Sword Emperor, Becoming the Young Lady of a Viscount House

Chapter 17

Beatrice’s plan was simple.

Approach head-on and kill them all.

An ambush? A surprise attack?

Using half-baked tactics would only be a poor move.

Knights were professionally trained experts, prepared for any sudden situation.

Thus, she judged that a sneak attack would not be very effective.

In fact, this approach worked better.

“…Captain?”

For a moment, the knights were speechless, staring at her in a daze.

This was a common reaction when something utterly unexpected occurred.

After all, she was the former Sword Emperor.

To Beatrice, this was a familiar response.

‘Next.’

She immediately moved toward her next target.

No one could remain composed in this situation.

When humans encounter something entirely beyond their expectations, they are quick to panic.

Of course, the panic doesn’t last long.

After all, trained individuals recover quickly.

But a gap of two or three seconds always appears.

And that gap was—

Enough time for Beatrice.

-Slash!

‘Two.’

Beatrice broke through at an astonishing speed.

The remaining knights were scattered.

It would be troublesome to get surrounded, so she charged in one direction and slashed through them in an instant.

It was a strike as swift as a flash of light.

Her sword and Beatrice moved as one.

There was no time to rest.

With her momentum building, she pivoted on her right foot, spinning once.

This was to kill her next target.

“An enemy—! Gah!”

‘Three… Damn it.’

Her brow furrowed.

This time, she hadn’t managed to kill in one blow.

However, it was a fatal wound—she had severed the knight’s right arm.

“What, what is this…!”

“Surround her! With the captain dead, I take command—”

‘If I give them time, I’ll be the one to die.’

Beatrice didn’t let her guard down.

-Shaa…

Mana enveloped Beatrice’s sword.

It was aura.

She swung her aura-infused sword at the nearest enemy.

‘Four.’

-Splatter!

The knight collapsed, his eyes wide open in disbelief.

His gaze seemed to ask,

‘I definitely blocked it. How?’

Even as he died, he couldn’t comprehend why he had to die.

‘This is as far as the easy part goes.’

Beatrice calmly observed them as she flicked the blood off her sword.

It had been easy so far, but she couldn’t afford to relax.

“She’s an aura user! Be cautious!”

“Form up as if you’re facing a Master! The opponent is strong!”

All of this had happened within five to ten seconds.

The fact that they regained their composure in this chaotic situation was proof that they were no ordinary opponents.

‘Four left. …I can manage two.’

Beatrice counted the numbers.

It was a game that began with her killing four out of eight.

However, it wasn’t as though she’d killed four without paying a price.

She had paid a definite price: her mana.

Though it seemed like she had effortlessly taken out her opponents one by one, every move had been meticulously calculated.

‘If I don’t kill in one strike, I’ll die.’

The frail body of a young girl wasn’t suited for prolonged exchanges of sword strikes.

She didn’t have enough mana for that, nor did her physical capabilities allow it.

From the start, Beatrice had only one option.

She poured just enough mana into each strike to kill.

At an unexpected moment.

Along an unexpected trajectory.

The problem was—

‘…Can I handle them without mana?’

Four enemies remained.

She had two strikes left.

No matter how skilled Beatrice was, it was impossible to kill two at once with a single swing.

‘Even with Chris’s bow, one will remain.’

Chris was preparing to snipe from a distance.

Since no arrows had flown yet, it seemed he was waiting for the perfect timing.

He could likely handle one enemy.

The question for Beatrice was how to eliminate the remaining opponents…

‘This is the only way.’

After running several simulations in her mind, she opened her mouth.

“Surrender.”

“……”

“I possess the power to cut all of you down at any moment. If you surrender, I will spare your lives.”

“…What are you saying?”

“You came to kill Airy Arvanceco, didn’t you?”

The method Beatrice chose this time was, once again, absurdly simple.

She would stall for time through conversation until her mana regenerated.

But it was also the most effective.

“Four of you have already died. The rest of you will follow them soon. Don’t you value your lives?”

