The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 130

“Really, I’m so, so sorry… The things I said back then… not all of it was true… They were lies…”

The words that I didn’t need you.

The words that I’d rather see you dead.

I still vividly remember that moment.

And yet, seeing you cry so sorrowfully like this, I just can’t bring myself to coldly push you away.

‘After all, I’ve already…’

“I…”

More than that, there was something I wanted to clear up.

“Before anything else, may I ask you a question?”

“Sure… Ask me anything.”

“That night… were you truly trying to kill me?”

The night you climbed on top of me, choking me and casting magic.

What were you thinking, Eliza?

“……”

Eliza’s face went pale in an instant.

Her eyes trembled as if struck by an earthquake.

“I… I don’t know… I know it’s truly, truly horrible, but…”

She tightly closed her eyes.

“I don’t think I can say the thought wasn’t there at all…”

“Just now, you said that the words about wishing I were dead were a lie.”

“……”

I wasn’t trying to accuse her, but somehow the conversation kept flowing that way.

I spoke softly, as if soothing her tearful face.

“Please tell me honestly what you were thinking back then. I want to hear it.”

“Okay…”

After taking a few deep breaths, Eliza finally opened her mouth.

“You became so precious to me. You became uncontrollably special, and you turned into a weakness I couldn’t afford. So I thought I needed to erase it… because someone like me shouldn’t have something like that…”

She glanced at me, checking my reaction.

I nodded, signaling her to continue.

“And, as you know, I was preparing for war. I couldn’t bear the thought of you getting hurt in that war. Just thinking about it was unbearable… If you were to die, I…”

She trailed off, unable to finish the sentence, and closed her mouth.

Her body trembled again as she began to cry.

I waited silently.

“I know it doesn’t make sense, and it’s completely insane. But I thought… rather than let that happen, I’d rather… with my own hands…”

Unable to continue, she stopped speaking.

That was enough.

I summarized her story in my mind.

‘A child clumsy with emotions…’

Scenes from the past flickered in my thoughts.

When I took an arrow meant for Eliza.

When I was beaten by Vinyl, strengthened with dark magic, during the founding festival.

Eliza’s reactions were intense in various ways.

She looked frightened or furious.

At the time, the situation was too urgent to dwell on it.

‘Now that I think about it…’

She was startled. And terrified.

Because she realized her feelings for me.

Feelings so overwhelming she couldn’t handle them.

Feelings she’d never experienced before, clashing with the beliefs she’d obsessively held onto, leaving her utterly lost.

But that wasn’t all.

The cursed flame she was born with.

It had a tendency to incite violence in its user.

With my weakened magic, I couldn’t suppress that wild flame.

A mix of rampaging aggression and terrifying emotions led to that incident.

‘But things might be… different now.’

I decided to ask her one last question.

“That time, you tried to use magic on me, didn’t you?”

“…Yes.”

“Could you tell me what kind of magic it was?”

Her answer was something I could never have expected.

“I wanted to look into your memories.”

“…My memories?”

“Yes. You said you couldn’t remember things from the past—about Anggra, or Judeca, or anything like that.”

“Oh, right. I did.”

“I wanted to help you find them. That’s why I cast the magic. But I guess I was too out of it for it to work properly.”

…Ah.

I sighed inwardly.

A certain phrase came to mind.

Fate is fulfilled through the very acts meant to escape it.

Self-Fulfilling Destiny

Through actions taken to distance myself from Eliza, I ended up drawing closer to her.

As we grew closer, we naturally became somewhat familiar with each other.

To the point where I began to wonder if this relationship might avoid a tragic ending.

But instead, Eliza’s overwhelming affection for me left her tangled in confusing emotions.

Meanwhile, to defend against Eliza’s magic, I discovered a magic immunity trait.

Ironically, that very immunity caused her to misunderstand me.

If it weren’t for that immunity, things might not have escalated this far.

I would have simply confirmed her memories and nothing more.

“And… about your feelings toward me… I was just curious…”

Eliza spoke in a timid voice.

Her face, already red from crying, deepened in color.

…This was 100% embarrassment.

‘Her sniffles and the way she looks—it’s almost fatally adorable…’

A Revelation.

If that magical barrier hadn’t existed, and she’d seen my memories and emotions, perhaps none of this would have happened.

“You said you were sorry. I’m… fine.”

I’m fine.

I wasn’t fine before, but now I am.

I’m not sure if this counts as forgiveness.

I wasn’t fine, but I never resented her, so there’s nothing to forgive.

