TRWVPS 12

Chapter 12

“Don’t be ridiculous!”

He had been honing his sword since childhood—since before he could even remember properly.

Of course, he sometimes slacked off and was scolded by Duke Hedor, but at the very least, he had spent far longer with the sword than Erin Rhesus ever had.

Yet Amon could not shake from his mind the memory of Erin Rhesus’s delicate hands.

It hadn’t even been a year since he had seen them at the banquet hall.

Even if she had started training with a sword right after that day, there was no way she could be stronger than him now.

Amon’s eyes tracked the trajectory of her blade.

Despite his fierce attacks, she showed no sign of panic. She received strikes filled with killing intent as naturally as if water flowed.

It was impossible to believe that someone with no real battle experience could move with such composure. And yet, at times, the thrust of her sword was frighteningly sharp.

Amon instinctively realized that if she had truly intended to kill him, she could have done so several times already.

Cold sweat trickled down his back before he realized it.

He was supposed to be a genius. Everyone had always said he would become a great knight.

But then—what was Erin Rhesus, who hadn’t even held a sword for a full year?

For the first time in his life, Amon felt powerless.

Impossible. I’ve trained for more than ten years… and she… in less than a year…

Erin’s blade sliced through a strand of his hair.

If this were a real battle, that stroke would have taken his life.

The sword that had pressed her so hard at the beginning was now losing strength in every swing.

In the end, her blade stopped right before his face.

This time, he had no excuse.

Amon’s bloodshot eyes burned with fury. He couldn’t believe the outcome.

But the sword before his eyes made it undeniable.

He had lost.

He had been defeated—by Erin Rhesus.

“…The duel is over.”

Lady Asilly spoke calmly, summarizing the situation.

She didn’t look surprised, as though she had expected this result all along.

Even after her words, Amon couldn’t move for a long time.

Erin could even see the faint trembling of his hand.

The shock was obvious. It was unfortunate, but also inevitable—something he had to face sooner or later.

Erin sheathed her sword, intending to leave.

She had no wish to stand there watching someone else’s humiliation. More importantly, she needed rest before the monster attack in a few days.

This frail body of hers already felt exhaustion from just that short duel.

I need to recover quickly.

Facing a horde of monsters was no easy task.

No matter how much Amon had provoked her, agreeing to the duel had been a mistake given her physical condition.

Maybe… I just wanted to land a hit on him.

She admitted to herself that she had been somewhat impulsive.

As she turned to head back to the subjugation squad, Amon suddenly approached.

His fists clenched so tightly they flushed red. Erin understood what he must be feeling.

People are helpless before a strength they cannot overcome.

Some collapse in despair. But Amon wasn’t the type. His anger would only make him stronger—he wouldn’t give up. He couldn’t accept that a so-called villainess, who didn’t even care for honor, was stronger than him.

That frustration would drive him. He was different from the Erin Rhesus of the past.

With a trembling voice, Amon looked down at her and asked:

“How… how is this possible?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You haven’t been holding a sword for long. I remember from the banquet—your hands…”

Then why are you stronger than me? His pale face betrayed shock.

Erin remembered that time he spoke of—the powerless girl waiting alone at the corner of the hall.

That must have been his last memory of her.

But there was no way to explain why she had become so strong. He would never believe she had died and come back to life three times.

“I turned out to be more of a genius than I thought.”

“What?”

Her words twisted his face. He must have thought she was mocking him.

But she was only speaking the truth. In her past life too, she had been a genius who surpassed Amon.

Even if she had trained the “normal” way, the outcome wouldn’t have been much different.

Amon’s face flushed red with humiliation. He ground his teeth and spat:

“Of course. That’s the kind of person you were. I never expected anything.”

“……”

“Why someone like you has such talent, I’ll never understand. The gods must be merciless—to bless someone who knows nothing of honor…”

Forcing the words out through clenched teeth, he glared at her.

“I lost. I won’t deny it. Do as you please.”

With that, he closed his eyes, as though leaving his life or death in her hands.

That was when Erin felt something strange.

The ground was trembling.

Amon too noticed the sudden vibration.

There shouldn’t be tremors like this here…

He quickly opened his eyes—and saw Erin right before him.

She grabbed his collar with one hand and pulled him close into an embrace.

It happened before he could react.

Has Erin Rhesus lost her mind? Why would she suddenly… hug me?

“It’s faster than before…” she muttered words he couldn’t understand.

The smell of blood drifted faintly through the air. But neither of them had shed blood in their duel.

He looked down at her smaller figure—

And froze.

Her back had been torn open.

His expression hardened as he looked forward. A monster, at least of intermediate rank, stood there.

But what truly shocked him wasn’t the monster—it was what he saw beneath her torn clothing.

Her body was covered in scars, as though carved apart countless times.

They weren’t fresh wounds from the monster—these were old marks of torment.

The sight of those still-healing scars on her pale back seared into his mind.

Marks of something that had clawed, ripped, stabbed into her body—horrific signs of abuse.

It was grotesquely out of place on the body of a marquis’s daughter.

He had only seen such scars once before—on a prisoner in the dungeon when he had followed his father.

“They are being punished for their crimes, Amon.”

Duke Hedor had covered his young son’s eyes then—the scene too gruesome for a child.

Remembering that day, Amon froze, holding Erin who had shielded him.

Those scars were undeniable evidence.

Erin Rhesus… was abused?

Even as he saw them with his own eyes, he couldn’t believe it.

Everyone knew the stories of Marquis Rhesus doting on his daughter, covering up her every fault. His affection was so blatant it made others frown.

To the world, Erin Rhesus was a spoiled villainess, wrapped in jewels and silks, living selfishly as she pleased.

But now, Amon doubted. Was the woman in his arms really that villainess of rumor?

If the rumors were true, why did her body bear such scars?

Did Caron Rhesus know? Did the Marquis? Who could have done this to her?

And—was Erin Rhesus really the one who killed Calypse?

Amon felt as though he had glimpsed a secret he was never meant to know.

“You…”

“Sir Amon, now is not the time to stand still.”

Her sharp words snapped him back.

She had been injured protecting him. That too was something he could not comprehend.

“Why… why would you…”

But Erin gave no answer.

Her expression twisted briefly at the pain in her back, then she firmly gripped the sword at her waist.

The monster screeched.

With a swift motion, Erin swung her blade toward it.

To slay an intermediate-level monster, one needed to imbue the sword with mana—a feat only knights at an advanced level could achieve.

Even Amon hadn’t reached that level yet.

But Erin was effortlessly infusing her sword with mana as she moved.

Erin Rhesus… an advanced knight?

Her natural, fluid motion—like one with mana itself—held Amon spellbound.