TRWVPS 24

Chapter 24

When he was a child, he too used to crawl under the bed and curl up, crying, just like Erin.
That was why he understood how miserable that feeling was.

And that was why he couldn’t take his eyes off Erin.

Still, unlike her, he had people at his side to endure it with him. At some point, many people who cared for him became his strength.

Because of them, Ferdin was able to grow stronger, and he was never truly alone.

But Erin—the Erin he had seen—was always by herself.

The first time he saw her at the academy, Ferdin couldn’t help but be shocked.

‘How is she enduring that?’

Everyone was condemning her.
On the surface, all the rumors said that Erin Rises was a villain.

But was the Erin Rises they had met truly a villain? Was she really someone capable of killing another person?

Of course, even Ferdin could not be certain that she wasn’t.

Just because she had once cried as a child wasn’t enough to decide the truth.

That was why Ferdin began to observe her—so that he could judge with his own eyes whether she was truly wicked or not.

‘She isn’t a villain.’

The first time he could say that with certainty was when he saw her burying a dead cat, tears streaming down her face.

With her soft, unblemished hands, she covered it with earth and quietly mourned for it.

Ferdin had stood there for a long time, watching her from behind.

She shed her tears silently, as though it was familiar to her. And seeing that, something inside him felt twisted, wrong.

Could someone who casually harmed others cry like that? No—such a thing was impossible.

Then what were all those rumors up until now? Who was responsible for the unjust hatred and slander she had to endure?

Who on earth had dared to spread them?

“What thoughts have you so deep in your head, Ferdin?”

Duke Asili’s words pulled Ferdin out of his thoughts.

The duke, wearing a curious expression, continued,

“And about that monster subjugation from some time ago—the one where an entire horde was annihilated. Do you know who was responsible? No matter how I think about it, that wasn’t something a regular knight could have handled… There are even rumors that a new Sword Master has appeared.”

“As for that, I don’t know either. All I know is that thanks to the person who defeated that horde, I’m alive here today.”

“Well, that may be. I suppose I’ll have to look more closely at the others who were on the expedition as well.”

“Do you think it was one of them?”

The duke shook his head.

“Unfortunately, once you reach a certain level, it’s hard to gauge another’s true strength. So even seeing those who were there, I cannot be sure. Still, I would very much like to meet the one who’s hiding. It’s been a long time since I had a worthy opponent…” the Duke added.

The empire did have two other Sword Masters, but neither could match him.

He had always longed to find someone who could stand as his rival.

‘If none exist, then perhaps one must be made.’

At that sudden thought, the Duke’s eyes gleamed.

There was someone with astonishing talent, after all. What if he were to take Erin Rises as his disciple?

She would progress far faster under him than wasting her time learning swordsmanship here at the academy.

The Duke smiled in satisfaction and nodded to himself.

Not once did it cross his mind that Erin might refuse his offer.

Of course not. What knight would turn down the chance to become his disciple? It was the fastest road to becoming a Sword Master!

He thought of Erin bowing silently when she saw him. Her arrogant temperament suited the role of his disciple perfectly.

The more he thought about it, the more flawless the plan seemed, and it brightened his mood. He was, after all, a simpler man than most imagined.

‘The next time I return to Athetz Academy, I’ll make the offer immediately.’

So resolved, the Duke turned to Ferdin again.

“By the way, I think the Emperor will soon give you a mission.”

“Again?”

“This time, it’s not something you can dismiss so easily. You’ll be heading into the lands of the wolf-tribe to subjugate them and rescue the captives. The 2nd Knight Order under Count Leon will accompany you, but…”

“…”

“Well, it only means the task is that dangerous. I wish you luck surviving again. Who knows? Perhaps another wandering Sword Master will come to your aid.”

With that, the Duke rose from his seat.

* * *

Two months passed quickly.

Erin sat at the table, absently drawing circles on the paper with a small quill.

Her thoughts wandered back over all that had happened in those two months.

She had diligently attended her swordsmanship classes.

Because of that, she had risen into the top five—students capable of carrying out official missions thanks to their outstanding grades.

From time to time, she ran into Ferdin around the academy.
Whenever they met, they exchanged awkward greetings and passed each other by.

Thinking of him brought with it an emotion she couldn’t quite put into words.

Erin pressed her hand against her chest, as if to still her heart, and continued her thoughts.

Sometimes the duke’s daughter came by to chatter about her daily life.

Most of it was trivial: how fine the weather was that day, or that a certain shop had delicious desserts and they should go together.

And… she sparred with Amon as well.

On the paper, Erin sketched Amon’s perpetually angry expression. He always seemed to wear it, even when there was no reason.

He challenged her to duels constantly, but Erin never avoided him.

Thanks to that, Amon’s skills improved rapidly. Seeing this, other swordsmanship students also asked her to spar, leaving her in difficult situations.

Somehow, word even reached Caron, who also requested to spar with her—leaving Erin speechless.

But she did not avoid sparring with her younger brother either.

After being thoroughly beaten by her, Caron muttered over and over, “Unbelievable…”

And the very next day, he began pestering her like Amon, constantly begging for duels all day long.

Thinking of Caron brought a small smile to her face, but then another memory surfaced.

One day, walking down the path, she had accidentally overheard a group of swordsmanship students talking.

“I don’t think I can believe any rumors these days. The ones about Erin are just too strange.”

“What do you mean?”

“Erin’s kind.”

“Yeah. It’s hard to imagine she could ever do those things they say she did.”

It was something she had once longed to hear.
But when she actually did, it didn’t feel like much.
There was no sense of reality to it.

And Raymond—he was like a foreign body in her otherwise ordinary daily life.

Whenever she was about to forget about him, he would get caught secretly watching her during sword practice.

Looking at him, Erin thought again about how she ought to live this second life.

The events to come, the disasters she needed to prevent. And… the people she would have to kill.

In her past life, Erin hadn’t been able to kill even a single insect. The thought of killing a human being had never crossed her mind.

Even when the Marchioness beat her, all she ever thought was “It hurts,” “I’m scared.” Never once did she dream of revenge.

She believed it wasn’t her place to decide life and death.

But if someone sought to kill her—was she supposed to simply accept it?

If she was used until she was spent, then discarded like trash, was she still supposed to forgive?

In her past life, Raymond’s transfer to the swordsmanship department had happened as well. The excuse was that since the duke’s daughter had died because of Erin, he needed to watch over her and prevent further “accidents.”

At that time, Erin had actually thought it was a relief he had come. She believed that with him there, she finally had an ally.

And Raymond, just as she had expected, greeted her warmly when they met, wearing that familiar smile and saying the same words:

“Erin! It’s been a while.”

But after that, she began to hear insults without cause.

People who had no reason to, came to her and vented their anger.

After Raymond arrived, more tragedies began to fall upon her.

‘Still, as long as Raymond is here, I’ll be fine.’

She had known better, and yet she had been complacent.

Raymond had always been there to comfort her when it happened.

Erin recalled how it had been around this same time in her past life.

Back then, Ferdin had also been ordered to subjugate the wolf-tribe and rescue the refugees taken hostage.

But Erin never learned whether he succeeded in that mission. Because at that time—she had fallen into the lake and hovered on the brink of death.

And it had happened while she was with Raymond.