The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 22

I couldn’t hold back and retorted to the noble lady who blocked our way.

“Excuse me, ma’am. What did you just say?”

“W-w-what… did you just call me… ma’am…?!”

She widened her eyes in disbelief.

As she stood there trembling, I took a step closer to her.

“Did you, just, call me, ma’am…?”

“Then, who else here would I call ma’am? Should I have called the lady next door? Huh?”

“Wha-what the…!”

“We are guests invited by Lady Eliza herself. Why are you picking a fight with innocent people?”

“You…!”

I ignored her words and continued.

“If you have any complaints, take them up with the host. Or are you just grumbling behind people’s backs because you don’t have the courage to confront them directly? Even among nobles, there’s a difference in standards…”

At that moment, the lady swung her hand down.

It was the gesture of an ordinary person who had never fought in her life.

It was so slow it was almost visible.

I leaned back and easily dodged it.

Instinctively, I almost grabbed her arm and threw her over my shoulder.

The last bit of reason in me stopped me from doing that.

If I had done something like that, it would have been truly irreversible.

Instead, after dodging, I humiliated her.

“Oh my, if such a noble lady has such crude habits, what will we do? You should maintain your dignity.”

“Y-you…! You dare…! Ah, ah, aaaaah~!”

The lady screamed and clutched the back of her neck, about to collapse.

At that moment, Anna shouted urgently.

“D-duchess…!”

I froze instantly.

Duchess?

Then, Narcissa?

The Duchess of the Bevel family?

People started to gather and the ones who seemed to be her attendants glared at me.

“Ju-Judas? What do we do? I think we’re in big trouble…?!”

Richard asked anxiously, and I responded firmly.

“Let’s run.”

“Run?”

“Yes. Right now.”

“Th-those kids, catch them-!”

Leaving Narcissa’s screams behind, we ran with all our might.

We ran until we were out of breath.

Luckily, it seemed no one was chasing us.

Each of us leaned against a wall, catching our breath.

“Ju-Judas, you…!”

“How was I supposed to know she was the Duchess…?”

I didn’t know what Eliza’s family looked like.

I had never seen them in person.

I only knew their names roughly.

Of course, I didn’t know that lady was Eliza’s mother.

‘They don’t look alike at all…! Not their hair color, eye color, or features!’

But, she must be her mother, right?

Even that, I wasn’t sure about.

Eliza, who had very few conversation events, never talked about her family.

As I struggled to catch my breath, someone suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hehe, hehe…!”

Lindel.

Catching his breath, he soon burst into laughter.

“Puhahahah! Ah, uhehek!”

He started it, and soon the others began to laugh one by one.

I couldn’t help but laugh too.

Honestly, it was a funny situation, no matter how you looked at it.

As we all laughed together, Dylan was the only one who couldn’t laugh and looked serious.

Richard tapped my shoulder.

“It felt pretty good, didn’t it?”

Lindel wiped his tears and chimed in.

“That’s what I’m saying. Ah, really. I can’t forget the look on that lady’s face turning red and trembling.”

“Ah, ah, aagh-!”

Argon grabbed the back of his neck and mimicked Narcissa.

It wasn’t similar at all, which made it even funnier.

At that point, even Dylan couldn’t hold back.

“Puhk…!”

He covered his mouth to hide his laughter, but it was already too late.

We all burst into laughter again.

“Doesn’t look like him at all!”

“Ah, my stomach hurts…”

Felin clutched his stomach, and Dyke approached me with his fist out.

“You were cool, seriously, I admit it.”

“Thank you.”

I bumped his fist, chuckling.

A few others approached, saying ‘Yeah~’ and extended their fists.

I bumped their fists too, celebrating our victory.

Dylan looked back at us and shook his head.

There was still a hint of a smile he couldn’t wipe off his face.

“Ha… I feel like my life span just extended and then shortened by a few years….”

“For that, you sure laughed a lot?”

“Be quiet…”

Richard teased, and Dylan clenched his teeth to suppress his laughter.

At that moment, someone came running from the direction of the mansion.

