Chapter 10
Chapter 10
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 10
Chapter Title: The Anti-Magic Barrier
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Agnes didn't answer Damian right away. She paused for a moment, gazing at the horizon.
Her expression grew gradually colder as she stared at the lights shining over the lakeside.
“How long have you known?”
Agnes spoke in a deliberately low tone. Far more natural than before.
“If we know each other's circumstances, how could I not notice?”
It wasn't just about the broken engagement. The old Damian, always watching others' reactions, had his own knack for reading people's true feelings.
From the start, it was impossible for her to truly care for Damian, an illegitimate child, given her current situation.
Many girls had envied Agnes at the engagement ceremony, but others had sneered at her plight behind her back.
Her father had been killed by a bastard, and now she was marrying that very bastard. What crueler joke could there be?
It was the scheme of her uncle, the current head of the Schubert family. He aimed to eliminate even the slightest chance of her inheriting the family.
The moment she became Agnes Renekht instead of Agnes Schubert, her succession rights would vanish completely.
As a bonus, he figured it would create ties to the imperial family.
Even a bastard was the child of a woman favored by the Emperor—surely some crumbs would fall their way.
That pathetic plan ended by Agnes's own hand. She seized the family head's seat through a life-or-death duel with her uncle.
After displaying her efforts and talent for all to see, she earned a new moniker.
The Woman Loved by the Sword.
The sight of Agnes wielding a blade was something impossible without the sword's love.
Of course, she couldn't shine before Mikhail, the greatest swordsman of all time.
If Agnes was loved by the sword, Mikhail dominated aura.
During the civil war, Agnes sided with the legitimists and ultimately met her end at Mikhail's hands.
When he heard the news, Damian felt no particular agitation. He and Agnes were practically strangers. That hadn't changed now.
He just needed to draw a clear line.
In the past, even knowing her true feelings, he had hemmed and hawed.
He thought he had no right to it, and he feared cutting off the relationship himself.
“Have I shown any shortcomings as your fiancé?”
“Not at all.”
On the surface, he had been utterly perfect.
For someone who despised bastards to that extreme, it would have been impossible without superhuman patience.
“If you want, I can request the breakup first.”
In the past, Agnes had initiated the breakup, which left a good impression on the Empress.
Thanks to that, the Schubert family regained some power under the Empress's protection, and Agnes became a loyal member of the legitimist faction.
Building up the Empress's forces to check Mikhail was a poor strategy. No matter how they gathered strength, they were all equal before Mikhail's aura.
So, weakening the legitimists was good for Damian. They might get in the way otherwise.
If Damian proposed the breakup first, it wouldn't catch the Empress's eye like before his regression.
‘Better to stay far from the conflict.’
Though she couldn't match Mikhail, Agnes's talent with the sword was undeniably threatening.
What path she took after the breakup was unknown. She could never side with Damian anyway. Best not to get entangled. Fewer variables the better when carrying out revenge.
“The wind is getting chilly. I'll see you inside later.”
Agnes turned away, her face still cold. She wouldn't be in a good mood.
She had thought she was the one deceiving him, but it turned out she was the one played in the palm of his hand.
“She's not coming after all, huh?”
Even after Agnes left, Damian lingered on the stern for a long time.
He thought Anya or someone she sent might approach if no one was watching. But even after the sun vanished beyond the horizon and the full moon rose over the lake, no one came.
Time was running short. If it came to this, the planned incident would unfold.
“No helping it, then.”
Damian turned to prepare his next move.
Always have a backup plan. He learned that the hard way before his regression, and it was a key lesson from Derek after.
* * *
“Oh my, Miss Agnes. Where's your fiancé? Came alone?”
On her way back to the center of the cruise ship, a group of women blocked Agnes's path.
Their families' territories bordered each other, so they had known each other for a while. Not on good terms, though.
They had attended the engagement ceremony, so Agnes donned her mask once more and greeted them adeptly.
“Lord Damian said he'd enjoy the lake breeze a bit longer before returning.”
“Worried he'll catch a cold. Oh wait, he's grown so tall and sturdy now— this breeze won't faze him.”
“With that face and build, you could mistake him for a knight instead of a mage.”
“So enviable. Getting to tie the knot with him soon.”
Enviable, my foot. Agnes smiled lightly and brushed past them.
When she didn't react strongly to their provocations, the women ground their heels in frustration.
It was so familiar to Agnes now that she barely felt anger anymore.
Their psychology was a mix of two things.
Envy that she could even pretend to be in love with Damian, and contempt that she had to marry a mere bastard.
The humiliation hit Agnes tenfold harder.
Her father's murder and her own predicament stemmed from that half-brother of hers.
She had no desire to attend such an event. Better to rest than waste time like this.
But when word spread that Damian was coming to the ball, her loathsome uncle forced her to go manage her fiancé.
She barely held back vomit while he patted her shoulder with false smiles. She knew what filthy things that man had done.
