RVS 5

Upon entering the training ground, Edward sighed again at the sharp atmosphere he felt.

The moment he saw Erin, he couldn’t help but look puzzled.

She appeared calm, seemingly unaffected by the intimidating presence of the Swordsmanship Department students.

Was that even possible? Just like herbivores naturally fear carnivores, ordinary people couldn’t possibly withstand the pressure exuding from knight candidates.

‘What a strange situation.’

However, Edward didn’t dwell on this oddity. Perhaps Erin simply had an unusually insensitive constitution.

Forcing himself to think this way, he walked to the center of the training ground. He felt the students’ gazes shift toward him.

“Good morning.”

Edward greeted them briefly.

Some students outranked him socially, but that meant nothing within the academy walls.

The sharp atmosphere softened slightly.

“Everyone looks refreshed, you must have rested well.”

He said this while scanning the students.

The students of Atenz Academy’s Swordsmanship Department were all exceptional prodigies. For non-imperial citizens, only those ranked among the top three in their kingdoms qualified for admission.

In other words, it was where everyone who wanted to become a knight dreamed of studying.

Everyone except one person.

Edward stared at Erin who was standing before him. He noted her thick brown hair and skin so pale it looked like it had barely seen sunlight.

‘She doesn’t even look capable of properly holding a sword.’

His assessment was quick.

“We’ll start the first day with a light swordsmanship evaluation.”

After saying this, Edward pointed to a student.

The swordsmanship evaluation had begun.

* * *

Philip from the Edwin Kingdom, Bianca from the Riamond Kingdom, Homer from the Russell Kingdom…

Erin waited calmly for the other students’ turns to end.

She knew the order in which Edward was calling names.

On the first day of swordsmanship class, the advanced and beginner classes had lessons together.

‘He’s going in order of strength.’

Ferdin and Derek from the advanced class had finished their evaluations long ago and left the training ground.

Ferdin’s sword style was steady and deliberate, while Derek’s was sharp.

Erin’s eyes sparkled at their surprisingly fierce presence.

She watched every single sword demonstration without missing any.

Then someone approached her.

Erin knew who he was. It was Philip from the Edwin Kingdom, who had just finished his swordsmanship evaluation.

‘He disliked me.’

He was someone who took immense pride in being a student of Atenz Academy’s Swordsmanship Department.

And he despised Erin more than anyone else in the department.

“Do you think something will change by watching like that?”

Instead of answering, she looked up at him.

Philip was so tall that Erin, who was rather short, had to tilt her head back just to see his face.

Philip spoke to her with a harsh expression.

“Shall I tell you what’s going to happen to you? How humiliated you’ll be.”

“Do you have prophetic abilities or something?”

“What did you say?”

Philip was genuinely surprised by Erin’s response. He had intended to intimidate her.

Philip knew exactly how imposing his large build could be. His body was packed with muscles that could rival even the most physically impressive knights. He thought his mere presence would create tremendous psychological pressure.

But she answered so calmly? She didn’t even seem particularly tense.

Instead, when their eyes met, he felt his breath catch. His opponent was just a small ordinary person who had never learned swordsmanship. So why?

Regardless of his confusion, Philip couldn’t leave Erin alone.

He opened his mouth with all his might. Strangely, even just parting his lips made cold sweat pour down his face.

“You’re not even a knight…”

Erin found this long-unheard phrase nostalgic. It was something Philip had always said to her in the past.

Back then, Erin had no way to deny his words. She truly wasn’t even a knight candidate, just as he said.

Who would recognize someone who couldn’t properly hold a sword as a student of the Swordsmanship Department?

But if the past Erin had been given a choice, she would have become a knight without hesitation.

So there was no reason to endure his insults anymore.

Erin began unwrapping the bandage on her hand.

Philip frowned at her strange behavior. He had been thinking the bandage on her hand was ridiculous.

It must certainly be a fake injury.

Philip recalled a rumor he had heard.

