A smug smile was plastered all over Sara’s face.
‘How dare they bully Sister Jezebel!’
She had clearly overheard the conversation between Eliya and Jezebel.
Eliya was openly scolding Jezebel.
‘I will make them pay!’
But she couldn’t directly touch that Eliya.
The wizard known as the reincarnation of the mythological age.
While no one knew how strong that power truly was, it was too terrifying to provoke recklessly.
However, the guy next to her was different.
Judas.
The one who had just completed the installation ceremony of a knight today.
And the demon who had spoken the horrifying words that he would tear apart his own twin five years ago.
‘Hmph. I’m not the same person I used to be.’
She’d been gnashing her teeth since five years ago.
She wanted to repay Judas for the humiliation of that day someday.
And the right day had come.
Sara brought two knights with her.
Both were experts in swordsmanship and unarmed combat.
One was similar in size to Judas, and the other was even larger.
Sara confidently approached the dressing room where Eliya was.
A man was standing in front of her.
His hardened expression seemed lost in serious thought.
His enormous frame made him seem like a door, not a person.
The muscles that stood out even under his black uniform were wild.
Sara found his attire unpleasant.
A uniform combining black and gold—
The attire permitted only to the knights of the Bevel family.
‘How dare you serve a bastard girl….’
Sara gestured to her knights.
Even though her opponent was extraordinary, there was only one of him.
The fact that this one person had defeated Jezebel’s elite unit was information unknown to Sara.
When the two knights approached, Judas lifted his head as if to block the door.
“What brings you here?”
“Lady Sara, the fifth of the Bevel family, has come with a matter of importance.”
“I have received no word that Miss Eliya has guests.”
That meant he wouldn’t let them in.
But Sara wouldn’t back down.
“Are you really saying that a mere bastard would disregard the command of the pure-blooded lineage?”
Judas looked more puzzled than angry.
The fact that Eliya was a bastard was a matter of the Bevel family.
It was not a topic that a mere knight serving them should bring up.
Yet the knight boldly mentioned it.
Even the mistress standing behind them, Sara, did not rebuke him.
Instead, she was smirking.
Judas nodded inwardly.
It was allowed by that Sara.
Today was Eliya’s birthday.
And now, he was a servant of Eliya.
He was no longer an indecisive candidate.
He couldn’t act as he pleased like before.
‘Endure….’
Judas spoke again with politeness.
“None shall be admitted.”
“Such a trivial thing hides itself quite abhorrently.”
“……”
Seeing Judas not rebelling, Sara chuckled softly.
A thrilling joy bubbled up inside her.
This was exactly the feeling.
The thrill of stamping down those who dared to misbehave with status, wealth, and power.
The overwhelming superiority of turning the emotions of those who underestimated her upside down.
For that, Sara had deliberately concealed her status.
The absolute social superiority she possessed as a human filled her heart deeply with satisfaction.
On another note, she hoped Judas would explode like before.
She wanted to see him helplessly defeated by her two knights.
‘As skilled as he may be, there’s no way he stands a chance against these two.’
There are ranks even among nobles.
Sara hoped Judas would learn that fact painfully.
The world of nobles is not a comfortable place.
‘No matter how fierce his temper, what does it matter? With that personality, he can’t survive in this field.’
Sara raised her chin, crossing her arms.
Looking down at Judas, who was weakly silent with an arrogant demeanor.
Meanwhile, Judas didn’t feel particularly powerless.
He simply completed his rationalization in his head.
‘The priorities a knight must protect are two: the safety of the master and the honor of the master.’
These people had just sullied Eliya’s honor.
Therefore, the violence he would unleash from now on was self-defense.
Judas lifted his head.
Calm on his face, quiet rage lingered beneath.
A burst of laughter escaped Sara.
What could he possibly do?
Then the next moment.
Sara was watching as her massive knight was flying through the air.
It was an incomprehensible sight.
On the other hand, the one who created that sight, Judas, was quite relaxed.
His growth curve over the past five years hadn’t followed a normal trajectory.
A knight of unknown name was no challenge for him.
‘Single-arm lift.’
His opponent slammed to the ground.
However, they were somewhat different from those he had fought until now.
Boom!
The dull thud did not come from Judas’s back.
He had slapped the ground with his palm.
‘A roll?’
He seemed quite experienced in such techniques.
