The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 104

“Will you marry me?”

Out of nowhere, I was proposed to by Princess Hagal, the youngest daughter of the emperor.

“Guhk—!”

I choked on the water I was drinking.

“Ugh! Gahk, ugh…”

I knew it was impolite in front of the princess, but I just couldn’t hold it back.

“Oh my, I’m sorry. Did I get straight to the point too soon?”

Princess Hagal lightly laughed and handed me a handkerchief.

It seemed like she was doing it on purpose, and a mischievous gleam was in her eyes.

Still struggling to catch my breath, I just shook my head instead of answering.

As I reached for the handkerchief, Eliza grabbed my hand and lowered it.

Her eyes were glaring daggers at Hagal.

It was an extremely rude look.

Eliza, still staring at Hagal, held out the red handkerchief.

It was the same red handkerchief I had received from Eliza earlier.

Without saying a word, she began to wipe my mouth.

“Thank you… ah…”

Her touch was rough, as if she wasn’t even looking at what she was doing.

Hagal alternated between watching Eliza and me with a curious expression.

“Miss, that’s enough now…”

Only then did Eliza lower her hand.

Her gaze remained fixed on Hagal, not once faltering.

I was subtly observing her, and it was Eliza who spoke first.

“I don’t understand what you’re trying to do here.”

“Trying to do… Well, there’s no special intention behind it.”

“Then why?”

“Well, why is it any of your business, Lady? What’s your relationship with her?”

“That’s not important right now.”

“…Do you really think so?”

Hagal crossed her arms and tilted her head.

I, too, had wondered about that question from time to time.

Were we really just a simple knight and master? Was that all?

Meanwhile, Eliza showed no sign of caring for that question, her gaze unwavering as she stared at Hagal.

Hagal sighed lightly, shrugging her shoulders.

“You’re a hard person to understand… There’s really no grand intention behind it. If there is, it’s that I want someone to protect me.”

“……”

Eliza’s eyes turned into a mad fire.

Unlike me, who was on edge, Hagal gave a small laugh as if she found the situation amusing.

“As you know, the political situation on the continent is unstable, right?”

The one at the center of it all was standing right next to us.

Eliza.

The quiet and strange tension between Johan, Barak, and Eliza.

Those who knew, were already cautious, staying out of it.

And Princess Hagal was one of those people who needed to stay out of it too.

Barak seemed like a relatively gentle and caring father to his children, except for Eliza.

On the other hand, Emperor Johan was never warm or affectionate to any of his children.

He acted as though he were the only one destined to rule for an eternity.

‘Somewhat suspicious, isn’t it?’

Anyway, Hagal was someone who couldn’t blindly depend on Johan.

But it was strange.

Wanting protection?

Hagal had enough power and influence to defend herself in that power struggle, even if she was the youngest daughter.

After all, a princess was still a princess.

Noticing my confusion, Hagal gave me a sly smile.

“It’s just that I need a little more protection, if possible.”

“Am I the one providing that protection?”

“Yes, you could say that. You’re skilled, and above all, you’re a knight favored by Lady Eliza, aren’t you?”

Upon hearing it, it seemed like a very political marriage.

She was trying to gain Eliza as an ally through me.

“I feel like sticking close to Lady Eliza will be safer in the long run.”

The emperor, Barak, and Eliza.

Hagal seemed to believe in Eliza’s potential among those three.

“So, what do you think?”

Hagal asked, looking at me expectantly.

Eliza still didn’t look at me.

Her eyes, burning with a Mad fire, were focused solely on Hagal.

She seemed like someone frozen in time.

I wondered if she was even breathing.

Without hesitation, I answered Hagal’s question.

“I refuse.”

Surprisingly, Hagal smiled and nodded.

“I had a feeling just now, but it’s still surprising to hear it. Could you tell me the reason? I think I’m not a bad choice for a bride, don’t you?”

It’s a bit annoying, but he’s right.

The princess is surely a wonderful woman in many ways, and objectively speaking, she must be great.

But… well.

