Chapter 63
Yuriene's gaze followed the single drop that trickled down his cheek. Eki didn't notice and asked again.
"If you already knew, why were you so surprised earlier?"
His composed expression crumbled. He started to answer, but then he flinched, taking his hand off her shoulder. It was as if he had just realized he was holding her.
Yuriene moved away from him, putting some distance between them.
Eki quietly waited for his answer. He hesitated for a moment before finally opening his mouth.
"You…"
He started, but the rest of the words didn't come out. While he was stammering, she gradually calmed down.
He hadn't recognized her as the Demon of the Demon Sword, but rather recognized her talent and was interested in it.
She was embarrassed but also relieved. Thinking calmly, the current situation wasn't so bad.
She would have to somehow explain how she became a Master, but it was better than being caught with the Demon Sword.
Since he already suspected she was a Master, it would be easy to explain. If it became known to others, they would dig into her past, making it difficult to avoid suspicion, but if it was just Yuriene, she could make up a story about how she had been wielding a sword since she was young and became a Master.
Surely he wouldn't investigate her childhood, and he wasn't the type to spread rumors after promising to keep it a secret. Since he had been watching her talent from a young age, he probably wouldn't connect the fact that she was an unknown Master with the Demon of the Demon Sword.
The more she thought about it, the more her mind calmed down. She rubbed the corner of her eye with her gloved right hand to wipe away the remaining tear marks.
Yuriene finally answered. Her voice was very small.
"It's just that… I've never heard you call me by my name before."
"…Pardon?"
It was a completely unexpected answer. He was so surprised because she called his name? Come to think of it, she had been so flustered earlier that she had blurted out his name as she usually thought of it.
Eki saw that his ears, which were facing down, were flushed.
What is that? Why is he blushing? The Squire called the Lord's name without permission, and instead of scolding her for the rudeness, he seems happy. Eki stared blankly at it before suddenly asking a question that popped into her head.
"Earlier, you said you would hide the fact that I'm a Master if I wanted to. Does Your Lordship know why I would want to hide it?"
"…If you tell me."
If she told him, he would know, which meant he didn't know now. Her expression became strange.
Eki moved a little closer to him. He flinched, but didn't back away. She stared up at him intently.
"So, you're saying you'll hide it for me if I want to, even though you don't know why I'm hiding it?"
"…"
"Besides, it sounds like you won't even ask me the reason until I tell you, is my understanding correct?"
"…"
"…Why are you being so considerate of me?"
"…"
As she questioned him and he remained silent, the redness in his ears spread, heating up his eyes and flushing his cheeks.
Yuriene avoided her gaze, looking flustered. As she watched him silently, his face turned completely red.
Seeing that, there was only one reason that came to mind. The things that had happened between him and her so far, and the words they had exchanged, all supported that hypothesis.
The cloak, the ginger tea, the words that he hoped she wouldn't feel uncomfortable, the defenseless smile, his reaction when she came out of the Node, the question he had suddenly thrown at her during the appointment ceremony, the conversation they had before leaving for this mission, the Amethyst, his words that he was excited that she was talking to him.
The way he had been acting all along. Cautious, blushing, nervous in front of her, smiling at her trivial words, carefully watching her.
Those were reactions that couldn't come from just being interested in her talent.
Of course, the questions of why and since when remained.
"Lord… perhaps."
No, are you crazy, what are you about to ask? What kind of delusion is this? She paused for a moment, overwhelmed by the jumble of thoughts, but she couldn't stop the question from escaping her lips.
"Do you… like me?"
The words Eki threw were like a stone thrown into the water. Ripples spread. To him, and to her.
She was shocked by the words she had uttered. The possibility that he might like her.
It would be impossible between 'Yuriene with memories' and the 'Demon of the Demon Sword', but it was possible, albeit unlikely, between 'Yurien de Harden Kirie' and 'Cadet Ekinesia Roaz'.
At first, there was no connection between the distant Captain of the Azure Knights and the ordinary Count's daughter, but after she came to Ajenka, a connection was formed, and then they became Lord and Squire, a close relationship. Even though she still didn't understand it well.
Yuriene couldn't answer immediately. His face turned so red that it couldn't get any redder. His blue eyes darted back and forth beneath his trembling eyelashes before finally turning towards Eki.
"That…"
He barely managed to utter a single word before covering his mouth with one hand. His eyes looked down, then at her, then groped in the air.
It was obvious what the answer was, and he was restless. In the end, his eyes even became slightly moist.
Eki watched the series of reactions as if she were seeing things. She almost felt sorry for tormenting him.
