‘What the hell?’

He felt another pressure that wasn’t coming from himself. He took his eyes off Eloua and looked at Erin standing in front of him.

He saw her looking at him with contemptuous eyes.

“Intimidating an ordinary person like that—how impressive of you.”

At Erin’s words, Roham tried to draw his sword, unable to contain himself. That was exactly what Erin wanted. She looked at Roham and said:

“It’s too cramped here. Let’s go outside.”

After saying this, Erin headed straight outside the dormitory. She could feel Roham following behind, breathing heavily.

He shouted loudly toward Erin.

“You must want to be humiliated in front of everyone!”

Thinking about who Roham was, a memory came to her mind.

‘This guy loses his knighthood in the future anyway.’

In the future—or rather, in Erin’s past—there was an incident where Ditrion challenged Ferdin to a duel.

So their knights, Amon and Roham, faced each other.

When Amon won the duel, Roham couldn’t accept his defeat and stabbed Amon in the shoulder with his sword.

He lost his knighthood because of that incident. Erin hadn’t seen Roham after that.

Ditrion, with his strong pride, probably discarded him. He would have treated Roham, who lost to Ferdin’s knight, as a useless person.

As soon as they stepped outside, Erin felt people’s gazes on them. And that was exactly what she wanted.

When dealing with Ditrion, the more people watching, the better. He was a prince who cared deeply about his reputation.

“Erin Liserth!”

Roham shouted loudly and tried to draw his sword. But his sword couldn’t leave its scabbard.

Someone had grabbed Roham’s hand.

‘Finally he shows up.’

Erin turned her gaze to look at the person who had stopped Roham.

He was a man with silver hair reaching his shoulders and blue eyes similar to Ferdin’s. An inexplicable pressure surrounded him.

At his appearance, Roham bowed his head submissively. It was completely different from how he had shouted at Erin and Eloua.

The First Prince of the Lexia Empire, Ditrion.

The man likely to become the next Emperor and Ferdin’s lifelong rival.

“Erin, it’s been too long, hasn’t it? I apologize for Sir Roham’s rudeness. I didn’t expect him to behave this way when merely delivering a letter.”

She smiled faintly at Ditrion’s words. Erin had felt Ditrion’s gaze even before he revealed himself.

He must have been watching the whole time while Roham delivered the letter to her.

Ditrion took one step closer to Erin. His hand touched her ear. Ditrion let out a low laugh.

His elegant appearance and bright smile matched perfectly.

“By the way, Erin, I heard you accomplished something remarkable…”

“…”

“They say you rescued refugees with Ferdin. I don’t know what you did there, having just learned to hold a sword, but still.”

Ditrion was right.

After Erin defeated the werewolf chieftain, Amon and Lilia led the captured refugees in escaping from werewolf territory.

The werewolves, having seen their chieftain killed, didn’t dare attack them.

Ferdin’s subjugation mission had ended very successfully. This was completely different from what happened in the past.

“I heard that… the Sword Master who appeared during the monster subjugation showed up again and made it possible.”

“We were lucky.”

“Yes, but excessively lucky. Don’t you find it strange? A Sword Master whose identity nobody knows keeps appearing. It doesn’t make sense. Almost like…”

Ditrion gripped Erin’s hand tightly as he spoke.

It was strong enough that she would have been in pain a few months ago.

“Like the Marquis’s daughter standing before me. A lady who had never wielded a sword before… now has calluses on her hands and ranks among the top five in the beginner class.”

“…”

“Is this luck too, Lady Erin?”

Ditrion Lexia.

Erin had disliked him since her first life. Ditrion was the only outsider who knew she was being abused by the Marchioness.

Erin recalled the day she first met him when she was young. Ditrion had visited the Marquis’s mansion holding the Marchioness’s hand back then.

The kind smile the Marchioness wore that day was different from the one she gave to Karon.

“Erin, come here and say hello. He will be the next Emperor.”

At the Marchioness’s words, he smiled at Erin just like he had moments ago.

He looked like a prince from a fairy tale, which made her heart flutter a bit. With his deep laugh, he seemed completely different from her shabby self.

Looking at Ditrion, Erin blushed shyly.

Ditrion’s appearance seemed perfect on the outside.

The beautiful, cold-hearted prince. That was how Ditrion was known to the world.

Whenever Erin saw Ditrion, she would avoid his gaze and bow her head. Yet she would still glance at him with admiring eyes.

‘The prince shines so brightly.’

Erin thought Ditrion was a wonderful prince. Until he caught her during one of the Marchioness’s “disciplinary sessions”…

When she cried for help, afraid of punishment, Ditrion sneered and ignored her.

The words he said then, Erin couldn’t forget until the moment she died.

“Disgusting.”

Erin shook off Ditrion’s hand and stepped back.

The arm he had grabbed felt like insects were crawling on it—a creepy sensation.

“My ranking in the Swordsmanship Department isn’t due to luck, but skill, Your Highness.”

“Skill?”

Erin dusted off her hand.

Ditrion laughed with amusement at her gesture, which suggested something dirty had touched her.

Unlike before, Erin’s defiant attitude actually sparked his interest.

‘Could Erin Liserth behave this way? The rumors about her changing weren’t lies after all.’

But that was as far as it went. He wasn’t the type to tolerate anyone going against his wishes.

“How interesting. That skill… could you show it to me? I’m very fond of talented individuals, you know. Who knows? I might want to take Lady Erin into our knightly order.”

“Unfortunately, I have a prior engagement.”

“A prior engagement?”

“Yes, I need to see Lord Ferdin, so that won’t be possible.”

He tilted his head.

“That’s disappointing. I thought I was closer to you than Ferdin.”

“…”

“After all, we’ve known each other since childhood, haven’t we?”

“What do you want?”

“Don’t go meet Ferdin. Do what I tell you to. Show me your swordsmanship, Erin Liserth.”

“…”

“This isn’t a request. It’s an order.”

Ditrion spoke to Erin in an authoritative tone.

His distorted face resembled how he looked when he called her disgusting back then. Now he was truly acting like Ditrion. Erin thought this and smiled.

He grabbed her wrist again and applied strong pressure.

* * *

At the academy’s central hall, all members of Ferdin’s reserve knightly order had gathered in the meeting room they frequently used.

Karon looked like he wanted to dash outside immediately. Derek shook his head watching him. Ever since learning that Erin Liserth was injured, Karon had been in that state.

He seemed unstable somehow, acting as if Erin might die if he was separated from her.

‘He’s not normal either.’

Derek thought this and shook his head. But he understood Karon’s feelings. He had felt the same way when Ferdin was injured.

Derek and Karon had immediately followed Ferdin when he entered werewolf territory. However, no matter how much they searched, they couldn’t find Ferdin and Erin.

After wandering for a long time, they finally met Amon and Lilia leading refugees out of the territory.

And the unconscious Erin and Ferdin too. Derek and Karon each screamed and ran to them. Since then, Karon refused to leave Erin’s side.

When he was spoon-feeding her, even Princess Asili beside them couldn’t maintain her composure.

Derek let out a big sigh and asked Ferdin:

“Ferdin, this doesn’t make sense. What’s your relationship with that Sword Master?”

“…”

“The monster subjugation, and now this werewolf subjugation… Once might be a coincidence, but twice can’t be. The werewolf chieftain suddenly found dead? Will the Emperor readily believe that report? Don’t you think so too?”

Derek looked at Amon and Lilia, seeking their agreement.

However, instead of agreeing with Derek, Amon and Lilia avoided his gaze.