Chapter 2

After fainting two more times from seeing blood, I finally learned the secret to not passing out again.

The moment I woke up, I had to keep my eyes closed.

“Sigh. You’re finally awake?”

I heard Kaiden’s voice beside my bed.

“Yes.”

“Why do you keep fainting? Didn’t they say it was only a light concussion?”

Kaiden asked the military doctor nearby. The doctor looked nervous and couldn’t answer.

Of course he can’t answer. Even I’m shocked by this. Damn it.

During the times I fainted, I kept dreaming about my past life.

And I realized something.

In my previous life, I had been a weak person with hemophobia—a fear of blood that made me faint whenever I saw it.

And on top of that, I had reincarnated into the romance fantasy novel Following the Saintess’s Wish that I once read during the darkest time of my life.

Who would have thought the trauma from my past life would still affect me now?

“Damn it…”

“…Marion Krugman. Did you just say something vulgar?”

Kaiden scolded me, but I barely heard him.

In the future, Kaiden kills me.

Well, it made sense. Killing a Swordmaster would be difficult unless it was done by another Swordmaster.

“Damn it. Haah. This seriously sucks.”

“Marion!”

“Your Grace. I think I’ll faint again if I open my eyes. Could you move me to a room where I can be alone? I have something to tell you.”

When I said I might faint again, Kaiden’s voice softened slightly.

“Are you feeling unwell? Is it something difficult to say in front of the soldiers?”

“Yes.”

Right now, I truly couldn’t open my eyes.

There were definitely bloodstained bandages scattered around the medical ward.

“I understand.”

The next moment, my body suddenly lifted into the air.

Startled, I immediately opened my eyes and saw Kaiden’s face right in front of mine.

“Y-Your Grace?!”

I shouted in panic, and Kaiden frowned.

“You’re noisy.”

“I-I meant move me on a stretcher for injured soldiers!”

“This is faster.”

“No, but still—!”

This was humiliating!

No matter how rough I acted, I was still one of the Gratier Empire’s Swordmasters!

What about my dignity and reputation?!

I struggled wildly in shock.

Just as Kaiden muttered, “Stay still for a moment—”

I saw a wounded soldier covered in blood.

“AAAH!”

And I fainted again.

* * *

When I opened my eyes, the first thing I saw was a chandelier.

Holding my aching head, I slowly sat up.

“…Am I inside the Grand Duke’s castle?”

“Yes.”

“Gah!”

Kaiden was sitting beside the bed with his arms crossed, staring at me.

“You scared me! You sit there like a ghost without making a sound.”

I muttered the last part quietly.

Kaiden raised an eyebrow.

“Looks like you’re feeling better now.”

“Yes. Well…”

Looking around, it seemed he had given me one of the guest rooms inside the castle.

‘At least it’s not the medical ward. I won’t have to see blood anymore.’

Then I suddenly remembered Kaiden carrying me in his arms.

‘Damn it. How embarrassing.’

Feeling bitter, I glared at my superior.

Kaiden didn’t even blink before speaking.

“I clearly told you to return to formation.”

“……”

I immediately changed my expression into that of an innocent lamb.

A troll larger than normal was difficult to handle alone, even for a Swordmaster like me.

Of course I could defeat it, but it required more time and concentration.

Kaiden sighed.

“Haah. Are you desperate to die?”

“…I’m sorry, Your Grace.”

“…What?”

Kaiden looked at me in shock.

Why was he reacting like that?

Still, that wasn’t the important issue right now.

I had just remembered my past life, and countless thoughts were still storming through my mind.

Now I had become someone who fainted whenever I saw blood.

And according to the novel, I would eventually die at the hands of the Grand Duke standing before me—Kaiden.

So what did I need to do to survive?

The answer came quickly.

“Your Grace. There’s something I need to tell you.”

“…What is it?”

After a brief pause, I spoke.

“I want to retire.”

I should disappear from the stage completely.

* * *

“What? Sir Marion said she wants to retire?”

Kaiden’s aide, Vito, asked in shock.

