that he couldn't become Emperor was all her fault.
Even now, as she spoke to him, Erin felt as though she were killing Ferdin all over again.
“I... I have something to say to you, alone. Could you spare a moment?”
Derek's eyes, standing beside Ferdin, narrowed perceptibly at Erin's words.
She understood his wariness. He must have heard the rumors the Marquis's Wife had spread in society.
The Marquis's Wife deliberately added tears to her lies to tarnish Erin's reputation.
“They say Erin Resus fell for His Royal Highness Ferdin at first sight and has been tormenting the Marquis's Wife?”
“And that she threatened to die if this engagement didn't go through? Truly a wicked woman.”
Erin's face flushed as she recalled the rumors about herself. She dreaded what he might think of her.
‘He'd be justified in hating me.’
She thought it wouldn't be strange if he refused her offer now.
Yet, instead of shying away, he took another step closer to her.
“I can give you all the time you need. But first...”
Ferdin pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and wrapped it around her bloodied, mangled hand.
Erin stared blankly at the neatly tied handkerchief.
He had always been a benevolent man.
To think he could be so kind even to the villainess who was stifling her.
Seeing him, Erin realized again what she had to do.
***
The Atenz Academy dormitory. Within Ferdin's office, the largest room, several people had gathered.
Derek sighed, looking at the individuals before him.
Atenz Academy was founded to nurture many talented individuals.
It was a world too overrun with monsters to afford education based on social status.
So the first Emperor Lexia decreed that status should not be considered within the Academy.
But there was an exception. The Princes of the Lexia Empire were allowed to form their preliminary knight orders from their time at the Academy.
This was due to an ancient principle, passed down through generations: to become Emperor, one must be capable of recruiting such exceptional talents.
Commoner students whose abilities were recognized and who joined the preliminary knight order were sometimes granted noble status after graduating from the Academy.
Those before Derek now were such 'exceptional' students.
They were also loyal retainers who would become members of Ferdin's knight order immediately after his graduation.
Of course, being exceptional did not necessarily equate to having good character.
Derek was simply too ordinary a person to control individuals with such overwhelmingly strong personalities.
He was filled with nothing but the desire to leave this thorny situation immediately.
Amon Hedor, a handsome man with black hair and blue eyes, regarded Derek with eyes full of distrust.
“Erin Resus changed?”
It was Lilia, seated opposite Amon, who responded.
She swept her long, lustrous golden hair behind her ear, a beautiful smile gracing her lips.
“Shouldn't we take Erin Resus on this monster extermination instead of Karon? If the rumors of her excellence are true, we could even give her the special opportunity to exterminate a monster alone.”
As soon as he heard talk of taking Erin on the monster extermination, Karon's face, beside Lilia, hardened ominously.
Was she insane? Give Erin a chance to exterminate a monster alone?
Calling it an 'opportunity' was tantamount to a death sentence.
“Absolutely not. My sister only recently transferred to the Swordsmanship Department. It's far too soon for her to join a monster extermination. Besides, you know very well that only those with top scores can participate.”
Karon also heard that Erin had perfectly performed the Resus family's swordsmanship.
He couldn't help but doubt his own ears, especially after Edward approached him and spoke.
“Why didn't you say Sir Erin learned swordsmanship? If she's at that level, she must have been training since childhood.”
That couldn't be. His sister, Erin Resus, had never learned swordsmanship.
His mind was already preoccupied thinking about Erin's injured hand from that morning, and the continuous strange rumors only worsened Karon's mood.
“My sister has never held a sword. She absolutely cannot be taken on a monster extermination.”
“Hmm... that's truly odd, isn't it? Someone who's never learned swordsmanship perfectly executing the Resus family's techniques? Aren't you being a bit *too* protective of your sister, even for you?”
Lilia said, casting a sidelong glance at Karon.
“Such enviable sibling affection. I, too, once had a brother like that. Though, thanks to *someone*, I'll never see him again.”
“Enough, Lilia.”
Karon gritted his teeth at the incomprehensible situation.
He didn't know why these rumors were spreading, but he planned to ask Erin as soon as this meeting ended.
If Erin were to participate in the monster extermination because of those false rumors, it wouldn't be the monsters she'd need to fear, but Lilia, who was sitting right beside him, would surely not leave her alone.
She might even attempt to kill Erin, making it appear as if she'd been attacked by a monster.
Karon felt a knot in his stomach just from the fact that he was sitting next to Lilia.
Lilia shrugged as if Karon's sensitive reaction was amusing.
He quietly swallowed. The first thing Karon truly grasped upon arriving at the Academy was how many enemies Erin had.
Even when they lived at the Marquis's castle, he had a vague idea of what she'd done. But he hadn't cared how it looked to others.
He had even deliberately tried to avoid hearing rumors and gossip about Erin. He'd simply thought, carelessly, that things would eventually improve.
That's why he had no idea that Erin had killed Lilia's innocent brother eight years ago.
Karon only learned the full story behind that incident shortly after he began attending the Academy.
