‘Don’t be ridiculous!’

He had been honing his sword skills since childhood, from a time he could barely remember.

Of course, he often got scolded by Duke Hedor for being lazy at times, but he could proudly say he had been training with a sword far longer than Erin Liserth.

Amon still couldn’t forget the delicate hands of Erin Liserth he had seen before.

It hadn’t even been a year since he witnessed her hands at that party.

Even if she had been practicing swordsmanship since then, there was no way she could become stronger than him.

Amon traced the trajectory of Erin’s sword.

Despite his fierce attacks, she remained calm. She handled his killing-intent-filled strikes with flowing ease.

She showed a composure impossible to imagine in someone with no combat experience. And occasionally, her thrusting sword was surprisingly threatening.

Amon instinctively knew that if she had wanted to kill him, she could have done so several times over.

Cold sweat began to run down his back.

He was a genius. People always said he would become an outstanding knight. Then what exactly was Erin Liserth, who clearly hadn’t held a sword for even a year?

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

‘This is impossible. My sword skills that I’ve honed for over ten years… in less than a year…’

Erin’s sword cut through a strand of his hair. If this had been a real battle, he would have lost his life to that sword just now.

Amon’s sword, which had initially pressured Erin, gradually lost its strength. Finally, her sword stopped right in front of his face.

This time, there was no room for excuses. Amon’s eyes turned red with anger. He couldn’t believe this outcome.

But Erin’s sword right before his eyes clearly stated it.

He had lost. He had been defeated by Erin Liserth.

* * *

“The duel has ended.”

Princess Asili calmly summarized the situation.

She didn’t seem particularly surprised. She looked composed, seemingly having expected this result.

Even after the princess spoke, Amon remained motionless for a long time.

Erin could see his hands trembling slightly.

He was clearly shocked. It was unfortunate, but something he would have had to experience eventually.

Erin sheathed her sword, intending to leave.

She didn’t particularly want to watch someone in shock, and she needed to rest in preparation for the monster attack coming in a few days.

This weak body of hers was already feeling tired from that brief duel.

‘I need to recover quickly.’

Facing a horde of monsters wouldn’t be easy.

No matter how much Amon had provoked her, considering her physical condition, she shouldn’t have accepted the duel.

‘Maybe I just wanted to teach him a lesson.’

She admitted she had been somewhat impulsive.

As Erin turned to head back to where the subjugation team was, Amon approached her.

His clenched fist was red. She could understand his emotions.

People become powerless when faced with strength they cannot overcome.

Some people give up and do nothing in frustration. But the Amon she knew wasn’t that type of person.

He would grow stronger from his anger toward her, rather than becoming discouraged. He probably couldn’t accept that a dishonorable villain like her was stronger than him, which would fuel his determination.

That was the kind of person he was. He would be different from the past Erin Liserth.

Amon looked down at Erin and asked in a trembling voice.

“How is this… possible?”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“You haven’t been holding a sword for long. I remember seeing you at parties. Your hands…”

But why are you stronger than me? Amon’s pale face showed traces of shock.

Erin remembered the moment he was talking about. Her powerless self, waiting alone in a corner of the party hall for time to pass.

That was probably the last image of her that Amon remembered.

However, there was no way to explain why she had suddenly become stronger. She didn’t think he would believe the truth that she had died and come back to life three times.

“I guess I’m more of a genius than I thought.”

“What?”

Amon’s face contorted at Erin’s words. He seemed to think she was mocking him.

But what she told Amon was also true. Her past self was indeed a genius who surpassed Amon.

Even if she had learned swordsmanship through normal methods, the result wouldn’t have been different.

She could see Amon’s face reddening with humiliation. Grinding his teeth, he spoke to Erin.

“Right. You were always that kind of person. I expected nothing less.”

“…”

“I don’t understand why someone like you has such talent. Even God is cruel, bestowing blessings upon someone who knows no honor…”

Amon glared at Erin and forced himself to continue.

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

Amon closed his eyes after saying those words. His attitude suggested she could kill him or spare him as she pleased.

That was when Erin sensed something wrong.

The vibrations in the ground were changing.

* * *

Amon also felt something strange about the sudden vibrations.

There shouldn’t be such tremors in this area?

When he quickly opened his tightly shut eyes, he saw Erin Liserth approaching him.

She grabbed his collar with one hand and embraced him.

It happened before Amon could react.

What was wrong with Erin Liserth’s head? Suddenly embracing him like this?

“It’s faster than before…”

Erin muttered something he couldn’t understand.

Amon couldn’t help but be confused. A fishy blood scent was coming from somewhere. But neither of them had bled during their fight.

Amon lowered his head to look at her, who was shorter than him.

Erin’s back had been torn open by something.

Amon looked straight ahead with a rigid face. There was what appeared to be at least a mid-level monster.

But what shocked him even more was Erin’s body visible through her torn clothes.

Below the wound inflicted by the monster, there were marks all over her body as if she had been butchered.

Those weren’t wounds she had just received from the monster. They were traces of older torment.

Those marks on her white back, still not fully healed, wouldn’t leave his eyes.

They were wounds from something that had clawed, torn, and stabbed her body. Traces that were horrifying just to imagine how they were inflicted…

These marks seemed out of place on the body of someone who had lived as a duke’s daughter.

Amon had seen someone with such scars before.

A prisoner he saw when he followed his father to the underground dungeon.

Similar wounds to that man, whose survival was questionable, were on Erin’s back.

“They ended up like that because they committed crimes,” Duke Hedor had said, covering Amon’s eyes. The sight was too horrific for someone as young as he was then.

Recalling that incident, Amon held onto Erin, who was embracing him, forgetting even to breathe.

Clear evidence that she had been abused by someone was right there.

‘Why would Erin Liserth have such wounds on her body?’

Amon couldn’t believe the marks despite seeing them with his own eyes.

Stories about Duke Liserth’s love for Erin Liserth were famous. No matter what she did, the Duke was busy covering up his daughter’s mistakes.

That blatant affection made people frown.

A person surrounded by dazzling jewels and beautiful dresses, living as she pleased. That was the Erin Liserth known to the world.

But now, Amon had doubts. Was the woman in his arms really the villain from those rumors?

If all that was true, why did she have these wounds on her body?

Did Karon Liserth know about this? Duke Liserth? No, who could possibly leave such wounds on her?

Was it really Erin Liserth who killed Calips in the past…?

Amon felt like he had seen a secret he shouldn’t have.

“You…”

“Lord Amon, this is no time to be standing still.”

Amon came to his senses at Erin’s words.

She had clearly been injured while protecting him. Even that action was incomprehensible to Amon.

“Why on earth…”

Erin didn’t answer his question.

She winced briefly, seemingly annoyed by the wound on her back. But she immediately grabbed the sword at her waist.

Screech-!

Erin swung her sword toward the monster that let out a bizarre shriek.

To kill a mid-level monster, one needed to be able to infuse mana into their sword, a skill only achievable by reaching the level of a high-ranking knight.

That was a level even Amon hadn’t reached yet. But Erin was easily infusing mana into her sword and displaying her swordsmanship.

‘Erin Liserth is a high-ranking knight?’

Amon couldn’t take his eyes off Erin, whose movements seemed so natural, as if she had become one with mana.