The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 1

Writing a malicious comment and getting possessed.

It’s a cliché that’s tiresome.

But now I have experienced it myself, its neither boring nor obvious.

“I want to escape”

Regret, as always, comes late.

I shouldn’t have done that back then.

But, who worries about getting possessed from writing a malicious comment?

It’s all just a joke.

__________________

[Trash game. I wouldn’t play it even if I was paid. Curious what’s in the developers’ heads, data garbage.]

[Especially Eliza, what’s her deal? Can’t she just attack and won’t die? Developer’s self-insert character? How can you make such a psychopath and serial killer so useless?]

[And if you’re going to release endings as DLC, do it properly, you s***…]

[If you have complaints, developers should quickly release more DLC. Especially Eliza and the Bevel family backstory.]

└8000 hours of playtime… this guy is legit.

└How did you clock 8000 hours on this crap game? ㅋㅋㅋ

└But isn’t Eliza honestly pretty if you ignore the scars?

ᄂᄂThe scars suppress her beauty.

ᄂᄂI like the scars…

└But does Eliza have any events? It’s hard to meet her and she just kills you if you approach.

ᄂᄂThere are, but they’re tricky. If you search it, one review by this person will come up.

ᄂᄂᄂAt that point, isn’t this person in love with Eliza? If you die, everything resets and you have to start over;;

ᄂᄂᄂThis is pure love.

ᄂYou will get possessed soon.

_________________________

Memories flash before my eyes like a revolving lantern.

Just before possession.

It was the moment I furiously pounded the keyboard.

I don’t remember much after that.

I might have fallen asleep or passed out.

When I came to my sense, I was possessed in the game ‘Anyway, A Ruined Fantasy World.’

‘…I’m screwed.’

The fact that it’s a cruel world where people die at the drop of a hat isn’t the problem.

It is a problem, but not the one I need to worry about right now.

I slowly lowered my head.

I checked my body.

A beggar wearing shabby rags.

My view was significantly lower.

Where did my original adult body go? It’s a child’s body.

A child around my age was standing in line, waiting for someone.

I don’t know whose body I’ve possessed.

But I know this situation.

‘The Eliza’s Escort Knight Cadet Selection Ceremony…’

Eliza de Bevel, one of the characters.

Not the main villain, nor an important character in the story.

Doesn’t particularly influence the players.

That’s why it’s a strange character.

No matter what you do, you can’t attack her, nor can you kill her.

In this high-degree-of-freedom open-world game where you can kill any NPC, she’s the only one you can’t kill.

Attacking her is outright forbidden.

If you antagonize her, Eliza burns you to death.

Literally burns you with fire.

As her nickname ‘The Mad Queen of Fire’ suggests, she is a wizard who handles unique flames.

Her personality is nasty too.

Every time you encounter her, she speaks rudely, is cold, and enjoys killing people—she’s a psychopath.

The scar across the middle of her face proves it.

Even though she’s not an important character, she’s given a ton of settings that make her seem significant.

Some say, “Did someone threaten you with a knife to meet her?”

No one did.

But as a gamer, how can you resist such things?

Anyway, she’s that kind of villainess, and now I’ve participated in her Escort knight selection ceremony.

To be precise, I’ve possessed a person who participated in it.

‘She’s famous for killing and replacing her Escorts if she gets bored…’

I don’t even have the leisure to distinguish whether this is a dream or reality.

If I make a mistake, I might lose my life here.

If I become a Escort knight, death is certain.

What special ability do I, as a possessor, have in this fantasy world to be selected?

You never know.

‘By the way, whose body have I possessed?’

This game starts with various characters at random; it’s a kind of ensemble play.

There is no clear protagonist.

I’ve played all the starting characters, but there was no character like this.

I needed information, so I rummaged through my pockets.

I felt something hard and prickly.

‘What is this?’

It was a broken piece of glass.

‘Oh, crap. Scared me.’

I immediately threw it on the ground and covered it with dirt.

Someone will probably search my pockets soon.

If something like this comes out of your pocket, it’s a worldview where a noble can legally cut your throat on the spot.

‘No matter how you look at it, I look like a beggar or a slave or something.’

Pieces of glass and some crumpled paper also fell out.

What’s this person carrying trash in their pocket for?

Or maybe life was rough and impoverished.

That seems likely.

Life for the lower class here is so harsh that words can’t describe it.

