The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 42.2

“Go together.”

Eliza pulled his hand harder.

It was quick, as if she would never let go.

“…Yes?”

Judas, Richard, and Argon.

All three asked back simultaneously.

“If you go.”

Eliza looked at Judas.

Seeing his bewildered face was quite amusing.

He is a child who is always independent and confident.

But he often gets flustered in front of her.

Only in front of her.

For some reason, that reaction was pleasing and enjoyable.

Eliza smiled softly and continued.

“I will go too.”

“……”

The three couldn’t say anything.

They just looked at each other, then accepted Eliza’s words.

From the beginning, they had no decision-making power.

The group split up and moved.

The carriage Judas and Argon originally rode was taken by Argon and Richard.

And Judas boarded Eliza’s carriage.

The guiding hand was so natural that he had no time to protest.

***

Sitting down was also very natural.

Eliza sat next to Judas.

Lia and Hermes sat across from them.

Before the carriage even started, Eliza grabbed Judas’s hand.

Judas stiffened.

No matter how they had fallen asleep together before, such an approach was troubling.

On the other hand, Eliza leaned her head on his shoulder nonchalantly.

Unlike Judas, her heart wasn’t disturbed.

She saw no reason to be.

She just enjoyed the cold sensation seeping through the hands that touched.

The sticky foreign substance clinging to her mind fell away cleanly.

“Uh, miss…?”

Judas cautiously called out to her.

Eliza remained silent.

The glance she stole revealed that she had her eyes closed.

Her breathing was slow, as if she were asleep.

It was surprising, but seeing her sleeping so peacefully made him keep quiet.

Reluctantly, he allowed her to rest on his shoulder.

Hermes looked at him with a questioning gaze.

She quickly glanced between Judas and Eliza.

‘What in the world is this situation?’

Judas shook his head briefly.

‘I don’t know either, so don’t ask me.’

Then, Lia looked at Judas and Eliza with a troubled expression before closing her eyes.

***

They arrived at the orphanage where Richard had spent his time.

Eliza, who had just disembarked from the carriage, stared up at the orphanage building.

I felt somewhat similar.

To think that children are raised in such a shabby place.

The house, patched up with old wooden planks, was hardly a place fit for living.

It looked more like a derelict house where a homeless person might stay.

Could this even be called a home?

“Do people actually live in a place like this….”

Eliza muttered quietly.

Fortunately, it was barely audible to me.

If Richard had heard it, he might have been hurt.

It was indeed surprising for Eliza, who had spent his entire life in luxurious surroundings.

I could understand why he was so taken aback.

“Ah, um. This is it….”

Richard awkwardly introduced the place.

It was a shabby and rundown orphanage, even when spoken of in the best terms.

It was not a place to proudly introduce to high nobility.

“It’s still winter, so everyone should be inside….”

“Thinking about it now, didn’t we come a bit suddenly?”

Argon asked.

“It shouldn’t be a problem. As long as you’re not coming here to stay, that is.”

Richard answered with ease.

Even though I was a bit worried myself, seeing his calm attitude eased my mind.

However, Eliza, who was still observing the orphanage with fascination, was uncomfortable.

Knock, knock,

Richard knocked on the door and said.

“It’s me.”

Without a response, the door swung open.

The door was open, but there was no one around.

“Big brother?”

The person was at a lower height in the field of vision.

It was a small child, around Richard’s chest level.

“Yes, it’s me.”

“Big brother’s here!”

The child shouted.

Loud footsteps came rushing from inside.

Several children stormed out as if it were an earthquake.

“Richard brother!”

“Big brother! Are you okay? You went to fight those uncles earlier!”

“Of course. Did you see me lose?”

Richard skillfully handled the children.

Once the brief commotion subsided, the children’s gazes turned behind Richard.

That is, they looked at me and Argon.

“Who are these people?”

“They’re friends of big brother. The one who looks free-spirited is Argon.”

