The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 192

Judas hated ghosts.

It wasn’t just because they appeared suddenly in grotesque forms or interfered with the real world despite lacking any physical form — it wasn’t simply the transcendent horror of it all.

He hated the situation itself: not knowing what he was facing, being powerless against it.

If it were a human opponent, he could do something.
He had learned countless effective methods of “communication,” including various judo throws.

But a ghost — you couldn’t throw it, you couldn’t grapple it.

It was the helplessness that made Judas despise, and ultimately fear, ghosts.

‘It’s not that I’m a coward. It’s just… it’s scary for a good reason, that’s all. Totally reasonable.’

And then, while he was with Eliza, they happened to overhear someone whispering about a ghost.

“Should we check it out?”

Eliza proposed with a bright smile.

“…Um, why don’t we send someone else? Is there really a need for us to go… personally?”

He tried to refuse.

“Nope. This is my responsibility too. We should see it for ourselves. Who knows, it could turn out to be something serious.”

She flatly rejected his rejection.

“……”

Judas was too busy glancing nervously around to notice the mischievous smile creeping onto Eliza’s face.

In the end, he had no choice but to let her drag him along by the hand.

As they walked, Eliza gave his backside a playful pat and grinned.

“Don’t worry. If anything happens, I’ll protect you.”

Eliza’s magic could burn even intangible ghosts into nothingness.

“…Okay.”

Judas decided he might as well lean on her completely — warm, reliable Eliza.

“There’s no one like you, Eliza.”

“Obviously.”

“I want to hear more about that ghost story you were just talking about,”

Eliza said, stepping up boldly to the group who had been whispering.

“Eek—!”

The soldiers flinched, shuddering in fright.

But soon enough, they recognized who she was — none other than Eliza, current Empress of the Bevel Empire.

Normally, it was nearly impossible for common folk to recognize a noble by face alone.

Especially these men — ordinary soldiers hired to guard Jericho.

But Eliza was special.

When the evil god was destroyed, she had appeared to everyone, a vision like a dream burned into their minds.

Anyone old enough to remember that day knew her face.

“Y-Your Majesty…!”

“Shh. Keep your voice down. No need to cause a commotion.”

“Y-Yes, Your Majesty!”

“Now, tell me about that ghost. In more detail.”

“Ah, uh… It’s really not something Your Majesty needs to worry about…!”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

Eliza’s firm tone left them no choice but to speak.

Beside her, Judas stood stiffly, nerves stretched taut.

Eliza could feel the tension in the hand he was gripping — and quietly found it adorable.

‘So cute.’

Without showing it on her face, she smiled inwardly.

“It started a few days ago. Little by little, supplies kept disappearing from the camps outside the city.”

Jericho served as a key supply base.

The traffic was so heavy that the city alone couldn’t accommodate everyone.

So travelers often pitched tents outside the walls and camped there.

“It wasn’t much at first. We thought maybe people just got mixed up.”

“But then it kept happening, day after day among the traders. So we investigated.

Everyone denied it, and we couldn’t find any proof of theft.”

“And then, one night—”

The soldier’s voice dropped low, and Judas unconsciously held his breath.

“One family decided to stay awake to catch the thief in the act. They lay quietly in the dark, pretending to sleep, waiting.”

“They waited for hours, until the moon sank low… and then they heard it. Footsteps.”

“But the sound wasn’t normal. It didn’t sound like a regular person.”

Judas swallowed hard.

“It was this faint, scrabbling sound — like something crawling on all fours.”

“But so soft… they said it was almost unnaturally quiet.”

“You know the saying… ghosts don’t move like ordinary people!”

Well, yes, that was something people said.

A cold sweat was starting to soak Judas’s back.

“Still, they had to be sure. So one of them snapped his head up to look — just as the thing was reaching for the crate where the food was stored.”

“And when he jumped up—”

“That thing that was lying flat on the ground crawled away on all fours, can you believe it!”

“And what’s more, even though it was covered in shaggy black fur like some kind of beast, it was also flapping around in a white garment…!”

Judas wanted to hug Eliza.

Just like a child clutching a stuffed animal for comfort, he wanted to cling to her.

An overwhelming urge to bury himself safely in Eliza’s embrace surged within him, but he managed to hold back for now.

He was rather proud of himself for that.

“So, what happened next?”

“Since then, there have been several similar witness reports.”

“The guards even organized a team to track it down… but they haven’t found any solid evidence yet.”

“Oh, and around the time these reports started coming in, people began hearing the groaning of a child suffering somewhere.”

“And the source of the sound? Did you check it out?”

“Yes. I was the one who checked it personally, but there wasn’t a child, not even a person — yet the crying only got louder.”

Judas wanted to run away.

“Hm…”

Meanwhile, Eliza was seriously and deeply contemplating.

How could they resolve this situation?

“First, I want to check out the place where the rumors started. Just tell me the location, and I’ll find it myself.”

“Yes. It’s just outside Jericho’s southern gate. You’ll see a big bonfire with several tents set up around it, so it’ll be easy to spot.”

After confirming the location, Eliza immediately pulled up her hood.

She didn’t want to attract unnecessary attention.

