The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 120

“You carries an unusual sword.”

While I was going through records of my past, someone spoke to me from behind.

“That’s a weapon I’ve never seen before. Are you new?”

A familiar voice.

When I turned around, I saw a man with a rather pale appearance.

He was about as tall as me but extremely thin.

“Who knows? I don’t see a reason to tell you.”

Despite my cheeky response, the man simply chuckled.

“This isn’t exactly the kind of place where that matters. Wait, I feel like I’ve seen you before…”

“Hmm, I guess I still have a lot of my childhood features.”

“…Ah, the failure kid. What nerve you have to show up here.”

His demeanor turned threatening, as if ready to throw me out immediately.

It felt like he’d draw his weapon at any moment.

I held up the pentagram strapped to my waist.

“Looks like someone nominated me. And sorry to disappoint, but I took it. Isn’t that the rule?”

Members of the Assassin’s Guild are generally recruited in two ways.

They either find promising talents themselves or take recommendations.

And then there’s the third, unconventional way.

Kill a guild member, take their insignia, and come here.

Of course, it’s no simple task.

Not just anyone can pull it off.

You have to defeat a guild member, claim their insignia, and know both the location and the passphrase to get in.

“…Tch. We should change that rule. I don’t like it.”

He always says that but never does.

He’s stricter than anyone about upholding the existing rules.

I know exactly who he is.

The current Master of the Assassin’s Guild.

Zodiac.

He probably approached me because he sensed moon energy from my weapon.

He has a deep interest in relics.

“I heard you became Lady Eliza’s escort knight.”

“A person can have multiple occupations.”

“You’re not here to become a blade again, that’s for sure. Whatever your business, we won’t take back a failure who disgraced the guild. Leave now while I’m being polite.”

“I just stopped by because it reminded me of the old days.”

I placed the documents I had been reading back on the shelf.

I had discovered that I was once an assassin in the guild.

But there was no further information here about my past.

There were still parts I hadn’t read, but nothing seemed particularly meaningful.

Even the name of my assassination target was completely unfamiliar. I didn’t catch their surname, though.

‘More than that, I wanted to confirm whether Eliza sent assassins after me or not… but I guess that’s not possible now.’

There’s no need to fight Zodiac here.

And I don’t want to either.

As I shrugged and turned to leave, he spoke in a casual tone.

“Hmm… That weapon of yours, it looks quite impressive.”

“Thanks for the compliment.”

“Want to make a bet?”

“A bet?”

“Yes, betting that weapon of yours.”

…He’s serious?

Not every member of the Assassin’s Guild follows the Moon Church, but the Master must be a devotee.

And Zodiac certainly is.

Although they’ve improved in recent years, the Sun temple and the Moon God’s Church have been highly intolerant of other religions in the past.

The Moon Church, however, embraced diverse religions from the start.

That’s why it eventually vanished.

And Zodiac? He’s been obsessed with resurrecting the Moon Church by collecting relics from various faiths.

Still…

“I don’t see what’s in it for me.”

“If you win, you can take any weapon you desire.”

“Hmm…”

A weapon owned by the Assassin’s Guild.

Zodiac, a collector of relics.

If I win, I could claim another relic.

‘But what I need right now is… yes, if I can get that, it’ll be even better.’

I readily agreed.

I had more than enough confidence in my victory.

“Let’s do it.”

The rules of the bet are simple.

Each of us is allowed a single strike.

The outcome will be decided by that one attack.

Even death comes with no accountability.

To learn more about the past, should I look into the materials from the Moon God Church?

But these days, the atmosphere is so tense that I hesitate.

The Empire, the Moon God Church.

And Barak and Eliza.

Various factions are glaring at each other as if they could explode at any moment.

“Perhaps after the war ends, I might consider it.”

But there’s no real reason to do so.

It’s no longer a significant issue.

After all, I will disappear from this world anyway.

“Judas.”

