Sword Emperor, Becoming the Young Lady of a Viscount House

Chapter 49: The Suspicious Girl(6)

"Hehe. You don't fall for tricks, do you, sister?"

‘I definitely struck her.’

The sensation in her hand was vivid. It was the feeling that only came from slicing through something.

However.

The spot where Miya had just been was now empty.

Beatrice raised her head with an indifferent gaze.

What she thought she had cut was merely an afterimage.

Miya was still alive and well.

‘It's just like a doppelgänger.’

In Beatrice's past life, there existed a type of magical beast known as a doppelgänger.

This doppelgänger wasn't just capable of mimicking a person's appearance but also their memories, making it a particularly troublesome creature.

Doppelgängers were ranked as S-class magical beasts. Even though their inherent strength wasn't overwhelming, they earned such a high rank.

It was because they were difficult to deal with.

It wasn’t easy to identify a doppelgänger.

Typically, they would amplify the suspicion buried deep in humans’ hearts, inciting fights among them, and then slipping away unnoticed.

Humans are easily deceived.

Whether by fellow humans or doppelgängers, suspicion leads to division, and ultimately, self-destruction.

Beatrice saw a resemblance to a doppelgänger in Miya.

The reason she had attempted to cut her down without confirming the facts was because of that resemblance.

‘That was risky.’

It truly was dangerous.

What if this situation had continued for a day, or even just half a day?

Could she, or even Reiser, have remained unharmed, unlike Adam?

Suspicion was more terrifying than any great power. The moment humans began doubting their allies, they could become endlessly cruel.

And that nature…

Even Beatrice couldn’t escape from it. She was human, after all.

She knew this.

If she hadn’t realized in time.

She might have ended up cutting Adam down instead of Miya.

Beatrice pointed her sword.

"But sister, how did you know?"

"…"

"Miya didn’t make any mistakes. I wasn’t careless. I even endured eating that disgusting holy water! So… how did you figure it out?"

There was no need to answer.

But Beatrice decided she needed to buy some time.

The knights and the cadets needed time to snap out of their panic.

She decided to explain it herself.

“…I infused mana into your body. Not long after, I felt it being blocked. I experienced a similar phenomenon a few weeks ago. It felt like a control device.”

Earlier, Beatrice had discreetly injected her mana while handing over the holy water. She thought there might be something unusual if Miya were a black mage.

However, the mana didn’t flow forward, as if blocked by some wall.

As soon as Beatrice experienced that peculiar reaction, one thing came to mind.

A control device.

It was the same object used by the assailant during a previous attack.

Back then, she had felt a similar sensation—something blocking her, leaving her energy weakened.

That’s how she realized it. Miya had applied a control device on herself, limiting her mana. This was why she hadn’t reacted to the holy water.

Anyway.

"What... What is going on here?!"

"I told you! That girl is the culprit!"

In the end, it turned out Adam had been telling the truth.

For a moment, guilt flickered across the faces of the knights and cadets.

“…Aha. So, it was because of that. Tsk, I failed because of what that weird old man gave me. That’s why you shouldn’t accept strange things from weirdos!"

"We’ve found the black mage! All Royal Knights, attack!"

Once the situation became clear, the knights all turned their swords towards Miya.

"Hehe. Brothers, now’s not the time to fight me."

-KROOOAR.

At that moment.

…The Lycan that should have been dead came back to life.

"This... This can’t be."

Although it became evident that Miya was a black mage, they were now in a troublesome situation.

Miya had fled.

"Handle the Lycan."

"Beatrice! It's dangerous to go alone!"

A corpse resurrected was stronger than it had been when alive.

This was because it lacked the fear of death inherent to living beings.

While Lycans weren’t the strongest of beasts, fighting one would mean losing the chance to catch Miya.

Beatrice preferred to keep things clean.

There wasn’t even the slightest thought of letting Miya escape from this place alive.

She ran at full speed.

Miya's physical abilities were so poor that Beatrice quickly caught up to her striking range.

‘I’ll kill her.’

