The academy students suddenly turned their attention toward Erin. She looked around, becoming aware of her surroundings. Other Swordsmanship Department students stared at her with dazed expressions.

“Philip, what did we just witness?”

“Did Erin just defeat Lord Amon…?”

Perhaps I went too far. Seeing their reactions, Erin felt a twinge of regret.

‘I got too absorbed in the duel.’

But it had been an incredibly enjoyable match. Erin turned her head forward again. Amon stood there, his face flushed with excitement.

“That was an excellent duel, Lady Erin.”

Amon’s speech had returned to normal.

Only then did Erin feel at ease. Formal speech truly didn’t suit Amon Hedor.

After shaking hands with Amon, Erin turned her head to identify the intense gaze she had been feeling.

Count Asili. He stared at her with burning intensity. Other students, following Erin’s gaze, turned and wore surprised expressions upon seeing Count Asili.

Everyone had been so focused on Erin and Amon’s duel that they hadn’t noticed Count Asili’s arrival.

“Count Asili!”

“When did you arrive?”

The students hurriedly placed their fists over their chests and bent their upper bodies forward.

Amon did the same. Like the other students, he bowed with eyes full of admiration.

Among them, only Erin remained upright, looking directly at Count Asili.

The Count, his eyes showing a peculiar light, met her gaze.

In the past, she had felt immense guilt toward him. Whenever she saw the Count, she would tremble, not knowing how to act.

Once at a party when she met him, she had even fainted when he looked at her.

But in this life, the Princess lived, so Erin could completely shed that emotional burden.

With this in mind, instead of bowing deeply, Erin gave the Count a slight nod. She understood the reverence other knights held for Count Asili.

Had she been an ordinary knight, she would have bowed deeply in this situation. But being a fellow Sword Master, she didn’t want to show excessive deference. Rather, she felt competitive spirit as a knight of equal standing.

The Count looked at her with amusement, but Erin deliberately ignored him. As a Sword Master, the Count might have sensed something about her.

However, knights of equal standing cannot measure each other’s strength, so the Count probably viewed her merely as a talented student.

He might even appreciate her boldness. Perhaps he was satisfied with her audacious behavior. After all, the Count believed that geniuses should possess a certain arrogance.

His appearance here was unexpected but irrelevant to her. She had more pressing concerns.

Erin shifted her gaze from the Count to one side of the training grounds. She spotted Raymon watching her from a distance. Short black hair and a seemingly kind face. A person with a faint presence.

Erin now knew that his inconspicuous presence was intentional.

Raymon was calling out to her. Erin read his lips.

‘Erin! It’s been a while.’

Raymon smiled brightly, seemingly genuinely happy to see her.

The moment she saw him, Erin felt like she was being dragged from a strange, happy dream back to reality.

‘Today has truly been bizarre.’

Karon had worried about her, the Princess had treated her with a smile, and Amon had behaved like he acknowledged her.

But all that was nothing more than a dream. Erin’s reality stood right here.

With this thought, she responded to Raymon’s smile with a small wave.

‘Happiness doesn’t suit me anyway.’

Erin recalled what the Duchess always said during disciplinary sessions.

“You will never find happiness, Erin.”

She was familiar with Raymon’s smiling face.

He always smiled brightly whenever he saw her. She used to like that smile.

If only he hadn’t been smiling like that even when he killed her… she wouldn’t feel this nauseated now.

Her throat, which had been pierced in her previous life, felt painfully cold.

* * *

Raymon briefly observed Erin’s class.

The First Knight Order had long departed to allow the students’ lessons to proceed smoothly.

Yet somehow, Count Asili alone remained standing with his large frame, continuously staring at Erin Liserth.

The gaze was so persistent that if Raymon were Erin, he would have felt uncomfortable.

‘Well… she’s quite good? Corelia has reason to worry. Is this House Liserth’s talent? How did she deceive us and hone her swordsmanship? It’s chilling.’

Nevertheless, he smiled at Erin without particular concern.

Even the most promising sapling could be crushed before it bloomed. And that was what Corelia excelled at.

Everything would be resolved if he properly executed the mission she had entrusted to him.

No matter how talented someone was in the Swordsmanship Department, without real combat experience, they remained mere youngsters dreaming of knighthood.

Thinking this, Raymon recalled his conversation with Corelia.

Her plans were always perfect and never failed. Though she occasionally did insane things, she possessed remarkably cunning intelligence.

After the messenger left, Corelia explained the upcoming plans to him.

“Soon the Emperor will order Ferdin Lexia to go to werewolf territory, subjugate them, and rescue the hostages. Those useless refugees. Having made mistakes during the monster subjugation, he’ll have no choice but to comply.”

Werewolves? Raymon realized the Emperor was truly serious this time.

Was he genuinely trying to eliminate his second son, who had been a thorn in his side?

“Ferdin Lexia and his prospective knight order will definitely be dispatched. Count Leon claims he’ll join, but there won’t be any substantial support.”

“Many will die.”

“Exactly. But since more people support Ferdin Lexia than Crown Prince Ditrion, he’s an eyesore to the Emperor. He might struggle to survive, but what’s the point? Whatever he does, the Emperor will try to kill him.”

“…”

“I can’t wait for that moment. When the Second Prince dies, Erin will blame herself for everything, won’t she? She’ll obviously think everything started going wrong after their engagement. They’re both in the same predicament anyway.”

She continued, seemingly struck by a thought.

“I wonder what Erin will think when her fiancé dies because of this? She seems quite arrogant since joining the Swordsmanship Department… it would be fun to crush her so she never picks up a sword again.”

She’s truly a demon. Raymon shook his head at Corelia’s words.

“This time she won’t escape. A passing Sword Master? Let’s see if such luck strikes twice.”

Yes, that wouldn’t happen this time.

Raymon calmly contemplated what he needed to do.

He planned to quietly join Ferdin Lexia’s mission and create a situation where he could be alone with Erin before they reached werewolf territory.

And when that moment came… he would take definitive measures to ensure Erin never wielded a sword again.

How should he do it? Out of some affection, he intended to make it as painless as possible.

‘If I could create an incident disguised as an accident… then foolish Erin would continue clinging to me.’

If that happened, it would be easy to withdraw from the mission under the pretext of her injury.

With these thoughts, Raymon watched Erin.

Sweating as she swung her sword, she looked no different from the other students.

‘That’s disappointing.’

He had imagined her struggling and failing in the Swordsmanship Department, but she was adapting much better than expected.

Raymon wore a dissatisfied expression.

Erin among many people appeared completely different from her solitary existence at the Duke’s mansion when he wasn’t around.

She looked best when dejected.

And her face, filled with hope at the slightest warmth he offered during those times, was the most amusing…

As soon as class ended, students began putting away their swords and gathering their belongings.

Simultaneously, Count Asili, who had been standing beside Raymon, departed as though his business was finished.

His gaze remained fixed on Erin until the very end.