When I returned to Bethany, Hermes was waiting.

She revealed herself from where she’d been hiding nearby.

“I have completed the preparations.”

A request I had left before departing.

Hermes had fully prepared everything and came to see me.

Handing over the items I brought from the Moon’s Pupil and the Assassins’ Guild, I said:

“…Please take care of it.”

Even without explanation, Hermes seemed to understand how to use the items immediately and nodded.

***

Barak had to make a decision.

There was no more room for delay.

The forces opposing Eliza were ready.

His letter of explanation had become nothing but discarded paper.

The Empire had already decided to attack Eliza.

Now was the optimal moment.

The anti-Empire were hesitating.

And the very center of it all, Eliza, for some reason, was locked away in her room.

Cain, Levi, and Jezebel also agreed with the idea.

They even criticized Barak for his indecision and leaned towards supporting the Empire.

All that was left was to declare war.

“…It can’t be helped.”

Barak had to choose.

As he always had since Eliza’s birth, this time was no different.

Eliza alone.

Or the other children.

Choosing one side over the other at every crossroads.

He had always chosen the latter.

Comforting himself that he had no choice.

But this time, it was different.

No matter how late it was.

Even if this regret was meaningless.

Even if death awaited at the end….

“I will strike the Empire first.”

Achan and Sarah received a guest.

It was a mage who had agreed to help them bring back their mother.

He had been introduced by Nadap, the Pope of the Moon Church.

“You’re really going to help us, right?”

Sarah asked nervously.

The mage simply smiled and bowed politely.

“Somehow, that person is scary….”

Sarah whispered, and Archan nodded in agreement.

But his skills were undeniable.

They had seen it for themselves.

Still, there was an instinctive feeling.

The aura emanating from the mage was oddly unsettling.

It was hard to tell whether they could truly trust him.

Even so, he was their only option right now.

Soon, they would attack Eliza.

Narcissa was still trapped in the basement of that illegitimate child’s mansion.

The war was imminent.

If they got caught in the crossfire, their mother could die.

Or Eliza might use Narcissa as a hostage to threaten or sway the Bevel family.

Neither was acceptable.

They had to extract their mother before the war broke out.

For that, they needed the mage’s help.

She was capable of long-distance teleportation, and her ability was certain.

It wasn’t even a grand task.

They just needed to infiltrate the mansion, retrieve Narcissa, and teleport away.

“There’s no need to rush. Soon, at the right moment, I’ll bring the two of you to Duchess Narcissa. Once you confirm her condition and identity, I will promptly relocate her to a safe place.”

It was a kind and reliable statement.

But inwardly, Geist, the leader of the Imperial Mage Corps, hid a wicked smile.

“Foolish and weak creatures. Perfect pawns for the destruction of the Bevel family.”

“All for Emperor Johan.”

“…What?”

Levi unconsciously dropped the quill pen he was holding.

The news was that shocking.

“An assassin was killed? What does that mean?”

“I obtained some hidden information from Lamech. The assassin who attacked Judas was found dead…”

“……”

Levi couldn’t find the words to respond.

He knew Judas wasn’t an ordinary person.

But not only did Judas evade Lamech’s assassination, he retaliated to the point of killing the assassin?

‘What the hell…?’

After realizing Judas was Eliza’s weakness, Levi immediately sent a request to Lamech.

Kill Judas.

The fortune he spent for this mission was enormous, yet the assassin was the one who ended up dead.

And that wasn’t the only strange thing.

Though Judas was thought to be someone precious to Eliza, he was reportedly in Bethany.

‘What’s going on here…? I couldn’t have misjudged this.’

The way Eliza looked at Judas. Her expression.

The reaction she showed when she came seeking protection for Judas.

That couldn’t have been a façade.

No matter how skilled Eliza was at hiding her true emotions, something like that was impossible.

“However, they say the assassination didn’t entirely fail.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“That Judas…”