The Escort Knight Who Is Obsessed by the Villainess Wants to Escape - Chapter 93

“Sir Hermes.”

“Oh, Lord Judas!”

Judas, having taken down all the enemies atop the cliff, descended.

He dismounted from Yuel and smiled at Hermes.

“Never have I been so glad to see Sir Hermes as I am today.”

“Oh my, does that mean I’m usually not so welcomed?”

“No way.”

At Hermes’ joke, Judas laughed lightly and asked,

“But how did you end up coming here?”

“Ah, we entered the mapped area from the southwest through a different route.”

Judas and Room 13 had entered from the southeast and entered this canyon.

“We planned to move northward, sweeping from the south. The southwest was a barren field, so we moved quickly and found this canyon. At first, we intended to take a short break, but there was a suspicious group, wouldn’t you know?”

They hadn’t planned to fight from the start.

They observed first.

They couldn’t tell who the enemy was or how strong they might be.

The suspicious group took their positions one by one on the cliff.

They seemed to be waiting for someone to appear.

Then, right at that moment—

“This cute little thing came to me.”

Hermes reached out her hand toward Yuel, smiling.

A hand as if intending to pet it.

Yuel slowly stepped back.

Though disappointed, Hermes smiled as if even that was adorable.

“When I saw this little one, I realized. Lord Judas must be here. And with that, I thought there was a good chance they were targeting Lord Judas as well.”

Just as she made that judgment, the enemies simultaneously launched their crossbows.

The urgent shout came from Judas’s voice.

Everyone was told to duck.

“So, we completed our preparations and charged in.”

“That was lucky.”

“Haha. But even if it weren’t, wouldn’t Lord Judas have survived somehow? And Miss Eliza as well….”

In the middle of speaking, Hermes suddenly stiffened.

She snapped to attention, eyes wide open like a statue.

Judas, who had been conversing with her, did the same.

Neither dared to even twitch.

An overwhelming, heated atmosphere pressed down on them.

The source of that atmosphere was Eliza, who had approached right beside them without their notice.

In her hand was the collar of an unconscious mage.

Eliza dropped him with a thud and spoke.

“What are you two doing?”

“…….”

“Do you have time for idle chatter?”

“I-I-I apologize…!”

Both apologized in unison.

Even though they hadn’t done anything wrong, it seemed like something terrible would happen if they didn’t.

Golden pupils.

A flickering gaze.

It was just a remnant of magic, but it stirred an instinctive fear, like the eyes of a predator.

“I didn’t tell you to apologize.”

“Th-The cleanup is complete! Only moving remains, so we were just exchanging greetings for a moment!”

“Yes, that’s right!”

“Hmm.”

Eliza moved her head.

Slowly.

Hermes. Judas. Hermes. Judas.

She looked back and forth between them.

Finally, she shrugged her shoulders.

“Fine.”

Then, without much concern, she took Judas’s hand and led him.

“We’re moving now. Inform everyone to gather. Secure this mage tightly.”

Hermes saluted as she responded.

“Yes, ma’am!”

Judas, still stiff, followed cautiously and asked,

“Did I do something wrong?”

Sometimes, whenever she looked as if she was angry with him, he worried that something disastrous might happen.

Eliza stopped, gazing up at him quietly.

Her red eyes, back to normal before he realized it, examined his face.

A somewhat tense expression.

Different from the lighthearted, relaxed smile he wore while talking with Hermes earlier.

“…No. You didn’t.”

After a long pause, Eliza finally replied.

It’s not wrong to smile at others.

But if it feels wrong and makes you uncomfortable, it might be your own issue.

After a brief hesitation, Eliza asked in passing.

“…Are you two close?”

“Do you mean Sir Hermes and me?”

“Yes.”

“Well… if we’re close, I guess you could say we are. He’s been protecting me since I was young, thanks to you, my lady.”

Reap what you sow.

She couldn’t quite understand why that phrase came to mind.

“Why do you ask?”

“…Just.”

Because he smiles often. Comfortably.

Unlike when he’s in front of me.

It’s a smile I want to see for myself alone.

Ironically, he seems to smile better in front of others than with me.

And seeing another woman witness that smile—

Seeing him show that smile to another woman…

She swallowed the long and lingering words.

