Sword Emperor, Becoming the Young Lady of a Viscount House

Chapter 3

“Such a beautiful place.”

Beatrice muttered as she gazed at the tranquil night view.

Nearly two weeks had passed since she arrived here.

She had somewhat adapted, acquiring common sense and basic knowledge about this world.

And what she learned was this:

This world was beautiful.

So beautiful that it captivated Beatrice’s heart.

The only flaw was being born a woman.

But in her good mood, she found herself thinking that perhaps it wasn’t so bad.

Had she been born a strong man, the future would have been far too easy.

Living with a bit of a penalty was fine with her.

In fact, she recalled her past life, when she used to wear weighted vests.

Simply hunting monsters had been too boring back then.

“Young Lady.”

A voice came from behind.

Beatrice turned around.

It was Heinrich.

If she had to pick one person she liked the most in this world, it would be him.

He maintained a certain level of respect, thought things through appropriately, and was never rude.

“Has the sword been completed?”

Beatrice immediately inquired about the sword she had commissioned a week ago.

She had been deeply involved in its crafting process, down to the design and materials.

‘If it turns out exactly as planned, it will be a sword comparable to the one I used in my previous life.’

Of course, it wouldn’t be an exact match.

A sword needed to be tailored to its wielder’s physique.

She had made compromises, but the only difference was the size.

The shape remained the same.

A sword with a long hilt and a cross-shaped guard.

If it was crafted as she envisioned, there would be nothing to fear in this world.

“It’s in the final stages. The sword isn’t finished yet.”

“Really? Then why have you come to see me?”

Beatrice quickly lost interest and returned her gaze to the terrace view.

“The date for the sortie has been set.”

“I hope it’s far enough away.”

“We have about a month. It’s time to start preparing.”

“Preparing, you say.”

One didn’t go to war empty-handed.

Her family was a noble house, and this era was one where territorial wars were in full swing.

The existence of private soldiers was only natural.

Preparing supplies and selecting soldiers for war were necessary, but…

‘That’s not my job.’

Beatrice decided it wasn’t her responsibility.

Others could handle that.

All she needed was a sword and enough provisions.

That was it.

“You can take care of that.”

“Yes, but there is one thing the Young Lady must handle personally.”

“And what is that?”

“…You need to select a personal maid.”

“A maid?”

“Yes. Even during war, someone must assist you with miscellaneous tasks.”

“Choose one yourself.”

‘It’s not like I’m the original owner of this body, so how would I know?’

To make a decision, she needed some understanding, but Beatrice knew nothing.

“According to protocol, your current personal maid, Lilith, should be the one to accompany you… but you dislike her, don’t you?”

‘So that’s the situation.’

Beatrice was puzzled.

Lilith?

She had never even seen her.

A personal maid?

This was news to her.

“Where is she?”

“Lilith?”

“Yes. I haven’t seen her recently.”

“…Don’t you remember? You told her, ‘You’re not qualified to be my maid, so go hang the laundry at the washing yard.’”

“…Did I say that?”

“…Yes.”

Heinrich wore a dumbfounded expression.

“You also issued a disciplinary order.”

‘There must have been an issue.’

Beatrice assumed there was a reason.

She wouldn’t mistreat someone without cause.

But she decided she needed to see for herself.

No matter how indifferent she was, it would be troublesome if someone incapable accompanied her to the battlefield.

“Bring her to me.”

“Understood.”

* * *

“Wow, Young Lady! It’s been so long—!”

-Hug!

‘!’

Beatrice realized within two seconds of seeing Lilith why she had been disciplined.

“Lilith! Didn’t I tell you not to behave like that?”

Heinrich seemed flustered.

Beatrice closed her eyes.

The maid named Lilith had immediately hugged her the moment they met.

“I missed you.”

Lilith beamed brightly at Beatrice.

But Beatrice remained expressionless.

“Step back.”

Her cold tone made Lilith reluctantly retreat.

“I-I’m sorry. I was just so happy….”

“Resume your duties starting today.”

“W-What?”

She didn’t repeat herself.

‘It’s better to observe for now.’

There was still plenty of time before the sword would be completed.

You couldn’t judge a person based solely on first impressions.

Beatrice was that type of person.

“Really?”

Again, Beatrice didn’t repeat herself. She hated doing so.

Instead, Heinrich explained for her.

“The disciplinary order has been lifted. You may resume serving Lady Beatrice starting today.”

“Oh, wow…”

Lilith suddenly thrust her fist into the air and shouted.

“Yahoo-!”

Beatrice placed a hand on her forehead.

The feeling that this might become exhausting wasn’t merely an illusion.

* * *

“Your Highness, the Cenci family has sent a reply.”

“So, who are they sending? Partek? Paskin?”

Partek and Paskin were the names of the young masters of the Cenci family.

“…It’s Beatrice Cenci.”

“…Wait, hold on.”

The Crown Prince of Krapos, Luel, let out an incredulous laugh.

