Chapter 17

At that time, inside the cabin, the assassin swung his sword at Cersinia. As the silver blade flashed in the moonlight approached, Cersinia turned slightly. It was such a gentle movement that the assassin, who was rushing with strength, was embarrassed. The blade was stuck into the air. He couldn’t even touch a single strand of her hair.

“What are you doing! Are you saying that you couldn’t handle a single woman!”

At the shout from Viscount Montene, the assassin swung his sword again. It was not easy for a woman twice smaller than him to avoid, so if she could avoid it, it would be a coincidence or just one-time luck.

Swish. Whoosh. Whoosh.

The assassin’s blade continued without mercy. Cersinia avoided the blade. She seemed to ridicule the assassin. Even she had a smile on her lips as she relaxed. Eventually, it was the assassin who lost to her. He swung the heavy long sword dozens of times but failed to cut a single piece of her cloth.

‘Who the hell is this slender woman?’ The assassin couldn’t believe that she was able to avoid his sword while smiling leisurely without any signs of difficulty.

The handle of the sword held by the assassin trembled in shame. He glared at Cersinia, breathing deep enough to make his chest flutter. The temperature in the cabin was so high that his physical limit came quickly. Unlike the assassin, Cersinia stood with her back straight. Her hair was neat and unruffled.

‘It’s more surprising than I thought.’ Cersinia was inwardly surprised.

She knew that Cersinia in the novel could beat many men, but she didn’t expect this much. She didn’t know that she could easily avoid the blade that rushes to cut her so easily. Her agility and vision were truly beyond the level of warriors. Realizing her strength once more, a slight excitement ran through her body.

“What are you doing! If you get paid, you must fulfill your job!”

Viscount Montene’s plan was messed up, so he just rolled his feet. He paid a lot of money to hire an assassin, and it seemed like the useless men couldn’t deal with a single woman. He ground his teeth at the assassin’s incompetence. At the same time, fear struck him. He hired a well-known assassin, but he was even helpless… He should have brought more subordinates, but it was his own miscalculation.

“Is this all?”

Cersinia’s head tilted. He rushed as if he was going to cut her off at any moment, but he quickly fell out. She thought it was boring.

“T-This Bitch!”

The assassin, enraged by her insulting words and actions, once again rushed to Cersinia. He vowed to kill that woman to restore his pride. Cersinia was excited to face the assassin running while flapping his nostrils. As the blade almost touched her body, she turned her body around. She could have avoided it a little faster, but it was to tease him on purpose. Again, the assassin, who cut through the air, not Cersinia, reddened his face with contempt.

“H-Hiik!”

The angry assassin swung his sword randomly at Cersinia. He was so angry that his attack pattern could be avoided by Cersinia even with her eyes closed. Cersinia avoided the blade rushing to her and grabbed the assassin by his wrist.

“Aaargh!”

Cersinia heated up the wrist of the assassins who held the sword. It was to end this trivial thing. The smell of meat being cooked came up with the sound of sizzling.

“Aaargh! It’s hot!”

Klang.

The assassin, shivering from the heat, let go of the sword he was holding. Cersinia’s gaze was fixed on the sword that fell to the floor.

‘You were trying to hit me with this sword.’

She quickly kicked the sword toward the wall, then grabbed the assassin’s neck and slammed him down to the floor.

*BUMP*

The assassin, who got his head slammed to the floor, fainted. The floor made of wooden planks cracked and split.

“Huh…”

Looking at how the assassin collapsed haplessly, Viscount Montene’s fear reached its limit.

“Where’s Ben?”

Cersinia, who was finally left alone with him, turned her neck and relaxed her body. There was no way that she didn’t know what the Viscount Montene came to do when he visited her with his subordinates at midnight.

‘I have to restrain my power a little bit.’

Cersinia didn’t want to make a big deal, but that’s already done. She was not going to let him go even if he didn’t bring the assassin or take away her money.

“I-If you kill me, you will never know where the slave is!”

Viscount Montene felt like he was in a swamp where he couldn’t get out. No one could help him right now. When things didn’t go his way, he was very afraid. So, he made a rather loud noise. Like the proverb, an empty vessel makes much noise.

