“Raymon.”

Raymon turned at the sound of his name.

Just moments ago, Erin had been talking with Ferdin Lexia, but now she stood beside him.

Her eyes gleamed strangely in the moonlight.

‘What? When did she move?’

Raymon was momentarily confused. Why was Erin, whom he had been watching until just now, here?

He had clearly been observing Ferdin and Erin.

His skill level wasn’t so low that mere apprentices from the Swordsmanship Department could sense his presence.

So her discovering him defied common sense.

Besides, hadn’t Erin just fled from Ferdin’s attempt to stop her?

Just moments ago, he had thought how amused Corelia would be if she saw that scene. But now she was beside him at such incredible speed?

His location wasn’t even close to where they had been.

Raymon stared at Erin blankly, feeling like he’d seen a ghost.

Though she seemed somewhat different since coming to the academy, in his mind Erin was still that foolish, pathetic girl.

Just a girl perfect for toying with… but something was off.

“What were you watching from there? With your sword drawn, no less.”

As Erin said, Raymon was holding his sword. He was fully prepared to charge forward at any moment, his blade already unsheathed.

Erin approached Raymon slowly.

She exuded such tremendous pressure that it was hard to believe this was the same person who had spoken so vulnerably with Ferdin earlier.

Erin tilted her head and asked, “Why aren’t you answering?”

Was it because of the moon? Raymon found this Erin Liserth, her eyes gleaming under the moonlight, utterly unfamiliar.

Why?

‘Calm down, Raymon. It’s just Erin Liserth. It’s ridiculous to be nervous.’

He had already reached the level of a high-ranking knight, while the Erin Liserth before him was merely a novice who had just picked up a sword at the Swordsmanship Department.

Raymon desperately tried to remind himself of the skill gap between them, yet his body was slowly backing away.

His tight grip on his sword felt pathetic.

“How strange.”

Saying this, Erin placed her hand on the scabbard tied at her waist and drew her sword.

“What were you planning to do here? Why were you hiding like a rat, spying on me and Lord Ferdin?”

Raymon had planned to knock Erin unconscious and complete the mission Corelia had given him.

He had been assessing the situation when he noticed Ferdin and Erin moving away from the group, thinking it was the perfect opportunity.

Besides, following the subjugation party any further could put him in danger too. Knowing what would soon happen, Raymon intended to injure Erin and use that as an excuse to escape.

Yes, it had been a simple plan.

Raymon recalled his plan and gathered his wits.

The moon must have bewitched him. To be afraid of this tiny girl before him. If anyone had seen him like this, he would have become a laughingstock forever.

Raymon tightened his grip on his sword and slowly approached Erin, saying:

“Erin, calling me a rat… You must be mistaken. I was just worried when I saw you going somewhere alone with Lord Ferdin. Even if he’s your fiancé, going deep into the forest this late at night…”

“You were worried about me?”

“Yes. You’re too careless. Don’t trust him too much. You barely know him. Lord Ferdin is different from me, so you should be careful.”

“Don’t… trust him…”

That was the funniest thing Erin had ever heard.

If she hadn’t been killed by Raymon in the past, she might have believed his words.

She would have thought, Raymon is my friend, he’s on my side.

If there was anything she gained after losing her life, it was the ability to distinguish who she should truly trust.

Just before her death, only Ferdin and his knights had protected her.

This insect-like man before her had no right to tell her not to trust them.

“Raymon, do you know something? When a sword pierces your neck, it hurts. You don’t even die immediately—you tremble in pain for a long time before dying…”

Raymon looked at Erin as if she were insane.

He found it both strange and frightening how she stated such an obvious fact with a blank expression.

Something was clearly wrong with Erin, she must have hit her head.

‘Did Corelia discipline her too harshly? I told her to go easy on her.’

It was surprising that Erin had discovered him watching her, but upon reflection, it didn’t matter for completing his mission.

After observing her for two months, Raymon had deeply felt that Erin had changed.

Gone were those gentle eyes that were so fun to tease; now she always looked at him with unreadable eyes.

While Raymon wondered about the reason for her change, he didn’t think much of it.

No matter how much she had changed, she was still Erin Liserth at her core. He was certain she would soon cling to him again, begging for affection.

No one at the academy would love Erin either. Whatever he did here, whatever she said, no one would believe Erin’s words.

And he couldn’t imagine that Erin, who had obeyed Corelia her entire life, could do anything on her own. Raymon had watched her since she was very young. Erin Liserth sitting helplessly in the tower of the Duke’s castle with lonely eyes.

That image was strongly imprinted in his mind. She was someone who knew nothing but waiting.

“Erin, I don’t understand what you’re saying… Come here. I’ll take you back to the camp. Then we can talk slowly.”

Raymon approached Erin, intending to subdue her. He planned to strike her neck to knock her unconscious, then proceed with his original plan.

The sword in his hand flashed in the moonlight. In that moment, Raymon quickly closed the distance and grabbed Erin’s arm.

‘That’s more like it.’

He smiled with a sense of emptiness. When he grabbed Erin’s arm, she offered no resistance. The strange feeling from before was clearly his imagination.

Raymon immediately reversed his grip on the sword and moved to strike the back of Erin’s neck.

The sequence of movements happened very quickly. At such close range, even a high-ranking knight couldn’t possibly block it.

But his sword never struck Erin.

Raymon couldn’t comprehend what had happened to him. His sword fell without touching Erin. But it wasn’t just the sword that fell. He saw Erin cleanly blocking droplets of blood that had sprayed toward her eyes with her sword.

It was swordsmanship of remarkable precision. But where had those blood droplets come from…?

Raymon stared at the blood droplets with a blank expression.

‘My hand…?’

His hand had fallen beside the sword.

For a moment, Raymon’s mind went numb, unable to understand what had happened.

He came to his senses only after an indescribable pain flooded him.

“Mmph-!”

Raymon tried to scream, but Erin was faster in covering his mouth.

“Raymon, I really hate cowardice.”

Through the gaps between her fingers that firmly covered his mouth, he barely managed to utter one phrase.

“Pl… please spare me.”

At this point, Raymon no longer cared how Erin had managed to subdue him.

I’m dying. I might really die.

He had already lost all will to fight. Erin knew exactly where Raymon’s current fear stemmed from. She wasn’t controlling the unique aura that Sword Masters typically concealed.

He instinctively sensed it. That this small girl before him could easily kill him. Erin looked at him with an expressionless face and spoke.

Raymon felt a chill at her expression, devoid of human emotion.

“I did too.”

“What…?”

“I begged for my life. I clung to your feet, pleading for you to let me go…”

“…”

“Even in that hell, I tried desperately to survive…”

A small tear fell from Erin’s eyes.

Poor Erin Liserth.

She felt sorry for her past self. She had desperately wanted to live.

“But you killed me. And now you are trying to do the same thing to me again.”

If she hadn’t been a Sword Master, it would be her lying there instead of Raymon. In the past, Raymon had killed Erin without any compassion as she begged at his feet.

I really liked you…

Erin didn’t say those words. Instead, she asked him, “What were you trying to do to me? Did the Duchess order you to prevent me from wielding a sword?”

At her words, Raymon’s eyes widened.