The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 62

“So, should we just get engaged or something?”

This was Eliza’s response to Barak’s demand to throw out Judas, an outsider.

-Clang!

Lia dropped the teacup she was bringing out.

No one paid attention to her mistake.

No, they couldn’t afford to.

Eliza’s declaration was not something to be taken lightly.

…….

A moment of suffocating silence descended.

Amidst the stunned faces, Judas stood up a beat too late.

“…What?!”

Eliza looked up at him with an indifferent gaze.

She calmly pulled him back down by the hand and said,

“Sit.”

“Yes….”

He obediently sat down, but his head was spinning.

‘W-What is this…! She never told me about this! Though… would it have made any difference if she had?’

Even if she had told him in advance, it would have been a problem.

Rejecting the engagement proposal of a grand noble like Eliza was out of the question, and accepting it wasn’t an easy decision either.

‘What is this, what do I do, is it already decided…?! Then when are we getting married? We’re only thirteen now, so there are five years until we become adults… No, that’s not the point…!’

Eliza glared at the confused Judas with half-closed eyes.

There were questions she wanted to ask, but the setting was inappropriate.

She let out a light sigh and spoke to those who were still frozen in tension.

“If you keep meddling in my affairs, I will do just that.”

Barak’s children were stunned by her brazen attitude.

On the other hand, Barak finally let out a sigh of relief.

Eliza glanced sideways.

Judas was also sighing in relief, just like Barak.

When their eyes met, Judas flinched, stiffened his body, and awkwardly averted his gaze.

Eliza resisted the urge to pout and changed the subject.

“Anyway, this child must stay by my side. No matter what happens, I cannot let him leave.”

“Whew….”

“Please state your business for coming here.”

Eliza asked directly, not wanting to drag out the conversation.

Barak spoke on behalf of his children.

“Eliza. I heard you’ve taken our mother captive.”

“There were circumstances that warranted it.”

“What is it that you want?”

“What do I want? Isn’t it you who wants something from me? I have nothing in particular that I desire.”

Sarah felt a surge of anger at Eliza’s composed attitude but couldn’t speak.

It was because Judas, sitting beside Eliza and holding her hand tightly, was there.

The memory of that moment, when she heard the shocking words about tearing her in two, was one that would stay with her forever.

Just seeing him brought back that terrifying moment.

It was so horrifying, comparable to a natural disaster, that she couldn’t even complain to Barak.

While Eliza and Barak were engaged in a war of nerves, Judas observed the people in the room.

The one sitting farthest to the right was Sarah, whom he had seen before.

He remembered their names one by one from her left.

Achan, Jezebel, Levi, and Cain.

They all glared at Eliza with fierce and uncomfortable eyes.

Judas seemed to understand why Eliza had brought him along.

He was probably the only one who could stand by her side without feeling intimidated in this situation.

Thinking so, Judas looked at the man named Cain.

He had been catching his attention for a while.

Short blond hair like a soldier, with stern eyes.

He had seen him briefly at Eliza’s birthday banquet.

Unlike the fleeting glance back then, he could clearly recognize his features now.

‘…Where have I seen him before?’

There was something oddly familiar about his face.

Not the face, but perhaps the eyes, or maybe the aura he exuded.

It was not a pleasant kind of familiarity.

It felt quite unpleasant, almost irritating.

While Judas was lost in thought, Eliza and Barak’s conversation quickly came to an end.

“Are you really unwilling to back down? You could ask for anything….”

“Duke, asking someone who wants nothing to state what they want sounds more like a threat or robbery than a negotiation, doesn’t it?”

“…….”

“I truly don’t desire anything.”

At that moment, Jezebel spoke coldly.

“Do you think your desire is all that matters? We should at least hear what our mother, who’s being held captive, has to say.”

Barak internally sighed.

He had deliberately not asked.

Eliza’s demeanor was so transparent and confident that he assumed she had already taken some action.

Jezebel took the bait, hook, line, and sinker.

Eliza smiled brightly, as if she had been waiting for this.

“That’s right, Jezebel. Why don’t you check it out yourself?”

“Fine!”

Achan sprang up from his seat.

“I’ll do as you say! Father, let’s go right away!”

“……”

Barak reluctantly moved his feet.

***

The state of Narcissa, which Barak and his children confirmed, was shocking.

Not just her appearance, but the words that came from her mouth.

“Eliza has been very good to me. She’s a very kind child.”

“M-Mother…?”

“There are some misunderstandings you have. Above all, I was the one who first tried to harm Eliza. I, too, have reflected a little on past events…”

Narcissa even defended Eliza.

At present, there was no pain in her body.

This was because Eliza had completely removed the curse.

At this moment, Narcissa could even pray for Eliza.

“So, don’t worry about me…”

“Mother!”

Sarah clung to the iron bars and cried, while Achan held his forehead.

