The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 200

The next morning.

“Ouch….”

Eliza, who had returned to Beersheba from the birdcage, grumbled.

She had been scolded terribly the day before.

The spot where she had been scolded was swollen.

It was a bit painful too.

There were red kiss marks all around her nape.

They were covered by her red scarf, so they couldn’t be seen.

By the way, there were even more beneath that.

Judas cleared his throat awkwardly for no reason.

“Ahem, ahem. You were the one who asked for more after saying you liked it.”

“Shut up.”

“Yes.”

They had spent a sticky time together from night until dawn, and if it were up to her, she would have dedicated the whole day just for the two of them.

However, as the emperor, she couldn’t completely neglect her duties, so after breakfast, she returned to Beersheba.

“It’s a little cold.”

The harbor city in the early morning was quite chilly.

Moreover, Beersheba was much further north than the palace, so even in summer, it felt cool.

Judas silently hugged her from behind.

“Heheh.”

Eliza smiled happily and wrapped her arms around his.

The warmth spread from her back and soon enveloped her entire body.

Judas also smiled, pressing his nose against her head.

A soft and sweet scent.

The only warmth on the chilly pier. It seemed to shine clearly.

“But we can’t walk like this.”

“We can walk like this.”

Judas hugged Eliza and waddled forward.

Eliza also started to waddle along with him.

It was a clumsy walk, like lazy penguins.

“What is this?”

Eliza burst out laughing.

Hearing her chirpy laugh, Judas chuckled as well.

How could she be so cute?

Even though it looked silly, he didn’t mind, so they continued waddling along.

It would take some time to get to the dock where the Joseaho was moored, but it didn’t matter.

They hadn’t even set a time to meet Gabriel, and they had returned pretty early.

The morning harbor was bustling.

Boats coming into the pier.

People moving fish-filled nets or cargo boxes.

Since it was a hastily formed fortress city, there were construction workers building or repairing buildings.

Seagulls flying over the beach.

Fish that had fallen to the ground.

Cats eyeing the fish.

Amid the minor commotion, the two of them waddled along.

Since everyone was busy, no one bothered to look at them.

Even if they recognized them, they couldn’t speak or make a fuss.

Seeing the two of them, who were everything to each other here, no one dared to make any noise to interrupt.

Suddenly, Eliza stopped.

She stared at something blankly.

“Elly? What?”

“A cat.”

“A cat?”

Eliza discovered a cat eating fish from a sailor.

“Is it because it’s cute?”

“Mm.”

“You’re cuter though.”

“……”

“If you want to see something cute, just look in the mirror… um.”

Eliza stopped his shameless chatter by pressing her lips to his mouth.

After a while, she carefully pulled away.

Then, she turned her head with a slightly pouty expression to hide her reddening face.

“…Hmph.”

“It is cute.”

Eliza didn’t respond and continued walking with a waddle.

“I want to see the puppies. It’s been a while since I last saw them.”

“Right. By the time we return, they’ll have grown so much.”

“I wonder if they’re doing well.”

“Your mother-in-law sees them often, so they’ll be fine. Bradley and Ms. May are there too.”

“Mm. I guess so. I want to see Yuel too.”

“When we return, I guess we’ll have to play in the barn for a while.”

As they chatted, they had walked all the way to the port where the Hosea was docked.

“Ah, Your Majesty…”

They happened to meet Gabriel, who was in the middle of maintenance.

It was then that Eliza realized.

The way she had waddled all the way here was not at all fitting for her dignity as an empress.

“……”

Eliza froze in place, her face gradually turning redder.

On the other hand, Judas, who wasn’t particularly concerned with dignity, was indifferent.

Only a bit awkward.

Gabriel was flustered, but he fully understood the couple’s feelings.

He too had been married.

In the early days of marriage, everyone is like that.

They love each other to the point of obsession.

Even so, it really doesn’t stop, no matter the time.

It was an inevitable phase, one that should be enjoyed while young.

He had already been given a heads-up by Galehad.

He was warned that the empress couple’s affection might be a bit different, so he should be aware.

He was about to offer some comfort but stopped himself.

He figured that would only hurt the young empress’s dignity.

So, he decided to pretend he didn’t notice.

“Good morning, Your Majesty. Have you recovered from your travels?”

“Mm, well.”

Eliza replied indifferently, trying to sound calm.

She quickly got to the point.

“How’s the supply shipment status?”

“Since we docked last night, all cargo has been unloaded. Right now, we’re loading goods for the return journey. There have been no items that have deteriorated during transport.”

“Good, it’s stable. We should continue to have no issues with supplies, like today.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

“I won’t need to board the returning ship. Is there anything else that requires my permission or confirmation?”

