Gawain slowly opened his eyes.
He couldn’t see anything.
Everything was hazy.
His hearing was the same.
All sounds felt muffled.
“Am I dead…?”
He found it hard to be sure.
But he soon decided otherwise.
Someone was in this space, taking care of him.
“Maybe I’m not dead….”
He recalled the moment of dying.
He’d happily been defeated by Judas and had accepted death.
He wished to die as a honorable knight.
But he didn’t die.
He was still alive.
The thought that crossed his mind was contradictory and selfish, even to himself.
“Thank goodness…”
Gawain felt relieved.
He was grateful to have the chance to see his family again.
The fact that he felt this way seemed pathetic.
“Now then, how did I survive…? Was it Judas’s doing?”
*
A few days later, Gawain regained his vision and hearing.
It was indeed true that he had not died.
He was in an unfamiliar room with an unfamiliar ceiling.
The scenery was too human to be an afterlife.
It didn’t match the heaven and hell described by the Sun Church.
Bright sunlight shone down, and lambs and dogs freely jumped around on a verdant hill.
This was heaven.
A land completely frozen over with frigid winds howling like blades.
That was hell.
And the space he was in matched neither.
“I want to know what happened….”
As he was pondering this, the door cautiously opened.
From the attire, it appeared to be a maid.
“…Ah!”
The maid screamed as she locked eyes with him.
“You’re awake! Your senses seem to be back too!”
Then someone hurriedly rushed in with a flurry of footsteps.
Seeing the man appear from beyond the door, Gawain frowned.
“…Judas.”
Upon noticing him, Judas strode over.
Then suddenly,
“I’m sorry!”
He bowed low to the ground in apology.
*
I defeated Gawain.
And I stabbed his heart.
With a dagger that had brought him to a comatose state during my time apart from Eliya.
Fortunately, it could only be used on one person at a time.
After taking care of the comatose Gawain, I asked Eliya.
Could she disguise him as dead?
Eliya gladly fulfilled my request.
As a result, Gawain did not die.
To be exact, his identity died.
There was no longer a knight named Gawain Gallahaid Prudein.
The person before my eyes would now have to live under a different identity.
Of course, he would eventually meet with his family from the Prudein family.
“…That’s how it happened.”
I explained the entire situation to Gawain.
I found it difficult to explain the dagger’s function, so I feigned ignorance and said I had simply stabbed him in the right spot.
Gawain listened calmly.
He didn’t ask anything.
Even after I finished speaking, it remained quiet.
Was he angry?
It was understandable.
He had chosen a noble death, but I had decided to keep him alive against his wish.
I bowed my head again politely and apologized.
“…I’m sorry, Sir Gawain.”
He slowly raised his head to look at me.
I cautiously explained.
“I know this is an undignified act. Yes, I might have… tarnished Sir Gawain’s honor. No, it’s not just a maybe; it definitely is. However, I couldn’t accept that conclusion. …That’s all.”
Even after saying it, it felt like a childish and absurd excuse.
I didn’t want him to die, so I broke my promise and kept him alive.
It was a somewhat impulsive decision.
I always thought that a person’s life was more important than any knightly honor.
After all, once someone dies, everything is over.
Besides, he wasn’t someone I had no connection with.
Gawain was a bit special to me.
Just like the family of my guards.
As I awkwardly avoided his gaze, Gawain patted my shoulder.
His words were unexpected.
“Well done.”
“Uh, um… don’t you hold it against me?”
Gawain chuckled.
“Once I realized I didn’t die after waking up, I felt relief… I’m glad.”
He spoke with a slightly bitter smile.
“The heart is quite fickle, isn’t it? Just being able to see my family and breathe like this brought me relief. That moment where I wanted to die honorably feels like a distant memory, as if it belonged to someone else. In the end, I’m just a weak human, after all.”
Lost in thought, he gazed out the window, then turned his attention back to me.
Soon, Gawain wore a satisfied smile.
“I thought there were only two choices for you: to kill me honorably or to save me disgracefully. But you exceeded my expectations and forged a third path. You preserved the honor of Knight Gawain while saving my life.”
“…….”
“You’ve made me, your mentor, see a wonderful disciple surpassing me.”
He patted my shoulder again and gave me a light hug.
“Thank you, Judas.”
“…Yes. Thank you for saying that.”
I lightly patted his back in return.
He took a sip of water and stroked his chin.
He seemed quite uncomfortable without one arm.
The only consolation was that the missing arm was his left.
Gawain was right-handed, after all.
…Though I’m the one who chopped it off, so I shouldn’t really consider that a consolation. It was necessary at the time.
“More importantly, what should we do going forward…?”
“If you wish, the lady has offered to help create a false identity for you. She mentioned it would be better to inform the Prudein family after things settle a bit.”
“Oh my… I’ve now incurred a significant debt to the lady. How would I repay her with this one remaining arm…?”
“She is also currently designing a prosthetic arm that operates in response to mana.”
“…Haha. Truly impressive.”
He nodded seriously.
“Well then, while I receive everything I can, I should seriously think about how to repay her. …Wait a minute. How did the war go? I’ve been recovering for several days now?”
“You recovered fully in about a week. As for the war… it ended in a victory for the lady one week ago.”
“…I see.”
Gawain’s voice sank low.
A knight who pledged his loyalty.
Yet, he could not protect his lord nor die honorably.
Perhaps I shouldn’t have saved him.
