Erin moved slowly, making her way toward Marquis Liserth. Thanks to the power from the necklace, Isis had barely managed to heal Ferdin’s wounds. 

Only after confirming that Ferdin’s heartbeat had stabilized did Erin rise to her feet. She paused before her father’s door where knights standing guard held their breath at her approach.

No longer hiding her status as a Sword Master, Erin emanated an intimidating aura that made people shrink back instinctively. She carefully reached for the doorknob but hesitated before opening it.

Inside the room, Marquis Liserth with bandages wrapped around his head was conversing with Karon and Lilia. Upon learning what had happened to his father, Karon clenched his fists in fury, grinding his teeth.

“Corelia… that witch dared to harm Father…”

“…”

“So you couldn’t catch her while she escaped?”

“No.”

“That’s why there were no guards at the gates… they were all in it together.”

“Yes. Not just the servants, but the soldiers too helped Corelia escape. Because of people like them… Erin suffered alone.”

Karon’s face contorted with anger. Though he had heard about this from Erin, the reality was far more horrific. Except for the Marquis’s closest confidants and a few servants, everyone in the mansion had been Corelia’s people.

Once rescued by Ferdin, the Marquis had immediately rooted them out upon regaining consciousness.

“What purpose could she possibly have had all this time…”

“Karon, I don’t think that’s what matters right now.”

Venting his anger, Karon turned his head at the Marquis’s words. Following the Marquis’s gaze, he saw Erin standing there. Her sudden appearance made Karon feel strangely breathless. Though clearly his sister, she somehow felt like a different person entirely.

The Marquis felt the same dissonance. He addressed Karon and Lilia, “I need to speak with Erin alone.”

Despite his head injury, his eyes shone with fierce clarity. Karon and Lilia carefully left the room. Had the Marquis known nothing, he would have embraced Erin joyfully, having not seen his daughter for so long.

“Erin…”

Yet he couldn’t bring himself to approach her first. After a moment of silence, the Marquis spoke again.

“I’m sorry.”

Erin silently sat down before her father after hearing his apology. She examined his condition—he appeared gaunt from lack of proper nourishment, and the bruise on his head smelled of medicine, suggesting a physician had treated it. The Marquis carefully took Erin’s hand.

“I failed to notice sooner and caused you pain.”

This was what he had wanted to say the moment he saw Erin. The Marquis couldn’t deny that he had been an inattentive father.

“Using my busy schedule as an excuse, I neglected to look after you properly. I don’t deserve to be called a father.”

At his words, Erin tightly clenched her fist.

“I’m sorry too.”

“Erin?”

“I couldn’t come find you sooner.”

She bowed her head. The Marquis embraced her.

“It’s alright, it’s alright. Erin, I…”

“…”

“Everything’s fine. You must be more worried about Prince Ferdin. I heard he was severely injured trying to protect me.”

At these words, Erin looked up at the Marquis, who gazed steadily into her eyes. He had learned from the knights who brought the restraint key that Erin was a Sword Master. 

Not only chosen by the sword, but his daughter had reached the level of Sword Master at such a young age.

“Is that why she feels so unfamiliar?” he wondered. Yet that razor-sharp presence was something only those who had experienced countless real battles could possess.

“Father, please help me.”

Erin carefully broke the silence.

“The Emperor stands behind Corelia.”

“Erin?”

“The Emperor is looking for an opportunity to carry out a mass sl*ughter to pay the price for using black magic. We must stop him.”

Marquis Liserth looked confused. It was hard enough to believe the Emperor was behind Corelia, but black magic and mass sl*ughter?

‘But if what Erin says is true…’

The Marquis felt a chill in his heart. However, regardless of the reason, standing against the Emperor was tantamount to treason.

“There are monsters in the basement of the Imperial Palace.”

Marquis Liserth’s face hardened. The succession of surreal statements made him feel he was dreaming. In truth, the Marquis had been half out of his mind since Corelia attacked him, feeling that everything he had known was being denied.

“But Erin… we need evidence. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but every action requires justification.”

