Levi de Bevel.
Balak’s Second Son.
The person who abused Eliya.
I didn’t hear the testimony directly.
But I have solid grounds for my certainty.
Sometimes Eliya would mention her family name.
For very public reasons.
Each time, cracks appeared in Eliya’s expressionless face, like a doll.
Frustration, anger, disgust, contempt, and other such emotions.
It’s a rare sight to see on her.
Even her vocabulary when referring to Balak’s direct children is unusual.
Words like squalling infant, beast, biological waste, and inferior creature that speaks human language.
It’s truly colorful.
Eliya’s childhood spent in her home.
I guess it must be the influence of being abused back then.
Of course, Levi in front of me contributed to that as well.
“So, what are you here to talk about?”
“I have a proposal for you.”
“Let’s hear it.”
Although I won’t accept it.
“Are you satisfied with your knightly life?”
“It’s alright.”
If I had to say, I’m somewhat satisfied.
I have a place to sleep, food is served well, and the pay is good.
I don’t know what the future holds, but for now, it’s not been tough.
There’s no reason to be dissatisfied.
‘And Eliya… no, this is not it.’
“I’m glad to see your job satisfaction is high.”
“Why are you asking about this?”
“I was thinking of raising that satisfaction even more.”
“…?”
“Come to me.”
“…Could you be a bit more precise? This feels disgusting.”
I unconsciously spoke harshly.
But Levi just laughed as if he didn’t mind.
Seems like he’s finally adapting to my personality.
“Come under me. I guarantee a better standard of living.”
“Ha. Are you suggesting I betray chivalry?”
“Chivalry… is that the kind where loyalty changes depending on who pays well?”
“…….”
“What a rare romantic mindset these days.”
Levi smiled brightly.
As if he mistook my silence for hesitation.
I had nothing to say, so I ignored it.
“I’ve heard your smooth words. If you’re done, please leave.”
“…What?”
“I’m saying I have no intention of accepting your proposal, so leave.”
“Wait. Besides that….”
Just as Levi was about to say something, a signal came from the pendant.
Eliya was calling me.
“My lady is calling, so I must excuse myself. There’s nothing of value here for you to steal, so please mind your own business.”
I didn’t wait for a response.
As I received the signal with my magic, my surroundings shifted in an instant.
Eliya’s room.
Her hair was wet, as if she had just bathed.
Ria, who was drying her hair, was startled to see me.
I subtly averted my gaze from Eliya, who was in her pajamas.
“…Did you call for me?”
“Who was that?”
“Pardon?”
“The person who was in the room. The Princess?”
“No. It was Levi.”
“…Levi? Why would that second reptile come to you?”
He does resemble a reptile.
I answered honestly.
There was no reason to hide it.
“He told me to come to his side. It seems he wants to weaken your power, my lady.”
“Hmmm. I see. And what was your answer?”
“I declined.”
It goes without saying.
However, Eliya didn’t immediately respond to what I said.
While leaving her hair to Ria, she fell silent.
As if pondering something deeply.
Then, after a moment, she spoke.
“…Is that so?”
That’s quite a surprising reaction.
I was a bit taken aback.
What’s with that?
Eliya seemed to have a similar question.
“Why did you do that?”
“…Pardon?”
“Why did you refuse?”
Eliya walked towards me.
Her delicate white hand cupped my chin.
I was forced to look at her.
Her still damp black hair.
Her normally emotionless face looking up at me.
I met her crimson gaze as well.
“Levi is a thorough investigator. I don’t know how much he knows, but he must have some certainty and proof that he can offer you more than you currently receive.”
“…….”
“Though I didn’t hear it directly, I’m confident that his offer was objectively better than what you’re getting now.”
Eliya’s eyes bore into me.
Her direct gaze felt as though it could pierce through my soul.
“The same goes for the princess’s proposal. You didn’t have to reject it so forcefully. Rather….”
She paused, as if hesitating to continue.
Her brows slightly furrowed, showing discomfort.
With a quick return to her usual expressionless state, she continued to speak.
With her small, red lips.
“Why did you reject a clearly superior option?”
