The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 201

From the shore to the horizon.

A rift had opened across the sea.

Like a canyon, the parted seawater poured endlessly downward, yet never fell into the exposed chasm.

The seafloor, once submerged, was now laid bare and clear.

Judas stood in a daze, momentarily lost in the sight of what could only be called a miracle—not magic.

Eliza, the one who had performed this miracle, simply smiled like a child about to go on a picnic and said,

“Let’s go, quickly.”

“…Yeah, let’s go.”

In the end, Judas smiled as well, letting himself be gently led by her hand.

“Did you suddenly want to see inside the sea?”

“Mm-hmm. I never really thought about what the bottom of the sea would look like, but after seeing your memory, I got curious.”

And just like that—curiosity parted the sea.

It was the kind of thing that could make one’s head spin just from the scale of it.

From the shoreline to the sea, the sandy ground sloped gently like a hill.

As she was about to step in, Eliza paused at the feel of wet sand beneath her foot.

At this rate, her shoes and feet would get soaked.

Judas offered, half-playfully,

“Want me to carry you?”

Carrying someone like Eliza was no big deal for him.

“That does sound nice… but I think I want to walk.”

She was curious about the sensation of stepping on wet sand.

“Be careful not to fall.”

“Okay.”

Eliza held tightly to Judas’s hand and stepped onto the damp sand.

The packed sand crumbled slightly, and her foot sank in just a bit.

Cool and moist.

She wasn’t barefoot, but she could still feel it.

“This is amazing….”

The first time experiencing anything always brought a sense of wonder.

Judas smiled, watching her with quiet fondness.

“Have you ever been to the sea before, Judas?”

It was something she could have confirmed by reading his memories—but this time, she wanted to hear it from him directly, so she asked instead.

“Hmm, no. I’ve only seen it in photos or videos. This is my first time seeing it in person.”

“I’m glad.”

Firsts were always vivid and awe-inspiring—etched deeply into memory.

Eliza was truly happy that her name and face would be part of many of Judas’s firsts.

And Judas felt the same.

Before long, they had descended into the sea.

Or rather, into the place where the sea had once been.

They walked carefully down the gently sloping sand.

The seawater flowing on either side looked like towering cliffs.

“But… to part the sea like this….”

Seeing the ocean from between its walls—it was a rare and breathtaking sight.

Judas was in awe, but also a little frightened.

He didn’t doubt Eliza’s abilities.

But the sea, split into cliff-like walls on either side, stirred a primal unease.

He cautiously reached out and touched the seawater.

It felt unreal.

But the cold confirmed it was real seawater.

Eliza said offhandedly,

“I wanted to try it, and it just worked.”

“…I see.”

She’s made me tired of being amazed by her talent — and yet, she keeps making me amazed.

Among people, Eliza is even called a god that truly exists.

After all, she parted the sea. Maybe she really is a god.

“So this is what the seafloor looks like.”

The sand had turned brown from being wet.

The interesting thing was that the sand formed wave-like patterns.

Almost like ripples of the sea.

“Is this from the flow of the seawater…? How fascinating.”

Eliza walked slowly, observing everything like a curious child.

Judas also found the wavy patterns fascinating, but more than that, he enjoyed watching Eliza marvel at them.

They couldn’t walk along the wet sand for long.

Eventually, they came to a point where the sand dunes suddenly gave way to a steep cliff.

“Wow…”

Standing at the edge, Eliza let out a gasp of wonder.

The cliff’s shape dropped sharply and unpredictably.

Rocks jutted out here and there.

Upon them, corals of many kinds formed a colorful forest.

Between the divided sea on both sides, tiny fish swam among the bubbles.

Judas too stared blankly at the scene for a while.

The mystery of nature.

The mystery of Eliza, who let him experience it.

To behold the heart of the sea from within its majestic waters — he had never even imagined such a thing.

Eliza looked down at the coral forest below.

A rugged, sloping coral terrain.

Beyond that, far in the distance, the deeper seafloor stretched out.

By Eliza’s estimate, the bottom lay about a kilometer below sea level.

‘I wonder if there are deeper places out in the ocean.’

She wasn’t curious enough to go there.

There wouldn’t be such beautiful scenery in the deep sea where no light reached.

“We won’t be able to walk down there.”

She couldn’t step on the coral.

So she decided to explore slowly using her levitation magic.

“These colors are amazing… There are such vivid colors in the ocean?”

