I’ll Use a Reverse-Edged Sword

A little while ago
Luna feels like all the strength is draining from her body and her mind might fly away, experiencing a terror she’s never felt before in her life.
Being surrounded by an unidentified group was already scary and trembling enough for the family’s trade group,
but when a knife was suddenly at her throat, it was truly a horrible feeling where she couldn’t even scream as she wished.
Dragged by the thug, she had somehow moved right in front of where their leader seemed to be talking with Eden.

‘Y-Young Master Eden, please save me…’
In this situation where her whole body was becoming drenched in cold sweat, for some reason, only Eden entered her eyes, not her father Hanson or the knights in their brilliant plate armor.
Of course,
desperate cries like “help me” or “save me” wouldn’t come out of her throat.
Just, purely
taking him in with her eyes
she only hoped that this terrible time would pass as quickly as possible.
But her wish wasn’t the kind to be easily granted.
Next to her, from the mouth of the thugs’ leader,
that is, Alistair Harmon, difficult-to-understand words poured out.

“This is a bracelet containing the curse of the black magician Würgen Schneider.”

‘Black magician Würgen Schneider? Wasn’t he a legendary figure that appears only in stories, said to have been actually encountered by less than ten people? Why is he suddenly bringing up such a person?’

Luna had heard tremendous stories about Würgen Schneider several times since she was young.
The first time she heard about him as a child, that is, about the terrifying black magic he was said to wield,
she even had memories of lying awake all night trembling under the covers.

“If you wear that bracelet and make an oath, you’ll be cursed to keep the oath forever. If you break the oath, black magic will activate on the spot and instantly take the life of the person wearing the bracelet.”

After hearing Alistair Harmon’s next sentence, Luna realized that for some reason, her heart had started beating more fiercely than at that moment when the knife first touched her throat.
She was anxious.
So, really so anxious.
Of course, she was scared that this sharp metal touching her neck
would take her life with pain…
but now she felt an even greater anxiety for some reason.
The source of that anxiety was that man over there, Eden, who was engaging in a psychological battle with Harmon while constantly looking into her eyes.

[It’s alright. Wait just a little. Just a little.]

That man showed words to reassure her with his mouth movements even in the middle of the psychological battle with Harmon.
She didn’t know why she trusted that man, Eden, who was just a trivial connection through a political marriage, so much.
But somehow, it felt like he would save her.
It seemed like he would remove this blade from in front of her neck by any means necessary.
Yes…
For some reason, that part was the cause of this intense anxiety she was feeling now.
Eden, her fiancé…
This inexplicable anxiety that he might give up something precious to save her…

And,
Luna’s anxious premonition hit the mark.

“Wear the bracelet and swear. That you’ll become a swordsman who uses only that toy sword at your waist for the rest of your life. Kukuk, if you do that, I swear on my honor that I’ll release this woman.”

“Nooooo!!!!!!!”

The sky is falling, strength drains from her legs.
Even though blood droplets are leaking from the knife touching her neck, she doesn’t feel any pain at all.
Luna,
from the moment she realized her anxious premonition had hit the mark, lost her reason.
Violently flailing her arms and legs that had no strength,
forcing out her voice that had been choked up with all her might,
and so… so she struggled.

“Young Master!! Don’t do it! Please don’t do it!!! For my sake, please don’t accept such a ridiculous curse!! Sob… sob…”

Tears that she didn’t know when they had started flowing were already wetting not only her face but even the floor.
This can’t be happening.
Young Master Eden… that gallant man who is her fiancé…
is a genius of swordsmanship who can subdue several fallen knights at once even without using a real sword.
Even considering that Luna herself doesn’t have an eye for swordsmanship, anyone who saw such an amazing scene would be able to say.
A talent who will make his mark in history
He would surely stand out and advance steadily even at the academy he’s scheduled to enter soon…

Luna,
drew and redrew several times the future events that hadn’t even unfolded yet, and that too, not her own but the future of the man entangled with her in a political engagement.
During that time riding in the carriage together,
while stealing glances at his sharp jawline, nose bridge, and those deep eyes that seemed like you could fall into them…
all the while she drew his future.
She might have already vaguely acknowledged and known even before this situation occurred.
The fact that when your heart is stolen, when you start liking someone, such nonsensical fantasies naturally arise…

“I, Castillo Eden, swear on this bracelet containing the curse of Würgen Schneider.”

