episode_0045

“Did you ask me for a lesson?”

“…Yes.”

Before returning to the mansion, Rachel approached the maid who was idling in the garden and spoke.

In fact, Rachel keenly felt that she was weakest here.

With Yuria, who had power equivalent to an army and possessed blessings and the best healing just by her existence, at least, Rachel thought she needed to do something to not become a burden.

Yuria nodded willingly without questioning further.

There was nothing particularly to do. There was no need to accommodate someone who didn’t fit in.

“I won’t use magic.”

Yuria said this as if it were obvious.

It might be considered her own consideration.

In terms of the total amount of magic, Rachel’s magical power was not even one-third of Yuria’s.

Even if they were to engage in a pure magical battle, if there was an overwhelming difference from the beginning, it would be meaningless.

Knowing this, Rachel inwardly smiled bitterly and eventually nodded her head as she was the one who requested the match.

Thus, the match was arranged.

Ice Archer and Vampire.

The weapon was decided by the other side.

Rachel had experience with various weapons to the extent that she had never handled a weapon in her childhood.

The maid chose an ordinary sword.

They agreed to each use what they desired, chains for Yuria and the remaining two daggers for Rachel.

The judging saint was affectionately patting Ian’s head next to her.

Although her concentration was disrupted by the restless and uneasy emotions inside her heart.

“…”

The maid in front of her right now had a serious gaze.

More than playing tricks on the side, it was evidence that she was sincerely engaging in this match.

The once cold gazes of both sides exchanged.

As they began to scatter their stances, Yuria’s posture, which showed no gaps, was truly remarkable.

‘…She said it hasn’t been long since she held a sword.’

At first glance, she seemed like a novice. However, she was an opponent with enough concentration to break into a cold sweat for someone with a certain level of skill.

Furthermore, because they agreed to use the variable of memorization, there was much more to be mindful of, and their perspective had to be even broader.

“…I will begin.”

Before Yuria’s words fell, a sharply honed dagger flew toward her shoulder.

Tsk—Naturally, such an obvious ambush wouldn’t work. It was used from the start to create openings to narrow the distance.

“Hup!”

A deeply raised throat strike.

Clashing with Yuria’s throat strike, a sharp sound of metal scraping echoed as sparks flew.

The swordplay wielded by a trained body is much stronger than that of an ordinary person.

Even in its blunt form, it could forcibly crush bones and exert destructive force capable of breaking iron armor. Perhaps, if it struck the vital point, even in the current situation where magic was not being used, Yuria could have suffered considerable shock.

Nevertheless, Rachel continued her skilled swordsmanship without stopping.

She knew better than anyone else that now was not the time to underestimate or show mercy to her opponent.

“Haaah!”

A body slightly taller than 170cm, hands rough with scars unlike other women, and tightly trained muscles brought the sword down. Even from a distance, the sound of the swords clashing was not ordinary, indicating a formidable level of combat.

A fierce level of defense and offense.

If an ordinary knight had been the opponent, they would have been beaten senseless and rendered combat ineffective.

However, such attacks never reached Yuria.

-Carddudeuk!

A lively finesse.

Swift footwork, efficient use of energy, and the unique skills of a swordsman who fully circulates their strength.

That was not something just anyone could easily obtain.

-Thump thump thump.

It regulated the rapidly beating heart.

It was a world of difference between herself, who solely consumed the stamina of a trained body, and others.

Rachel did not possess exceptional talent like Yuria. If one were to weigh it, her effort far outweighed her talent.

Therefore, it might have been an impressive point that she did not show any gaps even as she fiercely attacked.

The extreme of fundamentals.

Slashing and thrusting, dodging and flowing. Just comparing her to someone with slightly longer arms than hers, using a reach and well-trained muscles, Rachel was undoubtedly an outstanding talent.

A tactical approach mixed with aggressive, delicate, and meticulous calculations while maintaining that narrow gap.

However, there was no way for Uriah to break through such a fierce attack.

Despite such a fierce attack, she calmly parried.

In the Stance Change, where she only managed to shave off a few strands of hair with the second thrust at best.

But even that couldn’t be continuously pushed through.

