It had clearly been a nightmare.

Corelia woke up and exhaled roughly, her sleep disturbed by Erin’s words. She couldn’t stand how awful she felt. Why would she dream of something like this?

Erin wasn’t worth her concern at all. By now, Raymon should have taken care of everything anyway.

Talent? Don’t make her laugh.

Yet despite these thoughts, she couldn’t stop her hands from trembling.

“Charlotte!”

She called loudly for the maid waiting outside the door.

The door opened carefully, and a tall maid appeared. She bowed to Corelia.

“You seem to have had a troubled sleep.”

At the maid’s words, Corelia clenched her teeth.

“What happened with what I mentioned before? About that little mage who’s part of Ferdin Lexia’s knight candidates.”

“I successfully met with them and delivered the message.”

“And… did they accept?”

“They didn’t give a definite answer, but… could they really refuse?”

Despite Charlotte’s confident words, Corelia frowned anxiously.

“But you know what kind of people they are. Humans filled with unnecessary righteousness.”

“That’s precisely why they won’t be able to refuse. If they truly possess justice, they couldn’t possibly ignore the person who killed my brother.”

“…”

“In truth, I don’t think Raymon will fail anyway. He is a high-ranking knight after all.”

Corelia felt herself calming at Charlotte’s words.

Yes. She was right. Raymon would succeed in his mission.

Even if Raymon failed, the subjugation party should have reached werewolf territory by now, so the result would be the same.

Werewolves were one of the half-human, half-beast races known for their fierce temperament.

They would certainly feel threatened by unauthorized people approaching their territory.

With Count Leon present, things might be different… but his knight order wouldn’t reach werewolf territory due to sudden heavy rainfall cutting off their ships.

The subjugation party would suffer greatly while waiting for support that would never come.

Corelia smiled maliciously as she thought about the impending tragedy.

* * *

They finally reached werewolf territory. Despite it being midday, the dense forest was dark and cool.

The subjugation party members already showed clear signs of exhaustion. Erin recalled what she needed to do in werewolf territory.

Above all, preventing the tragedy that would befall Ferdin was her first priority, but there was something else she needed to confirm in werewolf territory.

In the future, the werewolves would appear with a mage. That suddenly appearing mage would cause great damage to humans at the border.

However, werewolves were a race incapable of using magic. Therefore, Erin wanted to confirm if that mage was one of the “refugees kidnapped by werewolves.”

Normally, she wouldn’t have cared about anyone except Ferdin’s knight candidates, but this time was different.

In the future, rumors would spread that the mage was a refugee they had failed to rescue, causing Ferdin to receive severe criticism.

She had no intention of allowing anything that would harm him.

Ferdin surveyed the area around werewolf territory and halted the subjugation party.

The silent forest was so quiet it created an eerie sense of discomfort. There was no sign of Count Leon, who should have arrived first.

“Something’s not right.”

“Where is Count Leon?”

The atmosphere in the subjugation party grew uneasy.

“We need to turn back.”

At Ferdin’s words, Derek’s face hardened.

“But you know, Ferdin. If the Emperor finds out, he won’t let it slide. Who knows what he’ll do to you for failing the mission…”

From a distance, Erin listened to their serious conversation.

Ferdin and Derek spoke in voices too quiet for others to hear, but they couldn’t escape her exceptional hearing.

This mission would fail. Erin knew this fact.

Not only would the mission fail, but half the subjugation party members would lose their lives, incurring the Emperor’s wrath.

“We should at least send a search party. We need to prove to the Emperor that we made a minimum effort, even if Count Leon doesn’t come.”

Derek said this while carefully examining the subjugation party.

He seemed suspicious that there might be the Emperor’s informants among them. Derek’s point was reasonable.

Ferdin ultimately had no choice but to send a search party. However, he soon regretted that decision.

Because Lilia and Amon had been kidnapped by werewolves.

* * *

“What do you mean Lilia and Amon were kidnapped?”

At Derek’s loud voice, the knight candidate in front of him trembled. He seemed overcome with extreme fear.

“Damn it, damn it!”

Derek cursed and threw down the gloves he was holding.

The subjugation party was instantly thrown into chaos.

Several members of the search party had returned with serious injuries. They reported that Amon and Lilia had been kidnapped by werewolves.

Hearing this report, Erin couldn’t help but tense her face.

For werewolves who didn’t yet have a mage, Lilia would be an invaluable hostage.

This hadn’t happened in the past.

Both Amon and Lilia were supposed to return to the academy unharmed.

Had she changed too much of the future? Erin couldn’t tell if this deviation from predetermined fate was because of her actions.

But one thing was certain—she would rescue them no matter what risks she had to take.

Erin turned her head to look at the other knights.

She could see they all wanted to leave, their faces stricken with terror.

Except for Philip and some students from the Swordsmanship Department, everyone wore the same expression.

“Sir Ferdin, what will you do?”

One of his knight candidates had been kidnapped. However, inside werewolf territory would be their chieftain with combat power comparable to a Sword Master.

If Count Leon had been present, they could have searched, but in the current situation, immediate retreat was the right choice.

Derek’s complexion turned pale. He was feeling guilty now.

This wouldn’t have happened if he hadn’t suggested sending a search party. But what’s done was done.

Among these knights, there would certainly be someone reporting to the Emperor.

If news of hostages captured by werewolves reached the Emperor’s ears, Ferdin would face severe criticism regardless of his decision.

‘Moreover, if we can’t find Amon and Lilia at this rate…’

Derek staggered at the thought of a situation too terrible to contemplate.

“Sir Ferdin! You must decide!”

“The kidnapped people can’t be saved anyway. We should at least save ourselves.”

“Sir Ferdin!”

Simultaneous with the knights’ cries, Erin moved. She acted to block a long spear flying toward Ferdin.

Clang!

With a clear sound, the spear fell to the ground.

Erin blocked the spear with her sword while grabbing Ferdin and quickly pulling back.

It was truly a strange occurrence. No matter how unusually fast Erin Liserth had grown stronger, the spear had moved too quickly for even Ferdin, who might soon become a high-ranking knight, to react.

Yet she had blocked it with apparent ease.

But the other subjugation party members didn’t notice this fact.

They couldn’t properly observe the situation because they were distracted by the sudden appearance of unwelcome visitors.

Everyone’s gaze turned in one direction.

“So the bugs were here.”

A group of werewolves stood there.

The subjugation party members turned pale. They gradually backed away.

This was a normal reaction. Even knights rarely experienced combat with beast-folk rather than monsters.

After ensuring Ferdin’s safety, Erin quietly stepped forward. She sharply assessed the current situation.

Five werewolves in total. No matter how strong they were, their numbers weren’t great.

So the ones in front of them weren’t actually a major problem.

However, if they fought here, given the werewolves’ excellent hearing, those deeper in the territory would come to their aid immediately.

The werewolves approached the subjugation party with very slow steps. Their movements were leisurely, like cats playing with cornered mice.

At that moment, Ferdin shouted with a hardened face:

“Run!”

It was a humiliating order for knights. But feeling humiliation was only possible for those still alive.

Werewolf subjugation and refugee rescue—these weren’t missions that could be accomplished without the support of Sword Master Count Leon.

As soon as Ferdin gave the order, several knights immediately began to flee.

Ferdin also tried to move right away. Derek pulled his arm urgently from beside him.

Some knights might lose their lives, but that was better than everyone being wiped out.

But before long, Ferdin sensed something strange.

The werewolves who should have been charging at them were nowhere to be seen. And… neither was Erin.

She had disappeared.