Please Leave The Sickly Villainess Alone

Thunderous cheers filled the arena.

Hundreds of eyes moved together with every swing of my sword.

But they couldn’t keep up with the speed of the movements.

“You, you! What are you?”

The man who had been laughing at me until just now was now in a state where no trace of composure could be found on his face.

The scene of the first match in the Carven swordsmanship competition was hotter than anything else.

“Looks like you have time to talk.”

The man who barely dodged my swinging sword was horrified to see his own hair falling off in clumps.

“Cu-cutting directly is against the rules!”

“Small scratches by mistake are within the allowed range, aren’t they?”

I spoke and smiled sweetly.

Feeling terrified by that look, the man instinctively stepped back.

“I’ve never heard or seen a swordswoman like this in the kingdom!”

The man, with a dumbfounded expression, muttered to himself as if panicked by the totally unexpected situation.

I seized that opportunity to kick his ankle, knock him down, and point my sword at his neck.

“Kuhk!”

His face turned pale as the honed blade touched his neck, which could determine his life or death.

At that moment, the sound of the servant’s horn was heard.

“The winner of the first match is Miss Jen!”

At those words, I withdrew the sword I had pointed and sheathed it.

“Waaaaaah!”

The spectators let out a huge cheer.

And I extended my hand to the man who was still sitting ridiculously on the ground.

He looked up at me dazedly for a moment before grabbing my outstretched hand and standing up.

“Ah, I’m sorry for laughing at you earlier…”

‘You were laughing so loudly as if wanting me to hear.’

He seems to know how ridiculous he looks now.

“Your swordsmanship is not the result of ordinary effort. I knew when I grabbed that hand.”

The man said, looking at my hand.

My hands were covered with hard calluses here and there, no different from my previous life.

It was clear evidence of practice.

“You were quite an excellent swordsman too. If you hadn’t met me as your first opponent, you might have made it to the semi-finals.”

“Thank you for saying so.”

Leaving behind the man who accepted his defeat with a smile, I walked out of the arena.

I might look composed on the outside, but actually, on the inside…

‘Wow, I thought I was going to die from nervousness.’

The fact that I would lose the sword that could save my life if I lost even one match made me even more nervous.

Countless gazes poured onto me as I returned to the waiting room.

I had defied everyone’s expectations, as I had seemed like the one who would be eliminated first.

I could also feel the gaze of the man in the cloak who had been bothering me since earlier.

Clap, clap, clap-

At that moment, the prince walked up beside me and applauded.

“It was a wonderful match. I, who will be competing next, should also do my best.”

“Ah… Thank you, Your Highness.”

The prince leaned his face close to mine and asked curiously:

“By any chance, are you not from this kingdom? Your accent sounds a bit like someone from the Empire…”

Although the Carven Kingdom and the Greffin Empire used the same language, their accents were subtly different.

“…I’m from the Serico region.”

“Ah, then your accent might be somewhat mixed.”

When I made up the story that I was from an outer region of the kingdom bordering the Empire, the prince nodded in understanding.

The prince, who had shown great interest in me, soon headed to the arena as his name was called.

The prince won the second match without taking much time.

‘His speed is incredibly fast.’

The speed of his sword swings was almost too fast for the eye to follow.

According to the competition rules, sword aura couldn’t be used, but to achieve that speed without sword aura…

If I really end up meeting him in the finals, it might be quite troublesome.

The matches continued after that.

I fought two more matches, and finally, I was facing the semi-finals.

I couldn’t say it had been smooth sailing so far.

Unable to use sword aura, it took a lot of energy to block the swords of the sturdy knights.

I was confident in moving my body nimbly, so I was competing based on speed.

But…

‘Honestly, I’m at my limit.’

My aching wrist barely became usable thanks to Sister Serine’s magic, but even that was just a temporary measure.

Moreover, my semi-final opponent was the man in the cloak.

The man who had concerned me from the start had overwhelmingly won all his matches so far.

Having seen his matches with my own eyes, I instinctively felt that this match wouldn’t be easy at all.

