Chapter 2
After repeating the cycle of waking up, seeing blood, and fainting two more times, I finally learned that I had to close my eyes as soon as I regained consciousness to avoid fainting again.
“Ha. Finally awake?”
Kaiden’s voice came from beside my head.
“Yes.”
“Why do you keep fainting? Didn’t they say it was just a mild concussion?”
Kaiden asked the military doctor nearby. The doctor, flustered, couldn’t respond.
Of course he can’t answer. Even I’m confused. Damn it.
During those few fainting spells, I kept dreaming about my past life. And I realized.
In my past life, I was a frail human with ‘hemophobia,’ fainting at the sight of blood, and I had been reincarnated into the romance fantasy novel As the Saintess Wishes.
To think that the trauma from my past life would affect me even now.
“Damn…”
“…Marion Krugman. Did you just say something vulgar?”
Kaiden scolded, but it didn’t register in my ears.
Kaiden will kill me in the future.
Well, it would be hard to kill a Swordmaster unless it’s by another Swordmaster.
“Damn it. Ha. This really sucks.”
“Marion!”
“Your Grace, I think I’ll faint again if I open my eyes. Could you move me to a room where I can be alone? I have something to say.”
When I mentioned I might faint again, Kaiden’s voice softened slightly.
“Is something wrong? Is it something you can’t say in front of the soldiers?”
“Yes.”
Right now, I couldn’t open my eyes even if I wanted to. There were surely bloodstained bandages scattered around.
“Alright.”
At that moment, my body was suddenly lifted. Startled, I opened my eyes wide, and Kaiden’s face was right in front of me.
“Y-Your Grace?!”
I shouted in panic, and Kaiden frowned.
“Quiet.”
“I-I meant to move me on a stretcher for the injured!”
“This is faster.”
“No, but this is a bit—!”
It’s humiliating! No matter how much I acted like a scoundrel, to be treated like this! The social dignity and prestige of me, a Swordmaster of the Gratie Empire!
I flailed my limbs in shock. As Kaiden started to say, “Just stay still…,” a bloodstained soldier came into view, and,
“Argh!”
I fainted again on the spot.
—
When I opened my eyes, a chandelier was the first thing I saw. Clutching my throbbing head, I slowly sat up.
“…Am I inside the Grand Duke’s castle?”
“Yes.”
“Gah!”
The Grand Duke was sitting by the bed, arms crossed, staring at me.
“You startled me! You’re like a ghost, so silent.”
I said the last part in a quieter voice. Kaiden twitched his eyebrows and said,
“You seem lively enough now.”
“Yes. Well…”
Looking around, it seemed they had given me one of the guest rooms in the Grand Duke’s castle.
‘Good thing it’s not the infirmary. No more seeing blood.’
Then I remembered Kaiden carrying me like a princess.
‘Damn it, how humiliating.’
Fuming, I glared at my superior.
Kaiden, without blinking, opened his mouth.
“I clearly told you to return to the ranks.”
“…….”
I quickly softened my gaze like a meek lamb.
Even for a Swordmaster like me, a troll larger than an average body was tough to handle alone.
Of course, I could handle it, but it takes more time and focus, you could say.
Kaiden let out a sigh.
“Ha. Are you so eager to die?”
“…I’m sorry, Your Grace.”
“…What?”
Kaiden looked at me with a surprised expression. What’s with him? Anyway, that wasn’t the issue.
I had just realized my past life, and even in this moment of waking up after fainting, my mind was swirling with thoughts.
Now, I faint at the sight of blood. And according to the novel, I play the role of the villain’s lackey and die at the hands of the Grand Duke, Kaiden, standing before me.
What do I need to do to survive here?
I quickly came to a conclusion.
“Your Grace, I have something to say.”
“…What is it?”
I paused for a beat before speaking.
“I want to retire.”
Let’s just disappear from the stage entirely.
☆☆☆☆
“What? Sir Marion said she wants to retire?”
Kaiden’s aide, Vito, asked with a shocked expression.
“Does this have anything to do with Sir Marion fainting three times today?”
Kaiden, sitting at the massive desk in his office with his hands clasped and chin resting on them, spoke.
