The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 85

“Then, how about this? What are your intentions and purpose for seeking Anggra?”

Eliza asked.

Barak replied.

“If I tell you, will you answer?”

“That depends on the answer from Your Grace.”

It was purely a political conversation, simply trying to gauge the other’s intentions.

Conversations with his daughter, whom he saw only a few times a year, were like this.

And to have such a conversation on her birthday.

Barak pondered.

Overthrowing the Empire.

Should he say it?

Eliza was an extraordinary mage.

In the future, she would undoubtedly surpass him.

If she became an ally, she would be more eligible than anyone.

However.

“That… I can’t tell you.”

He didn’t know what Eliza hoped to gain by pressing him.

But he knew her ultimate goal.

The annihilation of the Bevel family.

He also knew her nature.

Even if he told her about the plan to overthrow the Empire, she wouldn’t agree to the deal.

No, she would most likely try to ruin the plan.

She might even inform the royal family of this truth and form an alliance with them.

The likelihood was high.

Eliza despised even exchanging glances with the Bevel family.

She would stop at nothing to achieve her goal.

So then.

Should he just walk away?

Was there no other way to sway Eliza besides revealing the plan to overthrow the Empire?

Information that might be valuable to Eliza?

Judas.

As much as it stung, Barak had to admit Eliza’s favoritism.

But he knew nothing about Judas.

Maria.

Eliza’s biological mother.

Her color, her light, her haven.

But could he really share that information?

No, he couldn’t.

After all his deliberation, the conclusion remained the same.

Barak had nothing to give Eliza.

His daughter, now fully grown, already had everything she needed.

As a father, it was too late to offer her anything.

“…Alright.”

Eliza didn’t press further.

She smiled leisurely, as if she had anticipated this.

She merely affirmed her own quiet conviction.

A reincarnation of the mythic age, as people called her.

Barak would have predicted her value long ago.

The clues intertwined.

Barak. Anggra. The Moon God Church.

She gathered everything, wove it together, and reached a conclusion.

Barak had used the Moon God Church to attempt to kill her.

To eliminate threats from his direct descendants early on, leaving her out of the equation.

The realization didn’t sadden her anew.

Such emotions were a luxury.

Even if leaves piled up in her heart, it didn’t matter as long as that child was there.

They would sweep them away, outside the cage.

She briefly observed Barak’s expression.

A faintly guilty face.

It disgusted her.

She didn’t believe he felt genuinely remorseful or responsible.

It wasn’t even an act.

It was likely genuine, which made it all the more unpleasant.

An incompetent head of the household who neglected his family.

He even failed to eliminate the dangerous illegitimate child, who had now grown beyond his control.

He probably considered himself a decent enough father for reproaching himself, for feeling guilty and regarding it all as his fault.

The trait called ‘kindness’ is terrifying in this way.

The moment one believes they are somewhat kind, somewhat good, they stop reflecting on the rest.

Because kindness is righteousness.

Eliza speculated about Barak’s intentions.

Though displeased, he chose not to show it.

“Understood.”

Without seeking further confirmation for his suspicions, Eliza stood up.

Silence is golden.

Secrets are best kept in abundance.

An imbalance of information creates a meaningful gap.

“Then, our negotiation has fallen through, it seems. Regrettable.”

With a faint smile, he left coolly.

In the end, Barak was unable to reveal any truth to Eliza.

***

Traditor Heis.

The name of the assassin who invaded Eliza’s birthday celebration five years ago.

After a long search, Eliza finally uncovered his identity.

A slave that Anggra extracted from Judeca.

His past before Judeca was sparse.

Abandoned shortly after birth, he wandered the streets until he was kidnapped by a slave trader and brought into Judeca.

Anggra, noticing him, bought him and freed him from his slave status.

The price of that freedom was assassination.

His target was Eliza.

In other words, Traditor was a member of the covert assassination unit trained by the Moon God Church.

When Eliza learned of this, she was puzzled.

Why would the Moon God Church target her?

The relationship between the Sun God Church and the Moon God Church is not amicable, despite outward appearances.

Even taking the religious opposition into account, making her the target felt unusual.

Was it really necessary?

It’s true that a budding wizard from an enemy faction deserves to be crushed.

However, it’s a burden for the Moon God Church to bear.

Eliminating Eliza would require them to take excessive risks.

