TWELWH 37

Chapter 37

. The Crown Prince I Met on a Narrow Bridge

When she had been a Spirit Sovereign, one of the principles she had lived by was simple: Never involve yourself in matters that have nothing to do with you.

Naturally, having come from the Demonic Sect, she was not particularly overflowing with a sense of justice.

And she disliked making a commotion without gaining anything from it.

After all, if she drew her sword, someone would inevitably bleed before things came to an end.

So these men had just made a very, very bad choice.

“Uncle. That’s mine.”

Her lips moved, and a calm voice flowed out.

The mercenary gang, who looked more like thugs, flinched slightly when they suddenly heard a woman’s voice from behind them.

But when they turned around and saw that she was alone, they raised their eyebrows with a mocking, Huh.

They exchanged amused glances.

Were there really women this fearless these days?

The leader, who was holding Essika’s sword, twitched his caterpillar-like eyebrows and spoke to her.

“This belongs to you, young lady?”

Essika nodded expressionlessly.

Then she held out her palm.

“If you hand it over and leave now, I’ll let you walk out of here without getting hurt.”

“What?”

“Kwa-ha-ha-ha-ha! What did this woman just say?!”

Despite the obvious danger, the leader burst into a mocking laugh at her audacious behavior.

Judging by her inexpensive dress, she didn’t seem to be some clueless noblewoman who had grown up sheltered from the world.

The other men began snickering as well.

“Well, it doesn’t look particularly impressive, so I suppose I could give it back…”

The leader’s gaze fell to Essika’s neckline.

What that lecherous gaze wanted was painfully obvious.

“…But before that, why don’t we go somewhere quiet and have a little talk? To think such a pretty young lady lives around here. My heart’s pounding so hard that I can’t just let you go. Well, if you agree to become my woman, this little sword is nothing… I’ll even buy you something better.”

“Heh heh heh heh.”

Even in the face of such blatant harassment, Essika simply stood there without reacting.

Thinking she was frightened, the leader slowly reached toward Essika’s hair.

“Such a shy little lady… Come here.”

Before he could finish speaking, Essika drew the sword hanging from the man’s waist.

And in the blink of an eye, she slashed across his arm.

A brilliant spray of blood burst into the air.

“……!”

It happened in an instant.

Not a single person there could even follow the movement with their eyes.

“AAARGH!”

The man’s arm flailed helplessly, spraying blood everywhere.

One more slash with the same momentum, and his arm would be severed completely.

“C-Captain!”

“What the hell?! This crazy woman!”

The men behind him angrily drew their swords.

Essika glanced at the sword she had taken from the bleeding man and moved her lips.

“I’ve always been rather particular about my swords.”

Her silver hair swayed gently despite there being not the slightest breeze inside the shop.

Her blue eyes gleamed darkly, radiating a ferocity like that of a beast.

“I don’t like getting them dirty with the blood of trash.”

The terrified men pointed their sword tips at Essika.

“Much less allowing that trash to touch my sword.”

“AAARGH! AAAAAARGH! Kill that bitch!”

The wounded leader shrieked at the top of his lungs.

The corners of Essika’s lips lifted as she assumed a stance, finally holding a sword again after so long.

The situation after Essika drew her sword was settled far too easily.

Her swordplay was smooth and swift, like a graceful sword dance. Blood sprayed in all directions, and bones snapped.

The men collapsed in an instant.

They opened their mouths to groan in pain, but for some reason, not a single sound escaped them.

For someone who possessed the memories and techniques of the former Spirit Sovereign, dealing with these pieces of trash who were not even at the level of knights was child’s play.

“……Gasp…….”

The shopkeeper’s face had gone deathly pale.

Essika, however, wore the same calm expression as always as she casually wiped the blood splattered across her face with her white hand.

She bent down slightly and picked up her own sword from the floor.

Then she partially drew it from its sheath and examined the blade.

She rather liked its beautiful lines and radiant sheen.

“…….”

The shopkeeper stared at Essika in disbelief.

Standing proudly among the fallen men, she wore a deep smile on her lips.

As though nothing that had happened to her mattered in the slightest.

And, moreover…

Just what kind of life had she lived to be smiling at a time like this?

When she had come to order a sword wearing a maid’s uniform, he had assumed she was planning to deliver a breakup letter to some poor bastard.