But seeing Eliza genuinely apologize somehow made everything feel okay.

Her eyes widened in surprise, and she cautiously asked,

“Why… don’t you blame me?”

Even if there was emotional turmoil, she had still tried to kill me.

Not blaming her seemed strange to her.

But now I understand.

As I listened to her story, I suddenly realized.

She wasn’t trying to kill me.

If someone truly intends to kill me, I can always sense it in advance.

Even when assassins were sent after me in Lamech, I could sense it.

Survivor’s Instinct.

That trait sends me warnings.

Even if magic immunity could block the attack, the warning would still arrive.

However, when Eliza tried to choke me, that survivor’s instinct remained silent.

No warning.

In other words, Eliza wasn’t trying to kill me.

She was simply overwhelmed by emotions she couldn’t control.

“I understand your feelings, my lady.”

I don’t know if this is the rational thing to think.

My emotions have already leaned completely toward her.

It’s not as if reason can dictate emotions.

“….”

She looked up at me with dazed eyes.

Her large, shimmering eyes were no longer shedding tears, though the edges were still red.

“By the way, about that ‘don’t touch me’ thing—maybe it’s okay now.”

I spoke carefully, choosing my words with deliberate caution, though even I wasn’t sure if I succeeded.

“Would it be all right… if I touched you once?”

Eliza’s eyes widened before she gulped nervously, her face turning even redder as she slowly looked away.

“…Ah, no! That’s not what I meant—just physical contact, that’s all…!”

“I-I know that!”

She answered hastily but couldn’t meet my gaze.

Her head lowered, and her eyes wandered as she mumbled,

“…Do as you like.”

So she gets flustered too, huh.

‘Do as you like’ —what a strange answer.

All I want is to check something briefly.

But with the mood like this, I’m unnecessarily nervous and my heart races.

“T-Then, please excuse me for a moment….”

“…Okay.”

I gently grasped her wrist.

Her soft skin met my touch.

It was a familiar sensation and warmth to me.

Yet the heat traveling through my fingertips felt utterly new.

It seeped into my body, spreading everywhere.

A comforting warmth.

It felt like the scent of drowsy sunlight, relaxing every part of me.

It was similar to when I held Eliza in my arms to sleep, yet entirely different….

[The Moon That Melds.]

[The Full Moon.]

Suddenly, my trait changed.

And.

[Magic Power: 65.0 > 68.0]

My magic power increased.

‘Huh…?’

There was no time to be surprised by the change.

When I came to my senses, I had pulled Eliza into a tight embrace.

She leaned quietly against my chest.

“…Huh?! Oh, no, th-this, uh…! I-I’m sorry…!”

I swear, this wasn’t on purpose.

Unconsciously, as if possessed, I had embraced her.

If this was the feeling Eliza experienced whenever she touched me, I could understand why she had sought me out since childhood. It was that…good…

“……”

Eliza said nothing about my sudden action.

She slowly raised her head, quietly gazing up at me.

Her face was as red as a drunkard’s.

It looked as though a prick might cause crimson juice to flow.

Her tightly closed lips seemed resolved, as if she had made a decision.

After staring at me for a long while, she wrapped her arms around my neck and slowly drew herself up.

The face that had leaned against my chest gradually moved upward.

As I leaned against the bedside, I naturally ended up lying down.

Before I knew it, we were face-to-face in the same position.

Our breaths were so close they might as well touch.

Her subdued voice was infinitely serious.

“Judas. You said you know how I feel.”

“……”

“Do you really know? How much…and in what way I think of you? Do you know how deep it goes, so much that even I am afraid of it…?”

Her trembling voice was faint but filled with anticipation.

Her long black hair tickled my face.

My entire view was filled with Eliza above me.

The tips of our noses were precariously close.

The gap between our lips was just enough for a single finger to slip through.

Even a deep breath might make our lips touch.

My heart pounded wildly.

In that instant, a crazy thought crossed my mind—that her small, plump, glossy red lips looked unbelievably appetizing.

The atmosphere was tense and stiff.

Our abdomens pressed together.

Our chests, too, were tightly aligned.

Our closely entwined bodies felt as though they were burning with heat.

Unconsciously, I gulped.

She slightly stuck out her tongue, moistening her lips.

The image of her smooth, vivid red tongue touching her lips filled my mind without restraint.

Time seemed to flow incredibly slowly in the silence.

Eliza slowly closed her eyes.

Tilting her head slightly, she leaned down toward me.

I instinctively closed my eyes in response.

But at that moment.