***
The dry air swept over her skin as Filina stepped through the grass. The chilling atmosphere gave her goosebumps. Filina looked around and found Cecilia.
Two deer had fallen nearby. Not far from her, she saw Cecilia sitting on the ground, shivering.
An escort knight stood firmly in front of her, protecting Cecilia.
“Lady Filina. Please stay here.”
Enoch, who had witnessed the situation before him, stood with his back against Filina’s front with a stiff face. He gripped his sword tightly.
The sky, which had been glowing, had sunk as if it had never been that way before. Filina slowly took a deep breath, looking at the thing in front of her.
It wasn’t just any animal. It was a demon that only appeared in this world.
Clank!
The knight’s sword, which was blocking the demon’s huge teeth, was split in half.
The demon devoured him while emitting a monstrous voice. The teeth were like spear blades visible through its mouth and the thick saliva gave off a disgusting smell.
Enoch ran fast and attacked the demon’s head with his sword. But the beastly creature didn’t flinch and bounced his blade back with a shake of its head.
Gritting his teeth, Enoch stepped on the demon’s nose and climbed high above it. In that position, he put his weight on it and swung his blade.
A sharp sound blew across the wind.
The demon blocked Enoch’s sword with its fierce teeth.
The demon’s deafening cry rang out.
Cecilia hid behind her guard while he held back the demon. Her messy hair was tangled with dirt and dust.
Filina, watching her, clenched her fists quietly.
Cecilia is going to learn everything well as a heroine.
She will take what someone has struggled to achieve over the years with vain ease.
However, if someone attacked her, it was not her place to overcome them. Cecilia would not be able to survive on her own.
It was the job of the male protagonist to save her.
Isn’t it just a bloody setting?
Cecilia’s green eyes met Filina’s for a moment as she was looking around with an anxious expression.
“Ah, My Lady ………..”
Her green pupils, which resembled a field of green grass, gave a strong tremor as her sad voice echoed hollowly through the wide grass.
“It’s dangerous! Please run away quickly!”
It was absurd.
Filina couldn’t understand why Cecilia told her to leave when she was in the most danger.
Filina cringed and stared at Enoch, who was fighting the demon.
Clank!
Enoch’s sword could not overcome the power of the ferocious demon, and it was gradually pushed back. At this rate, his sword would break as well.
It wasn’t simply a matter of Enoch’s ability, he was a swordsman no one could beat. In the original story, Enoch was not Filina’s guardian knight. He was Cecilia‘s knight, to be exact.
He was a loyal knight who valued the female protagonist more than his own life. A shadowy assistant who loved swords more than anyone else and always did his best in his role.
Few readers who liked the novel Flower of Cecilia remember Enoch’s existence.
In the original novel, he was just called the Knight of the Guard instead.
However, having read “Cecilia’s Flower” many times, she already knew of Enoch’s existence even before Filina was reincarnated into the novel.
When Cecilia was kidnapped by the mastermind, Enoch was the very person who shed the only tears of guilt for not being able to save her.
He was the one person in the novel who was completely different from reality, but still felt like a human being. But in the original story, he was the heroine’s reliable bodyguard, so would it help if Filina could have him by her side?
It was a pure desire to live that led Filina to choose Enoch as her escort knight.
She needed a dedicated knight like Enoch to teach her skills to the fullest.
Now, every time when she regressed, Filina naturally looked for him, and worried that Cecilia would take Enoch with her.
In the meantime, Enoch was fighting to save Cecilia right in front of her.
She had a creepy ‘deja vu’ feeling.
Enoch couldn’t find the heroine anyway. That was a pathetic supporting role.
Filina loaded live ammunition into the gun she was holding in her hand with a dry expression.
She pointed the long gun in the direction of the violent demon.
At least she had a higher specific role than Enoch, so if she was lucky, she would be able to kill the demon.
Filina closed one eye to see the exact location of her target.
A cold silence drifted around her. At the same time, a sharp bullet was fired from the gun that Filina was holding.
Bang!
The bullet she fired hit the demon’s head precisely. The demon, which had been biting Enoch’s sword with its huge teeth, stopped moving.
The quiet air cast over.
Rrrrrr!
With a strange scream, the target of the demon that had been dealing with Enoch changed in an instant. The huge beast rushed fiercely at Filina.
“Lady Filina! Run away!!!”
Enoch’s voice was heard, but she did not flinch.
Instead, she pulled the trigger of the gun once again that had been aimed at the demon.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The sharp live bullets struck the demon’s head in rapid succession.
A painful groan rang out loudly from the demon’s mouth. It was strange and violent, like the sound of doom.
But it did not prevent the demon from moving. Before she knew it, the huge beast was right in front of her, and it opened its mouth to reveal its teeth like a murder weapon.
“My Lady!!!”