“What…? Oh, um…. Yes, I’m Argon.”

“And the one who looks fierce next to him is Judas.”

“Hmm. Hi, kids.”

It wasn’t incorrect, so I didn’t correct it.

The children’s gazes naturally moved further back.

“Who is that lady?”

There, was Eliza, who was watching the children intently.

The red eyes were persistent.

What on earth were they looking at?

“Ah, well….”

Richard hesitated on how to introduce.

At that moment, someone hurriedly walked out from inside.

The footsteps were louder than before.

The person who appeared was an adult.

“Richard?!”

A blonde woman dressed in shabby commoner’s clothes.

‘…I’ve seen that face before.’

She looked at Richard, was taken aback, and then began to hit his back.

“You, again, again! Always running off on your own—!”

“Ah, ah! Benny, stop it!”

Richard, feeling embarrassed, reddened his face as he glanced at me and Argon.

The woman, called Benny, finally turned her gaze toward us.

A brief introduction followed, just like before.

The woman introduced herself as Benny Nita.

“I run this orphanage. Sometimes it’s overwhelming to handle alone, but it’s a relief that Richard occasionally comes to help.”

Then, her gaze went through the same process as the children’s.

She spotted Eliza.

She immediately recognized that Eliza was no ordinary child.

Her tone became cautious.

“Who is that…?”

Eliza de Bevel.

The youngest daughter of the Bevel family, which rules the Bevel Duchy.

Although she is a high-ranking noble, it is surprisingly common in this world not to know what the ruler looks like.

There are no photos, and even if there were, there are no means to distribute them.

It’s hard to know, even if you want to.

‘…Huh? Wait a minute. How did those men recognize Eliza right away?’

My question was interrupted by Lia’s calm voice.

“Lady Eliza de Bevel, the sixth child and youngest daughter of the Bevel family.”

“Ah…!”

Benny quickly knelt down.

“Ah, I, um…! I’m so sorry…!”

Was she apologizing for not knowing the proper etiquette?

As Benny bowed her head, the children also became uncomfortably subdued.

They sensed the strange atmosphere.

Rather than being innocent and naive, they were cautious and closed-mouthed, likely due to their environment.

Eliza nonchalantly waved her hand.

Lia whispered in her ear.

It was time to leave.

Nodding, Eliza took my hand and said,

“I’ll be going.”

“Please be careful.”

Receiving my farewell, she gave a faint smile.

The cat doll she held.

Despite it being winter and slowly warming up, the red blanket she never took off.

These two things troubled me.

After Eliza left, Benny Nita spoke.

“Why did the Duke’s daughter come here…? Richard, did you cause some kind of trouble?”

“Anyone would think I’m just causing trouble all the time.”

“Then is that not the case?”

Grumbling, Richard briefly explained to Benny.

He had received all the money that had been given so far and promised that it would not happen again in the future.

“Eh…? Are you joking?”

Benny seemed incredulous.

“Why would I joke about something like this?”

“Th-then really…?”

Her voice started to tremble, and Benny began to tear up.

“Really, really…?”

“Of course.”

Tears slowly welled up in her eyes.

They glistened and then eventually fell.

She hiccupped as if she had the hiccups and eventually burst into tears.

The children, following her sorrowful crying, also began to cry.

Even though they didn’t know why.

An adult’s wailing has a different resonance than a child’s crying.

Richard silently comforted Benny and the children, while Argon and I waited for them to calm down.

“Oh dear… I shouldn’t be like this in front of our guests…”

Benny sniffled and laughed awkwardly.

I gave a friendly smile, indicating she shouldn’t worry about it.

“But why…? I mean, how?”

“Well, that’s…”

Richard, who was about to explain, met my eyes.

He grinned at me.

“It’s thanks to him.”

“Uh…? Judas, was it? How did he…?”

“Judas told the young lady about it. Thanks to her, the young lady decided to take care of it.”

