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Chapter 39
‘What is this?’
It wasn’t his own aura, but another suffocating pressure that he felt. He tore his gaze away from Elua and turned toward Erin, who stood before him.
Her eyes were filled with cold contempt.
“To recklessly unleash your aura on an ordinary person… how impressive.”
At Erin’s words, Roham’s hand twitched toward his sword, as if he couldn’t stand the insult any longer. That was exactly what Erin wanted. She fixed her eyes on him and said,
“This place is too cramped. Why don’t we take this outside?”
Without waiting, she walked straight toward the dormitory doors. She could hear Roham’s angry footsteps following close behind.
“You must really want to be humiliated in front of everyone!” he bellowed.
The moment Erin thought of who Roham was, a memory surfaced.
‘This man was destined to lose his knighthood anyway.’
In the future—her past—Dietrion had provoked Ferdinand into a duel. Their knights, Amon and Roham, ended up clashing.
When Amon emerged victorious, Roham refused to accept defeat and stabbed Amon in the shoulder out of spite.
That disgrace cost him his title as a knight. Afterward, Erin never saw him again.
Most likely, Dietrion—prideful as he was—had discarded him. To Dietrion, a knight who lost to Ferdinand’s man would be nothing but trash.
As soon as they stepped outside, Erin could feel the eyes of onlookers. That was precisely what she wanted.
When dealing with Dietrion, the more witnesses there were, the better. He was a crown prince obsessed with reputation.
“Erin Reasus!”
Roham roared and reached for his sword—but it never left its sheath.
Someone had seized his hand.
‘Finally.’
Erin shifted her gaze to the man who had stopped Roham.
He had silver hair falling to his shoulders, and blue eyes that resembled Ferdinand’s. An overwhelming aura coiled invisibly around him.
Roham immediately bowed his head in submission, a stark contrast to how he had shouted at Erin and Elua only moments ago.
It was him—the First Prince of the Lexia Empire.
Dietrion.
The man most favored to be the next emperor, and Ferdinand’s lifelong rival.
“Erin, it’s been far too long, hasn’t it? I apologize for Sir Roham’s rudeness. Who would have thought he’d cause such a scene over delivering a single letter?”
Erin let out a faint laugh at his words. She had felt Dietrion’s eyes on her long before he revealed himself.
He must have been watching all along, sending Roham with the letter while observing her reaction.
Dietrion stepped closer. His hand brushed against her ear as he let out a soft chuckle.
With his elegant features and radiant smile, the gesture looked charming—perfectly princely.
“Come to think of it, Erin, I heard you accomplished something remarkable…”
“……”
“Together with Ferdinand, you rescued the refugees. Though I wonder—what role could someone who only just picked up a sword have possibly played there?”
He wasn’t wrong.
After Erin slew the Wolf Tribe’s chieftain, Amon and Lillia had led the captured refugees to safety.
The Wolf Tribe, seeing their leader dead, hadn’t dared attack them again.
This made Ferdinand’s expedition an overwhelming success—completely different from the past.
“I heard it was thanks to the Sword Master who appeared during the monster subjugation reappearing there.”
“Just lucky, I suppose.”
“Yes, almost too lucky. Don’t you think it’s strange? That an unknown Sword Master keeps showing up again and again. Doesn’t it sound… impossible? Almost as if…”
Dietrion tightened his grip on Erin’s hand.
If this had been her months ago, she would have cried out from the pain.
“…as if it were you, the young lady of a marquisate family, standing right before me. A lady who once had never even touched a sword, suddenly growing calluses on her hands, and ranking among the top five in the beginner’s division.”
“……”
“Tell me, Erin. Is that just luck as well?”
Dietrion Lexia.
Erin had despised him from her very first life. He was the only outsider who had known she was being abused by the marchioness.
Her memory flashed back to when she first met him as a child.
The marchioness had brought him into the estate, smiling in a way she never did for Caron.
“Erin, come greet him properly. He is to be the future emperor.”
At those words, he smiled at her just as he had now.
To Erin, he had looked like the shining princes from fairy tales. His noble laughter made her feel even more shabby in comparison.
She had flushed red in embarrassment. On the surface, he had seemed flawless—beautiful, cold, and regal. That was the image the world saw.
Every time Erin faced him, she had averted her gaze, sneaking shy glances full of admiration.
‘The prince shines so brightly…’
That was what she believed—until the day he discovered her being punished.
When she cried for help, terrified of the marchioness’s punishments, Dietrion had simply smirked and turned away.
She could never forget the word he spat at her:
“Filthy.”
Snapping back to the present, Erin wrenched her hand free, stepping back.
The spot where he had touched her felt like a crawling insect had passed over her skin.
“My ranking in the swordsmanship department is not luck, Your Highness. It is skill.”
“Skill?”
She brushed her hand off, as if wiping away filth.
Dietrion only laughed, amused by her defiance.
Unlike before, her rebellion seemed to intrigue him.
‘So Erin Reasus could act like this? The rumors of her change weren’t lies after all.’
But his interest had limits. Dietrion was not someone who tolerated opposition to his will.
“Interesting. That skill… would you show me? I have a fondness for talented people, you see. Who knows? Perhaps I might even want you in my own knight order.”
“Unfortunately, I already have an appointment.”
“An appointment?”
“Yes. I’m due to meet Sir Ferdinand, so I’ll have to decline.”
He tilted his head, feigning disappointment.
“That stings. I thought we were closer than Ferdinand and you. After all, haven’t we known each other since childhood?”
“…….”
“So, instead of meeting him, why don’t you do what I ask? Show me your swordsmanship, Erin Reasus.”
“……”
“This isn’t a request. It’s a command.”
His tone hardened, arrogant and domineering.
The twisted expression on his face resembled the day he had called her filthy.
‘There he is. This is the real Dietrion.’
Smiling faintly at the thought, Erin let him seize her wrist again, this time with even more force.
Academy Central Hall.
Inside the conference room they often used, all of Ferdinand’s provisional knight order members had gathered.
Caron looked restless, like he was ready to bolt out the door any moment. Derek sighed and shook his head at him.
Ever since learning Erin was injured, Caron had been like this—restless, anxious, as though she might die the moment he left her side.
‘He’s not normal either,’ Derek thought with a grimace. Still, he understood.
He himself had felt the same way when Ferdinand was hurt.
When Ferdinand entered Wolf Tribe territory, both Derek and Caron had chased after him.
But no matter how they searched, they couldn’t find Ferdinand or Erin.
It was only after wandering for a long while that they encountered Amon and Lillia leading refugees to safety.
And with them—an unconscious Erin and Ferdinand.
Both Derek and Caron had screamed as they rushed to them.
Since then, Caron hadn’t left Erin’s side.
When he even tried spoon-feeding her meals, Lady Asili herself had been unable to hide her expression of dismay.
Derek let out another sigh before asking Ferdinand,
“Ferdinand, this doesn’t make sense. Just what is your relationship with that Sword Master?”
“……”
“The monster subjugation, and now the Wolf Tribe hunt too… You can call one coincidence, but not two. Their chieftain just happened to be dead? Do you really think the emperor will believe such a report? Don’t you agree?”
He turned to Amon and Lillia, looking for their support.
But instead of agreeing, both of them avoided his eyes.