‘Every quest related to the slums always had a dismal atmosphere.’

Before long, someone stood in front of the children.

It was a middle-aged man dressed neatly in a uniform.

From the epaulettes on his shoulders, his upright posture, and broad build, he seemed to be a knight.

Several heavily armed knights stood beside him.

Definitely a knight.

And a high-ranking one at that.

‘He looks familiar from somewhere.’

I know most notable figures, but I don’t know those who didn’t appear in the game.

Even if they did appear, if their role was minor, I might not remember them.

“Nice to meet you, everyone.”

The middle-aged man spoke.

His tone was as stiff as his posture.

“I am Gawain, the captain of Lady Eliza’s mansion knights.”

Gawain.

Hearing the name jogged my memory.

He’s one of the strongest figures in the world setting.

I remember he was also called the paragon of swordsmanship.

‘Was he affiliated with the Bevel family?’

Not in my memory.

That means the timeline of the game I know and the current timeline are different.

‘Wait. How old is Eliza now?’

“Some of you came here voluntarily. Some were brought here against your will.”

Gawain looked around at the candidates.

He was right.

There were scruffy kids like me, as well as well-dressed boys who looked like noble sons.

“But remember, in front of the Lady, you’re all equal as trainee Escorts. Understand?”

“Yes!”

The noble kids shouted confidently.

The beggars, seemingly discouraged, kept their mouths shut.

“Good. The Lady will come to inspect you shortly. It’s just a simple greeting, so there’s no need to be too nervous, but make sure to mind your manners.”

“Yes!”

“We will now inspect your belongings.”

Gawain gestured.

A knight who had been waiting stepped forward and started rummaging through the kids’ possessions.

The noble boys frowned, uncomfortable with someone touching them.

But they didn’t resist.

Not all nobles are the same.

The Bevel duchy is a nobility above other nobles.

Soon it was my turn.

The knight roughly patted me down.

The hard gauntlets hurt quite a bit.

It was even worse because my body was small.

‘It was good that I threw away the glass shard earlier.’

As I sighed in relief, I heard a snicker from beside me.

I turned my eyes to look.

A plump young master with a bow tie.

His hair slicked back with grease.

‘What is this?’

Is there something to sneer at?

It might have been a cough, not a sneer.

But his expression is a bit annoying, isn’t it?

Next, it was the young master’s turn.

The knight took out a rattling item from his pocket.

“What is this?”

The knight asked.

“Ah…. Miss Eliza….”

“How rude. How dare you mention the lady’s name.”

“I-I’m sorry! It’s a gift for the lady….”

The young master replied in a stuffy voice.

“A watch made by a master craftsman, using the finest tin and top-grade magic stones mined from the Balkan Mountains….”

“We don’t need it.”

Thud, the knight casually threw the watch to the ground.

He even stomped and ground it with his steel boots.

The expensive-looking gift turned to dust in an instant.

The young master’s face turned pale in a flash.

He looked like he might cry soon.

“Do you know where you are to bring such a bribe? Bribes are strictly prohibited here. How dare you…”

“Ah, ah, um, well, uh….”

There’s no mercy, even for a child.

That’s the way this world is.

It’s a place with no children’s rights.

Considering the era, should this be seen as accurate historical portrayal?

“To shed tears over such a trivial matter. Pathetic.”

“I apologize….”

The young master hung his head low.

The knight passed by indifferently and inspected the next person.

After that, a few more people were caught with gifts.

Seeing expensive gifts turned into trash right before their eyes, someone eventually burst into tears.

That’s how children are.

But the knights didn’t seem to think that way.

Gawain looked down at the crying child with blatant contempt.

“There are some who aren’t even fit to be mercenaries, let alone the lady’s escort knights.”

Tsk. He even clicked his tongue at the end.

The noisy inspection of belongings ended quickly.

“Now we will escort the lady. Everyone, attention.”

Reflexively, I stiffened my body and took a formal attention stance.

This is why physical education students are scary.

The body reacts before the mind does.

“Now what do I do…?

My goal is to drop out here.

There is a surefire way.

Just swear at Eliza or give her a punch in the face.

Then I’ll definitely drop out of the selection, and my neck will also drop.

It’s too certain, which is a big problem.

‘Without excessively offending, just rude enough to drop out immediately from the selection.’

How do you know that?

