“You wish.” Though Ivan had been turned into a girl, the beliefs she lived by hadn’t changed.

The teacher who’d introduced her to swordsmanship had told her, “We have nowhere left to retreat, because the Royal City of Olster is right behind us.”

“Protecting the people is a soldier’s duty.”

She’d always lived by her teacher’s words.

Whenever a war ended and Ivan dragged her exhausted body back from the battlefield, she still refused to take so much as a pin from the townsfolk.

She’d take just one piece of gauze from the medical department, then go home alone and tend to her wounds in silence.

Fighting and recovering seemed to be her whole life.

But now, she couldn’t return to the battlefield. Even if she went back to that smoke-filled field and faced her former comrades, how could she choose what to do?

They might even see her as a heretic who had to be wiped out.

Ivan was utterly disheartened. She turned away, intending to tough out the discomfort brought on by hunger and thirst for blood.

“Do you really think you can resist the iron law written into our genes?” Vivian mocked her mercilessly, then rose and left the pitch-black cell.

She wanted to see how much longer Ivan could hold out.

The maid, who’d been waiting by the door for some time, hurried over as Vivian emerged and asked:

“Your Majesty, a spy brought word that the human race has declared war on us. They say they’re seeking justice for Sir Ivan, who was sacrificed.”

“I know. Have Meri deal with them. We’re in the wrong this time, but they’ll pay for their arrogance sooner or later.”

“But Meri’s been away lately. She said another genius swordsman has appeared among the humans, so she went to investigate.”

Vivian fell thoughtful, as if she’d figured something out.

“That’s good news. The Blood Clan will soon have a fine swordsman of its own.”

“Huh?” The maid was a little confused, but she didn’t dare ask any questions. She simply nodded and withdrew.

It was best not to ask too much about the queen’s business.

“Wait. Take these rations. If that little thing in there can’t take it anymore, give them to her. I don’t want her to die so soon.”

“As you wish, Your Majesty.”

The maid took the test tube and went to the room where Ivan was being held. To her surprise, the girl inside looked very—no, incredibly—similar to Her Majesty the Queen.

Snow-white hair fell down the girl’s back. On her smooth, bare back, a pair of tiny black wings stood out. They were a symbol of the Blood Clan. The wings might look small now, but some Blood Clan members were said to have wings twice their own size.

But given how petite the girl was, if she ever spread her wings, they might well be at least three times her size.

But come to think of it, why was she being held here?

The maid had no idea. She’d risen to become the queen’s personal maid by knowing absolutely nothing—she’d somehow stumbled into a cushy position. The queen told her what to do, and she did it. Anything else was beyond her.

After thinking it over, the maid decided to wait quietly by the door and give the girl the test tube when she looked like she couldn’t hold out any longer.

Down in the dungeon, Ivan suddenly regretted her decision. Whatever the case, she felt absolutely awful now. She felt like she was about to tear herself apart and eat herself.

Even the strongest willpower was nothing against an empty stomach.

Ivan felt like she’d melt if she held out any longer. Just as things were getting desperate, the iron door creaked open. A maid in a black-and-white uniform entered and handed Ivan the test tube without saying a word—not because she was worried about giving anything away.

She simply didn’t know what to say. The more you said, the more likely you were to mess up, so she kept quiet.

Ivan stared at the liquid in her hand. With food so close, she could no longer control herself. She pulled out the stopper and gulped it down, nearly shoving the test tube right into her throat.

“You can’t eat that.” The maid smiled helplessly. Seeing Ivan’s state, she couldn’t help thinking the queen must have placed a special curse on her. The maid couldn’t help admiring Ivan. The last person the queen had cursed had fallen to their knees beside the queen’s legs and begged for mercy in less than half a minute.

And Ivan had managed to hold out for this long.

“Where am I?” After eating and drinking her fill, Ivan felt a little dizzy. Her first priority was to figure out where she was, then find a way to escape.

“The Blood Clan’s castle, Perudal,” the maid replied honestly after a moment’s thought.

Oh, no. She’d ended up right in their stronghold.

Ivan felt like her brain had gotten slower. Why had she even needed to ask such an obvious question? Why were her eyelids suddenly so heavy? Her head felt heavier too, and her neck ached as if a python had wrapped itself around her.

Now was no time to fall asleep.

Ivan tried to force herself to stay awake, but her consciousness gradually grew hazy.

Before long, she passed out again.

The chains weighing Ivan down weren’t the problem; the maid beside her was the one who panicked. The queen had told her to watch Ivan, and now Ivan had passed out. This was serious. Even the maid knew that leaving her to sleep there wasn’t right, even if her head was full of mush.

The maid first draped a blanket over Ivan, then hurried off to find the queen.

……

Ivan slept like a log. Ever since she’d started marching off to war, she’d barely ever gotten enough sleep. The kingdom’s borders were teeming with beasts, so someone had to stay up on watch. As the squad leader, Ivan had always led by example and taken the first watch.

She’d hardly ever had a good night’s sleep, so this was easily the best sleep of her life.

She stretched and yawned, then was surprised to find she could move her arms. Judging by the decor around her, everything was decked out in showy gold thread.

Had she slept all the way into the royal bedchamber?

Ivan smacked herself on the forehead. No, that was wrong. She was still in the Blood Clan’s castle. This had to be an illusion. Maybe she was already dead. There was no second chance at life—this was just a dream for someone on the verge of death.

She pinched her cheek hard, and a tear welled in the corner of Ivan’s eye from the pain.

This didn’t feel like a dream. And since when had she become such a crybaby that a pinch made her cry?

Pull yourself together, Ivan! You’re a proud human swordsman, not some crybaby who tears up when she pinches her own cheek.

Ivan climbed out of bed and slipped on her slippers. She’d only taken a few steps when she caught sight of a petite girl’s reflection in a glass cabinet.

Someone this cute couldn’t possibly be her, right?

No way, right?

No way, right?

It couldn’t be!

Ivan clutched her chest. When she looked down, she saw that her fingers were pale and slender. They were a little dirty, but there was no hiding that they were a beauty’s hands. Ivan completely lost her composure as memories began to come back.

It seemed her teammates had betrayed her and sold her to Vivian, who’d transformed her into one of her own.

“???”

What kind of diabolical plot was this?

Ivan clenched her fists, a blazing fire of vengeance igniting in her heart. She wanted revenge—but who was she supposed to take revenge on? Freya and Vivian seemed about evenly matched.

Then she’d cut them both down.

Ivan spotted a wooden sword in the corner. She picked it up and began to focus on the energy within her.

When she was little and her master taught her swordsmanship, they’d used wooden swords. And with Ivan’s skill, she could already enchant the Holy Sword on her own. A sword was nothing more than a vessel for releasing sword energy.

Ivan held the sword in front of her chest. Memories of how she’d once swung her blade surged through her mind. She needed to reach a state of meditation; then she’d be able to feel the Holy Sword’s power.

The seconds ticked by, but the Holy Sword’s power still didn’t answer her.

“Where’s my Holy Sword???!!”

Ivan’s mind short-circuited. She didn’t even bother to keep her stance as she swung the wooden sword a couple of times, but still got no response.

That was when she completely panicked.

My Holy Sword is gone!