“she says she faints at the sight of blood.”
“What?”
Vito looked at Kaiden with a startled expression.
Kaiden slightly furrowed his brows.
“And she apologized to me.”
“…Are we talking about the fruit, an apple?”
“No, that kind of apology. She said she was sorry.”
“Gasp!”
Vito’s jaw dropped in shock. He reacted as if the apology were laced with poison.
But those who knew Marion couldn’t help but be shocked.
Marion, apologizing!
Normally, she would’ve pouted and insisted it wasn’t her fault, that the other soldiers or knights were far inferior, stupid, and clumsy, causing the incident.
“It’s clear she’s hit her head hard. Maybe she’s developed some kind of trauma…”
At Vito’s muttering, Kaiden opened his eyes slightly in surprise and asked,
“Trauma?”
“Yes. Without that kind of mental shock, there’s no way Sir Marion would apologize.”
“…That makes sense.”
Kaiden nodded with a serious expression.
—
“Damn it! I fainted again?”
The trouble started when I encountered a soldier in a bloodstained uniform while walking down the corridor of the Grand Duke’s castle. When I opened my eyes, I was back in the guest room.
“To collapse like someone who can’t even stomach blood porridge…”
I pressed my forehead.
This isn’t a world like my past life where you can live without killing a single ant. Monsters appear, and wars with neighboring countries break out from time to time.
In a world like this, to have a body that collapses at the sight of blood, when danger could strike at any moment!
And according to the original story, my future is nothing but death.
To sum it up, both Kaiden and I are significant supporting characters in the story.
The male protagonist is the Second Prince, Lucas Gratie, who is in conflict with his half-brother, the Crown Prince.
Kaiden is the ally who helps Lucas, and I, Marion, am the ally who helps the Crown Prince.
So, when the story reaches its climax, Kaiden and I engage in a life-or-death duel, and I lose and die.
‘I can’t die like that.’
I paced the room anxiously, thinking.
No matter how much I follow His Highness the Crown Prince, is it worth risking my life?
Honestly, I’ll confess. I used to like the Crown Prince. Quite a lot, actually.
While rolling through the battlefield, his kind words, beautiful golden hair, and green eyes often came to mind.
But surprisingly, my feelings for the Crown Prince weren’t the same as before.
Is it the aftereffect of realizing my past life?
How did I even come to fall for the Crown Prince? That itself was questionable. Because he was kind to me, a commoner? Because his appearance was like an angel descended from heaven?
What if the reason I admired him was simply for the sake of the ‘story’?
Knock knock.
“Who’s there?!”
I reacted sharply to the knock, shouting.
“It’s me.”
Kaiden’s voice came through. Startled, I quickly opened the door.
“Your Grace, what brings you here…”
Instinctively bowing to my superior, I ushered him into the room.
“…You’re different from usual.”
“What?”
The Grand Duke muttered with a serious expression.
“You definitely hit your head. You collapsed again, didn’t you?”
What? What’s with that reaction? It’s like he’s looking at a pitiful patient…
‘Oh no!’
It hit me then.
‘I was too polite and well-mannered!’
Who is Marion Krugman? The empire’s scoundrel, the one who treats his superiors like dirt!
The usual me would’ve been cocky even in front of the Grand Duke, a towering figure of authority, saying things like, “Why are you here?” or “You don’t want me dead, do you?”—all sorts of cheeky remarks.
I quickly raised my head to look at Kaiden… but he was already two heads taller than me.
…Fine. Since it’s come to this, maybe the concept of being a bit more polite due to a head injury isn’t so bad.
“Yes. So, could I possibly… request to retire?”
“…You must really be struggling.”
‘?!’
Surprisingly, he seemed concerned for me. To think I’d see a trace of humanity in that man’s expression.
To someone who doesn’t know Kaiden, it might look like a blank face.
But to me, who’s rolled through the snowfields with him for ten years, there was clearly a hint of pity in his eyes.
“Marion, it’s difficult for the empire’s Swordmasters to retire. The imperial family won’t allow it.”
☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆▪︎▪︎▪︎☆
By Anna 💓