It seemed that Cersinia’s gaze would burn his body and turn him into ashes, but he didn’t express his fear. Rather, he inflated his chest and acted vigorously. It was unsightly for him to tremble at a woman younger than him. A small agitation arose in Cersinia’s face when she saw the Viscount raising his chin stiffly. It wasn’t because she was dismayed by his voice. Rather, it was because of her strong desire to kill him by burning him painfully.

‘Why do I want to kill him…’

She never even want to kill ants, so she can’t believe that she has the desire to kill the Viscount. This was clearly not her desire. Even though her mind belongs to her own, her body belongs to Cersinia, so Cersinia’s instincts that came were unavoidable. As expected from the witch and the only villainess in this Empire.

‘I can’t do that.’

Cersinia grips her hands tightly. If she doesn’t do this, she may raise her hand and use her powers at any moment. Her two fists were trembling. She gripped them so hard that it stopped her fist blood circulation.

‘Calm down, you’re a human. Not a beast.’

She can’t kill someone and take the villainess route where her neck is cut and dies. If she lives by Cersinia’s instincts, like in the original story, she will die in the end. Her current desire would make her the same as Cersinia in the novel. She would be one step closer to the death flag if she couldn’t beat the desire and kill the Viscount. She was comforting herself and enduring the desire to kill him.

Viscount Montene saw Cersinia calmly picking her breath in front of him. His mouth went up in a mean, vile curve. He thought his momentum had paid off, so he took one step further. His pride was too hurt to think about just taking the money and leaving her body alone.

“That vulgar thing cares about your pretty body.”

“What?”

“He’s really in tears because he worried about you, not because he’s being beaten.”

Cersinia’s breathing became harsh. Her red eyes burned redder than any other red in the world. Viscount Montene witnessed a bizarre scene with only red eyes seen in the dark. His spine trembled. With goosebumps all over his body, his instincts shout to avoid her. But his legs were immobile.

When she had barely suppressed her instincts, Cersinia lost her reason. The moment her clenched fists were released and she raised her hand, an explosion of fire beyond her control erupted.

*BOOM*

It was a loud explosion that deafened ears. The hot flames emanating from Cersinia’s body became a fire and swept through the cabin like a tsunami. Flames out of control were turned into huge flames like huge waves. The inside of the cabin quickly became a sea of fire.

“Gasp!”

The men, who were standing outside the cabin, crouched with the sound of an explosion. With a bang, a shard of window glass fell on the floor. In an instant, black smoke rose from the cabin, surrounded by flames. When they looked up again, red flames were roaring through the broken windows.

Lewis blinked blankly. It was so instant that he thought he was dreaming. But as if ridiculing his thoughts, a choking smoke reached his nose. He quickly covered his nose. The smoke that was spicy enough to bring tears into his eyes made his mind dizzy.

The situation in the cabin was disastrous. Black smoke filled the dark night sky as if a huge snake had opened its mouth. Lewis felt the heat burning even though he was sitting quite far from the cabin. He sank down in a tragic tragedy.

“H-How did this happen…”

The subordinates, who were crouching heavily, trembled and looked at the burning cabin. No one rescued Viscount Montene because they were afraid of the fire that engulfed the cabin in no time. It was like a demon devoured the hut with its jaws wide open.

* * *

“S-Save me! Save me!”

Viscount Montene cried out, dripping from tears to saliva at the spicy smoke. The only thing he could see was a sea of fire. The flames covered the wooden floor with no room to escape and stretched endlessly.

“Aaaargh!”

Viscount Montene squealed nonstop at the stinging smoke that pierced his lungs. When he realized the situation, he was already surrounded by flames.

‘How the hell am I supposed to get out of this fire?’  He couldn’t get the hang of it.

The flames accelerated and spread like dominoes. Viscount Montene’s thinking circuit had already lost its function. His chin and lips trembled in the grim situation of death.

“Aargh, it’s hot!”

The flames climbed between his two legs. His pants quickly turned to black ashes and disappeared.  Hungry flames did not miss the opportunity like a beast who waited for its prey. The flames that chewed up his pants were now digging into the Viscount Montene body to make sure their stomach would be full.