Would Eliza’s death hold that much significance for the Moon God Church?

It would not.

Investing money and time elsewhere would be far more profitable.

Eliza added Narssisa’s testimony to these facts.

Barak, who was secretly communicating with Anggra.

The combined clues led to a clear conclusion.

Barak had bribed Anggra.

Using the Moon God Church as a roundabout means to arrange Eliza’s assassination.

So that he could avoid any association with the motive for the assassination.

The ultimate reason was, of course, to curb his own power.

To remove a direct descendant who posed a threat.

Barak was the one who had set the rule to allow anyone into the knight training camp.

It was his plan from the start.

Eliza wasn’t surprised.

She simply solidified her resolve and revisited her objective.

The destruction of the Bevel family.

It was obvious why Barak couldn’t tell the truth.

How could he admit to planning to kill her right in front of the intended target?

Eliza was no longer a weak child.

As a Mage and a noble, she had the necessary power and influence.

Barak had to respect and fear her.

‘I didn’t need an answer anyway. The reaction alone makes the outcome clear.’

Anggra’s location is updated frequently, and Eliza can capture him if she wishes.

There are three reasons she’s holding back.

First, she wants to monitor what Anggra and Barak are up to.

There’s still no solid evidence of a deal between the two.

Second, Anggra is also the one who took Judas out of Judeca.

She hasn’t yet decided how to handle this or what to say to Judas.

And third.

Just as she stumbled upon a link between black magic and the royal family through the Information Guild, Anggra might also be connected to black magic.

There’s a possibility that Judas’s memories were erased by black magic.

Since nothing is certain, she’s lying low for now.

Judas. Anggra. Judeca.

Traditor’s overlapping path.

Once, Eliza had suspected Judas.

Only for a brief moment.

And she dismissed it soon after.

Traditor had been with Anggra for a long time.

There are documented records of him trained on the Moon God Church’s land.

The evidence was clear.

Judas, on the other hand, hadn’t been with Anggra for long.

He was quickly sold elsewhere after leaving Judeca.

Also, the timing differed.

Anggra freed Traditor from Judeca half a year before Judas.

Since Tredito, no assassins have come.

After awakening her mad power of flame, Barak must have given up and is searching for another method.

For one reason or another, Judas is someone to be trusted.

‘That’s not… the only reason, though.’

When faced with difficult judgment calls, Eliza sets a central standard.

Verifiable facts.

And baseless speculation.

She divides information into these two categories.

Judas is connected to Anggra.

Anggra sent an assassin to kill her.

This is a fact.

Judas, too, may be that kind of person to Anggra.

This is speculation.

Judas came to her.

He acted as if he disliked her, irritatingly stirring up curiosity, and they experienced several incidents together.

A few times then, Judas saved her.

If he were an assassin, he shouldn’t have done that.

Judas even nearly died because of her.

All verifiable facts.

Thus, the idea that Judas is an assassin doesn’t make sense.

It’s a contradiction.

After meeting with Barak, Eliza returned alone to the temple hall.

A spacious area.

Golden lighting. Red carpet.

Noble ladies and young men of all colors danced and laughed in beautiful attire.

To Eliza, it was all gray.

A colorless space.

In that place, the only thing shining in color was a pair of golden eyes….

Glowing alone like the sun in the night sky.

Eliza stopped as she started approaching herescort knight, Judas.

‘…Who is that?’

A woman in a green dress stood in front of Judas.

***

Waiting for Eliza.

“Excuse me….”

A woman approached.

I glanced around and asked.

“Are you talking to me?”

“Yes, yes! You’re Sir Judas, right?”

“Yes, that’s right… and you are?”

“Oh!”

She had a slightly flustered expression.

She held her wine glass elegantly in one hand, and lightly lifted the hem of her skirt with the other.

With a slight bow, she greeted gracefully.

“I’m sorry for the late introduction. I am Anoon of the Frudein family.”

Frudein?

I knew the family.

Now I took a closer look at her appearance.

Dark green eyes.

Bright red hair, almost like orange.

‘Is she related to Sir Gawain?’

My master, Gawain’s full name.

Gawain Galahad Frudein.

I heard that Galahad was the name of Gawain’s master.

Out of respect, he added it as a middle name.

“The Sir Gawain you know well is my uncle.”

“You’re his niece. It’s nice to meet you.”

Just then, a huge man approached behind Anoon.

