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Translated By Arcane Translations
Translator: Mod7
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Night deepened.
Tia lay awake, staring at the ceiling.
She had said she was going to sleep, but she couldn’t.
Ethan seemed to be asleep.
She could hear his soft breaths.
‘Ugh… what have I done?’
She wanted to sigh.
Why hadn’t she just confessed her feelings?
This wasn’t some childish game.
‘Would you like to marry me?’
She couldn’t believe she had said that.
Had she gotten carried away by the atmosphere?
Her face flushed, as though she had drunk too much.
She had been so embarrassed that she had quickly brushed it off as a joke.
‘I must have been crazy.’
Tia tossed and turned, then glanced at Ethan.
He was lying on his back, his broad shoulders visible in the flickering firelight.
“Ethan… are you asleep?”
There was no answer.
Her embarrassment doubled.
‘Am I not attractive to him?’
Tia was an avid reader of romance novels.
She knew what was supposed to happen in this situation.
Of course, she knew that reality was different from fiction.
‘He’s so enigmatic.’
Ethan had always been like this.
From the moment they met at the academy.
He had challenged her to a game.
And then he had proposed a business deal.
Initially, she thought he was just using her because of her family’s wealth and influence.
So, she had been wary of him.
‘Everyone approached me because of my family.’
Countless people had tried to get close to her.
So, she had decided to use them instead.
She judged people based on their usefulness.
If they had value, she used them. If not, she discarded them.
That was all she needed.
She didn’t need deep relationships.
Her relationships were built on money, but the people she surrounded herself with were loyal to the Erze Trading Company.
She believed Ethan was the same.
‘I thought he had left the Logness family to sign a better contract with someone else.’
But that wasn’t the case.
He had refused to give her a definite answer, even when she offered him a lucrative contract with the Erze Trading Company.
The more she got to know Ethan, the more intrigued she became.
He wasn’t someone she could buy.
The Erze Trading Company was a powerful organization. Mercenaries and even knighted warriors lined up to work for them.
Initially, she thought Ethan was just holding out for a better offer.
‘But he never gave me a straight answer.’
He was an enigma, a puzzle she couldn’t solve.
And that made her even more curious, even more determined to understand him, to possess him.
She had been mortified when she bumped into him at the bookstore, browsing the adult fiction section.
She had been happy to see him at the social gathering.
Even though he had been Sylvia’s partner.
The social gatherings in Central Ward were attended by the wealthiest and most influential nobles in the empire.
Ethan, a commoner, had been looked down upon.
But he had handled the situation maturely.
‘He defeated his opponent with his skills.’
Even Tia felt a thrill of excitement.
The Erze Trading Company was a powerful organization, but she was still a commoner.
The wall between nobles and commoners was thick and impenetrable.
She had experienced discrimination and contempt from the nobles.
So, she had cheered for Ethan, a fellow commoner, during the duel.
And she had been happy when he won. She was proud of her judgment.
‘I wanted to buy you like an expensive piece of jewelry. I wanted to invest in you.’
So, she had tested him.
She wanted to see how far he would go.
But Ethan remained true to his path.
‘A true hero with honor and loyalty…’
A true hero valued honor and righteousness, rejecting greed and dedicating himself to protecting the world.
Ethan wasn’t like her, seeking only power and status.
‘Every time I see you, I feel ashamed of my own greed.’
Tia sighed.
‘I still want you… And I hate myself for only thinking about how to possess you.’
She knew Ethan would think she was pathetic.
‘I don’t even know the last time I had a genuine relationship with someone, one that wasn’t based on money or power…’
It had been so long, she couldn’t even remember.
‘I just… I want you to know that I hate myself for being like this.’
Tia closed her eyes.
She lay awake for a long time.
Sleep wouldn’t come.
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Sepia stared out of the cave entrance.
Anya was asleep, leaning against the wall.
They were stranded because something had gone wrong with the summoning circle.
Cracks had appeared in the air.
