The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 171

The young Eliza was sitting.

On the left, her mother.

On the right, young Judas sat beside her.

A garden with lush green grass stretched out, fresh and vibrant.

Around them were red anemones in full bloom.

The full moon in the sky shone brightly, as if it were the sun.

Eliza smiled.

This place was heaven.

In such a wonderful environment, surrounded by those she loved and those who loved her, it could only be paradise.

Seeing Eliza like this, Judas and Maria also smiled.

They had always been concerned about Eliza’s well-being and gave her words and actions that she liked without hesitation.

They held her hands, hugged her, and ate together.

Judas and her mother.

They took turns feeding her.

Sometimes, she would listen to her mother’s stories while being held by Judas.

Other times, she would listen to Judas’s stories while being cradled by her mother.

Sometimes, they would take a walk in the garden full of anemones.

With Judas in her right hand, and Maria in her left.

Every day was like this.

Eliza was overwhelmed with happiness.

It felt like she could die smiling just like this.

At the same time, she didn’t want to die.

Because if she died in such a paradise, she would surely fall into hell.

She didn’t want to let go of this reality, so sweet it could numb her.

It was such a precious time that she wanted to hold onto it tightly, hiding it in her embrace so no one could take it away.

It was so precious that Eliza suddenly became afraid.

What if this world ends?

Or what if all of this is just a dream, and it shatters at any moment?

There couldn’t be such an unearned happiness in her life.

She was an illegitimate child.

A being born with original sin.

A person who was destined to be hated.

It was not strange that her family despised her so much.

And she had killed Judas’s family.

Even if it wasn’t really her.

Even if it wasn’t her will.

There were too many sins she had to bear.

And then Eliza fell into confusion.

The only people in this world were her, her mother, and Judas.

But family? What kind of family did she have?

Judas’s family? Who were they?

Every time she felt this confusion, Judas and Maria would embrace Eliza.

They would soothe her, patting her gently.

They would whisper that everything was okay.

That she could forget about all those things.

Eliza found peace and smiled again.

She was numb with happiness, ignoring the dissonance.

For example, the steel beams that stretched across the sky like they were dividing it.

Like a birdcage.

Or the small birdcage that always followed her wherever she went.

The small birdcage on the bedroom window sill was pitch black.

She couldn’t see what was inside.

And the outside world, like a large birdcage, was also pitch black.

The bright moon shone on the earth, but beyond the outside, there was an empty, dark void.

Eliza lost interest in those two similar things.

Judas was by her side. Her mother was there.

Their body heat wrapped around her like a blanket.

That was enough; no problem mattered.

“AAAHH!”

Eliza screamed.

Her body was burning.

She was on fire.

She couldn’t escape.

She was bound to a wooden pole.

Her arms were spread out and tied, as if on a cross.

The fire was rising from her feet.

There was a person before her.

On the right, Judas.

On the left, Maria.

They both held torches.

They were the ones who set her on fire.

Even as she writhed in pain, Eliza could not bring herself to resent them.

***

I was just curious.

Why?

Then, the scene suddenly changed.

She found herself standing on the left side of the cross.

Instead, now Judas was bound and burning.

“Ahhh—!”

He screamed.

Eliza stared blankly at the torch in her hand.

She had set the fire.

It was her fault that Judas was in pain.

“Ah….”

Realizing her sin, she sighed and looked up at Judas.

The one who had saved her was suffering because of her sin.

The golden flames melted his skin.

Red flesh was exposed.

He burned in a horrific state.

He was in pain because of her, yet her own body remained clean, without a single wound.

He was paying the price for her sin.

This shouldn’t be happening.

The magic didn’t activate.

This couldn’t be right.

Eliza muttered like a mad person and tried to move forward.

But her feet were as if nailed to the ground, unable to budge.

She could only stand still and watch him.

“Ahhh—!”

Hearing his scream, Eliza tightly closed her eyes.

When she opened them again, her position had changed.

Now, she stood on the right side of the cross.

This time, it was Maria who hung there.

Her body burned with golden flames.

The same color as the fire Eliza used.

There were two differences from before.

First, Judas stood beside her.

Unlike before, when the three of them formed a triangle with each standing at a slight diagonal, now Judas was next to her.

Second, Maria didn’t scream.

Even as her shell crumbled, she simply smiled.

She looked at Eliza with a gentle, warm smile.

The golden flames reflected in her black eyes, flickering.

It reminded Eliza of how she looked when using her magic.

Her mother smiled kindly and said,

“I’m sorry.”

“……”

“I’m sorry, my dear.”

Why?

Why are you apologizing to me?

It’s all my fault….

“It’s all my fault, so don’t cry…”

Without even realizing it, Eliza was crying.

Tears poured down like a flood.

Her throat was tight, making it hard to breathe.

Her chest heaved as if hiccupping, and she rubbed her face with her hands.

“Ugh… Hic…”

Her mother was burning.

It was she who had set that golden flame.

Eliza knew.

She had briefly resented her mother once.

When she realized her mother had stayed by her side.

When she realized her mother had secretly protected her all along while deceiving her.

She was shocked, surprised, and for a brief moment, she had felt a little resentment.