Startled, I looked back and saw it was Anna, the maid who had guided us.

“Hah, hah…. haah….”

Her face was pale as she looked at me, sweating.

She placed her hand on her chest, catching her breath, and then collapsed as if her strength gave out.

“Sob, hic…. hic……!”

“Uh… Anna? A-are you crying?”

“Huuuuu…! Hic~! What am I going to do now…! The Duchess will surely…!”

Speaking through her hiccups, she started to cry out loud.

This was no time for laughing.

Anna was the one in charge of guiding us.

And I had caused a major incident.

I had given the Duchess Narcissa a hard time.

Anna might have to take responsibility for that.

I approached her nervously.

“Th-this, for now, don’t cry….”

I don’t know what to do when a kid cries…!

It was so awkward even at the gym when kids cried after playing around!

“Waaah…! Sob, hic…!”

“Wow, Judas made her cry!”

“Woo~ You piece of trash~”

“Can you please be quiet!”

I patted Anna on the back.

“Uh…. I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking… Yes, I know. I’m naturally like this. I get easily angry, act impulsively without thinking things through, and lash out without regard for anyone. Um…. Well, won’t Lady Eliza do something about it?”

“……….”

“If not, then I’ll take responsibility. If anyone says anything, just mention my name. Or should we go get scolded together?”

“No…. It’s my responsibility for not managing properly…. It’s been nice meeting you. I’ll be going now….”

“Oh no, you shouldn’t give up on life at such a young age. Come on, get up.”

Anna sighed and stood up.

She brushed off her knees and then put her hand on her forehead when she looked at me.

I averted my gaze, sensing the awkwardness.

Judging by this Judas’s body, she seems older, but she’s still quite young.

About 16 years old, maybe.

I feel bad for her.

The other kids, realizing the seriousness of the situation, didn’t tease her like before.

“Sigh…. Well, what can we do? What’s done is done. We’ll manage somehow.”

Anna smiled wearily.

She has a quick-to-shrug-off personality.

“It’s almost time for the lady to arrive. Shall we move?”

“Yes, let’s do that…”

“One incident like earlier is more than enough for a lifetime.”

“Yep!”

She looked at me doubtfully and then shook her head.

I followed her as quietly as possible.

The other kids from Room 13 also calmed down and followed suit.

We arrived at the central hall following Anna.

Thankfully, there were no incidents like earlier.

No one picked a fight, and I didn’t lose my temper.

The Duchess of Narcissa didn’t come to hold anyone accountable, which was a huge relief.

The vastness of the central hall was almost overwhelming.

The ceiling was as high as the sky, with a magnificent chandelier.

And, a red carpet stretching from the main entrance to the central platform.

This would be the path for Eliza, the main character of the day, to enter.

The area was filled with guests.

They were the same type of gentlemen and ladies we had seen outside.

Among them, I found someone very different yet familiar.

“A moon deer?”

The red carpet split at the stairs extending on either side.

In the spacious area between those stairs, surrounded by a fence, was a moon deer.

All the guests were gathered around it, admiring the moon deer.

“This is the one the young lady tamed this time…”

“Look at those eyes and that luminous antler. How can it be so beautiful?”

“She’s truly from the Bevel family. She’s remarkable….”

“How will the Moonsin Church react to this….”

“But it’s not like she did anything wrong. The animosity was from long ago….”

“Should we be glad that they didn’t come?”

The moon deer roamed around the fenced area nonchalantly, seemingly unbothered.

With so many people around, I didn’t even think about approaching it, but the moon deer suddenly lifted its head.

It looked directly at me and perked its ears.

I smiled and waved.

There were too many people around to get closer.

We gathered at a spot away from the red carpet.

It was quite an awkward distance.

“I wonder if we’ll even be able to see the lady when she enters.”

Lindel’s grumbling was spot on.

The spots close to the red carpet were already taken by those who arrived early or important nobles.

Although we were also guests of Eliza, we weren’t significant enough to stand with them.

Being here made everyone realize their place.

“But Judas, what about the gift you couldn’t give?”