“I don’t really have a reason.”

That’s the only answer I could give.

I glanced at Eliza.

She slowly turned to look at me.

Her face was expressionless.

But the Mad fire that had been in her eyes was now a vivid red.

Hagal muttered to herself as she stood up.

“I thought it was just a simple favor…”

The smile on his face was quite mischievous.

As if he were leaving behind an interesting puzzle.

“This is a secret from here on. It wouldn’t be fun if someone told you.”

Out of courtesy, I tried to stand up and bow, but I couldn’t.

Eliza still hadn’t let go of the hand she’d grabbed earlier.

That hand was firmly holding me in place.

“Well then, I’ll be going. See you next time.”

“…Take care.”

In the end, I had no choice but to sit and bow.

Eliza didn’t say a word.

She shifted her gaze from me and stared blankly at the spot where Hagal had just been sitting.

What was she thinking?

I hesitantly called her name.

“Um, miss…”

“….”

“Miss?”

“I’m tired.”

Eliza rubbed her forehead and stood up.

“I’m going to rest.”

“…Understood.”

I escorted her to the door of the room.

We hadn’t said a word to each other until then.

The question I had almost asked was thankfully swallowed back down.

Before entering the room, Eliza spoke without looking at me.

“…Good night.”

It was still daytime.

Sleep was still a long way off.

Could that parting greeting mean she wouldn’t be seeing me again until tomorrow?

I simply lowered my head.

And until the sun set, I didn’t see Eliza again.

We didn’t even share a meal.

‘I wonder if she’s eating well.’

By the time it was getting late, and I had finished washing up and come out.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

The visitor was an unexpected person.

***

While Eliza and Judas were meeting with the princess.

Likewise, Lia, who served Eliza, was alone.

She was cleaning Eliza’s room.

Knock knock.

Someone knocked on the door.

When she opened it, two familiar faces greeted her.

Barak and Narcissus’s child.

Their youngest daughter, Sarah.

And their fourth son, Achan.

Lia greeted them politely.

“Greetings. What brings you here? The young lady went to meet with the princess.”

They didn’t answer right away.

They quietly scanned the room.

Achan carefully asked.

“Um, what about that Judas person?”

“The knight was also with the young lady.”

Achan let out a sigh of relief.

Since their last encounter, Judas had become a trauma for him.

Sometimes, he still has nightmares.

The broken granite sword from that day still haunts him in his dreams.

“Lia. I need your help.”

“My help?”

“Yeah. You’ve helped us a few times already. Why act like you don’t know?”

“Well… I’m not sure what help I can offer you two.”

“I want to know my mother’s whereabouts.”

Achan said, and next to him, Sarah’s eyes were brimming with tears.

Mother.

Lia rolled the word around in her mouth.

A sigh almost escaped her lips, but she swallowed it down.

She too was accustomed to wearing a mask.

Just like someone else.

“You must know,” she said.

“Help us…!”

Sarah, still on the verge of tears, interjected.

“I can’t leave her in that cruel environment any longer…! It’s too cruel!”

“Well…”

Lia tilted her head slightly and smiled.

“This isn’t something I can casually speak about.”

“You…! Why are you acting like this all of a sudden? You’re still sharing information with Cain and Levi!”

“Well…”

“Where did you hear my name from?”

A voice suddenly cut in.

The three of them turned their heads in unison.

A man was walking down the hallway.

He had curly blonde hair and a gentle, approachable expression.

He smiled kindly and walked with long strides.

“Levi, hyung…”

The second son, Levi de Bevel.

His half-closed smile remained unwavering.

Sarah ran toward him.

“Levi oppa! Can you talk to him for me?”

“What’s this about?” Levi asked.

Achan and Sarah chattered about the conversation they’d just had.

Lia simply listened.

“Ah, it’s about the mother. I’ve been concerned too,” Levi said, smiling at his younger siblings before turning to Lia.

“I actually have something I need to talk about too, so since I’m here, I’ll handle it. You two can go rest.”

Levi skillfully reassured the two of them and sent them off.

