Chapter 10.4

"Ero, I'm a helpless girl!" she cried, never taking her eyes off the blade threatening her. "As my fiancé, you could come to my aid for a moment."

To her frustration, the two men exchanged a brief consulting glance. Without being able to read minds, she knew its contents. Do you think that's really necessary?

"Alina, you're a beast, not a poor, helpless girl," spoke the supposed fiancé.

If she ever did decide on someone to be her husband, it certainly wouldn't be this fraud. Just a moment ago, he played the lover, now he left her hanging. What would that look like in a marriage?

"Darling, stop with the nonsense!" her father chimed in. All he had for her was a snort, instead of genuine concern.

Rotten traitors! Alina pressed her lips tightly together to keep from spitting it out.

If she always stood alone in every dangerous situation, she saw no reason to back down now, of all times.

Ero lifted the sheath of his sword with a clear gesture, without loosening it from his waist. All unnoticed by Nerre's attention. Now she just had to jump backward to grab it. Before Nerre could threaten her again with her sword, Alina was already with the two men.

Ero's sword was a fine piece but so damn heavy. Unusual for the girl who normally fought with her daggers. But now she couldn't find time to complain.

Fortunately for her, Nerre took it all as a joke.

She stood there, her sword raised. A loud laughter erupted from her throat. Especially after Alina had positioned herself against her. Ready to fight, the dragon flashed dangerously threateningly.

The same ornament as on her daggers. A sign of their friendship.

With him, it might be impressive. Alina, on the other hand, seemed out of place.

Her posture and gait suggested an uncertain thing without weapon experience. And even though she outwardly continued to display this inexperience, within her radiated a warming feeling that she had the upper hand.

Nerre was one of many who hopelessly underestimated the girl. And just like those, this intuition of a quick fight could mean her end if Alina unleashed her claws.

"That you're leaving me hanging just like earlier," she exclaimed. "There were 25 heavily armed robbers and poor me, a girl, had to defend myself against them."

Nerre swayed at the sound of the words. Uncertainty about the opponent spread within her. And yet she couldn't imagine more in the girl than the little farmer's daughter.

"Alina," Ero called out sternly, now having nothing left of the loving fiancé. Just like her father next to him, who rolled his eyes. "There were 25 poor men who didn't know what fury they were bringing into the camp. And now stop with the melodrama!"

"And I thought one protects the beloved fiancée," pouted Alina. "Then don't you dare to play the part either!"

That's a mistake, she realized inwardly.

Alina gripped the sword tighter with both hands so it wouldn't slip out at the first strike. Her unassuming posture was partly intentional. She didn't intend to present herself to the woman as a skilled fighter, which she simply wasn't. Especially not with a sword, especially not this heavy two-hander.

Both were probably right. She was rusty due to her neglect of training. Lately, she only practiced for performances, and both could be combined well. As long as it wasn't with such a two-hander.

"This is a joke!" Nerre exclaimed. "You want the girl to face me." Nothing softened her haughty gaze, which even hardened when assessing her opponent. "This will be a very short fight."

She didn't wait for the girl to tighten her awkward grip on the big sword but lunged at her. The sharp blade narrowly missed Alina's nose.

For the observer, it must have looked like a reflexive movement of the girl simply falling back to avoid the blade. But Alina smiled. Her plan worked. Even now, she could have ended the fight with one blow.

Nerre didn't see her as an opponent and thus didn't pay much attention to her defense.

Alina gripped the sword tighter, even dared to advance as the blade swooped toward her again.

Metal clashed in a fierce strike. "My dear," Alina called out now, completely devoid of the carefree act. No naive thing, but entirely the bounty hunter, feared by so many tongues. "Good old Marno doesn't approve of women foolishly waving a sword around."

Her opponent put all her weight into trying to defeat Alina. And she even gave her space. The petite girl jumped back to create some distance between them. As she did so, she aimed her sword. Ready to attack, no longer clumsy as before.

"He fundamentally rejects two types of applicants. Children and women." The woman in front of her spat out, unmoved by her words.

"He made two exceptions." A brief glance indicated Ero. "He's been learning here since he was ten. And me…" Alina smiled. "Marno has been teaching me since I could hold a sword. They call me the Bloody Angel, and I'm a bounty hunter."

A slight bow followed. Everything would be perfect if not for a small detail that caused her self-assured demeanor to shatter into anger.

"And my daughter, who loves to make grand speeches, should train with the sword again," Marno interjected in the stern reprimand of the teacher.

Until just now, she hadn't even noticed how closely her father was scrutinizing her every move. His assessing looks now seemed all the more unpleasant to her.

"I can't see how you've earned your reputation."

The opponent before her stared at the girl, frozen. A joke, nothing more. For her, this girl couldn't be a notorious bounty hunter. Not with the role she had played earlier.

And it was precisely this stiffness that Alina didn't let go to waste.

Fighting honorably was never her strength. She couldn't afford it. Not even here in her father's house.

So she quickly sprang into an attack that Nerre tried to evade. With a mighty swing, the blade swooshed past the other woman, where it only fully impacted when it met the opponent's sword.

With a loud bang, she wrested the sword from the commander's hands. The two spectators fled from their seats, startled by the projectile flying over the table, ultimately coming to rest at their feet.

A house was truly no suitable place for a fight.

Even though Alina couldn't stand this woman and she more than deserved death for her deeds, the girl wasn't ready to play the executioner. She briefly let the blade of Ero's sword wander under the other's throat.

A clear sign for both who emerged victorious from this fight. Shortly thereafter, it fell to the ground.

"Tell me who the target should be," she demanded of the woman. "I'll look into the matter and then decide if action is warranted."

Shortly after, Alina threw the sword back to its rightful owner. Not as befitting such a noble piece, but almost like rubbish, it landed at the boy's feet.

"You're not trying to tell me that you're this murderer." The woman crossed her arms over her chest. "You're still so young."