Her new birthplace was somewhere she had never seen before. It was a world without magic or mana – the modern world.

Life in the modern world wasn’t much different from her life as Erin.

Her parents barely paid attention to her, practically leaving her to fend for herself.

Once, watching the insensitive but caring Duke, she thought all fathers must be like him.

But only after experiencing her new life did she realize there were many parents far more indifferent than him.

‘I want to be strong. Strong enough to protect myself.’

Perhaps because of this desire, fortunately, her third life began as the daughter of a knight family.

Even she didn’t know why she kept getting chances to live new lives.

But she decided to live. Unlike her previous life, she wanted to live where no one could look down on her.

So she picked up a sword.

She became a knight and learned swordsmanship.

It was a dream she had wanted to pursue since her first life but was repeatedly blocked by the Duchess.

Surprisingly, she had talent with the sword. And not just ordinary talent.

She possessed genius that might appear once in several hundred, perhaps even thousand years.

Having become the knight she had always dreamed of, she could proudly say she lived that third life without regrets.

If the reason for her reincarnation was the injustice of her previous life, she thought she would never open her eyes again.

But life repeated itself. This time, it wasn’t reincarnation.

She returned to her first life, the most miserable one.

Erin Liserth.

Back to when she was called the stupid, pathetic daughter of the Duke.

When she first opened her eyes, screams echoed all around her.

For someone who had spent every day on battlefields, it was a familiar sound. Instinctively, she moved her body and eliminated the monsters outside the carriage.

Only then did she realize she had become Erin Liserth again.

‘Reken was supposed to lose an arm here.’

That’s what happened in the past. Reken lost his arm protecting her, and his brilliant future was ruined.

It wasn’t Erin’s fault, but all blame fell on her.

The reason was that a talented individual who could have led the Empire was lost protecting the useless Erin.

But by helping Reken, everything changed.

‘Maybe I can save him too.’

Even in the chaos, Erin thought of one man.

Someone she couldn’t forget through two reincarnations.

‘The man who lost everything by being engaged to me.’

Ferdin Lexia.

* * *

Atenz Academy, where Erin studied, was the Empire’s only academy.

The academy housed talented commoners, nobles, royalty from other countries, and even imperial family members.

The academy, almost the size of a small territory, was always bustling with people.

Erin closed her eyes, feeling the commotion.

‘I really came back.’

As soon as Sarah and Erin entered the academy, Reken returned to Liserth Territory, saying he had urgent business.

As Erin walked without hesitation, Sarah spoke in a worried tone.

“My lady, will you be alright?”

Erin frowned at the sudden question.

‘What does she mean by alright?’

Erin couldn’t remember exactly what she was like during this period.

But there must have been a reason for Sarah to ask this question upon arriving at the academy.

“I’m worried about your transfer to the Swordsmanship Department.”

Ah, so it’s that time.

With her words, memories of the past began to resurface.

Around this time, she got engaged to the Empire’s Second Prince, Ferdin. Though it wasn’t what she wanted, people believed Erin had forced the engagement.

That wasn’t the end. She changed her major to the Swordsmanship Department to spend more time with Ferdin Lexia.

Even though she couldn’t properly handle a sword.

Of course, this wasn’t Erin’s will either.

Recalling the numerous invisible scars on her body, she said:

“Right. I’m such a wicked villainess that I threw tantrums wanting to marry the Second Prince and manipulated my parents. I even transferred to the Swordsmanship Department, insulting the knights’ honor… I’m truly terrible, even by my own standards.”

Sarah shook her head in alarm at these self-deprecating words.

Erin didn’t mean to upset her. What she just said was merely sarcasm about her current situation.

“I didn’t mean for you to hear that. Thank you for worrying about me.”

Erin tucked Sarah’s hair behind her ear with a gentle smile. Sarah unconsciously blushed in response.

As Erin walked into the academy, all eyes focused on her.

Feeling the piercing gazes, she recalled her reputation during this period.

‘A villainess who disrespected knights’ honor. Plus, Ferdin was in an implicit relationship with Princess Asili. They broke up because of our engagement, so I can’t say anything in my defense.’

It felt like becoming the villainess from a romance fantasy novel she had read in the modern world.

She sighed involuntarily, seeing clearly what lay ahead.

What people believed she had done was actually all fabricated by the Duchess.

But with everyone believing those false rumors, there was nothing Erin could do.

She could only endure and swallow people’s stares.

* * *

‘They have good reason to hate me at this point.’

Erin surveyed her surroundings with a cool expression. Various thoughts appeared and disappeared in her mind.

In the past, the academy had been a kind of refuge for her to escape the Duchess.

But that didn’t mean she liked it here.

The academy was also full of hostile gazes directed at her.

She could have caused a scene right then, shouting that everything was the Duchess’s scheme.

But Erin knew she wouldn’t say anything.

First, she needed to find out who was behind the Duchess.

Before she died, the House of Liserth had nearly been exterminated.

She hadn’t known the reason then, but now she had some idea.

“Don’t worry, your family will soon follow you.”

That’s what the Duchess said in her final moments before Erin died.

It’s impossible for the Duchess alone to destroy House Liserth. Someone must have been behind the numerous misfortunes.

But these thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed her hand firmly.

“You…!”

Turning around, she saw a face similar to her own.

“Damn it. I heard you encountered a monster horde on your way. Are you okay?”

Karon Liserth. Her younger brother was there. It had been a really long time.

Thinking this, she examined his face. Karon looked much younger than when she last saw him.

His face wasn’t marked by frustration, nor did he look troubled.

The only thing that remained the same was that he disliked her.

Looking at Karon’s intact right arm, Erin became more convinced.

She could change things. The terrible past she experienced was still an unrealized future.

Suddenly, she felt pain from the hand Karon was gripping.

Erin realized Karon’s grip was stronger than she expected. It hurt this much just from having her hand grabbed.

At the same time, she thought it remarkable how weak her body was, unable to endure even this slight pain.

But Erin deliberately didn’t prevent Karon from grabbing her hand, knowing he would.

It would have been very unnatural for someone who didn’t know the first thing about swordsmanship to detect his presence.

Perhaps deep down, she wanted to see her brother’s face as he grabbed her.

Karon examined her body thoroughly and sighed.

Looking somewhat relieved, he began glaring at her. This was nothing new.

Karon was ashamed of Erin.

Their family, House Liserth, was a prestigious house of swordsmanship.

No one would like Erin, who acted arrogantly while riding on the family’s reputation.

Karon, who valued family pride more than anyone, particularly disliked her.

“By the way… what have you done now?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you finally transferred to the Swordsmanship Department? What are you thinking? Don’t you know how foolish that is?”

“…”

“Everyone already dislikes you, and you had to make the situation worse?”

I had no choice… But Erin didn’t voice this thought.

She understood why he was angry with her now.

As a student in the Swordsmanship Department who dreamed of becoming a knight, he must have felt insulted by her actions.

“You’re truly embarrassing.”

Erin recalled what he had said at this moment in the past. Back then, she argued with him and returned to her dormitory, crying for a long time.

Alone, she had reminisced about their childhood.