“Who… Who are you?”

One of the knights pointed his trembling sword at Beatrice.

His eyes were filled with raw fear.

“How unoriginal. Fine, I’ll end this quickly.”

Beatrice smirked.

Of course, inwardly, she wasn’t smiling at all.

‘Roughly twenty seconds left.’

The amount of mana required for another strike was steadily regenerating.

“I will count to ten. Anyone who wishes to surrender, drop your weapon.”

“……”

“Ten.”

Beatrice spoke deliberately, putting strength into her abdomen.

“Nine.”

The night and her voice.

Her voice would carry far.

Far enough to reach Chris, who was lying in wait.

“Eight.”

“Seven.”

“Six.”

The knights didn’t move an inch.

Fear, the overwhelming sense of dread, had paralyzed them.

And yet, none of them chose to surrender.

“Five.”

They were either excellently trained knights—

…or they feared something even worse than death.

“Four.”

-Crack.

Beatrice prepared herself at this point.

Her first target would always be the one closest to her.

The burly one wielding a massive mace.

Beatrice planned to sever his legs first.

Big men like him were relatively weak to attacks on their lower body.

Beatrice utilized every advantage she could.

Even if it meant—

“Three.”

She moved at the count of three, despite claiming she’d move at one.

It was now.

“Gaaah!”

“Seven!”

A horrifying scream echoed.

She had cut off both legs of the nearest enemy.

-Crack.

“Argh, aaaagh!”

Her movements were swift and unpredictable.

If she seemed to go right, she suddenly moved left.

Whether it was due to her small frame or her sheer speed,

She was nearly invisible.

Even when they tried to see her, it was like catching a fleeting afterimage.

This brought immense fear to her enemies.

Especially when they had already lost more than half their comrades in an instant.

It was the perfect environment for Beatrice to thrive.

When humans lose their composure, they can’t even use half their strength.

‘Five. Now there are three left.’

If Beatrice’s swordsmanship could be compared to boxing, she was an infighter.

Sneaky hit-and-run tactics didn’t suit her nature.

She only knew how to charge forward.

Beatrice took a large step and swung her sword.

[Ha. Bold. Using an inside-style swordsmanship.]

-Clang!

The attack seemed to be blocked for a moment.

-Crack!

But Beatrice followed through, running her sword along the enemy’s blade and severing both hands holding the weapon.

“Argh!”

‘Now the only ones left are…’

Two knights charged at her with loud battle cries, not war cries but panicked shouts.

This time, even she couldn’t evade them.

The space had narrowed entirely, and the two came at her from both sides.

-Swoosh.

‘Two.’

At that moment, Beatrice’s acute senses picked up the sound of an arrow flying.

It was undoubtedly Chris’s arrow.

However, she didn’t know which target he had aimed at.

The attacks were coming simultaneously, and she only had enough mana for one final sword swing.

She had to choose.

Left or right.

Who would she cut down?

It was purely a gamble.

-Slash!

-Thud!

“Bingo.”

Beatrice smirked faintly.

Her emerald-colored sword had pierced someone’s neck, skewering it like a kabob.

Meanwhile, the last knight’s head had been shattered by an arrow.

It was a coin toss, and she had won.

[…Young Beatrice.]

Solid’s voice rang out, sounding almost incredulous.

[How old are you again?]

“Sixteen.”

[…To kill eight knights of at least mid-rank or higher at sixteen, alone. Even seeing it, I can hardly believe it.]

“Seven. Chris killed one.”

Beatrice’s tone was nonchalant, but she was well aware of how dangerous the battle had been.

In the fight just now,

If even one of her countless gambles had gone awry, she would have been the corpse lying on the ground.

“My lady—!”

-Thud, thud, thud!

From far away, hurried footsteps approached.

Beatrice smiled faintly, amused.

‘Impressive. From that distance, even a gun would struggle to hit.’

Chris’s archery skills were exceptional.

