The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 47

“Oh my, Veronica! It’s been a while!”

The living room she stepped into was cozy, the fireplace crackling warmly. Hannah, who looked even more pregnant than before, sat in a chair and waved cheerfully. And next to her, Oscar was really there. He seemed surprised to see her but didn’t show it openly.

“You look cold. Come sit over here. You need to warm up a bit.”

At Oscar’s words, Veronica finally realized she was shivering. She carefully walked over to the fireplace, and the first thing she did was apologize to Hannah.

“I’m so sorry for dropping by like this all of a sudden. And for disappearing without a word last time. I knew you’d be worried, but I acted hastily when I heard there were people around.”

“Oh, it’s nothing. Everyone has their own circumstances. But here, have a sip of this. It’s chrysanthemum tea with honey; it’s sweet and delicious.”

Hannah shrugged as she offered her something to drink. Whether it was Hannah’s way of caring or not, the warmth spreading through her insides helped Veronica feel a bit more stable.

The kind couple began discussing ordinary topics like the baby’s movements and possible names, topics they had likely been talking about before she arrived. Veronica, who had been preparing herself for questions, felt relieved. It was just like last time. Peaceful and stable. As if someone had painted a picture-perfect family. This must be what a normal family is like.

When she was younger, she used to doubt the existence of ordinary families like this. She thought that if one dug a little deeper, everyone would have skeletons in their closet. But right in front of her were people who seemed perfectly fine.

Warm, comfortable.

“So, are you making baby clothes, Hannah?”

Veronica cautiously joined the conversation after a while. Hannah smiled.

“Something like that. Right now, I’m embroidering Felix’s initials.”

“Felix? But what if it’s a girl?”

“If it’s a girl, we’ll name her Felicity, so it’s the same either way. We agreed on giving her a name that means happiness, because a name shapes a person.”

“No matter what the name is, with parents like you, the child will be happy.”

Perhaps because she spoke with too much certainty, a brief silence followed. Feeling embarrassed, Veronica added hastily, stumbling over her words.

“I mean, I don’t know you both that well, of course. But still, you can tell good people even after just a short time. You didn’t ask me anything when I showed up like this, and Oscar… well, he seems like a good person deep down. You can tell by the company someone keeps…”

A chuckle escaped Hannah first. Veronica quickly looked up to see her pressing her lips together, trying to hold back laughter, until she finally burst into hearty laughter.

“Oh, really. Goodness. Why is she so adorable? Emmett, was I like this when I was twenty?”

Veronica looked around and saw Emmett smiling broadly, showing his white teeth, while Oscar looked a bit awkward.

Hannah, seeing Veronica’s bewildered expression, continued with a grin, “Thank you for seeing us that way. But as I said, we owe Oscar a debt. Hosting a guest for a day hardly repays a lifesaver’s kindness. It’s not like we’re offering our hospitality for no reason. We’re just practical.”

“Even so.”

“Veronica, you’ll be happy too.”

Veronica stared blankly at Hannah. Her bright smile reflected in her mirror-like eyes.

“I may not know you well, but you can tell a good person even after a short time.”

On the table behind Hannah was a glass bottle filled with winter flowers in full bloom.

Veronica’s once-quiet eyes began to widen.

Oh.

That’s why it looked familiar.

The bright, smiling face. The short black hair.

“Oh dear, well then, don’t go too far for the sake of your parents. My daughter is about your age, married and living in Kart. I miss her so much it hurts.”

The portrait on the shelf of the inn in Aseldorf. The kind woman who worried for her and gave her winter fruit.

The same. No way, but. No way.

A chill ran down her spine. Could such an unbelievable coincidence really happen?

Was this the punishment for abandoning living people and running away?

“I… I…”

Veronica, who had been sitting with a dazed expression, couldn’t even form a coherent sentence, covering her mouth.

What are you doing? You’re acting strange. The nice atmosphere is getting weird again.

As Veronica’s face turned pale while looking around, Oscar, noticing something was wrong, said something and reached out. Veronica flinched, avoiding his hand, and stood up, stepping back. The once-kind faces of the three people suddenly turned pitch-black, with only their white eyes floating in the darkness.

Veronica desperately looked away, muttering, “I’m sorry. I feel sick. I just need to go to the bathroom for a moment.”

Before she even heard their permission, she turned away and fled. The moment she was alone in the bathroom, she dry heaved.

I’m scared, I’m scared. I’m so scared.

Then suddenly, someone grabbed her shoulder and spun her around, startling her. In Oscar’s calm green eyes, her cowering figure was reflected.

“Are you alright?” se asked, his voice full of concern.

A common question, yet it felt unfamiliar.

Are you alright? “Am I” alright?

