The trembling sword tip

Ella Smith felt as though she were being crushed by the weight in her arms.

This wasn’t a physical burden, though the two heavy ancient tomes were certainly substantial.

What truly made it difficult for her to breathe was an inexplicable, bitter pang of emotion.

Her steps dragged slightly as she walked the gravel path leading to the Second Training Ground.

Of the two books in her arms, one was ‘Ancestral Travelogue,’ a treasure belonging to Lady Lilliana that she had lent to Ella. The faint scent of ink from Lady Lilliana’s fingertips still lingered on its pages.

The other… was a tightly bound package wrapped in black velvet, meant for that person.

Beatrix Eisen.

The Disciplinary Committee member who always wore a cold expression, like a stubborn, unyielding rock.

‘Why her?’

Ella couldn’t help but mutter inwardly.

‘Didn’t Lady Lilliana detest rude people most of all?’

‘Why would she specifically seek out a swordsmanship manuscript for her?’

‘And to say it was because she found her too noisy… that reason sounded suspiciously like… tsundere concern, didn’t it?’

The mere thought of the word ‘concern’ made Ella feel as though a wad of waterlogged cotton had been stuffed into her chest.

Before she knew it, she had arrived at the Second Training Ground.

It was lunchtime, and most students had gone to the dining hall or were resting.

Only a solitary silver figure remained in the center of the training ground, still drenched in sweat.

Beatrix Eisen.

She was bare-chested, wearing only a sweat-soaked white binding cloth that revealed the smooth, taut muscles of her back.

The training sword in her hand cleaved the air repeatedly, each strike producing a sharp, whistling sound.

Sweat dripped from the tips of her silver hair, tracing a path over her high nose bridge before finally pooling in the hollows of her collarbones.

Ella had to admit, she was both strong and beautiful.

It was a beauty entirely distinct from Lady Lilliana’s delicate, refined elegance—a beauty brimming with wildness and power.

Ella took a deep breath, adjusted her expression, and attempted to mimic Lady Lilliana’s cool, aloof demeanor.

“…Eisen.”

The sword’s edge halted abruptly.

Beatrix slowly turned her head, maintaining her sword-swinging posture.

Her golden eyes, like those of a predator, coldly fixed on Ella.

“Smith?”

She frowned, sheathed her sword, and casually grabbed a towel hanging on the fence to wipe her face.

“What are you doing here? If you’ve come to show off your travelogue, you’ve got the wrong person.”

Clearly, the well-informed Disciplinary Committee member had heard about the scene in the classroom that morning.

Listening to the faint hint of jealousy in her tone, the annoyance in Ella’s heart surprisingly subsided a little.

‘Hmph, so you know how to be jealous too?’

“I’m not that bored.”

Ella lifted her chin, striving to make her voice sound like a proper messenger.

“I was entrusted by someone to deliver something to you.”

“Entrusted by someone?”

“Entrusted by… Lady Lilliana von Eckhart.”

The moment she heard that name, Beatrix’s previously indifferent expression instantly froze.

She almost instinctively straightened her posture, and her golden pupils constricted violently.

“…Her?”

Beatrix’s voice turned somewhat hoarse.

“For me?”

“Take it.”

Ella, disinclined to waste words, directly thrust the black package into Beatrix’s arms, which still carried the warmth and dampness of sweat.

“Lady Lilliana said she ‘accidentally’ found this manuscript on the ‘Conjecture on Completing Ancient Fragmented Swordsmanship.'”

Ella deliberately emphasized the word “accidentally,” though she herself didn’t believe it for a second.

“She said your sword practice was too noisy and hoped this would make you a bit quieter. Also… it would just be a waste sitting with her.”

Beatrix stood stunned.

Mechanically, she took the package, her fingers stiff as she untied the ribbon.

As the black velvet slipped away, a yellowed parchment manuscript, its edges severely worn, lay quietly in her palm.

The cover bore no name, only a faded family crest.

But merely opening the first page, seeing the familiar diagrams of opening stances, and the dense annotations and corrections made with a cinnabar brush beside them…

Beatrix’s breathing utterly stopped.

It was the very root of the Eisen family’s swordsmanship, something they had sought for three generations, exhausting their wealth and sacrificing countless lives, yet never found.

It was the key to the bottleneck that had stalled her progress, a barrier she had been unable to break through no matter how she wielded her sword.

This was certainly no “accidentally found scrap paper.”

This was a gift… heavy as a thousand pounds, enough to purchase her entire life.

“…Ha…”

Beatrix’s hands began to tremble.

