“???”
Cecilia stood blankly at the forefront of the northern expeditionary force, gazing at the Demon Race encampment.
The demons had come out in numbers far greater than imagined, abandoning their own dungeons.
Given how well the mobs were rounded up, she thought a few more rounds of this and she could gain some sweet experience…
‘No, this isn’t right!’
How did it come to this?
Cecilia reflected, reviewing everything that had happened up to this point.
As a proper sword heroine who excels in domestic virtues, she had prepared a warm meal and handed out spoons to the hungry old men.
The problem was that these people, finding this insufficient, had each taken their spoons and invaded the wheat field, killing many unfortunate farmers in the process.
As a result, while they immediately obtained more wheat, the next year’s harvest season was now ruined.
“I admire you, Sir Cecilia. Your tactical prowess is nothing short of legendary—worthy of being etched in the annals of history.”
“I’ve heard about the impact a single great knight can have on the battlefield, but I never imagined it would be to this extent.”
“No, I was merely doing what was necessary.”
‘Hehehe.’
Still, Cecilia couldn’t help feeling pleased by the compliments.
The northern command officers, who had turned their attention to her, regarded her with gleaming eyes.
Among them was Duke Faust.
“Modest to boot! There’s no need for that. I’ll record your prowess clearly and inform Her Majesty Queen Lydia!”
Crack!
Cecilia’s fine hairs stood straight up.
‘This is not good. Our queen is up to something strange again.’
Queen Lydia already had a reputation for questionable decisions. Cecilia was now gripped with the fear that her title might change this time.
“Ah, it’s fine. Please take the credit.”
“Ho? Are you trying to make me out to be an inadequate commander? That can’t be! Then who will defend this country with their lives?”
‘It’s not necessary…!’
Until this moment, Cecilia had believed her life would always go smoothly.
Perhaps because she was so pretty and strong.
However, for the first time, she realized that life doesn’t always go as planned.
“Surprisingly, Duke Faust is incompetent. This person has clearly been fudging things until now.”
She never thought radicals could exist among humans as well.
Of course, it was true that the Windsor Knight Order had driven away the Demon squads in the area.
However, those were just little mobs. If we were talking about a game, it was like clearing out goblin villages on the way to slay a dragon—a task easily handled by fully-geared knight NPCs.
Yet the resulting conclusion—”The Demon King’s forces are surprisingly incompetent”—was completely contradictory to what Cecilia had hoped for—”This woman’s too focused on maintaining a k*ll-d*ath ratio while farming.”
‘Still, he’s not a bad person… if I just tell him the truth, he’ll understand.’
“Commander.”
“Hmm?”
As Commander Faust was discussing with his aide-de-camp about when to invade, his gaze dropped to Cecilia, who stood nearby with an awkward expression, avoiding eye contact.
“Please halt the advance.”
“Hmm? What’s this about?”
“…If we continue this way, many people will d*e.”
“Ho, what a discouraging thing to say. Not like you at all. Can you look over there?”
Faust pointed his chin towards the Knights guarding Winterhold. They were burning with resolve and determination, showing no sign of fear.
“Does it look like they’re afraid of d*ath?”
These were knights he had personally trained, rolling through battlefields together, and he was proud of them.
However, too much pride can lead to arrogance.
“We have five Sword Demons and two Sword Emperors. The difference in power with the Windsor knights isn’t that significant.”
‘That’s exactly the problem. This isn’t a martial arts novel world.’
In martial arts novels, there’s a clear standard for ranking levels.
But here, there wasn’t.
Because of this, problems arise.
Each knight order had its own standard for what constituted a “Sword Demon.”
By Cecilia’s standards, there wasn’t a single one among those in the Windsor Knight Order who matched their so-called “Sword Demon.”
“…At this level, they’ll all perish.”
“…”
The cheerful expression on Faust’s face hardened for the first time.
“…What did you say?”
“I’m sorry, but that’s how the situation is.”
Cecilia’s words were undoubtedly perceived as an insult.
