Karon knew Raymon well.

‘Mother ordered him to protect Erin, but he left without saying anything?’

Besides, even if he wasn’t officially part of the subjugation party, abandoning his post without notice was unlike him.

There might be a clear reason, but Raymon shouldn’t have any mission other than protecting Erin.

However, the people in the subjugation party showed no interest in finding him.

Particularly in Karon’s eyes, Ferdin seemed to be among those pleased that Raymon had disappeared.

Still, perhaps for the sake of propriety, Ferdin called over a knight and issued an order:

“Check if Sir Raymon has returned to the Duke’s castle.”

Karon had no intention of going against the final decision-maker’s wishes. He too had thought Raymon’s behavior recently was somewhat strange.

Perhaps Raymon had sensed the party’s aversion to him and quietly left.

Karon simply believed nothing could have happened to Raymon, a high-ranking knight.

‘I can ask him why when I see him at the Duke’s castle after the subjugation ends, whatever.’

But Karon would certainly never meet Raymon again.

Because even when he returned from the subjugation, Raymon wouldn’t be at the Duke’s castle.

* * *

Reaching the werewolf territory was a long journey.

After ten days, the subjugation party inevitably grew tired. Continuously crossing treacherous mountains wasn’t easy.

Even well-trained knights couldn’t help but become physically exhausted.

The knights were still better off. Some students were nearly at the point of collapse.

But they didn’t have much further to go. Just a little more and they would reach werewolf territory.

Despite knowing this, Amon wanted to lie down right where he stood.

Even for someone used to difficult missions like him, this forced march was exhausting.

The mission was brutally difficult precisely because the Emperor had sent it to torment Ferdin.

The Emperor frequently imposed unreasonable deadlines on Ferdin and pressured him to complete missions.

It was completely different from the easy missions given to Ditrion.

‘Maybe that’s why that knight Raymon ran away.’

Neither he nor Ferdin trusted Raymon.

Setting aside his sticky, dirty gaze when looking at Erin… Amon found it difficult to trust anyone from the Duke’s household.

He still couldn’t forget the marks on Erin’s back.

He couldn’t understand what she had endured at the Duke’s residence. But even a fool could tell that what happened to Erin was abnormal.

Amon gritted his teeth at the thought.

Perhaps with the keen senses of a high-ranking knight, Raymon had judged that some conspiracy lurked within this mission.

That might be another reason why Ferdin wasn’t looking for Raymon.

A high-ranking knight was certainly an important asset. But what help could someone they couldn’t trust provide?

He might stab them in the back at a crucial moment. It was better that he had left now.

“Argh!”

At the sudden scream, Amon turned to look at Erin.

She was facing off against idiots whose brains seemed filled with nothing but muscle, sweat flying from her brow.

Amon was utterly bewildered by this bizarre phenomenon that had been occurring for the past few days.

“Die, Erin!”

“No… Philip, isn’t wishing death on someone a bit harsh?”

“It’s my turn, Philip! Move aside! You already sparred earlier!”

“You’re the one who should get out of the way!”

The knight candidates lunged at Erin with their swords, each shouting strange battle cries.

Their fierce aura was so intense it sent chills down the spine, looking like they might actually cut Erin down.

These guys were dead serious. They were doing their best to strike her by any means.

And Erin was blocking all their swords while occasionally counterattacking.

Though Amon had been training diligently after sparring with her, he didn’t have the confidence to join that fray.

Walking alone was exhausting enough—who came up with the idea of sparring at every opportunity?

The other students watched them with pale faces.

In a situation where breathing was difficult, the knight candidates swinging their swords without stopping couldn’t possibly look normal.

‘Rumors really can’t be trusted.’

Amon recalled one of the malicious rumors about Erin.

“Erin Liserth is lazy and doesn’t practice her swordsmanship.”

But she swung her sword all day long?

“She hates difficult tasks…”

Then who was sparring with those muscle-heads over there?

Erin’s breathing quickened. Amon watched her, mesmerized.