“It’s fine. I didn’t expect to be able to give it anyway. I just bought it because I felt uncomfortable coming empty-handed.”

For me to use it… it’s not right.

There are only boys at the training camp, so there’s no one to give it to.

Should I give it to Anna as an apology?

I wasn’t really sure.

Well, there must be a way to handle it somehow.

After answering, I looked around at the faces of the nobles.

I was particularly curious about Eliza’s family.

Members of the Bevel family, who I only knew by name from the game.

It was easy to find Narcissa, who had been clutching the back of her neck earlier.

Blonde hair pulled up and blue eyes.

‘The people around her must be the Bevel family.’

Unlike when she looked at us with contempt, Narcissa’s eyes were very gentle when she looked at her family.

Her expression was also calm.

It was almost enough to make me think she was a different person.

‘But… why doesn’t anyone look like Eliza?’

Black hair and red eyes.

That combination was nowhere to be seen here.

‘There are red eyes, but…’

Narcissa had blue eyes.

All of her family members around her had red eyes like Eliza.

No matter how you looked at it, they were close like a family.

However, they all had luxurious golden hair.

‘Eliza’s hair is jet black…’

While I was thinking and observing them,

“Lady Eliza of the Bavel family is entering!”

The gatekeeper shouted loudly.

The murmuring noise died down.

Everyone moved closer to the red carpet and stared at one place.

The main entrance of the hall.

We also tried to peek over there among the crowd.

I was curious too.

Being short, I managed to find a space through the gaps between people and their legs.

Just in time, the huge door opened smoothly.

Tap, tap.

Small feet stepped on the soft carpet.

Black leather shoes shone under the chandelier’s light.

Black hair tied in two elegant pigtails.

Red eyes staring indifferently straight ahead.

The dress, seemingly made to match the color of her eyes, suited her very well.

‘She put on more makeup than usual.’

Her cheeks looked especially red today.

Such heavy makeup on a child.

Nobility must be exhausting.

Eliza walked on the carpet, receiving polite applause from the guests.

She didn’t even look at the guests.

She just walked gracefully.

Was it my imagination, or did she look more expressionless than usual today?

As she walked proudly, she suddenly stopped.

Her soft gaze fixed firmly on one spot.

As Eliza stared directly at one place, the applause gradually quieted down.

Instead, people murmured and followed her gaze.

Eliza took another step.

She walked towards a group of guests in the direction she was looking.

She stepped off the carpet.

She didn’t say a word, but the guests naturally parted to either side.

As if it were the most natural thing, Eliza walked between them.

The person she was heading for was me.

Eliza had indeed found me exactly.

I have no idea how she discovered me, nestled among the crowd of people.

I had no room to retreat.

Eliza was getting closer.

Swiftly kneeling down on one knee, another candidate followed suit after me.

“Judas.”

Eliza stood before me.

“Yes…. Miss.”

“Look up.”

I lifted my head to look at her.

Her large pupils blinked, alternating between the box she had placed beside me and my face.

“Is that… a gift? To give to me?”

“…Yes. That’s right.”

“Give it.”

I hesitated, then cautiously handed her the box.

“Thank you.”

Eliza smiled brightly.

“Did you cut your hair? It suits you well.”

“Oh, um? Yes? No, yes…. Thank you….”

She held the box close and turned away.

Eliza walked back on the red carpet as if nothing had happened.

I stared blankly at her figure.

‘What just happened…?’

Originally, it was a gift for Eliza.

Thinking I couldn’t give it, I gave up.

Even the steward refused, and I couldn’t have imagined Eliza would take my gift herself.

No matter how much I stimulate Eliza’s curiosity, whether it’s a delusion or not.

Anyway, the gift found its rightful owner.

Yes. It’s all fine. It’s all fine but……

Why, in such a crowded place, did she have to take the gift in such a noticeable way?

‘Did it have to be like that…?’

That’s when Richard tapped my shoulder.

“Hey… You’re in big trouble.”

He was right.

Hundreds of nobles gathered here were all paying attention to me.

“…Ah.”

Something always go wrong.