And they had been forcefully transported to an unfamiliar forest.
Initially, Sepia had thought it was part of the exam.
But they hadn’t received any such notice.
‘Someone tampered with the summoning circle.’
That was the only explanation.
Their communication crystals were useless.
A thick fog had descended, and it had started raining heavily.
Fortunately, they had found a cave.
They had no choice but to seek shelter.
“You’re still awake?”
Anya asked, her eyes closed.
“I can’t sleep.”
“You don’t need to keep watch. We have a barrier.”
“I know, but…”
“Then close your eyes.”
Sepia couldn’t shake the feeling that she had been trapped.
The fact that their communication crystals were useless was suspicious.
But she had to conserve her strength.
‘We’ll be fine. The barrier will protect us.’
Sepia closed her eyes.
By morning, the fog and rain had cleared.
Anya and Sepia walked through the forest.
They eventually reached a large fortress.
It was Arvis Castle.
300 years ago, the imperial army had fought against the necromancer here.
The castle walls were mostly destroyed, a testament to the fierce battle.
“Sepia? Anya?”
They found Arthur and Tesha standing in front of the castle.
Arthur looked at Sepia and Anya, his expression confused.
“Why are you here?”
“Haha, that’s what I want to ask you.”
Arthur explained that they had been transported to a nearby forest after the forced return. They had sought shelter from the rain and had ended up at the castle.
“That’s what happened to us too.”
Growl.
Arthur’s stomach grumbled.
He hadn’t eaten since lunch yesterday.
Sepia looked at Tesha.
She looked hungry too.
“You’re both hungry?”
“Haha, yeah. I was thinking about going hunting.”
Sepia pulled out a tea set and a basket of cookies from her spatial pocket.
It was all the food she had brought.
Thankfully, she had packed enough for everyone.
“Let’s eat something first.”
“Ah, um… okay.”
Arthur nodded awkwardly.
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“Did you find out anything?”
They had roasted a rabbit for breakfast.
They had felt sorry for the rabbit, but they had no choice.
They had to eat.
Ethan had never eaten rabbit before.
After breakfast, they set out to explore the forest.
Tia was summoning her ravens.
Elves were amazing.
They had an affinity for not just spirits, but also animals.
Tia sang a song, imbuing it with her mana.
Squirrels and ravens approached her, drawn by her beautiful voice.
“Go and find out if there are any other people nearby.”
The ravens nodded and took flight.
“How long do we have to wait?”
“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”
“Right…”
“Just be patient.”
5 minutes passed… 10 minutes…
Ethan wanted to wait patiently, but…
Thump.
A knight in black armor appeared.
His face was hidden behind his helmet, a dark void.
Only two red eyes glowed menacingly.
He looked like a death knight from the novel.
But he wasn’t supposed to appear in this school trip arc.
“I think we’re screwed.”
“I agree.”
This wasn’t how the school trip arc was supposed to go.
On the last day of the trip, there was a courage test, and Arthur, who was partnered with Tesha, was supposed to encounter a horde of zombies and ghouls.
A death knight wasn’t supposed to challenge them to a duel.
“Tia, provide support from behind.”
A ranged attacker was useless against a close-range attacker.
Tia was a Spirit Summoner, but she was essentially a ranged attacker.
She understood the situation.
“Okay, please protect me.”
Ethan stepped forward and drew his sword.
A death knight’s strength depended on the strength of the knight who had been resurrected.
So, a powerful knight would become a powerful death knight.
“Who are you?”
[I… Who am I?]
Ethan shivered. The voice was deep and eerie.
It was like the voice he had heard in the cave, echoing and hollow.
What was with that voice…?
Tia spoke up.
“That’s the armor of a knight from the empire’s 7th Knight Order, from 300 years ago. And he’s wielding a massive halberd.”
Ethan’s grip on his sword tightened.
“It’s ‘Halberd Lien,’ the knight who defended the bridge against the undead horde.”
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