TRWTVPS 02

 Chapter 02

The place where she was born was somewhere she had never seen before.

It was a world without magic or mana.

The modern world.

Her life there was not very different from her life as Erin.

Her parents found children bothersome and practically neglected her.

Once, after seeing the absent-minded yet kind marquis, she believed all fathers were like him.

But after experiencing her new life, she realized that there were many parents far more indifferent than he was.

I want to become stronger. Strong enough to protect myself.

Perhaps it was because of that desire—

Fortunately, in her third life, she was born as the daughter of a knightly family.

Even she did not know why she kept being given new lives.

Still, she chose to live.

Unlike before, she wanted a life where no one could look down on her.

So she picked up the sword.

To become a knight, and to learn swordsmanship—

It was a dream she had always wanted to pursue since her first life, but had been repeatedly blocked by the marchioness.

Surprisingly, she had talent with the sword.

And not just ordinary talent.

It was genius—something that might only appear once in hundreds, perhaps thousands of years.

Thus, having become the knight she had always dreamed of, she could confidently say she lived her third life without regrets.

If the reason for her reincarnation was the resentment of her previous lives, she thought she would never open her eyes again.

But life repeated itself once more.

This time, it was not reincarnation.

She returned to her most miserable first life.

Erin Rius.

Back to when she was called the foolish and pathetic daughter of a marquis family.

When she first opened her eyes, screams echoed all around her.

It was a sound far too familiar to someone who had spent every day on the battlefield.

Instinctively, she moved her body and eliminated the monsters outside the carriage.

Only then did she realize—

She had become Erin Rius once again.

Reken was supposed to lose an arm here.

That’s how it was in the past.

Reken had lost his arm while protecting her, and his brilliant future had been completely ruined.

It wasn’t Erin’s fault, but all the blame had been directed at her.

Because a talent who could have led the Empire was lost protecting someone useless like her.

But now that she had helped Reken, everything had changed.

Maybe… I can save him too.

Even amidst the chaos, Erin thought of one man.

Someone she could never forget, even after two lifetimes.

The man who lost everything because he got engaged to me.

Ferdin Lexia.

* * *

The Atens Academy, which Erin attended, was the only academy in the Empire.

Not only talented commoners and nobles studied there, but also royal families from other nations and even imperial princes.

The academy was as large as a small territory and always bustling with people.

Feeling the liveliness, Erin closed her eyes.

I really came back.

As soon as Erin and Sara entered the academy, Reken returned to the Rius territory due to urgent business.

As Erin began walking without hesitation, Sara spoke in a worried tone.

“Miss, will you be alright?”

Erin frowned at the sudden question.

What does she mean?

She couldn’t clearly remember what she was like during this time.

But there had to be a reason why Sara asked that question right after arriving at the academy.

“I’m worried because you transferred to the Swordsmanship Department.”

Ah… so it was that time.

As if a floodgate had opened, memories from the past began to return.

Around this time, she had become engaged to the Empire’s second prince, Ferdin.

It wasn’t something she wanted, but people believed she forced it.

That wasn’t all.

She had even switched her major to the Swordsmanship Department just to be closer to Ferdin Lexia.

Despite not even knowing how to properly wield a sword.

Of course, that wasn’t her will either.

Recalling the many unseen wounds she had endured, Erin spoke calmly:

“Right. I’m a terrible villainess who threw a tantrum to marry the second prince and used my parents to get what I wanted. I even transferred to the Swordsmanship Department and insulted the honor of knights… Even I think that’s quite something.”

At her self-deprecating words, Sara flinched and shook her head.

Erin had no intention of troubling her.

What she said was merely sarcasm toward her current situation.

“I didn’t say that for you to hear. Thank you for worrying about me.”

She gently tucked Sara’s hair behind her ear and smiled kindly.

Sara blushed without realizing it.

As Erin stepped into the academy, all eyes turned toward her.

Feeling the piercing gazes, she recalled her reputation at this time.

The villainess who mocked the honor of knights. And Ferdin was in an unspoken relationship with Lady Asilly… Their relationship ended because of my engagement. I have no excuse.

It felt like she had become the villainess of a romance fantasy novel she once read in her modern life.

She let out a sigh, knowing what lay ahead.

Everything people believed she had done was actually fabricated by the marchioness.

But since everyone believed those lies, there was nothing Erin could do.

All she could do was endure their gazes.

* * *

No wonder everyone hated me.

Erin calmly observed her surroundings.

Various thoughts came and went.

In the past, the academy had been a place of escape from the marchioness.

But she had never liked it.

Because even here, she was surrounded by hostility.

She could easily cause a scene and shout that everything was the marchioness’s scheme.

But she knew she wouldn’t.

First, she needed to find out who was behind the marchioness.

Before her death, the Rius family had nearly been destroyed.

She hadn’t known why at the time, but now she had some idea.

—

“Don’t worry. Your family will follow you soon.”

—

Those were the marchioness’s last words before Erin died.

There was no way she could have destroyed the Rius family alone.

Someone had to be behind all the misfortune.

But Erin’s thoughts were interrupted when someone grabbed her hand tightly.

“You…!”

She turned around and saw a face similar to her own.

“Damn it. I heard you ran into monsters on your way here—are you okay?”

Caron Rius.

Her younger brother stood before her.

It had been a long time.

Erin studied his face.

He looked much younger than the last time she had seen him.

His face was not filled with despair.

He didn’t look exhausted.

The only thing unchanged—

He still disliked her.

Looking at his intact right arm, Erin became certain.

Things could be changed.

The terrible past she experienced had not yet happened.

Suddenly, she felt pain from the hand he was gripping.

She realized his grip was stronger than she expected.

To think just holding her hand hurt this much—

At the same time, she thought how pathetic this body was for not enduring even such pain.

But Erin had not stopped him.

It would be unnatural for someone who knew nothing about swordsmanship to sense his presence.

Perhaps… she simply wanted to see her brother’s face again.

Caron examined her from head to toe before letting out a sigh.

Relieved, he then glared at her.

Nothing new.

Caron was ashamed of her.

The Rius family was a prestigious house of swordsmen.

No one liked Erin, who acted arrogantly under that name.

And Caron, who valued the family’s honor more than anyone, disliked her the most.

“By the way… what the hell have you done?”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard you transferred to the Swordsmanship Department? What are you even thinking? Do you have any idea how stupid that is?”

“……”

“Everyone already hates you—did you really have to make things worse?”

She had no choice…

But Erin did not say it aloud.

Because she knew why he was angry.

As a student of the Swordsmanship Department himself, he must have felt insulted.

—

“I’m ashamed of you.”

—

Erin remembered those words from the past.

Back then, she argued with him and returned to her dorm, crying for a long time.

Alone, she reminisced about their childhood.