It was Gawain.

“Uncle!”

“Hmm. Did you introduce yourself well?”

“Hehe… not quite yet….”

I just stared blankly at the two of them.

I didn’t quite understand what they were discussing.

“Judas. As you’ve heard, this is Anoon. My niece. I thought I’d introduce you if the chance arose, and today seems fitting.”

“To me?”

“Yes. Now that you’ve been formally appointed as an escort knight, you should settle in properly. It seems things are still uncertain with the lady…”

“…?”

Anoon smiled shyly.

“I’ve heard a lot about you from my uncle.”

“About me?”

“Anoon. Don’t share unnecessary things.”

Oh, I see.

Acting all modest, but you’ve been talking me up behind the scenes, huh?

“Hehe”

Anoon chuckled and spoke softly.

“He’s always so shy like that. I’ll tell you more about it later.”

Then, she gave a bashful smile.

“So, um, if it’s not too much trouble, would you like to, er… dance with me?”

“Stop.”

At that moment.

A cold voice cut in.

It was as if ice water had been poured over us; the three of us froze in place.

In contrast to the cold voice, there was a feeling of intense heat touching us.

An instinctive sense of danger for our lives crept in.

Even though I hadn’t done anything wrong, I tensed up.

As I stiffly turned my head, there stood Eliza.

Eliza, who had left earlier saying she had something to discuss with barak.

‘What’s with her…’

Eliza’s eyes were flickering with the color of wild fire.

“What’s going on?”

Eliza slowly walked over.

Click, clack-

Each click of her heels on the floor made me flinch.

“Sir Gawain?”

“Yes, yes! My lady…”

This is the first time I’ve seen Gawain so nervous.

“And who is this?”

“Oh, this is Anoon Frodain… my, my niece….”

Eliza quietly gazed at Anoon.

Her eyes seemed to be digging into her.

Anoon’s face turned pale.

She looked as though she might faint.

Though not as much, I was taken aback too.

What’s up with her… She’s scary…

“A-Anoon Frodain. It’s an honor to meet you, Lady Eliza….”

Eliza’s gaze shifted to me.

Her golden pupils glinted as she looked up at me silently.

‘What, why… Why are you looking at me like that…’

Arms crossed in apparent displeasure, Eliza alternated her gaze between Anoon and Gawain.

“So, what’s the reason for this?”

Gawain replied.

“It’s nothing important. I just wanted to congratulate Judas on his knighthood and briefly introduce my family….”

“That’s all?”

Eliza looked at Anoon.

Anoon nodded intensely.

So fast, in fact, that it left an afterimage.

“Then, that’s fine.”

Eliza uncrossed her arms and brushed past me.

She didn’t say to follow, but somehow, it felt like I should.

After bowing my head in farewell to Gawain and Anoon, I followed Eliza.

“Hm, was I just being oblivious…”

Gawain’s murmurs trailed off as he departed.

Small and distant, I couldn’t quite make them out.

I simply walked quietly behind Eliza.

The atmosphere felt odd.

‘Why does it feel like I’m about to get scolded…?’

Did I do something wrong?

I don’t think so…

“Um, my lady?”

I called out to her as she walked ahead.

Eliza responded without turning around.

“Yes?”

“Well… are you, by any chance, angry?”

“No?”

“Are you uncomfortable because of how things went with Duke Barak?”

“Not particularly… It was pretty much as I expected. Why do you ask?”

“Well….”

It’s just that right now, you seem somehow a bit angry.

“…Everyone keeps looking at me strangely. Why are they doing that?”

“My lady. Your eyes… they’re just like when you cast magic.”

“…Are they?”

Eliza glanced around.

She touched the area around her eyes a few times.

As if she could see her own eyes that way.

She looked back at me.

“Still?”

“Yes.”

Suddenly, she stepped closer.

With bold, unhesitating strides,

She suddenly grabs my face with both hands, pressing in close.

Then, she pulls me toward her own face.

“W-Wait, what the…!”

“Just stay still for a moment.”

Would you be able to stay still if you were me?!

“W-Wait a second, there are… there are people around us…”

“Stay quiet before I tie you up.”

Rising slightly on her tiptoes, she pulls my face once again towards her own.

Her face.

Big eyes, a graceful and prominent nose, and full, red lips.

They quickly closed in on me.

As if we were about to collide.