Her entire body felt heavy. It seemed to be from overexerting this fragile body and then getting caught in the rain.

‘I feel awful too.’

She stared blankly at her two hands.

The sensation of killing something was always unpleasant, no matter how many times she experienced it.

Yet somehow she had grown accustomed to that dirty feeling, able to kill without hesitation.

In the past, she had been a girl who struggled to kill even a single insect.

She had been an ordinary duke’s daughter who, though unhappy, loved the occasional cake, the dresses Duke Liserth gave her as gifts, and flowers.

But that Erin Liserth no longer existed. Because if she didn’t kill, she would die instead.

Erin continued walking, dragging her heavy body.

The subjugation team wasn’t far.

When she got there, Princess Asili and Karon would be waiting for her, alive. And Ferdin would be there too…

‘Waiting?’

Erin’s steps gradually slowed. She wasn’t sure returning to the subjugation team was the right choice.

Would they really be waiting for her?

Erin looked down at her hands. She saw her palms stained bright red with a mixture of her blood and monster blood.

Ferdin’s apprentice knights disliked her, but they were all kind people. Without them, she surely would have died long ago in her previous life.

Erin recalled the faces of people who died trying to protect her. The Princess had survived. Perhaps the future would change too?

If Erin Liserth were to die here by monsters… perhaps a better future would unfold. A future where Ferdin wouldn’t face difficulties because of her would disappear.

If only she were gone… everyone might be happy.

‘No. There are still things I need to change…’

There were still many things she needed to change.

Erin thought this as she resumed her heavy steps. But even so, she lacked conviction.

Was “having many things to change” just an excuse? Was she simply forcing herself to belong there?

In her previous life, she had always been lonely.

Though engaged to Ferdin and forced to be with them, she always knew her existence was foreign.

Unable to do anything, she only caused trouble for everyone and tarnished Ferdin’s honor.

Yet throughout it all, she had always wanted to be with them.

She wanted to laugh and chat among his knights.

“Lady Erin…?”

Erin turned her head at the voice calling her. Ferdin stood there. Her eyes met his deep blue ones, like the depths of a lake.

Erin swallowed.

With the unique sensitivity of a Sword Master, she had sensed someone’s presence, but hadn’t expected it to be Ferdin.

Erin stopped walking and stared at Ferdin. For some reason, he was alone.

He was drenched in sweat, looking at her with disbelieving eyes, seemingly in a hurry to get somewhere.

His urgent breathing revealed how much he had rushed.

Had he been busy taking care of the Princess? Erin thought this as she lowered her eyelashes.

“What in the world…”

At Ferdin’s words, Erin recalled what she must look like right now.

Ferdin’s golden hair, soaked by rain, had lost its strength and clung to his face, but he looked as beautiful as ever.

Her appearance, covered in blood, must be terribly unsightly.

It was nonsensical for an ordinary person to face a monster horde without getting even a scratch.

No, simply returning alive was abnormal.

That’s why Erin had deliberately covered herself in blood.

But she didn’t want to show this appearance to Ferdin. She looked like a murderer.

That wasn’t exactly wrong, but exposing this side of herself so nakedly was different.

While Erin was lost in thought, Ferdin hurriedly approached her and examined her condition. His eyes caught the large torn wounds and red marks remaining on her skin.

Ferdin removed his clothes and carefully wrapped them around her blood-soaked body.

Erin looked up at Ferdin with a puzzled expression. She could feel his rough breathing up close.

Why…?

She had caused this man’s death in her previous life.

If she continued to stay by his side, incidents like today wouldn’t end with just one occurrence.

It was certain that inexplicable trials would continue to befall them.

“Don’t do this to me.”

“…”

“Don’t be kind to me.”

When Erin said this, she saw Ferdin’s eyes widen.

“Just hate me.”

Like everyone else…

Erin swallowed those words she couldn’t bring herself to say.

She had always wanted to tell him: if you had blamed me, you would have survived.

He should have cursed her for being a coward and despised her as a villainess like others did. If he had, he could have lived the future that was meant to be.

‘Things will probably be different now.’

Since the Princess had survived, Ferdin would now be happy with her. If she just finished everything and disappeared, everyone could be happy.

Thinking this, Erin tried to move.

She didn’t want others to catch them alone together. She didn’t want to leave even the slightest possibility of him being harmed because of it.

But her physical condition was worse than she had expected.

Her fragile past body had reached its limit just from moving a little.

After taking a few steps, Erin felt her body tilting.

‘Not now…’

Her current body was still insufficient to contain the mastery of her previous life. She felt strength draining from her legs. The ground was coming toward her.

No, it would be more accurate to say her body was collapsing.

‘This will hurt when I wake up.’

With that final thought, Erin lost consciousness.

* * *

The castle of Duke Liserth.

The sturdy castle gate was massive, seemingly refusing to allow any enemy intrusion, and the spirit of the knights inside was equally impressive.

This powerful force, too strong for a mere duke, was built up by Duke Liserth who had spent his lifetime guarding the border.

The Duchess reigned like a queen there.

Duke Liserth rarely visited the castle as he was busy guarding the border, and Karon was too occupied with training to pay attention to household affairs.

Because of this, the power accumulated by the Duke became the Duchess’s.

Duchess Corelia looked down from the top of the castle.

‘What fools.’

She smiled a twisted smile, thinking of the stupidly kind people of the Duke’s household.

Everything was going smoothly. If things continued this way, everything would surely go according to plan.

She was waiting for a messenger who would soon arrive at the castle. The news he would bring would give her a small pleasure.

“Raymon.”

At Corelia’s call, a man waiting in one corner of the room moved.

His movement was strangely stealthy for an ordinary person.

“Did you properly investigate the news that Sir Reken brought recently?”

“Yes, according to those who participated in the merchant group, Erin Liserth really did use a sword. They even said she looked skilled.”

Corelia frowned, seemingly annoyed.

“Is that even possible?”

“Normally, it would be impossible.”

“You know how much effort I put into preventing that thing from holding a sword, don’t you?”

Corelia Liserth. Few knew her true identity.

In fact, she was a high-ranking knight stronger than Duke Liserth, living as the Duchess for over a decade while hiding her abilities.

Corelia examined her smooth, callus-free hands.

The true appearance of her hands, hidden by black magic, was that of a knight’s hands full of scars and calluses.

She was also a witness to the moment Erin first held a sword. It was fortunate beyond words.

As a high-ranking knight, Corelia recognized Erin’s talent the moment she swung the sword.

The person who received the “Sword’s Choice” in this generation was not Karon Liserth, but Erin Liserth.

Geniuses were different from the moment they first held a sword. Erin Liserth was performing Liserth swordsmanship just by watching the knights training in the practice yard.

The sword path drawn by that small body was surprisingly perfect.

Corelia couldn’t help but admire the little girl’s talent. However, it was absolutely unacceptable.

‘It was truly fortunate.’

Corelia thought this, recalling the eyes that had looked up at her.

“May I call you mother?”

She coldly rejected the girl who had clung to her asking this.

Not stopping there, it was Corelia who made sure Erin could never hold a sword again.

—

T/N: My poor girl Erin!