“Did I just hear that wrong?”

“You heard correctly.”

“…If my memory serves me, that’s the name of the young lady of the Cenci family.”

“That is correct.”

“So, you’re telling me the Cenci family decided to send their only daughter… to the battlefield?”

“Yes.”

“Ha, ha, ha—!”

Luel burst into laughter, clutching his stomach.

“Incredible, truly incredible. Has Francesco lost his mind? Or is this some kind of ploy to mock me?”

“It’s neither. They were quite serious and even emphasized her participation.”

“Unless, by chance, she’s been chosen by a Spirit?”

In this world, people borrowed power from entities known as “Spirits.”

“No, I hear she’s just an ordinary young lady.”

“…Truly, he has abandoned all sense of humanity.”

“The head of the Cenci family abandoned humanity long ago.”

“Right, I knew that. But I never imagined he’d go so far as to treat his own child like this. Even goblins care for their offspring, don’t they?”

“From what we’ve heard, she’s been treated like a nuisance. It seems she defies her father’s orders entirely. This might be his way of eliminating her.”

“Hah, I didn’t expect much from that family, but I never thought they’d stoop this low.”

The Kingdom of Krapos was preparing for war.

The reason was simple.

A neighboring country, a ridiculously small kingdom, had declared war on them.

Under normal circumstances, such an event would have been unthinkable.

The offending country, Central, was one of the weakest on the continent.

It could practically be considered a vassal state of Krapos. To avoid invasion, Central regularly paid tribute.

So, there was no way a pitiful kingdom like that could shake Krapos.

…If this were normal times.

“I told you. That rat-like old man must have some sinister scheme brewing.”

“I didn’t expect them to recklessly declare war.”

“…At least it’s fortunate that the Empire has intervened.”

Krapos had recently endured a civil war.

It was caused by a massive rebellion.

But not even a month after quelling that rebellion, they received a declaration of war.

Currently, the internal state of Krapos was in ruins.

A rebellion meant cutting away the infected parts to regrow healthy flesh.

And for that new flesh to grow, time was essential.

The problem was that the small kingdom was targeting that window of vulnerability.

Thankfully, the self-proclaimed world police, the Prime Empire, had mediated and bought them a couple of months of reprieve.

Still, the situation wasn’t good.

Two months was a long time, but it wasn’t enough to prepare for war—especially for Krapos, which had just barely survived a significant internal crisis.

“We were lucky. At least we realized the Prime Empire isn’t entirely heartless.”

“Heartless? They outright said there’d be no support, didn’t they? And they’re supposed to be our allies.”

“There’s nothing we can do. Central is their ally too.”

“Allies fighting each other… of course they’d step in to mediate and prevent war. I don’t understand their logic.”

“…You know this. The current emperor of the Prime Empire is a war fanatic.”

“Damn it. They’re probably just waiting to see which side gets torn apart to swoop in and pick the scraps. Curious to see who’s better at devouring each other, aren’t they? One day, I’ll make them pay.”

“…I sincerely hope that day comes.”

Luel’s advisor expressed his earnest wish.

For the past 300 years, Krapos had effectively been under the indirect control of the Prime Empire.

It was a perpetual vassalage, a lord-vassal relationship.

The pro-empire faction within Krapos even wagged their tails, calling the empire their “parent country.”

This long-standing custom allowed Krapos to safely grow its national power under the Empire’s protection.

The problem was that as Krapos grew larger, the Empire’s demands also grew.

For instance, there was an incident where the Empire demanded nearly all of Krapos’ military forces to subjugate a monster outbreak.

The court was deeply divided on the matter.

The royal faction opposed it, while the nobility supported it.

In such cases, the king’s decision usually settled the matter in Krapos.

The issue was that the King of Krapos had been unconscious for three years due to unknown reasons.

Thus, the responsibility fell on Luel.

Luel judged that dedicating all of Krapos’ military forces to another nation’s monster subjugation was nonsense.

It was an entirely reasonable decision.

However, the opposition didn’t accept it.

Since the order came from the Crown Prince rather than the King, resistance was fierce.

This led to the rebellion.

Though it was suppressed with great difficulty…

An immense amount of blood was spilled.

It was the worst civil war in their history.

In fact, the Prime Empire’s reluctance to mediate properly this time was likely because of this.

They were displeased with the current Krapos, which didn’t follow their orders.

Still, everyone ignored this fact.

No one dared to bring it up.

Mentioning it would imply that Luel was incompetent.

Politics was always about results. And by current standards, Luel’s governance had been a failure.

“What do you think about this war?”

“We will win. A dynasty of 500 years has overcome countless crises. This time will be no different.”

“…I truly hope so. Perhaps a ‘hero’ will miraculously appear during these turbulent times.”

“In troubled times, heroes are bound to emerge. Your Highness’ wish will be fulfilled.”

“Yes, if that happens, I will have no regrets.”

Luel sighed and muttered to himself.

It was a desperate wish.