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Chapter 82
“……”
“Perhaps it was also fate that the jewel changed color around the time you met Sir Erin again.”
Ferdin said that with a faint smile. Erin looked down at the necklace in her hand.
A plain necklace with a dull green gemstone.
But in her eyes, it looked more beautiful than anything else.
That evening.
When darkness fell, Erin opened her eyes. She carefully sensed her surroundings.
There were ten knights guarding the prison entrance. Beyond the prison, more knights were stationed throughout the Academy grounds.
The knights belonged to Count Leon’s 2nd Knight Order, which Erin had seen earlier.
“Count Leon himself doesn’t seem to be here.”
Erin glanced at the prison bars made of mana-suppressing stone. They were sturdy, but not unbreakable with enough force.
Without hesitation, she gripped the bars. If another knight had seen her, they would have been horrified.
Touching mana-suppressing stone with bare hands? The moment one touched it, all their mana would be drained.
That was why only knights of Swordmaster level could possibly withstand it. For anyone else, it was nearly impossible.
But Erin didn’t stop at gripping the bars.
She began channeling mana into her hands. There was no longer any meaning in staying locked up here.
Breaking out of the cell, Erin calmly walked forward. One knight, who had been dozing off, spotted her and nearly screamed in shock.
“Wh-… wh-who…?”
With a simple gesture, Erin knocked him unconscious. But he was only the beginning.
She found a sword at the knight’s waist and naturally picked it up.
For some reason, the blade felt heavy—just like the very first time she had held one upon arriving at the Academy.
It was strange.
Perhaps it was simply the weight of her resolve, Erin thought.
Sword in hand, she stepped out of the prison.
“Who goes there?”
“Erin Rysus? How on earth did you escape?”
The knights cried out in confusion the moment they saw her.
But regardless of their alarm, Erin remained calm.
She clutched the necklace at her throat.
Perhaps it was only in her mind, but she felt warmth in her chest. She was about to face a battle, one against many.
And her opponents were the 2nd Knight Order—an elite force, one of the finest in the Empire.
“If you refuse to answer, we’ll kill you!”
Erin quietly struck first.
Clang!
With a clear ring, the knight’s sword—raised to slash at her—snapped cleanly in two. His face twisted in shock.
“W-what the—?!”
“Could it be true, that she used black magic?”
“Forget capturing her alive! Kill her!”
The knights formed ranks and charged her.
Erin wordlessly tightened her grip on the blade.
The 2nd Knight Order was no match for her.
To stand against her, at least a Swordmaster was needed. Strange mana shimmered along her blade.
The knights recoiled as they saw her body and sword radiating mana, backing away, their fighting spirit faltering in an instant.
“A Swordmaster?”
“No—that’s impossible!”
“It must be sorcery. Think of Erin Rysus’s age. It’s utterly impossible!”
The 2nd Knight Order tried to deny the reality. But even as they did, they faltered, unable to approach her.
It was easy to strike down enemies who had already lost their will to fight. With every swing of her blade, another sword broke.
Some knights tried to flee, but Erin quickly struck them down with blows to the neck, knocking them unconscious.
Without hesitation, Erin began running. Mana wrapped around her legs as she dashed forward like a wild beast.
She intended to head straight for House Rysus’s estate. That would have been her path—had she not encountered the young noblewoman on the way.
“Sir Erin.”
Erin stopped, facing the lady standing in her way.
Though she had tried not to harm the knights too badly, it was impossible that none had been injured.
Glancing at her palm after brushing her cheek, she saw blood there.
She could imagine how she must look reflected in the lady’s eyes—like a monster that preyed upon humans.
“My lady, please step aside.”
At her words, the young lady’s face crumpled as if she might cry. She tried to hold back, but in the end, tears fell.
Erin could not bring herself to approach, and silently watched.
“Sir Erin, thank you. That’s what I wanted to say.”
Erin didn’t understand. The lady gave her a sorrowful smile and continued.
“During the monster subjugation… you protected me even while injured.”
Lady Asili clenched her fists tightly, her eyes trembling.
“Every time I saw you, I wanted to say it. Thank you for saving my life. That day, my life should have ended….”
“……”
“You’re truly a kind person.”
Lady Asili had survived thanks to Erin.
After the divine revelation had shown her that moment, she had always wanted to repay Erin’s kindness.
She had wanted to say to the lonely knight: I will always be by your side.
To tell her: You are truly kind. I am alive because of you. And if I can be of help, I want to help you.
And now, she realized, was the moment she had been waiting for.
Cough!
The young lady coughed blood.
Startled, Erin tried to rush over, but the lady shook her head.
She had received a revelation before coming here. And because of it, she had known Erin would attempt her escape tonight.
She believed the reason God had shown her this was for Erin’s sake.
“Count Leon intends to kill Sir Caron.”
“……”
“One hostage is enough, after all.”
The more she spoke, the worse her condition became. This was the price of revealing the future.
“Ferdin and the knights have gone to stop him, but they won’t be enough.”
“Can you tell me where?”
“Go to the western forest of the Academy.”
With those words, the young lady finally sank to the ground. As Erin rushed forward to support her, she shook her head again.
“Hurry. Save the ones precious to you.”
Meanwhile, Caron had no idea what was happening.
The 2nd Knight Order had suddenly confined him to a room and were now forcibly escorting him somewhere.
“What is the meaning of this?!”
Even when he demanded answers, the knights gave him none.
Though Caron had been training diligently of late, he was still only a student of the sword.
There was no way he could resist knights of the 2nd Knight Order, some of the strongest in the Empire.
And where they brought him, it wasn’t just the knights waiting.
Standing before Caron was Count Leon himself—a Swordmaster, one of the Emperor’s closest confidants.
A Swordmaster? Caron instantly realized something was very wrong.
Swordmasters did not move lightly. They only acted when directly commanded by the Emperor.
Count Leon sneered at him.
“Have you heard already? Your father, Marquis Rysus, has committed crimes and fled.”
“What nonsense is this? My father, committing crimes?”
“You truly don’t know?”
At Caron’s bewildered expression, Count Leon looked down at him with scorn.
“Evidence of black magic was found beneath your family estate.”
“My father… would never do such a thing.”
“Caron Rysus, all the evidence is there. Some even claim Erin Rysus did not gain her strength from the Sword’s Choice, but through black magic.”
“My sister…?”
“Yes. That’s how she suddenly grew stronger. Doesn’t it make sense now?”
“……”
“Even if she had received the Sword’s Choice, it’s absurd to grow that strong so quickly.”
“……”
“She was never chosen by the Sword. That talentless villainess conspired with her father to mock us all.”
Rage filled Caron’s eyes.
“Do not speak so lightly of my family. They are not people to be slandered. You don’t even know how hard my sister worked…”
Count Leon scoffed.
“You just couldn’t accept that the Sword’s Choice has ended.”
With those words, he turned away as if Caron were unworthy of his attention.
Caron could not comprehend what the knights were saying.
Something is wrong.
The father he knew—the Marquis Rysus—was a man of immense responsibility.
Few were as loyal to the Empire as he was. Of course, his loyalty was to the Empire itself, not wholly to the Emperor—and therein lay the problem.
That was why the Emperor regarded him with suspicion. The Emperor knew the Marquis’s devotion was not his alone to command.
Realizing this, Caron’s face hardened. A worst-case scenario flashed through his mind.
