I Blue : Reincarnated as a Cursed Crit-Based Swordwoman-Chapter 14: The Red-eyed Beast

The grand hall of the manor radiated opulence yet felt cold and unwelcoming. Marble columns gleamed under flickering chandeliers, while a crimson carpet muffled footsteps. Forgotten ancestors stared solemnly from portraits lining the walls, their judgmental gazes adding to the oppressive silence. The faint scent of wax and lavender lingered in the air, but the space seemed to repel warmth, leaving a chill that seeped into the bones.

"Wait, that's..."

"She's out? Now of all times?"

"Truly a bird of calamity..."

Curious eyes followed the maid and her mistress as they walked down the grand staircase. Along with them came unwanted fragments of conversations betraying a deep lack of respect.

In response, the "mistress" only furrowed her eyebrows and opened her mouth to sigh.

"Wait, did she just...?"

"Such lack of respect. The mistress is right... this kid..."

Indeed, it was perceived as quite impolite to sigh at someone's words in this world, yet the said kid was left to wonder who was more disrespectful—maids who openly badmouthed their master's daughter, or said daughter merely expressing her exasperation.

"(Can they at least... I don't know, talk less loudly? They're not even trying to hide it...)"

Well, 'this kid' could at least understand them. They were just a group of idiots using what they perceived as the source of their problems to vent their frustration.

Serving the mistress of this house was surely no easy task, especially when she yelled at the tiniest speck of dust and fired people over trivial matters. Yes, they had it rough too.

"..."

Or so Noah tried to tell himself.

Why was he so afraid to meet their gaze earlier? Was it another reflex ingrained in this new body of his? If so, it was something he overcame surprisingly easily. Being shown so much hate in the open fueled his anger far more than his fear. He couldn't wait to become a proper adventurer and leave this stupid place.

"Miss Momo, where might you be going at this time?"

His body froze as he recognized the voice. It was the true mistress of this manor, Orla-Nevesta—his, or rather Vasilisa's, stepmother. She stood there elegantly, her fan hiding her mouth but highlighting her piercing gaze.

"Oh, miss..."

Again, Momo took out her notepad—a move whose sheer audacity almost gave her master a heart attack—but the woman in front of her signaled her to stop.

"There is no need to humiliate me further with your antics, daughter of Otogi. Tell me instead if my studies are lacking, for I do not understand something, and you might be the only one who can answer me."

"Oh... Yes, of course. What is it?"

The woman pointed at the wooden sword in Noah's hand.

"Prithee, what might that implement be?"

Noah clenched the sword nervously.

Now that he thought about it, had anyone informed this woman that he was training to become an adventurer? He had always assumed that either Momo or Vasilisa's father did, but...

No, even if she knew, the real question was: was she actually okay with it?

As a matter of fact, she was the one with absolute authority in the manor. If she didn't want something to happen, it wouldn't happen, and judging by her cold stare, this definitely wasn't something she wished for.

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"You don't know about it? This is a wooden sword, ma'am."

"..."

"..."

Both Noah and Mrs. Orla stared at the maid in shock.

"E-Excuse me? Could my hearing be failing me?" asked Mrs. Orla, her voice betraying strong indignation.

The pink-haired maid took the wooden sword from Noah's hand and presented it to Mrs. Orla, pointing at its top.

"The part at the very top here is called the pommel. Oh, traditionally, the top of a sword is considered to be on the handle side, so..."

She pointed a bit lower.

"This here is the handle. That's where the hands go and where the sword becomes an extension of the user's arm. Normally it would be covered in leather, but this is merely a wooden replica."

She pointed lower again.

"Then there's the cross-guard. It's called that because it is cross-shaped. It protects your hands from injury not only caused by other blades but also from your own. Your hands can easily slip onto the blade, which is the next part I will talk about."

As the maid put her fingers on the wooden blade, though, Mrs. Orla snapped. She hit the maid's hand with her fan, leaving her fingers red from the shock.

"I said to spare me your mockery, damned children of Otogi," she said in a calm voice that nevertheless carried a certain amount of anger.