Beatrice's golden eyes gleamed with murderous intent.

-SLASH!

As Beatrice swung her arm,

several trees were deeply gouged. They weren’t cut down, but the gashes were at least a handspan deep.

Miya's previously relaxed expression changed to one of alarm.

The distance was about two meters.

A distance impossible to cut with a sword.

"Unbelievable."

Miya clutched her neck, her eyes wide with disbelief, forgetting to even run.

Watching this, Beatrice thought.

‘My guess was correct.’

Earlier, what she had cut wasn’t an illusion. It had been Miya herself.

The only reason it didn’t show was because her regeneration speed was too fast.

"Why, are you surprised? You’ve already died twice now."

"…!"

Because just a moment ago, Beatrice had clearly sliced through Miya’s neck.

There were no visible signs, but her fingertips told her otherwise.

"No matter how long you hold out, if I keep killing you, you’ll eventually die."

Unless, of course, you’re not mortal.

Beatrice pushed off the ground and charged forward.

Miya, flustered, began chanting a spell. Just as a black current surrounded her to protect her body...

"Guh…!"

Beatrice, who had already reached her, swung her sword horizontally.

A counter was etched into Beatrice’s mind.

She didn’t stop.

-CLANG!

As Miya faced death again, a barrier was completed.

Yet Beatrice wasn’t particularly flustered.

-CLANG! CLANG!

She repeatedly struck the solid orb-like barrier.

Miya desperately tried to flee.

But Beatrice relentlessly caught up, leaving no room for error, even when Miya teleported.

"It... It’s no use! Miya’s barrier is invincible!"

‘Just a little further…! I’ll punish them all!’

Miya thought.

If she could just get a little further, she would reach countless magical beast corpses.

All she had to do was look at them.

Once that happened, the beasts they had slaughtered yesterday would revive.

Stronger and faster than they had been in life.

However.

Everyone has a plan until they’re about to die.

-CRACK!

"How?!"

The black barrier cracked.

Miya had never experienced her barrier breaking before.

-HUM.

The secret lay in how Beatrice manipulated her mana.

She had a habit of forming her aura into tiny "flows," akin to a chainsaw.

Because of this, she could efficiently break through barriers like the one before her.

"Die."

-CRASH!

The barrier, unable to withstand the intense friction, shattered.

-HUFF.

Beatrice took a short breath and unleashed countless sword strikes.

She began slicing Miya to shreds.

5, 6, 7, 8, 10… 20.

The counter in Beatrice's head kept climbing without pause.

-TWITCH.

And at that moment.

The pain in her wrist signaled she had reached her limit.

‘I should take a break after this final blow.’

Just then, she heard the sound of knights finishing off the Lycan and rushing towards her.

Beatrice prepared her final strike.

A vivid golden aura wrapped around her sword, trembling faintly.

"W-Wait a minute!"

"…?"

"I’ll… I’ll talk! Miya will tell you everything, s-so please, stop… It hurts too much!"

Miya's voice quivered as she began to cry.

For someone who had been acting like the villain of the century, it was a pitiful sight.

Beatrice’s aura lost some of its intensity.

"…But."

Beatrice frowned.

"What exactly are you going to say?"

"The-the one behind this! The mastermind! That’s why you’re doing this to Miya, right? I’ll tell you everything. I swear there won’t be a single lie."

‘There’s a mastermind?’

This was news to her.

She had only attacked Miya because she resembled a doppelgänger and needed to be eliminated quickly.

All this trouble was becoming annoying.

"A mastermind…"

It was a plausible statement.

She hadn’t considered the possibility, but it could lead to a big discovery.

However.

"Are you trying to trick me again?"

Beatrice wasn’t one to be fooled twice. She infused her sword with aura once more.

"P-Please spare me… I-I surrender!"

It seemed Miya truly wanted to live.

She sobbed uncontrollably, begging for her life.

With her childlike appearance, it would be hard for most people to kill her.

Even the cruelest person might feel a shred of pity.

However.

[...Pitiful.]

‘Pitiful? What does that even mean?’

