Prologue / Chapter 1

There were two Swordmasters in the Gratier Empire.

One was a woman from the slums. Uneducated, rough in speech and behavior, and famous for fighting like she was dancing with a blade on the battlefield. People called her the “Ruffian Warrior,” Marion Krugman.

The other was Grand Duke Kaiden Baltstein, known as the “Blue-Eyed Berserker” because whenever he drew his sword, he cut down enemies like a madman.

So when news spread that these two were getting married, everyone in the empire was shocked.

Even Marion herself.

“Your Grace. Have you gone crazy?”

“No.”

“Then why the hell are you marrying me?!”

Marion shouted angrily. Across from her, Kaiden answered with an unmoving face.

“Do you already have a man to marry?”

“Well… no, but…”

“Then it’s settled.”

“What do you mean it’s settled?!”

Marion felt frustrated.

“No, seriously! How can you suddenly announce that we’re getting married?!”

“You were standing next to me.”

“What kind of nonsense is that?!”

She was so angry it felt like steam would come out of her ears. Kaiden muttered with the slightest trace of guilt on his face.

“Before the imperial princess proposed to me… you were beside me.”

Marion clenched her teeth.

“So… you didn’t want to marry the princess, so you dragged innocent me into it and said we were planning to marry?!”

“Is marrying me really such a terrible thing? It should be a good offer for you too.”

Kaiden stepped closer. Marion immediately jumped back in shock.

“And why would this be a good offer for me?”

“You said you wanted to retire.”

“…!”

Marion narrowed her eyes.

“You were the one who said the Empire would never let a Swordmaster retire.”

“But you’re a woman.”

“Hah. So you did know I was a woman.”

Marion stared at him in disbelief.

“You have always been a woman.”

That made her speechless. Well… yes, she was a woman, not a man. While she was silently accepting that fact, Kaiden continued.

“When a woman marries, she serves her husband and devotes herself to his family. What if we use that old social custom?”

“…What?”

“No matter how powerful the imperial family is, they can’t use the Grand Duchess as a soldier.”

Marion felt like she had been hit in the back of the head.

Why had she never thought of that?

It was such a simple way to achieve the retirement she had desperately wanted for years.

‘Marriage existed!’

And if she became the wife of a Grand Duke… even the imperial family would have difficulty controlling her.

Still, there was one problem. Marion spoke quietly.

“But I was born a commoner. The Grand Duke’s family will oppose it.”

Kaiden looked amused.

“They dare oppose the bride I chose?”

Marion narrowed her eyes.

‘Is this the confidence of a madman?’

Still, his words made sense.

Marion had to retire. As soon as possible.

Her daily life was already becoming difficult. If she stayed on the battlefield any longer, the sight of blood would slowly destroy her.

After quickly thinking it through, Marion nodded.

“Then let’s make this deal.”

“Good.”

The Swordmasters of the Gratier Empire shook hands.

That was the moment the Ruffian Knight and the Berserker decided on a fake marriage.

Chapter 1

Even I thought I was a ruffian.

You couldn’t survive in the slums otherwise.

Then one day, I learned swordsmanship from a one-armed knight. I was excited because it felt like I had finally found family in the man who claimed to be my guardian.

“The kid’s smart enough to earn her meals.”

That was before he sold me to a mercenary group.

Ironically, that was when my luck changed.

I traveled north with the mercenaries to hunt magical beasts.

In the snowy Baltstein territory, enormous monsters appeared endlessly.

Beside me, mercenaries collapsed one after another, staining the white snow with blood.

I gritted my teeth harder.

I nearly died many times.

And just when I truly thought I was going to die—

“Huff… huff…!”

The monster that had been trying to kill me split into two pieces at the tip of my sword.

“Au-Aura! This girl used Aura!”

I still remember the first time I used Aura.

The knights around me shouted in shock.

They looked at me with both excitement and awe.

Then I heard the sound of horse hooves in the distance.

A nobleman riding a black horse approached, his black hair blowing in the wind.

Even after stepping down from the horse, he was still two heads taller than me.

Looking down arrogantly, he asked,

“Name.”

“…Marion…”

“Marion. I, Kaiden, grandson of the Grand Duke of Baltstein, recognize you as a Swordmaster. I order you to devote your strength to the Gratier Empire. Once the monster extermination is complete, you will enter the Imperial Palace with me.”

“Wooooah!”

The soldiers cheered loudly.

The morale of the northern army soared.

At the time, I didn’t know that every Swordmaster in the Empire was forced to swear loyalty to the imperial family and live as the Emperor’s knight.

It was to prevent future rebellion.

