“Behold! The beloved daughter of Duke Kureil, the Northern Continent’s epitome of beauty, the slayer of 954 ogres, the Order of the Black Rose’s Head, one of the three strongest knights of the Northern Continent, Guardian of the eastern part of the Northern Continents, Commander of the Eastern Legion, Deputy Commander of the Northern Legion, Guardian of Kureil Estate, Master of Eyer the Magic Sword, the Ice Troll Slayer, the Thorny Black Rose! Countess Kaisa Kureil!”


  “Woah!”


  “Countess!”


  “Cheers!”


  “Did someone just shout cheers?!”


  “I love you, Countess!”


  Although she unintentionally drank too much last night, her body and mind felt miraculously fresh.

  That much was expected. After all, he was right in front of her!

  “Kang Han Soo…”


  He was so handsome that she couldn’t even take her hand off her Magic Sword Eyer, even though she knew he was harmless.

  Thump thump!

  Since meeting him at the bar she frequented last night, her heart began racing like crazy every time she thought of him.

  What was he thinking?

  What did he think of her?

  Right in the center of the Colosseum, he stood majestically tall.

  “Money, money, money…” Han Soo chanted endlessly.

  “…”


  She understood him, though, since he did mention he was struggling financially due to his travel funds being depleted to pay for his colleagues’ property damages.

  He had quite the unfortunate past, but she had no intention of letting him win, considering her life and land were at stake.

  After his boring introduction was over, their battle finally began in earnest.

  Pop!

  Silently, he charged at her.

  “A surprise attack…”


  Despite her reputation as the Sword Princess, many people gave up their initiative to be on the offensive simply because she was a woman. However, the man before her showed no such consideration.

  Normally she would feel delighted, but the fact that he didn’t acknowledge her as a female saddened her and broke her pride.

  Swoosh!

  Using that resentment as her fuel, she decided to deal with him with all her heart, not as a woman but as a knight.

  “Huh?”


  “Hmm?”


  “Last night…?”


  “Did you just notice that now?”


  It seemed he realized her identity a tad too late since he only saw her as a source of money before their fight.

  “The girl with a bad drinking habit?”


  “You’re mistaken!”


  It seemed he hadn’t noticed yet.

  What did he even mean by a bad drinking habit?

  She just took off her coat when her body heated up due to the alcohol last night!

  Before she went back home, she put it back on neatly and left nothing behind.

  To battle his injustice, Kaisa used the family’s swordsmanship to the best of her abilities.

  Pang!

  Dark blue energy that could penetrate through magic wrapped around her weapon’s blade.

  The time had come to get rid of him!

  “Yaah!”


  She launched an attack so powerful it could annihilate a battalion of knights or destroy the new empire’s gigantic golems.

  Unlike her father, who couldn’t master their family’s style, she had enough talent to fully utilize its power as naturally as breathing.

  “This…!”


  Bang!

  Her techniques, reaching far and wide in all directions, left no room for evasion.

  It was due to this power of hers that she was given the title of ‘Sword Princess’ and was able to protect her homeland and territory from the new empire’s invasion.

  However, she couldn’t use it to protect her dear friend…


  Kang Han Soo, swept away by her offensive, was covered by the dust clouds it created.

  “Did I overdo it?”


  He was just a mercenary who crossed over from the Central Continent, a place with a low average level.

  Considering he reached the tournament’s finals, he couldn’t be labeled as weak, but in the world of truly powerful beings…


  Flash.

  Following her spontaneous intuition’s orders, she turned to the side without hesitation just as a dagger brushed past where she was standing.

  It was aimed at her bare skin, exposed due to her armor’s design that mixed the design of an elegant dress and a knight’s sturdy armor. Ultimately, her father and Sir Lolikun’s strong arguments created a potentially fatal weakness in her defenses.

  “…”


  With his lips firmly closed, he charged at her again in silence.

  His weapon’s condition deteriorated after he used it to block her attack, but it didn’t seem to break his will to fight.

  “You’re pretty good…”


  He wasn’t just a handsome savage.

  Her heart started beating like crazy again, preventing her from concentrating on the battle.

  … She knew she shouldn’t act like this in the middle of combat, though.

  Hence, Kaisa swung her sword again.

  Bang!

  Considering there had only ever been a few times when she launched more than a single strike against those who challenged her for marriage and not even the soldiers of the new empire could withstand her offensive, a desire to learn more about his skills grew within her.

  “Oh!”


  Evaluating him, she noticed how he proficiently clashed against her even though he was using an ordinary iron sword against her Eyer, a Magic Sword specifically created to handle her skills.

  Moreover, as if reading her thoughts, he continued blocking her attacks.

  No matter how broken his weapon became, he continued to defend flawlessly, relying only on his abilities and finesse.

  “Ha!”


  Kang Han Soo charged again with a strong warcry.

  This was the second time he had pushed back against her.

  However, considering she had rendered his blade unusable, she saw this move of his as his final struggle.

  “Goodbye.”


  Bang!

  Kaisa released her third strike, an attack aimed to end his life.

  After all, she had no intention of wasting the battle where she put her life at stake.

  She knew appearances were important in choosing her husband. However, she would never allow him to own her body and soul unless he was stronger than her.

  “It’s so monotonous!”


  With that shout, he threw his broken armament at her.

  Did he want to die?!

  He just threw away his sword, a swordsman’s lifeline.

  However, as soon as he bent down, he grabbed a new sword, which seemed to have sprung up from the ground.

  4D storage magic?

