The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 65.2

“Lady Eliza has arrived!”

The carriage entered.

An ivory carriage with a golden sun emblem.

The door opened.

It was a door meant for others to open, but Eliza always opened it herself.

Long legs extended outward.

A white ankle briefly peeked out from under the skirt.

Sky-blue shoes touched the grass.

Looking up revealed a white blouse.

Soft black hair flowed down.

Eyes of a deep, unknowable red.

Eliza had grown up to look exactly as I remembered her from my adult years.

She looked just the same, but with subtle differences.

No scar on her face and less thin.

The reason for her healthy build is probably my doing.

I tried to kneel on one knee like the others but couldn’t.

Thunk.

Something leaned against my body.

It was Eliza.

She had teleported and approached instantly.

“Ah, my lady, people are…”

“Shh.”

“…”

It was always like this.

She never considered the feelings of the one being approached.

Several cadets kneeling around me discreetly averted their eyes.

Among them, Richard looked at me with a pleased smile.

‘Please wipe that old-man grin off your face right now.’

Even with my stare, it’s no use.

He nods with a grin, like an old sage who has reached enlightenment.

‘Oh…’

I looked down at Eliza’s crown and sighed lightly.

Eliza quickly lifts her head.

We used to be about the same height, but at some point, there was a noticeable difference.

Tucking her side hair behind her ear, she speaks in a dissatisfied tone.

“Why are you sighing?”

I subtly avert my gaze.

At some point, it became difficult to look directly at Eliza’s face.

“Do you not want me to come?”

“…That’s not it.”

“Then what?”

She takes a step back and crosses her arms.

The cat plushie is under her chest… No, never mind.

“…It’s not that I dislike it.”

“Then what’s with the sigh?”

“T-That… It’s because I was flustered.”

“Hmm. So, in any case, you don’t dislike it?”

“Yes…”

“Then that’s fine.”

Eliza smiles faintly and returns to her spot.

This is really troublesome.

The curiosity and interest Eliza showed me when I first entered the camp.

What I thought would be short-lived has continued for five years.

‘…It’s my karma, I guess. Hmm.’

Richard, who had somehow moved close to my side, nudged my ribs.

“Do you like it? Just watching you is enough to make anyone feel all fuzzy.”

“…….”

I answered with a contemptuous look.

Richard just chuckled, undeterred.

“Playing innocent, huh? Her voice is different when she talks to you compared to when she talks to us.”

“…….”

As I glared at him, the training instructor spoke up.

“Ahem! As previously announced, the lady has graced us with the honor of observing today’s training.”

…But there really isn’t much to see in this training, is there?

Why did she come?

“The thing is, her purpose isn’t simply to observe.”

“The lady has expressed her intention to participate directly in the training as a ‘designated protection target’ in the random escort exercise.”

“Do your best with joy in your heart.”

This training, which barely deserves to be called training, is more like a form of etiquette lesson.

Things like manners and etiquette that must be observed among nobles.

The content is similar to a role-playing game.

First, the instructor boards the carriage.

At this point, the instructor plays the role of the master whom the cadet must serve.

The cadet drives the carriage or rides alongside it.

It varies each time.

The instructor evaluates how faithfully the cadet carries out the master’s commands and how polite their demeanor is.

‘It would be better to spend that time having a free-for-all sparring match…’

But having a personality that tends to do well if ordered, I have sincerely participated so far.

That’s why I rank second in the training camp.

‘But today, the one playing the role of the protected person… is Eliza, the very person who should be protected?’

Clearly, in recent years, Eliza has been researching new types of abuse of power.

Judging by how she suddenly shows up to harass me.

When our eyes meet, she smiles mischievously.

‘That sly little…’

“We will serve the lady in the predetermined order.”

I have a later number.

I’m stuck waiting.

***

As the training progresses, a question begins to arise.

‘Why are they isolating them?’

In this training, it’s normal to wait with other cadets once your turn is over.

But they’re isolating returning cadets from mingling with others.

They don’t even let us approach them.

“What on earth is going on?”

Richard asked, and I shrugged my shoulders.

I don’t know either.