Even Judas, who had little interest in flowers or plants, couldn’t help but find it fascinating today.

He was seeing the underwater world with his own eyes.

“It’s kind of like flowers or mushrooms on land… but subtly different.”

Eliza smiled in satisfaction as she looked at him.

“Did you know? Coral isn’t a plant — it’s an animal.”

“Huh? Really? This? It looks like a plant to anyone… How do you know that?”

“It was in your memory.”

“…Why do you know things from my memory that I don’t?”

“Because I can open the parts you don’t remember like a book.”

“……”

Judas fell into silent thought.

He felt a dark, deep fear — deeper than this sea.

Eliza could know even the most trivial things about him.

So, for example — just hypothetically…

The first time that happened in his sleep…

When the sheets had become sticky…

‘No way.’

Eliza simply smiled kindly at him.

As if every thought of his was correct.

Then, in a slightly dissatisfied voice, she muttered:

“That first should have been mine…”

“……”

Judas gave up thinking any further.

“But there aren’t as many fish as I expected.”

In Judas’s memory, the aquarium had been filled with all kinds of fish in a vast expanse of blue water.

From sardines swimming in synchronized schools to massive rays and even sharks.

But here, there weren’t nearly as many fish.

Just a few small ones darting near the coral.

And scattered groups of fish here and there.

The rest of the wide space was still and quiet.

Only the seawater flowed.

“Yeah. Well, the ocean is huge, after all.”

“True. It’s a little disappointing, but in its own way, I kind of like it. I never thought I’d get to see something this colorful and spectacular.”

Judas felt the same.

He never imagined he’d get to see a coral forest with his own eyes, up close like this.

It was a miracle made possible thanks to Eliza—and the fact that she was with him made the first-time experience even more special.

The two of them slowly descended, admiring the various coral formations.

Every so often, they watched tiny fish swim around the coral within the barrier of water.

After some time, they reached the end of the coral forest.

A relatively flat seabed appeared.

Ideal for walking.

Just like before, they held hands and walked side by side.

Ahead of them stretched the endless, unknown sea.

On either side, walls of flowing seawater.

Eliza spoke first.

“You said earlier you had something to tell me. What was it?”

“Oh, that. It’s not really a big deal…”

He’d dragged it out so long, it felt like he needed to say something serious or profound.

But honestly, what he wanted to ask wasn’t all that dramatic.

“It’s fine, whatever it is. Just talk to me. I’ll tell you or show you anything.”

Her reassuring words made Judas smile.

“It’s really nothing. Just…”

Asking what are you thinking about when you’re diligently working as an empress felt somehow strange.

He decided to start with something else.

“Why did you keep using the name Bevel?”

“Oh. Yeah, I guess that might seem a little strange.”

“Not exactly strange, but it did make me curious.”

She probably didn’t even like the name Bevel that much.

He left that part unsaid.

After a moment’s thought, Eliza spoke.

“The person I used to be was someone trapped in the past. Or rather, it wasn’t that I was trapped by it—I was the one clinging to it.”

The tragedy had begun when Narcissa dragged her back to the family home.

Maria’s death.

The harsh, relentless education she endured there.

And the beginning of her revenge.

“Because they hurt me, I believed I had a duty to return that pain. I didn’t even realize my mother was still there with me. Not that I think I was foolish then, or that I regret taking revenge. Even if I could go back, I’d do it all again.”

That was how much Eliza had hated those who carried the name Bevel.

And still, she hadn’t discarded it.

“Keeping the name Bevel and building an empire with it—it’s proof that I overcame the past. A kind of badge of honor.”

She had chosen to move forward, with Judas.

She no longer wanted to be held back by her past.

She had stopped clinging to it.

She let it go.

That didn’t mean she would ignore or run away from it.

She had proudly triumphed over the things that once oppressed her.

She had overcome the despicable Bevel.

Even though it had been a painful, difficult journey.

“I don’t want to exaggerate or downplay my past. I want to acknowledge it, face it, and move forward with you. That’s why I chose to keep the name Bevel.”

Eliza smiled gently as she took Judas’s hand.

“That’s also why I gave you that name. Without you, I wouldn’t have been able to overcome it. It’s a symbol of what we conquered together.”

It wasn’t that she couldn’t have defeated Bevel on her own.

But without Judas, she could never have overcome her past.

Eliza believed that completely.

“……”

Judas hadn’t known she felt that way.

Which was only natural.