Cecilia’s wailing voice could be heard, but Filina didn’t move an inch. Her red irises, dark and sunken.
Filina fired a live round into the demon’s mouth again.
Bang!
The demon’s mouth twitched.
Death was not scary anymore. She didn’t want to run away anymore.
The fear of death made her realize how much she had shivered and parasitized…
She would not avoid it any longer. She would fight back and survive fiercely.
Bang!
She shot a sharp bullet deep into the demon’s mouth. The demon that seemed to swallow her stopped moving.
Filina had a hunch.
This time, she’s won.
Whoosh.
At that moment, she heard the sound of wind coming from somewhere. At the same time, the body of the demon in front of her was cut off by the cold silver blade.
The green blood of the demon splattered on Filina’s face.
“Lord Henry!”
Filina heard Cecilia’s voice calling him from behind.
Filina, who had her gun pointed forward, let out a small laugh.
“Thank God! Lord Henry has saved Lady Filina!”
Filina’s face twisted into a grim expression at the sound of Cecilia’s booming voice. She looked at Cecilia with an angry expression.
She was about to shout that it was not Henry who had killed the demon, but herself. However, Enoch, who had rushed in before she knew it, looked at Filina’s body and gave her a worried look.
“Lady Filina, are you all right? Are you hurt?”
Enoch’s voice quickened as he carefully observed her condition. His contorted face darkened even more.
She looked up at Enoch’s face and let out a faint breath. It didn’t seem to matter at all who killed the demon.
It was an embarrassing situation to have to make her point in this kind of atmosphere. Filina averted her gaze with a distant expression. Not far away stood Henry Argeny, the man who had so shamelessly taken her credit.
His dazzling silver hair and sharp features exuded a particularly decadent scent. In his right hand was the massive long sword that had slayed the demon, its silvery edge spreading green blood all the way down.
Filina’s gaze and Henry’s eyes collided in the air. Henry, who had been watching her with an expressionless face, shoved the sword into the case and approached Filina, stepping on the fallen demon on the ground.
Henry suddenly held out something to her. It was a white handkerchief.
“I don’t need it.”
Filina held up her hand and carelessly wiped her cheek. The blood was unpleasant, but she didn’t care. She didn’t want Henry’s help. He raised an eyebrow and asked in a low voice.
“… Are you refusing me on purpose?”
Henry sighed slightly and moved closer to her. He then gently grabbed Filina’s chin with his large hand.
“What are you doing?” (Filina)
He muttered slowly as she struggled with a startled face.
“Stay still. The demon’s blood is toxic and dangerous if it comes into contact with your skin.”
Henry lifted his handkerchief and began to wipe off the thick blood on Filina’s cheeks himself.
The expression on his face looked so serious that Filina couldn’t shake him off any longer.
She could see the features of Henry’s face as he stared down at her.
Especially the white skin, which was a beautiful color without a single blemish. The high bridge of his nose and his cruel-looking lips were delicate as if they were painted.
She felt it every time, but it was too much, too pretty of an appearance.
She couldn’t figure out the appropriate line, but Henry unnecessarily exceeded the standard of beauty.
Henry’s gaze flickered to meet Filina’s eyes as he touched her cheek insistently. The twitching pupils stared into her hostile eyes.
Filina spoke coldly with a look of displeasure on her face.
“Let me go if you’re done.”
At her words, Henry lowered his hand and stepped back.
Filina gritted her teeth quietly. She could vividly feel the warmth of his hands still against her skin.
She spoke to Henry with a frustrated look on her face.
“I’m sorry, but I have to tell you now.”
Hearing Filina’s words, everyone’s eyes turned to her.
Glaring at Henry, Filina reached out and pointed to the demon that had been trampled by him.
“I killed that demon.”
Her clear voice echoed loudly through the wide grass.
There was an uncomfortable silence in the air.
Filina said once more with a look of frustration on her face.
“I shot and killed it first! Lord Henry just put a spoon on the table that I had already prepared for him! Do you understand?”
Her reply was not immediately audible. It was all the more absurd. Filina glared at Henry with her wide open eyes.
There was no one else around to say anything outright.
Cecilia stared at Filina with round eyes. Enoch just quietly stood.
That was it.
It wasn’t until some time later, after a heavy silence, that Henry’s voice could be heard.
“…I see.”
It was a very simple answer. It sounded like a forced answer. That made Filina even more furious.
She was so unhappy with Henry’s face that she couldn’t even manage her facial expressions properly.
‘You can’t admit that I killed it.’
Filina gasped at that fact.
Filina moved her feet, no longer wanting to face him. Of course, she didn’t forget to deliberately step hard on Henry’s foot as she passed him.
“Ugh…”
She heard Henry groaning but she ignored it.
‘B*stard.’
There were still a lot of bad words that couldn’t come out of her mouth.