“Could it be related to how she fainted three times today?”

Kaiden sat behind the large office desk, resting his chin on his clasped hands.

“She says she faints whenever she sees blood.”

“…Excuse me?”

Vito stared at him in disbelief.

Kaiden slightly frowned.

“And she apologized to me.”

“…Do you mean an apple?”

“Yes, that apology. She said she was sorry.”

“Huh?!”

Vito’s mouth fell open.

He reacted as if apologies were poison.

But anyone who knew Marion couldn’t help being shocked.

Marion apologized?!

Normally she would pout and stubbornly insist that none of it was her fault, and that the soldiers and knights were simply too weak, stupid, and slow compared to her.

“She definitely hit her head hard… Maybe she developed some kind of trauma…”

At Vito’s muttering, Kaiden looked slightly surprised.

“Trauma?”

“Yes. There’s no way Sir Marion would apologize unless she suffered a serious mental shock.”

“…That does make sense.”

Kaiden nodded seriously.

* * *

“Damn it! I fainted again?!”

The problem started when I encountered a soldier wearing a bloodstained uniform while walking through the castle hallway.

When I opened my eyes again, I was back in the guest room.

“To collapse like someone who can’t even digest porridge…”

I pressed a hand to my forehead.

This world wasn’t like my previous life, where people could survive without killing even an ant.

Monsters existed here.

Wars with neighboring countries happened often.

And in a world like this, I had a body that fainted at the sight of blood.

Danger could come from anywhere at any time!

On top of that, according to the original story, my future ended only in death.

To summarize:

Kaiden and I were both important supporting characters in the novel.

The male lead was Second Prince Lucas Gratier, who opposed the Crown Prince, his half-brother.

Kaiden supported Lucas.

And I, Marion, supported the Crown Prince.

That was why, at the climax of the story, Kaiden and I fought a duel with our lives on the line.

And I lost.

And died.

‘I can’t die like that.’

I paced anxiously around the room.

Sure, I supported the Crown Prince, but would I really throw away my life for him?

To be honest, I had liked the Crown Prince.

A lot.

While struggling on the battlefield, I often thought about his gentle voice, his beautiful blond hair, and his green eyes.

But strangely, my feelings toward him no longer felt the same.

Was it because I remembered my past life?

I even started wondering why I had fallen for him in the first place.

Because he was kind to a commoner like me?

Because he looked like an angel descended from heaven?

What if the reason I loved him existed only because the story needed it to?

Knock knock.

“Who is it?!”

I shouted sharply at the sudden knock.

“It’s me.”

It was Kaiden’s voice.

Startled, I quickly opened the door.

“Your Grace, what brings you here…?”

Without thinking, I respectfully bowed and guided him into the room.

“…You’re different from usual.”

“Huh?”

Kaiden muttered with a serious face.

“You definitely hit your head badly. I heard you collapsed again.”

What was with that reaction?

He was looking at me like I was some poor patient.

‘Ah!’

Only then did I realize.

‘I’ve been acting way too polite and nice!’

Who was “Marion Krugman”?

The Empire’s greatest troublemaker!

The woman most famous for treating her superiors like dirt!

Normally, even in front of someone as powerful as the Grand Duke, I would casually say things like:

“Why are you here?”

or

“Were you hoping I’d die?”

I would have said all kinds of rude things.

I quickly lifted my head to look at Kaiden—

But he was already two heads taller than me.

…Well.

Since things turned out this way, maybe pretending I became more polite after injuring my head wasn’t such a bad idea.

“Yes. So… could you please allow me to retire?”

“…You really must have been suffering a lot.”

‘?!’

Surprisingly, he looked worried about me.

Seeing humanity on that man’s face felt unbelievable.

Of course, to people who didn’t know Kaiden, he probably still looked expressionless.

But I had spent ten years fighting beside him in snowy battlefields.

I could clearly see a trace of concern in his eyes.

“Marion. It is difficult for Swordmasters of the Empire to retire. The imperial family will never allow it.”