Unlike Uriah, who had hardly expended any energy in the slow-paced battle, Rachel, who had thrown herself into full force for 10 minutes, had to focus on regulating her breathing.

“Are you tired already? Then—”

Uriah, who had been quietly watching her, corrected her posture.

“It’s my turn.”

Clang!

As soon as she spoke, the maid rushed in at a terrifying speed.

Occasionally swinging the sword with one hand and using the chain is truly a difficult and unconventional skill, almost like a god-given talent.

“Ugh,”

Continuously targeting the lower part, around the ankles, with the chain, and a frighteningly fast frontal sword strike.

Due to excessive physical exertion, her posture gradually revealed slight openings, and she began to feel herself being pushed back. Rachel gritted her teeth at this realization.

Then, she swung the sword straight, grazing alongside her cheek.

“!”

Closing her eyes, she narrowly missed Uriah’s sword, which flew at a terrifying speed.

It was due to a momentary movement that her visual perception couldn’t keep up.

Rachel instinctively avoided the sword flying right next to her face.

It was more luck than skill; if that attack had been aimed at her upper body, she would have been struck in the vital spot without a chance to react.

Next, Rachel wrapped the chain around the sword she held and pulled, blocking the variable of defense.

Memorizing the chain was dangerous.

Even though she knew the method, she couldn’t resist. There was that much of a gap in their skills.

-!!!!!

When the sword dug into the trapezius muscle, Rachel reflexively let go of the sword she had been gripping, feeling a sharp sensation and a loss of strength.

As she frowned from the shock, her other hand hurried to draw out the remaining dagger. She needed to use it right away.

Retrieving the fallen sword from the ground, Rachel’s expression was far from good.

“…My right arm won’t move.”

It meant it was broken.

Although she was ambidextrous, it was still a significant handicap for her not to be able to use one arm immediately.

The condition of her sword wasn’t great either.

Due to the initial fierce attacks from Yuria, there were several cracks in Rachel’s sword, but Yuria had deliberately dispersed the damage across multiple areas, allowing it to withstand to some extent.

However, Rachel’s sword was on the verge of breaking due to a deliberate attack aimed at one spot.

She keenly felt the stark difference in their swordsmanship skills.

If she hadn’t known anything due to her mediocre strength, she would have known now.

She made sure her mind accurately conveyed how unbelievably absurd the situation unfolding before her eyes was due to her mediocre strength.

Even if she tried to make a stand here, it was too late.

Her lungs hurt, and she tasted bitterness in her mouth.

The slightly injured areas were also widening.

But at least she didn’t want to show a pathetic sight in front of Ian.

She somehow calmed her breath and fixed her gaze.

Her limp right arm looked pitiful, but Rachel was now in a state of concentration where even that didn’t bother her.

“Hap!”

A straightforward strike, yet filled with full force.

It was an impulsive action knowing well that the sword wouldn’t hold up any longer.

However, a smile spread across Yuria’s lips.

It wasn’t mockery. It was a faint, satisfied smile.

It felt as though she had passed some kind of test with Yuria, but that wasn’t important right now.

-Clang.

A rough, resounding noise.

The wooden sword fell to the ground.

Truly, it was a perfectly timed attack that deflected without any chance of a counterattack.

“…I lost.”

It was a complete defeat.

His body was already on the verge of collapse from being drenched in sweat.

Both the exertion and the suffocating feeling were overwhelming.

But there was one fortunate point.

– Crack.

A single noise followed.

The wooden sword Yuriya held had broken.

In truth, he hadn’t aimed for this from the start.

Yuriya could have avoided even this, but she chose to take the blow, knowing she would return it with her eyes.

Ultimately, both wooden swords were destroyed, but it couldn’t be denied that Rachel was the winner.

He had already admitted his defeat.

“Are you okay?”

A hand reached out before him.

Rachel smirked and rose unsteadily on her legs.

“It was an excellent match.”

If there was a hint of jealousy or inferiority, he wouldn’t deny it.

But more than that, because he had challenged her knowing he would lose, there was no bitter taste.

He was rather satisfied.

