TRWVPS 23

Chapter 23 

Raymond hurried straight toward Erin as though he had been waiting for the moment.

She was wiping the sweat from her brow while chatting with the students of the Swordsmanship Department. From time to time she laughed, her expression so natural and friendly that it seemed almost unfamiliar.

What’s this… Erin Rysus… could she really smile like that?

That sight twisted Raymond’s insides even more.

“Erin, earlier I didn’t get to greet you properly…”

As he said this, Raymond reflexively reached out to ruffle her hair. In the past, whenever his hand touched her head, Erin would blush and beam happily.

Because of that, the thought that Erin might reject him had never once crossed his mind. Such a thing was unthinkable.

Erin Rysus had always been a girl starved for affection.

Smack!

Raymond’s face contorted instantly, though he quickly masked it with a troubled smile.

Erin had slapped his hand away. Not lightly, but with a surprising amount of force. His hand quickly turned red and swollen.

From Erin, he felt something strange.

He had seen her just a few months earlier. Back then, she had chattered away to him as usual, cheeks flushed, greeting him with the eagerness of a little puppy.

That Erin had always welcomed him, clung to him, followed him.

Which was why Raymond felt so certain now—she had changed.

Just then, Erin smiled faintly, almost shyly.

“I’m sweaty right now, Raymond. I’ll probably smell.”

Right, of course. There was no way Erin Rysus could change. Raymond swallowed that thought down, muttering to himself.

“…I suppose joining the Swordsmanship Department has changed you a little.”

“That can’t be. You, on the other hand, haven’t changed at all. Not one bit… and I’m really glad.”

Her words carried layers of meaning. Raymond truly hadn’t changed. That same smile, those same gestures—down to the very fact that he was still trash.

Erin wanted to thank him for staying exactly the same.

Because of that, she could carry out her revenge without the slightest pang of guilt.

Her lips curved into a beautiful smile—so dazzling that Philip, who stood beside them, couldn’t help but gape.

✦ ✦ ✦

“Ferdinand Rexia.”

Ferdinand lifted his gaze toward the man who had just spoken his name.

The man’s towering figure seemed almost large enough to block out the doorway. He was one of the three pillars said to support the very Empire itself.

“It’s been a while, Duke Asilly.”

Though Ferdinand was a prince, it wasn’t strange for him to address the duke politely while the duke spoke to him casually. Only the Emperor himself had the authority to demand the duke’s respect.

And because the duke had long been close to Ferdinand’s mother, it was natural for the way he had spoken to Ferdinand since childhood to remain unchanged even now.

Duke Asilly’s expression was unusually softened.

With his naturally fierce features it wasn’t obvious, but Ferdinand, who had known him since he was young, noticed the difference.

Beside the duke sat his daughter, sipping tea with a face that radiated irritation. With a loud clink, she set her teacup down on the desk.

Her behavior was far from the refined image people usually associated with a noble lady.

Yet Duke Asilly only looked at her fondly, as though even that was adorable.

Ferdinand frowned slightly, exasperated by the duke’s shameless doting.

Then the duke’s smile faded, his sharp gaze turning to Ferdinand.

“I heard you readily accepted the engagement with Erin Rysus… Don’t tell me you already knew? Did your ability reveal her talent to you?”

Ferdinand looked puzzled, meeting the duke’s eyes.

From his reaction, the duke realized he wasn’t aware of Erin’s talent.

Then why accept it?

Duke Asilly couldn’t understand. Ferdinand Rexia was not the naive, angelic prince the world imagined him to be.

For the sake of the countless lives resting on his shoulders, he could be more ruthless than anyone. He had even once pretended to be romantically involved with the duke’s daughter—his bitter rival—just to protect his people.

The duke could still remember them walking arm-in-arm, both with sour expressions.

He couldn’t openly help Ferdinand in his conflict with Ditryon. The Empire’s three Sword Masters checked one another’s power, and two of them supported the Emperor. By unspoken rule, they could not interfere in the imperial succession struggle.

But matters of their children’s “romances” were another story.

The kids used me indirectly, I suppose.

Thus, the duke had assumed Ferdinand accepted the engagement with Erin after discovering her exceptional talent. One chosen by the sword’s will possessed extraordinary gifts.

If Ferdinand was merely keeping her close as a pawn, the duke could never allow it.

For someone like Erin Rysus, a potential future Sword Master, to be reduced to a tool—it was intolerable to any true follower of the sword’s path.

“Why are you keeping Erin Rysus by your side? You know the Emperor is scheming. What exactly did those eyes of yours see?”

The secret behind House Rexia’s prosperity—

The Eye that Sees Truth.

That power belonged to Ferdinand Rexia. Only Duke Asilly, his daughter, and a handful within the Holy Kingdom knew.

If the Emperor ever learned of it, he would have tried to kill Ferdinand at once.

If only he could wield it at will, the duke thought, studying him.

The Eye showed fragments of the world’s truth—visions of the past, memories indiscriminately laid bare.

Ferdinand could not control it freely.

Still, it was a useful power. The duke had believed he’d glimpsed Erin’s talent through it. But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Ferdinand shook his head.

“That isn’t something I can explain.”

For indeed, he had seen a vision of Erin.

But it wasn’t of brilliance or of a pampered noble lady.

He had seen a small, pitiful child, cowering beneath a bed, hands pressed over her mouth to stifle her sobs.

A sight that mirrored his own wretched childhood.

It was incomprehensible. Erin Rysus was the treasured daughter of a marquisate, adored by all—or so the world believed.

The common story was that her father’s overindulgence had turned her into a villainess.

Ferdinand couldn’t believe she’d endured such a miserable childhood.

Yet his eyes told him that was the truth.

The duke said no more, because his daughter jabbed him in the ribs with a scowl.

“Sometimes people have things they want to hide, Father. Especially if it’s something painful.”

“…”

“So until they tell you themselves, you have to wait. Some memories hurt just to recall them. Don’t judge her based on rumors alone. It’s like how people assume my life is easy just because I’m your daughter and the Saintess.”

The duke faltered at her words. Truly, she was the only person who could silence him so easily.

“But the truth isn’t like that, is it? I’m always in pain. People say they wish they could be Duke Asilly’s daughter, or that being born as the Saintess must make life easy. But they only see the surface and think whatever they like.”

“…”

“And… I don’t believe Lady Erin is a bad person. She reminded me of you, Father.”

Ferdinand’s face twisted at that.

How could the towering, bear-like Duke Asilly possibly resemble Erin? He was even a middle-aged man with a mustache.

Of course he knew she didn’t mean appearance, but the comparison still grated on him.

“And Lady Erin is my friend.”

The young lady paused, then added, almost sheepishly:

“Though… it feels like I’m the only one who thinks so, for now.”

For once, Ferdinand agreed with her. Erin was not an evil person.

People judged too quickly from appearances and rumors.

To the world, Ferdinand might look like the perfect prince with an enviable life.

But the truth? His father wanted him dead, and his brothers despised him.