I Became the Villain of a Romance Fantasy

52 – Morningstar(4)

The imperial castle in Luden, the capital of the empire, is famous for its size.

Some people, especially his father and brother Orcus, disliked it because it was too big to use, but Noel liked it. He liked the Hwangseong, which was so huge that it was incomparably larger than his own, as the huge house was like a huge playground.

“Yahhhhh!!!”

“Haaa!!! It’s dangerous to run around like that!!”

So, when she was young, she was able to satisfy her overflowing adventurous spirit simply by walking around the imperial castle.

Like other children, it was a time when everything around them seemed big, but even then, the imperial castle was spacious and had many strange places. Just looking around the place or running around was enough to satisfy and consume energy.

When Noel reached the age of ten, the Emperor took her freedom. To be precise, it was just that he was told to follow the etiquette befitting the royal family and he was forbidden to run freely in the castle anymore.

It was because he couldn’t raise the only princess in the empire to be someone who took her words and actions lightly. Rather, it would be true that the emperor took pity on Noel and left him alone while the children of other prestigious families were educated from an early age.

Whatever the reason, the Emperor’s words did not change the fact that Noel’s freedom was taken away. However, Noel followed the emperor’s will without much resistance.

Being bright and full of energy did not mean that she was just an immature child, so Noel fully understood the emperor’s intentions.

After the emperor said that, she no longer laughed and ran around the castle.

As a result, one of the pleasures of watching the princess laughing and playing around the castle among the courtiers disappeared, but the biggest victim was Noel anyway. For her, it was as if the game she had enjoyed so far had been abandoned overnight.

It was time to find a new toy.

The imperial palace was spacious. But compared to that, what she could do was limited.

She didn’t pay attention to embroidery or refreshments, which the ladies-in-waiting kept wanting to point out. So was the book. Reading books and building knowledge. I didn’t avoid it because I knew it was a necessary study, but if I were interested in it and asked if it was fun, I would answer no at once.

The year he turned 10, a lot happened in the imperial family.

First of all, the biggest surprise for Noel is that he can no longer run the castle on his own.

That year, Orcus followed the emperor to observe the central government. Noel had the same qualifications, so at first she followed the two of them to observe, but she was not at all interested in the noisy squabbles among the nobles.

Only Orcus listened to the unpleasant noises and smiled faintly. Seeing that, Noel hated it and could be sure that this did not suit him. He and himself are at odds. He knows very well that what Orcus enjoys is not for him.

The Emperor said nothing to Orcus and Noel. Aside from telling Noel to be careful about his behavior, there was never a big restriction on the two of them.

So Noel, who had experienced everything he could in the castle, went outside.

When I went outside, Haru followed the gardener to the appearance of the garden that came into my eyes and pampered the flowers. Unlike the previous ones, it was definitely fun, but I didn’t feel like continuing.

A good start.

Still, rather than diligently searching for it in the castle, I saw the light of hope. Could she have known that among the things she could do in that vast castle, she wouldn’t be able to find something just as fun as running around?

Playing with flowers was good, but Noel wanted to do something that moved his body more. It was as if he had run freely through the castle before.

After thinking a little deeper, Noel was walking where he had never been before. Is there a place that the princess living in the imperial castle doesn’t know about? It was ironic indeed, but it was unavoidable since the imperial castle was so wide.

“Your Highness. Why don’t you just die today? You’ve come too far from your true nature.”

“What’s wrong with that? No matter how far away they are from their original nature, they are all part of the same imperial castle.”

“That is…”

The lady-in-waiting, who had waited by her side until now, was clearly embarrassed. It’s like you don’t want to go here anymore.

The more people tell you not to do something, the more you want to do it. Noel smiled brightly as usual and started walking forward, ignoring the lady-in-waiting.

As he moved a little further, he heard a sound in Noel’s ears. It was the sound of something hard hitting. The lady-in-waiting frowned as if she didn’t like this sound that kept bothering her ears, but unlike her, Noel felt that the chaotic metal sound he was hearing now sounded like a beautiful melody.

Finally Noel was able to find out what caused the sound. Arriving at the source of the sound, Noel saw the royal knights forging their swords.

They were familiar faces to Noel as they were always by the emperor’s side, but this was the first time I’d seen them draw their swords and wield them. All the knights looked at her with surprised faces at Noel’s sudden appearance, then put down their swords and greeted Noel.

“Me, Your Highness?”

Despite the knights’ salute, Noel did not answer the maid’s embarrassed question. Without saying a word, they quietly walked to the gymnasium where they were standing. Seeing Noel approaching them, the knights also had no choice but to remain silent without saying anything.

