Eliya woke up to the sensation of her cheek being pinched.
When she opened her eyes, she found Judas fiddling with her face.
With sleepy eyes, Eliya asked him, “…What are you doing?”
Judas’s face turned pale. He was worried he might die for real this time, even after just healing from his injuries. He looked more precarious than when he had been stabbed and poisoned.
Eliya glanced down at the hand gripping her cheek. The frozen Judas didn’t think to let go.
“I said what are you doing.”
Only when Eliya asked twice did Judas hurriedly withdraw his hand.
“I-I’m so sorry….”
As he raised his upper body, Judas desperately lowered his head.
“I asked what you were doing, not to apologize.”
In truth, an apology was warranted. No amount of kneeling and begging would suffice.
It was a scandalous act for a commoner to touch the body of a sleeping noble. At the very least, he should lose a hand for such an offense. However, Eliya had no such intention.
Even though her cool question sounded like she was angry, she wasn’t mad at all. She was genuinely curious. What on earth had he done?
She was simply curious about the purpose and intent behind his touching her face. When she was little and with her mother, her mother would often play with her face in that way.
The low and short voice was simply due to her just waking up, but Judas had no way of knowing that. He thought Eliya was seriously angry, and the situation gave him reason to be concerned.
Yet he had no suitable excuses ready. There was no way to cover up that he was simply pinching her cheeks.
It was evident that he had been pinching and playing with Eliya’s cheek flesh with his thumb and forefinger.
Thus, he had no choice but to be honest. “Um, I touched your face…”
“Why?”
Judas bit his tongue and wished he could faint. Maybe pretending to be in pain would work. He would have had no problem doing that if it meant escaping the situation.
Of course, it wouldn’t work. Eliya stared at him, eagerly awaiting his answer.
“Um, you see….”
An answer didn’t come easily. Was he going to say he just wanted to touch her cheek for no reason at all? That it looked so squishy he just wanted to feel it once?
Either way, it was a crazy answer. And both crazy answers were, in fact, the stark reality.
If he could turn back time, he would never touch that cheek flesh again.
…But he wasn’t sure.
“I just… wanted to touch it….”
He barely managed to respond with a squeaky voice. Eliya tilted her head as if she didn’t understand. Just wanted to touch it?
Reluctantly, Judas poured out the rest of his reason as if he were emptying his soul.
“Your cheeks… looked really soft….”
Eliya still didn’t get it. He touched them because they looked soft? Just for that reason, he’d dare to lay his hands on a noble’s body? Especially while she was asleep?
Was that a good enough reason?
Curious, she decided to touch it herself. Eliya took her small hands and began to poke and prod her own cheeks. Warm and soft cheek flesh filled her palms.
“Is it really that soft…?”
Judas, watching Eliya mumble in confusion, found her adorable enough to make his heart race dangerously. He had to seriously question whether he was going insane.
“I could touch them more.”
He was already crazy. Now he was hearing voices? Or maybe it was just the aftereffects of almost dying.
“Did you just ignore me?”
“Y-yes, yes?”
Eliya moved her chair closer. She leaned in and rested her chin on Judas’s thigh, gazing up at him with her round face, as if waiting for a touch.
Oh my. What she said was no delusion.
Was she testing him? But there was no way he could resist such a test.
“W-well then, um, if you insist….”
Judas cautiously placed his hands on her cheeks.
She sat there like a quiet cat, still.
Slowly he moved his hands. They were soft and warm, fresh from her sleep.
It felt like playing with two rice cakes.
Part of him felt like this wasn’t real.
He was rubbing the cheeks of his owner, a renowned noblewoman, a wizard who would one day reach a level no one could surpass, and who was also a future villain that would shake the continent.
Could this all really be happening?
As Judas’s consciousness faded, Eliya stared at him, her face still offered towards him.
She thought of her mother.
The hands that would always be touching her face whenever the chance arose.
The eyes and voice that couldn’t stand to leave her alone.
Eliya realized. She had, at some point, started to equate Judas with her mother.
She wasn’t pushing her mother out of her mind. Two colors were filling her heart.