As time passed, my turn finally came.

Eliza looks at me, holding her cat plushie, smiling.

“I’m counting on you.”

“…Yes, my lady.”

Then, she extends her hand to me.

When I stare at it blankly, Eliza looks back at me, as if asking what I’m doing.

“Aren’t you going to escort me?”

This was something we learned in training.

If the person you must serve is a woman, you are supposed to hold her hand when she is getting on or off something.

In this training, it was decided by mutual agreement between the instructor and the cadets that we wouldn’t do it.

Everyone was in perfect agreement.

‘Why… this….’

That wasn’t the only reason for hesitation.

In the previous turn, Eliza had not held anyone’s hand.

I raised my hand.

With my palm facing forward.

“I didn’t bring any gloves, though.”

Wearing gloves when offering a hand is a part of proper etiquette.

“I don’t mind.”

However, Eliza didn’t care.

She never did.

Eliza, while mindful of her nobility, didn’t necessarily act like a noble.

She wasn’t bound by the rules that a noble must always adhere to.

She didn’t force obedience upon herself.

Her tone always exuded a sense of ease.

Thus, paradoxically, she was more noble than anyone.

I reluctantly offered my hand.

A rough hand, scarred from frequent training and calloused.

Eliza’s hand covered mine.

Compared to mine, it was so much smaller and softer.

We had both grown, but the gap between us had widened even more.

Holding hands, I helped her into the carriage.

Eliza’s weight was light.

“Thank you.”

I bowed to the smiling Eliza and closed the door.

As I turned around, all the cadets were staring at me intently.

“……”

I should be used to this favoritism by now, but I never quite get accustomed to it.

Neither they watching nor me being watched.

For some reason, my face always heats up at times like these.

Richard caught my eye and chuckled softly.

I quickly climbed up to the coachman’s seat.

I drove the carriage away as if fleeing.

***

Knock, knock.

While driving the carriage, Eliza signaled to me.

There was a small sliding window between the inside of the carriage and the coachman’s seat.

A window meant to block out noise and open when necessary to communicate.

When I opened the window, clear, bright red eyes awaited.

“…Is something the matter?”

“I wanted to see some flowers.”

“Pardon? Flowers?”

…This wasn’t covered in training.

“It’s not really the season for flowers yet. I’m not even sure if there are any blooming around here….”

“There should be some winter wildflowers. Just bring me two of any kind.”

When the master gives an order, you do as you’re told.

“Understood.”

Reluctantly, I got down from the coachman’s seat.

Leaving Eliza behind made me uneasy, but I couldn’t refuse.

‘Who’s worrying about whom here?’

To be honest, Eliza doesn’t need a Escort knight right now.

It’s more likely that the Escort knight would need Eliza’s help.

Compared to five years ago, her abilities as a mage had grown to an absurd level.

‘There shouldn’t be any trouble. It’s unlikely, anyway.’

***

I found two yellow flowers.

I don’t know their names.

I had gone out quite far, so I quickly returned.

“I’ve brought them.”

I knocked twice on the door.

No response.

‘…Asleep?’

I knocked again, but it was silent.

“My lady?”

I pressed my ear to the door.

Silence.

Not a single breath could be heard.

My face hardened.

Anxiety crept up my spine.

I quickly flung the door open.

“My lady?!”

No one was there.

The faint warmth that remained.

She hadn’t been gone for long.

I hurriedly activated [Hunter’s Instinct].

Marks were clearly visible on the ground.

My footprints returning.

The tracks of the carriage wheels.

Among them, there was something unusual.

Traces deviating from the path, heading towards the forest.

Marks of something being dragged for a long distance.

As if dragging an unconscious person.

It took only a moment to piece the clues together.

“Kidnapping…?”

Eliza, the mage of the century.

However, no matter how powerful she might be, there is one weakness that even a mage like her cannot avoid.

If that could be exploited, kidnapping her wouldn’t be impossible.

For a moment, my heart sank with a heavy thud.

But my panic lasted only a moment.

I immediately summoned my strength and sprinted at full speed, following the traces.

[Magic Release (Lv. 45)]

“Eliza…!”