Suddenly?

The credit comes to me?

“Is it true…?”

Benny asked me.

I awkwardly scratched my cheek.

“Well, to put it simply, it’s not entirely incorrect…”

“Oh… Is that so…? It’s really a great thing, but, um… what’s your… relationship with the young lady?”

“……”

It’s natural to be curious.

Why would Eliza personally handle the issue for me?

While I kept my mouth shut, Hermes grinned mischievously.

A wicked smile that clearly showed her scheming thoughts.

“If you want to talk about this Judas here, she is the young lady’s precious…”

I quickly covered Hermes’ mouth.

“Well, the young lady thankfully shows some favoritism… I mean, um…”

The atmosphere became even more awkward as I spoke.

What exactly is Eliza to me?

How should I even describe this?

I awkwardly intervened.

I should have just let them say whatever and ignored it.

As I stammered, Richard and Argon started to laugh mischievously.

“Well… I happened to help the young lady once, and thankfully, she’s helping me out as well.”

Fortunately, Benny didn’t find my response odd.

But. Benny…

The name sounds familiar.

“Yes… It’s true, really… Thank you…”

Feeling embarrassed, I avoided eye contact, and Argon patted my back.

A gesture of encouragement.

As if telling me it’s okay to be proud.

I just looked at him and chuckled.

“You precious boy!”

Sniffling, Benny suddenly hugged Richard.

“I used to worry because you always got into trouble, but now you’ve made good friends! You’ve grown up, haven’t you!”

“What, what the…! Get off! Why are you suddenly hugging me!”

“What’s so sudden? We used to do this often!”

Richard squirmed, his face flushed.

Though he said he disliked it, the corners of his mouth trembled as if trying to lift into a smile.

‘…Wait a minute.’

An arrow struck my mind.

…like something crossed my mind.

It was a memory from one day.

The day Richard persistently asked me if I preferred older women.

‘This guy, could it be…? Was it that?’

And I remembered the future.

I know Richard.

A man who would later be called the Lion’s Knight.

He had a wife.

Her name was Benny Nita.

[You have completed the hidden quest, ‘Absolute Loyalty’.]

[Please select your reward.]

[1. Increase all stats except magic (10)]

[2. Instantly achieve ‘Discovery of Revelation’]

[3. Grant a binding ability to one piece of desired equipment]

***

Shylock, who was previously under Barak’s orders but has now become a double agent for Judas.

He sighed as he looked over the new orders that had arrived.

‘He doesn’t seem to have any intention of leaving the kid alone…’

A new order from Barak had come in.

The operation to isolate Judas within the training camp did not go as planned.

It wasn’t just because Shylock had turned to Judas’s side.

Judas adapted to life at the training camp much better than Barak had anticipated.

Most importantly, his relationships with his dorm mates were very strong.

No matter how much you try to provoke from the outside, it’s useless if the people close to him are friendly.

Even so, Barak did not give up.

The first order failed.

And now, the second order had just reached Shylock.

‘I need to let them know as soon as Judas returns.’

***

“Hm.”

On the weekend.

Dallant stayed behind at the training camp, training alone instead of going out on a mission.

After running on the field, he took a break and gazed at one side.

He had recently learned about some strange rumors circulating around the training camp.

Specifically, unfounded negative gossip about Judas.

By the time Dallant found out, the heated rumors were already beginning to settle down.

Nevertheless, Dallant investigated the source and traced it to a person over there.

Vinyl. A 12th batch trainee from Room 5.

That trainee was mingling with a certain knight.

‘Is that person… Sir Gaston?’

He knew little about the knight.

But they weren’t alone.

There were other members from Room 5 accompanying them.

‘The scene looks odd. That person at the center… The leader of Room 5. His name was Sallaman, right?’

Dallant felt an uncomfortable sense of unease from the group’s appearance.

Soon, there was also a vague feeling that something was about to happen.