A Knife is the Cure for a Mad Dog (3)

The first sight that greeted the hero Gyeotmwa Josyegigot, who had followed Ethan, was the spectacle of two severed wrists flying through the air.

-Slick!

“Aaaah! AAAAAAAAH!!”

When he hastily chased after Ethan, who had suddenly dashed outside mid-conversation, Ethan had already drawn the sword at his waist and swung it once.

In contrast, the nameless noble whose wrists had been severed was screaming in agonizing pain.

The hero who witnessed this first-hand momentarily wondered if Ethan had reverted to his original nature from the game.

‘Seeing that Ethan’s original nature still remains, perhaps it’s not possession but regression?’

Perhaps even in this second life, he couldn’t let go of his original nature.

Maybe the thought that Ethan might have a similar goal to mine was just my own delusion.

With such thoughts in mind as he observed the situation, Ethan’s murderous voice soon reached his ears.

This provided Gyeotmwa Josyegigot with material to make his next judgment.

“Say those same words one more time. Next time, this blade will be sticking out of the back of your skull.”

A voice filled with killing intent, utterly unlike the calm person who had been conversing with him moments ago.

Though not overtly obvious due to being overshadowed by the overwhelming bloodlust, the hero could tell that Ethan was currently agitated by intense emotions.

He concluded that it would be best to continue observing the situation for now.

“Eeek! P-please, someone heal him…!”

“…Celista, wait a moment.”

“H-hero…?”

“…For now, don’t interfere between them and just watch the situation.”

“……What?”

“It’s necessary.”

“O-okay…”

Stopping Celista, who was about to intervene to resolve the situation, Gyeotmwa Josyegigot quietly continued observing Ethan’s next actions.

He thought that by watching this situation to its conclusion, he might be able to gauge how much Ethan from the game had changed compared to the current Ethan.

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

“AAAH! My arms! My aaaaarms!!”

The man from the Reidenhardt family, now missing both wrists, screamed endlessly with a mix of pain and terror.

In the tense atmosphere, the expressions of the other freshmen watching the duel also began to harden.

Even I hadn’t anticipated the sudden turn of events where Ethan intervened in the duel with Reidenhardt and immediately severed his wrists.

The fallen noble, seeing his own severed wrists on the ground, collapsed to his knees as Ethan’s blade pressed against the back of his neck.

The chilling killing intent emanating from the blade froze Reidenhardt’s body rigid in place.

“What exactly did you say to Lilith just now?”

“H-hyuuuk…!”

“Choose your words carefully before speaking. Unless you want your parents to receive your severed head tomorrow morning and weep over it.”

“…Hik, ……Kuhk!”

Somehow sensing the imminent threat of death, the man prostrated himself on the ground and began stammering out an apology-words he’d seemed utterly unwilling to utter moments ago.

“I-I was w-wrong… I apologize…”

“…What exactly were you wrong about?”

“I-I overstepped… and shamelessly insulted… the woman of the Blackwood Duke’s heir… Please… forgive me…”

“…If you know that much, then you should also know that the person you should be apologizing to isn’t me, right?”

“I-I’m sorry, miss… Please forgive me for my rudeness just now…”

“……”

Even after Reidenhardt’s apology, Ethan didn’t sheathe his sword, silently staring at me instead.

Wondering what he wanted, I quietly met his gaze until Ethan slowly opened his mouth.

“…What do you want to do?”

“Huh?”

“Do you really think the insult you received can be resolved with just this shallow apology?”

“N-no! I-I sincerely…! I sincerely apologize! Please show mercy…!!”

“…That’s enough, Young Master Ethan.”

“……”

“I think this much is sufficient.”

It wasn’t that I felt particularly sorry for that Reidenhardt bastard.

It’s just that if Ethan, who had already bloodied his sword on the first day of school, went as far as committing murder, his academy life would likely become complicated in many ways from then on.

After growing up properly, there was no need for him to become a scoundrel prince over something like this now. I also didn’t want to be known as the exclusive maid of a duke’s heir who killed a noble’s child on the first day.

It would be too much of a waste for Ethan’s reputation to be tarnished by the blood of such a worthless trash, considering all the effort he had put in until now.

Having watched him train relentlessly for years, shedding blood and sweat, I felt this all the more keenly.

“…Are you really okay with just this much?”

“There’s no need for Young Master Ethan to shed more blood over such trash. Please sheathe your sword.”

“…No, that’s not enough. Considering what this bastard just said to Lilith, at the very least, his limbs and tongue should be cut off too…”

“Young Master Ethan.”

“……”

“Please, let it end here.”

