Chap 10-I Just Wanted to Defeat the Demon

 

What a crazy bitch!

That’s what Arnold, the heir of Edenberun, thought of Bathory, who was teasing him right in front of his eyes.

If she weren’t a noble, he would have blurted it out already.

No, at least if there weren’t people around, he would have said it already.

Just a Baron Family, yet she dares to act like this to him, the heir of a Marquis Family.

‘If only I hadn’t taken the bait!’

The Edenberun Marquis Family was a noble faction supporting the First Princess, Ailia.

They were even the family responsible for supporting the princess as representatives of several southern nobles, so their responsibility was immense.

They had to help Princess Ailia ascend to the throne by any means necessary.

To do that, they had to pay attention to every little detail.

Ailia’s rivals, obstacles, and even any variables that might displease her had to be dealt with.

Once a faction was chosen, the family’s prestige was at stake, so they had to row diligently on Ailia’s ship.

But.

Today was truly unlucky.

That abandoned princess, Arietta, who had no power base to speak of, had come to Schperen.

Princess Ailia was already working behind the scenes anyway, so she decided to find Princess Arietta and just scare her.

To be precise, to tell her not to do anything unnecessary and to quietly stay in Schperen.

In the first place, all the other factions ignored Arietta, but Ailia’s case was different.

First of all, the biggest reason was that they were both women.

Even if the Franz Marquis Family, which would have been Arietta’s support base, had fallen and was in the gutter, Arietta was still, in the long history of the Empire’s imperial succession competition, someone who had received the right of succession from His Majesty the Emperor.

Ailia, who was thorough in everything, did not want Arietta to raise her head even a little.

Sure enough.

Arietta, being a member of the Imperial Family, had brought a close aide.

She was the daughter of a noble family that no one had ever heard of.

So Arnold decided to intimidate her himself.

That’s what he intended at first.

‘What is that woman?’

The woman next to Arietta.

Since she was in Schperen, she must be a noble.

Unlike ordinary young ladies, she wasn’t wearing a dress and was arguing fiercely for Arietta’s sake.

It was as if Princess Arietta was using a ventriloquist doll, speaking on behalf of the princess.

That’s what he thought at first.

He thought she was just a paid extra who was taking money to support Arietta even a little.

He only realized it after he fell for the provocation.

Not only was the hand he had placed on her shoulder rudely brushed off, but his shoulder was grabbed and he was forced to kneel.

‘Where did she get such strength?’

And the very disappointed and contemptuous look she gave Arnold.

Above all, unlike ordinary young ladies, she had unfathomable, abyssal eyes.

Arnold was not just a simple noble’s son.

Unlike other young masters who only showed off and oppressed the weak, Arnold himself had hunted Magical Creatures with his father and had even served in the war against the Demon King’s Army.

So, to be honest, he was a bit arrogant.

‘What the hell is this woman?’

Arnold felt it instinctively.

That woman, Bathory, was a much higher being.

She was different.

She was far too abnormal to be called human.

What stood before me wasn’t truly a woman.

Even if others pointed fingers, he wouldn’t change his mind.

He had a good sense from birth.

He could tell from that one time he was forced to kneel.

There was a monster lurking inside that woman’s shell.

At the same time, she would become a violent storm that would block the ship of Ailia from moving forward.

If so, he had to stop her.

“Even if I was careless, that was a bit much. Sigh.”

Arnold was severely scolded by Ailia because he was forced to kneel by that woman.

To be honest, he couldn’t forgive himself.

Even if it was just for a moment, he had clearly been intimidated.

Of course, if they fought seriously, who knows what would happen.

Maybe he was just intimidated.

Arnold was walking on thin ice.

Arietta was not a problem. But the other factions were very powerful.

How should he crush that woman?

So he called a vassal of the Marquis Family who was staying near the academy and asked him to find out about that woman.

He found out that Bathory was from a Baron Family.

He was a bit dumbfounded when he heard that.

In the meantime, the son of a Marquis Family had been defeated by the daughter of a Baron Family.

This had to be crushed before the rumors spread or that woman ran wild.

Fortunately, the difference in family status was overwhelming.

“A Baron Family?”

“Yes. I found out that Bathory is from a Baron Family. So it would be better to crush her with the power of the family.”

“You lost to that woman?”

Arnold couldn’t honestly answer yes to his master (Ailia)’s question, which was full of disappointment.

In this day and age, for the eldest son of a Marquis Family to lose to a noble lady in terms of strength.

This was not a simple matter.

It was not just a matter of the imperial succession competition, but it could also lead to the succession issue of the Marquis Family.

So he had to crush her family against family.

“No. I was a little flustered at the time, but I didn’t lose. There’s no need to fight and be pointed at for doing something to a noble lady.”

This was also a valid excuse.

Even if the Empire was a male-dominated society, a man became angry at a woman and tried to fight for revenge.

How would this be seen?

The other factions would surely bring it up as gossip.

No matter who provoked first and crossed the line, the Ailia faction would be gossiped about.