Though not a textbook roll, he was familiar with methods to break a fall.
However, there could be no lack of impact.
The pain rendered his opponent unable to immediately rise.
Then, it was time for the next technique.
Judas smoothly twisted the wrist he had grabbed.
The wrist and, along with it, the whole arm began to turn slowly.
It was moving at an angle increasingly unnatural.
“Ugh-!”
His opponent let out a deep scream.
“Let go of that hand this instant!”
Sara’s face turned pale as she shouted.
It was hard to comprehend how such a situation could occur, but the reality before her was plain.
Her knight was being utterly defeated.
“Didn’t the lady say! It’s an order! Let go of that hand!”
The remaining knight, trying to draw his sword, hesitated.
Just as he placed a hand on the hilt…
“Don’t draw.”
Judas, having approached, pressed down on the hilt and warned calmly.
The knight whose wrist was being twisted trembled on the ground, holding his own arm.
“Drawing it will mean irreparable consequences.”
Frozen in place with a hand on the hilt.
As he said, if he drew his weapon, the altercation would escalate beyond a mere conflict.
The knight was flustered.
Thoughts froze in his mind.
There was no need for him to think about what to do.
Judas made the decision for him.
He grabbed the knight by the nape and pulled his legs out from under him.
A simple leg sweep.
Boom! He crashed to the ground with force.
“Gah…!”
Judas passed by him nonchalantly.
Without using any magical power, he had thoroughly subdued both knights.
It was a surprise attack, and unarmed as well, yet what remained was simply the result.
He had defeated the two.
Sara shuddered and took a step back.
Thump. Her back hit the wall.
“Eek!”
Before she knew it, Judas was right in front of her.
His enormous figure cast a shadow over her from head to toe.
“Are you going to… dare lay a hand on me, a noble…?”
She wanted to ask but couldn’t get the words out.
His eyebrows twisted in irritation.
His golden eyes gleamed coldly as they looked down at her.
Like a beast contemplating its prey.
“…Judas?”
At that moment, she heard Eliya’s voice.
Judas quickly turned around.
Eliya emerged from the dressing room, looking at him.
Her eyes shifted back and forth between Sara and Judas, slowly igniting with a wild fire.
‘Why is she like that…!’
Judas, who had just been irritated, was now flustered.
“…What were you doing with her?”
He hurriedly backed away from Sara.
For some inexplicable reason, he could sense that staying close to Sara would lead to disaster.
He rushed over to Eliya and hastily explained.
The memory of the second tragedy sent chills down his spine.
“While guarding the door, they approached me first. They said they had urgent business with Miss.”
Since he couldn’t let them in, he had turned them away.
“Then they insulted Miss, and I couldn’t just stand by any longer.”
“Then you only needed to deal with the two knights. Why were you so close to her?”
“Even though she’s a noble, the level of provocation was too low, so I thought I could teach that guy a lesson too….”
“Was there not any other reason?”
Judas genuinely asked back.
“What other reason do you mean?”
At his words, Eliya clammed up.
Narrowing her eyes slightly, she rolled them around.
“…Indeed.”
What other reason could there be?
If there was one, why was she questioning it now?
In that instant, Eliya found it hard to understand her own reaction to this situation.
“Anyway, to summarize, you’re saying she picked the fight first, right?”
“That’s correct.”
Eliya nodded and then smiled brightly.
“Well done.”
Before she knew it, her expression had returned to normal.
“It seems you truly are an exceptional knight. I knew it as much.”
Judas sighed in relief inwardly and lightly bowed his head.
“…Thank you.”
Eliya walked past him.
As she stood in front of Sara, suddenly, a woman emerged from one direction in the corridor.
With braided blonde hair—Jezebel.
She glanced at Eliya, Judas, and Sara in turn, then asked.
“I was looking for Sara as I couldn’t find her… What’s going on here?”
Eliya smiled sweetly.
“Well, it’s a matter to be resolved between the parties involved, so….”
“Sister-!”
Sara jumped up and ran to Jezebel.
She whined and recounted everything that had happened.
Jezebel’s face turned grim, and she glared at Eliya.
“Eliya. Can’t you even manage one knight properly?”
Eliya tilted her head slightly to the side, her slow movements oddly out of place for the situation.
“Or are you really intending to have a physical confrontation with us? Do you really think you can handle it?”