“The supplies are mostly adequate, but we do need more stone and wood.”

“Stone and wood?”

“Yes. There have been frequent monster invasions, so a significant amount has been used for repairing the walls. They say there’s a shortage of materials to build inside the walls.”

“Have them investigate the required amount and prepare a report. Hmm… frequent monster invasions, you say.”

Eliza looked eastward toward the interior.

The castle walls, stacked high to connect the cliffs, were visible.

To head inland from the Beersheba Peninsula, one must pass through a canyon-like path.

Mountains stretch out on both sides, with a path running through the middle.

The city walls were built to extend along these mountain ranges.

It is indeed a terrain favorable for defense, and relatively easy to manage, but it doesn’t change the fact that this is the heart of the demon realm.

To get support from the imperial army coming from the south, it is still a long and isolated way to go.

‘When I first settled here, I swept through the area, but was that not enough?’

Eliza stared at the city walls for a moment before casually asking Judas.

“Would it be alright if I went for a bit?”

“The Empress is watching over things, so how could I possibly stop you?”

Judas responded playfully.

She had to go with her wherever she went, but she was worried that Eliza might feel bad about taking time out for something like this.

Eliza, who had only thoughts of lounging around with Judas once all the busy work was done, had never neglected the duties of caring for the empire.

She always tried her best and struggled with it as the Empress.

Judas admired and respected this aspect of her deeply.

‘… Well, today, she wasn’t quite the Empress, waddling like a penguin, but I’ll blame that on myself.’

And while her waddling around hadn’t exactly upheld the dignity of an Empress, it wasn’t as if she had neglected her duties.

…Maintaining dignity was important for those in power, though.

“Thank you.”

Eliza smiled lightly and relayed the message to Gabriel.

“Are there any soldiers on patrol or scouting right now?”

“They all returned in the morning.”

“Alright. I’ll go take a look around, so tell them not to come out.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty!”

Gabriel bowed deeply, genuinely happy.

Eliza, humanity’s strongest force, was beyond comparison in power.

Her strength couldn’t be quantified by mere numbers.

It was simply overwhelming.

When she stirred the area, even for just a few days, the Beersheba Peninsula would become relatively calm.

Eliza immediately took Judas’s hand and used teleportation.

Judas’s head spun as the scenery shifted abruptly.

The port city they had just been standing in was now far in the distance.

Teleportation was always astounding, even though he was familiar with it.

Especially with the height making everything seem so small.

The open air outside the city walls.

He was scared of the thought of falling.

Of course, Eliza supported them with levitation magic, and he didn’t doubt her magical prowess.

But regardless of that trust, the fear from the height was instinctual.

“Are you scared?”

Eliza asked, chuckling softly.

“…A little. Not much, just a little.”

Though it didn’t seem like it, he was surprisingly easily frightened.

Especially by ghosts and such things.

Eliza, who didn’t have that kind of fear, found it somewhat hard to understand.

It had been a long time since he had gone into battle, but whenever he massacred enemies on the battlefield, it earned him admiration or awe from many knights and mercenaries.

His feats often bordered on terror among those who also wielded swords and lived by them.

Yet here he was, scared of something like this.

Though she didn’t understand the reason, Eliza thought it was alright because he was lovable.

One didn’t have to understand everything to love him.

Sometimes, it was enough just to embrace and comfort him.

Judas quietly wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

“Are you feeling more comfortable now?”

“Yeah. It’s very stable.”

The waist was fine, but the abdomen was both firm and soft.

Judas felt reassured by the texture.

Eliza raised her hand and gently patted his head.

“I’ll finish up quickly, so hold on tight.”

“Yes.”

As they moved, Judas lightly laughed, feeling the strength around his waist increase.

Though he said that, Eliza moved slowly, floating in the sky and circling around.

The mountain range stretching north-west/south-east from the canyon leading to the Beersheba Peninsula follows the coastline.

The inland area gradually flattens, leading to a prairie.

A somewhat barren plain with a clear distinction between the wet and dry seasons.

‘It seems like the invasion of monsters is more frequent than I expected… I understand why now. This place is currently in a severe dry season. As food and water supplies dwindle, the monsters are trying to invade human lands.’

The dry yellow grass stretches out over the vast fields.

Vegetation with green leaves is sparse.

Oases are also quite rare.

‘The two kinds of monsters that seem to be a threat are: the three-horned buffalo and the yellow goblin.’

The large buffalo with three horns and the goblins with yellow skin like sand.

They don’t coexist, but they don’t usually fight unless there’s a specific reason.

‘If I just handle the ones visible in this plain, it should be safe for a while.’

