“Sir Edwin, when will you teach me the next move?”

Edwin lowered his gaze, startled as he met the sparkling eyes. Even though she was just repeating the motion of raising and lowering her arm while holding a relatively light wooden sword, Daisy’s arm was trembling slightly.

“Well, I think it’s still too early.”

“But we’ve been doing this for days.”

“It’s not without purpose. Before wielding a heavy sword, you need to build up your arm strength first.”

Daisy pouted. It was true that even lifting this skinny wooden sword was strenuous for her.

“What if Lady Rosebelia is disappointed in me?”

“That won’t happen.”

Daisy’s eyes narrowed at Edwin’s resolute voice.

“I’m just asking, but… You’re not still upset, are you?”

“Do I have any reason to be upset with you, young lady?”

Daisy glanced at Edwin cautiously and spoke carefully.

“I called you a philanderer.”

“Ah, if you’re referring to that incident, I wasn’t angry.”

“You’re lying.”

Since that day, Edwin’s tone had changed. If it had felt somewhat wishy-washy before, it now felt more composed.

Due to his more polite attitude and way of speaking, there was even a strange sense of distance.

“It’s true. I was a bit sad, feeling hurt…”

“Because you were misunderstood as a philanderer?”

“Yes. For a fatalist like me who yearns for pure love, being called a philanderer is hurtful.”

Daisy thought it was a joke, but Edwin’s expression was quite serious. She flinched, looking flustered.

“But I’m sure other women think the same way?”

“That I’m a philanderer?”

“Yes.”

Edwin tilted his head slightly and asked with an expression of utter incomprehension.

“Why?”

“Well, because you tell just anyone they’re beautiful…”

“I told just anyone they’re beautiful?”

Edwin drooped his eyebrows as if feeling wronged.

‘He probably doesn’t remember because he says it to everyone.’

Daisy snorted and replied in a disinterested voice.

“I heard it clearly with my own ears. Are you going to deny it? You told me I was beautiful last time.”

“You seem to have misunderstood something, young lady. I don’t tell just anyone they’re beautiful.”

“You clearly told me I was more beautiful than Lady Rosebelia…”

As Daisy raised her voice in agitation, Edwin replied with a calm expression.

“That’s because I do think you’re beautiful, Lady Daisy.”

“…Pardon?”

“What I meant by misunderstanding was that I don’t say such things to just anyone. Did you think I said it lightly?”

Daisy’s large eyes blinked slowly.

“It’s not that…”

“Everything I say to you, Lady Daisy, is sincere.”

“You mean that was sincere?”

Daisy was about to drop the wooden sword in her hand out of surprise. Edwin quickly caught the sword and stepped closer to Daisy. Then he gazed intently into her wide violet eyes.

“I think you are a very brave, beautiful, and lovable person, Lady Daisy.”

“What?”

“So I don’t want to be misunderstood by you, if no one else.”

Daisy unconsciously swallowed. With his earnest voice that she had never heard before, combined with his gentle gaze, he seemed like a different person.

“Ah, um…”

“I think it’s best we end today’s training here.”

Edwin bowed halfway and then walked away. Only after his figure had shrunk to a small dot did Daisy finally catch her breath.

‘What was all that just now?’

“How long do you intend to stand there like that?”

Daisy turned towards the voice, her eyes widening. Emerging from behind a climbing rose was Agnes, the Duchess.

“Mother?”

The place where Daisy had been lightly training with Edwin was the spacious courtyard of the ducal residence. While it wasn’t completely devoid of passersby, the servants had tacitly avoided the area, so she hadn’t thought anyone would be listening.

‘Surely she didn’t hear everything?’

“H-How long have you been there?”

“How long, you ask?”

Faced with Agnes’s slight smile, Daisy replied with a sulky voice.

“Just tell me honestly.”

“Hmm, since before Sir Edwin’s passionate love confession began?”

“L-Love confession?”

Daisy asked, jumping up. And a passionate one at that?

“If that wasn’t a love confession, what do you think it was? Even to my eyes, it seemed like he likes you a lot.”

“He likes me?”

As Daisy pondered Edwin’s words, her face turned as red as the roses blooming in the garden.

*

‘May I dare to like you, senior?’

