I Became a Swordsman in the Middle Ages – Chapter 17

Beatrice Schwarzfeder.

She was regretting.

‘To think I misunderstood such a kind person…’

Beatrice, who had half-considered Cecilia a demon, felt ashamed.

She was a true superior who knew how to take care of her subordinates.

Of course, there were slight, very slight doubts.

Couldn’t she have just cleared it instead of making a contract…?

‘Let’s not doubt her intentions. Right now, we need to focus on conquering the dungeon.’

“Huh… I knew you were incompetent, but I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

Ricardo swept his hair back in disbelief.

Beatrice looked at Riharten, who was glaring at her with a sword pointed at her, and thought.

‘Just as Lady Cecilia said.’

-The rules apply to both sides. If the other side doesn’t follow them, you can break the rules without penalty.

When the apprentice knights said they would go fight, Cecilia kindly advised them.

There was no chance of winning in a head-on battle. Even if it were possible, there would be heavy losses, she said.

The apprentice knights fell into despair. Cecilia looked at them and smiled faintly.

-There is a way to win.

“Do you really think you can beat me?”

Ricardo shook his head. It was the reaction Cecilia had expected.

-When they try to intimidate you, just admit it outright.

“…No way. Just looking at you is terrifying enough.”

“Kuhaha! This is quite amusing. So, how will you pay for my heart?”

-And propose a game. The demons will gladly accept. Even if they know they’re at a disadvantage, they’ll focus on the immediate gain.

Tension hung in the air among the apprentice knights.

Would this method really work?

No matter how they thought about it, there was no way the demons would accept such a game and come out ahead.

But once it started, there was no stopping it.

“I propose a game.”

When Beatrice spoke bravely, Ricardo blinked.

“A game?”

“Yes.”

“That’s an interesting proposal. What kind of game do you want to play with me?”

“…How about a game to see whose heart is heavier?”

Ricardo frowned for a moment, not understanding.

“Why do you know about the scales? Only a select few among demons are allowed… I see.”

The butcher must have advised them. No wonder the humans, who had lost their will to fight earlier, came here on their own.

‘Whatever trick they used… meaningful intervention is impossible due to the contract.’

Ricardo smiled leisurely.

“Fine. I accept.”

The most delicious human emotion is despair.

The feeling of snatching victory from someone who was certain of it is incomparable to any delicacy.

“But if I win, you all must work in this mansion. Forever—”

Beatrice nodded calmly. Ricardo gestured for them to follow and entered the room. He sat at the table.

As Beatrice sat across from him, Ricardo pulled out a scale from the darkness.

One side of the scale was empty, while the other side flickered with black flames.

He raised his hand slightly and smiled eerily.

“This is the scale of hearts. A very simple tool. It weighs the heart. But, you know, right? The ‘weight’ here isn’t just physical.”

Ricardo lightly touched one side of the scale with his finger. The black flames burned more fiercely.

“Each of your emotions, fears, guilt, and lives are placed on this scale. A heart burdened with regret floats as lightly as a feather, while a courageous heart presses down heavily.”

Ricardo clasped his hands politely.

“Are you my opponent?”

Beatrice took a deep breath and nodded.

“Yes.”

Then, Beatrice’s chest glowed. A bright light emerged and placed itself on the opposite side of the scale.

Ricardo admired it.

“Truly a beautiful heart.”

“…”

Beatrice didn’t know whether to cry or laugh.

‘Why did you choose me?’

It was Cecilia’s will to choose Beatrice as the participant in this game.

She said Beatrice could win this game… but Beatrice thought differently.

Riharten should have stepped forward. No matter how you looked at it, Riharten seemed braver than her.

As the suppressed fear stirred, Beatrice bit her lip and desperately recalled Cecilia’s words.

-If you can’t believe in yourself, believe in me. I am the knight who has conquered the most dungeons in the Windsor Knight Order.

“Then- let’s start the game. The winner will be determined when the scale tilts and stays that way for one minute.”

Ricardo clapped lightly. Immediately, Ricardo’s heart tilted.

-At first, the demon’s heart will naturally be heavier. Changing that is relatively simple.

“Well, it seems my heart is more valuable.”

Sigh, Beatrice took a deep breath and spoke.

“I know you’ve been involved in corruption.”

“…Corruption?”

The scale shook slightly.

“You deliberately lowered the dungeon’s difficulty to lure weaker opponents, didn’t you?”

-Make the demons tremble with fear. What they fear most is…

“If your superior, say the Demon King, finds out, do you think they’ll forgive you?”

-The Demon King. Demons are just salarymen like us. They fear their superiors just the same.

“…Do you think you can survive here? Even if you leave, how will you explain it to the Demon King?”