But I knew nothing.

I was simply staring blankly because the noble standing before me looked cool.

He was tall, but his face still looked young, only four or five years older than me.

Even so, he carried great dignity.

I think I also liked the jeweled brooch on his clothes.

It matched his blue eyes perfectly.

“Answer.”

“Y-Yes! I-I will follow you!”

I answered in a panic.

Such an important noble had personally stepped down from his horse to speak to me, yet I had stood there silently. That was unbelievably disrespectful.

The moment he heard my answer, Kaiden turned around and climbed back onto his horse.

The cloak over his shoulders fluttered in the wind.

And just like that cloak, my heart fluttered too.

That was my first meeting with Kaiden.

* * *

Ten years later.

“Ahahaha! Die!”

“Kyaaaak!”

An orc collapsed with a scream like a pig being slaughtered.

I laughed with excitement.

The soldiers beside me looked disgusted and backed away, but I ignored them.

“You weak bastards! How dare you stand in the way of Lady Marion?! Today is your ticket to heaven! Ahahaha!”

Then a cold voice came from behind me.

“Ruffian. Stop acting arrogant.”

It was Kaiden, who had been giving orders to the knights.

I clicked my tongue and shut my mouth.

The youthful look he once had was completely gone. Now anyone could see he was truly the Grand Duke of Baltstein.

‘He keeps calling me a ruffian, but he’s the real lunatic.’

I no longer got fooled by that handsome face.

After becoming a Swordmaster, the Emperor gave me the title “Knight of Fire.”

It was only because my hair was red.

People whispered that if I had been born a noble, I would have at least received the title of Baron.

But back then, I was too uneducated to even know what a Baron was.

I foolishly thought:

‘Aren’t all nobles basically the same? And being a knight sounds cool!’

Now, at twenty-three years old, I finally understood how terrible my position was.

‘I’ve spent ten years fighting monsters in this freezing land, so why do they still treat me like this? Do they know how much I’ve sacrificed for the Empire?!’

Even now, I was still “just a knight.”

“Ruffian. Don’t let your guard down. Stay focused.”

Kaiden shouted from behind.

“Yes, sir.”

I answered lazily.

Apparently he didn’t like that either.

“Answer properly.”

His cold voice made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up.

“Yes!”

I immediately dashed forward.

At that moment, chaos erupted from one side.

“GROOOAR!”

“It’s a troll!”

“It’s twice the size of the normal ones!”

Behind me, I heard Kaiden shout,

“Come back, Marion!”

But I ignored him.

I was irritated.

I was angry that my abilities were never truly recognized.

Angry that I had spent ten years in this frozen land.

Angry about my low birth.

Everything irritated me.

Maybe I was too distracted.

“GRAAAH!”

BAM!

“Cough!”

The troll’s giant hand slammed into the right side of my head.

My vision spun.

Damn it. Making a mistake like this ruined all my dignity.

“Marion!”

As my consciousness faded, I saw Kaiden riding toward me on horseback.

He instantly drew his sword.

Recently, he usually only watched from behind, so this was unusual.

His desperate expression slowly blurred.

And then I lost consciousness.

* * *

I had a dream.

I was a taekwondo athlete.

The opponent in front of me was a national player I absolutely could not lose to.

My spinning kick landed perfectly.

And the moment I saw the blood from my opponent’s nose—

I collapsed.

It was hemophobia.

Fear of blood.

When I woke up, every news channel was mocking me for fainting after seeing blood during the Olympics and losing the gold medal in the most ridiculous way possible.

I had still won a silver medal for my country.

But nobody praised me.

They only criticized and mocked me.

I hid under my blanket and cut myself off from the world.

Reading web novels helped me forget reality.

It was fun.

I spent my days blankly staring at the words on my phone screen.

After living like that for days… then weeks… I finally left the house one month later.

And got hit by a car.

That was how I died.

* * *

“Gasp!”

“Knight Marion is awake!”

The medic shouted.

The flood of memories left me dizzy.

‘What is this? A past life?’

My head spun.

I had seen a completely different world.

‘Was it a dream?’

But it felt unbelievably real.

Groaning, I held my aching head and slowly sat up.

Then my eyes met Kaiden’s.

“Marion.”

“Ugh… Your Grace… where am I?”

Kaiden looked slightly angry.

He strode over to my bedside with large steps.

“The medical ward. I told you to return to formation—”

Medical ward.

Right.

A medical ward filled with injured soldiers and blood everywhere.

“AAAAH!”

I fainted again immediately.

“Marion?!”

Only Kaiden’s shocked voice remained behind.