Noel stood in front of the knight closest to him.

Her gaze was not on the knight. It was towards the sword he had laid down on the floor. When Noel picked up the sword lying on the ground, it seemed as if time stopped for everyone there. It wasn’t sharpened, but it was a sword, and a little girl had no problem wielding it and getting hurt.

It is an item created with the assumption that a superman called a knight would wield it. It was difficult for a 10-year-old girl to carry a heavy steel sword. And that fact was what they feared most. If Noel could not overcome the weight of the sword while holding it and fell with it, there was a very high possibility of getting hurt.

When Noel’s hand touched the sword, the knight standing right in front of her immediately tried to stop Noel from moving. The handmaiden screamed and rushed at Noel, and everyone there ran towards Noel.

But that’s for a while. Everyone who was running towards Noel stopped in place with a bewildered look on their faces.

ugh-

The sword in Noel’s hand trembled and made a sound. A faint halo of light enveloped the sword body.

Noel raised his sword without difficulty. Holding the sword, she had a sword-like light wrapped around her body. The knights standing here now knew better than anyone what that light meant.

As she swung her sword, a small wind rose along the sword path.

It was still a weak breeze to slash anything, but no one doubted that it would soon become a gust of wind that would tear everything in front of her.

After one swing, Noel put the sword back on the ground. Glad that she found what to do next, she laughed out loud as she ran through the halls of the castle.

This is Noel Estelia’s memory of the first time he held the sword.

***

gulp

Noel swallowed at the strange feeling he felt for the first time in his life.

Her reason clearly knew what she was feeling, but her heart did not. As if she had been invaded by germs for the first time, she had no resistance to murder.

He had such excellent skills with a sword, a tool to harm people, but why was he so weak with the intent to kill? Of course, Noel himself knew the reason better than anyone else. I straighten my mind and open my closed eyes and look at the gymnasium where sparring continues.

There were still people exchanging swords with each other, exuding ferocious spirit. The sight of the two wielding swords with death in their eyes gave the viewer a sense of coolness, as if their throats were being cut just by looking at the workshop.

Sparring must have been done in a way that did not harm each other, but the two didn’t seem to think so. As time passed, the sword attack only became fiercer, but just like when he first raised the sword, his face, like a calm surface of water, was still calm.

It seems that this kind of atmosphere has been present in the previous sparring of captain-level knights, but compared to the sparring between the two in the gymnasium now, it is no different from child’s play.

Sparks flew as swords collided with swords. Their sword paths intertwined, and once the two swords passed each other’s body. Damien’s sword slashed his opponent’s collar, and the sword of a knight called Gwen grazed his right shoulder. Even though it was a sparring sword that killed the blade, it seems that it could not kill the spirit of the two swordsmen.

Even without using an aura, the two swords were already like real swords.

It would be no wonder that they shouted to stop fighting right now, but no one here tried to bring that up. Alphonse, who was sitting next to Noel, was also watching the two fight with a calm face that was not suitable for his age. Like those who are already familiar with this situation.

Noel also had no intention of stopping the sparring. Watching their sparring seemed to relieve the worries that had been kept in a corner of my heart, so I followed the movements of the two with my eyes without saying anything. In order to catch up with their speedy movements whenever the swords collided, they had to empty their thoughts, so they forgot everything and only saw the traces of the swords.

Every time Demian swings his sword, the sunlight reflected on the blade breaks and is scattered around the world. His sword seemed to be manipulating light, and even though he hadn’t used an aura, the sword was full of light, and sunlight fell along the path he drew.

Are you using magic?

It was the first time I had seen such a sword with pure skill, even though I had seen him perform impossible miracles through his aura. He had never felt this kind of sentiment when clashing swords with a man widely known as a sword genius, and like Kraus, one of the three greatest samurai families in the Empire, Sogaju of the Kromel family.

Cromel’s Sogaju. Reinhard Kromel’s sword was ever-changing, like the changing sky, and it was difficult to find a specific one, but it was still in the realm of swordsmanship. I was able to find out what it meant and also showed me how to respond. However, that thing that is now unfolding in front of his eyes seems to be in a completely different world from the swords he has known so far.

It’s just an ordinary sword that doesn’t contain a handful of aura, but if you put your divinity and aura at the same time and put it against him, if you touch Damian’s sword, you feel like you’ll be sucked in. Already in my imagination, Noel’s sword was broken in just one stroke.

Even though it’s not even my turn yet, I feel like I’ve already lost.