“Well, of course….”
I briefly looked down.
I wanted to ask her the same question.
Why she was so curious about that.
What would happen if I revealed the reason.
But I couldn’t bring myself to say it.
Due to that incident with Sardis, Eliya had likely lost the capacity to feel affection or love.
I must not cross the line.
I lifted my head again.
I carefully met her gaze.
Eliya stood there.
As if she would always be in front of me.
“As your guardian knight, I have sworn an oath.”
“…I see.”
She chuckled softly.
It felt strangely like a melancholic smile.
Eliya slowly leaned forward.
Her head rested against my chest.
She stayed like that for quite a while.
I stood there, unable to push her away or hold her properly.
A certain corner of my chest where she was touching tingled.
Strangely enough.
Slowly, she lifted her head and smiled at me.
She greeted me with a pure smile.
“Good night.”
“…I hope you have a good night too, my lady.”
*
Back in my room, I lay on my bed.
It was time to sleep now.
My head was a jumble of thoughts.
There were many reasons for this complexity, but first, one.
[Magic: 19.0]
I couldn’t stop my magic stat from dropping.
Even though Yuel has been consistently helping me, it still wasn’t enough.
The speed of decline has been accelerating as time goes on.
‘I’ve been eating food good for magic, but… it’s still not recovering.’
I was being drained of my magic by Eliya.
The sun and moon mentioned in the first scriptures. The union of those two.
It probably originated from that.
‘…But what if it keeps dropping like this?’
Whether it reaches zero or stops at a certain level.
‘What happens if Eliya’s power wishes for the union after I can no longer absorb in any form…?’
I couldn’t figure it out no matter how I pondered.
A sudden vision of tragedy popped into my head.
Eliya choking me.
Eliya setting me on fire.
‘My magic dropping wouldn’t cause those things to happen, would it?’
I wasn’t sure.
Honestly, it was something hard to imagine.
The idea that Eliya could choke me or set me on fire now.
‘…Current Eliya.’
The Eliya who was extremely wary after I almost got recruited by Levi.
The Eliya who looked upset after receiving a marriage proposal from the princess.
That tenacious questioning about those two situations.
What did she think of me?
Since then, a strange feeling has stuck in one corner of my heart.
It hurt, tingled, and was oddly painful.
‘…Huh?’
It wasn’t just some feeling.
When I looked down to check, there was a dark mark.
Right in the middle of my pronounced chest muscles.
Where Eliya’s forehead had touched.
“…What is this?”
I rubbed it with my hand.
It wouldn’t come off.
A dot-like stain.
When I looked closely through a mirror, it resembled soot.
Like a burn mark.
“Why did this suddenly appear…?”
*
The next day, Eliya went to see Levi.
It was an unexpected visit, but Levi calmly welcomed her.
Eliya cut to the chase without preamble.
“Don’t you dare touch my things.”
Her face was hard as ice.
The emotions behind it twisted possessiveness and exclusivity.
Like a child throwing a tantrum for having her territory invaded.
But it couldn’t be overlooked as childish emotion.
The power she possessed was anything but ordinary.
If things went wrong, she looked as though she could burn Levi alive right there with mad flames dancing in her eyes.
Despite the panic, Levi felt a hidden satisfaction.
Judas was being proven as a weakness by Eliya herself.
“Well, rather than saying I touched it….”
“I’m not here for silly banter. I won’t say it twice.”
“…….”
“If you try to touch my things again, you’ll see something amusing.”
Levi chuckled dismissively.
“Eliya. Do you even recognize what kind of behavior you’re engaging in right now?”
“I’m not here to play games.”
“…Goodness. You truly don’t understand, do you? Can you explain what kind of relationship you two have?”
“This warning is the last.”
Their conversation diverged down different tracks.
Eliya intentionally ignored Levi’s words.
She was someone who relied on her eloquence.
Ignoring was the best strategy if she didn’t want to get dragged in.
However, Levi could clearly see Eliya’s feelings.
There was no way he wouldn’t notice such clarity.
Yet Eliya, the party involved, seemed oblivious.