Veronica questioned herself. In an instant, the events of the day flashed before her like a panorama. Getting excited on her own and giving him a helmet, waiting for hours in a strange room, almost being strangled to death, killing someone. And then…

“Damn it, do you have any idea what you’ve just done?”

“No.”

Veronica finally realized.

She wasn’t alright. She had never been alright. In fact, the entire time she’d been in that room, she had been hurting.

“Did Sir Berg do something to you?”

Finally, the name she had been desperately avoiding surfaced. Veronica pushed her hair back from her face and let out a hollow laugh.

“Leon…? He did do something.”

“If you’re being held against your will, tell me. You can repay me later, but I’ll help you now.”

Oscar offered in a determined voice. Veronica looked up at him.

“How? How would you help me?”

“I happen to know of a job that comes with room and board for a while. An elderly couple who took care of me before I joined the knights. They’re struggling these days, and they’re looking for someone young to help. You’d at least have a place to stay and meals provided.”

Oscar’s suggestion was grounded in reality. Things she had forgotten while traveling with Leon.

An ordinary life, now seemingly so far away.

But such things wouldn’t provide true salvation.

“That’s impossible. Bahamut is still out there. Even if I eat well and live comfortably for a while, it doesn’t really matter.”

“But what changes just by staying with Sir Berg?”

“Everything will change. I need to be there to find the first Bahamut.”

“Oh, because you’re connected to it? Sir Berg is the only one in the Order who believes in that. It’s like a child’s dream. On the other hand, the safety and peace of Kart have been proven for a thousand years.”

“But the prophecy—”

“The prophecy about eternal peace for the holy city and the one about Kart’s downfall? The two prophecies cannot contradict each other. That is why His Holiness the Pope does not believe in your prophecy,” Oscar spoke firmly.

He continued, “And even if the connection is real, those visions could just be Bahamut’s tricks. Who knows how those monsters can manipulate an assimilated one’s mind?”

At that point in the conversation, Veronica had nothing more to say. Logically, Oscar was right. It was time to speak her truest motivation aloud—something that wasn’t necessarily rational but was undeniably driving her.

“But I like him.”

“……”

“So I can’t leave. Even after being rejected, I’m foolishly still attached.”

She had never said it to the person in question. It was so easy to tell someone else.

How different emotions kept inside were from confessions spoken out loud.

Veronica, after speaking, finally understood her true reason for staying. The reason she endured, despite being hurt. It wasn’t to show him the lonely snowy landscape and seek revenge.

She just wanted to be someone important to him. To be loved by him.

“A knight of God loves no one but God. We were trained that way our entire lives.”

As if seeing straight through her, Oscar’s face showed an expression of deep sympathy. It was the look of someone witnessing an inevitable tragedy.

“I know.”

“And yet you still want to continue?”

“Until it’s settled. And today, I found another reason I can’t run away.”

Veronica thought to herself. She’d have to find out if Hannah was indeed from Aseldorf, but if her guess was right, this wasn’t just a coincidence. It was fate.

She couldn’t run this time. She had to fight with all she had. Things were different from when she trembled in fear, helpless.

“You’re stronger than I thought,” Oscar spoke quietly.

Veronica glanced up at him. “Just like you’re more knightly than I expected?”

“I’m not just knightly; I am a knight.”

Hearing the exasperation in his tone, Veronica felt a laugh bubble up despite the serious atmosphere. When a chuckle slipped from her lips, Oscar initially looked at her seriously but gradually relaxed his expression.

Maybe it was the mysterious magic that made secrets shared turn strangers into friends. It certainly felt more comfortable now than before.

It made her realize how unpredictable life was. When she first met Oscar, she never imagined they would end up sitting in a bathroom having this kind of conversation.

“Why are you laughing?”

As Veronica leaned against the wall, still chuckling, Oscar asked. She just shook her head, and he awkwardly muttered that she’d have to tell him if he was supposed to join in the laughter.

***

She was gone. The woman had disappeared.

Leon scanned the room again, even though there was nowhere left to hide.

One witness said they saw her run out. Other than that, there were no clues.

Leon, acting nonchalant, stretched his tired neck before sitting down on the edge of the bed. The room was dark except for the moonlight streaming in. It was a familiar darkness, one he’d known his entire life, but it felt empty, as if something that should be there was missing.

He thought of the light that had always been lit by the bedside when he returned. It made his exhaustion even heavier. Warmth tamed people instantly, unlike darkness, which took time to get used to.

Instead of checking the extinguished fireplace, Leon let himself fall back onto the bed. As he closed his weary eyes, the storm inside him began to settle. Emotional turmoil was poison for someone who served God. He had learned that his entire life. Whether it was anger, hatred, or love, it all had to be cut off at the root. To remain unmoved by anything but God’s salvation.

It was a long time before Leon got up again. By then, his face bore no trace of emotion.