When she thrust her sword quickly, Philip could be seen retreating in panic. But the sparring didn’t end there.

Two other knight candidates beside Philip launched a coordinated attack, rushing in during that moment. Swords flooded toward Erin’s arms and legs.

She blocked the sword thrusting toward her leg while simultaneously pulling her body back. Then with movements bordering on acrobatic, she dodged the sword aimed at her arm.

Amon could feel the other watching knights holding their breath. A hint of surprise clouded their eyes.

The ten days traveling toward werewolf territory had been enough time to reassess who Erin Liserth really was.

‘Beautiful.’

Amon was experiencing the same emotion he had felt when sparring with her before.

His cheeks flushed red. Amon felt himself getting inexplicably hot. Having such impure thoughts again. He pinched his thigh to punish himself.

Erin was in the middle of sparring. Crossing swords and proving one’s strength was sacred. It wasn’t right to feel such emotions while watching that. At least, that’s what Amon thought.

Philip, who had been sparring frantically, seemed to realize something and stopped the other students rushing at Erin.

“Hey, that’s enough.”

Even the “genius” Erin had a weakness—her stamina was weaker than others.

At Philip’s words, the other knights tactfully withdrew their swords. They bowed their heads and exclaimed:

“It was an honorable match, Lady Erin.”

‘What honorable match? You ganged up three against one.’

Thinking this, Amon approached Erin and offered her a handkerchief. Erin’s face stiffened at his outstretched handkerchief.

It was a kindness she couldn’t get used to, no matter how many times she experienced it.

Erin took the handkerchief and wiped her forehead. Watching her, Amon smiled contentedly.

* * *

Derek was also watching Erin’s sparring from a slight distance.

He clicked his tongue at the incredible three-against-one match and said to Ferdin:

“Wow, truly amazing. Erin Liserth’s skill is surprising enough… but did you see Amon offering that handkerchief? What caused him to change like that? He’s been weird since the last monster subjugation.”

However, Ferdin didn’t seem to be listening to Derek’s words. Derek asked him curiously:

“Ferdin, what are you staring at so intently?”

He was fixated on one spot. Derek’s gaze followed Ferdin’s.

Ferdin’s eyes were directed precisely at Amon’s handkerchief. Derek couldn’t hide his puzzlement.

‘What’s so special about that handkerchief that he’s staring at it like that…?’

Though curious, he dared not ask Ferdin.

For some reason, Ferdin seemed very displeased.

* * *

Corelia was deep in sleep.

In her dream, she sat in the tower of the Duke’s castle. It was a day like any other. The maids tried to please her, as did everyone else.

She always played the role of a strict but caring Duchess. But sometimes she showed weakness too. That way, people would be more devoted to the new mistress of the Duke’s household.

Shedding tears of sorrow while unable to stop her stepdaughter’s misdeeds would be sufficient.

‘Foolish humans.’

Thinking this, Corelia looked down at the knights’ training ground from atop the Duke’s castle.

A girl was swinging a sword. The aura in the sword was fierce.

Once, twice, three times. While the girl swung her sword dozens of times, Corelia couldn’t take her eyes off that sword.

Anyone who wielded a sword would immediately recognize that the girl’s skill was extraordinary.

Corelia found the girl’s back view familiar.

‘Erin Liserth…?’

The girl was Erin. But how could Erin’s sword be so sharp? Even for a dream, wasn’t this ridiculous?

Corelia’s hand trembled slightly. Erin, who had been swinging her sword, slowly raised her head. She looked directly at Corelia.

This was strange.

Corelia was aware that this was a dream. She occasionally had dreams like this. Usually, only peaceful events occurred in these dreams before she woke up.

But this time something was different.

Erin had difficulty even making eye contact with her. How could such an Erin be staring at her so intently…?

At that moment, Erin spoke to her. Despite the distance, Corelia could immediately understand what she said.

“No matter how much you want it… you can’t have it.”

Corelia’s face contorted fiercely.