Goblins usually gather around oases or shaded areas of vegetation to form settlements, while the buffalo herds gathered around the remnants of rivers.

‘We need to minimize damage to nature. This is not an ecosystem that only monsters use. That means excluding fire or electric-based spells. As for water and ice… I’m not sure how they would affect this dry region, so I’ll exclude them as well. So, rock and wood-based spells should work.’

Thinking that, Eliza began preparing her magic.

Judas, who was holding her, slowly scanned the surroundings.

The height that allowed him to look beyond the horizon.

The vast, open field stretched as far as the eye could see, almost like a bird’s eye view.

It was a landscape only visible when with Eliza.

She often goes out to the field herself.

She never does things half-heartedly, always diligent and serious.

Judas occasionally wondered why Eliza was so diligent.

Eliza was the key to the demonic conquest, both strategically and tactically.

Eliza knew that too.

Even so, Judas thought it wasn’t easy to be as diligent as Eliza.

She could sometimes delegate tasks to subordinates and delay things.

Considering her inviolable status, even if she were lazy, no one would criticize her.

Even when resting, she only took the amount of rest she needed.

She was mechanically diligent when it came to taking care of the empire and carrying out the conquest of the demon world.

‘Is it because she wants to be with me…?’

To find peace soon and dedicate as much time as possible to Judas.

Judas understood that feeling as well.

Even if the positions were reversed, he would have acted with the same mindset.

But, would he have been able to live as diligently as Eliza, balancing rest, state affairs, and a romantic relationship with such devotion and efficiency?

He wasn’t sure.

He wasn’t as intelligent or planned as Eliza.

He was simply curious.

About Eliza’s world.

The way Eliza sees the world.

Especially, he was curious about why she still maintained the hated Bevel Castle and gave it to him as well.

It wasn’t hatred, just pure curiosity.

The reason why she cared for an empire named after that castle with such diligence.

He wanted to see the world like Eliza did.

He knew a lot about Eliza, but there was still so much he didn’t know.

The vines that sprang up everywhere lashed at or tore apart the monsters, while the rocks pressed down upon them.

It didn’t take even a few seconds for the monsters that threatened Beersheba to be dealt with.

On the way back, soaring through the sky.

Judas spoke.

“Eliza.”

“Hmm. Do you have something to say? Or is there something you want to ask?”

“…How did you know?”

It wasn’t anything extraordinary; I was just curious about Eliza’s thoughts.

I wanted to ask how she viewed this world.

But before I could, Eliza answered as if she already knew.

“I know everything. Anything about you, I know it all.”

“……”

“To be more specific, I noticed the slight sinking and stiffening of your voice and tone, the tension in your arms that you’re holding, and the change in the breath on your head and all that.”

“Even noticing that kind of thing seems difficult…”

Eliza’s next words came with a slightly sulky tone.

“And, usually, by now, it would be time for a kiss, but you’re still quiet, not saying what you’re thinking.”

Judas couldn’t help but laugh.

Then, without realizing it, he gave her a playful kiss on both her cheeks.

Eliza smiled widely, even when her cheeks were stretched out.

Finally, he kissed her lips deeply.

“Are you satisfied now?”

“Hmmm. I’d want something a little more intense…”

“……”

“That’s something for later. Right now, unfortunately, we have to endure.”

Eliza fiddled with Judas’s hand.

“There’s a place I wanted to go, and I think it would be a good time to talk when we get there.”

“A place you want to go?”

“Yeah. I thought of it while looking at the sea.”

Anything. Judas accepted, saying it didn’t matter.

Back in Beersheba, Eliza informed Gabriel about the cleared monsters, then left.

She teleported Judas to another sea.

It was a coastline with a sandy beach next to a cliff.

“Did you want to come here?”

“Yeah. More specifically…”

Eliza traced a finger toward the sea.

And then, something unbelievable happened.

“……”

The sea began to split apart on both sides.

A long path stretched across the middle of the constantly flowing sea, extending all the way to the horizon.

The water, now completely parted, revealed the seabed beneath.

“I was curious about what’s beneath the sea.”

“……”

“And I wanted to see the aquarium I saw in your memory, so I had to do something like this to recreate it as much as possible.”

“……”

Seeing Judas in a daze, Eliza spoke like a child.

With a very pure smile, as though this were a casual outing, she took his hand.

“Let’s go quickly.”

The cliff of the sea, sharply cut at a right angle.

In the middle, there was a wide enough path that could easily fit two carriages.

Seeing Eliza smile so naturally after performing such a miracle, Judas smiled too.

If you’re happy, what’s the problem?

“Alright, let’s go.”

Thus, I set out for a walk along the seaside path.