So, having her face touched by that boy wasn’t so bad at all.
Of course, his expression was a bit more foolish than her mother’s.
For now, she decided to set aside the possibility that this feeling might become a weakness.
She brushed aside the obsession that told her not to feel this way.
She just wanted to get lost in the moment. Even if just for a little while.
“I-it’s enough now….”
Judas carefully withdrew his hands.
If he didn’t speak, he felt like he’d remain like that forever.
Eliya began to poke at her slightly reddened cheeks.
“Is it really that nice…?”
Her response sounded unsure.
Judas’s heart felt more precarious now than when he had been stabbed.
He felt dizzy as if he were intoxicated.
Eliya was just too cute….
To suppress his complicated feelings, Judas’s subconscious could only blurt out nonsense.
“Um, it’s similar to why you carry that doll around….”
“That’s….”
Eliya hesitated before answering.
She had been about to deny it.
She wanted to say it was different, but just what was the difference?
Eliya had no idea.
She looked down at the doll she held in her arms.
From some point on, she hadn’t let go of that doll and the red blanket.
It hadn’t been a conscious action.
That day, the day Judas had saved her from Sardis, those two items had become a part of her.
When they were away from her, she felt uneasy and uncomfortable.
But she had never deeply thought about it.
She just did.
Eliya herself didn’t know why.
Sometimes, while absentmindedly stroking the doll, she would startle herself.
As if she were reverting to childhood, she thought it was strange.
She shouldn’t be acting that way.
And it would be even worse if someone else saw her like that.
And yet Judas was watching.
He was aware of that part of herself she didn’t even notice.
The reality of that made her feel unbearably embarrassed.
“….”
Eliya bowed her head, her face reddening.
Looking at Eliya like that, Judas wanted to smack himself.
Why did he have to say something unnecessary and make the atmosphere awkward?
Eliya pressed her lips tightly and waited until her flushed face cooled down.
Judas also remained quiet.
He wondered if she was still looking at him, but he didn’t have the courage to raise his head.
Eventually, Eliya lifted her head without providing much of an answer.
Seeing Judas, who appeared more anxious than herself, made her embarrassment wash away.
Eliya let out a weak laugh.
“Seeing you talk back, I guess you’re feeling better.”
“Y-yeah. Thanks to your concern.”
“I’m glad to hear that.”
With a casual comment, Eliya tugged on a dangling string beside her.
Immediately, a bell rang.
Before Judas could comprehend what the string was for, the door swung open.
Mei, the physician, and Ria, the maid, entered, followed closely by a middle-aged man in a black priest’s robe.
“Miss, have you been coughing?”
“Yeah.”
While Ria took care of Eliya, the physician and priest examined Judas.
As Mei unraveled the bandages, she asked, “How are you feeling? Are you in pain or anything?”
“It feels a little weird, but it doesn’t hurt. It’s just a bit itchy.”
“That’s probably because the wound is healing.”
The bandages fell away, revealing the wound where he had been stabbed.
The gaping hole had already been filled with new flesh.
The pink skin that hadn’t fully healed contrasted starkly with the surrounding color.
“Scarring might remain….”
Contrary to Mei’s dissatisfaction, Judas didn’t care.
He was in awe instead.
A hole from being stabbed was already closing up in just a day.
The possibility of scarring didn’t bother him compared to how fast it had healed.
“Is it possible to use any more healing power here?”
Mei asked, and the priest took a step forward.
He was the one who had healed Judas the previous night.
With a kind smile, the middle-aged man carefully examined Judas’s wound.
“For a wound that’s healed this much, the effect is minimal….”
“Still, you should give it a try.”
Eliya interrupted.
She didn’t hesitate to use informal speech even with someone much older than her.
However, in this place, no one would dare point that out, nor was it an issue worth addressing.
Judas had also become accustomed to this world by now.
“You shouldn’t expect too much, but we must do what we can.”
Mei added, expressing disappointment.
“Understood.”
The priest nodded and placed his hand over Judas’s arm.
A faint light emanated from the small space between their hands.
The warmth felt strangely similar to the warmth Eliya radiated.
