The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 144

When Eliza confessed, Judas hesitated for a moment.

Could it be… rejection?

What if, at this point, he says it’s too much, or that he doesn’t feel the same?

Eliza had imagined this moment alone countless times—thrilled with anticipation hundreds of times, yet overwhelmed by fear and despair thousands of times.

Terrified, she bit her lip hard and tightened her arms around his waist.

Please, just don’t say those words.

“I….”

Judas finally opened his mouth.

His breath trembled precariously.

He had made up his mind.

“…I do too.”

The reality that the one she loved also loved her—it was too unbelievable, like a miracle beyond dreams.

The mere thought of the pain he would inflict on her if he pushed her away with the lie that it was for her sake was horrifying, unbearable.

“I like you very much, Lady Eliza.”

He simply couldn’t push her away—not even with a lie.

“…….”

The moment she heard those words.

Something hot surged inside Eliza’s chest.

Warmth filled her body, swelling so much she felt like she would burst.

She didn’t want to cry, yet tears flowed down as she buried her face against his chest.

His firm, broad chest was as comforting as a bed, sturdy yet inviting.

A space always waiting for her to lean on—it felt like a cradle.

His heartbeat pounded as if it would leap toward her.

Like a knock on the door, the pulse resonated pleasantly in her ears.

In the rapture of feeling one with the world, Eliza slowly opened her eyes.

As she wiped away her tears, the scenery around her came into focus.

For a moment, she felt as if she were hallucinating.

Colors rippled outward from Judas like waves.

As they spread across the ground, the grass turned green, the trees shifted to earthy brown, and their leaves returned to vibrant shades of green.

Unnamed wildflowers shyly greeted them in a soft yellow hue.

Above, the blue sky stretched vast, and lazy white clouds drifted like a flock of sheep.

“Ah….”

Eliza gasped unconsciously.

She had completely forgotten how beautiful the world could be.

Judas had restored its colors.

Even as her vision filled with hues, the one constant was that Judas remained her only.

The sun, embraced by the moon, basked in the world that had regained its colors.

***

For a long time, they held each other in silence.

Then, Judas cautiously asked,

“Would it not matter to you… no matter what kind of person I am?”

The truth was too frightening to reveal outright.

For now, he would test the waters.

“Hmm?”

Eliza looked up at him curiously, then smiled brightly.

“Are you asking because of your origins? I don’t care at all. You said it yourself—one’s birth doesn’t define their existence.”

“…….”

He hadn’t expected to hear his own words turned back at him this way.

Hearing her say she loved him regardless of his origins—it didn’t bring him joy.

Judas had asked if she would still accept him no matter what kind of person he was, but Eliza had narrowed that definition to his birth.

That was a boundary.

A line defining what part of him she was willing to accept.

Judas thought of it as a limit.

His throat felt scratchy.

He wanted to ask—would she still say the same if she knew he was the one who killed Maria?

But it was impossible.

Five years ago, on a certain night,

Eliza had unexpectedly crawled into his bed.

At that time, the young Eliza had murmured, ‘Mom…,’ as she sobbed.

It was the first time he saw a vulnerable side to the girl he had only thought of as ruthless.

That night was still vividly etched in his memory.

Over the past five years, he had learned just how much Maria meant to Eliza.

So, in this moment, would revealing the truth really be the right thing to do?

He knew what it meant—that he had become her only weakness.

He now meant to her what Maria once did.

Eliza wanted nothing more than to kill the person who had taken Maria from her.

That person was him.

And yet, Eliza…

He had fallen in love with her.

So much.

“Damn it.”

Why on earth can something like this even exist?

No matter how much I thought about it, I couldn’t understand.

It wasn’t like I had chosen to possess this body.

So, I changed the question.

“Why was I possessed into this body?”

But changing the question didn’t mean an answer would appear.

Suddenly, he recalled the second tragedy.

“Eliza… the one who rained fire magic down on me….”

More than that moment, the situation he was in now felt even more tragic.

“Why? Is it really bothering you that much?”

In the end, Judas couldn’t say a word.

He had never felt this weak in his entire life.

“…No. It does bother me a little, but…”

“It’s fine. Things like lineage don’t mean anything. So don’t worry.”

“…Yes.”

“Shall we head back now?”

As he looked at Eliza, smiling at him like a child, Judas felt a stabbing sense of guilt.

“…Yes, my lady.”

***

Eliza was certain.

“Judas is hiding something from me.”

She didn’t know what it was.

But she would find out.

Before that, she needed to organize her evidence.

Starting with the most obvious one.

“The peach scent.”

It was the fragrance coming from Judas’s body.

None of her cosmetics or perfumes had a peach scent.

Naturally, it wasn’t a smell that usually came from Judas, either.

“Which woman could it be?”

She didn’t think Judas had been fooling around with another woman.

When it came to things like that, Judas was quite rigid.

Though he was a little clumsy at pushing people away, it was something she could overlook.

From Eliza’s perspective, it was clear that some other woman had clung to Judas on her own.

She could be generous with Judas, but not with the other party.

There were also nonverbal clues.

When Judas answered that he had been alone at the time—his reaction.