“We might struggle. But Lady Cecilia is different.”

Cecilia’s advice had worked perfectly.

The scale, which had tilted towards Ricardo, slowly rose. Ricardo was clearly flustered.

“This is… a hit. Yes. The heart of someone who has committed fraud loses some value. But.”

Ricardo glared sharply at Beatrice.

“Even so, would it be lighter than the heart of a human who hasn’t lived even a tenth of my life?”

-By now, they’ll be so agitated they’ll start using informal speech. That’s when you bring up the rules. Demons also have to follow the rules.

“You broke the rules.”

“…!”

“The heart of a demon who can’t even follow their own rules must be worth less than mine.”

Ricardo’s pupils shook. He turned his head sharply to look at the scale.

Creak—.

The scale moved. Now, Beatrice’s heart was heavier. One minute left.

“I didn’t expect you to corner me with just two arguments.”

Ricardo, sweating slightly, reached out.

“Cleaning time. Servants!”

-When things start to go against them, they’ll resort to tricks. They’ll probably attack the other knights with ghosts. Hold out as long as you can.

“Everyone—! Form ranks!”

Riharten shouted, taking the lead.

“Don’t let anyone get close to Beatrice—!”

The apprentice knights desperately blocked the ghosts swarming at the door.

-An appropriate level dungeon is something you can overcome on your own. Trust your comrades, Beatrice.

The chaotic sound of weapons clashing.

“Ah, you’re scared. Even if you can’t help your comrades fighting, does your fearful heart have more value than mine?”

Beatrice closed her eyes and continued to recall Cecilia’s words.

‘So far, everything has gone exactly as Lady Cecilia said.’

It was an astonishing prediction. Is this what the Windsor Knight Order is capable of?

Trust your comrades. Trust Lady Cecilia. Beatrice steeled her heart and opened her eyes.

“No, I trust my comrades.”

The scale still tilted towards Beatrice.

“…!”

‘No way. Just yesterday, I could feel this human’s fear. Now, I can’t feel it at all.’

The demon’s strategy of lowering the heart’s weight based on that had failed.

‘Only about 30 seconds left. I have to somehow break this human’s logic.’

“…I admit your claim. Yes, I falsified the dungeon’s level.”

Admission. And then.

“I sincerely apologize and will readjust the dungeon’s difficulty.”

Correction.

The ‘fraud’ Beatrice had claimed was diluted.

“From now on, I will treat you as the master of a ‘difficult’ dungeon.”

-And Beatrice.

‘It’s not that simple after all.’

Beatrice stood up quietly.

The scale tilted back towards Ricardo, but she didn’t care.

-If they still resist after all this, call me.

Beatrice clenched her fist.

There must be a contract, so why did Cecilia leave such words?

It wasn’t a long time, but being with Cecilia, she had learned.

Cecilia’s words always had meaning.

This time was no different.

‘Cecilia can’t move because of the contract. But—’

That’s only for ‘this round.’

The moment the dungeon’s difficulty rises, it becomes a ‘new round.’

That was the conclusion Beatrice had reached. From the beginning, she had aimed for this.

“Lady Cecilia! The dungeon’s difficulty has increased!”

Beatrice’s shout reached the ceiling.

The startled apprentice knights looked at Cecilia.

“Haha, a novel act of desperation.”

But— the scale didn’t move.

Cecilia didn’t come either.

“Wrong—”

Ricardo breathed a sigh of relief and wiped his sweat with a handkerchief.

“One minute has passed. That was close.”

Beatrice was stunned. This wasn’t it? Then… am I…

Going to die?

“Finally, you feel fear. Very, very satisfying. Then, as promised, I’ll take my due.”

As Ricardo’s hand moved towards Beatrice’s heart.

“That’s enough.”

A soft voice echoed through the room. Beatrice’s face lit up.

“I acknowledge that the dungeon’s level has risen from moderate to difficult.”

Cecilia walked into the room with a tired expression.

“It exceeds the capabilities of the apprentice knights. From now on, Cecilia of the Windsor Knight Order will take charge.”

Ricardo sneered.

“Surely you don’t think the dungeon’s difficulty changing means it’s a ‘new round’…”

*Slash—!*

Ricardo felt a warm breeze pass by his neck.

He instinctively reached for his neck.

But he couldn’t touch it. More precisely, his hand wouldn’t move.

His neck had already been severed—

Because it was in Cecilia’s hand.

“H-how? The contract is still in place…”

Cecilia lifted the demon’s head.

And with a faint smile, slowly— very slowly— brought a finger to her lips.

Shh—.

Ricardo turned pale with overwhelming fear.

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