Raymon rushed to Erin, seeming like he had been waiting for this moment.

He saw her wiping her sweat-soaked forehead while chatting with the Swordsmanship Department students.

She occasionally laughed during their conversation, appearing almost friendly.

‘What’s this? Erin Liserth… she knows how to smile like that?’

The sight twisted his gut even more.

“Erin, I couldn’t properly greet you earlier…”

As Raymon spoke, he habitually reached out to pat her head. Whenever his hand touched her head before, she would blush and enjoy it.

So Raymon had never once considered that Erin might reject him. That seemed impossible.

Erin Liserth had always been a child desperately craving affection.

SLAP!

Raymon’s face instantly contorted, but he quickly composed himself and adopted an awkward expression.

Erin had struck his hand away. Not just lightly, but with considerable force. His hand quickly turned red and swollen.

Raymon sensed something strange about Erin. He had met her a few months ago. Back then, she had behaved normally toward him, chattering away and blushing.

Erin had always welcomed and followed him like an oblivious puppy. That’s why Raymon felt she had changed somehow. Just then, Erin smiled shyly and said softly:

“I’m sweaty and probably smell, Raymon.”

Right, that couldn’t be. Erin Liserth couldn’t have changed. Raymon swallowed those thoughts and muttered, “…Coming to the Swordsmanship Department has changed you a bit, Erin.”

“That can’t be. You seem completely unchanged from before… I’m truly grateful for that.”

Her words carried multiple meanings. Raymon hadn’t changed at all from the past.

That smile, those gestures, and the fact that he was still trash. Erin wanted to thank Raymon for remaining unchanged. Thanks to that, she wouldn’t feel any guilt about taking revenge.

Contrary to her inner thoughts, she gave him a beautiful smile. It was so captivating that Philip, who had been standing nearby, stared in surprise.

* * *

“Ferdin Lexia.”

Ferdin looked at the man calling his name.

The man had an impressive build, large enough to almost block the doorway. The person currently standing before Ferdin was one of the three pillars supporting the Empire.

“It’s been a while, Count Asili.”

It was certainly unusual for him, a prince, to speak formally while the Count used casual speech, but his counterpart was Count Asili.

No one except the Emperor himself would dare speak casually to him.

And because the Count had been close with Ferdin’s mother, the speech pattern they had used since his childhood naturally continued to the present.

Count Asili’s face appeared unusually relaxed.

Though his naturally fierce features made it hard to notice, Ferdin, who had known him since childhood, could tell the difference.

Beside the Count, the Princess quietly sipped her tea. Her face clearly showed her annoyance. She set her teacup down on the desk with a loud thud.

This behavior was far from the refined and polite princess people imagined. Yet Count Asili looked pleased, seemingly finding her behavior endearing. Ferdin slightly furrowed his brow, appearing exasperated by the Count’s doting attitude.

At that moment, the Count’s smiling face hardened as he turned to Ferdin.

“I hear you readily accepted the engagement with Erin Liserth… Could it be that you knew? Did your ability reveal her talent to you?”

Ferdin looked at Count Asili with puzzlement. From his expression, Count Asili realized that Ferdin was unaware of Erin’s talent.

Then why?

Count Asili couldn’t understand. Ferdin Lexia wasn’t the excessively kind, angelic prince people commonly believed him to be.

He could be more ruthless than anyone when it came to saving the many lives that depended on him.

Hadn’t he even pretended to be in love with the Count’s daughter, who was practically his nemesis, to protect his people by any means necessary?

The Count still couldn’t forget how Ferdin and the Princess had linked arms while wearing sour expressions.

It was impossible for him to directly help in the conflict between Ditrion and Ferdin.

The Empire currently maintained a balance of power among three Sword Masters, two of whom sided with the Emperor.

Because of this, an unspoken rule existed among them that they couldn’t interfere in imperial family disputes.

But they couldn’t prevent their children from forming relationships.

‘The children essentially used me indirectly.’

That’s why Count Asili thought Ferdin had noticed Erin’s talent and accepted the engagement to use her.

Being chosen by the sword meant possessing extraordinary talent.

If Ferdin was truly maintaining the engagement for that reason, the Count intended not to let him get away with it.

The idea of Erin Liserth, a promising future Sword Master, being used as a mere pawn was unacceptable to someone walking the path of the sword.

“Why keep Erin Liserth by your side? You must know the Emperor is up to something? What exactly did you see with those eyes of yours?”

The reason the Lexia imperial family had maintained its prosperity:

Eyes that see the truth.

Ferdin Lexia possessed this ability.

Only Count Asili, the Princess, and a few people from the Holy Kingdom knew this fact.

Had the Emperor known this, he would have tried to kill Ferdin immediately.

‘If only he could use it at will.’

The Count thought this while staring at Ferdin.

The eyes that see truth would indiscriminately reveal the truths this world knew—memories of the past.

Ferdin couldn’t use this ability freely.

Still, it was a useful power, so the Count thought he had seen Erin Liserth’s talent through it. But that didn’t seem to be the case.

Ferdin shook his head at the Count’s words.

“It’s not something I can tell you about.”

Clearly, Ferdin had seen something about Erin.

However, it wasn’t her brilliant talent or the image of a happy duke’s daughter.

What he had seen was a small, pitiful child hiding under a bed, covering her mouth to stifle her sobs.

That image bore a striking resemblance to his own past.

It was incomprehensible.

Erin Liserth was known as the treasure of the Duke’s family, a beloved lady, and people never questioned this.

Everyone believed she had become a villainess because the Duke spoiled her too much. Ferdin thought Erin couldn’t possibly have experienced such a terrible childhood.

But his ability told him this wasn’t the truth.

Count Asili didn’t say anything more after that. This was because the Princess beside him jabbed his side and frowned.

“Sometimes people have things they want to hide, Father. Especially if those memories are painful.”

“…”

“So you should wait until they tell you themselves. Some memories cause pain just by recalling them… And don’t judge her based on rumors alone. Just like how others think I have an easy, lucky life because I’m your daughter and a saint.”

The Count began to flounder at his daughter’s words.

She was probably the only person who could subdue Count Asili with mere words.

“But the reality is different. I’m always in pain. People say they want to be the daughter of Count Asili or that they would live fortunate lives if they were born as saints, but that’s not true at all. They only see the surface and think whatever suits them.”

“…”

“And… I don’t think Lady Erin is a villain. She reminded me of you, Father.”

At the Princess’s words, Ferdin’s face crumpled. He couldn’t understand how the massive, mountain-like Count Asili resembled Erin in any way.

The Count was even a middle-aged man with a mustache.

Of course, he knew the Princess wasn’t referring to physical appearance, but he simply didn’t like the idea of comparing the Count to Erin.

“And Lady Erin is my friend.”

The Princess seemed to pause in thought after saying this.

“Though I might be the only one who thinks so right now…”

Ferdin thought the Princess had finally said something correct. Erin wasn’t a villain.

People tend to judge others based solely on appearances and rumors.

To others, Ferdin himself might appear to be a perfect prince with an easy life.

But what was the reality? His father wanted him dead, and his brother hated him.