At my final plea, Ethan’s eyes wavered with inner conflict, but he eventually nodded quietly.

Turning his gaze back to Reidenhardt, Ethan spoke to him in a cold voice.

“State your name and family.”

“C-Cassius… Theodora, R-Reidenhardt. Third son of House Reidenhardt, with two older brothers and one older sister.”

“…Cassius Theodora Reidenhardt.”

“Y-yes…”

“…I’ll remember that.”

“……Huh?”

“Make sure I never have to use this memory again.”

With those words, Ethan withdrew the sword pressed against Reidenhardt’s neck.

He wiped the bastard’s blood from the blade with a handkerchief before returning it to its sheath.

“The Aurelia Church is behind the Magic Department building.”

“Y-yes…?”

“…I’m telling you to pick up your severed hands and get out of my sight right now.”

“T-thank you!”

Attempting to recover the severed parts to heal the wounds caused by Ethan’s sword, the bastard tried to pick up his fallen wrists with his maimed arms.

Though pitiful to watch, I didn’t feel particularly inclined to help.

“Hk, huuuk…! Hhuuuk…!!”

Unable to properly grasp them due to the pain, the sobbing bastard eventually stood up with his wrists in his mouth.

Desperate to escape Ethan, he began running toward the church. …Leaving even the longsword he had dropped during the fight behind on the ground.

The sword was one thing, but the bloodstained scene was a mess in many ways, so I used Clean Magic to tidy up the chaotic area.

Including Ethan’s uniform, which had been splattered with Reidenhardt’s blood.

“Thank you, Lilith.”

“…Did you really intend to kill him, Young Master Ethan?”

“If that’s what you wanted, Lilith.”

“…It would be better to stop at threats next time. If you truly commit an irreversible act, it could endanger your safety, Young Master.”

“…Right, I’ll be more careful from now on.”

Ethan bowed his head slightly, his voice tinged with dejection at my warning.

Seeing Ethan, who had stood up for me, looking so dispirited made me feel strangely uneasy, but this was something that needed to be addressed.

While it was true that I had been subjected to some violent threats from that bastard, attempting to kill him outright would have been crossing a line.

If he kept drawing his sword over such trivial matters, it would only hasten Ethan’s own demise.

Especially with that hero, who had blended into the crowd at some point and was now watching Ethan with a meaningful gaze.

“……Hmm.”

For some reason, the protagonist character had been staring at me and Ethan with a strange expression for a while now.

As someone trying to convince him that Ethan wasn’t a villain, I couldn’t exactly welcome this situation.

The bloodlust he had just displayed wouldn’t be easy to gloss over, but I needed to emphasize to the hero as much as possible that Ethan had grown into a good person.

Considering the future, it might be best to leave this place for now.

“How about we have a meal first, Young Master Ethan? You’ve been standing on the podium for two hours receiving everyone’s gazes-you must be tired.”

“Alright, Lilith. And if any more of those bastards bother you, let me know anytime. I’ll make sure none of them-“

“I’ll be fine, so there’s no need for you to worry, Young Master.”

“…Understood, Lilith.”

…You don’t need to look so dejected just because I said not to worry.

It’s not like I’m ungrateful for what just happened. As a baronet’s daughter, I’m well aware that earning the enmity of the Reidenhardt family would lead to complications later.

But if I straightforwardly expressed my gratitude here, Ethan might get carried away, and that hero might see him as a bloodthirsty psychopath.

Even though Ethan’s appearance had changed dramatically, almost like a reincarnation, that didn’t guarantee the story wouldn’t follow the game’s trajectory.

A hero crazy enough to name his character “Gyeotmwa Josyegigot” might try to kill Ethan at some point and take me into his party.

So I deliberately moved away from the scene to a place where the hero and his party couldn’t see us.

After confirming that neither the hero nor anyone else was nearby, I quietly whispered my thanks to Ethan.

“Thank you for what happened earlier, Young Master Ethan.”

“…L-Lilith?”

“As your exclusive maid, I know it’s improper to say this, but… you were quite dashing.”

“W-wait! What did you just say?! You said it too quietly-I couldn’t hear!”

“…I only said thank you.”

“No, you definitely said something else!”

I don’t know, how am I supposed to repeat such embarrassing words twice?

And it’s not wrong for a guy to think another guy is cool sometimes, right?

But no matter what, I couldn’t bring myself to say it again, so no matter how persistently Ethan pressed me, I feigned ignorance and calmly responded.

Ethan’s obsession with hearing my compliment again lasted until that evening.

…Next time, I should think twice before giving compliments.