Rachel was satisfied with having secured a match that could be considered a draw against a vampire who would become much stronger as he aged.

…

The saint’s healing was truly remarkable.

It could only be described as such, even though it didn’t completely eliminate the aftereffects, it recovered someone from a fractured state that even an expensive potion would take days to heal, and mostly removed the lingering effects.

“…Ugh.”

However, it was not entirely perfect. The environment of a rattling carriage hitting various places made it a bit different.

For a moment, he groaned alone in pain, wondering if he had left something behind, and then took out a letter from his pocket.

Fortunately, the letter was intact.

Due to the occasional stiffening of his right hand, he almost dropped it a few times, but now his movements were unaffected, and the pain had subsided significantly.

‘…Phew,’

However.

Slightly.

Empty.

Normally, it would have been time to sit in the study, train physically, or wait for Ian’s letter.

To be honest, there was no excuse for challenging the vampire maid to a match.

He wasn’t the kind of person who would engage in a duel, especially with injuries from a clearly losing fight.

“…bitter emotion.”

Rachel, leaning her head against the sofa for a moment, sighed inwardly.

Still, she didn’t expect it to be this bad.

Despite years of honing her swordsmanship and gaining considerable combat experience, she had been defeated by a woman who had been a slave in a prison just a few months ago. Of course, the maid must have made efforts, and there must have been difficult times.

However, that didn’t make her feel any better.

Since that day, she pushed herself to the limit every single day with the determination not to lose anything, training relentlessly with the whip. It felt like it was just yesterday.

Rachel seemed tough on the outside but was a deeply fragile woman inside. As evidence, she couldn’t even push away a man.

She merely endured with stubbornness fueled by pain.

But even that steel-like mental strength had begun to waver little by little these days.

“…if facing a top-tier demon one-on-one.”

She would undoubtedly be killed without a chance.

It would be fortunate if she could die comfortably at once.

It would be tens of times better than being captured and subjected to all kinds of humiliation.

The fear of almost experiencing such an ordeal was hidden among the scars.

While other knights drank and socialized, she controlled her food, refrained from taking the elixirs considered natural in childhood, and trained, shedding blood and sweat.

Yet, in the end, it didn’t help in crucial moments.

It seemed that only by closing her eyes could her restless heart find relief.

Wasn’t that a fact she already knew?

There was no way she could stop just because she felt a bit bitter.

The scars felt particularly sore today.

Outside the window, raindrops were falling quietly. The sound of water droplets hitting the carriage roof was somewhat comforting.

Rachel rose from the sofa and opened the window a little more.

The curtain fluttered, and the carpet got slightly wet, but she didn’t mind. Right now, she just wanted to feel the cold rain on her hair and regain her composure.

At times like these.

“…”

A letter being written down hastily.

Is it hurting a lot? Your arm seems broken. Call me if you need help.

The only connection between him and herself.

If he continues to write on the designated paper in the future, this letter will be delivered to her as it is.

It was a madogu that was used during the time when there was no phonetic guide, but now it is not used much.

Still.

“Wait, can you come over for a moment?”

He picked up a pen and quickly wrote a reply.

Followed by Ian appearing at the door.

“You came, -”

As he raised his head.

Ian’s hand grabbed Rachel’s hand.

“Ah….”

All the negative emotions disappeared like melting snow.

Her whole body stiffened at his sudden gesture. The thoughts she had just had didn’t come to mind at all.

Her whole body felt light, and indescribable tingling emotions.

She couldn’t believe she was still fluttering around Ian.

Was she so tightly wrapped in her own stubbornness?

“………That’s why I can’t close the window.”

“Oh, were you trying to close the window?”

When his hand let go, Rachel finally looked at Ian and took a breath.

A man she couldn’t help but hate despite feeling immense guilt.

It was a difficult thing to say.

“…I’ll manage. So that I won’t become a burden to you.”

“You’ve already done enough.”

“…Thank you. Even to me, who is so stubbornly stubborn, you are so kind.”

“Hehe, really?”

“…”

What does “really” mean.

After briefly meeting each other’s eyes, smiles broke out on both of their faces.

They arrived at the mansion two days later.