Soon, only Levi and Lia remained.

Levi smiled mischievously as he watched his siblings leave.

“I do feel sorry for the whole mother situation, but this isn’t something that can be dealt with recklessly.”

“Don’t you need the Duchess, young master?”

“Hmm? Well, I’d like to bring Mom out too, but the situation lately… if I accidentally provoke Eliza, something bad might happen. It’s just a hunch. Even when I proposed the friendly competition, I was so nervous.”

Levi spoke casually as if the matter were of no significance.

But his demeanor and tone didn’t match his true feelings.

After the competition, he immediately sold half of his personal guard to Judecca.

If it had been one of his other brothers, they might have killed him, but Levi didn’t.

Why waste someone by killing them when you could make money by selling them?

You could always replace them with someone more capable.

Though the defeat stung, Levi considered it a blessing in disguise.

It was better to realize your weakness before the battle, to understand and correct it.

Levi judged that making an enemy of Eliza through that competition was worth trying.

He had only heard rumors of Eliza’s skills, but he had witnessed Barak’s power firsthand.

With that kind of heat, the earth-shaking force, he didn’t think Eliza would be a match.

In his opinion, magic wasn’t everything; talent alone wasn’t enough.

“I see…”

Lia observed Levi.

But she couldn’t gather any clues.

Sarah and Achan were naive.

Jezebel was trying too hard to appear clever.

Levi was different.

He was skilled at hiding his true intentions.

He steered the conversation in the direction he wanted and was capable of sowing discord between others.

With his frail body, he had inherited such intelligence.

A man whose true nature was unknowable.

Now and then, more dangerous than Cain, the eldest son.

Cain, from the start, had always been a warrior, far removed from politics.

“What is it that you need from me?”

“Need? Well… it’s not really a need, but…”

Levi extended his words, sizing Lia up from top to bottom.

His gaze was analytical.

The trembling of her fingertips, the shift in her posture.

He observed even the slightest details, pulling them in and analyzing them with meticulous focus.

Lia remained straight-faced.

“Well, I’ve been curious about something lately.”

“Is it about me?”

“Yeah. You’ve been serving Eliza for a long time, right? Since the time she first came to the family?”

“Yes.”

“And from that point on, you became your mother’s right-hand. To watch over Eliza. Since then, you’ve been reporting all the necessary information to her, and after she was sadly exiled, and captured by Eliza, you secretly gave us siblings one piece of information at a time…”

Levi took a step closer.

His tall frame cast a shadow over Lia’s face.

Despite the somewhat oppressive atmosphere, Lia did not lose her composure.

Her cold, black eyes stared straight at Levi.

Through the narrow slit of her half-closed eyes, her red pupils glinted.

“Now that I think about it, those pieces of information don’t seem very useful, do they?”

“….”

“Of course, people can make mistakes. No one is always right. But, well… How should I put this? It’s as if they were… very cleverly twisted… lies?”

Levi stepped back again.

An uneasy, test-like atmosphere filled the air.

“When you reported about Eliza, there were always some very important things missing, right? Even when you gave us important information, the same thing happened. All of it was crucial, but in the end, none of it benefited us.”

“….”

“Take our pure Jezebel, for example. You just believed in her words and sent the secret agents, but they all got killed by that Judas, the knight, didn’t they?”

“It was because I failed to accurately assess Judas’s skills.”

“Yeah. Always a convincing excuse.”

Levi chuckled generously and nodded.

He reached into his coat and suddenly pulled something out.

A dagger gleamed in his hand.

He stretched it out, as if to stab.

The sharp blade stopped just in front of Lia’s neck.

“It really feels like you never intended to help us. Like, from the beginning, you were working for Eliza, not us.”

“….”

“Underestimating the maid was your mistake. How does it feel now that your betrayal has been exposed?”

Levi pressed the dagger closer as he asked.

Lia didn’t blink once.

In fact, she knew that Levi had no intention of killing her right away, so she simply smiled.

Levi looked down at her in confusion, and soon Lia spoke.