To pierce the head of a moving target from that range—

Especially the last shot, which sent chills down her spine.

If…

If Chris had been her enemy instead of her ally, she would have been the one to die.

‘Archers are always dangerous.’

Even in her past life, there had been men who used bows.

Intelligent monsters often used such tactics.

If creatures like that were present, the raid that day would become extremely dangerous.

Even in her past life, despite being called the Sword Emperor,

She had been injured more than once by stray goblin arrows.

Swords were clearly countered by long-range weapons.

“My lady, this time was truly dangerous. Please, next time…!”

“The result turned out well, didn’t it?”

“……”

There was no room for rebuttal.

The eight corpses scattered around them proved her words.

Each one had clean cuts.

It was a level of skill Chris couldn’t hope to emulate.

“…It’s all because my skills are lacking.”

“The last shot was excellent.”

“If I had been more skilled, then my lady wouldn’t have had to step in.”

Beatrice paused while cleaning her sword and looked intently at Chris.

-Thud.

Chris dropped to one knee, holding his sword in one hand and clutching his heart with the other.

It was a knight’s vow—a symbol of loyalty.

“I will improve.”

“Good. Work hard.”

“…So that my lady may place her trust in me.”

It was a determined vow.

A knight’s oath was never taken lightly.

It was undoubtedly one of the weightiest promises in existence.

[Your leadership is exceptional. To already receive a pledge of loyalty like this.]

‘You sure know a lot for someone who’s 400 years old.’

[Young Beatrice, that’s not something I want to hear from a sixteen-year-old girl.]

Beatrice scratched her head.

Although the words were kind, they felt a little burdensome.

Still, she didn’t want to discourage Chris’s resolve.

“…I won’t wait long.”

Beatrice casually tossed the comment.

“Yes!”

Chris replied loudly.

“For now, let’s take care of the cleanup.”

Beatrice turned her head sharply as she spoke.

She seemed a little embarrassed.

“Please head back first. I’ll handle it on my own. Shall I dispose of the bodies?”

There was only one path.

If they left them there,

They would inevitably be discovered when they set out tomorrow morning.

But Beatrice shook her head.

“You worked hard through the night; I don’t want to hide this. Besides, two of them are still alive.”

“What…?”

Chris hastily looked around.

However, he couldn’t see anyone alive.

At least not with the naked eye.

“One of them only had his arm cut off, and the other had only a leg severed. Losing an arm or a leg doesn’t kill a person.”

“Ah.”

Taking Beatrice’s hint, Chris searched for the knights with severed limbs.

Just as she had said, there were exactly two of them.

“Interrogate the two of them once you’ve gathered them. Find out their affiliation and why they were targeting Arvanceco.”

“Yes, understood.”

Chris walked over and examined the fallen.

“My lady.”

“Yes?”

“…They’re dead. Both of them.”

“What?”

Beatrice frowned as she walked over to Chris.

‘It’s true.’

No one alive remained.

The knights with severed limbs were already cold corpses.

Her sharp eyes caught something unusual.

“…Their lips are blue.”

It was too soon for death due to excessive blood loss.

That meant only one possibility.

“It’s poison.”

“Yes, I agree. They killed themselves. Both of them.”

“…Thoroughly prepared. It seems they feared being tortured.”

‘What ruthless individuals.’

What could possibly be more important than their own lives?

Beatrice frowned at their foolishness.

“Let’s just go.”

“Yes.”

-Haaaam.

Having dealt with seven knights under the moonlight,

Beatrice yawned deeply as she returned to her quarters.

But at that moment,

-She paused.

“…My lady? Is something wrong…”

She closed her eyes.

As if recalling something ominous, she brushed her hair back and let out a calm sigh.

Beatrice looked down.

She saw her own clothes.

Her white dress.

Stained red.

Splotched and blotched.

-My lady, don’t dirty your clothes, please?

Lilith’s voice seemed to echo in her mind.

“…Lilith is going to scold me.”

She muttered as she resumed walking.