Judas also pulled his hood low and followed her.

Eliza stopped a little distance away from the soldiers.

“Are you scared?”

“…No? Not really?”

“Then I guess there’s no need for a hug, huh?”

“Wait, how does that even follow? That’s not logical.”

Judas’s hasty reaction made Eliza burst out laughing.

“Alright, alright.”

Just then, she noticed a stack of discarded wooden planks nearby.

Eliza climbed onto them and stretched out her arms.

“Come here.”

Judas didn’t even feel embarrassed.

He strode over and dove straight into her arms.

He inhaled deeply and let it out slowly.

A warm, cozy embrace.

The soft, sweet scent of her skin melted away his tension.

Even through the fabric, he could feel the generous volume and plush softness of her body.

It was a moment when the whole world seemed at peace.

Eliza cradled Judas’s head against her chest, gently stroking his hair.

“There, there. It’s alright. Good boy. Are you really that scared? Should we have someone else do this instead?”

“…I’m not scared at all. I just wanted to hug you.”

“Aww, is that so?”

“……”

For some reason, he was being treated like a little kid.

But he didn’t really hate that feeling.

Judas hated himself for that.

‘…Wait a second. Now that I think about it, with the Moon’s Pupil, I can cut through evil spirits, right? Magic with imbued attributes works against them. Why was I even scared in the first place?’

The fundamental reason he had to fear ghosts had disappeared.

Still, Eliza’s embrace was too nice to pull away from just yet.

Meanwhile, Eliza, gently stroking the boy clinging to her, felt a strange sense of peace.

She wondered if this was what it would feel like to have a child.

A feeling of wanting to protect, to give everything.

She wasn’t planning on having a child just yet.

She still wanted to enjoy her time alone with Judas, so she diligently received post-coital contraceptive prescriptions from May.

Still, she thought, one day, she would have a child.

After the conquest of the demon realm was over and the world had stabilized.

Just imagining that future filled her heart with a serene warmth.

‘Judas’s kind of like a kid sometimes.’

…On second thought, not just “kind of.” He was very much like a kid.

But even that part of him was endearing.

“Feeling better now?”

“Yeah. Good. Let’s go solve Jericho’s problem.”

“…You sure got fired up all of a sudden.”

They moved toward the location the soldier had indicated.

Right outside Jericho’s southern gate.

Around a large bonfire, several people had thrown down cloths or pitched tents and were camping out.

But their appearance didn’t look like that of refugees.

It was more like they were just temporarily staying there.

“They’re saying that ghost-like thing appeared here… Considering it’s only been seen at night, does that mean it doesn’t come out during the day?”

“It’s probably because people are awake during the day, so it’s harder to approach.”

It was currently closer to daytime.

The afternoon, when the sun was reaching its peak and beginning to set.

But both Eliza and Judas were too well-known for questioning people.

And if they revealed why they were investigating, rumors about an actual ghost haunting the place could start to spread.

Eliza wanted to avoid any unnecessary commotion.

After all, as far as she was concerned, the real culprit wasn’t some evil spirit or ghost.

“Finding traces like footprints… would be hard, right?”

“There are too many people coming and going. Nothing to really find.”

“Then we’ll have to go to the spot where the sound was heard.”

Starting from the tent village, they walked toward the location the soldier had pointed out.

As they moved, Eliza observed the path.

“It leads to a shady spot outside Jericho’s outer wall.”

“……”

A shady place.

A hidden corner.

Judas grew scared again.

Even though he knew he could fight back against their enemy, actually doing it in the moment was a different matter entirely.

—Creeeeeeak…

Just then, a groaning sound echoed nearby.

“!”

Judas instantly grabbed Eliza in a tight hug.

“It’s okay, it’s okay,” Eliza said calmly, patting his backside reassuringly.

“T-That was definitely a kid’s voice just now! It sounded human…!”

Eliza allowed him the freedom of his imagination.

‘Doesn’t sound like it to me.’

Since it was an area where no one usually went, tall grass had grown thick.

They pushed through the grass toward the source of the sound.

There, they found something resembling a small nest made out of wood.

It was a crude shelter, cobbled together from rotting wood and discarded planks, leaned against the wall to protect from the rain and wind.

Scattered around were remnants of human food.

“…Huh.”

Judas began realizing it wasn’t what he had feared.

Just then, from the shadowy space hidden by the wood, a black shape emerged cautiously.

Flattened ears.

Body low to the ground, baring its teeth.

Eliza spoke, as if she’d expected it.

“It’s a dog.”

It wasn’t a ghost stealing people’s food — it was just an animal.

And not even a dangerous one — just an ordinary dog.

“……”

Judas didn’t even have time to feel embarrassed.

Because that dog—

“…That’s the dog that used to hang around my house.”

He recognized it.

It was the same dog that sometimes wandered into the yard of his house in Jericho.

A border collie — one of the breeds used for herding sheep.

The dog recognized Judas too.

It relaxed its defensive stance, widened its eyes brightly, and wagged its tail.

“……”

And finally, Judas was overwhelmed by a wave of unbearable embarrassment.

The oblivious dog cheerfully greeted him.

“Woof!”