Erin, however, had no proof that what she knew would come to pass. That’s why she couldn’t tell Duke Asili about the Emperor either. Someone who claims others must die without reason is no different from a monster.

“You probably find it difficult to believe based on words alone,” she thought. Her father had always acted as a neutral nobleman, striving to maintain balance in any situation.

Actually, it didn’t matter if the Marquis believed her or not. Now that she knew about the monsters beneath the Imperial Palace, she intended to storm the palace alone if necessary. She couldn’t leave those monsters that threatened so many people.

Just then, the Marquis grasped Erin’s hand firmly.

“You really… became a knight.”

“…”

“Even your words about not wanting to hold a sword were all lies…”

Marquis Liserth’s face crumpled. Why hadn’t he recognized it? That she had been chosen by the sword. He felt guilty for knowing so little about his daughter. A tear streamed down the Marquis’s face.

While imprisoned in the dungeon by Corelia, he had reflected on his life and made a promise to himself—to live for his family rather than the Empire from now on.

“Erin…”

The Marquis caressed the back of her hand with a worried expression.

“I believe you.”

“…”

“I’ll lend you my strength, so do what you need to do.”

The Marquis’s words carried grave determination. The military power of House Liserth, built up while guarding the borders, was formidable. He knew he couldn’t deny his past mistakes but wanted to support Erin now, at least.

Seeing her father’s resolute gaze, Erin gripped her sword tightly.

* * *

Duke Asili looked down at his daughter with a stony face. The Princess’s complexion was so pale it hardly resembled that of a living person. The Duchess, who had rushed over upon hearing the news, had wailed at the sight before fainting.

The Duke was in no better state himself. He could neither stop nor comfort his weeping wife, having completely broken down himself.

Behind him stood his chief knight in full armor, awaiting the Duke’s orders.

Duke Asili recalled the conviction he had maintained until now: “I will never draw my sword for myself. From this moment on, I shall be a sword that protects the Empire and its people.” 

This was the vow he had made upon becoming a Sword Master.

But there was a promise he had made even before that. The Duke remembered his daughter’s determined eyes.

She had been a child who hated pain more than anything—whenever she got even a paper cut, she would run to him crying.

“She must have been in such pain…”

Duke Asili knew the fate of Saints. Those who experienced terrible agony with each prophecy would eventually fall into an eternal sleep. Sacrificing themselves for others, that’s how they ended.

The Duke had wished for his daughter, who manifested as a Saint, to grow up more selfishly. 

That’s why he had always supported whatever she wanted to do, hoping she would become greedy and selfish and live a long, healthy life. But the Princess hadn’t grown up as he had hoped.

The Duke gently stroked his daughter’s cheek.

“When you were born, I promised that if anyone ever hurt you, I would cut them down even if it were the Goddess herself…”

These words would have horrified the Princess had she heard them. The Duke turned to the chief knight behind him and commanded:

“We depart as soon as the mage from the Magic Tower arrives.”

His eyes gleamed coldly. The Empire’s strongest knight had begun to act.

* * *

Corelia rose from her seat with a scowl. She was currently hiding in the basement of the Imperial Palace. After spending over a decade in Marquis Liserth’s mansion, she found it impossible to readjust to the underground chamber.

She narrowed her eyes, scanning her surroundings.

“It felt like a nightmare…”

She couldn’t remember what the dream had been about. But it must have been insignificant, she thought, clicking her tongue dismissively. The wound Ferdin had inflicted on her was infuriating.

‘I should have killed him earlier… much earlier!’

But regrets always came too late. She had underestimated the Second Prince. By dragging things out, hoping to see the Marquis’s face filled with despair, all her plans had gone awry.

Corelia looked around. Things unimaginable to others were happening here. Monsters roared from within iron cages, their eyes flashing as they craved blood. She twisted her lips into a smile at the sight.

“Enjoy yourselves while you can. You won’t have much time left to laugh anyway.”

Corelia placed her hand on the iron door of the basement. If she were to open this door and leave, h*ll would break loose immediately.

“Ferdin, Erin… I’ll kill you vulgar creatures all at once.”

Her eyes darkened as she stared at the wound on her arm.