Judas gazed at the light for a moment before looking at the priest.
More precisely, he gazed at the priest’s robe.
Black clothing.
The yellow sun emblem embroidered on his shoulder.
‘He’s a priest of the Sun Church.’
The sun, the primary deity of this world.
The largest religion serving him, the Sun Church.
The faith of the Bevel family and the stark opposite of the Molsin Church.
‘He must be a very high-ranking priest….’
Devout priests wield unique powers of holiness, distinct from magic.
It involved only healing and purification.
But not everyone could receive the benefits of that holy power.
It would require a considerable amount of money just to heal a minor scratch received while working in the fields.
Let alone filling a gaping hole in one’s arm.
It would be impossible for a commoner to meet such a high-ranking priest, even if they sold their house.
In other words, all this came from the privileges granted by Eliya’s name and power.
And that speculation was entirely true.
The archpriest responsible for half of the Bevel Principality shook his head while healing.
“It’s impossible to heal any further.”
“Guess there’s nothing to be done…. I’ll make sure to manage it well so that it doesn’t scar.”
Mei promptly began writing down the ointments and herbs she would prescribe to Judas.
“If you ever need anything else, just call on us.”
As the priest prepared to leave, he bowed his head to Eliya.
Eliya nodded with an indifferent expression.
“I’ll remember this today.”
There was no place for priests to stay in Eliya’s mansion.
Even the nearest church was far away.
She had brought this high-ranking priest from quite a distance for Judas.
What cost she would pay for that was uncertain.
Only the promise to remember today remained.
That promise, awakened by her powers as a wizard, held more value than money.
“May the blessings of the sun be with you.”
The priest bid his farewell and left.
Still dazed, Judas looked down at his wound and said to Eliya,
“Thank you for your concern.”
Eliya smiled faintly at the gratitude.
“I should be the one thanking you. If it weren’t for you, I might have actually died.”
It wasn’t an exaggeration.
If Judas hadn’t noticed in time, Eliya would have died that day.
She could purify even Ramek’s special poison, but she couldn’t stop the ambush.
If she died instantly, there would be no chance to purify the poison.
Notification magic would go out when she fell asleep.
Eliya resolved to modify the magic so it could be maintained even while sleeping.
“So I’m contemplating how to repay this debt.”
Eliya gently placed her hand on Judas’s wound.
A portion filled with pink flesh.
It should be called a scar, not just a wound.
Some might view it as an honor.
Having thrown himself in front of a noblewoman, a great noble like Eliya, and survived to earn a scar.
For someone who would become a knight, it was a significant honor.
Yet Eliya couldn’t see it that way.
How much pain had he felt?
She was familiar with suffering.
Yet she wasn’t numb to it.
It hurt to fall and scrape oneself.
But being stabbed through the flesh?
She didn’t even want to imagine it.
Thinking that way felt strange to her.
She had never empathized with the suffering of others.
Whether someone died or got hurt, it was all outside her realm of concern.
It had nothing to do with her.
Ever since her mother died, she had kept all compassion outside her awareness, except for her mother’s death.
In other words, Judas’s situation had entered her zone of consciousness.
Eliya stared steadily at Judas.
Having mentioned repayment, she expected him to be anxious, not worried.
With Judas looking concerned, she struggled to find a name for the feelings she was experiencing.
The emotions she always felt were consistent and straightforward.
Boredom. Tedium. Annoyance. Apathy. Irritation.
The kinds of feelings she was used to.
Only a slight curiosity and interest existed briefly and rarely.
The boy in front of her seemed to be a product of that brief and rare curiosity.
And now her feelings towards him had shifted slightly.
Beyond curiosity, it was something else.
She couldn’t name it.
It resembled a feeling she had buried within her after surviving her family’s oppression since her mother died, but it had been so long that it was unclear.
She even forgot where she buried that feeling.
As her complicated thoughts continued, Eliya’s gaze didn’t leave Judas.
For Judas, who didn’t understand her feelings, her persistent gaze felt burdensome.
It felt as though she was urging him to express his desires.
“I’m not asking for anything in return.”
I merely did what I had to do.