“Are you saying now what we can’t do easily, the Windsor knights can?”
‘This is why the commander should come from the Windsor Order.’
Just being part of Windsor raises the standards automatically.
Of course, this doesn’t mean Duke Faust wasn’t fit to be the commander of the northern forces.
He was undoubtedly strong. Even by Windsor’s standards, he was at least on par with Edward or even above him.
Though he was far behind Kairon, this was still impressive enough.
However, his lack of discernment was a fatal flaw for a commander—it implied his judgment ability was lacking.
“Yes.”
“What have you just said!”
Faust burst into anger, drawing the attention of everyone around.
Cecilia spoke calmly.
“Please reconsider. I oppose the advance.”
“This is the opportune time!”
“It’s reckless.”
“I’ll treat any further objections as insubordination! Lady Cecilia of the Windsor Knight Order, go prepare for the advance!”
‘Ah- I’m getting the urge to retreat like in the Wei River Incident.’
Cecilia made a quick calculation while entertaining a moment of dark thoughts.
‘…Normally, I’d avoid arguing with a superior, but this time, the outcome isn’t bad.’
If she were to displease them, her actions would be reflected poorly in reports sent to the queen.
However, the thing she feared most—”excessive merit”—was now likely to be concealed.
Hehe.
Apparently, no one is destined to d*e.
“This is a stupid invasion plan. Please reconsider immediately!”
“Calling the northern commander a fool? Do you wish to d*e?”
“Do you know nothing but using authority to browbeat people? Knights of the Windsor Order have the right to refuse orders!”
Once Cecilia made her decision, she began to argue back.
The surrounding knights turned pale. The Windsor knights, daringly (and understandably) irritated by the provincial commander pressuring their beloved sister representative, glared at him threateningly.
“Have you ever seen a woman knight like this? I was giving her the benefit of the doubt, but all previous evaluations are hereby withdrawn!”
‘Perfect!’
“The Knights of Windsor will not follow any orders from the northern commander. If you wish to advance and d*e pointlessly, be our guest!”
“B, pointless d*ath? This, this…!”
Faust, now utterly outraged, pointed his finger and shouted.
“We don’t need aid from a cowardly knight order like you! The Demon King’s forces, we will conquer alone. Get lost from here!”
Cecilia turned around, pretending to be extremely irritated.
“The Windsor Knights are retreating. Those who wish to stay, stay.”
Needless to say, not a single Windsor knight remained in the expeditionary force.
“Oooh, I’m so mad it’s reaching my scalp.”
“We’re not babysitters.”
Back at the Windsor Knight Camp, they were badmouthing Faust.
“I figured this from the start. An incompetent commander who couldn’t move without Lady Cecilia’s word!”
“What? So whatever the Windsor Knights can do, you claim you can too? Go ahead and try it then. d*mn bastards.”
The knights of Windsor were extremely riled up.
However, Beatrice was watching Cecilia with worried eyes.
‘I’ve never seen her so angry.’
Cecilia rarely expressed her emotions.
Even when she did, it was usually joy or preference-related.
This was the first time anyone had seen her expressing such negative emotions.
“Lady Cecilia, would you care to go for a sparring session? You’ll feel the difference in strength then.”
“No, I’ll go! I’ll grab a nearby branch and smash that foolish knight order to bits!”
In front of the roaring campfire, Cecilia timidly glanced at the knights and calmly said,
“…It’s too pitiful. Please restrain yourself.”
“How can you just stand there and take this!”
“d*mn, it’s infuriating. There’s no need to be so nice to bastards like that, Cecilia!”
‘She’s not that kind… no, I shouldn’t think that way. She must have a good reason.’
Beatrice quickly understood Cecilia’s deep intentions.
“Could it be… you’re worried?”
“…”
“About people getting hurt…”
At Beatrice’s soft words, the knights looked at each other with wide eyes.
Honestly, since Cecilia opposed it, they all acted as one but hadn’t fully understood the reasoning beyond her stance.
Some doubts did exist. Cecilia was known to perfectly manage her forces, pinpointing and exploiting the enemy’s weaknesses.
