Chapter 31: I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages

Mission Complete

Peace returned to the Gartane territory.

As Aldred had hoped, the people of the territory awakened from their long dream.

The minions who had been hiding throughout the domain had ascended along with the death of their master, the Deception.

However, the disappearance of the demon Deception did not mean that all problems had been solved.

The mental and emotional wounds the people had suffered were immeasurable from the start.

The first thing Count Aldred did was hold a memorial service.

“Beloved people of this land, today we stand here to mourn our heroes.”

The atmosphere at the memorial was solemn.

Cecilia and Beatrice also attended.

Even the gravely wounded knight of Windsor insisted on attending, so the other injured soldiers, some hobbling on crutches, had no choice but to follow.

Cecilia felt a little guilty, but skipping the ceremony wasn’t an option.

This was the least she could do.

It was a gesture of respect toward those honorable heroes who had overcome great fear, who had laid down their lives against the demons with the determination to protect their homeland.

From the podium, Count Aldred read the eulogy without hope or despair in his voice.

“They had the right to live ordinary lives.

To smile in the warmth of a loving family,

To live and die in the peace of humble happiness.

But they left all of that behind,

And took up the sword for us.

Without their sacrifice,

We would not be standing here today.

Their blood and sweat soaked this land,

And because of it, we were able to reclaim our freedom.

Their names will be whispered in the wind,

And their souls will be remembered with this land, forever.

Their courage and sacrifice are carved into our hearts,

And will be sung of through the generations to come.

We are indebted to them.

But there is only one way to repay that debt.

To guard the land they left behind, more peacefully and warmly.

To realize the future they dreamed of.

May their souls find eternal rest in the arms of the Goddess.

Now, we remember them and move forward.

On the road we walk, their shining footsteps remain.

May the blessings of the Goddess be with all those who have departed.”

Once the speech ended, people began offering flowers one by one.

Some quietly shed tears.

Others wept openly.

Aldred gently brushed the gravestone where his son lay buried.

Cecilia stood quietly for a moment. Then, as always, she began her work.

—Whoooosh.

A warm wind blew.

As if comforting the people, it brushed past them and lifted the petals of the lilies placed as offerings, gathering them in the center.

When Cecilia reached out into the air, the wind rose into a gentle spiral.

It was both beautiful, and deeply sorrowful.

“Lady Cecilia… what is this?”

“Remember this too, Beatrice. If you’re a knight of Windsor, you should at least have your own way of mourning.”

Cecilia’s expression as she said that looked so sorrowful, it made Beatrice reflect deeply.

How many lives must she have sent off until now?

Suddenly, Beatrice recalled that the survival rate of new recruits in the Windsor Knight Order was barely around 30%.

She etched Cecilia’s words deeply into her heart.

After the memorial service ended, most people returned home, but a few remained behind.

Marcher Lord Aldred was among them.

Cecilia quietly walked up and stood beside him.

His gaze remained fixed on the gravestone.

“At last, I can truly pray for my son’s soul.”

Aldred looked to Cecilia.

“I truly thank you, Cecilia Windsor. If not for you, I would still be tormenting myself every night over whether I had to kill my son one more time.”

Cecilia bowed silently.

Aldred looked up at the sky.

The image of the scene Cecilia had created earlier still lingered in his mind.

“This peace… it won’t last long, will it?”

Gartane, as part of the western front, was a land constantly visited by minor demonic beasts,

And once every 10 years, even strong demons launched invasions.

This peace would not last.

The damages brought by the Deception weren’t just psychological.

Some people, unable to choose between their demon-possessed families or humanity, had taken their own lives.

Artifacts and potions were used up in vast quantities.

Skilled knights, feeling there was no hope left for this land, had departed.

It would take a long time to recover from that.

Perhaps they would need Windsor’s help again in the future.

But still—

“For now, at least, we’ll be able to stretch our legs and sleep. Me, and the people of this land.”

***

The morning dawned, and Cecilia had finished preparing to depart.

“Cody selection huh… I didn’t pick the right outfit, did I?”

She was wearing a modest one-piece dress and a cute straw hat.