Besides, as she watched him, she felt her cheeks getting hotter and hotter, and her face must be turning red like his.
Eki stammered and opened her mouth.
"Lo, Lord, I asked a rude question…"
"I do like you."
He cut her off. Eki looked up at him in bewilderment. Yuriene, still with a bright red face, slightly moist eyes, and a trembling voice, said resolutely.
"No, rather than just liking you, I am in love with you."
It felt like not only her mind but also her vision was turning white. Her heart was pounding like crazy, and heat was coursing through her body. Something ticklish and soft was moving around inside her, sweetening her mouth.
He likes me. He does. It can't be. Am I dreaming?
But at the same time, an uncontrollable fear welled up inside her. Black, red, and sticky things. Realities that she couldn't shake off.
'He doesn't know. That I'm the demon who ruined him.'
What he liked was probably Ekinesia Roaz, the exceptionally talented Cadet born into the Roaz family. The eccentric Military Cadet who wandered around in dresses. His Squire who was hiding the secret of being a Master.
Even if he didn't have the memories of the past life, she wouldn't have been able to simply rejoice in his feelings.
She wasn't shameless enough to just like him while carrying the memory of killing him and ruining his name. She wasn't ruthless enough to ignore the truth and only see love.
It was even more so if she put herself in his shoes. If someone who had killed everyone precious to her and finally killed her as well, said that they loved her because they had revived everyone and it was as if it never happened.
'I would be so angry that I would want to kill them.'
That was the undeniable truth between her and Yuriene.
Even if Yuriene didn't know the truth, it would be difficult to accept easily, but he definitely had the memories.
What if he later found out who she was? What if he realized that the woman he had confessed to loving was the demon who had killed him? The thought alone made it hard to breathe for a moment.
'It's a deception, this is.'
Accepting him while hiding that fact was a deception. But should she confess everything? Even if she only considered Yuriene, ignoring the aftermath of revealing that she was the owner of the Demon Sword, she couldn't do it.
She had felt it when she tried to spar with him. She couldn't even bring herself to raise her sword against him.
In this situation, if he glared at her with hateful eyes and said he would take revenge, what would happen to her? Would she want to die for him? Would she be able to maintain her sanity at that moment?
If she lost her reason, what about the murderous intent accumulating in Bardelgiosa? She might go mad and rampage again.
Kairos Giosa had said that there would be no second chances.
'No… I can't accept it. It's a deception to him, and I… can't bear it.'
Like bare skin sticking to frozen iron, a chilling and painful realization. Her heated body cooled down. Her heart, which had been intoxicated with first love, froze. It turned blue.
She couldn't accept it. Absolutely not.
Yuriene watched as Ekinesia's face flushed red, then turned white. And he clearly saw her pale face step back.
He suppressed the heat. Instead of grabbing her as she retreated, he turned away. After taking a few breaths, inhaling, and composing his trembling lips, he was able to speak in a calm voice.
"You don't have to answer. Ekinesia. It's just that my heart feels that way."
Yuriene left those words behind and headed towards the wreckage of the black giant, holding Rangiosa.
She didn't stop him. She couldn't answer. They were so close, but she couldn't reach out because she was afraid of the future that would be ruined if they touched.
The flickering flames spread between him and her.
Eki stood blankly, only watching his back. Red blood spread down his drooping arm and dripped to the ground. The injury he had sustained earlier. They had been so distracted that neither of them had paid attention to it.
When she saw the wound, she moved without thinking. Her frozen body moved on its own. Eki skipped over the fire and approached him, grabbing his arm. Yuriene was startled and turned around.
"Your arm, you're injured. And you haven't even stopped the bleeding."
Eki had him lift his arm and pulled out the Amethyst. Without hesitation, she cut off the petticoat inside her dress. Then, she tore the cloth into long strips and used it to compress and tightly bind his wound.
Yuriene's gaze was felt from above as she wrapped his arm in a makeshift bandage. She couldn't lift her head.
"Shai… I mean, the owner of Elgiosa and the villagers are left in another place. I'll bring them here."
Eki said as she tied the knot. Without looking at his face, she bowed and left for the place where Shai would be. She was half running away.
Yuriene held his arm up for a while even after she left. He touched the knot she had tied with his fingertips.
Eki had skillfully compressed the wound with the petticoat. But unlike her skillful movements, her hands continued to tremble as she tied it. Her voice trembled as well.
Her downcast eyes, visible through her drooping pink hair, were wet. She looked like she wanted to cry.
