“What on earth happened here?”

The chief knight muttered in a daze upon arriving at the clearing in the western forest.

Duke Asili surveyed the surroundings, immediately noticing the deeply gouged earth. He recognized at a glance that it had been created by a sword’s energy.

“A Sword Master has died,” he stated flatly.

“Count Leon is… dead.”

Duke Asili’s eyes narrowed as the knights who had followed him looked around in confusion. At this moment, the Empire’s three Sword Masters had been reduced to two.

“He was a pathetic man, but still a Sword Master nonetheless…”

The chief knight approached Duke Asili and reported, “None of the Second Order knights are dead. They all appear to have been merely rendered unconscious.”

Duke Asili nodded, watching his knights examine the members of the Second Order. Count Leon was the only casualty, a fact that was enough to heighten their vigilance.

The chief knight murmured in amazement, “Subduing someone without injury is actually more difficult than k*lling them.”

He was right. Restraining someone without causing wounds required greater skill than delivering a fatal blow. Yet this mysterious person had killed Count Leon while sparing the Second Order knights.

‘What could be the purpose behind this?’

Duke Asili pondered. He too could have eliminated Count Leon and knocked out the entire Second Order if he wished. But why kill only Count Leon?

If the attacker had been unable to subdue Count Leon and had to kill him instead, then they must be weaker than himself.

“Does k*lling Count Leon mean this person is an enemy of the Empire?” the chief knight asked with concern.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“…”

“If they were an enemy of the Empire, they wouldn’t have left these men alive.”

“Indeed, they wouldn’t have spared any witnesses…”

Duke Asili’s gaze deepened.

“Let’s find out.”

He gently infused mana into the body of one of the fallen Second Order knights.

“Oh my!”

Instantly, the unconscious knight bolted upright, looking around in terror and trembling violently as though awakening from a terrible nightmare.

Upon noticing Duke Asili, however, he quickly bowed his head in greeting.

“Tell me exactly what happened here,” the Duke demanded.

The Second Order knight’s face turned deathly pale as he stammered, “E-Erin Liserth…”

Erin Liserth?

Could it be that Count Leon was attempting to carry out the execution before Duke Asili arrived? The chief knight glanced at Duke Asili, whose face had already hardened with severity.

“Erin Liserth was a Sword Master. She… she killed Count Leon.”

* * *

Erin remained motionless by Ferdin’s side. Covered in crimson blood and lost in thought, she looked even more pitiable than before.

“He’ll wake up soon,” the Princess murmured softly.

When the clerics from the infirmary arrived, the Princess had waved them away and used her holy power instead. Derek recalled the moment when she had healed Amon—the power of the Saint was truly remarkable.

When she placed her hand on Amon’s abdomen, a bright light emanated and the wound closed rapidly. In that instant, the damaged image of the Princess that had formed in his mind was completely restored.

“As you all know, healing wounds with holy power has its limitations,” the Princess explained, looking at Erin. “Using too much holy power isn’t good either.”

“…”

“This should be enough for his body to heal on its own.”

Erin nodded slightly at the Princess’s words before checking Ferdin’s heartbeat once more. Feeling his heart beating steadily, she let out a soft sigh of relief.

“Are you alright, Your Highness?” Erin asked.

The Princess smiled faintly, a fragile smile that seemed like it might disappear at any moment. She firmly grasped Erin’s hand.

“Of course. I’m fine, Lady Erin. But you’ve been hurt—those delicate hands are wounded from dealing with that vicious man.”

“…”

“That man will fall into h*ll even after death. The Goddess knows no forgiveness.”

“…”

“He will suffer eternally in h*ll.”

Derek’s expression grew peculiar upon hearing the Saint’s words. Was the Goddess really like that? The temple had always taught that the Goddess was benevolent. More importantly, was it even appropriate for the Saint to speak of the Goddess in such terms?

