In This Life, I Will Be Your Dog - Chapter 10

As the wooden sword came down with a fierce strike, she easily dodged it, her expression indifferent as she watched the panting Ether.

After he had bowed his head to her upon becoming the knight commander, she had thought of him as a magnanimous man. He had continued to treat her with utmost respect, and she had believed him to be a true knight. But now, she realized, only now, how foolish she had been to not see through the lie.

Ether launched another sharp attack, and Bellona sidestepped with ease, a bitter smile on her lips. How foolish had I been to trust my subordinates, only to be betrayed twice?

“How long do you plan to just dodge?” Ether roared, his attacks relentless, his breath growing ragged. As exhaustion set in, his voice turned into a desperate shout.

Her muscles were not what they once were, having returned to the state they were five years ago. But her body’s ingrained habits had not faded. That meant Ether had no chance of defeating her in his current state. Who could possibly defeat the “Goddess of the Sword”?

“You seem tired. I’ll let you rest soon,” she said coldly. Before Ether could respond, Bellona leaped forward, her sword plunging mercilessly into his abdomen.

“Ugh!”

As his body instinctively recoiled, she grabbed his clothes, pulling him upright, before delivering a powerful strike to the back of his neck.

“Ugh!”

When he started to collapse forward, she mercilessly kneed him in the face. The match would be over if he fell, so Bellona made sure to give him no chance to do so. With each strike, her tightly bound red hair swayed through the air, and Ether’s appearance grew increasingly disheveled.

What had started as a sparring match had now turned into a one-sided beating, and the arena grew eerily quiet. But stopping a knight in the midst of an important trial was out of the question. Bellona, knowing this well, continued to pummel Ether’s body until her fury began to subside. Yet the anger did not dissipate easily. How could she forgive so easily when her siblings had died because she had trusted him?

She wanted nothing more than to beat him until he could no longer move, but now was not the time to let emotions cloud her judgment. Ether’s pupils were already unfocused, and he swayed on the brink of collapse. With one final strike to the back of his knees, his legs buckled, and his body crumpled to the ground.

She hadn’t even used all her strength, yet her body, no longer fully trained, left her gasping for breath.

I need to start strength training again.

Catching her breath, Bellona glanced to the side and saw the referee staring in shock at the battered Ether.

“What are you waiting for?” she asked calmly.

Startled out of his stupor, the referee finally raised his hand toward her. “B-Bellona Riknis, wins!”

Instead of cheers, the crowd looked at her as though she were a monster. But Bellona, having expected this reaction, remained unfazed as she turned to leave the training ground.

Just as she was about to step off, she heard the sound of enthusiastic applause. Turning slowly, she saw Impes, who had been sitting arrogantly in his seat, now standing and clapping. His applause prompted reluctant claps from others in the arena, but to Bellona, it was as if all sound had faded away, leaving only the echo of Impes’s claps in her ears.

His approving gaze bore into her, and Bellona’s eyes turned cold once more.

He descended from the platform and approached her, his white cape billowing behind him. He looked younger than the last time she had seen him before her death. As Impes drew closer, he regarded her with a look of interest. Bellona, in turn, looked up at him with a hardened expression.

Still the same beautiful man with delicate features. But knowing all too well the monstrous cruelty that lurked beneath that exterior, his appearance only filled her with revulsion. A fire ignited within her chest, her usually calm green eyes darkening with intensity.

He was within reach. If she just extended her hand…

Her graceful hand, not yet fully matured, was now soaked with murderous intent. The urge to strangle him and snuff out his life surged within her. She wanted to see his face twisted in that mocking smile as he lay dying.

But her tightly clenched fist slowly relaxed. Bellona swallowed the raging bloodlust and lowered her head slightly.

No, not yet. I won’t let you off that easily.

It didn’t matter anymore if this was a dream or an illusion. If it was a dream, she wouldn’t wake up, and if it was an illusion, she would treat it as a miracle. Whatever the gods’ intentions were in turning back time, even if this life was her last chance to atone for her sins, she would gladly bathe in their blood and laugh. And she would make sure that they, mother and son, experienced the despair of falling to the very depths of hell. In the end, she would kill him and complete her revenge. But to do so, she would have to enter his embrace once more.

“I never knew such an exceptional knight was in the Imperial Knights,” Impes said, his praise hollow and insincere as he reached out a pale hand to her.

“I thank you, Your Highness,” Bellona replied, dropping to one knee in a gesture of respect.

“Your name is Bellona, correct?”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

Impes extended his hand to her. “I wish to appoint you as my personal knight. Will you accept?”

For a moment, Bellona’s face went cold. The trial wasn’t even over, yet he was already extending his hand. And he was asking for permission instead of issuing an order? The arrogant Impes?

Bellona looked up at the man who was smiling so brightly at her.

“You look surprised. As you should be. But this is proof that your swordsmanship has captivated me, so you should be pleased.”

He was still arrogant, but something about him felt different from when she had first met him.

It felt as though there was a crack in the past.

She had already resolved to change her tainted past with her own hands, but his sudden change in attitude was unsettling.

“So, will you become my personal knight?” he asked again, his hand still extended.

Bellona stared at his hand for a moment, a slight smile playing at the corner of her lips.

If I take your hand and blindfold you, what kind of future will we end up with?

Just as Bellona was about to raise her hand to his, someone shattered the silence.

“The trial isn’t over yet. Let’s reserve judgment until it’s finished, Your Highness.”

Bellona’s hand froze mid-air as a voice, both familiar and unfamiliar, cut through the tension like a blade.

She turned her head slowly, her expression turning rigid as she looked at the man who was walking confidently toward them.

As her gaze swept over him, she recognized his slightly leaner frame, his neatly combed black hair, and the black uniform that had replaced the armor she had last seen him in. The aura of nobility that only a member of the imperial family could exude emanated from him. And…

Where there had once been black gloves, a smooth, unblemished hand now cut through the air.

It was Caelus Perekinon, the man whose life she had once taken with her own hands.

For a moment, Bellona felt weak. It made sense that Caelus was alive, given that time had been reversed. Yet, seeing him before her without any time to mentally prepare sent a strange sensation rippling through her body. It wasn’t joy at his survival, but a selfish relief that her sin had somehow been erased, that stirred within her.

Seeing Caelus’s unscathed hand, Bellona was filled with a renewed certainty that time had indeed turned back, and with it, the anticipation of realizing her revenge brought a sense of euphoria. Moreover, the fact that he had intervened in Impes’s command stirred a dormant arrogance within her—could it be that he still desired her sword?

Her heart pounded so hard she feared it might burst.

“What brings you here?” Impes asked sharply, his tone laced with irritation as he turned to Caelus.

“Can’t you see? These knights have undergone rigorous training to take this trial,” Caelus responded, his gaze sweeping over the knights in the arena.

“I asked what brings you here.”

Caelus ignored Impes’s irritable tone and looked back at the knights, speaking in a stern voice, “The trial will proceed as planned. Regardless of the outcome, any knight who demonstrates exceptional skill will be specially assigned to the Imperial Guard. Do your best.”

At Caelus’s words, the previously silent arena began to buzz with excitement. As Bellona observed the knights’ growing enthusiasm, she cast a glance at Impes. He stood there, his fists clenched, trembling with rage, but unable to say a word.

And then, a forgotten memory surfaced in Bellona’s mind.

That’s right. This was before Caelus became the Grand Duke.