Chapter 47: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Mission Complete

“You’ve worked hard.”

The dungeon dissolved into a shimmer of light. It felt as though they had awoken from a long dream.

If not for the sight of Cecilia standing there with her head bowed, they might have believed it had all been a mere illusion.

The clone, who recognized that it had become a demon and took its own life. Judging by the high degree of implementation, it was easy to infer that the clone was virtually indistinguishable from the real Cecilia.

In other words, if Cecilia herself ever faced such a situation, she would not hesitate to offer her own life the moment she sensed she was no longer on humanity’s side.

And every new knight standing here now realized—

If that same fate ever came for them, they too would have to make the same choice.

“You are now, without question, proud knights of Windsor. This concludes your basic training.”

That was the fundamental resolve that every Windsor knight must possess.

“Ah…”

Beatrice hastily wiped her eyes. At some point, tears had begun to gather.

The final expression of the young Cecilia, who had calmly slit her own throat, kept resurfacing in her mind.

Her last emotion had clearly been sorrow.

Surely, she had not wanted to die.

***

“Lady Cecilia.”

On the way back, just as Cecilia was thinking lewdly to herself, ‘Once we return to the capital, I’m definitely going to take leave and lick Betty—', Beatrice called out to her.

“Yeah?”

“...That baby Cecilia—, no, the clone of Cecilia that was part of the dungeon’s mechanics… She had a message for you.”

‘So I was the "figure of fear," huh.’

Just as Cecilia had expected from the start. Though she hadn’t anticipated that the winner would be the younger version of herself. Or that it’d even left a message for her true self.

‘Maybe it’s a dinner recommendation?’

As she stared intently at Beatrice, the girl softly spoke, eyes faint with emotion:

“She said… not to lose your way.”

“...!”

Cecilia, who had been indifferent, suddenly opened her eyes wide.

Seeing her reaction, Beatrice became certain.

‘The rumors were true.’

There were many famous stories about Cecilia.

Among them, the most famous was 'that incident' which remained a legend in the royal capital.

She was 6 years old.

A fallen noble girl in tattered clothes, cradling the severed head of a demon in her arms as she walked.

Her destination was the Windsor Knight Order.

Upon arrival, the girl, tears streaming down her face, had said:

— Please accept me. If I can just kill demons, I don’t even need to be paid.

The legendary recruitment of Cecilia the Sword Princess—a prodigy without equal.

An ordinary girl who had lost her parents to demons.

A girl who awakened her Blessing, completed her vengeance, and then turned herself in to Windsor.

The resentment of the girl who lost everything was only one thing.

To eradicate every last demon from the world.

But that…

‘That’s just so heartbreaking, Cecilia…’

“...Betty.”

Cecilia spoke in a low voice, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Which one won?”

“It was… your younger self.”

Cecilia seemed deep in thought.

Beatrice wanted to comfort her.

But she couldn’t.

She couldn’t possibly fathom the pain of losing one’s parents at the age of six and having no choice but to join the Windsor Order. To offer her shallow comfort felt like it would be nothing but hypocrisy.

‘What should I do?’

Beatrice’s eyes began to glisten with tears of pity—

And Cecilia…

‘Ah, I’m doomed.’

The back of her neck was damp with cold sweat.

Her head—no, this whole world—was spinning.

‘I’m an idiot.’

Cecilia’s “original resolve”—it wasn’t just about raising newbies.

It was to become the flawless, perfectionist, beautiful Sword Princess NPC, adored and praised by newbies!

‘I was so caught up in training that I lost sight of the most basic goal!’

Of course, nurturing newbies was important too.

After all, the ultimate goal was to defeat the Demon God.

But what did it matter if her favorability dropped so low that another golden-haired schemer—especially Edward—snatched all the newbies away?

Yet what had she been doing all this time?

— Please spare me!

— Wait, aren’t those our potions?!

— P-please, don’t break my artifacts!

And the result?

…The newbies hadn’t chosen the older version of her.

Her younger self had seen it all. And now, she was delivering a bitter slap to her future self.

— What have you even been doing this whole time? Lmao, total noob.

Eyes brimming with tears, Cecilia tried to rub them like a cat washing its face.

She was so frustrated, the tears came unbidden.

“Ah…”

Beatrice’s heart felt like it was being torn apart.

She was sure Cecilia was thinking of her parents, and that’s why she was crying.

“B-Betty. Just a sec.”

“…Yes?”

“Cover me for a bit.”

‘Even now… she’s trying not to show her weakness in front of others…’

Choking up, Beatrice bit her lip.

She scanned the surroundings—thankfully, no one else had noticed.

Grabbing Cecilia’s slender wrist, she led her deep into the nearby woods.

As soon as they were in a secluded place, Beatrice suddenly pulled her into a tight hug.

“Why do you push yourself so hard?”

“……”

“You came back covered in injuries. You could’ve just waited quietly. Even if we’re not strong yet, it’s better together than alone.”

Beatrice’s eyes were teary.

She wasn’t stupid—she knew.