Her knight uniform, now soiled from “Halloween-style” gore, had been neatly packed in her travel case.

She had deliberately left out a spare uniform to show off her unexpected charm.

‘A war, they said… but I was tricked.’

A desperate frontline situation.

A miracle, like rain in drought—a beautiful girl sent as a reinforcement.

‘I’ve come to end this war!’ she would declare gallantly, wrapping up the situation in an instant.

And the next day, the Sword Princess would appear at the victory celebration in a modest dress and blushing shyly, a complete contrast to her previous image—

Everyone faints from the unexpected gap moe!

That was the look she had planned for…

But clearly, Gartane wasn’t in the mood for that kind of thing.

“Beatrice.”

“H-Huh…?”

When Cecilia appeared in front of Beatrice, who was waiting at the door, Beatrice immediately covered her mouth.

‘She must be thinking I look cute, right?’

Hehe. Cecilia placed her hands on her hips, swelling with pride.

And in truth, she wasn’t wrong—Beatrice really did think Cecilia looked incredibly cute.

However, there’s no way the iron-blooded Cecilia would wear such an outfit without a reason, right?

Isn't it too strange? After going through something that intense just yesterday, and now she’s dressed like she’s going on a picnic?

Cecilia was a strategist who found meaning even in the smallest of gestures.

Quick-witted Beatrice came to her own conclusion and immediately saluted.

“My apologies! I’ve just realized Lady Cecilia’s intentions!”

“...?”

Intentions?

Cecilia tilted her head in confusion.

“I’ll go change quickly as well! I happen to have something similar since I was on my way home!”

“...Why.”

After everything that happened, Beatrice had come to deeply admire Cecilia.

She now truly wanted to join the Windsor Order and become Cecilia’s subordinate.

And being the top trainee of the Windsor Order—the most competitive unit in the Kingdom of Lianen—Beatrice was certainly more than capable.

“This is a covert mission now, right? I understand the outfit as part of the disguise! I’ll be back right away—just give me 20 seconds!”

Then she vanished into her room.

‘…Huh.’

There wasn’t even time to be embarrassed.

“I’m changed!”

Beatrice appeared with a bang—astonishing speed, now dressed in a nearly identical outfit—same design but only the color was different.

Still, there was one overwhelming difference between Cecilia and Beatrice.

Cecilia’s eyes drifted downward with a blank expression.

It was a bit round, a bit bulging, but not enough to block her view.

“…”

And then she looked at Beatrice again.

Cecilia’s straw hat slipped off and fell to the ground with a soft thud.

“Are you alright? Was the wound from yesterday still—”

Cecilia, for the first time, felt hatred toward Beatrice.

***

However, the proud and peerless Sword Princess who stands above all does not get depressed just because a dress fits her poorly.

‘It’s fine. There’s still demand for my type too.’

Whether you pour sauce on the side (jjikmeok) or directly on top (bumeok)—neither is better or worse.

It’s a matter of preference. Humanity has an obligation to respect individual tastes.

If they don’t agree, a simple PvP duel will resolve it.

“Are you leaving now? I’ve yet to repay even a fraction of the grace you’ve shown us.”

When she expressed her intent to return to the capital, Aldred insisted on escorting her.

Silver-plated knights lined up neatly on both sides.

Between them stood the citizens of the territory. They still looked somewhat haggard, but to Cecilia, they were visibly better than when she first arrived.

“I merely fulfilled my duty, just as Your Lordship fulfilled yours.”

“Though your duty was far heavier than mine,” Aldred replied with a light laugh and took the lead.

“Let’s go. I still have duties of my own left to do.”

Nobles of the Lianen Kingdom have the right to request aid from the Windsor Knights in times of crisis.

There is no cost. The knights act solely out of duty and honor.

And as a matter of tradition, nobles escort the knights and express their thanks as far as possible once the mission is complete.

Cecilia and Beatrice walked slowly along the path paved with cheers and words of gratitude.

Beatrice, overwhelmed by the unfamiliar attention, welled up with tears—but for Cecilia, it was a familiar sight.

Still, the sense of fulfillment was mutual.

That said, she still hated long-term missions.

“This is far enough.”