“But I didn’t start the fight first.”
“Do you think you’re the same as us?”
“Hmm, well, that’s true.”
Eliya smiled brightly.
Do you think you can handle it?
She pondered that statement for a moment before turning it back to Jezebel.
“So, are you confident you can handle it?”
“What do you mean….”
“The elite unit you carefully sent was easily defeated by my knight.”
“…!”
“Besides, the rear unit probably got annihilated by another candidate, right? With that level of strength, are you confident?”
“You…! How did you….”
“Shocked by such an obvious conclusion? How boring….”
Astonished, Judas was taken aback.
‘Those who attacked me back then were part of Jezebel’s elite unit? Then was Richard fighting against them too? How did Eliya know that?’
Sara, who was unaware of the truth, was just as surprised.
Unlike the panicking trio, Eliya was relaxed.
With a cold smile, she spoke.
“Don’t worry. I won’t make it public.”
Jezebel’s eyes twitched slightly.
Eliya wasn’t being considerate; when she said she wouldn’t hold anyone accountable, it was equivalent to implying she’d respond similarly whenever she pleased.
With her fist clenched tightly, Jezebel couldn’t retaliate.
“…Sara. Let’s go.”
“U-Um, sister?”
“Let’s just leave for now.”
The two sisters stomped away.
It resembled a retreating scene.
As they passed, Sara’s knight received a blow, but neither paid any mind.
In a fit of rage, they stomped even harder as they walked away.
Before crossing the corner, Sara warned ominously.
“Just you wait! I’ll tell Brother Aghan—!”
Judas and Eliya gently ignored her.
“Miss…? What does it mean that they are Jezebel’s elite unit?”
“Oh, that.”
Eliya replied casually.
“I suspected as much.”
“…What?”
“It’s a long explanation, but….”
Trailing off, Eliya glanced at Judas.
His expression was still one of shock.
The vacant look on his face made her chuckle softly.
“I guess it’s fine to tell you.”
“Listen closely.”
She gestured him to lean in closer.
He bent at the waist, lowering his head.
Eliya lifted her heels slightly to get closer to his ear.
Leaning forward, she rested her weight on his shoulder.
Judas instinctively reached to support her waist, but suddenly stopped.
‘That was a close call….’
Her gentle, sweet voice whispered in his ear.
“This deduction is just between you and me. I’ve leaked some information to the Bevel family, including Jezebel. Among them is information regarding the Sun Symbol you held recently. Of course, I never thought Jezebel would actually bite.”
“Wha….”
“Letting you be used unintentionally is something I can overlook for now.”
Eliya smiled softly.
The breath of laughter warmed Judas’s ear.
“Anyway, Jezebel is the most action-oriented among my brothers. She takes risks even if they’re dangerous. Sometimes she can be reckless. In summary, the faction that had information enough to cross paths with you outside the ruins is likely my brother’s. And among them, Jezebel has the highest probability.”
Eliya bet on a gamble, based on her reasoning.
Acting as if she knew everything.
“Even if it wasn’t, it wouldn’t matter. After the trial concerning the Duchess, my brothers can’t afford to lay a hand on me. So if it wasn’t them, they would still show some reaction to give away information.”
A gamble based on high probabilities.
But even if she failed, Eliya would not bear any losses.
She had a knack for reading others’ emotions and reactions.
By observing how her bait was responded to, she could glean new information.
Thus, there was no reason for Eliya not to take this gamble.
“Got it?”
Eliya slightly pulled her head back to look at him.
Judas nodded absentmindedly.
He was just admiring her brilliance.
‘Genius…?’
He had always known Eliya was intelligent.
In the original work, she was a brilliant genius.
However, experiencing it firsthand was an entirely different feeling.
The intricate designs and deductions that he could never have conceived of.
And the psychological tactics.
He was slowly realizing how extraordinary his master was in multiple ways recently.
“Oh, and.”
Eliya took a step back and said.
“I have something to give you.”
“To me?”
“Of course. Who else would I give something to but you?”
“……”
“Follow me.”
She led him to the Sun Symbol Temple Relic Storage.
Various holy relics were stored there, precious and solemn.
Judas recognized the place.
Several holy relics caught his eye.
Each one was a priceless and special item.
Eliya turned to Judas and spoke nonchalantly.
“Choose.”
“…What?”
“Choose and take it for yourself.”
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