He was waiting for the start of the match with his cloak wrapped around him, barely showing his eyes, as if he also needed to protect his identity.

‘By the way, those eyes…’

I thought those brightly shining blue eyes looked somewhat familiar.

Where had I seen those blue eyes as clear as the blue sky…?

At that moment, the servant shouted in a loud voice:

“We will now begin the semi-final match!”

As the bell signaling the start rang, I swung my sword in a large arc and rushed at the man in an instant.

The longer the match dragged on, the more disadvantageous it would be for me.

‘I need to find an opening and end this in one go.’

Just as I had done in all the matches so far.

But as expected, the man in the cloak was not an easy opponent.

He dodged my attack, which I thought was a decisive blow, with graceful movements, and calmly blocked my continuous attacks.

Even when I tried to read his thoughts by making eye contact, I couldn’t read anything in those calm, sunken blue eyes.

As it was the semi-final, the match didn’t end easily with both of us being evenly matched.

At that moment, I lost my balance as I approached the man urgently.

I had exposed a fatally vulnerable attack point.

‘…Is this really the end?’

In that split second when I had that thought, the man who could have taken me down and gained the upper hand if he wanted to, took a step back.

“…?”

Did he fail to read my movement?

Otherwise, why did he step back?

I immediately regained my balance and attacked quickly to create an opening.

Soon after, as he blocked my sword and our faces came close enough to see each other, my eyes widened.

“Y-You, could it be…”

“I didn’t expect to meet you here. Princess Rayes who disappeared after shaking the Empire.”

Hearing his voice, I was sure. The man was undoubtedly Enoch Kin Kablos.

“Last time you told me to find the green sword, but actually you wanted it for yourself?”

“…That’s!”

Well, back then I didn’t know the green sword was the famous sword that would save my life!

I just remembered that Enoch had been looking for Claire’s twin swords.

Unlike other participants, he had entered the competition aiming only for the famous sword, just like me.

‘This person must have regained memories of his past life too.’

He would remember everything, including how his sister had pushed me to my death.

Although Enoch had told Senia to stop after knowing that fact, that was for his sister’s sake, not for me.

In the original story, he was a person as cold as thin ice to everyone except his sister.

The moment I blocked Enoch’s attack, pain shot up my wrist and I slightly furrowed my brow.

Seeing this up close, Enoch stepped back from me again, just like before.

Why?

I thought it was a coincidence earlier, but this time I felt he had intentionally stepped back.

Considering why he might need the green sword, only one reason came to mind.

He was undoubtedly the eldest son of the Kablos family, who must be preparing for rebellion.

Claire’s twin swords, which could seal that power again, would be a great threat to them who dream of the advent of black magic.

History books said that only those who possess both the red and green swords can qualify to seal black magic.

If I win this competition and get my hands on the green sword, I would become a major obstacle to Kablos’s plans.

So his behavior was even more incomprehensible, but I needed to focus on the match now.

Enoch was a talent who graduated top of his class in swordsmanship from the Imperial Academy.

He was like a huge wall to me in terms of both physique and talent.

‘But… I can’t give up.’

Having no other choice, I gripped my sword again and attacked Enoch’s openings.

Again, Enoch blocked my attack. At that moment, Enoch’s eyes widened.

Enoch, who had defended against my attack on his vital point, suddenly turned to look at me pointing my sword at his neck from behind him.

“Miss Jen is the winner!”

“…That was a good attack.”

Enoch smiled lightly and sheathed his sword.

I stuck my sword in the ground and caught my breath.

Even after winning, I felt uneasy, as if I hadn’t really won.

I won in a match where I made two mistakes?

I turned and spoke to Enoch, who was heading towards the exit for defeated contestants.

“Why did you let me win?”

“I didn’t let you win. Your last attack was too fast for me to counter.”

“…Didn’t you need the green sword?”

It didn’t make sense that someone of his skill level wouldn’t notice my openings.

“I did need it, but not now.”

Enoch left those puzzling words and walked away.

The arena, facing the final match, was filled with the sound of cheers.