Late evening. In front of the academy church.

Following behind Harold, who was inspecting the injury to his side, I cautiously watched for his reaction.

"……."

"…Ahem."

Damn it.

What am I supposed to do now?

I mean, I am a maid of the Blackwood family, and after all, I was the one who wounded Harold’s side, so I followed him to the church. But in the end, I couldn’t say a word and just quietly followed behind him as he went in to get treated.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to keep that temper of yours in check? You’ve gotten into trouble because of it plenty of times.’

‘Seriously, you should tone down that attitude of yours.’

Damn it.

Why is it that those words from that bastard are coming to mind right now?

Of course, if I had listened to him, I wouldn’t be in such a mess right now.

Getting hurt during training is actually pretty common, and the church here is well-equipped, so as long as you’re not dead, they can heal most injuries with divine power in this world.

Sure, wounding someone of Harold’s status was a big deal in some sense, but on the other hand, it was also a sign of my growth, so it wasn’t that big of an issue.

…The real issue was the things I said to Harold during the process.

‘Die! You crazy son of a sword demon!’

‘If you’ve got a problem with me, just say it, you bastard! Are you trying to kill me, you son of a bitch?!’

‘Are you really that pissed off that I’m close to Ethan?! You damn son-loving fool!’

…I wish I could crawl into a slime pit right now. Or maybe sell my soul to a demon to turn back time by about 30 minutes.

To be honest, the fact that I cursed wasn’t entirely unjustified. Anyone could see the murderous intent in Harold’s sword during that sudden sparring session, and if I had made even one mistake, I could’ve been sliced in two on several occasions.

The academy’s training facilities have death-prevention magic, so even if I got cut in half during a duel with Harold, I wouldn’t have died. But being injured that severely as a student would still have been catastrophic.

It took me over a week to recover from the injury I sustained during last year’s evaluation battle with Agnes. If I had been cut in half by an active Sword Master, I’d probably have had to take the rest of the semester off.

‘At the very least, if I had been given time to activate a training barrier, I would’ve just ended up with a minor injury and could’ve moved on in a few days…’

But Harold hadn’t even given me time to activate a barrier for today’s training, so it was only natural that I harbored anger and a desire for revenge.

Of course, there are still things you can and can’t say out loud, and the fact that I said all that was still my fault.

‘If I’m not careful, I could actually get fired this time.’

No matter what the situation, I had basically admitted that I thought Harold was a foolish, son-obsessed bastard. It wouldn’t be surprising if my contract as Ethan’s personal maid was terminated right here and now.

To make matters worse, I had practically revealed everything about my relationship with Ethan, something I had managed to avoid confirming the last time.

I was just so heated at that moment. The only reason I could think of for Harold harboring murderous intent toward me was because I had gotten close to Ethan.

At least Harold in this world didn’t know yet that Ethan liked me, unlike in the original game.

In the original game, Ethan had paraded me around naked, declaring me his slave, or tied me up at night, stuffing strange toys into my body until I obeyed him.

As twisted as his expressions of affection were, all those actions had been ways for Ethan to show his obsession with Lilith in the game. Since the Ethan in this world wasn’t doing anything like that, it was unlikely that Harold had caught on to Ethan’s feelings for me.

That guy always looks like he’s dead inside, so who knows what he’s thinking. If he knows anything, it’s probably just that Ethan sees me as some sort of sexual maid.

While I remained silent, following behind Harold, we eventually reached a bench in one corner of the academy’s central garden.

"Take a seat for now."

"…Yes, Master."

"Here, it’s ‘Professor.’"

"…Yes, Professor Harold."

I obediently sat down on the bench, following Harold’s suggestion, which was more of a command than a suggestion.

Once I was seated, Harold, who had sat on the bench beside me, called my name quietly.

"I apologize for starting the training without any warning. I thought that this type of training was what you needed the most."

"Ah, no, Professor Harold. As an educator, your judgment was completely correct. I was the one who misunderstood and rudely spoke out of turn, and I have no excuse for my behavior."

"It would’ve been strange if you hadn’t cursed when faced with the killing intent of a Sword Master. In fact, it was a good reaction as a swordsman to keep fighting instead of freezing in fear."

"…Thank you."

But, I’m not a swordsman.

That thought almost slipped out, but I kept quiet. Every word Harold was saying now could decide my fate, and I didn’t want to risk it.

Even if my actions couldn’t be punished as a student, there was no guarantee they wouldn’t affect my employment as his maid. What master would want to keep a maid who secretly thought he was a fool?

‘…Is this the end of my job as Ethan’s personal maid?’

More importantly, what would I do if my contract with the Blackwood family ended? How would I live next semester?

What about the dormitory where I was staying because of my engagement with Ethan, and how would I get my things back from the Blackwood estate?

With all these thoughts swirling in my head, it didn’t matter anymore whether or not I was a swordsman.

"So, did you make any progress?"

"…Pardon?"

"Your swordsmanship, I mean. From what I saw earlier, you seemed to predict the path of my sword perfectly, as if you realized something during the duel."

"…Maybe I did learn something."

"Did you feel like time was slowing down? Or could you see the direction of my sword before it moved? Did you experience something like that?"

"…?!"

Harold mentioned the exact sensations I had experienced earlier.

How does he know about that? I stared at him in silence, and he gave me a rare smile, offering me brief congratulations.

"Congratulations, Lilith, for reaching the threshold of becoming a Sword Expert."

"…What?"

…Sword Expert?

…Me??

⁎ ⁎ ⁎

Even after hearing Harold’s words about reaching the threshold of a Sword Expert, I couldn’t fully understand what he meant. I just tilted my head in confusion.

Me, a Sword Expert? As Lilith?

Normally, I would’ve laughed it off as nonsense, but the one saying it was Harold.

Sword Master. One of the Emperor’s Three Swords. And those serious eyes, not showing a trace of humor.

There wasn’t a hint of a smile on Harold’s face, so there was no way I could dismiss it as a joke.

"Being able to predict the next strike from your opponent’s sword and adjusting your movements accordingly—that’s the essence of a Sword Expert."

"…I see."

"Of course, in your case, since you mainly use daggers, you supported your movements with magic instead of directly parrying with your sword. But the fact that you could see the path of the sword means you’ve taken your first step toward becoming a Sword Expert."

"…I see."

Sword Expert.

Honestly, I never thought I’d reach that level so soon.

Of course, I had always assumed that I might get there eventually since I handled daggers as my secondary weapon.

But I had imagined it would take 10 or 20 years—certainly not while I was still attending the academy.

After all, after about 10 or 20 years of adventuring, I figured I’d become a somewhat well-known adventurer. By then, I’d have swung my daggers countless times for self-defense, and eventually, I’d reach that level.

"I had a feeling when I saw your sparring with Natalie. Your motivation for growth isn’t driven by ambition or desire but by ‘anger.’"

"…Pardon?"

"I was sure of it when I saw your expression as you frantically blocked Natalie’s long rapier with your short dagger. You were angry at the situation, and in that moment of frustration, you read the path of her sword and deflected it."

"……"

"That’s why I set up today’s training to provoke you into feeling unjust anger toward me. But I might have made you a little too angry, ha ha."

"Ha, ha ha ha…."

Harold suddenly lightened the mood with a friendly laugh.

I thought maybe this was my chance to smoothly move past my mistakes during the duel, so I chuckled along with him, but…

"So, Lilith."

"Yes, Professor Harold?"

"Since when have you considered me a son-obsessed lunatic?"

…It seems the crime I committed was too great to be brushed off so easily.

"……."

Ah, damn.

Now I’m really screwed.