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Chapter 69
The Reason That Villainess Took Up the Sword
‘Is that the medicine bottle?’
He remembered it from the diary. Without taking the medicine, it was hard to regain one’s sanity.
It was at that moment that Isis reached for the bottle.
“Found the suppressant, have you?”
Startled by the sudden voice, he turned his head. There stood someone with a grotesque appearance.
A creature that was too human to be a monster, yet too monstrous to be human. Its arms were like those of a beast, but its face was distinctly human.
She was staring at Isis.
“How did things get to this point?”
Saying that, Charlotte swung her hand.
Isis, holding the bottle, was pushed backward, slammed against the wall with such force that he coughed up blood.
Charlotte tilted her head as she observed him.
“To finish quickly, I should have taken the bottle first. If he doesn’t take the suppressant in time, he’ll never go back.”
She wasn’t speaking to Isis.
“Ah, I hate the way mana stones make me feel stupid. I bet the ones who were here before felt the same, right?”
With that, Charlotte approached Isis and snatched the bottle from his hand.
She grabbed his chin, inspecting his face from every angle, muttering to herself.
“You’re the one they value so much in the West, right? The so-called hope of the people?”
“……”
“I’m tired of that hope.”
Charlotte smiled as she spoke. The sight was grotesque.
“Isn’t it? Erin Liscus, the knights, even you… all of it. Hope, hope, hope.”
“Who are you?”
“The way you wriggle like a worm while talking—so pathetic.”
“What have you done here?”
At his words, Charlotte lifted Isis by the neck.
“You have no right to say anything. Just listen to me!”
“Ugh……”
“By the way, you seemed close to Erin Liscus. How is that possible?”
“What?”
Charlotte seemed to hold back some strength, but Isis felt otherwise. He struggled desperately to escape her grip.
“That foolish girl, famous as a villainess, right? So why did she help Erin Liscus?”
“……”
“You realized she wasn’t really a villainess, didn’t you?”
“That… ugh, what are you saying…”
Isis frowned, struggling to speak. He couldn’t understand what this monster in front of him was saying.
Charlotte whispered to him.
“Everyone knows at the academy that Erin Liscus killed someone. But she didn’t. I did it.”
At that, Charlotte completely relaxed her grip on his neck.
Isis slumped to the floor, gasping, doubting his ears.
“The arrogant servant must have thought she looked pitiful being punished. Not knowing her place at all.”
Erin Liscus.
Luxurious, indulgent, and a villainess. She had been called that her whole life.
After realizing that Erin might be ‘the one,’ Isis found it strange. The Erin he saw was completely different from the rumors—so why had she been living under such blame?
The truth he learned now was even more shocking. Everything had been fabricated; she had taken the blame for someone else’s crimes.
“At first, I was annoyed, but when he died, Erin Liscus’s eyes completely lost their life. Isn’t that interesting?”
“How can a person… do that…”
“No matter how much others insulted her, her eyes had always been full of hope… but when he died, they just died with him.”
“……”
“Suddenly I’m curious. You became friends with Erin Liscus? If I killed you, would she react the same way?”
Shocked, Isis couldn’t speak.
But if the monster’s words were true, everything the saint had said and everything different about Erin made sense.
“Until Erin arrives, shall we have some fun, just the two of us?”
Helix felt awe. Erin, exhausted, had taken care of all those monsters.
‘Is this what a Sword Master is…?’
A shiver ran through his body. But above all, Helix admired Erin’s resolve.
It might have been easier to treat them as monsters and take them down, rather than fight like knights sparring.
Yet Erin risked injury, swinging her sword honestly.
Helix clenched his fists. At the academy, he couldn’t understand Ferdin protecting her.
But the more he spent time with Erin, the more he understood why Ferdin and his knights-in-training liked her.
It wasn’t her strength. It was Erin Liscus herself who made hearts race.
Helix approached her slowly. Erin’s body was covered in wounds.
She had faced far more monsters than he had, and even protected him at times. It was only natural.
“Lady Erin, are you alright?”
Erin didn’t answer. Helix, puzzled, moved closer.
Then Erin swayed.
“Lady Erin?”
Helix quickly caught her. Her body was scorching hot in his hands.
He was alarmed. Until a moment ago, her condition seemed fine. Now something felt wrong.
He carefully inspected her. There was a sense of unease.
‘Her body isn’t trained.’
But she was a Sword Master.
A Sword Master being this weak? Impossible by Helix’s understanding.
She looked like someone who had just picked up a sword.
Helix realized her bleeding was serious. Fear gripped him.
Her pulse felt unusually weak.
‘She can’t be dying… can she?’
His face turned pale.
‘I need to get her to Isis for healing.’
Helix lifted Erin onto his back, intending to head straight to where Isis was.
He couldn’t let her die here.
Having witnessed her brilliant will and noble spirit, he vowed:
‘Even if I die, I must save her.’
And so, Helix headed to the basement.
“Isis?”
Helix couldn’t comprehend the scene before him.
Descending the stairs to the basement, he saw Isis bleeding, held in the grasp of a monster.
It was clear he was in critical condition—wounds all over, eyes swollen almost shut.
“Just in time, huh?”
The monster looked at him with a grotesque smile.
“Perfect condition. Even with monstrous talent, you can’t handle that many monsters and come out unscathed.”
“……”
“And with such a foolish method, too.”
“Foolish method?”
“Pathetic, isn’t it? Wasting time and energy on monsters like that?”
Helix felt anger surge, but he could do nothing.
Isis was still trapped in the monster’s hand.
If he rushed in now, he couldn’t guarantee Isis’s safety.
Moreover, Helix could sense the monster was stronger than him.
It wasn’t someone he could handle.
The monster spoke to him.
“Hand him over.”
But at that moment, Isis, held by the monster, spoke.
“Hel…ix, leave me and escape with Lady Erin.”
“What?”
“Lady… Erin… is the one.”
Helix’s eyes widened.
What he had thought about Erin earlier—Isis had realized the same.
Helix had more questions, but Isis could speak no more.
The monster tightened its grip.
A scream erupted from Isis.
“Don’t say useless things.”
By Charlotte’s monstrous strength, Isis lost consciousness, his body going limp.
Helix could no longer think clearly. For some reason, the monster’s target was Erin.
“Annoying little worms, aren’t you? Didn’t I say only I could speak?”
Charlotte muttered as she tossed the unconscious Isis to the floor.
Meanwhile, Helix laid Erin down behind him. She smirked at him.
No matter how noble humans pretend to be, everyone acts the same when pushed to the limit.
“Good thinking. If you leave Erin Liscus behind, she might survive.”
Of course, Charlotte had no intention of keeping that promise. If Erin were left, she would kill her, and then follow them to finish them all.
But Helix’s action completely defied Charlotte’s expectations.
He faced her, sword in hand.