“I heard Erin Liserth was attacked by a horde of monsters? They say if Sir Reken hadn’t been there, something terrible could have happened! Divine punishment, that’s what it was.”

For someone who supposedly faced a monster horde, she didn’t appear injured anywhere except for the bandage on her hand.

‘So she wrapped it to elicit sympathy after all.’

But as Erin’s hand gradually became exposed, Philip fell silent.

Her hand was covered in wounds. Philip couldn’t mistake what those meant. He had seen such wounds dozens of times since he was very young.

The process of tender palms getting scraped, bleeding, and eventually forming calluses. These were the wounds that appeared when one first began handling a sword.

Erin’s hands revealed that she had been working with a sword.

Philip recalled another rumor.

“I heard Erin Liserth defeated a horde of monsters. What an amusing false rumor.”

The bandage Erin had unwrapped slowly fell to the ground near his feet. Philip felt strangely heavy when that simple piece of cloth landed on his foot.

“Stand there and watch.”

“…”

“See for yourself whether I’m a real knight or not.”

Just as Erin finished speaking, Edward called her name.

“Erin Liserth.”

Instantly, all the other students’ gazes turned toward her.

Disbelief, contempt, gazes without any expectation.

She moved slowly under those stares.

* * *

Erin’s arm trembled as she lifted the sword. She could barely withstand the weight of the iron sword.

Someone snickered. The sound reached her ears.

Though they couldn’t openly criticize her with Edward watching with his piercing eyes, they were ready to enjoy Erin’s tragedy more than anyone.

In the past, Erin had burst into tears upon hearing that snicker.

“Truly pathetic.”

“I knew it. I wish she’d recognize her place and disappear.”

The words she heard back then tickled her ears. No one there had sympathized with her. Erin didn’t pity herself either.

Only after living three lives did she realize that no one acknowledges your sorrow when you grieve alone.

If you feel frustrated and wronged, you need to become stronger.

That’s why she had worked to the point of death. Now Erin knew how to wipe away her own tears.

Soon, the trembling in her arm stopped. The minuscule amount of mana in her body, so faint it was barely detectable, revealed its presence and lent strength to her arm.

It was the amount of mana anyone alive would typically possess.

For an ordinary person, nothing could be done with this little mana.

But she was no ordinary person.

Erin extended her arm straight out. Unlike when she first held the sword, the movement was unwavering.

Liserth swordsmanship fundamentally required the sword to convey strong power.

That’s why people often said Liserth swordsmanship wasn’t suitable for women.

‘Nonsense.’

Erin could dismiss their words with a single word.

She could execute Liserth swordsmanship more perfectly than anyone.

Since Marquis Liserth hadn’t become a Master, everyone expected Karon would become one, and in the past, Erin thought so too.

But the current generation of House Liserth would not produce a Master.

Karon Liserth would not become a Master.

It was something no one had anticipated.

But now she knew the reason better than anyone.

‘I’m the one chosen by the sword!’

Erin’s body, enhanced by mana, moved. The sword in her hand vibrated with a heavy sound.

Perfect Liserth swordsmanship unfolded from Erin’s hands.

Each time the clean trajectory of the sword was etched into the air without wavering, sharp cutting sounds echoed around.

It was flawless swordsmanship that was impossible to believe came from the rumored Erin Liserth.

Who could have expected such proficiency from someone who, just moments ago, had been trembling with thin arms while lifting an iron sword?

When Erin finally finished her brief demonstration, a deathly silence fell over the hall.

In that quietness, the instructor spoke.

“Excellent… swordsmanship.”

As soon as Edward finished speaking, Erin sheathed her sword.

Edward made no attempt to hide his surprise. He repeatedly opened and closed his mouth like someone who had lost the ability to speak.

He seemed to want to say more but was too shocked to find the words.

Sweat dripped from Erin’s forehead. Blood soaked her burst palm.

The training ground, which had been noisy with various sounds, remained silent.

The eyes of those watching her had completely changed.

Erin’s hand trembled slightly. A small thrill ran through her fingertips.

She had changed the past.