When Eliya confessed, Judas hesitated for a moment.
Could it be a rejection?
What if he suddenly said he found it burdensome or didn’t like it anymore?
In this moment, Eliya had envisioned this alone hundreds of times, both hopeful and excited, and thousands of times terrified and frustrated.
Nervously biting her lip, she hugged his waist tighter.
Please, let that phrase not come out.
“I…”
Finally, Judas opened his mouth.
His breath trembled precariously.
He had made a decision.
“…I do too.”
The fact that the you I like likes me back feels almost unbelievable, like a miracle beyond dreams.
Just imagining the wounds you’d receive if I pushed you away with the lie of wanting to protect you was horrifying; it felt like I would die.
“I like you a lot. Lady Eliya.”
He could not push you away, even as a lie.
“……”
The moment he spoke those words, something hot surged in Eliya’s chest.
Her body filled with warmth, swelling to the point of bursting.
She didn’t want to cry, but tears flowed, and she buried her face in his chest.
His solid and broad chest felt cozy like a bed and sturdy.
The embrace felt like a cradle that was always ready to welcome her.
His heart was beating as if it was coming for her.
The pulsing that reached her ears was delightful, like a gentle knock on the door.
In a rapture that felt like becoming one with the world, Eliya softly opened her eyes.
As she wiped away her tears, the surrounding scenery became clear.
In that moment, she felt like she was seeing an illusion.
Waves of color radiated outwards from Judas.
As it flowed across the ground, the grass turned green, the trees brown, and the leaves took on a blue hue once again.
Unknown wildflowers greeted her shyly in yellow.
Fluffy white clouds drifted lazily across the blue sky.
“Ah…”
Eliya involuntarily gasped in admiration.
She had completely forgotten that the world could be this beautiful.
It was Judas who restored that color for her.
Even though her vision was filled with color, the fact that Judas was her one and only never changed.
The sun embraced the moon, savoring the world that had regained its colors.
*
They held each other in silence for a long time.
Then Judas subtly asked.
“Do you care what kind of person I am?”
It was frightening to reveal the truth right away.
So, he decided to test the waters first.
“Hmm?”
Eliya looked up at him in surprise and smiled.
“Is it because of your background? I don’t care at all. You said it yourself; one’s birth doesn’t define their existence.”
“……”
He hadn’t expected that answer to come back in this way.
He couldn’t just feel joy from her words, “I like you regardless of your background.”
Judas had asked if it mattered what kind of person he was, and Eliya narrowed that scope down to ‘background.’
That was a line of sorts.
A boundary that Eliya would allow regarding Judas’s attributes.
He thought to himself that a line had indeed been drawn.
His throat felt itchy.
He wanted to ask her if it was okay even if he was the one who killed Maria.
But it wasn’t that simple.
Five years ago, one day.
Eliya had suddenly crawled into his bed.
Back then, little Eliya muttered “Mom” while she was crying.
It was the first time he saw the fragile side of Eliya, whom he had only thought of as a bad woman.
That night still remained vividly in his memory.
Over the five years, he had learned who Maria was to Eliya.
But in this situation, was it really right to reveal that truth?
He understood what it meant to be her only weakness permitted.
What it meant was that he was now someone as precious to Eliya as Maria was.
The very person who had killed the precious Maria—the one Eliya wanted to kill—was himself.
And Eliya was looking at him.
He had come to like Eliya.
A lot.
‘This is insane.’
Why on earth could something like this exist in the world?
No matter how hard he thought, he couldn’t understand it.
He hadn’t chosen to be reincarnated into this body.
So, he changed his question.
‘Why did you reincarnate me into this body?’
Changing the question didn’t bring an answer.
Suddenly, he recalled the second tragedy.
‘Eliya, who had poured fire magic onto me…’
This situation was more tragic than that scene.
“What’s wrong? Is it bothering you that much?”
In the end, Judas could say nothing.
He had never felt so weak in his life.
“…No, it’s just a bit concerning…”
“It’s okay. Things like backgrounds mean nothing. So don’t worry.”
“…Yes.”
“Shall we head back then?”
Seeing Eliya smile at him like a child, Judas felt guilt pierce through him like a blade.
“…Yes, Lady.”
*
Eliya was certain.
‘Judas is hiding something from me.’
She didn’t know what it was.
She would find out from now on.
Before that, she organized her grounds.
Starting with the most certain.
‘Peach scent.’
The fragrance that came from Judas’s body.
There was no peach fragrance among her cosmetics or perfumes.
Naturally, it wasn’t the scent that usually came from Judas’s body either.
‘What kind of woman could it be?’
She didn’t think Judas was fooling around with another woman.
Judas was quite stubborn in that regard.
He might be a bit clumsy in separating, but that was something she could overlook.
Eliya thought that the woman from the other side must have attached herself to Judas against his will.
She could be forgiving toward Judas, but not toward the other party.
There were also non-verbal cues.
Judas’s reaction when he answered that he was alone at that time.
It was his reaction when he was lying.
Even the looks and expressions of deep contemplation.