Regardless of their reasons and circumstances, it was a capital weakness.
There was no need to inform Eliya about it.
Levi raised his hands in surrender.
“Alright, alright. I won’t do it. I won’t approach you. Is that enough?”
Eliya looked down on him with cold eyes before turning to leave.
As she walked away, Levi smiled inwardly.
‘It seems things are getting interesting. I may have been deceived by Ria, but this is a new harvest.’
Eliya’s weakness, utterly evident.
But could he use it?
That weakness was not to be taken lightly either.
If physical threats were difficult, he would delve into other avenues.
Information warfare.
Levi’s specialty.
If he could dig up something on Judas, he might uncover useful clues.
No one in this world is without dust to shake off.
There must be something he could gain for his advantage in some fashion.
‘Come to think of it, his eyes were golden. Golden… There’s a low chance, but could Cain have… regarding that incident…’
For now, Ria’s affairs were on hold.
First, he had to go find Cain who had executed ‘that mission’ to ask him.
*
Today, Eliya was acting strangely.
She had gone out early in the morning.
Since then, she looked unhappy.
I watched her closely as I put meat in her mouth.
Lately, she’d been eating alone, so it had been a while since she asked to be fed.
She was acting as though the odd events from yesterday never happened.
At this point, I’ve accepted it.
Just consider her a cat with her own whims.
With a slightly sulky expression, she stuffed her cheeks with food and munched away.
Like a pouty cat full of cheek fat.
‘She’s cute even at breakfast.’
Ria, who initially couldn’t stand it, had also gone accustomed to it.
More accurately, she had given up.
I could hear her exasperated sighs when me and Eliya were like this.
While Eliya chewed, I grabbed a piece of meat for myself.
‘That mark on my chest… I really don’t know what it could be.’
No matter how much I thought about it all night, I couldn’t figure it out.
I wondered if it was some skin disease, but it didn’t seem that way.
Only one possibility came to mind.
‘…Eliya.’
The place where Eliya’s body had made contact.
The dark soot-like residue.
‘Is this a sign that Eliya has taken my power…? Something like that?’
That seemed the most plausible hypothesis.
But knowing that truth didn’t leave me with much I could do.
‘Could I ask her to not make physical contact with me?’
…That’s a rather strange request.
To ask my master to refrain from physical contact.
It felt a bit, awkward… yeah.
‘Maybe I should think about that later.’
There was still one more thing on my mind.
Today was the day the monsters would start pouring out from Judeca.
How should I stop that?
‘The guards went to enjoy the festival today. Should I go drop a hint to Dillon…? But the soldiers brought by other nobles seemed to be training hard for show, while our kids seem to be having fun. Eliya did permit it, but….’
Just then, someone poked my shoulder.
It was Eliya.
She was staring blankly at me.
As if asking why I wasn’t feeding her.
“Oh, I’m sorry. I was deep in thought for a moment.”
I twisted the fork and prepared cream pasta for her.
Just before putting it in her mouth, Eliya glared at me and asked.
“Who were you thinking about?”
“Pardon? I wasn’t really thinking about anyone in particular.”
“Uh-huh. I see.”
Satisfied with that, she opened her mouth like a baby bird.
I placed the noodles inside.
‘Who else would there be to think about….’
…Well, it wasn’t entirely true. Hmm.
After we finished our meal, Ria took care of the cleanup.
I felt an overwhelming urge to help.
Even after all these years, it still felt uncomfortable to let someone else handle my post-meal chores.
‘It’s oddly different from a restaurant…’
Suddenly, Eliya asked.
“Do you want to see the festival?”
The foundation festival had started yesterday, but today it would officially gather crowds.
It would be much more lively compared to yesterday.
I had seen the guards being excited, ready to jump out the window.
‘The festival….’
I was curious about the festival, but I was more worried about the monster invasion.
“Just a bit?”
“…Is that so?”
Eliya subtly glanced out the window.
Playing with the ends of her hair.
With her other hand, she rested her chin in thought.
She looked like she was distracted, but her gaze remained outside, and she replied in a somewhat indifferent manner.
“…Then, shall we go watch it?”
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