The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 44.2

A short break before afternoon training.

Richard called me aside.

“I got all the money back.”

It was an unexpected topic.

But I understood immediately.

He was talking about the orphanage.

“They came by that evening with all the money they had taken. They even said they’d handle the building repairs for free.”

A lot had happened within a day of Eliza giving the order.

‘In a world where administrative processes can take days, sometimes even months…’

I realized the power of Eliza’s direct influence in an unexpected way.

The power of the Bevel family’s direct line is not to be underestimated.

“Benny was happy too.”

Benny Nita.

The woman managing the orphanage.

She cried her heart out upon hearing the news that her debt was forgiven.

She seemed to be an adult, but she was still quite young.

It must have been incredibly challenging to manage everything on her own.

Richard tapped my shoulder and laughed.

“Thank you, buddy. I called you just to say that.”

I smiled back at him.

“It’s nothing much.”

“Too much humility can be annoying, you know.”

“But honestly, the lady did all the work. Isn’t it a bit funny for me to take credit?”

“That’s true.”

Richard chuckled but then asked in a more serious tone.

“Hey, by the way… doesn’t Dylan seem a bit off today?”

“Yes? Did you feel that too, senior?”

“Yeah, you too?”

We exchanged glances briefly.

There was a look of mutual understanding.

Despite his rough personality, Richard is quite perceptive, especially when it comes to Dylan, with whom he’s spent a long time.

I thought it was just a mood, but it wasn’t.

“Did something happen over the weekend…”

“Can’t we just ask him directly?”

“I did this morning, but he said nothing’s wrong. But I can tell there is. The problem is, he’s not the type to talk about himself.”

“Hmm…”

We shared our concerns.

But neither Richard nor I had a clear solution.

We couldn’t force Dylan to talk until he was ready.

We left without any concrete answers.

And the reason became clear after the afternoon training session.

***

After the afternoon training.

Dylan said he had some errands to run and headed somewhere other than the dining hall.

“Judas.”

“Yes?”

“Let’s follow him.”

“You mean we should tail our roommate?”

“Yeah.”

“Let’s go right away.”

Richard and I kept our distance and followed Dylan.

We had to avoid getting caught and didn’t want to appear suspicious to others.

Because of that, we had to maintain a considerable distance, occasionally losing sight of him.

“Where did he go?”

But I have a special ability.

[Hunter’s Sense]

Dylan’s footprints glowed brightly.

“I think it’s this way.”

It’s a fresh reminder of how vast this training ground is.

There are still places I haven’t explored even after all this time.

The more we followed Dylan, the more serious Richard and I became.

He was heading to a place where one wouldn’t normally go at this hour.

Such a secluded and remote spot.

A dark alley where even patrolling knights seldom tread.

“Why on earth would he come here…”

I heard Richard muttering as we turned a corner.

Behind a building.

It was dark and gloomy, resembling an alley.

We saw a group of people.

The atmosphere was clearly off.

Richard and I quickly hid behind a wall.

We peeked out cautiously.

I felt my face stiffen.

“……”

There, Dylan was being beaten by someone.

To be precise, he was beaten by a group of about ten people.

“…….”

From a distance, the sound was inaudible.

However, even while being beaten, Dylan stood firm.

He neither distorted his expression nor screamed.

Though it was dark, it was clear enough to identify the faces of the assailants.

He recognized one of them.

Vinyl.

A guy from Judeca like me.

And a few steps away from the scene of the beating.

A young man, who anyone could see was the leader of the group, stood with his arms crossed, arrogantly looking down at Dylan.

He was the one who stared intently at me when I went to Room 5.

‘So, they’re from Room 5?’

From behind, I heard the sound of someone gritting their teeth.

There was nothing more to see.

Why Dylan was like that.

Why they were beating Dylan.

I didn’t know.

Though unlikely, there was a chance that Dylan was a villain who had done something terrible to those ten people.

But emotions moved ahead of that slim rational inference.

My fists clenched tighter.

What I needed to do was clear.

Intervene there.

Stop the one-sided beating.

Listening to their story could come afterward.

I silently took the lead.

“Are you thinking of charging in?”

Richard asked in a calm voice.

“Yes.”

“Me too.”

He stood next to me.

“Let’s go.”

Richard and I stepped into the alley with determination.

***

Gaston swallowed a sigh as he wiped his face with a dry hand.

‘There’s no time to waste like this….’

Although he had to carry out Barak’s orders, his real purpose was different.

He shouldn’t have come to this training camp in the first place.

Everything went smoothly when he deceived Barak with a false identity and went to Eliza’s mansion.

His goal was to deliver information about Eliza’s mansion to the Moon Chruch.

Gaston didn’t know what they intended to do with that information.

The backer who created such a meticulous false identity to deceive Barak.

He shouldn’t make wild guesses.

He should just do his job faithfully.

However.

When Judas, along with Kale, pointed out problems at the training camp, personnel changes occurred.

He was deployed at that time.

‘I need to perform my duties well and then apply for a change of station to Barak. The chances are low, but I need to be diligent to avoid being caught…. Huh? What’s that?’

He suddenly looked up.

Pretending not to be conscious of the surroundings, he observed two boys chasing something.

Judas, indicated in Barak’s orders.

And his colleague Richard.

Gaston quietly watched the suspicious pair.

The direction they were heading was a secluded place in the training camp.

It was also where the children he had bribed were.

By now, they were probably actively carrying out their orders.

Gaston quietly followed the two.

***

Dylan kept his mouth tightly shut.

His mouth tasted metallic.

He struggled to breathe through his nose.

If he opened his mouth, he felt a groan would escape.

He didn’t want to make any sound of pain.

I had no intention of providing such sadistic pleasure to the other person.

Even if I allowed violence.

Why did it turn out this way?

Should I have not done that back then?

It might have been my excessive meddling.

If I had left it as it was, this might not have happened.

But if I had done that, wouldn’t Judas have been the one to suffer instead?

Would that have been a better outcome?

Judas is a strong kid.

Compared to his young age and low rank, he is fierce and resilient.

It’s not just bravado; it’s true.

But even so, I couldn’t just ignore the misfortune that awaited him.

Maybe I don’t have the loyalty or affection to sacrifice myself for Judas.

Dylan chuckled at his own weak thoughts.

What does that matter?

When a comrade and friend might be in danger, it’s only natural to step in.

The perpetrators sneered at his laughter.

“Laughing even in this situation, you’re something else. As expected of Dylan.”

Sallaman.

One of the top ten strongmen in the current training camp.

Number one in Room 5.

No matter how strong Judas is, he can’t beat this guy…

“…What are those?”

Someone said, looking at one side of the alley.

One by one, heads turned.

Dylan’s gaze also followed.

And then he saw two people walking against the light.

Familiar faces.

Richard. And Judas.

Dylan blinked blankly.

‘What’s going on…? Are they following me? No way?’

He didn’t want to be seen like this.

While lamenting his own carelessness, Dylan felt a strange sense of hope.

Two crazy guys who would rush in without thinking if provoked.

And they were both approaching steadily.

Judas’s expression was coldly settled in the shadows, and Richard’s face was fiercely twisted.