They don't want me to try anymore.

"Huh? Has the latest version reached such an exaggerated level?" The female swordsman was stunned for a moment, then quickly explained:

"Eyes don't have that much power. There was an assassin at the time. Lady Luvia fought the assassin so fiercely that it frightened little Clinton. Besides, she didn't pee; she just fell to the ground and cried."

"That would be embarrassing... Everyone says that Lady Luvia only befriends men stronger than herself, and that can't be a lie, right? I can't even compare to Lord Clinton, so I won't embarrass myself by going over there."

"This……"

The female swordsman pursed her lips: "I didn't hear her say it outright, but she might actually be thinking that way. The Cromwell family, always like that..."

"So that's what I'm saying!"

Three minutes passed.

Luvia has dealt with all the demons in the village.

Seeing the small village turned into a slaughterhouse, with piles of rice next to it covered in blood, she sighed softly.

The attendants rushed over immediately, and the female swordsman said, "My lord, this is how it is in the mountains to the northeast; demons are always appearing..."

"Yes, I know... so we should do more."

After giving a brief reply, she stood there in silence for three seconds.

She then directed the group to bury the body and return to the camp.

In the fortress located on the border of the empire, a group of people returning from their patrol went to the canteen for a meal.

The surrounding soldiers unconsciously lowered their voices and looked at him with admiration.

The young man who had been stammering earlier now stood proudly with his chest puffed out, but... he still didn't dare to speak to Luvia.

A dozen minutes later, Luvia finished her meal quickly and decisively, bid farewell to her attendants, and returned to her room.

She looked closely at the door and, seeing that it was locked...

Carefully and quickly, she secretly took out gummy bears, a bag of jerky, and an illustrated popular romance novel from under the bed.

Then she lay on the bed, eating and watching with great relish.

Although her expression remained solemn, as if she were a professor correcting graduate students' papers, her bare, white-and-pink feet, dangling precariously in mid-air, still proved that there were emotions surging within her.

If the attendants were to see this side of their female warrior boss, they would probably be shocked.

Yes, that's why Luvia does these things secretly.

Upon seeing the heroine's father appear in the book, Luvia couldn't help but think of her own deceased father and his often-repeated phrase:

Those who have Cromwell's blood flowing through their veins must be as hard and sharp as a sword!

In fact, after being promoted to Gold Saint and then bestowed the title of Sword of the Empire, Luvia did exactly that.

To uphold the family's honor, she always acted assertively in front of outsiders—at first, she didn't think there was anything wrong with that, after all, she was pretty much like that by nature.

But soon, people around her became overly in awe of her.

Later, all sorts of outrageous rumors emerged, such as how she frightened the Clintons with her eyes, or how she looked down on men who couldn't beat her... Tsk, she clearly didn't say those things.

But no one believed her when she denied it.

In short, soon everyone subconsciously kept their distance from her, dared not speak to her, and were constantly wary of the slightest change in her expression, even her former classmates from St. Goethe...

It's fair to say that a pitifully thick barrier separated them.

This atmosphere, in turn, made Luvia increasingly serious and silent, indirectly meeting everyone's expectations.

The problem is, how can a living person be 100% like a steel sword?

Although Luvia is usually aloof, she occasionally wants to read romance novels, indulge in food, and even find fierce and powerful creatures cute and want to hunt them down and preserve them as specimens... Anyway, she also has a normal side.

However, she doesn't dare to show these things to others now, so she can only secretly hide in her room and entertain herself.

Thinking of this, Luvia suddenly raised her head and glanced at the sword on the table.

Alas, perhaps my life is truly destined to be spent with only a sword...

She sighed, feeling somewhat tired.

Tweet!

Just then, she suddenly saw a paper bird land by the window.

"……headmaster?"

She immediately put down her book, unfolded the paper bird, and saw that it said Richard had won the duel and stayed at school to recover from his injuries...

She breathed a slight sigh of relief, but then couldn't help but worry about what would happen to Richard next.

More than two months ago, when Luvia began her first simulation with surprise and doubt, she noticed Richard.

After all, among all the simulated characters, this man was the only one with exquisite illustrations and whose appearance perfectly matched her aesthetics; he was exactly the kind of male protagonist she imagined in novels!

Moreover, Richard's subsequent actions demonstrated outstanding courage, strategy, and character, which made him even more attractive to her.

So she made a bold decision in the simulation.

Marry him!

To be honest, in reality, Luvia would never do that. Even disregarding the issue of social status, she would never be so enthusiastic towards someone she had just met.

But it's a simulation, so what's wrong with relaxing a bit?

In real life, I'm so popular that nobody dares to approach me, but can't I even try it in a simulation?

Since it's a mysterious simulation that only I can see, it doesn't matter if I do something outrageous, right?

Forced marriage is better than hard labor!

cough.

Originally, she thought it was a sure thing.

Unexpectedly, Richard refused to surrender and even secretly ran away!

And after decades of simulations, she finally learned that the wealthy and powerful businessman who suddenly appeared midway through the process, only to mysteriously disappear at the end, was actually Richard after changing his name!

It really gave Luvia a little bit of a Connaught shock.

After the simulation ended, Luvia, both surprised and angry, immediately took action.

For the public good, she didn't want to let such a talented person become an enemy of the empire; for her private good, she also wanted to have real-world contact with him.

Considering that Richard seemed to respond better to gentle persuasion than force, she wrote to the old headmaster and invited Richard to her alma mater, St. Goethe High School, thinking that this would temporarily win Richard over.

Once she finishes her duties on the frontier, she can return to the capital and slowly cultivate a relationship.

The result of the second simulation...

She was dumbfounded.

Less than two months later, Richard not only contracted polio, but also left the Empire with unusual determination, leaving Richard no time to react. By the time she returned to the capital, it was too late.

Once again, she lost the man she wanted.

Many years later, when she heard about Vanderbilt's coup, she discovered that Richard had once again gone into hiding and accomplished great things, not only becoming a literary giant but also orchestrating the assassination of the emperor!

After the simulation ended, she felt endless surprise and regret.

Richard... is far too capable!

And why wasn't the female lead herself?

To be honest, Luvia probably didn't care that much at first.

But the two failures gradually made her obsessed.

How can someone keep losing?!

So much so that after the second simulation ended, she felt an urge.

Or, why not just go to Saint-Gobain now and kidnap him... First, use even stricter methods than the first simulation to keep him at home... As for feelings, well, we can nurture them slowly...

But after calming down for a moment, she gave up on this simple, direct, and agreeable idea.

The results of the two simulations proved that Richard was not a casual man... or rather, a man of principle! Principled to an extreme, with an extremely strong rebellious streak, and completely indifferent to his own life and death, to a point that was somewhat difficult to understand...

Therefore, forcing it won't work.

but……

Back in the present, looking at the contents of the letter, Luvia knew she couldn't wait any longer, otherwise Richard in reality might repeat the mistakes of the simulation and leave the Empire.

But how can she approach the other person without making them resist?

Luvia pondered, glancing out of the corner of her eye at an excerpt from a journal sent by a senior military officer last year on the bookshelf beside her. Although she had never opened it because she didn't quite agree with its views.

Does Masked Asceticism Have Practical Value? – Some Thoughts on How to Improve Oneself After Reaching the Gold Rank

"...Never mind, let's try normal contact first."

Chapter Forty: Entering the Infirmary is Like Going Home

“A strange… no, a familiar ceiling.”

Richard opened his eyes in St. Goethe's infirmary.

He had just regained some consciousness when he heard two girls arguing beside him.