I Don't Know The Playthroughs Of The Returned Villainesses - Chapter 9

Everything felt meaningless.

Footsteps

Because after regaining my memories, everything I had built together with him was gone. He wasn’t by my side. A situation I hadn’t even considered had befallen me.

Regression.

I had returned to the past with memories of the future. I tried to find him first, but all I heard was that his territory and family were ruined. I didn’t want to give up. I wanted to believe he was alive. But…

Right now, without him, it was too difficult.

“Begin!”

Everything felt tiresome.

Clatter

I simply didn’t want to move. I just wanted to fall asleep, reminiscing about our memories together.

Whoosh

I wanted to believe he was alive, but the image of him collapsing kept flashing in my mind. Him collapsing because of me.

At that moment,

“Hmm…”

A familiar sound reached her ears. A sound she knew all too well.

‘A…ron?’

The sound he made when he found something intriguing.

The moment she heard it, the aura that had been dormant since she regained her memories began to surge through her body.

Clatter…Clatter!

Her frozen aura, like an old engine, began to accelerate and circulate. Like a ship trapped in numerous icebergs, breaking free and finding its way through the frozen sea.

Clang

She drew her sword, the blade ringing against the scabbard.

‘Out of my way.’

She had to confirm it. Whose voice it was.

“[Pagitonas]” (Glacier)

Slice

A beautiful crescent shape. Her azure blade grazed her opponent’s cheek.

Crackle

That was all it took. The aura’s ice spread rapidly from the cut on their cheek, encasing their entire body. They were no longer an obstacle.

“I froze them lightly, so they’ll thaw soon.”

She turned away, leaving her frozen opponent behind. Though it was true she had gone too far due to the confusion, the ice wasn’t enough to cause lasting harm.

Footsteps

She turned towards the direction of the voice and saw,

‘Aron.’

Him. The one who had promised to always be by her side. The one who always wiped away her tears. The one who always protected her.

“Hey, hey! Gwen!”

Arslan walked towards her.

But she couldn’t be bothered with Arslan.

Footsteps

The distance between them closed. The distance between her and him. She started running faster. Her heart, which she thought had stopped, began to race.

‘This time, I will protect you.’

Because it was her responsibility, as his master until the very end. Her responsibility, as the one who had always relied on her butler.

Finally reaching him,

She finally uttered the name she hadn’t spoken since regaining her memories.

“…Aron?”

The name of the one who was her slave, her butler.

*

‘?’

“…?”

Why was my name coming out of your mouth?

I didn’t understand anything anymore. I could laugh off the previous incidents as bad luck, but what was this situation?

“Aron?”

It was…how to put it… Although it was incredibly disrespectful to think this in front of a Duke, she tilted her head like a cat seeking attention as she called my name.

“Uh… I apologize, Duchess Gwen Cavalla. I am Aron Dite.”

I didn’t understand the situation, but since a Duke had called my name twice, I figured I should answer before my head rolled.

‘I want to live a long life, even with this Terminal Illness.’

“…Don’t you know me?”

What kind of question was that?

“Uh… Aren’t you Duchess Gwen Cavalla?”

Did I get her name wrong? What was I supposed to answer when she asked if I didn’t know her?

“…”

Gwen Cavalla simply stared at me silently.

‘Why are you looking at me like that? It’s scary.’

A Duke. One of the five founding families of the Empire, their power second only to the Emperor, one of the few beings at the pinnacle of the continent. A few words from them could wipe out a small country. And such a person was tilting their head at me. I’d be crazy to act arrogant.

“…You.”

“Yes.”

A quick reply, unlike before. Now that I had regained my composure, it was better to answer promptly.

“Tell me what classes you’re taking later.”

“…Excuse me?”

‘Excuse me?’

My mind went blank. Why would a Duke be interested in my classes?

At that moment,

“Hey! Isn’t your homeroom teacher calling you from behind? Hurry up and move! An entire class is waiting because of you!”

‘Wow.’

Thank you, teacher! That clueless man was actually helpful. Seeing him order a Duke around, I finally understood what kind of person he was.

An extreme principled person. The type who prioritized rules above all else.

‘To think I’d be grateful to this teacher…’

I had a strange feeling that I would be indebted to him in the future. Let’s forget about my previous resentment.

“…Well then.”

At our homeroom teacher’s words, she hesitated, unable to move, her gaze fixed on me.

‘What?’

I seriously wanted to ask her that.

“See you in swordsmanship class.”

Dash

Gwen Cavalla left, leaving behind only those words.