These were the hands that had never trembled, not even when facing a giant troll.

A drop of sweat fell onto the edge of the parchment, instantly spreading.

She abruptly snapped the manuscript shut, pressing it tightly against her chest as if fearing its contents would dissipate if exposed to the air.

The rough parchment cover chafed against her skin, covered only by the thin binding cloth, creating a coarse yet incredibly real stinging sensation.

This stinging sensation, traveling along her nerves, surged directly to her cerebral cortex, transforming into a shiver that made her scalp tingle.

“She… really said that? Too noisy?”

Beatrix lowered her head, her bangs obscuring her eyes, making her expression unreadable.

“Those were her exact words.”

Ella pursed her lips.

“Though I don’t understand swordsmanship, this thing looks very old… Is it really that important?”

“Important?”

Beatrix suddenly let out a low laugh.

Gone was her usual cold sternness; instead, the laughter carried an unsettling, twisted fanaticism.

“No, this isn’t merely important.”

She lifted her head, and in her golden eyes, two flames, like molten gold, seemed to burn.

She gazed in the direction of the S-Class classroom, where Lilliana was located.

“She saw through it all. She saw every flaw in my swordsmanship, the Eisen family’s century-long predicament, and even… the deepest desires of my heart.”

Beatrix’s fingers dug deep into the wrapping cloth, her knuckles turning white.

“She possessed this manuscript long ago, yet never brought it out. Not until… until I became her accomplice in the restricted archives.”

“She is… rewarding me.”

“With such an arrogant demeanor, as if tossing scraps to a beggar, she threw the fragment of soul I’ve yearned for onto my face.”

Beatrix’s voice grew progressively softer, eventually dissolving into a dreamlike murmur.

An unnatural flush spread across her cheeks.

“Too… too cunning…”

“Not only has she taken my sword, but now… even my path is held in her grasp.”

Ella, standing by, watched the Disciplinary Committee member, whose state was clearly amiss, and couldn’t help but shiver.

Though she didn’t understand “accomplice” or “reward,” her woman’s intuition told her…

Things were very wrong.

This knight, who always spoke of justice, seemed… to be entangled even deeper than Ella herself.

“Hey, are you alright?”

Ella cautiously took half a step back.

“Since the item’s delivered, I’ll be going. Remember, Lady Lilliana ‘lent’ this to you, so don’t you dare damage it!”

“…Wait.”

Beatrix called out to her.

She took a deep breath, carefully put away the manuscript, then turned around, looking at Ella with an unprecedentedly complex gaze.

“Smith.”

“What do you want?”

“You… are very fortunate.”

Beatrix said softly.

“To be her messenger. It means you are, currently… the person she is least guarded against.”

Ella paused, then a surge of immense superiority washed over her.

“Of course!”

She puffed out her chest, like a proud little rooster.

“I’ve had afternoon tea with Lady Lilliana!”

“Is that so.”

Beatrix didn’t refute her, merely gave her a meaningful look before turning and picking up her sword once more.

“Go back and tell her… I will achieve this ‘quietness.'”

“And… I will become stronger. Strong enough… to be the sharpest sword in her hand.”

Having said that, she swung her sword again.

This time, the sword wind was even sharper, even more resolute.

Each strike seemed to sever her past self, reshaping her body for the sovereign who had granted her new life.

Ella, clutching her own book, stared blankly at the sweat-drenched figure.

Suddenly, she felt that the book in her arms, and her status as a messenger, had become even heavier.

Meanwhile, in the distant S-Class classroom.

Lilliana, who had just finished lunch and was about to nap at her desk, suddenly sneezed.

“…Strange, who’s talking about me?”

She rubbed her nose, looking confusedly at the bright sunlight outside the window.

‘Never mind. The item should have been delivered. I hope that manuscript keeps Beatrix engrossed in swordsmanship and stops her from constantly scrutinizing me, the suspicious individual.’

She thought with satisfaction.

‘This way, everyone has a book to read and something to do, and I can have a little peace and quietly be my background character.’

Completely unaware that she had just personally forged two powerful alliances for herself that, far from breaking, had become tightly bound, Lilliana contentedly closed her eyes.

At the back door of the classroom, a petite figure peered through the crack, taking in the entire scene.

“Hehe… How amusing.”

Chloe toyed with an information crystal in her hand, her purple eyes shimmering with delight.

“Using knowledge as bait, to capture the Holy Maiden of Light, the ‘Rose Knight,’ without shedding a drop of blood?”

“Sister Lilliana… you truly are the best villainess.”