But that sword had actually been for her own use…

And this unbelievable skill…

If there were a female knight this powerful, her name would have spread throughout Tores. Yet he had never heard of her, which meant she wasn’t a knight either.

Then is she an assassin belonging to a mercenary group?

But it was rare for female mercenaries to walk around wearing high-quality dresses.

There really is no other way to describe this except astonishing.

An angel of slaughter, smiling amid blood and corpses.

It was a scene that reminded him of some magnificent masterpiece painted by an artist.

Essika was looking at her sword with a satisfied smile when her eyes met the shopkeeper’s.

He felt a chill run down his spine.

“These men fought among themselves and ended up like this.”

“Ah…”

“I also severed their vocal cords, so they won’t be able to testify. And it’s not as though these illiterate mercenaries will be able to write anything…”

A cold smile appeared around Essika’s lips.

She severed their vocal cords?

Was such a thing even possible?

The answer came from the men themselves, who opened and closed their mouths like fish but could not produce a single sound.

The strangeness and cruelty of it sent a shiver through him.

“It would be nice if I could simply cut their heads off, but that would only cause trouble.”

If it were merely a violent incident caused by some local thugs fighting among themselves, there probably wouldn’t even be much of an investigation.

But if several people were slaughtered all at once, there was no doubt the authorities would investigate.

These men would have been meeting Yama himself if this were the martial world.

Fortunately—or perhaps unfortunately—they were still alive, wheezing for breath.

So Essika had no choice but to make sure they kept their mouths shut.

“I dislike troublesome things.”

At her quiet voice, the shopkeeper shuddered and bowed his head deeply.

“I-I understand. I’ll take care of them myself.”

At most weapon shops, it was common for shopkeepers to pay protection money to large guilds.

Even if they paid such protection money, it wasn’t unusual for wandering mercenaries rather than local thugs to cause trouble.

In any case, dealing with these men who had been thoroughly beaten would not be difficult.

Essika gave a slight nod before speaking to the shopkeeper.

“I like the sword. I’ll put it to good use.”

The shopkeeper, who had kept his head lowered, looked up at Essika with a startled expression.

Essika…

In other words, the Spirit Sovereign…

Had always respected blacksmiths and sword suppliers.

The only people she treated harshly were martial artists of equal standing.

Anyone who wielded a weapon had to accept responsibility for their actions with their lives.

But those who forged and supplied weapons were not included in that category.

“……”

Essika’s beautiful smile was almost disconcerting.

“I’m glad you like the sword. Please take good care of it.”

He bowed his head again.

“Have a safe journey, customer.”

I’m meeting someone I didn’t want to meet on a narrow bridge.

Essika stepped outside the shop and saw Lesban standing there as though he had been waiting for her.

Her eyebrow twitched.

She wanted to let out an unabashed sigh, but he was the Crown Prince…

Let’s endure it.

With that thought, she stood before him and greeted him according to proper etiquette.

As she bent her body slightly, her slender ankle became visible beneath the hem of her slightly lifted skirt.

“I greet the Little Sun of the Empire.”

The sun had risen directly behind his black hair, creating the appearance of a halo around him.

Backlit by the sunlight, his golden eyes appeared even darker and more unreadable than usual.

“From you…”

Lesban slowly raised his hand.

His fingers lightly brushed the ends of Essika’s disheveled hair.

Essika narrowed her eyes slightly at the contact, but Lesban looked at her with a cold gaze and moved his lips.

“…I smell blood.”

Essika’s blue eyes trembled faintly as she met his deep golden gaze.

A breeze blew, causing her hair to sway gently once more.

“One, two, three…”

His low voice slipped into her ears, making her head feel slightly dizzy.

“…There are quite a few.”

The smell of blood.

It was a somewhat rude thing to say to a woman.

Unless, of course, that woman was Essika, who had just finished dancing a lively dance of blades.

The scent of blood had probably seeped into her entire body.

A master like Lesban could probably detect the thick scent of blood simply from a door being opened and closed.

Essika looked at Lesban calmly.

“I merely made them pay the price for what they did.”

Even if he knew what had just happened, there was nothing she could do about it.

She had never once regretted the swords she had swung.

At her proud yet composed demeanor, Lesban’s gaze grew even darker.

“Then that sword…”

“……”

“Is it a sword for punishment?”

A faint smile appeared at the corner of his lips before disappearing.

As though he were observing her deeply.