What would come from saying them?

What answer was she hoping for?

Unable even to understand why she thought of such words, Eliza’s mind was tangled.

Soon, everyone gathered around Eliza.

She was simply preparing a large-scale teleport.

***

In the large courtyard of Eliza’s estate.

In an empty space, twenty-five people suddenly appeared all at once.

It was Eliza’s large-scale teleportation.

Upon arrival, Eliza wavered, holding her head.

Her mana had drastically decreased in an instant.

It wasn’t just people but also luggage, horses, and even Yuel that she had transported.

It was her first time moving such a large group with teleportation.

Judas reflexively extended his arm to hold her shoulder but then withdrew it again.

His hands were still dirty.

Fortunately, Eliza didn’t collapse.

She shot a disapproving glare at Judas’s awkwardly extended hand.

‘You could just hold and support me….’

Unaware of her thoughts, Judas asked.

“Are you alright?”

“…Yes.”

Her dizzy vision gradually cleared.

“My lady!”

Lia rushed out from the estate.

“Are you alright? You’re not hurt, are you?”

“No, I was just dizzy for a moment.”

Having regained her composure, she immediately began giving instructions.

All materials brought from the Mage’s residence were to go to the laboratory.

The Mage’s corpse and the captive Mage were to be taken to the underground prison.

Bols took responsibility for handling the Mages.

A Mage who, five years ago, had been instigated by Gaston to target Judas.

He was a loyal defense force for Eliza’s estate.

After finishing her orders, Eliza briefly surveyed her surroundings.

The eleven members of Room 13.

Judas’s friends. His companions.

They were all looking at her.

Their expectations were clear.

Judas, standing beside Eliza, looked at them with a pleased smile.

Eliza graciously fulfilled what they awaited.

“Everyone has worked hard. I hereby officially announce the conclusion of the selection test for the Royal Guard. From now on, you shall be the swords and shields that protect me.”

The eleven knelt on one knee in unison.

They raised their heads slightly, gazing up at Eliza.

“As you know, I am someone with many enemies. Are you prepared?”

“Yes!”

“Are you ready to die without hesitation?”

“Yes-!”

Eliza nodded with a dignified yet relaxed expression.

“I accept your loyalty.”

The members of Room 13 could hardly contain their excitement.

They wanted to shout and embrace each other in celebration.

But they restrained themselves in Eliza’s presence.

They were knights now, and they couldn’t show undignified behavior.

“There’s no need for a formal induction ceremony, right?”

“We’re fine with that!”

They meant it sincerely.

More than receiving recognition from others, they were happier knowing they had achieved this through their own efforts and cooperation.

In the past, they might have boasted endlessly.

Eliza thought their camaraderie wasn’t all that bad.

Unlike knights gathered individually, they knew how to move as one.

They would make excellent swords and shields.

Indeed, Judas’s judgment hadn’t been wrong.

Eliza had business at the magic research lab shortly.

She intended to skim through the recovered journals and documents and then interrogate the Mage.

Just before leaving.

Eliza gestured to Judas.

Judas naturally lowered his head.

She hadn’t spoken a word, but he understood she wanted him to lower it for a whisper.

The two had come to understand each other without words.

Eliza naturally put her hand on his shoulder and lifted herself slightly on tiptoe.

She whispered into his ear.

“You did well.”

“Thank you so much for granting my request.”

Judas smiled lightly.

“Yes, I know. I’ll be in the magic lab. I’ll give you a bit of time to catch up with them.”

“Ah… is that really alright?”

“It’s fine. If anything happens, I can summon you.”

“In that case… thank you.”

“Don’t stay too long. Once you’re done, clean up and come to me.”

Judas thought it was only because of the smell on him.

It was indeed quite pungent.

“Understood.”

Eliza left.

Judas watched her retreating figure for a moment.

Her swaying black curls.

And the red scarf.

That occasional look she gave, the one that confused him—could it be…?

A whistling sound snapped him out of his trance.

It was Jerry.

Beside him, Richard grinned mischievously.

“Oh dear, you’re getting quite attached. Do you like her that much?”

“……”

“Is it okay for a knight to look at his master with such unseemly eyes?”