Damn, it’s so difficult.

As Gawain turned his head to the left, he knelt down.

I looked at where he bowed his head.

A girl approached.

She was about the same height as my young body.

Her skirt, which reached her ankles, was as full as an umbrella.

The dress adorned with red and black lace was so elegant that it almost looked like a doll.

A maid next to her held a fancy parasol.

Another maid laid out a red carpet in a straight line in front of her.

The girl walked arrogantly on the red carpet, as if it were made of silk.

Hair as stubborn as my personality. Chin raised arrogantly.

Cold red eyes that look down on people.

Eyes that slant like a cat’s and a tear mole under the right eye.

It’s just like the Eliza I knew.

Except she’s much younger.

She’s small and has chubby cheeks.

She’s probably about the same size as me now.

‘There were no scars when she was young.’

“I present to you, Miss Eliza.”

Gawain bowed first, kneeling on one knee.

The children followed suit, albeit awkwardly, as Eliza passed by.

“I, I present to you, Miss Eliza….”

Whether he said it or not.

Eliza walked slowly, scanning the candidates.

She seems to not even hear the greetings.

The distance between the candidates lined up in a row and her was quite far.

A distance that would never close.

She seemed like an unbreakable wall beyond the red carpet.

Eliza looking down from a high wall.

“Eliza, I, I present to you, Miss.”

One by one, they stammered, avoiding her gaze.

Of course.

What if they accidentally looked hateful?

‘Then, is making eye contact a disqualification?’

Daring to look directly into the eyes of someone important is considered rude.

But, it’s not enough to hit the neck.

‘It’s perfect for dropping out due to bad luck.’

“E-e-el, li, Eliza, Miss, I present, present to you, you….”

The young nobleman next to her greeted her, trembling.

He bowed his head and even broke out in a cold sweat.

Then it was my turn.

I looked directly into Eliza’s eyes.

I didn’t even kneel.

Her steps, which were about to pass me, stopped.

Her gaze, bored and indifferent, fixed on me.

I didn’t avoid her gaze.

Rather, I looked at her a bit challengingly.

As I looked at her face, all the unfair things I had experienced in the game came to mind.

I felt a force enter my eyes.

Eliza, who had been looking down at an angle, turned her body.

Towards me, directly.

The bewildered Gawain, the knight, and the other candidates also turned their attention towards me.

I felt nervous for no reason, but I didn’t show it.

I need to stand out here.

Step by step.

Elizap aproached me.

Her red shoes stepped off the red carpet.

Stepping onto the muddy ground.

The distance between the candidates and the lady, which seemed unbridgeable, narrowed.

The knights, in their haste, could not stop her.

She stood in front of me, slightly shorter than me.

Yet she maintained a gaze that looked down on me.

Eliza’s small lips moved.

“Kneel.”

She commanded me.

I couldn’t react immediately.

I’m not someone who would kneel just because someone told me to.

On the other hand, I also worried that if I didn’t kneel now, would I be in trouble?

There was no need to worry.

“This arrogant brat!”

The knight rushed towards me, kicking my shin and pressing down on my shoulders.

“Ugh….”

My knee hit the ground, and my face slammed into the floor.

The knight pressed on the back of my neck.

I endured the pain.

As long as I could survive this, anything is possible.

I’ll just have to live and see.

“Lift your head.”

Eliza ordered.

The knight grabbed my hair and lifted my head.

Once again, I did not avoid her gaze.

Eliza slowly tilted her head and observed me.

Then, she reached out her hand.

A rough lace glove.

A long sleeve that covered her wrist.

Through the gap, it seemed like there were red marks on her wrist for some reason.

Her small hand grabbed my chin.

“Oh, lady…!”

The knight was surprised.

“Shh.”

Eliza silenced me.

She grabbed my chin, facing me, then slowly tilted her head.

She observes my face, turning it this way and that.

Her eyes curved like a crescent moon. It’s a wry smile, right now.

“Interesting.”

She let go of my chin.

Difficult-to-read emotions flickered in her smiling eyes.

“Except for this one, remove them all.”

I, of course, and everyone here, froze.

Eliza, who had thrown the bomb, coldly walked away with her maid.

I stared blankly at their retreating figures.

It was long after Eliza disappeared that I regained my senses.

“…Huh??

Something’s wrong.

Really wrong.

At that moment, a familiar phrase came to mind.