She paused at the sudden recollection of those words. Even when she was going to the square to meet Ian, she had somewhat guessed his feelings, thinking he might confess to her.

Why does it feel so unreal?

Ian really likes me?

‘I seem to have confused you, senior. I wasn’t looking for an answer right now, so please don’t be flustered.’

When she actually heard the confession, she couldn’t utter a word. It wasn’t that she disliked Ian. If anything, the scales tipped towards liking him, but accepting Ian’s confession was a slightly different matter.

When she first opened her eyes in this body, she was preoccupied with the thought of avoiding the original ending, and after the original story started changing bit by bit, she was consumed by the idea of creating a happy ending for everyone.

She had vaguely imagined that someday she might like someone, and even go further to date or marry…

“Rosebelia, what are you doing there? Come quickly!”

Startled by Lucas’s call, I followed behind him. A little away from the Red Spring, where the subjugation team had arrived, was a ruined temple with only a few pillars remaining.

“This looks just like a temple.”

“Were there temples in the Fonnes Empire?”

In response to the knight’s question from the Guardian Knights, Gale answered.

“This is a temple of the Bellir Kingdom. This mountain was originally the land of the Bellir Kingdom, not the Empire.”

“Wasn’t the origin of the Red Spring also when the Bellir Kingdom and the Fonnes Empire were at war?”

“Everyone seems curious about this temple. I have a story I heard from my senior when I first went on a subjugation mission.”

I think I knew what Lucas was about to say.

“What is it?”

“According to my senior, this was a temple that enshrined a god revered in the Bellir Kingdom. And it was also the place where the final bloody battle took place when the Fonnes Empire was at war with the Bellir Kingdom.”

When Rosebelia first encountered this temple on her subjugation mission, someone had told her an interesting story about it too.

Come to think of it, that was Oliver.

He must have had a lot to say, knowing so much.

“A bloody battle in a temple?”

“I thought the Bellir Kingdom was famous for its deep faith.”

“I think I’ve seen records of Fonnes Empire soldiers attacking the temple because they couldn’t find the Bellir Kingdom soldiers who had hidden in this mountain.”

Gale chimed in with a calm face.

“Are there such records in the Empire’s history books?”

“I didn’t say it was the Empire’s history book.”

If the records Gale saw were true, the Bellir Kingdom soldiers would have revealed themselves to protect this temple, and the Fonnes Empire soldiers who were lying in ambush would have annihilated them.

“What is war, I wonder. The people in the temple were probably just ordinary priests.”

Leaving behind someone’s bitter murmur, I broke away from the group and slowly looked around the temple grounds. All that remained on the wide grounds were a few pillars and a corroded altar, but for some reason, it felt cozy.

Moving to a slightly higher ground, I suddenly looked down. There was something on the mountain path the subjugation team had passed before coming up to the temple.

“Is that… a Red Slime?”

Fortunately, it was smaller compared to the Red Slime we had encountered on the outskirts of the capital. After quickly scanning the surroundings, I jumped down onto the mountain path.

The Red Slime was devouring the corpse of a magical beast that the subjugation team had disposed of before climbing up to the temple. I closed my eyes tightly and quickly drew up my aura.

Although my aura had stabilized after accepting Ian’s aura, it was only a temporary effect.

Still, it should be able to handle this much.

After observing the white light rippling over my sword, I slashed at the surface of the slime.

As the Red Slime split in half, the ground shook.

No, am I staggering?

Just as I was trying to forcefully steady myself on my legs while holding my head, someone supported my body.

“Are you alright?”

My shoulders flinched at the unexpected voice. It wasn’t Ian.

“Vice Captain?”

“It looks different from a normal slime.”

“Ah, yes. It’s a Red Slime.”

A strange silence fell after my answer. I carefully pushed away Renart’s arm and straightened my body.

Renart was looking at the Red Slime’s corpse with an expressionless gaze.

Did he see me using my aura?

“Now I understand a little.”

“Understand what?”

“Your actions that I’ve thought were reckless all this time, Lady Rosebelia. I knew early on that you were skilled, but…”

Renart, who had been laughing as if dumbfounded, turned to look at me.

“You’re a Sword Master, aren’t you.”