“…”

“”……””

I felt like all the surrounding nobles and I were wearing the same expression. In the ensuing silence, a noble’s voice echoed,

“T…The Duchess approached him first…”

That single sentence explained their silence.

‘Life.’

It seemed that, in their eyes, I had gone from a ruined noble to the Duchess’s plaything, a massive leap in social standing.

“”……””

“Everyone, what are you waiting for?! We need to start the test!”

Once again, my homeroom teacher rescued me from the awkward silence and the nobles’ stares, which made it difficult to even lift my head.

‘Thank you.’

To think there was actually someone who could go from the worst to the best in a single day…

At the teacher’s words, I stood up and started moving towards the dueling area.

Footsteps

Of course, I stayed at the very back.

Shift

“Duels will be conducted in pairs, and I will intervene if it becomes dangerous. Weapons are…”

As the entire class gathered in front of the dueling area, the teacher began explaining the basic rules.

“…These are the evaluation criteria. Any questions?”

‘There shouldn’t be.’

The teacher had explained everything clearly and concisely.

‘Good.’

As long as he didn’t pull any troll moves, I would like him for a whi—

“Ah, I’ll let the first duelists choose their opponents. Anyone want to go first?”

Flick

“Hmm.”

They say that what you fear most comes to pass. Who knew a mere thought could lead to this?

Of course, the one caught was me.

‘Everyone’s eyes are so intense.’

And of all people, it had to be a Duke. No matter what they were thinking, it was intimidating.

“Professor Hector, I’ll go first.”

The man who walked up to the teacher and raised his hand.

Arslan Reinhardt.

‘Oh, this part is the same.’

Arslan being the first to duel hadn’t changed. But who was his oppon—

“As my opponent, I choose that student, Aron.”

“…Me?”

Me?

Was the reason my family was ruined because I had made enemies of the Dukes?

What was with you and Gwen?

*

‘Gwen approached him first…’

Arslan Reinhardt. He had crossed swords with Gwen many times and knew her well. Gwen didn’t even speak to those unrelated to swords, unless they were exceptionally skilled. The fact that one of the requirements for being a servant in the Cavalla family was being a Sword Expert spoke volumes. Even he had taken two years to earn Gwen’s acknowledgment.

‘That guy, there’s something about him.’

His instincts as a Duke, honed by generations of lineage, told him,

‘That Aron is hiding something.’

Something felt off.

‘As someone who will stand at the pinnacle of the continent in the future, I must leave no unknowns. I’ll find out what you’re hiding…’

Shift

The two stood on the dueling platform. Once they were a certain distance apart, the teacher signaled the start.

“Begin!”

Jump

He jumped high the moment the duel began.

‘Let’s start easy and test his strength.’

Whoosh

His aura-infused greatsword descended towards Aron’s head at high speed.

Clatter

“Oh…”

Despite the weight of the greatsword, Aron didn’t dodge, parrying the blow head-on.

Dash

As the greatsword was deflected, he quickly darted towards Arslan.

But,

“Slow.”

He was too slow compared to Arslan.

Whoosh

He swung the greatsword again.

Clang

And Aron parried it again, staying in place.

“You…are weak?”

Seeing Aron parry the greatsword twice, Arslan felt,

‘He’s too weak.’

He had initially thought Aron parried the first blow due to his boldness. But even after creating an opening, his speed was strangely slow. It didn’t seem like an act; the fatigue on his face was evident. So, he swung his greatsword once more. A light swing, not particularly fast, but Aron didn’t dodge. No, he was certain Aron couldn’t dodge.

“Pant…pant…”

It was difficult to attribute his heavy breathing to mere boldness after such light exchanges.

“Tsk.”

He would have to ask Gwen later. Why she had approached someone like this.

“Let’s end this quickly.”

Whoosh

The greatsword descended towards Aron’s head once more, who seemed barely able to stand.

“Defend…defend…defend…”

He looked pathetic, muttering something with unfocused eyes.

But,

Screech

“Hmm…”

Something had changed. He angled his sword to deflect the incoming blow.

Whoosh

“But anyone with a sword can do that.”

Angling your sword to block a downward strike was a basic move anyone could learn.

Clang

“Huh?”

The greatsword was deflected again.

Whoosh

Clang

Once more.

“I need to get a little serious.”

Rumble

Arslan’s calm aura began to surge.

But Aron,

“Defend…defend…flow…a little more…”

…began to focus on something.

[Trait: {Analyzer} preparing to bloom.]

[Trait: {????} #@%$.]

So intently that he didn’t even register the black window that appeared before him.