“Don’t make that face. War is like this.”
“…….”
“Again, I say, your choice was excellent. This isn’t just flattery.”
Gawain kindly tapped the back of my hand.
“Thank you, Judas.”
“…Thank you.”
His gratitude genuinely soothed me.
*
About a week after Balak’s death.
During that time, Eliya had called together the leaders of the anti-empire coalition and presented her opinions.
She suggested they stop meaningless sacrifices and attrition warfare.
They agreed to moderate compensation and future measures, reaching a negotiated agreement.
The discussions ended positively.
Afterward, Eliya sent a peaceful agreement letter to the Empire in her capacity as a delegate.
Additionally, she withdrew all coalition forces from localized battles.
She stopped the combat right before the peace agreement.
Since then, things have been quiet.
No battles have occurred, and several days have passed without a response from the Empire.
Instead, the inner workings of the Bevel Family underwent a rapid change.
All surviving branches busily bowed to Eliya.
They volunteered to come under her.
The Council also completely fell under Eliya’s control.
Therefore, Eliya has effectively become the head of the Bevel Family.
Though she has little interest in the role.
At least from what I’ve seen.
“Ah~”
Eliya opened her mouth and made an adorable sound.
I couldn’t help but succumb to her cuteness.
I cautiously put food in her mouth.
“Take your time eating.”
“Mm.”
“Make sure to chew and swallow well.”
“Mm.”
“Don’t overeat. If you’re full, make sure to tell me you’re full.”
“Mm.”
She was gobbling it up well.
I’ve been told that she didn’t eat a single meal while I was away.
Since returning, I’ve been feeding her this way every day.
Breakfast, lunch, dinner. Not skipping a single meal.
If she suddenly eats a lot after not eating, it might upset her stomach, so I was feeding her little by little.
The leftover food was mine, sitting beside her.
I even made a two-person chair for us.
A dining chair just for eating at the table.
Eliya was clinging to my arm while eating.
A few steps away, Ria watched this scene quietly.
“Hm… she doesn’t look as scary as before.”
Her eyes were clouded with emptiness.
She looked like someone who had reached enlightenment.
This air of heaviness was perhaps due to the end of the war.
Sometimes, she even appeared relieved.
I suddenly became curious.
How long has Ria been serving Eliya?
…And what thoughts would she have while seeing Eliya in this state?
“I, too, seem to have changed drastically enough to be surprising sometimes.”
I didn’t know.
I still didn’t know what kind of person Ria was.
But anyway, for now, Eliya was being adorable.
“Oh, right. Sir Gawain said he wants to work as the head of the mansion’s guards, if possible.”
“Is that so? Then, let him do that.”
“Yes. I will convey it.”
Gawain is officially deceased, and his false identity has yet to be established.
He can’t show himself outside, so these days he’s learning cleaning duties inside the mansion.
Once the false identity is given, he should start working as the head of the guards.
“I was worried he might not like it at first, but I’m relieved he’s taking it positively.”
“Ah~”
I put another piece of meat I had sliced into Eliya’s mouth.
I wiped the grease off her face with a napkin.
At that, Eliya stopped chewing and calmly left her face to my touch.
“Seriously, why does she keep getting cuter by the day…?”
I hesitated to voice this aloud, so I swallowed it internally.
“I just want to squeeze those chubby cheeks once… but that wouldn’t be okay.”
After feeding Eliya, I tried to eat myself, but she was staring intently at me.
Her mouth was moving endlessly while she gazed blankly.
“What is it?”
As I tried to swallow and respond, she began chewing faster.
“Oh, no! Take your time! I can wait!”
“Mm.”
While waiting for her to speak, I tried to eat my portion, but Eliya stopped my hand.
“…Lady?”
Finally swallowing her food, she made a shocking statement.
“Will you feed me too?”
“What…? Yes? No, what? Me?!”
“Mm.”
“N-no, suddenly, uh…?”
“Huh… you always feed me. That’s not fair.”
“Is it unfair? Can that even be considered unfair…?”
Eliya calmly attempted to snatch the fork from my hand.
I quickly pulled my hand back.
Eliya glared at me in dissatisfaction.
“Ah, lady, wait a moment. That, um, you see… it’s not proper for a master to eat for a servant. That’s not okay.”
“Hm…”
Eliya crossed her arms and tilted her head.
‘…What are you planning to counter with this time?!’
Today wasn’t the most shocking day ever, but I had a few experiences like this.
If I said it wasn’t allowed, Eliya would seriously think about it and logically counter.
In the end, I would have no choice but to follow her arguments.
The facts were, I was her servant, and she was my master.
Whether it made sense or not, I had to obey.
‘B-but! The fact that she wants to feed me… that’s just not right…!’
I desperately hoped Eliya would give up the idea, but that wasn’t going to happen.
“Judas.”
“Yes…?”
“The master feeds their pet, don’t they?”
“Y-yeah…”
“It’s the same logic. A master’s duty is to take care of the welfare and meals of their subordinates.”
Well.
Once again, I’m defeated by logic.
“And this isn’t the first time.”
That was true.
During my recovery in a comatose state, Eliya took care of me.
‘But I didn’t even know it was her then… No, I found that really uncomfortable back then too…!’
Soon enough, Eliya grabbed the fork from my hand.
Stabbing a piece of meat, she brought it to my mouth.
“Now, open wide. Ah~”
I felt like fleeing for entirely different reasons.
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