Ludville’s sword cut through arms and bellies, Arsian’s magic burned bodies alive—
yet the enemies never once let go of their blades.
No screams. No expressions.
They only kept slashing and stabbing with mechanical fury.
SHEEEK!
“Kyahhh!”
“Go for the neck! The neck, damn it! Don’t stab random spots—aim for the neck!”
“Uaaagh! H-help...!”
They fell only after their necks were severed.
When the heads rolled and the bodies split apart, only then did the puppets stop moving.
‘What are those things? Zombies?’
Camilla gaped in disbelief.
The others were the same—startled by enemies who didn’t feel pain.
All except a few.
“They don’t even react to being stabbed.”
“Strike the neck. That shuts them up.”
“I’d like to see if fire magic works.”
“Without arms, they can’t attack.”
Crown Prince Edsen, Ludville, Arsian, and Petro remained calm, cutting down the foes with precision.
The rest, however, were trembling. They held their swords but couldn’t swing properly.
‘And there are far too many of them.’
Clad in identical clothes, the enemies poured in without end—enough to make anyone’s blood run cold.
Where had they all been hiding?
“Kuhk!”
“Ugh!”
Groans of pain rose from everywhere. One after another, people were struck and wounded by those blades.
Camilla was afraid too.
How could she possibly fight them?
She couldn’t even kill a rabbit—how could she kill a person?
But then—
“Zeno.”
If it was him, that was different.
“I’ll bear with it for about two weeks.”
[What?]
Better to be bedridden for a few days than to watch people die.
“Go ahead. Go wild.”
[...]
Camilla picked up a sword lying nearby.
“Hey! What are you doing?”
Ravi’s voice called out, but she ignored him.
Zeno’s lips curved faintly as he approached.
[I won’t hold back.]
****
All sensation vanished.
Fear was gone—replaced by sheer exhilaration flooding every nerve.
Even as her sword cut down enemy after enemy, not a trace of horror crossed her mind.
She simply let Zeno take over—let him wield the sword, swing after swing.
She could feel the stunned eyes on her, but she didn’t care.
Right now, she was letting Zeno have his fill—and enjoying it through him.
‘He really is going wild.’
Camilla gave a short laugh.
‘Not bad.’
The pain that would come later could wait.
“Lady Camilla—how...?”
Petro was the most shocked of all.
Camilla moved with flawless mastery of the Jevillan swordsmanship—
fiercer, sharper than even he could manage.
Ludville, who had already witnessed her technique once before, couldn’t look away either.
This was not the same woman from their practice bout.
“What the...?”
Even Arsian stared blankly.
The dullest sword student every instructor had given up on—
and this woman were the same person?
“My God.”
“L-Lady Camilla...”
The others were just as stunned, watching her cut through the enemy ranks without hesitation.
“What are you doing!”
Crown Prince Edsen’s shout snapped them out of it.
The dazed ones tightened their grips again. The frightened ones’ eyes hardened.
If even that delicate lady was fighting like that—then what excuse did knights have?
Seeing Camilla’s overwhelming display of swordsmanship filled them with renewed courage.
One after another, they charged and swung their blades.
“Crazy! Hey, Camilla!”
Only Ravi cursed at the sight.
He was frantically casting spells, blasting enemies that came too close to her.
Camilla, ignoring minor cuts, swung recklessly—so reckless it scared him senseless.
“Watch your damn surroundings!”
What if she got hurt again? If she came out of this bleeding, he’d—
just wait till this was over!
SHEEEK!
A chilling sound behind him made Ravi whirl around—then freeze.
An enemy stood there, sword raised toward him.
But—
“No neck...?”
Before he could finish the sentence, the headless corpse toppled.
And behind the falling body stood a man holding a blood-stained sword.
“You...”
“Well, well.”
Camilla’s attendant, Dorman, clicked his tongue lightly.
“I wasn’t supposed to interfere... Guess that’s another demerit for me.”
He sighed and smiled helplessly.
“But if something happened to Lord Ravi, my lady would be heartbroken.
Perhaps blood ties really can’t be denied.”
With those cryptic words, Dorman turned away.
He didn’t seem interested in joining the fight any further—
just stood beside Ravi, quietly watching Camilla.
“......”
Ravi couldn’t say a word.
Who the hell was this guy?