Cain frowned slightly, and Levi had a complicated expression.

Jezebel glared at Eliza.

“You…! What did you do?”

Eliza did not answer.

She simply frowned.

The scene before her eyes was repulsive.

Eliza remembers the past vividly.

From the moment she was dragged back to the main family, she could recount every abuse she suffered there with stark clarity.

Barak and Narcissa’s children had looked down on her, ignored her, insulted her, and beaten her like she was an insect brought against her will.

They even went so far as to mock her with Maria’s name.

Eliza could only endure.

Back then, she was weak.

The environment, the persecution surrounded by the majority, was frightening.

Not only that, but Narcissa had concealed her mother’s death.

She lied, saying that if Eliza diligently received education at the main family, she would return later.

She scolded Eliza, saying her mother’s absence was because she hadn’t obeyed properly.

Eliza only found out it was a lie much later.

Narcissa had killed her mother and lied that she was still alive, deceiving her.

Not knowing any of this, Eliza faithfully carried out the tasks she was given.

She even signed her name to killing people.

She believed that if she did, her mother would come back soon and take her away from that hell.

The truth came to light much later.

News of Maria’s death spread, and those children even mocked her mother’s death.

To them, she was not even considered human.

She was treated worse than livestock.

To Eliza, they were practically monsters.

The fact that these monsters genuinely cherished and loved their own family and grieved like humans was sickeningly contradictory.

The only reason she didn’t kill them all at this moment was solely because of Judas’s influence.

The cold energy flowing from the clasped hands soothed her.

She barely managed to maintain her sanity.

She knew she was strong.

But she was still not confident enough to deal with Barak.

“……”

Jezebel, facing Eliza’s gaze filled with contempt, involuntarily shut her mouth.

Judas tightened his grip on Eliza’s hand.

For some reason, Eliza’s deceased biological mother.

And the direct descendants of the Bevel family grieving over their mother in front of them.

The circumstances were complicated, but in the end, he was on Eliza’s side.

Eliza felt that strength and looked up at Judas.

Judas smiled silently at her.

A reassuring, comforting smile.

Eliza reaffirmed her thoughts.

As long as this child stayed by her side, she could…

Maintaining her composure, she spoke coldly.

“I believe that answers your question?”

The duke did not respond, simply staring at Narcissa.

The consequence of neglecting his family.

In the face of the first domino falling, he felt endlessly powerless.

He was filled with revulsion.

And, in a way, horror.

He realized Eliza had implanted some magic in Narcissa.

But he couldn’t even begin to fathom the depth and level of that magic.

It was a magic so formidable that even the greatest mages of the current continent found it hard to handle.

He thought he might be able to unravel it if he deciphered it, but it was a struggle even to gauge the scale and depth of the magic, let alone analyze it.

A new magic created by combining existing spells.

It bore the marks of a beginner’s clumsy hand but was intricate and meticulous.

He had known about her potential for a long time.

However, this exceeded all expectations and boundaries.

Is it even right for an individual to possess such immense power?

“Your Grace?”

“…Yes, it is done.”

Barak weakly lifted himself.

“I have no choice but to formally bring you to the family trial.”

Barak wanted to resolve this amicably, if possible, without escalating matters.

But Eliza’s attitude was the complete opposite.

“Go ahead.”

It would be a long battle.

For both sides.

During that time, Narcissa would suffer, the direct descendants would harbor growing hostility towards Eliza, and Eliza herself would begin a chain of revenge.

The dominoes had already fallen.

Or perhaps they had started toppling long before he even realized.

Watching Barak and his direct kin leave, Eliza pulled Judas into an embrace.

“Thank you.”

Judas, taken aback, hesitantly hugged her back.

“You don’t need to thank me.”

In his arms, Eliza found peace.

Something she thought had vanished from this world.

Something rediscovered, now far more precious.

Her only ally.

The color of her world.

He was in her arms, and she was in his.

With that, Eliza could endure the long and exhausting fight.

…But, for some reason, she still felt annoyed by how he had been afraid of their engagement earlier.

“Ow!”

Eliza pinched Judas’s side lightly.

It didn’t hurt, but it was enough to surprise him.

“Ah, my lady? Why all of a sudden…?”

“I don’t know.”

It wasn’t something she genuinely meant.

It wasn’t likely to happen anyway.

But she didn’t like his reaction from before.

What could he possibly lack to reject her?

He should be prostrating himself in gratitude.

Though simply accepting it readily would be strange, regardless…

Instead of speaking her true feelings, Eliza bumped her forehead against his chest and nestled closer.

From a step away, Lia watched them with a mixture of pity and guilt in her eyes.

***

Before Barak left, he had someone he needed to talk to.

After confirming that no one was watching, he subtly approached his target.

The target.

Lia carefully lifted her eyes.

It had been a long time since she faced those dark eyes.