  Whatever it was, he narrowly blocked her third strike with his new blade.

  “… Amazing.”


  She had never swung her sword more than four times in a row other than in wars and when monster hunting!

  She released her fourth technique when he tried to approach her, but he bowed again.

  “You have another?”


  He unsheathed yet another sword seemingly out of nowhere before sprinting towards her, cutting through her technique head-on.

  Kang!

  Their blades collided for the first time, leaving her no choice but to acknowledge his skills for being able to block her attacks four times before decorating the end of their battle with a true swordfight.

  “As expected.”


  The corners of his lips rose.

  “Ah…”


  ‘That’s cheating! Such a wonderful smile in this situation…’


  “Your swordsmanship is definitely powerful, but it’s only ranked B. Despite your abilities, your actual skill is second-rate.”


  “…”


  His subsequent words cooled her head off as if cold water had been poured on her, however.

  As he said, her swordsmanship was ranked B.

  But she was the only person in the world who knew that.

  How did he know?”


  “32 times. You’re mine.”


  “Are you talking about money again in this situation?!”


  Since last night, he had been excited about this tournament’s high rewards, but he seemed more delighted right now, almost as if telling her he had already won.

  Of course, she understood why.

  Clang! Clang! Clang!

  Fast. Strong. Brave.

  She didn’t know what his swordsmanship’s rank was, but he was easily overwhelming her.

  If it were to keep going like this, she’d lose.

  Defeat.

  A concept that seemed so far away from her.

  Now, however, a sense of realization enveloped her as she remembered a marriage she thought would last forever.

  Amid their clash, she swiftly backed away using one of her sword style’s techniques called ‘footwork,’ which enabled her to move so quickly it was comparable to that of wizards’ teleportation magic.

  “Hmm…”


  His confident expression hardened for the first time.

  His swordsmanship overwhelmed her, but she could render it useless by using her excellent mobility to prevent him from catching up to her.

  “… I’m sorry.”


  She kept her distance from the strong beast and fired ranged attacks endlessly.

  5th, 7th, 9th, 10th…


  He just kept getting new swords to block her incoming barrages with.

  “Did you bury swords in here before our battle began?”


  “…”


  “The guards should’ve noticed.”


  “Blame the alcohol, not them.”


  “Ah…”


  She finally understood why he kept shouting “Cheers!” at the bar.

  He had all the guards dancing on his palm that night.

  Since he had gotten close to them, he made such tricks possible.

  Of course, no one had ever used such a technique. After all, the royals and nobles aiming for her loathed talking with commoners.

  She couldn’t even imagine them putting their arms around the guards’ shoulders in a bar.

  “I would usually give up at this point and look for a different opportunity, but I can’t do that. My colleagues bet their fortunes on my defeat, after all.”


  “Is that so?”


  Were this handsome man’s colleagues all demons?

  According to what she heard at the bar last night, his colleagues were the worst villains in the world.

  “But to win, I’ll need to use a little trick.”


  Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop! Pop!

  With his declaration, he revealed an entirely different power from his swordsmanship.

  “Spirits…”


  Earth, fire, wind, water, soul.

  The spirits of all five attributes gathered around him simultaneously, even though making them appear was already hard for most.

  Was he really human?

  “Let’s go again, Kaisa Kureil.”


  “As you wish!”


  The legendary Hero defeated her without even using a Holy Sword or any weapon for that matter.

  ***

  “Are you already leaving after getting paid?”


  “Yes, Kaisa Kureil.”


  Was this karma?

  After rejecting so many courters, she was rejected by the very first man to dominate her mind and body.

  “Why? What do you not like about me?”


  She didn’t know what love was.

  Until now.

  ‘Is this how the men who begged me to marry them even after losing the tournament felt?’


  She couldn’t ignore the gazes of other people either.

  After being defeated in front of a large crowd, it should’ve been certain that she’d become his wife.

  But what if she were to get dumped?

  Rumors about something being wrong with her as a woman would circulate.

  “Nothing. You are the strongest and most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen in Fantasy.”


  “… Does that mean my personality’s the problem?”


  “That’s not it either. I had quite a lot of fun with you at the bar last night.”


  “I had a lot of fun last night too… Ah, anyway! If it’s not my personality, then what’s wrong with me?”


  She was growing frustrated.

  Born into the noble family that was on equal grounds with the royal family, there was nothing in existence that she couldn’t gain if she wanted it.

  Hence, this situation felt alienating to her.

  “I need to return to the arms of my family. That’s why I can’t be your father’s son-in-law.”


  “…”


  Kang Han Soo was a Hero from another dimension.

  After defeating the resurrected Demon King Pedonar in the Central Continent, his goal is to return to his beloved family.

  Unlike royals and nobles who killed their brothers and parents in a power struggle, he truly loved his family.

  At that moment, he had completely stolen her heart.

  “… I like that.”


  “Thank you so much for your understanding, miss Kaisa Kureil. To take responsibility, I’ll be sure to explain it to everyone. That should avoid rumors circulating. Should I tell them I’m a defect? Hahaha!”


  “You don’t have to do any of that.”


  “What?”


  “I will follow you. I don’t want this to end in my defeat.”


  “That can’t be…”


  “Just agree with her!”


  “I like that decision.”


  “Welcome, Sword Princess!”


  “Welcome.”


  Kang Han Soo’s colleagues ignored his objection.

  “You’ll see.”


  She joined the long adventure of the man she fell in love with, imagining a happy future.

  At the time, she really didn’t know anything.