“No!!!! Young Master… no, Eden!!! Please stop!!! Please!!!”

That man doesn’t stop.
Even though it’s not like he can’t hear her words,
he walks into that terrible curse without a hint of hesitation.
No matter how much she shouts and tries to stop him…
His sincerity, rushing in like a moth to a flame, can’t be stopped.

“As long as I have breath, I swear that for my entire life… I will be a swordsman who uses only this ‘reverse-edged sword’ that I’m holding now.”

“No!!! Sob… hic… no please… no!!!”

Luna had no more tears left to flow.
Her voice, breaking as much as it could, leaking out terribly like a metallic sound, now wouldn’t even come out well.
In the end, he was cursed with that terrible curse.
For the sole reason of saving her, he gave up in an instant the brilliant future that would have unfolded like a smooth road.
From his left wrist, that is, from that cursed bracelet
as if to prove that all this was certainly not fiction, terrible dark smoke burst out.
And then it was sucked into his eyes, nose, and mouth.

“E… Eden… Eden… Why, why for me…”

Released from the thug’s knife and now free, Luna used her last strength to reach her fiancé, but…
unable to even exchange a few words, she lost consciousness and collapsed just like that.

“Haha! That’s right, that’s how it should be naturally. It’s a toy that will be with you for the rest of your life after all.”
“Kukukukuk!!!”
“Hahaha”

Seeing me smoothly draw the reverse-edged sword, Harmon and his men burst into laughter repeatedly.
I had already guided the unconscious Luna to Raymond, and our knights’ formation had completely switched to a protective stance for the trade group members.
I calmly walked, observing Harmon and his subordinates one by one.

“Brother! Let me do it again.”
Heden, that is, the guy who had been knocked out by the reverse-edged sword I had drawn in the restaurant last evening, steps forward shouting loudly.
“If it hadn’t been for the surprise attack yesterday, I would never have lost to a guy like that… you know, right, brother?”
Heden seemed quite ashamed of the fact that he had been knocked out in one hit by the toy-like reverse-edged sword.

“Alright then? Anyway, that guy now can’t use a real sword even if he has one. Go ahead and have your revenge match against the guy who can only wield that toy sword.”

As Harmon gave permission with a good-natured smile, Heden’s mouth stretched to his ears.
But next to him, the long-haired man poured cold water on the mood.

“W-Wait, Commander… Vice Commander… This doesn’t seem like a good idea. He faced all of us with that toy yesterday too. A one-on-one duel is really not wise no matter how you think about it-“

“Fuck, Stagen! What’s wrong with your head? Did you get hit by that bastard yesterday and suddenly become a coward! We are the Alistair Brotherhood. If we don’t let our guard down, we’ll never lose to a guy like that, no, a toy like that, and we shouldn’t!”

“Yes, Heden is right about this. Heden, I’ll give you a chance. Go and get your revenge in a one-on-one match.”

As the long-haired man Stagen withdrew his opinion and turned back, Heden stepped forward triumphantly.

“Thanks for yesterday, you son of a bitch. From now on, I’ll never let my guard down no matter who my opponent is.”

“Let your guard down? Do you think you lost because you let your guard down?”

At my retort, Heden shouts angrily.

“Who the hell lost, you fucking bastard! No need for long words, come at me. Oh! Should I give you a real sword? Want to have a life-or-death match with a real sword instead of that toy? Kukukuk”

My body that can never hold a real sword again.
Towards Heden, who was intentionally mocking and ridiculing me, cheers poured in from his comrades.

“Teach him a lesson, Vice Commander!”
“He’s just a kid playing with a toy sword. Cut off an arm or something, hahaha!”

Encouraged by his comrades, Heden walked towards me with an even more triumphant face,
and so he entered within range of my reverse-edged sword.

Thwack

“Hedeeeeen!!!”
“Vice Commander!!!”
“Vice Commander!!”

My reverse-edged sword, not controlling its strength, was an object that could sufficiently draw blood even with its blunt edge.
The blood that burst from Heden’s head splattered everywhere like bomb fragments,
and judging by the amount soaking the floor
everyone could tell his life or death status without needing to check directly.