“I was planning to at least see you off to the station.”

“Your pace is too slow, Count.”

“Hahaha! You’ll have to forgive me. I’m just a regular old commander—not some superhuman who’s transcended human limits like you.”

From the moment she first arrived here, Cecilia had something she’d always intended to ask.

In truth, she had wanted to ask it yesterday, but didn’t want to disturb Aldred as he mourned his son.

“There’s one thing I’ve been meaning to ask you.”

“Ask me anything.”

“It’s about someone else from Windsor—no, about Vice Commander Edward. Do you remember?”

The moment Edward’s name was spoken, Aldred’s expression hardened.

“Of course I remember. I probably won’t forget it until the day I die.”

“…What happened exactly?”

Aldred closed his eyes for a moment, then spoke.

“Before the Deception showed up, this territory was under the influence of another demon.”

“It was a demon named Misfortune. Just like its name, it brought endless misfortune.”

“All kinds of terrible things happened. Even during battle, absurd accidents that never happen normally would occur. Swords breaking mid-swing, comrades getting hurt by their own side’s Sword Aura…”

In other words, it seemed to be a demon related to luck.

Cecilia calmly listened on.

“Edward Windsor came up with a way to fight back against that demon. That method was…”

Aldred’s face twisted in pain—recalling the memory was clearly difficult.

"He put powerless soldiers and civilians at the front. Because misfortune weakens when it's shared."

"He even committed the atrocity of standing by and watching while they were slaughtered, saying he wanted to analyze the demon's attack patterns."

"Of course, it was effective. My knights and the Windsor knights suffered no casualties. But those who couldn’t wield divine blessings—most of them died. Many of the demons hiding in the village took advantage of those victims too."

Aldred’s fist clenched tightly.

"When I confronted him afterward, he said that without doing it this way, even greater damage would have occurred. Is that something a knight should say? How can someone who accepts sacrifice as a given hope to stand against demons?"

Cecilia now fully understood what had happened.

‘So that’s why they looked at us with such hostility.’

The uncooperative attitude she’d encountered at first made sense now.

"Thank you for your testimony."

"Tell that scum this."

"If you use the methods of a demon to kill demons, you are no different from a demon."

Cecilia was about to leave after giving a polite farewell—

—but at Aldred’s next words, her expression hardened.

Edward’s method may indeed have been ethically questionable.

Even if it was truly the only option, it was undeniably problematic.

However—

"Still, I am a Windsor Knight."

Cecilia, without hesitation, drew her sword and pointed it at Aldred.

The distance wasn’t close—but it was close enough to be a threat.

"I don’t appreciate hearing insults directed at my superior."

Aldred’s face turned grim in confusion.

"Even if the vice-commander seems like a villain to you, there is one thing that never changes."

"He truly wants demons gone from this world. He is on humanity’s side."

"I don’t have to tolerate those insults. Please retract your statement."

At that, one of the guards drew his sword and aimed it at Cecilia’s neck.

"What do you think you’re doing?!"

But Cecilia didn’t flinch.

Instead, she stared unblinking at Aldred, almost as if demanding an answer.

"If you won’t back down, I will strike you down myself!"

"Sir Ultan. Lower your sword."

"But, Your Grace—"

"Do it. Now."

At Aldred’s firm command, Ultan lowered his sword and stepped back.

Then Aldred, with a serious expression, bowed his head.

"I sincerely apologize."

For a noble to bow was no small gesture—it meant laying aside all pride.

"I was out of line. My apologies."

"Then I’ll excuse myself."

Cecilia sheathed her sword with a short reply. She took Beatrice—who stood there stunned—by the wrist and pulled her along.

‘Vice-Commander Edward… I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’ll turn a blind eye.’

Even though she had just gotten angry, it wasn’t out of affection for Edward.

After a mission, the lord of the territory will write a report and evaluation.

By stepping in, she prevented a negative record that could pit her against Edward in the future.

Eventually, if Commander Kairon retires, Edward will become the leader.

If he decides to obstruct her future plans, it could cause major setbacks.

But—

‘Just don’t touch the newbies.’

If that ever happened…

Cecilia had no intention of holding back.

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