episode_0027

The butler did not refute Asher’s presumptuous assertion. It was an indisputable truth, so no further comment was necessary.

He was nothing more than a phantom that had taken shape. Whatever the inner workings of the character of the butler, it was reality.

It is not a position to dispute Asher’s opinion that he will fight alone.

After the butler sent Ashe away, he glanced at the portraits rolling their eyes in the hall of Gasol. To them, this situation seemed quite interesting. They rolled their eyes, laughing as if they had come across something interesting.

“You guys.”

He asks a question to an unspecified number of portraits.

“Do you know me?”

“…”

The portraits are silent. The portraits that had been enjoying the butler and Ashe’s crisis have shut their mouths tightly as if they have encountered a taboo.

“What is the difference between you and me that I am the only one who has acquired human form?”

This time the hallway became quiet again. It seemed as if they were being aware of the situation rather than intentionally ignoring it.

At that moment, the maid with a feeble-looking face trembled her lips. She was a girl with orange hair braided into two pigtails and a faint freckle.

She said within.

“Because the butler… is loved.”

“Butler… I wasn’t just a simple butler.”

“…”

The maid bit her lip. Then, one by one, the surrounding portraits began to reprimand the maid.

“You…! Do you dare to open your mouth knowing what will happen if you tell me so carelessly?”

“Just be quiet!”

“If you’re not careful, the young lady will punish you!”

The maid bowed her head at the harsh reprimand.

“Sorry, I’m sorry…”

“No need to be sorry.”

The butler, unable to stand by and watch, raised his hand to stop the maid from being scolded.

Is it because I am loved by the young lady, as the maid said? Even though she clearly knows that I cannot touch her, she stopped scolding me as if her throat was choked.

After that, the butler approached the portrait of the maid, speaking timidly.

“Is that Letia? That girl.”

“Ugh…”

The maid groaned without giving a clear answer. The butler took it as a sign of affirmation.

“What kind of person is Letia that she is called a young lady in the Arkaden mansion?”

“… That’s a difficult question to answer. I’m really sorry, butler. ”

“I asked the question knowing that I wouldn’t get an answer, so please don’t worry.”

They probably know all the secrets of the mansion. They are certain of it, as they are the ones who have been living in the mansion since 500 years ago.

“……Still…!”

The moment the butler was about to turn around, the maid urgently grabbed his ankle.

“The butler… is truly loved. Because the butler is his only…”

…because it was.

The maid’s last words were muted, not because the mansion’s supernatural powers had been activated, but because she herself had muffled her speech.

I guess he decided that anything more than that was out.

“Thank you for your story, Lily.”

The butler read her name written beneath the portrait. Then the maid, who was called Lily, brightened her timid face.

“Yes…!”

◇

Crunch. Crunch.

The low heels create a refreshing sound as they step on the marble floor.

Asher was wearing boots with good mobility, so the sound of footsteps getting closer sounded far from Asher’s.

As the clear sound came closer, Asher lowered his posture and gripped his sword tightly.

“Ah… ahh…”

The woman slowly swallowed the arsenic. The slurp of joy scratched Asher’s ears.

When Asher finally stood face to face with the woman, the woman’s sword made a chilling metallic sound as it rubbed against the marble.

‘Oh… I guess this isn’t someone I can communicate with.’

The bitter hatred is directed at Ashe without any filter. It is not like Hailey who blindly relies on her sense of smell to identify the target of her attack. The woman’s hatred is clearly aimed at Ashe.

“Revenge… Thank you, young lady…!”

“Ugh…?!”

Pavat!

The woman moved her feet in an instant. The distance that had been twenty steps was shortened in an instant.

Jjaeng!

Asher instinctively defends the upper body. He senses the crisis with an unexpectedly heavy sense.

Crackle, crackle…

The struggle was arrogant. Even with the physical abilities of the spirit Hailey, it was difficult to hold out.

Asher felt wronged once again. Even though he had become incredibly strong, a high wall that he had to overcome still appeared before his eyes.

The idea of trying to solve the problem with just violence was absurd.

“But… I’m the top student in the swordsmanship class, so…!!!”

If you can’t do it with strength, just overwhelm her with technique. It was impossible for Haley due to the overwhelming difference in strength, but the gap with the woman was small.

Swish.

I naturally let go of the heavy sword of the woman who was weighing me down. Immediately afterwards, I dig in from a closer range than the woman’s wrist and take advantage of her opening.

“Hiyap!”

Asher swung her sword with great force. However, the woman’s new form was like a mirage, and it escaped Asher’s attack range.

Ugh…

The woman’s upper body was bent backwards in a deformed manner, and she balanced only on her toes. Her appearance was monstrous, but her posture was as beautiful as that of a skilled ballerina.

