The First Letter (73)

My battered body was begging for rest.

My muscles, stiff as lead, felt heavy. My clothes had long since been soaked through with blood—mine, or someone else’s.

Among the bloodstains decorating my shirt was the blood of the woman who had just fallen. Delphine Yurdina, heir to House Yurdina, one of the Empire’s five great noble houses and the northern powerhouse.

She sat slumped on the ground, staring blankly up at me. Her expression showed that she could not understand what had happened at all. The others were no different.

A frigid silence settled over the clearing. But I did not care. Only one thought kept circling through my mind.

I had to take revenge. I would repay Celin, Seria, and Senior Elsie for what they had suffered.

To keep Senior Delphine from resisting, I hurled my handaxe at her as she hesitantly backed away.

With a smack, blood sprayed once more. The handaxe had buried itself with startling ease. Blood welled up around the axe blade, which had cleaved halfway through her shoulder.

“Kyaaagh?! Aaaaaaaagh!”

Overcome by the sudden pain assailing her again, Senior Delphine screamed despite herself. Both shoulders were now unusable. In other words, Senior Delphine could no longer wield a sword...