She should have told me.

She could have told me.

At any time.

In any situation.

No matter how many lies she had used to deceive her, if only she had shown her that she was alive.

If she had just been there, Eliza would have been ready to forgive everything.

If she had said it earlier, Eliza would have treated her better.

But she hadn’t, and for that, Eliza felt a little resentment.

Just a little.

That tiny spark of resentment had grown into this, burning her mother.

“Ughhh…!”

“It’s okay. It’s not your fault.”

“Ughhh—!”

Eliza shook her head violently.

She tried to move forward, but her body wouldn’t move.

Struggling, she finally collapsed.

Thud.

She grabbed the floor.

She tried desperately to crawl forward.

But she couldn’t move.

“AAAHHH-!”

Eliza screamed as she violently beat the ground.

Her small hands tore open, and blood splattered.

Then, at some moment, the surroundings became quiet.

She looked up.

Her mother, burning, was staring at her directly.

Right beside her, Judas looked down at her.

His eyes wide open.

Blood vessels, like red spider webs, spread across the whites of his eyes.

Both of them had eyes she had never seen before.

“Hik!”

Startled, Eliza gasped for air.

“It’s your fault.”

Her mother spoke.

“You killed me.”

Judas also spoke.

“I, I…”

“If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have died. Because you had to inherit the power of fire… because you were cursed with that damn talent!”

“You killed our family and friends. Even if I had to die, I should never have signed up for that! It’s all because of you! You killed them!”

The two of them, filled with rage, had become Eliza.

Eliza hurled insults and curses at Eliza.

Curled up Eliza. Cursing Eliza.

Who is Eliza?

Who am I?

“Die! It’s all your fault!”

“You have to die!”

Eliza said to Eliza.

Before long, the place was filled with dozens, hundreds of Elizas.

All of them cursed her in the same voice.

Eliza tried to hug her knees and hide, but it was useless.

Eliza stood up Eliza.

Dozens of them clung to her.

They lifted Eliza and hung her on a burning pole.

They bound her.

Once again, golden flames surged fiercely.

“Die! Die!”

“Just die! You don’t deserve to live!”

“You’re a trash that shouldn’t be alive!”

Eliza burning in the fire.

Around her, countless Elizas poured out curses.

They threw stones, spat at her.

The crazed, red eyes, the eyes of Eliza, Eliza watched blankly.

Yes, that’s right.

It’s all my fault.

I deserve this.

This is the rightful end.

The Elizas raised spears.

They stabbed her body with spears made from carved wood.

A hole opened in her side.

Blood poured out.

Heat poured into the wound.

Her skin burned from the inside out.

She was scorched, cooked, and singed.

Is there any more fitting ending than this for me?

Resigned, she vomited blood and looked up.

The sky.

There was a crack in the full moon.

It looked like it would shatter.

Beneath it was the large iron frame of a cage.

And ahead of her, she saw.

A small birdcage belonging to someone.

Eliza looked up at the moon and forced a smile.

“I’m fine.”

Swoosh, swoosh.

The sudden sound seemed like leaves being swept by the wind.

Eliza was turning to ash, piece by piece.

The Elizas, who cursed, threw stones, and stabbed with spears, turned to ash and scattered.

A pillar made of ash fell.

Ash filled all around her.

And at last.

-Swoosh!

She too became ash.

Where the golden flames had cooled.

The humble ash giving off a faint warmth.

All the Elizas had become one with the ash.

The ashed Eliza looked up at the sky.

The pretty moon.

Her Only Light

The wind blows.

Ashes swirl and fly away.

Eliza was the same.

And what brushes through the air?

A red flower.

My salvation.

Anemone.

As the flower passes, the moon’s golden hue becomes clearer.

It grows more and more.

It cracks like breaking ice, splitting wildly.

Bang!

The moon shatters.

A round hole appears in its place.

A blackness deeper than the surrounding emptiness.

From that place, a hand stretches out, as if it were going to swallow everything.

A very large hand, as if it could hold the moon in one hand.

Then, an arm emerges.

The muscular forearm is full of small wounds.

The hand is the same.

A rough hand, full of calluses.

A trace of someone who has honed and worked tirelessly for a long time, for someone else.

Bang! Crunch!

The hand grabs the iron bars of the cage roughly and tears them apart.

That hand, hanging down as if to be grasped, seemed to beckon.

But the ash-covered Eliza had no hands.

She wanted to touch the hand.

The ash flows and moves like sand pouring down.

It forms a shape.

Becomes ash-colored Eliza.

Eliza embraced the hand.

Compared to her humble self, the hand was too large, so she barely managed to grasp a finger.

It’s warm.

The warmth of the hand made the ash sob.

With every shudder, her body crumbles like powder.

She falls again, turning into ash.

She slips through the gaps of the hand.

The falling ash sticks back to her body, barely maintaining her form.

Eliza buried her face in the hand and wept.

The sobs quickly turned into heartbreaking wails.

“Sniff…! Ugh, waaah—!”

The words she barely managed to speak through her tears.

“I’m not okay! I’m not okay at all—!”

Then, the hand gently held Eliza.