The brutal training they’d endured came from a place of kindness. A wish to prevent future rookies from losing their lives on the battlefield.

And even in this mission, the one most injured had been Cecilia. (—Though admittedly, part of that had been a trick to secure a vacation with her newbies.)

Cecilia must have went and fought the demon alone out of concern for the rookies.

She had overexerted herself because she didn’t want anyone else getting hurt.

“That’s my role.”

At that faint response, tears began falling freely from Beatrice’s eyes.

“...Cecilia. Did you know?”

“Hmm?”

“You’re two years younger than me.”

“Yeah.”

“So... if there’s ever a time you need someone to lean on, please lean on me. Even if my abilities are still lacking…”

‘...I’ll grow stronger.’

Beatrice swore to herself.

She would definitely become stronger—strong enough to be someone Cecilia could lean on without worry.

“Whatever I can do for you, I will.”

“Really?”

Beatrice wiped her tears and nodded.

Cecilia gave her a faint smile.

“Thank you.”

This is the perfect heroine move—

Inside, Cecilia smiled triumphantly like a victor and thought to herself:

‘Bet you've never pulled this off, huh? You’re the noob here!’

She could practically hear the affection points rising.

***

The great and glorious Sword Princess Cecilia—peerless beneath the heavens—entered the capital in full triumph.

‘Heh.’

Her self-esteem, which had briefly plummeted to the ground, was now soaring sky-high after being recharged by Beatrice’s affection.

‘I can’t wait for tomorrow.’

She finally made plans with Beatrice! Tomorrow, they’d go shopping and enjoy delicious food.

That would raise her affection even more, and once the newbies heard of the warm-hearted tale of the Sword Princess, their admiration and favorability would automatically rise too!

The so-called Operation Trojan Beatrice was in full motion!

To that end, she’d finish all her pending work today. Then, she’d whine to Kairon and secure her vacation time.

“Oh, Lady Cecilia’s back.”

“Why does she look so happy?”

“Wouldn’t you be? Zero casualties, and she succeeded where even a Sword Emperor failed.”

“Wow, she’s really going to be crowned a Sword Emperor now. Will she be called ‘Cecilia of the Silver’ or something?”

‘N-no, that won’t do!’

Cecilia briefly broke out in a cold sweat, but quickly picked up her stride.

This was different from last time. This time was an official conquest, and she had been the leader.

Which meant… she could use some well-placed document edits (not forgery) to modestly downplay her own accomplishments to the size of a bean!

…Not that that was her only reason, of course.

But first, she went to find Vice Commander Edward.

“Reporting back from the mission.”

“Hmm, you’re pretty beat up. Guess even you had a hard time… fighting yourself, huh?”

Edward smiled brightly as he closed the file.

As expected, the Vice Commander seemed to know about the dungeon.

‘After all, he was listed as the original discoverer—Edward Windsor.’

It was likely he even knew the dungeon’s gimmick.

What puzzled Cecilia was:

Why hadn’t he cleared it himself?

With Edward’s skill, he could’ve not only cleared the dungeon but defeated Envy as well.

“…Yes.”

Still, even Edward didn’t seem to have noticed the ‘Halloween costume set’.

“I’m sure you’ve got a lot of questions.”

Edward stood up from his seat, clasped his hands behind his back, and approached Cecilia.

He looked down at her intently, the smile fading from his lips.

"I wouldn’t recommend that."

“……”

Cecilia firmly closed her mouth, her gaze shifting diagonally away.

A smile returned to Edward’s lips.

"Now you’re finally being quiet. Keep it that way. If you are obedient, I’ll help you keep your strength hidden too."

Edward was clearly satisfied. And so was Cecilia.

"Let’s wrap that part up. So, did you find out anything?"

Returning to his seat, Edward asked in a serious tone.

Cecilia nodded.

"Yes."

She had learned the recent events among the demons from Envy.

Edward’s hypothesis had only been half correct.

There was indeed a power struggle.

However, the Demon King had not died.

"The recent movement of the demon forces is because of Walpurgis."

"Walpurgis?"

Edward furrowed his brow. It was an unfamiliar term he had never heard before.

"When something major happens, the demons hold a grand meeting at the Demon King’s castle—that’s what Walpurgis is. It’s where they decide the future path of demonkind... or so I’ve been told."

"...The demons also hold meeting? That’s rather surprising. But are you saying they pulled back their forces just because of that?"

"No, Vice Commander. Your original guess was correct."

Cecilia replied in a calm tone.

"An unprecedented power struggle. Because of that, they’re concentrating their forces to support their factions."

"Ho... I see. And?"

Edward asked with deliberate care.

"I don’t think I’ve heard the most important part yet. What’s the reason?"

Cecilia answered with the same calm demeanor.

"The Demon King is dead."

A blatant lie.

There were two reasons for it.

First, she wanted to find out whether Edward was on the side of humanity or the demons.

If he were with the demons, this deviation from the set scenario would likely prompt some reaction.

And second...

‘I just prefer the version where the Demon King is already dead.’

A small indulgence.

If it caused any problems, she’d simply reshape the lie into reality.

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