It was the reaction of someone lying.

His conflicted expression, the look in his eyes.

“Now, I just have to investigate.”

And the method was simple.

Eliza could track Judas’s location in real-time.

Thanks to an artifact they had created and shared.

The golden necklace she had given Judas.

The ivory ring she wore herself.

The ring had a teleportation function.

She could go to Judas, summon him, or he could call her.

For such functions to work, the two artifacts had to exchange location data in real-time.

Which meant she could check Judas’s recorded location through the ring and backtrack his movements.

Eliza followed his trail using the ring.

She didn’t even need to walk.

Just by tracing the transmitted magical energy, she could roughly map out his route.

“…Here. The place where he stayed the longest before coming to me. Somewhere in the shopping district of the bustling city.”

Without hesitation, Eliza used teleportation.

Before the war, she had to clear things up properly.

***

Eurydice and Orpheus were busily sorting through documents.

They couldn’t stay here long.

The imperial guards were tracking them.

At some point, while digging into the imperial affairs at Eliza’s request regarding prohibition, they had been discovered.

They had once prided themselves on being experts at moving undetected.

But past pride didn’t matter now—their trail had already been found, and all that was left was to flee.

They had only come here briefly for Judas’s sake.

Hermes had already left to deliver the information they hadn’t been able to pass on, so all they could do was hope it reached him in time.

“Did you get everything?”

“Everything in the drawers.”

All that was left were the documents on the desk.

The ones they had organized to show Judas.

Just as Eurydice reached to grab them—

“Hmm.”

Someone appeared before them.

“Gasp…!”

Eurydice gasped in shock, covering her mouth as she stepped back.

Orpheus moved in front of her, blocking the way.

He had thought the newcomer was one of their pursuers—but she wasn’t.

“How strange.”

The woman who had appeared out of nowhere spoke.

“Why is Judas here?”

Eurydice recognized her immediately.

One of her clients.

Codename: The Chariot of the Raging Fire

Real name: Eliza di Bevel.

A mage who had recently risen to the position of family head after killing all of Bevel’s direct bloodline alongside Barak.

“L-Lady? What brings you here so suddenly? And by teleportation, no less…?”

As she spoke, Eurydice quickly assessed the situation.

Eliza had just mentioned Judas.

How did she know he was here?

The answer was obvious.

‘She has the ability to perfectly track Judas’s movements.’

Fortunately, judging by her attitude, she didn’t know the whole truth yet.

Eurydice subtly nudged Orpheus in the side.

Telling him to grab the documents.

Meanwhile, she kept Eliza’s attention on her.

“I heard you already took care of the alcohol-related matter, Lady. Do you have something else you need us to handle? But we’re in a bit of a hurry right now, so if we could talk outside—”

“Hold it.”

Eliza’s voice was cold.

Orpheus, who had just reached for the documents, froze.

“If my eyes aren’t mistaken, I believe I just saw Judas’s name on that paper.”

“Huh? There’s no way your dear knight’s name would be here—”

Eurydice tried to stall for time, but it was useless.

Eliza’s eyes had already turned gold.

“Kyaa!”

Flames erupted from the ground, binding them.

“Eury!”

“Stay still. I don’t intend to hurt you unnecessarily.”

The golden flames coiled like whips, fixing them to the wall.

And just as she said, it didn’t hurt.

Despite being fire, there was no burning pain.

Only a faint warmth.

With them restrained, Eliza picked up the stack of documents and began flipping through them.

Her sharp gaze scanned the pages at incredible speed—until suddenly, her eyes caught on something.

She stopped.

Then, slowly, she started over.

Reading each word.

Tasting each syllable.

Or swallowing them whole.

“Lady, please listen to me. That is—”

“Shh.”

Eliza’s eyes burned with insane fire as she glared at Eurydice.

The unspoken threat in her gaze was clear: say another word, and you die.

Eurydice closed her mouth.

Once again, Eliza carefully examined the truth in her hands.

The source of the information.

Cross-verification.

Review of logic and evidence.

Well-organized reports required no interpretation—just reading and accepting.

It was the undeniable truth.

Her heart ached.

Like a thorn buried deep in flesh, unable to be pulled out.

“……”

Eliza’s hand trembled as she clutched the documents.

Eurydice gathered her courage again.

“Please listen to me! This—Judas wouldn’t have wanted this! He was just as confused—”

Her desperate plea faltered.

The more she spoke, the less confident she felt in explaining this situation.

Even she didn’t fully understand everything yet.

So how could she possibly convince Eliza?

Eliza’s trembling hands clenched the papers tightly.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

But her face showed no sadness.

No anger.

Only an empty expression, with silent tears falling.

Inside her mind, countless pieces connected.

The Empire. Barak. The Moon God’s Church.

Those who had conspired to kill her.

Barak was now removed from that equation.

According to these documents, he had never intended to kill her.

Confusing, but she set it aside for now.

There was a more pressing issue.

Judas.

The Child of Revelation.

A being carefully selected and raised as a blade to kill himself.

The person he killed on his first assignment.

Maria.

Judas was the one who killed her own biological mother.