***

Young Eliza looked ahead.

The road ahead was the path she had to take.

It was a path of thorns.

She fearfully brought her hand to her mouth.

Her other hand held onto someone.

Maria. Her mother.

Eliza briefly glanced at her mother.

Her mother met her gaze with a bitter smile.

She didn’t push Eliza forward first.

She waited.

But the world did not do the same.

“Ugh—!”

Something pushed Eliza’s back forcefully.

“Ah!”

Her foot was pricked by a sharp thorn.

It stings.

Blood flows.

But she cannot retreat.

This road is one that, once you step on it, you can never retreat from or look back.

“Ughh…!”

Eliza clenched her fists tightly, holding back tears.

She desperately wanted to turn back.

She wanted to return to her mother’s arms.

But she must not.

Whether by choice or by force.

She stood on the road.

So she must only look ahead.

She doesn’t know what’s at the end of the road.

She can’t even see it.

She doesn’t know why she must go.

Still, she walks.

“Ugh…!”

With every step she takes, the thorns dig into her feet.

She cannot pull back.

She kept walking.

–Psssssh!

Some thorns were made of glass, and if you stepped on them, they would break and stick into your feet.

Other thorns were firmly fixed to the ground, and they were so large that she had to step on them to keep moving forward.

“Ahhh…!”

She wanted to sit down.

She wanted to turn back right now.

But still, she walked.

She kept walking, without knowing how far she had drifted from her mother.

Only the path stretched ahead.

There was no up, down, or sides.

It was just straight ahead.

When her soles became battered, she saw a small light at the end.

The ivory light resembled the moon.

To reach the light, Eliza gathered her strength and kept walking.

She squeezed out the last of her energy.

She held back the urge to collapse.

Even though it felt like the light was getting farther the closer she got, she stepped on the thorns and pushed forward.

Just a few steps away from the end of the thorns, Eliza ran.

And as she leapt into it, she called the name of the light.

“Judas-!”

The moment she crossed the line, Eliza’s body was embraced by the light.

Stepping out of the light, she found herself in Judas’s arms, and she had already become an adult.

“Judas…!”

She buried her face in his chest and sobbed.

The adult Judas, without a word, held her tightly.

“I’m not okay either, Miss.”

Eliza regained her calm in his arms, letting herself cry freely.

Finally, she looked back.

She thought of her mother, left behind at the end of that distant road.

She turned her head in sorrow, wondering if she would ever see her again.

“Eliza.”

Her mother was right behind her.

She smiled and gently stroked her hair.

Her mother’s feet were, just like hers, covered in blood.

It was the result of walking the same thorny path.

“You’ve worked hard.”

“Mom…?”

“I’m sorry for not being able to do anything for you.”

“Mom….”

“Still, I’m glad you’ve found your world again. That’s all that matters to me.”

Maria wrapped Eliza’s head in her arms.

She softly kissed her forehead.

“I love you. Eliza.”

“Mom… I… I love you too…!”

Her voice cracked, and she couldn’t speak clearly.

She cried, clinging to both her mother and Judas.

Then, suddenly, the world went dark, and Eliza’s consciousness faded away.

It felt like she was being sucked into somewhere.

A vast meadow.

In the center, a cluster of anemones bloomed.

Above them, the black sun had cracks forming.

–Szzz…

Golden beams of light leaked through the cracks.

The gold quickly spread.

The golden light brightened everything around.

–Szzz… Boom!

With a loud sound, the black sun exploded.

In an instant, the golden light covered the entire afterlife.

–Thud!

Judas fell from the sun.

Lying on the ground, he surveyed his surroundings.

There were no figures of the people he had seen before.

Barak. Narcissa. Maria. No one else.

Only red anemones filled the field.

“Haah…”

Judas sighed and looked down at his body.

The skin that had melted and dripped was now intact.

He clenched his hand and opened it again.

It was real.

“Eliza…”

He looked up at the sky.

There was no black sun.

Instead, something was fluttering down from the place where it had been.

Like flower petals. Soft and light.

A woman, dressed in a pure white dress.

With her black hair fluttering as she fell, she was Eliza.

Judas reached out his hands as if to support her.

Eliza gently landed on his arms.

“Eliza…”

Judas called her name, brushing his hand across her face.

But she did not wake up.

It was not yet time for her to rise in this place.

“Ha… It’s okay, it’s okay…”

He sighed deeply, burying his face in Eliza’s shoulder.

“Let’s stop now, let’s go back…”

But not yet.

It wasn’t over yet.

“……”

Before him, Judas soon saw a wooden cup prepared.

He recalled the rule.

To return, one must drink the water in the cup.

The one who can drink it is either Judas or Eliza. One of the two.

Drinking it means losing precious memories.

The core of those memories, which makes it impossible to remain as one’s current self.

How much and how it will be lost, he could not know at this moment.

Should he make Eliza drink it?

Or should he drink it himself?

Judas thought deeply for a long time.

‘……’

He lowered Eliza to the grassy field and kneeled before her.

A red anemone bloomed with a bright golden light, rising like a sky lantern.

In that beautiful scenery, Judas made his decision.