However, Noel did not deny such a sense of defeat. It was because it seemed that this result would come out if he actually competed swords with Damian. There was nothing as foolish as denying that there was a clear difference in skill, so Noel decided to change his mind and looked at the gymnasium this time.

Instead of thinking about victory like before, I started thinking about what to do to get that sword.

The light that stayed there along with the sword swayed like waves. It seemed that the sword was being swung in all directions at the same time, just like an illusion. But Gwen didn’t avoid it. Dutifully standing in place, he put his feet on the ground with force and twisted his body with his sword. He didn’t have to distinguish what was real. When Damian’s sword came close to him, he let go and cut everything in front of him at once.

It was truly a heinous swordsman. Because the sword wind he caused reached here beyond the gymnasium.

The swords of light that were swept away by the wind disappeared. But Gwen’s sword didn’t even cut through the sword in Damian’s hand. He whirled through the air, riding the wind Gwen had created and blowing it into his sword. Damian’s sword flies past Gwen’s blade. Before I knew it, the sword path that Gwen had drawn turned into Damian’s path.

Damian’s sword touched his throat before Gwen retrieved it.

Without even a moment’s hesitation, the sword extended straight out and hit the neck. A line of blood is drawn along the path the sword passed. As it did, his neck fell to the ground, and blood fountains gushed out, painting the sky red. a person died Even during sparring. But even so, no screams or voices could be heard from around. Strange tinnitus seems to fill my ears. A ray of light suddenly caught my eye in such a blood-stained world.

The pure white blade in Damian’s hand shines brightly in the sunlight.

Only then did Noel realize that it was all an illusion.

The winner of the sparring was Damian. Contrary to Noel’s vision, Gwen’s neck was still attached to his body, and Damian’s sword stopped right before it touched his neck. After Jean Gwen saluted Damian in Dalian, and went back to his place, Damian’s eyes turned to Noel.

The sharp eyes, resembling those of the legendary dragon, seemed to see right through her. Noel didn’t avoid Damian’s gaze. Rather, facing each other with the same clear smile on his face as before, he walked towards Damian holding the sword next to him.

Is it because of the recent sparring? Noel’s heart was beating fast.

The sword that contained death was scary. It was to the extent that she was able to show her, who had never even thought about death, how a person could die and even fantasize about it. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t afraid of him. However, Noel’s steps toward Damian, who gave him such fear, were very light and thrilling.

Whether this feeling will continue will depend on how Damian behaves, but Noel was also looking forward to it.

Standing in front of Damian, Noel raised his sword and said.

“Now it’s my turn!”

“…..Yes.”

Seeing Noel talking vigorously, Damian seemed to have something to say to her, but he didn’t bother to say it. As he adjusted his posture, he smiled softly at Noel’s eyes as he sent sparkling eyes toward him, and took the jockeying ceremony.

When Noel saw Damien’s smile, he felt as if he knew what he was thinking of applying for sparring from the beginning. So is it? When I met his eyes, I felt like I was still reading his thoughts.

If so, that’s rather good.

The smile was completely erased from Damian’s mouth as he looked at her as he fully settled and his breathing began to stabilize. The same ruthless expression is overlaid on his face as before, before he started sparring with Gwen.

Unlike looking at it from afar, the intent to kill right in front of him was completely different. A feeling of standing up of hair all over the body. The cold sweat in my hands made me feel like I would lose the sword at any moment, but there was no fear. Rather, because he expected this, Noel smiled and swung his sword.

Kkang-!

A sound he had never heard before pierced Noel’s ears.

It was very far from the clear sound she used to hear when she swung her sword. It sounded like something breaking. When Noel saw the blade he wielded, he knew it was true. The extended sword body was split in half, making it embarrassing to call it a sword.

The culprit who split Noel’s sword stopped right in front of her neck.

The blunt end was not sharp, but she had no doubt that if he wielded it, the vision she had seen would come true. Noel looked into Damian’s eyes once more. As at the beginning of the match, it was still difficult to find emotion in his eyes. Looking at him with ruthless eyes, it wouldn’t look strange at all even if he stabbed the sword into his throat.

The hesitation common to those who had met her so far when she raised the sword was not reflected in his eyes. There was only one swordsman standing there to defeat the enemy in front of him. Noel smiled and put the broken sword on the ground.

“hehehe… I lost!”

At those words, emotion came to Damian’s eyes again. he replied with a smile.

“thank you for your effort.”

Damian’s short answer seemed to touch Noel’s heart more deeply than any answer he had ever heard from the knights.