‘From now on, it’ll be a matter of figuring it out.’
The method was simple.
Eliya could know Judas’s location in real time.
Thanks to the artifact she had made and they shared.
The golden necklace she had given to Judas.
The ivory ring she wore.
The ring was equipped with teleportation functions.
To go to Judas, summon him, or have him call her.
For this to happen, the two artifacts had to exchange location information in real time.
In other words, if she checked the location information recorded in the ring, she could retrace his movements.
Eliya traced Judas’s path with the ring.
She didn’t even need to walk there herself.
With just the traces of magic transmitted, she could roughly sketch out a map and his route.
‘…Here it is. The fixed location where he stayed the longest before coming to me. It should be in the shopping district downtown.’
Eliya immediately used the teleportation.
She needed to sort things out before the war began.
*
Yurideke and Orphey were busily sorting through documents.
They couldn’t stay here long.
The royal palace guards were tracking them.
It was at some point that, upon Eliya’s request to investigate the alcohol ban, they began to have their tails followed.
They had pride in their ability to remain undetected.
Whatever their past pride may have been, their tails had been stepped on, and it was only a matter of escaping now.
They only stopped here briefly for Judas.
The messages they failed to deliver, Hermis had left to convey; they could only hope it reached him in time.
“Did you pack everything?”
“All that’s in the drawer.”
What remained was the paperwork on the desk.
It was organized for Judas to show.
As Yurideke was about to grab it,
“Hmm.”
Someone suddenly appeared in front of them.
“Gah…!”
Yurideke gasped, covering her mouth and stepping back.
Orphey stepped in front, pushing her back.
Thinking it might be someone tracking them, she was relieved to find out it wasn’t.
“How strange.”
The woman who appeared out of nowhere spoke.
“Why did Judas come here?”
Yurideke immediately recognized her.
One of her clients.
Codename: Chariots of Raging Fire.
Real name: Eliya de Bevel.
The sorcerer who had ascended to the head of the household after killing all of Bevel’s direct line with Balak.
“Y-young lady? What brings you here all of a sudden? Teleporting and everything…”
As she spoke, Yurideke quickly racked her brain.
Eliya had just mentioned Judas.
How could she know he had come here?
The answer came quickly.
‘She must have the ability to perfectly track Judas’s movements.’
Luckily, based on her attitude, it seemed she didn’t know all the truths yet.
Yurideke discreetly prodded Orphey in the side.
To gather the documents.
She tries to divert Eliya’s attention verbally.
“I heard you took care of the alcohol issue, my lady; is there more you wish to assign? But right now, we’re a bit pressed for time, so let’s talk outside…”
“Hold there.”
Eliya spoke coldly.
Orphey, who had been handling the documents, paused for a moment.
“If my eyes aren’t deceiving me, it seems the name Judas is written on that paper.”
“Eh? There’s no way the name of the lady’s precious knight would be here…”
Yurideke tried to stall for time, but it was useless.
Eliya’s eyes had already turned to gold.
“Gyaah!”
Flames erupted from the ground, binding both of them.
“Yuri!”
“Don’t make a fuss. I don’t intend to hurt you unnecessarily.”
The golden fire that blossomed like a whip fixed their limbs against the wall.
As Eliya said, it didn’t hurt.
Though it was fire, there was no burning pain.
It was only slightly warm.
After tying them down, Eliya picked up the stack of documents and began to read through page by page.
Her eyes, which had been rapidly skimming, suddenly froze as if they had caught onto something.
And then, once again, she began to read the documents slowly from the beginning.
Savoring every letter, as if chewing and swallowing it.
“My lady. Listen to me. This is….”
“Shh.”
The maniacally burning gaze of Eliya turned toward Yurideke.
Under the threat that she would be killed if noisy, Yurideke sealed her lips.
Once again, Eliya verified the truth she held in her hand.
The sources of information.
Whether it was cross-verified.
Checking for evidence and logical reasoning.
Well-organized information was merely the truth as it was, to be read and accepted.
Her heart ached.
Like it was beating with a thorn that couldn’t be pulled out.
‘…….’
Eliya’s hand holding the documents trembled slightly.
Yurideke braced herself and spoke again.
“Please listen to me! This isn’t something Judas wanted! He, too, was confused…but…”
Trailing off, she stammered.
The more she spoke, the less confidence she had in explaining the situation.
Yurideke still hadn’t grasped everything.
But how could she convince Eliya?
Eliya’s trembling hand tightened around the documents fiercely.
Tears flowed from her eyes.
Her expression was neither sad nor angry.
Just expressionlessly letting the tears fall.
A series of clues lined up in Eliya’s mind.
The Empire. Balak. Molsin Church.
They conspired to kill her.
Balak was absent.
According to this document, he hadn’t intended to kill her.
Confusing, but she would push that aside for now.
A more important problem remained.
Judas.
The Child of Revelation.
Carefully raised to be the blade to kill her.
The very person he killed as his first request.
Maria.
Judas was the one who had killed her biological mother.
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