Again.

In that state, the woman stepped back as if dancing and adjusted her posture. The series of hand and foot gestures were like the dance steps of a dancer.

Asher was not given any time to rest.

See you!

Then she aimed the tip of her sword and stabbed fiercely like a wasp’s stinger. Asher barely managed to slash the side of the sword before slicing the woman horizontally.

“… crazy.”

At the unrealistic sight, Asher groaned.

Before Asher could even realize it, the woman was on top of Asher’s sword like a fluttering butterfly. Her movements were truly divine and her swordsmanship was acrobatic.

Wedge!

The woman climbed onto Ashe’s sword and drew the sword’s path. Ashe rolled on the floor, completely giving up the thought of daring to fight back.

‘Is something like that… possible?!’

In the face of that overwhelming and arrogant inspection, Asher felt helpless in a different way than in Haley’s case.

‘That doesn’t make sense…!’

In the era in which Ash lived, the title of Holy Knight was practically a dead title. It was difficult to surpass humans, and the strength of the warriors was somewhat ‘human’.

There were even many scholars who claimed that the past empire, in which there were as many as seventy-two such people, was an exaggerated history.

Moreover, Ashe knows that he has never missed a gladiatorial contest hosted by the imperial family.

If this woman were to participate in a modern gladiator game, the meaning of the game would be lost. It would be like putting a shark among sardines.

‘Is this really all that needed to be done to be considered a masterpiece…? It’s not as good as the examples written in history books, but if we assume that there is some exaggeration involved…’

There are also unofficial stories that say that a single woman took down a castle. It was clear that this woman was an unconventional prosecutor, although not to that extent.

We have confirmed that we have no chance of winning by force. So now let’s see what we can try…!

“Excuse me, excuse me…!”

It was a conversation.

“I, I, I really don’t want to fight? Can you tell me what’s wronged you? I’ll solve it all…!!!”

Asher, who had been forcibly indoctrinated with manners. It would have been a truly refreshing sight for the butler to see.

Again.

The sound of the shoes hitting the marble paused for a moment.

Asher raised his head and watched the woman’s movements closely.

“The abominable blood of the royal family…”

“… Yes?”

“Everything…everything must be poured out…”

“You’re telling me to die!?”

Asher screamed.

“She was a total crazy bitch! ”

Asher turned around and ran away. However, the woman flew into the air with her characteristically elegant technique and landed, blocking Asher’s path.

“This… Swish…! Hey! If you have a grudge against the royal family, why are you hitting the butler? This…! You bad b*tch!!!”

“… Ha.”

One of the woman’s hands grabbed her own face. She looked up at the ceiling, seething with resentment.

“Because I, I… have been given the right to exact revenge…! That’s why even the young lady has entrusted me with the sole authority…!”

The woman took up her sword again. With a clean, uncluttered stance, she aimed the tip at Ashe.

“I… curse your arrogance and fate.”

As if she would not allow any more time to pass, the woman lightly lifted her body. She added a spin in a movement that seemed to defy gravity.

Wow!

A massive rotational slash caused by inertia.

Asher rolled three times and crashed into the wall despite blocking it properly.

“Kuhhhh…!”

I was cornered. I couldn’t move.

If things continue like this, I will unilaterally block the water supply and die.

“What do you want me to do…!!!”

I heard that the royal family is sorry.

If it was a massacre caused by a delusion like Hailey’s, I would try to resolve it somehow, but if she held a grudge against me, it would be hypocritical to comfort her.

“Um, Um, Um, hey. Can’t you at least tell me what I… no, what the royal family did? It’s so unfair to die without knowing anything!!! If you know, you’ll either apologize or give up!!!”

At first glance, it seemed like a reasonable argument.

The woman’s movements suddenly stopped.

But the pause was brief, as the woman quietly raised her sword.

“… I too, had to die without knowing anything.”

“What the hell are you talking about!”

It’s cut off. My neck…!

A dark, lumpy murderous aura draws a line directly across the center of the neck.

That’s instant death.

‘Huh, what should I do? What should I do? What should I do…?!’

Asher looked around with a pale face. Then his eyes stopped on the wall to his right.

It was just a coincidence, but blood came to Asher’s cheeks.

“… They say there is no law that says you have to die.”

WHEEK!

Asher threw the sword he was holding at the woman without any mercy.

Kyaang!

Ashe slowly raised her middle finger at the woman who dismissed her indifferently as if she was not worth being wary of.

“Go play the role of a dog chasing a chicken, you crazy bitch!”

As soon as Ashe said that, he ran with all his might towards the painting hanging on the wall.