The Princess used her holy power while holding Erin’s hand. A warm energy swirled around them, instantly healing her wounds. But immediately afterward, the Princess staggered. Erin quickly moved to support her.

“Your Highness!”

Derek also rushed forward in alarm.

“I’m fine, Lady Erin, Sir Derek.”

Erin could say nothing as she looked at the Princess’s smiling face. The Princess leaned her head against Erin’s shoulder.

“I’m really fine, Lady Erin. Thanks to you, everything is alright now.”

“…”

“And everything will be alright from now on.”

At that moment, the Princess’s pupils contracted. Erin tilted her head in confusion at this reaction.

“By the way, he’s about to wake up now.”

Just as the Princess finished speaking, Ferdin opened his eyes.

* * *

The first person Ferdin saw when he opened his eyes was Erin. He tried to recall why he was in the infirmary, his last memory being the moment before he lost consciousness after Count Leon’s attack.

Derek had found him, and then Erin had appeared. After that, everything went black—he had no idea how he had ended up in the infirmary.

“Lady Erin? Are you alright? What happened to Count Leon? Did you confront him?”

The Princess clicked her tongue at Ferdin. “Ferdin Lexia, calm down.”

She frowned. “Am I invisible to you?”

“Ah, Princess…”

“Never mind. It seems my bone-breaking efforts to save you were for nothing.”

She shook her head as she spoke.

“Are both of you alright?” Ferdin asked.

“I’m fine. Lady Erin was slightly injured, but…”

Ferdin’s face froze at the Princess’s words. He pushed aside the blanket covering him, ready to get up and approach Erin immediately.

“Are you insane? Don’t you know the state your body is in? You need to lie down and do absolutely nothing for at least a few weeks!”

The Princess pushed Ferdin back down.

“Count Leon—that man really tried to half kill you.”

“He couldn’t have actually killed me, though.”

“True, but he could have severed something.”

As soon as the Princess finished speaking, the atmosphere in the infirmary changed.

“What, what was that!” Derek exclaimed, startled as he looked around.

“Didn’t you all feel it?”

At Derek’s words, the Princess glanced at Erin, who wore a gloomy expression. She quickly realized that Erin was the source of that energy, though Ferdin still seemed unaware of this fact.

Looking at them, the Princess couldn’t help but sigh. She had no idea what to do with these two frustrating people. Eventually, she patted Erin’s shoulder with a sympathetic expression.

“I’m relieved. I was so worried that Count Leon might hurt you.”

Since hearing that Erin was injured, Ferdin had been staring at her continuously. The mere thought of her being hurt made his chest tighten.

Count Leon was a Sword Master, and no matter how skilled Erin might be, facing him couldn’t have been easy. If not for the Princess’s prophecy, Ferdin would never have led Erin to that place.

“Her Highness healed me completely. I wasn’t badly injured to begin with,” Erin said with a smile.

“I feel like I’ve burdened you again…”

“Not at all. You were trying to save Karon.”

“…”

“Thank you so much, Lord Ferdin. If it weren’t for you, Karon would have been in serious trouble. Thank you for saving him.”

“I’m just glad you weren’t badly hurt, Lady Erin.”

Ferdin’s expression was filled with regret as he spoke. After watching them for a moment, the Princess grabbed Derek and pulled him away.

“Princess?”

“Come quickly, Sir Derek. I have something important to discuss with you.”

Derek was dragged out without understanding why. With Karon and the others in the adjacent room, only Erin and Ferdin remained.

As soon as the Princess left, Erin could no longer contain her surging emotions. Seeing Ferdin covered in blood in the forest had brought back memories of the past—memories of him dying, of her weeping daily at the Duke’s mansion after becoming an invalid. The thought that she might have experienced such pain again made her feel like she was falling into a terrible abyss.

‘No, he’s fine. He’s alive right in front of me.’

With trembling hands, she grasped Ferdin’s collar. Despite her determination not to act this way, her body wouldn’t obey her will. It was strange.