That word had been erased from her vocabulary at least 30 years ago.

With cold, calculating eyes, Beatrice raised her sword.

She intended to bring it down with all her strength.

"…Beatrice!"

A thunderous voice echoed from afar. It was Reiser.

"You mustn’t kill her!"

‘Why do they keep interrupting me today?’

Reiser's voice carried a desperate tone.

Though she wanted to end Miya immediately—

Beatrice decided to respect Reiser’s heartfelt plea.

**

"…Miya was a happy person."

"…Is that so?"

"Yeah. She especially loved omelets. Near where I lived, there was a kind elf who always cooked for us. By the way, that elf was very handsome!"

"……."

"The omelets he made were the best! I bet even you all would love them. Hehe."

"Reiser."

"…Yes."

"I’ll just kill her now."

Beatrice had expected some grand revelation.

Instead, all she heard was incessant talk about how great omelets were and how handsome some irrelevant elf was.

It annoyed her to no end.

"P-Please hold back."

"Let me go!"

"My lady! We need to report this! Otherwise, Prince Reiser will kill us!"

The knights desperately tried to hold Beatrice back.

She swung her sword wildly with one hand.

"Ahhh! Please spare me! Miya knows a lot! You’ll regret killing me!"

Miya shrieked and tried to escape, but tied up as she was, all she could do was roll around on the ground.

-THUD.

At that moment.

Someone caught Miya’s bound body with their foot.

It was Falcon.

He grinned and pointed a thumb at Beatrice, who was raging.

"That lady is furious. Miya, was it? Kid, you’d better start talking properly. If not, that terrifying lady might just slit your throat."

-SNIFFLE.

At Falcon’s grim words, tears welled up in Miya’s eyes.

Beatrice, now somewhat composed, suppressed her killing intent and spoke.

"If you cry one more time, I’ll really kill you."

-SILENCE.

Like magic, Miya’s tears dried up.

"Tsk, who said I wouldn’t talk? But every story has a beginning, middle, and end, doesn’t it? Anyway, one day, while Miya was living her happy life, a strange man came to visit."

"…A strange man?"

Finally, the story seemed to be heading somewhere.

"Yeah. He wore a hood that only showed his eyes. Everything else was pitch black!"

Miya used her mana to sketch a black hood over her face.

"He was super creepy!"

"So, what did he say?"

Falcon, seemingly recognizing something, glanced at Reiser nervously.

Miya made a peculiar expression and mimicked the man’s voice.

"‘Go to the village below and stay there for a few days. Bad people will come. Kill them all.’"

"…!"

‘A man in a black hood?’

Someone came to mind.

The group they encountered when traveling to the capital.

The same group that had attacked Arvanceco.

Though she couldn’t be certain it was the same people.

‘…But it doesn’t seem unrelated.’

A strange intuition struck her—a gut feeling, so to speak.

"Miya hates bad people. So she agreed. Then, that strange man gave her this! He said it would keep her from being discovered by bad people. …But it was a lie."

Miya used her mana to untie the ribbon in her hair, showing it to them.

The ribbon floated in the air, adorned with a small gem.

Beatrice recognized it instantly.

‘A control device.’

It was the reason she hadn’t been able to sense Miya’s mana.

The device seemed to have hidden the scent of mana using some method.

If it were a proper control device, Miya wouldn’t have been able to use magic either.

Reiser asked coldly.

"So, you intended to kill us, then?"

"But you’re bad people, aren’t you?"

"…What?"

"You came to kill us! We were living peacefully. But you threatened us. Miya had to protect herself!"

"……."

There wasn’t much to say to that.

From a magical beast's perspective, humans were the enemy.

However.

"That’s because you killed the villagers. If you hadn’t, we wouldn’t have touched the Alps for hundreds of years."

The beasts had massacred the village, prompting the humans to form a hunting party.

And it was obvious that this massacre had been under Miya’s orders as the black mage.

"…What are you talking about?"

Miya blinked in confusion as if she didn’t understand.

"Miya has never killed a single person."