The maid looked at the mistress of the house, her eye devoid of any emotion. She didn't seem afraid of losing her job or of anything the richly garbed woman standing before her could do. She just seemed as profoundly bored and tired as usual.

"Why, if you want me to take you seriously, ma'am, what about you take seriously the role which is yours? The fifth covenant implies more than a life of lavishness for a woman," replied the maid while lowering the wooden sword. "Oh... or are the children of Beratelse such... light women?"

"Y-You!!!"

Mrs. Orla couldn't take such insolence anymore. Her fan struck again, shattering the maid's glasses.

"You! What do you know?! How dare you speak to me like that?! What does a traitorous dog like you know about marriage?! You couldn't even stay faithful to your own family!"

The round glasses fell to the ground, broken and bloody, as the maid touched the bruise on her cheek in bewilderment.

"(This is...)"

For an instant, Noah saw the HP bar of the maid. That single hit almost took a quarter of it. How was that possible?

He knew levels didn't give you more HP or anything, but how could a delicate-looking noblewoman like Mrs. Orla-Nevesta deal so much damage to a former adventurer?

No, more importantly, was Momo okay after such a powerful hit? This world had HP bars, but it didn't mean they would faint before they reached 0.

Such a powerful hit on the face... Surely, Momo's head couldn't be okay, right?

"...!"

As Noah looked at the maid, he found her to be entirely unrecognizable. She was disheveled and bleeding from her temple and mouth, yet the violent feelings he could see in her now-glowing red eyes made him shudder.

She will kill Mrs. Orla...

There was no doubt about this. He was sure he wasn't the only one who had this impression when looking at her. In fact, the other servants had already begun to back away in fear just like their mistress.

"W-Wait... You... You can't be... You should not be able to..."

The noblewoman couldn't find her words as her eyes slowly told the story of her dreadful realization.

"Mrs... Orla-Nevesta. Yes, I remember your name now. You are... Orla-Nevesta..."

Noah could see the maid's mouth move, but her tone was so different from usual that his mind somehow refused to connect those words to her. The red-eyed beast in front of him had nothing to do with the calm woman he spent the last 3 months with.

"Now, Orla-Nevesta," said the beast, taking a step towards its prey. "What is this part of your body called?"

With blinding speed, it closed the distance between itself and the woman.

"Aaaa–Aaaagh...*gasp*... Aaarrrgh..."

Orla-Nevesta let out pitiful sounds as her lungs gasped for air and her feet yearned for the ground they were forced to leave. The beast was holding her up with both hands, her eyes full of hatred.

"...aaa... aaaaahh... h-help... he-help..."

Her cries were not heard by servants around her. Not that it would have changed anything as no servant observing the scene could have dared to move a single finger.

To properly serve some types of nobles, some servants learned how to fight. It was the case for every servant present, in fact.

They weren't that strong, of course—most were in rank Clover, the lowest rank for an active adventurer. Yet, they were experienced enough to see that, even if they all came together against that beast, they wouldn't come out of this battle victorious.

They could easily see their skulls getting smashed on the hard floor, their stomachs being pierced by those sharp claws, and their limbs being torn apart.

They could see all of those gruesome fates all too clearly, with such vivid details that some were already totally unable to move, only praying silently that the beast would lose interest after being done with their employer.

"Hm? 'Help me' you say? Oh my, but there is no such part called that in the human body... Ah, but I remember now... You did say I knew nothing, didn't you? Seems you were right, I don't know anything about that 'help me' you speak of! Can you help me learn about it?"

The beast spoke with a tone of playful cruelty as if toying with a ragdoll she could break at any point. The woman could only let out desperate calls for mercy. She tried to claw the hands of her aggressor, but the struggle proved to be pointless.

She slowly understood too—there was no way for her to escape. There never was. She had dug her very own grave the moment she choose to not attack this thing believing nothing could happen to her.

"Hm... Oh well, if you won't show me what a 'help me' is, I guess I will have to help you push the words through that throat of yours."

The beast held her neck tighter and tighter until...

*crack*

...a cracking sound echoed through the hall.