Judas replied that he had fulfilled his duty.
It might have been correct.
Though he wasn’t a knight yet, as a candidate, he couldn’t say he didn’t have such responsibilities.
But for some reason, that response didn’t sit well with her.
It grated on her ears.
“… right.”
Her heart was now creaking, like a cart hitting a stone.
“But I can’t just let it slide. That would be unbecoming of me. Even if you had a duty as a knight candidate, it doesn’t change the fact that I owe you.”
With that logical statement, Judas fell silent.
Eliya, who had been lost in thought, spoke up.
“By the way, I still have yet to repay you for protecting me on my birthday.”
Eliya had been so preoccupied back then that she hadn’t managed to check on Judas.
“I’ll take care of everything, including that day. So just tell me what you want.”
Eliya smiled gently.
It was a smile that genuinely meant she would listen to anything he asked.
Judas stared at that smile for a moment.
It felt unfamiliar.
It wasn’t Eliya who felt strange; it was him.
He licked his lips and pondered.
If he had heard such words shortly after arriving here, what would he have asked for?
Perhaps he wouldn’t have thought of anything except for ways to leave safely.
But now, Judas had no desire to leave this place.
It wasn’t a sudden thought.
He simply didn’t feel that way.
No, to be more precise….
It felt like he was on the verge of realizing something.
But he stepped back from that line.
Not yet. Not yet was he sure.
With a heavy heart, he replied,
“… I need some time to think.”
Eliya smiled and nodded.
“I’ll wait.”
Just then, someone knocked on the door.
A voice called from outside.
“Miss Eliya. It’s Miguel.”
Miguel had received orders from Eliya yesterday.
He was tasked with finding out about Narcissi, a very important command.
It was bound to be a turning point for the Bevel family.
Eliya was sure he had brought information about Narcissi and replied immediately.
“I’ll be out shortly.”
Eliya stood up.
Ria hurriedly came to help her prepare to leave.
While she originally needed to wash up and change clothes, Eliya insisted on staying here, leaving no time for that.
All she managed was to tidy her hair and wipe her face with a wet towel.
After wrapping herself in the blanket Judas had given her and packing her doll, she was finally ready.
As usual, Eliya paused when she went to hold her cat doll.
She had become conscious of an action she had previously taken unconsciously.
But she didn’t want to leave it behind.
Finally, as she had the doll in hand, Eliya turned to look back at Judas.
“Oh, by the way.”
Turning back, she said, “Thank you.”
For what it was that she was grateful, Judas could understand without needing her to say it.
Caught off guard, he responded, “Ah, yes…. Thank you too.”
What was he thanking her for?
Even after saying it, he couldn’t figure it out.
While he pondered, Eliya instructed Mei.
“Do everything you can. Don’t worry about the cost.”
“Understood, Miss.”
Thinking back, there weren’t no number of things to thank Eliya for.
No.
Surprisingly, there were quite a few.
Before leaving the room, Eliya turned back one last time, smiling at Judas.
“I’ll be back soon.”
With those parting words, Judas felt uncertain about what to say in response.
So he simply bowed his head.
Outside, Miguel was waiting for Eliya.
“I’ve gathered all the information you requested.”
“Let’s go up and check it.”
Nodding, Eliya set off with a serious demeanor.
*
Upon reaching the office, Eliya quickly pinpointed Narcissi’s location.
Since Miguel had brought documents from the family, they were trustworthy.
Location. Surrounding terrain.
The mobilized troops awaiting nearby.
She would be the one to kill them herself anyway, but it was good to know.
‘I’ve left them alone for too long.’
She thought they were behaving, so she had ignored them, but they had brazenly dared to touch her most precious thing.
The price for that would be paid in full.
Half-baked revenge was a weakness.
It was also a weakness to not reveal the power she possessed.
And she was the type to only find satisfaction in obliterating her weaknesses.
As for a certain boy, she decided to blindfold her gaze for the moment.
“Gather all the knights of the mansion except Hermes.”
Eliya read the documents quickly and organized her thoughts.
“It’s time to go to escort the duchess.”
A cold smile graced her lips.
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