“Wha-what do you mean unseemly eyes?!”

“Well, I wonder? What do I mean?”

The two bickered as usual, and their companions laughed together.

Soon, it became a moment to congratulate and commend each other.

They had overcome hardships together, reaching the positions they all desired.

Dylan spoke to Judas in a solemn voice.

Extending his hand for a handshake.

“Thank you, Judas.”

It was an opportunity made possible by Judas’s request.

Judas clasped his hand and smiled back.

“Think nothing of it. We’re family.”

Family bound by sweat, not blood.

No one denied those words.

***

Eliza spread the Mage’s journals and research materials across the desk.

This was not the lab she had used five years ago.

It had burned, and she avoided it due to bad memories.

Instead, she had moved to a larger space.

The fact that she could see Judas’s room from here was her own little secret.

She didn’t know why she chose this place.

It was impulsive. Just… well.

Eliza first skimmed through materials related to ‘Dark magic.’

Currently, she was searching for magic that could interfere with the mind or memory.

What was known as taboo.

There might be something in Dark magic that could embody it.

‘There are so many books. Just how long has this Mage been studying magic?’

She thought as she sorted through the materials.

They had killed the imperial magicians.

They had also killed the imperial knights.

Although the examination of the bodies hadn’t yielded any conclusive evidence, she was certain.

‘How will the empire respond? What does the emperor plan to do with Dark magic…?’

Eliza randomly picked up a book and opened it.

‘This is… a code?’

The entire book was written in code.

The same applied to the other books.

‘A kind of irregular substitution cipher.’

Each character was irregularly substituted with another character in the encryption system.

Fortunately, among the materials, there was a reference table to decode the cipher.

Using the table, Eliza began to decipher.

As she read through page by page…

‘This magic… it feels familiar somehow…’

She stops at a certain chapter of the book.

On the left, there’s something that looks like a design.

Probably a magic circle.

And on the right, there’s an explanation.

The content was long and detailed, but in summary, it was simple.

‘Strengthen the suggestion?’

A magic circle carved in as a sacrifice.

It strengthens the suggestion placed on the target.

‘This is… definitely….’

She ponders.

Where had she seen this before?

The familiarity felt from the shape of this magic circle.

It’s faint and distant, but.

Certainly….

‘…….’

Eliza used teleportation.

The study room.

She opens the lower drawer.

Something she put there five years ago.

The paper she received from Miguel.

The one who came to assassinate her.

The document she assumed to be from Tradito Hayes.

That document bore traces of inscribed magic.

And the dark magic she just saw—the one called ‘Suggestion Strengthening.’

The magic energy she feels matches.

Eliza moves back to the magic laboratory.

Looking at the suggestion-strengthening dark magic, she draws a pen over a blank sheet of paper.

The black ink stretches smoothly.

As if that path had always been there.

And when she finally completes it, Eliza is certain.

‘…It’s identical.’

The suggestion-strengthening magic and the symbol on the paper match.

There’s still some text left.

The encrypted text the technician restored before, but couldn’t decipher.

When compared with the substitution cipher written in the dark mage’s book, it can be deciphered.

After five years, the result of her long-awaited decoding is:

‘…Kill Eliza.’

An assassination order to kill her.

All the clues have come together.

The assassin who came five years ago. Traditor Heis.

The suspicious paper he dropped.

The Imperial Magic Corps and dark magic.

The suggestion-strengthening magic discovered through tracking.

Matching the magic circle drawn on the paper.

And the content of that suggestion.

Kill Eliza.

He’s from Judeca. He’s connected to Anggra.

‘It wasn’t just the Royal family and dark magic….’

The Moon God Church and Anggra are entangled in this as well.

And that Anggra has a connection with Barak as well….

‘Wait a minute.’

Eliza recalls the letter she just saw.

A letter that seemed to be left unfinished by the dark mage.

Although the ink had spilled, making it hard to read the entire content, Eliza deduced the hidden message through the surrounding context.

‘The thorned crown. Gold. Target. Order. …The dark mage who came to Judas. And the expression of reapplying suggestion and brainwashing. Almost as if it was attempted once before….’

After quickly organizing her thoughts.

‘Judas….’

She reached a single conclusion.