TRWVPS 71

Chapter 71

“Yeah, Kalypse. That attendant who always defended you.”

“……”

Charlotte stared at Erin with bloodshot eyes.

“Do you know why that man died? That pitiful fool dared to threaten Lady Corelia. Lady Corelia, in her mercy, told him she’d spare his life if he switched over to her side….”

“……”

“But that worthless worm wouldn’t listen, so I quietly took care of him. He died worrying about you until the very end. What a foolish idiot.”

Tears fell from Erin’s eyes. Her face twisted with grief.

“So, Kalypse… was worrying about me until the very end….”

Erin had thought he would resent her. If not for her, Kalypse would never have died.

But kind-hearted Kalypse had worried about her, even in his final moment.

Knowing this truth left Erin deeply shaken—and overwhelmingly sorrowful.

Now’s my chance.

Charlotte had brought up Kalypse to deal Erin a psychological blow.

As expected, now that Erin was drowning in despair, it was the perfect moment to strike.

As Charlotte reached toward her, Erin’s face looked so genuinely sorrowful that Charlotte almost burst out laughing.

She had completely underestimated Erin. The image of Erin as a weak little girl was too deeply etched into her mind.

Had she not let her guard down, she might have avoided the fatal blow in that very moment.

What just happened?

Everything happened so quickly her brain needed time to register it.

She felt the words Ah— catch in her throat as her head slowly tilted downward.

And then she realized what had happened.

The last thing Charlotte remembered was Erin’s face, looking back at her.

Her expression was utterly blank.

Corelia was enjoying a moment of leisure.

Behind her, a maid was kneading her shoulders.

“Does it feel good, my lady?”

“Yes, it feels good. You’ve improved.”

The maid smiled with pride at Corelia’s words.

Everything was proceeding smoothly. The puppet Charlotte had crafted of Marquis Rithus was faithfully handling his duties.

Thanks to that, no one noticed that the real marquis had disappeared.

Resting her head on the sofa, Corelia thought of the dungeon where the real marquis was locked away.

By now, Erin must be dead.

There was no chance Charlotte would fail.

Her magical ability far outstripped that of Raymond, who had only just become a high-level knight.

On top of that, Charlotte had swallowed a mana stone, explosively boosting her power.

With that power, she’d even partially transformed her body. Except for Duke Achille, no Sword Master in the empire could easily subdue her—and even if they did, they would suffer serious injury.

That was why Corelia was confident this time.

There had been a few small incidents along the way, but none had truly derailed their grand plan.

“Kyaah! Lady Corelia!”

Just then.

Corelia lifted her head. A maid burst through the door with a panicked face.

“What could possibly make you so rude—”

“The marquis, the marquis turned into sand!”

“What?”

At those words, Corelia shot to her feet.

“When did this happen?”

“J-just now, my lady.”

“Witnesses?”

“Eh?”

“I asked, were there witnesses?”

“N-no… I was alone….”

Grabbing the sword hanging on the wall, Corelia slashed through the maids in the room.

Her movements were so swift they couldn’t even scream. A twisted smile spread across her lips.

The puppet had disappeared. The meaning was clear.

Charlotte has fallen.

The sorceress who had created the puppet was dead. Charlotte had never been weak. For her to be defeated—by whom?

Who could it be? That Sword Master again?

Coincidence couldn’t repeat itself three times. This was no coincidence—it was inevitability.

Corelia was already considering the worst-case scenario.

I have to assume Ferdinand has a Sword Master on his side. I don’t know who it is, but…

She thought she might have to accelerate their plans even further.

She couldn’t tolerate this situation any longer.

Raymond, Charlotte—

They had been like her arms and legs. And now they were gone, one after the other.

A few days later, a messenger arrived at the marquis’ estate. Hearing his report, Corelia hardened her resolve.

“Sir Erin has succeeded in her promotion trial in the West!”

Corelia’s lips curved into a smile as she looked at the messenger. At a glance, it looked like a proud smile. In truth, it was nothing of the sort.

She didn’t know exactly who had defeated Raymond and Charlotte. But she could easily guess that Erin was connected.

Corelia made up her mind.

It was time to draw the curtain on this wretched play that had dragged on for too long.

After striking Charlotte down, Erin collapsed. She no longer had the strength to lift even a finger.

Her vision blurred. She wanted nothing more than to close her eyes and sleep. But when she did, Ferdinand’s face appeared before her.

His blue eyes, filled with only her.

I promised to return…

Erin staggered to her feet. Blood dripped steadily to the floor.

If Helix and Isis die, he’ll grieve….

Erin picked up the vial Charlotte had been carrying. Her trembling fingers almost dropped it several times before she managed to hold on.

At last, she had found Kalypse’s killer and made her pay. But instead of satisfaction, tears streamed down her face.

Charlotte’s earlier words kept echoing in her head.

Kalypse worried about me until the very end.

That knowledge only tormented her more. Her chest felt like it was tearing apart; even breathing was painful.

Even so, Erin couldn’t stop. With trembling hands, she hastily stopped Helix and Isis’ bleeding.

Then she gathered their unconscious bodies and began carrying them out of the now-silent orphanage.

Thankfully, along the way, Helix regained consciousness and managed to carry Isis.

Their bodies felt like they would collapse at any moment, but supporting one another, they somehow made it safely to the western temple.

The moment they arrived, the priests ran out in shock.

“W-what on earth happened here!”

“My goodness, hurry, heal them!”

“What could have caused this….”

“Sir Erin, stay with us!”

“Lady Isis! Sir Helix!”

As soon as they reached the temple, Erin and Helix collapsed to the ground.

Their wounds were severe—and Isis’ condition was no better.

But history had been altered. The western lands would no longer be overrun by monsters.

Even as she lay on the cold floor, Erin thought:

Ferdinand won’t die in the west anymore….

If the place had been discovered years later, the experiments would have continued, the monsters multiplying and growing stronger. The disaster would have been unimaginable.

But it’s fine. It won’t happen now.

At last, Erin felt at peace—and allowed herself to sleep.

It was the first deep sleep she’d had in a long time.

Where is this?

Erin rubbed her eyes.

She was certain she had collapsed the moment she arrived at the temple. Her untrained body had simply given out.

But the place she opened her eyes to was unlike anything she’d ever seen.

An endless forest of towering trees stretched around her. The empire had many forests, but none with trees this massive.

And it wasn’t just trees. Roses—or flowers that looked very much like roses—bloomed along the trunks. Beautiful, yet strangely out of place, they gave the forest an eerie air.

Erin looked around in confusion. She had no idea where she was.

Why had she come here? Had she pushed herself too far and finally died?

She had died before, more than once. But never had she ended up in a place like this. Could this be the last chance granted by the gods?

Perhaps that was why she had been brought somewhere so strange, unlike before.

Is this hell?

If she had died, what about Helix and Isis? Were they safe? The thought filled Erin with dread.

The idea of dying now brought unbearable pain.

Stupid… idiot. You promised you’d return.

He had told her not to go west, that he didn’t want to see her hurt. He believed she would come back. So did Caron.

“Please… just one more chance. Please….”

Erin dug her hands into the soil. She clenched so hard the skin of her palms tore, blood dripping down.