Chapter 25
He said he saw someone push her and chased after them, but in the end, he couldn’t catch them.
Erin, realizing that someone was trying to kill her, trembled in fear, and her distrust of people only deepened.
“Erin, don’t worry. I’ll protect you.”
But now she knew.
It was Raymond who had pushed her into the lake, and because of that, she had lived her entire life in fear of being murdered.
In the past, Raymond had treated her like a toy—and in the end, he killed her.
He mocked her feelings and found it amusing.
Erin wrote the name Raymond on the paper where she had been drawing circles.
What he had done to her was indeed horrible—but that had happened in the past.
Then was it right to punish someone for something that hadn’t happened yet? Just because she knew he would do it?
But her hesitation lasted only a moment. Erin was certain—certain that Raymond would do the exact same thing again.
And today, the subjugation party would depart to carry out their mission.
* * *
From the academy to the southern mountain range—the territory of the werewolf tribe—it would take a long time to travel.
A round trip alone would take about a month.
Just reaching their destination would take nearly two weeks.
The first couple of days were manageable, but after five days, the subjugation party’s stamina noticeably declined.
Their pace slowed, and their exhaustion became obvious.
Like during the previous monster subjugation, Caron stayed close to Erin’s side.
The gazes directed at them had improved compared to before, but Lilia was also part of this expedition.
Still, Caron was less tense than he had been the first time.
Through several sparring sessions, he had come to realize just how strong Erin was.
According to her, it was because she was a genius… but Caron couldn’t quite understand that.
Still, history books did sometimes mention extraordinary geniuses who defied all norms.
‘Is that what she is?’
Thinking that, Caron suddenly felt that the woman beside him was unfamiliar.
He glanced at Erin, then scanned their surroundings, frowning at a strange sense of discomfort.
After pondering for a moment, he couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked:
“Did you fight with Raymond? Why isn’t he coming near you?”
“…”
“Why? Raymond’s a good person, isn’t he?”
As Caron said, Raymond and Erin were keeping their distance.
For the past two months, Erin had deliberately ignored him, and after being rejected several times, Raymond had stopped approaching her—though he still watched her with narrowed eyes.
Seeing that he still lingered nearby, it didn’t seem like he had given up whatever he was plotting.
Erin shook her head at that thought.
She didn’t respond to Caron’s comment about Raymond being a good person and instead moved toward Ferdinand.
Caron quickly followed after her.
There were several things Erin needed to resolve during this mission.
Raymond bothered her, but he wasn’t the most urgent issue.
The most important person on this mission was Ferdinand.
In the past, he had survived this mission, but he had returned with a severe facial scar.
However, Erin didn’t know exactly what had happened during the werewolf subjugation.
Those who had survived all avoided talking about it.
Seeing Erin walk toward Ferdinand, Caron gave her a curious look.
After getting engaged to Ferdinand, Erin had strangely begun keeping her distance from him.
But now that the expedition had started, she was sticking close to him as if that had never happened.
Other students began whispering.
“Weren’t they really engaged after all?”
“Then what about the young lady? Is it really over?”
“They actually look good together.”
“But still… weren’t they forced apart because of Erin Rizers? That’s not right.”
One student, seemingly harboring resentment toward Erin, muttered that last comment.
But there was no way Erin hadn’t heard it.
Once one reached the level of a master, their senses became so sharp that even the quietest whispers couldn’t be missed.
Hearing their words, Erin only solidified her resolve.
The decision she had made the moment she met Ferdinand again—now was the time to act on it.
As evening fell, the subjugation party began preparing camp.
Erin skillfully helped set up the tents.
Caron grumbled, “How are you this good at this too?”
He had definitely camped more often than she had, yet she seemed far more experienced.
“If you’re good with a sword, you’re good at everything.”
Caron’s face twisted at her words.
Once everything was set up and dinner was finished, it was time to rest.
When most had fallen asleep, Erin went to find Ferdinand.
“Sir Ferdinand.”
He seemed to have been resting comfortably, sitting outside his tent, his blond hair slightly disheveled.
At her call, Ferdinand looked at her in surprise. Derek, who was beside him, reacted the same way.
Derek, who had been stuffing jerky into his mouth, froze mid-motion.
The jerky in his hand fell to the ground, but his eyes alone moved to stare at Erin.
“I have something to tell you.”
I’ve heard that before… Derek muttered internally, then shifted his gaze to Ferdinand.
Ferdinand also felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
It was the first time Erin had spoken to him since the monster subjugation.
For some reason, he felt both happy and uneasy.
“I’d like to talk somewhere quiet… not here.”
Ferdinand recalled the last time she had asked to speak alone.
Back then, she had said something completely unexpected—that she would join the monster subjugation.
He had a feeling this would be something similar.
Derek muttered in shock:
“Alone… somewhere quiet?”
But neither Erin nor Ferdinand paid him any attention.
Though Ferdinand felt reluctant, he couldn’t refuse her request.
He nodded and followed her.
* * *
These were words she had practiced dozens, hundreds of times.
Something she had always prepared in her mind.
Their engagement had been forced by the Marchioness.
Even though Ferdinand had been separated from the person he loved because of it, he had never once resented Erin.
The same was true of the young lady in this life.
She would come to Erin often, chatting endlessly.
Not once had she shown resentment.
Erin could no longer leave such kind people to suffer.
Even if they didn’t blame her, their hearts couldn’t be at ease.
The young lady’s claim that she and Ferdinand had no relationship was clearly a kind lie—for Erin’s sake.
“When this mission is over… I’ll break off the engagement. But during this mission, please stay by my side.”
“Break it off…?”
“Yes. You don’t have to continue a marriage you don’t want.”
Ferdinand’s expression hardened.
In the past, Erin had dragged him into the mud out of fear of the Marchioness.
But now she was no longer afraid of Corellia.
She couldn’t keep holding onto him.
Now, what Erin feared was others getting hurt because they were near her.
‘Until I finish everything… I can’t involve him.’
So she lied.
“I didn’t want this either.”
“If you didn’t want it… why did you want to get engaged to me?”
“You know what kind of person I am. It was just a passing whim.”
Ferdinand couldn’t understand her at all.
She looked like she was in pain, yet her voice was calm.
The Erin he knew always had that same expression—as if she wanted to say something, yet said nothing.
It wasn’t hard for him to realize she was lying.
Ever since he had seen her past, she had been on his mind.
It felt as if they had known each other long ago.
‘Why do I feel this way?’
If she said she didn’t want it, then naturally the engagement should end.
But… he didn’t want that.
It was strange. He wasn’t someone ruled by emotion.
Yet the person in front of him—someone who seemed to carry the weight of the entire world alone—concerned him.
Erin looked at him for a moment, then turned away.
“I’ve said everything I needed to. I’ll go now.”
“Erin!”
Ferdinand tried to stop her, but she was faster.
She disappeared from his sight in an instant.
He must have found it strange—but Erin didn’t have the confidence to hear more.
She didn’t want to hear him agree to break off the engagement.
‘And there’s a rat following me.’
Sensing a foul presence in the distance, Erin twisted her lips.
She wanted to stay by Ferdinand’s side at all times during this mission, but it couldn’t be helped.
She chose to trust her own strength.
‘If it’s not too far, I’ll sense any danger before it reaches him.’
If she dealt with it quickly, it would be fine.
Thinking that, Erin hurried forward.
