ITWGE 04

𖹭 Chapter 4 𖹭

“Of all things, this little nuisance gets in the way. Hey—you’re not even half our size, kid!”

At the shout, Helicia swung the branch again without hesitation.

The group narrowly avoided the fast attack by bending their backs, then immediately shifted into an offensive stance.

It wasn’t refined swordsmanship like Lato’s, but nothing worked better for creating distance.

After all, she was just bait—she only needed to buy time.

‘Good thing I studied so hard in my past lives.’

She had thought she lacked talent, but it turned out useful like this.

Matching their movements, she lightly caught the branch she had been spinning with one hand.

At that moment, a firm young voice came from behind.

“Let the child go.”

Clack.

As the carriage door swung open, the first thing she saw was deep red hair, like crushed dried roses.

A black uniform embroidered with gold thread followed.

It was Arpessian.

For a moment, his youthful face overlapped with the image of him enduring pain just before death.

Without hesitation, he stepped down from the carriage.

“Judging by your clothes, you’re a trainee knight from the temple. There’s nothing to gain from stirring trouble in neutral territory.”

Helicia glanced down at her outfit.

She had asked Lato for a disguise, and he had brought her trainee knight clothing from the temple.

No wonder there was a misunderstanding.

Arpessian strode over and stood in front of her, blocking her path.

Even though he was twelve, his back didn’t fully cover her—she could still see past him if she leaned a little.

…What is he doing?

Helicia tapped his back, slightly annoyed.

“Um… could you maybe go back inside?”

Peeking around him, she spoke, but he answered casually.

“Just pretend you didn’t see anything and run. Don’t shorten your life by talking about this.”

Helicia blinked in disbelief at his back.

Step by step, he walked boldly toward the group and shouted—

“I don’t need company to the afterlife. I’d rather die cleanly on my own.”

What? Who said you get to die cleanly?! Live messily and long!

Helicia grabbed the hem of his uniform urgently.

“That’s not allowed!”

But despite her protest, Arpessian continued.

“So let the child go. I’ve silenced her.”

“Your Highness, can you hear me? Am I talking to myself?”

“You’re after me anyway.”

“Then why would you come out yourself?!”

He was definitely not in his right mind.

Even if his brother’s forces were on the way, there was no reason to walk out and offer himself up!

And since even the coachman had already been killed, she couldn’t brush off his words as a joke.

When Helicia pulled him back, Arpessian was dragged slightly behind.

His shoulders twitched in surprise.

Being pulled by someone much smaller than him clearly caught him off guard.

But only for a moment.

Soon, he spoke again toward the group.

“What do you want? Who sent you?”

“Your face is covered, and you expect names?”

No wonder he kept getting stabbed in the stomach in past lives—he practically invited it.

Despite her steady interruptions, Arpessian continued.

“State your purpose.”

“With that gloomy dress code, how are they supposed to state anything? You’re not colorblind, are you?”

“Why no answer? You approached us first.”

“If they were that polite, they would’ve requested an audience.”

“I’ll let this go if you leave now.”

“People who say that usually stab you in the back.”

Mid-conversation, Arpessian suddenly fell silent.

Helicia tilted her head and looked at his back.

Lowering her gaze slightly, she saw his small fists trembling.

As expected—

He turned sharply and glared at her.

His features were neat and striking, though still youthful, with slightly sharp eyes.

His golden gaze was filled with suspicion.

“Are you with them?”

Ah… what a serious misunderstanding.

Helicia raised her small hand, pointing between herself and the group.

“I’m wearing white, they’re wearing black. We already look unrelated, right?”

Placing a hand on her chest confidently, she smiled brightly.

“Don’t worry. I’m on Your Highness’s side!”

“On my side…?”

Arpessian looked as if he had been struck by something invisible, repeating her words.

Behind him, the black-clad group suddenly lunged forward.

‘Seriously—people doomed to die young always act like this.’

‘Why would you turn your back to the enemy?’

Startled, Helicia reacted instantly and swung the branch.

Thud!

A dull impact echoed as one man was knocked back, breaking their formation.

The heavy vibration traveled through the branch into her bones.

Seizing that brief opening, another attacker aimed for her from behind.

She quickly turned the longer branch sideways and slammed it into his abdomen.

Thump!

He was sent flying back, crashing into others.

Helicia grabbed Arpessian’s arm and pulled him behind her.

Immediately, he drew his sword in a textbook-perfect stance.

“I’ll handle the rear.”

Worried he might get hurt even a little, Helicia blurted out—

“Do you suddenly feel like lying down? I’m pretty confident in making people lie down.”

“I learned from the best swordsmanship instructor in the Estar Empire.”

“…Did you actually learn from him?”

Was that why he had only been injured in previous lives?

But his next answer made her doubt her ears.

“I learned from the book he wrote.”

“…What about real combat experience?”

“None.”

…Wow. None.

What’s with that confidence?!

And yet his face showed not a trace of doubt—if anything, he looked solemn.

It was shocking in many ways.

She had seen people say they learned romance from books—but swordsmanship?

‘A prince who never learned swordsmanship… with no guards either? This is strange.’

Behind them, wasn’t Arzen traveling with imperial knights?

Sure, it was common for royals to ride separately in case of attacks—but still…

‘They neglected him this much?’

Helicia swung her branch again.

After striking one in the side, she swept through multiple enemies like gathering laundry.

Amid the dull impacts, Arpessian muttered behind her.

“Still… I can’t just stand by and let a child fight in front of me.”

You’re a child too!

If she were really an ordinary eight-year-old, she might have been touched.

But this was her eighteenth time being eight.

She leaned slightly back against him and asked quickly—

“Don’t they teach you how to command guards in the imperial family?”

“If they did, would I have learned swordsmanship from a book?”

“Wow… that’s painfully accurate.”

She wasn’t even joking—she almost teared up.

It felt like confirmation.

‘So he really was abandoned by the imperial family.’

No wonder his manners toward nobles felt off.

‘He went to war like this… and only got stabbed in the stomach? That’s practically a miracle.’

‘They didn’t even give him basic education?’

She could practically see her 19th regression approaching.

Helicia tightened her grip on the branch.

‘I don’t want to die again.’

No matter how used she became to betrayal and death, the pain never lessened.

She simply prepared herself in advance.

She expected less. Relied less. Clung less.

Even so, whenever her breath grew tight and her vision blurred—

she still struggled to live, even knowing she would return.

For others, life might just be something they were given.

But for her—

it was a future she desperately wanted.

‘Even if my divine power disappears, I’ve done enough as a saintess.’

She had finally gained a useful ability.

She wasn’t going to waste this life.