Questions flooded his mind,
but in that chaos all he could do was stare, stunned.
Chapter. After the Tournament
‘Damn it.’
Did I pass out again?
‘I’m fainting way too often lately.’
At this rate, it’s going to become a habit.
Camilla recalled what had happened right before she blacked out.
After the battle ended, Zeno’s ghost had slipped free of her body,
sounding utterly refreshed as he said—
[Good work.]
Silence had followed.
Everyone just stared at her in blank amazement.
Well, of course they did—she’d gone berserk out there.
‘More rumors incoming.’
The Duke of Sorpel’s stepdaughter swinging a sword like a maniac—
it would spread fast.
That was the last thing she remembered.
Then she’d lost consciousness again, same as before.
Now she’d need a decent excuse for all this...
“You’re awake?”
Camilla blinked.
She had just realized her head was resting on someone’s lap.
“...Arsian?”
“How do you feel?”
For a moment she was too busy wondering,
Why am I using this guy’s thigh as a pillow?
Then his question made her notice something else.
“Oh?”
Her body barely ached.
Before, even breathing had hurt,
her muscles screaming with every twitch—
but now it was tolerable.
‘Did my body adapt already?’
Ridiculous.
“You’re not fully healed. I’m just suppressing the pain with magic.”
“Ah...”
So that was it. Arsian must have cast healing magic on her.
‘But why am I still on his lap?’
It was embarrassing to stay like this in front of everyone,
so she tried to sit up.
“Stay still. You’re not done healing.”
But Arsian pressed a hand to her head and gently pushed her back down.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not. I’m maintaining the spell—if I stop, the pain will knock you out again.”
“But still—”
Did they really have to keep this position?
Camilla glanced around.
‘We moved?’
The area was clean. No corpses in sight.
They’d clearly left ⊛ Nоvеlιght ⊛ (Read the full story) the battlefield.
And, of course, people were sneaking glances her way.
‘Great.’
Whatever.
At this point, one more rumor wouldn’t change much.
She was already the mad duke’s daughter who swung a sword.
“We should go down,” Edsen said at last, stepping forward.
He seemed bothered that no one from below had come to check on them.
“Let’s move. There could be another attack.”
“Understood.”
The survivors agreed and rose on unsteady legs.
Camilla tried to do the same—
SSSH—
“—!”
But Arsian lifted her into his arms first.
“What are you doing? I can walk.”
“I told you. I need to keep the healing going.”
“And we have to do that like this?”
“Problem?”
“...”
Too many to count.
‘I thought I was shameless, but...’
Turns out, being carried could be this mortifying.
‘The former queen of romantic dramas, reduced to this.’
She’d been held, lifted, even knelt before in countless scenes—
yet somehow, being carried purely for “medical reasons”
was the most humiliating of all.
“I’ll walk. You can cast from beside me.”
If he could do it while holding her,
he could do it while helping her walk. Right?
“This is easier. You’re getting help—stop complaining.”
“Fine.”
Camilla shut her mouth.
Arguing now would only make things more awkward.
So she let Arsian carry her as they left the hunting grounds.
Ludville and Ravi followed silently behind.
Their faces looked grim enough to sour milk,
making Camilla distinctly uncomfortable.
‘Did I do something wrong?’
She’d left the fighting to Zeno,
so she honestly didn’t remember everything she’d done.
Had Zeno hurt them somehow?
She shot a glance at the ghost floating beside her.
[Look at you. You’re not doubting my skill, are you?]
Her anxious expression made Zeno snort.
[Their problem isn’t you. It’s him.]
‘Him?’
Zeno nodded toward Arsian.
[Your brother lost to him.]
‘What?’
If you can heal her better than I can, be my guest.
[...]
[That was it. One line—and checkmate.]
...The man truly had no sense of manners.
Camilla sighed deeply.
No wonder Ravi’s mood was foul.
And she could see why he hated Arsian so much now.
How infuriating must that arrogance be?
‘Still... strange.’
Ravi was too prideful to back down that easily.
Normally he’d argue to the bitter end.
‘And Ludville—why does he look so down?’
She signaled Zeno, but even he had no idea.
Then—
“Gasp!”
“Over there!”
“Urgh...”
The voices ahead trembled with shock.
Camilla lifted her head—
—and went completely still.
