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Chapter 75
The Reason That Villainess Took Up the Sword
“Erin? It really is you, right? I’m not seeing things?”
“I’m speechless. You actually passed the Western Promotion Trial and came back alive.”
At Derek’s words, Amon smacked him on the back. Derek grumbled in pain.
It was the same daily life of the knights she always knew. Erin felt relief at the sight.
If Ferdinand had been gravely injured, such a sight would have been impossible.
Still, she couldn’t rest easy until she saw him with her own eyes. At that moment, Helix spoke.
“Amon Hedor, where is Lord Ferdinand now?”
“Ferdinand’s in his office.”
The moment Amon answered, Erin and Helix immediately turned and rushed off.
Just as Amon had said, Ferdinand was indeed in his office. Derek, who had come along with Erin and Helix to the dormitory, entered first and beckoned them inside.
Ferdinand, gazing out the window, turned at the sound of the door opening. The moment he saw Erin enter, he shot up from his seat.
He stared at her for a long time, as though he couldn’t believe his eyes.
“Sir Erin?”
“I’ve returned, Lord Ferdinand.”
Slowly, he stepped closer. As he took in her appearance, his face hardened—he had noticed her wounds.
Seeing his expression darken, Helix asked,
“Your Highness, have you been hurt?”
Ferdinand looked at Helix and replied,
“The fact you ask that… means you already know I was attacked.”
“……”
“Yes, I was attacked. If it weren’t for Amon, things could have gone very badly.”
“Was the assailant caught?”
“No. He took his own life on the spot.”
Helix’s face clouded over. This wasn’t the first time Ferdinand had been assaulted.
At the Imperial Palace, he had constantly lived under threats to his life.
But since entering the neutral zone of Atenze Academy, such incidents had not occurred—until now. For it to start again, there had to be a reason.
“Your report can wait, Helix. I need a word in private with Sir Erin.”
At Ferdinand’s words, Helix gave a grim nod and withdrew. Derek followed him, leaving only Erin and Ferdinand in the office.
Ferdinand looked at Erin, filled with emotions he could hardly put into words.
“Are you all right, Sir Erin? Was it very hard?”
His face was etched with worry.
Erin considered her own condition. Though the temple had healed much of her body, many of her wounds had not yet closed.
“May I… come closer, Sir Erin?”
She gave a small nod.
Ferdinand studied her from head to toe.
“You’re injured.”
Startled by his words, Erin froze, unable to answer.
He gently guided her to the sofa and seated her.
“May I take a look?”
Again, she gave a small nod.
With her permission, Ferdinand carefully examined her wounds.
There were many visible injuries, but also countless bandages wrapped beneath her clothes.
Her body was battered and broken. Ferdinand squeezed his eyes shut.
He had thought he only wanted her to return safely to his side.
But now, seeing her bloodied and wounded before him, heat welled up inside his chest.
It was anger. Anger at himself for being powerless while she was hurt. Anger at those who had done this to her.
Watching him, Erin whispered softly,
“I’m fine, Lord Ferdinand.”
He felt as though he might go mad. She looked anything but fine.
“I only wish… you would value yourself more, Erin.”
“……”
“I don’t blame you. But when you’re in pain… it tears at my heart.”
At his words, Erin could not respond. Even if the same situation repeated, she knew she would make the same choices.
“Sir Erin… if I do something improper right now, will you forgive me?”
“Lord Ferdinand?”
Ferdinand recalled a memory—the words she would have given him, had the “eyes of truth” shown him a past where he had lived.
He pulled her into a careful embrace. Erin’s eyes widened in shock, her body frozen.
“I missed you, Sir Erin.”
“……”
“I’m glad you’ve returned safely.”
Helix later reported everything that had happened in the West to Ferdinand. With each detail, Ferdinand’s expression grew heavier.
The atrocities committed by the monsters wearing human skins. Erin’s deeds on behalf of those who had been turned into beasts.
At the end of his report, Helix handed over a diary.
“This diary records in detail the horrors that occurred, Your Highness. It may be best if you do not read it.”
“No, I must. It is my duty.”
At that moment, a sharp headache struck. Ferdinand’s special ability had been triggered. His face twisted in pain.
For a brief instant, he glimpsed into the past of those who had written in the diary.
Agony. Regret. Pain. Yearning.
Not from a single person, but from many—so overwhelming it nearly shattered his mind.
What had been done to them… was something no human should ever be capable of.
He felt sick, nauseated at the torment the dead had endured.
His complexion turned pale, for in their memories, he had seen a familiar face.
Among the researchers—was Ditrion.
“We could uncover little about the mastermind, but it seems connected to the Marchioness. Just give the word, and we are ready to fight at any time.”
“……”
“If this had been discovered years later… who knows what might have happened? It’s possible the same horrors are being carried out elsewhere in the Empire even now.”
“This is something I cannot allow.”
“If Duke Asili learns the full truth, he will support us. No one cherishes knights more than he does.”
As Helix spoke, Ferdinand recalled the future he had seen.
Himself leaving for the West.
Erin waiting for him.
And himself, never returning.
Had Erin not gone to the West, who knew what the monsters there would have become?
The West would have been annihilated, and years later, he too would have died.
“A river of blood would have flowed.”
For the sake of his people, Ferdinand knew—it was time to make a decision.
Ditrion burst into laughter, as if amused.
“So you’re saying… all those knights really fell?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“And Erin Rises killed them all? Helix Exalt had nothing to do with it?”
The knight before him nodded.
“It’s true, Your Highness. Erin Rises handled everything herself. It seems her level is far beyond what was believed.”
Ditrion smiled, intrigued. He had suspected she harbored secrets.
But this was far beyond what he had imagined.
Very few had ever succeeded in the Western Promotion Trial. Among the famous was Duke Asili.
But even he had only gone West for the trial as a graduation requirement to become an official knight.
And yet Erin, still only in the beginner’s class, had passed the trial.
“Succeeding in the trial is plausible. Even if she started swordsmanship late, she was blessed with divine talent.”
“……”
“But tell me—do you believe it possible for Erin Rises to have defeated those knights?”
“No, Your Highness. Impossible.”
“……”
“That cannot be explained away as mere talent.”
“I think the same.”
Ditrion’s eyes gleamed, a touch of madness flickering within them.
“Others will think so too. That kind of strength is unnatural. But there are ways…”
The knight could not discern his thoughts. But he too knew the forbidden means by which a human could become stronger in a short time.
“As His Majesty said… Erin Rises must have used forbidden methods.”
“But Your Highness, if that is true, we would be making enemies of her entire house.”
“Everything is proceeding step by step, regardless.”
At his words, the knight felt a chill of dread.
The forbidden method. Strength gained through mana stones infused with black magic.
To practice black magic was a capital crime, punishable by immediate execution.