It wasn’t the kind of thing you say in daily conversation.

He still didn’t know everything about Eliza.

But today, he had learned something new.

And maybe that was enough.

Because they were still getting to know each other — one piece at a time — and accepting each other all the while.

Whatever it was, she was now ready to share her heart with him. And he was ready, too.

“I didn’t know it meant that much to you.”

“Well… I don’t know if I’d say it was that deep of a meaning.”

Eliza gave an awkward laugh and tilted her head up slightly, as if reminiscing.

A path opened between the sea.

The sky revealed between deep blue waters was bright.

She briefly looked back — from the day she first met Judas, to now.

Taking one step ahead, she spun around and jumped into Judas’s arms.

Lightly embraced.

“Thank you for coming to me.”

For pulling her out before she could be trapped in the past.

For staying by her side through terrifying moments.

If it weren’t for him, Eliza was certain — she could never have risen above her past.

“For giving me this red scarf, for protecting me, for getting badly hurt trying to save me, for even coming to the underworld to find me… and for telling me it wasn’t my fault — the cause of all those awful things. Thank you. Every moment with you… was salvation.”

Eliza, once drowning in guilt, had finally seen the world clearly — only after taking Judas’s hand.

Judas smiled gently and stroked her small head.

When was it?

He didn’t remember exactly, but there had been a time when he responded to Eliza’s praise with:

“I just did what needed to be done.”

That it was nothing more than duty.

Maybe it was back when he nearly died in her place, at the hands of an assassin.

But now, he felt different from then.

Before it was duty —

“I wanted to save you.”

That’s what he truly wanted.

Saving her had been his wish, his hope — his desire.

It was a little different, but even before the possession, he’d made that wish.

Most of all, saving her had meant saving himself.

Eliza’s eyes shimmered with tears, and she smiled.

Naturally, they shared a soft, brief kiss.

She nestled into his arms and spoke:

“The old me couldn’t even recognize myself as a real person. I was just a tool to achieve some purpose — like getting revenge for the Bevel family. I didn’t consciously think that, but looking back, that’s what it was. But after meeting you… because of you, I started to see myself, to learn who I am. Because you loved me, I was able to love myself.”

“……”

“Loving myself, and loving you… made me fall in love with this world. Because this is a world where you exist. And to me, this world is you. You are everything.”

Until then, she had been indifferent to the world—half cynical.

Contempt. Annoyance. A kind of negative emotion that said, “I don’t care what happens.”

It was the result of projecting herself onto the world.

A life with nothing left but revenge.

Since she wouldn’t have minded dying once her revenge was done, that’s how she saw the world too.

Salvation of the world, and all that.

Exploitation by the privileged, the ruin of war, the peace and comfort humanity should strive for—

None of it concerned her.

But after meeting Judas, everything flipped upside down.

It all became important.

She wished not a single bad thing existed in the world he had to live in.

She wished only for peace.

That’s why Eliza always sincerely paid attention to the Empire and global affairs.

Judas, almost by accident, came to understand something he had only ever been curious about.

Why Eliza was so devoted to her duties as Empress, to the point of seeming mechanical.

At the root of it, it was all for herself.

A surge of emotion welled up in his chest.

There were countless words to describe that feeling.

Moved. Touched. Grateful. Joyful. Happy.

So many words, and yet none alone were enough.

But there was one word that could encapsulate all of it—what he was feeling right now.

Judas gently took Eliza’s shoulders and bowed his head toward her.

It was a slow, yet impulsive gesture.

She rose up on her toes, and he kissed her deeply.

As if savoring the warmth and texture, it lingered for a long time.

Only when their breath grew a little uneven did he part from her.

Then Judas spoke the word that tied together everything he had just felt.

“I love you.”

And Eliza—she smiled, radiantly.

With that one phrase, she could feel all the emotion he poured into it.

“I love you too, Judas.”

So much was contained in that short reply—because she felt the same.

Just as they were about to kiss again—

Something white fluttered down.

Snow was falling.

Not from a midsummer sky, but from within the parted seas on either side of them.

Pure white flakes, drifting slowly, swaying gently, shimmering.

As if they would softly pile up once they touched the ground.

“……”

Judas and Eliza stared blankly at the sea.

In that deep blue world, snow fell like thick, fluffy flakes.

Undersea snow.

Snow falling beneath the ocean.

Wrapped in each other’s arms, they simply watched that phenomenon—miraculous and inexplicable—unfold before them.