The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 38.2

“So, because of that, you broke the code of chivalry? Ignoring even the issue of supporting your family?”

“…….”

An awkward silence.

Shylock was frozen as if pierced by a spear.

It was an easy deduction for Eliza.

She had recently gone through a process of selecting reliable people.

Two crucial factors she considered then:

Skill and loyalty.

Skill is visible.

Loyalty is different.

It is not apparent.

Therefore, Eliza focused on the grounds for loyalty.

The more materialistic the basis, the better.

Abstract values like honor or gratitude are utterly useless.

Money. Revenge. Family. Lovers.

The simpler and more straightforward they are, the more certain the motive for loyalty.

Like Hermes cherishing distant relatives.

Shylock and Hermes.

Both were on high alert.

The small girl before them was a noble with ears sharper than the rumors.

“Let’s summarize. You received a command from the Grand Duke. The target is Judas. But that order conflicted with your values, causing you to betray the chivalric code and choose not to target Judas. You even abandoned your family’s support issues. I don’t think all of this is true.”

Eliza continued.

“So what part is false? Your betrayal? That’s not it. If it were, you wouldn’t be standing here in front of me. You did defy the Grand Duke’s command. That’s certain. The lie is only one: the excuse of values. So why did you have to lie like this?”

The villainess smirked.

“It’s probably because Judas resolved your family’s support issues. Simply resolving the problem would be suicide against the Grand Duke. You incurred a debt you had to repay to Judas.”

“…….”

There was one more possibility.

If Hermes had solved his family issues.

But it was not mentioned.

If that were the case, Hermes would have said so in advance.

“Hermes.”

Eliza, who had stopped talking, leaned back in her chair.

Relaxed and magnanimous.

An attitude that highlighted the qualities of a ruler.

Hermes, tense, was slow to respond.

“…Yes, yes, Miss.”

“This is your last chance. Tell me everything you’ve been hiding.”

***

Hermes swallowed nervously.

She had to admit it.

She had been complacent.

She had concealed too much to hide information about the information guild.

And Eliza had accurately discerned the concealed parts of the story.

A bizarre case where concealment had led to the information being used for another purpose.

She had underestimated Eliza a little.

She had met many intelligent individuals as a member of the information guild.

Among them, there was no one as sharp and intimidating as Eliza.

It wasn’t just her deductive ability.

She had a natural talent for probing others’ intentions, stirring emotions, and disturbing the atmosphere.

It was a truly monstrous ability.

It wasn’t just a simple talent.

It was the result of harsh training to survive in her family and relentless study to bring down the Bevel family.

“To be honest….”

Hermes confessed.

Naturally, she omitted everything related to the information guild.

She reluctantly revealed a little about Judas’s actions.

The only silver lining was that Eliza reacted keenly whenever Judas was mentioned.

She focused intensely on parts involving Judas.

“…I found out that Lord Judas stayed in a village near the front line. He heard about and recalled the treatment methods related to Shylock’s family there.”

Eliza did not know this.

But she couldn’t show it on the outside.

She just listened calmly.

As if she knew it all along.

Naturally, Hermes assumed that Eliza knew this much about Judas and spoke accordingly.

Eliza thought.

‘Near the front line….’

A place Judas had once stayed.

‘Something I don’t know….’

Hermes had known first.

The background he hadn’t shared with her.

More time with Judas than with herself….

‘…Why am I worrying about this? It’s not an important issue.’

Eliza redefined her priorities.

‘Anyway, the gaps in the story have been filled.’

She discovered the parts Hermes had hidden.

Judas used the information he overheard from the knights and what he knew to persuade Shylock.

At that time, Hermes asked for a double agent role.

Shylock, having a debt, agreed.

Still, Hermes did not reveal everything.

She left behind very trivial secrets.

However, there were no logical flaws.

Eliza had no choice but to trust.

The fact that Hermes was a member of the Information Guild and that Judas had found and used that guild first was something that Eliza could not have logically anticipated.

She had questioned their secrets, but in the end, nothing had changed significantly.

Shylock, under Barak’s orders.

His disobedience.

Everything remains the same.

Only Judas’s actions and clues have been added.

Insignificant, but important information for Eliza.

Testimonies that Judas had stayed in a village near the front line.

The trail of Judas she had been pursuing was cut off near the front line.

Tracking further now was too daunting, but she had obtained a meaningful clue.

Her curiosity only grew.

Who is Judas?

Where did he come from?

In fact, knowing Judas’s origin is not necessary.

At first, it was just curiosity that led her to dig deeper, but the more she learned, the more she wanted to know, and now she couldn’t stop her curiosity even though she knew it was pointless.

Eliza gathered her thoughts.

There is something more important.

The three that Barak had planted in the training camp.

‘Shylock, Gaston, Dallant.’

She did not know who they were.

Their identities were not important.

What mattered was Barak’s actions.

‘Why go through all this trouble?’

The goal is Judas.

The actions taken were merely rumors, ostracism, and a bit of violence.

Judas is not the type to succumb.

Barak, too, is not the type to engage in such childish antics.

To kill or not to kill.

The choice must be extreme and swift.

If Barak is as she knows him, then killing Judas should be obvious.

And the method should not be too difficult for Barak.

‘…….’

Thinking about Judas’s death made her brows furrow.

She shook her head to push away the emotions.

She refocused.

On the suspicious appearance of Barak.