The heir of Edenberun was raising his hand against a woman.

And against a noble lady.

He wouldn’t be able to show his face at social gatherings.

His master, Princess Ailia, would also have a difficult time.

“Do that.”

Fortunately, the difference in family status was clear.

The opponent was just a Baron Family.

On the other hand, he was a Marquis Family.

And a Marquis Family that protected the rich and fertile land of the south.

Personal strength was important, but disputes between nobles ultimately ended with the power of the family.

In short, it was easy to crush her with the prestige of the family.

So he finally found an opportunity.

It was during the swordsmanship department class held today.

Bathory, whom he met again, was with Arietta.

Arnold looked at them for a moment.

They should have been in a master-servant relationship, but somehow Arietta was being swayed by the Baron Family’s daughter.

So Arietta was just a puppet after all.

If so, everything would be over if he just caught that young lady.

With that thought, he went to find her in the middle of the swordsmanship class.

Since Arietta was next to her, he was going to clearly show who was in charge.

“I am the heir of Edenberun, who rules the southern territories of the Empire. I am from that family-”

“Oh, I don’t care about your name. I know Edenberun.”

But this woman didn’t feel the weight of the word Edenberun Marquis Family.

She already knew Edenberun?

How could she say that?

Before he could even think about that, this woman started an argument.

As if the name value of Edenberun was light.

“Ailia. Ailia. Did that Ailia spread her legs for you or something?”

Even so, that crossed the line.

In the end, he took the bait.

No, in the first place, that was treason against the Imperial Family.

Even if this was Schperen, that went too far.

“Vulgar bitch! I will punish you myself for insulting the Imperial Family!”

Later, she said that Ailia’s name could be heard anywhere. But how dare she say such a thing.

Yes. For the first time, he lost his temper and got excited.

As a member of the faction, it was natural.

As a member of the faction, it was natural to get angry when his master was insulted.

The problem was that the opponent was a young lady who was stronger than him.

‘Damn it. Was she aiming for this?’

The stage that had been set up at random looked like Arnold would win at first glance.

Of course. A big man and a relatively small woman.

And even on the surface, the woman looked like she only cared about her appearance.

Of course, this was not going to be well received.

Just in case, he looked around.

The professor had already set up the stage, so he couldn’t get out of this damn trick. So he had to see the reactions around him.

“That woman is Arietta’s aide, right?”

“Even if Arietta is a bit of a dim-witted princess, that’s a bit much.”

“She was rude. I don’t know, to be honest.”

“He looks like the bad guy.”

“Shh, he’ll hear you.”

Sure enough. He was getting cursed at.

80% of the swordsmanship department were male students.

Of course, considering the proportion of nobles in Schperen, most of them had received at least minimal lessons from their families and had learned respect and etiquette for noble ladies.

In their eyes, Arnold was nothing more than a bad beast who was harassing a woman.

‘Damn it!’

What should he do now?

He had to fight. But if he thought about it coldly, the answer was already out.

He was completely caught up in this woman in front of him.

And he didn’t fight with his head coolly. He was angry because she had touched his master.

And he was weaker than this woman.

His wild, instinctive sense, which he had gained from catching Magical Creatures on the front lines, was telling him.

He didn’t know why he was thinking this.

Normally, he wouldn’t admit this and would push it to the corner of his mind. But strangely, the woman in front of him didn’t look like a woman.

She was just a really powerful enemy.

A monster who had killed countless people was wearing a woman’s skin.

Arnold, feeling a cold sweat running down his spine from an unknown fear, shook his head.

There was a bigger problem.

‘No.’

Why am I scared?

If he was a man, he should be able to fight even in the face of a powerful enemy.

Are the soldiers on the front lines fighting because they are stronger than the Demon King’s Army?

No. They are fighting with loyalty to the country.

No matter how strong the opponent is.

“Good! I’ll defeat this monster!”

“It’s too much to do to a girl just because she made you kneel once.”

Didn’t they say that a scared dog barks more?

Arnold roared even more at this monster, who was making a sad face, and drew his sword.

‘Good. I’ll peel off that shell.’

He would definitely reveal the identity of the monster wearing that woman’s skin.

The one in front of him was not a woman.

It was a demon that was using Arietta as a puppet.

Yes. That must be a Magical Creature.

Just today. The heir of Edenberun had a very rude thought about a woman he had only known for a few tens of minutes.

But he couldn’t help it.

Anyone with a decent skill would know that that woman was not an ordinary woman.

And the result was obvious.

Arnold, who was scared, swung his sword at Ciel with all his might.

More sincerely and desperately than when he was scolded by his father and swung his sword as a child.

More sincerely than when he followed his father, the Edenberun Marquis, to the front lines and killed the Demon King’s Army.

Yes.

He was now swinging his sword at a noble lady with all his might.

On the surface, this situation looked like a big man was attacking a woman.

How would this be seen by the public, which was full of nobles and elites?

He knew without having to say it.