As a result, the Demon King’s army was probably in a tight spot now.
Ironically, it was also the best situation for a full-scale war.
However, Beatrice’s words made them understand why Cecilia wanted to halt the advance.
“…Now thinking about it, Lady Cecilia always…”
“…Was sensitive to people dying.”
“Last time, she even visited the injured Jereway.”
“Could she be worried about the casualties from a full-on battle this time?”
One knight grabbed his head, frustrated.
“d*mn it, Cecilia. It’s war; people d*e, there’s nothing we can do about it.”
“Her heart is still too soft… …Could that be why the commander hesitated to send her to the battlefield?”
‘…?’
Cecilia was puzzled as to why the mood became so somber all of a sudden, but for some reason, she mumbled, caught up in the concept of a pitiable sword heroine.
“Still, there must be a better method.”
“…”
‘Ah, my eyes hurt after staring at the fire for too long.’
Cecilia rubbed her eyes and quickly stood up.
“Where are the captured prisoners?”
“…In the last tent on the right.”
“I’ll be back in a moment. Don’t follow.”
Cecilia walked towards the tent in a depressed manner.
The atmosphere in the knight camp grew gloomy.
“Ah, I see why they said her hand felt a little weak.”
“Could it be that she sent us to capture these small fry to keep us safe from harm?”
“She’s probably trying to stop the advance by interrogating the prisoners as well.”
“Ha… She’s too soft-hearted to properly interrogate anyone.”
Beatrice, too, was saddened but thought a little differently.
‘She’s not that soft-hearted…’
She recalled the time when Cecilia captured the terrorists in the magical engineering train.
“You’ve arrived? It was a bit noisy outside.”
To the yawning knight, Cecilia said,
“Leave for a moment. I’ll handle the interrogation.”
“It won’t be easy. They haven’t cracked at all? We’ve never seen a demon as loyal as this.”
The knight left, and Cecilia sat in the chair, crossing her legs.
Then she smirked.
‘I’m a genius.’
How did she come up with such a brilliant plan?
Cecilia was proud of herself.
‘Now, all I have to do is delay time, k*ll the Demon King, and I’m done. Then, I can leisurely welcome newbies while enjoying desserts at the royal capital.’
“Human… stop fooling around and just k*ll me. I will never betray Lord Demon King.”
At that moment, a demon groveling on the ground, bound by numerous seals, spoke.
It looked terrible, and anyone could tell it had endured severe torture. Knights of Windsor were generally known to consider demons as devoid of bl**d or tears.
“Ho ho, you poor thing. Watching you guys celebrate victory over killing a few reconnaissance squads makes me sad.”
Of course, Cecilia was busy indulging in pleasant thoughts.
‘What should I eat when I get back? After all this hard work, I want to treat myself to something special.’
” Fear me! Tremble in terror! We will devour every inch of your fertile land…”
“Quiet.”
“…!”
“Your noise is preventing my concentration.”
A sincere aura of killing intent slipped out unintentionally.
The demon trembled in fear and raised his gaze.
Though his vision was blurred, he could make out the silhouette of a silver-haired girl.
And the memory of the past resurfaced.
Around five years ago, a knight who had terrified the snowy north.
“Ha, the white reaper….”
“…?”
“I’ll tell you everything. But, please, don’t destroy my soul!”
Cecilia tilted her chin, slightly turning her gaze.
“Saying too much would be difficult.”
“…!”
“Because then, I’d look too competent.”
Cecilia slowly drew her sword. The mid-level demon quivered in fear.
“Would you like to keep quiet, or would you prefer ‘erasure’?”
The demon bit his own tongue. He wouldn’t d*e that easily from this, but it ensured he wouldn’t be able to speak.
It was an excellent choice indeed.
Cecilia returned to her chair, continuing her train of thought.
‘I must eat some Shine Muscat.’
By the way, the Shine Muscat from the Rianen Kingdom was the strongest in the universe.
Thinking back to that day, Cecilia smiled happily.