Judas is the target, but no. Eliza denied it.

The real purpose must be something else.

She speculated.

Barak would hate her.

But what that is, she currently could not know.

What is he trying to do in her training camp?

A usable phrase came to mind.

“Sir Shylock.”

“…Yes, Miss.”

“Anyway, I understand that you’re not on Barak’s side now. Also, that you are not my enemy.”

“Thank you.”

“I will take responsibility for your family’s well-being.”

Since she had turned her back on Barak, she would look after them from now on.

At the same time, the safety of the family depended on her.

A threat, comfort, and proposal all in one.

The more materialistic the basis, the better.

Abstract values like honor or gratitude are utterly useless.

At the same time, the safety of the family depended on her.

A threat, comfort, and proposal all in one.

“Work for yourself.”

Shylock simply bowed his head.

“…I’ll consider it an honor.”

“Sir Hermes, I look forward to working with you in the future.”

Eliza said with a smile.

Hermes, too, had no choice but to bow.

“I’ll do my best.”

***

The time spent taking care of the moon deer every evening is still in effect.

And Eliza tries to come as often as possible.

Sometimes I take care of it alone when work is busy.

Whenever I visit the stable where the moon deer stays, without fail….

“Oh, oh dear, oh how wonderful. Yes, yes.”

The moon deer comes bounding out, nuzzling me.

It has been like this since after the first exam.

According to Bradley, it was very anxious at that time.

It seems it misunderstood that I was abandoning it.

So I make sure to pet and spoil it even more than before when I come.

“Oh, that’s good. Yes, yes, you’re so excited. Yes, I’m glad to see you too….”

But sometimes the enthusiasm is a bit too much.

It keeps licking my face, making it hard for me to speak.

‘Like a puppy…. A ridiculously big puppy.’

It might be excessive, but it feels good to be welcomed like this.

I think being cute is enough.

I vigorously scratched the moon deer’s neck and back.

“Ah, that’s refreshing. That’s right. That’s right.”

The saliva can be cleaned off later.

The stable keeper, Bradley, chuckled.

“That guy, ever since you came back, has been full of energy.”

“Because of this, I can’t leave for long.”

“That means it follows you. …Oh, miss. You’ve arrived.”

Bradley set down the water bucket and greeted.

I also stood up and turned around.

‘It seems Eliza isn’t as busy today.’

Eliza was standing at the entrance of the stable.

She didn’t come in, just stood quietly.

She stared at me intently.

Her greeting was awkwardly persistent.

‘…Is she looking at the moon deer rather than me?’

In the meantime, the moon deer kept nuzzling and licking me.

You can’t expect manners from a beast, so I pushed it away with my hand.

Even when pushed away, it clung to me.

Eliza walked briskly towards me without saying a word.

Her large eyes scanned me up and down.

“…Miss? What’s wrong?”

She pouted her lips and then shook her head.

“It’s nothing.”

Soon, the usual routine of taking care of the moon deer began.

The time still remains uneventful.

Eliza brushes, and I feed it hay or water while scratching its neck.

However, Eliza had changed.

She wasn’t as stiff as before.

She had become quite skilled and natural.

Her expression was also different.

It was a rare time to see Eliza’s gentle face.

‘Did she come to like the moon deer quite a bit?’

Eliza’s purpose for bringing the moon deer was singular.

To display it at the birthday banquet.

After that, she wouldn’t necessarily need to pay it any attention.

Eliza continues to make time for it.

The sound of brushing.

The munching of hay by the moon deer.

Lia waits behind Eliza, prepared for any unexpected events.

Bradley has now adapted and comfortably spends time cleaning the stable.

It’s relaxed and leisurely, which eases my mind a little.

Seizing this moment, I cautiously opened my mouth.

The question I wanted to ask Eliza.

I’m not sure how he will answer.

It might be rude to ask the master something like this.

But I’m still curious.

The reason Eliza wants to kill me.

Maybe hearing the answer will help me understand a bit.

“Miss.”

“Yeah?”

The question Eliza asked at that time.

“What do you think of me?”

…When it came to saying it, I was a bit nervous and the question came out wrong.

Eliza also asked me once, what I thought of her.

Well, it’s basically the same thing.

“You?”

Eliza looked at me while brushing.

He’s definitely become skilled at brushing now.

“Yes.”

Eliza stared at me intently.

As if she was looking at a rare creature.

With an expression as if the question was very strange.

Her expression was usually emotionless, but now I could sense the subtle changes.

She tilted her head slowly.

Once to the left.

Once to the right.

As if wondering why I was asking such a question.

‘A bit cute… Ah, no.’

Eliza, who had been staring at me, turned his head away.

While continuing to brush, she casually answered as if it were nothing.

When I heard that, my heart stopped.

***

“What do you think of me?”

Judas asked.

“You?”

“Yes.”

Eliza mulled over the question while brushing.

Why ask something like this?

Isn’t it obvious?

She observed Judas’s expression.

A slightly nervous face.

Certainly, it wasn’t a question a commoner would ask their master.

Eliza wasn’t particularly concerned.

She was just really puzzled.

Why ask for the predetermined answer?

She must already know it well.

So she stared intently and tilted her head slowly to the sides once.

She was intrigued by Judas’s curiosity.

Afterward, while continuing to brush, she answered casually.

As it was.

Honestly.

“Mine.”