But it didn't matter. Soon, everything would be set right.
By Agnes's sword.
“You insolent cur! Who do you think you are, causing a scene here?!”
By the time Agnes returned to the center of the ballroom, a commotion had broken out.
Colhen, the young noble who had been playing board games with Damian, was grappling with a servant, collar in hand.
“I'll say it again. From now on, do as we say. Meet our demands, and no one gets hurt.”
His cryptic words made the ballroom guests exchange shrugs and glances.
Did this servant eat something bad? they silently wondered.
“You bastard!”
Unable to hold back, a translucent energy began to rise from Colhen's body. He was using aura.
Surely no blood would be spilled here, everyone thought.
-Whiiiiiing.
An unpleasant hum made everyone shudder.
Soon, a translucent barrier formed around the three cruise ships. The hemispherical dome isolated the ballroom from the outside.
The changes didn't stop there. The aura enveloping Colhen suddenly vanished.
“What the… Aaaargh!!”
The servant—no, assassin—grabbed at his waist while still held by the collar.
A flash streaked through the air, and a red line appeared across one of Colhen's eyes. Blood dripped, followed by screams.
That was the signal. Assassins lurking in the ballroom drew their weapons and surrounded the others.
“I'll say it once more.”
Clap clap. The assassin kicked the groaning Colhen, who was now prone, and clapped to get everyone's attention.
“Stay. Still. And. No one. Gets. Hurt.”
An eerie chill emanated from his staccato voice. As his dull, fishy eyes scanned the noble youths, everyone's hairs stood on end.
“It's an Anti-Magic Barrier. You're all clever enough to grasp the situation, right?”
A barrier conjured by mana-blocking stones through magical devices. No magic could be used inside.
The assassins were no exception, but the hostages were already too overwhelmed by the atmosphere to move properly.
These gathered nobles weren't even full adults yet. They had zero experience handling sudden crises like this.
Not everyone, though.
“Guh!”
While assessing the situation, Agnes drove her fist into an assassin's gut.
The blow flipped his eyes back, knocking him out cold. Agnes swiftly drew his sword and took her stance.
“What's your goal?”
She glared at the man who seemed to be the leader. He smirked, amused by her reaction.
“We have business with Anya Hilton. Whether she's inside or outside, you'll cooperate to keep things from escalating, won't you?”
The man revealed their plan without hesitation. He judged that Agnes and the other hostages here were no real threat.
“I know your face, Miss Agnes Schubert. Admirable courage, but please follow our instructions.”
“If you want to talk with swords, all I have to offer is mine.”
Agnes kicked off her uncomfortable shoes and tore the sleeves and hem of her cumbersome dress.
Muscles of just the right thickness and firmness, like a wild horse's, gleamed vividly in the light.
This wasn't some ladylike fencing. She took greater pride in the Schubert swordsmanship than anyone.
“Better to make an example to smooth things along.”
At his words, three assassins charged at Agnes. Their blades carried clear killing intent.
Did they think such intimidation would make her cower like the others? Foolish delusion. That level of bloodlust couldn't pressure her.
To wield a sword meant being prepared to cut oneself. It was the lesson her father taught her the day she first took up the blade, etched deep in her heart.
Clang! Clang! Clang! Agnes's sword reflected the ballroom lights as it danced gracefully. Though three grown men rushed her, neither power nor skill could overwhelm her.
Unexpected as it was, Agnes found this more comfortable than before. She preferred this freedom to swing her sword over the stifling ballroom atmosphere.
She was a swordswoman before she was a noble. That's how Agnes always saw herself. In this moment, family and Damian were nowhere in her mind.
“Next.”
After felling three, another three came. Fine. Without aura, their swordplay was child's play to her.
“Next.”
The jailers exchanged glances, then sent more at Agnes.
But she was outnumbered. After three more, five rushed in.
With aura, she could handle them all, but even for Agnes, pure physical strength had limits against so many.
“Everyone, snap out of it! We can fight them!”
Agnes shouted to those surrounded and trapped by the other assassins.
Some among them had trained in aura. With basic strength and skill, they could be solid allies.
‘Damn.’
But their spirits were broken. The inability to use aura had shattered their will.
No matter how superior strength or technique, without aura, it was useless. All training assumed aura use.
The Anti-Magic Barrier made it impossible. They saw themselves as helpless.
Even perfect bodies meant nothing if the mind faltered. They couldn't muster the courage to fight.
Agnes had consistently trained without aura.
Old-school as it was, skipping aura raised pure swordsmanship to another level.
The others hadn't.
‘If just one would help, it'd be easier.’
The assassins weren't that skilled either. They couldn't use aura.
Right now, Agnes bore the full burden. If even one stood to support her...
Then.
Thwack! Nimble footsteps slipped between Agnes and the assassins.
A swift iaijutsu slash severed one's shoulder joint, followed by a kick that toppled him.
“First, let's get the cowards cowering in the back out.”
Damian said, back-to-back with Agnes.