The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 49

A cold silence, like snow, flowed between them. It felt as though the sharp friction was the boundary between sound and stillness. Veronica seemed as startled as he was, her eyes widening in shock as she stepped back.

Leon rolled his tongue inside his stinging mouth before letting out a chuckle.

“Such a small hand, but you hit pretty hard.”

“Don’t come near me. Unless you want to end up like the knight who died earlier.”

As she backed away, Veronica grabbed the doorknob behind her, issuing a warning. Her two steps backward equaled his one step forward.

“Oh, planning to take my head off?”

“If necessary.”

“Go ahead, then.”

Light spilled into the room as the door opened, leaving a long streak across the floor. Leon slammed the door shut with his hand, trapping Veronica between it and his body. Her startled breath caught in her throat.

“I’ll scream.”

“Go ahead.”

As he leaned in closer, her hands rose as if to push him away, but Leon grabbed both her wrists in one hand, pinning them to the door. Without a moment’s hesitation, he captured her lips just as she was about to scream.

The lips of the woman he’d shared bodily fluids with every day now seemed to draw out his holy power. It was deeply satisfying, a means to fill a bottomless well of poison within him.

Veronica’s wrists, which had initially struggled, gradually relaxed as their bodies entangled. Her weight shifted, her legs almost giving out, but Leon didn’t care. There was no better way to suppress unnecessary excitement, though paradoxically, it stirred a different kind of thrill.

Leon repeatedly pulled away and dove back in, releasing her wrists only to cup her face as her legs slipped. He inserted his knee between hers, holding her upright as they pressed close enough to feel each other’s curves.

Veronica clung to his clothes, eventually wrapping her arms around his neck.

The wet sound quickly took on an indecent tone. More stimulating than loud gasps were the short moans she choked back, trying to stay quiet. Though she didn’t seem aware of it, Veronica had a habit of subtly shifting her hips when aroused. No matter how it happened, it drove him mad.

When Leon’s patience finally reached its limit, he reluctantly pulled away from her now-swollen lips. He looked at her, panting, her half-lidded eyes blinking in a daze. When she attempted to push against his shoulders and he didn’t budge, her lips parted slightly.

“…Put me down.”

Her voice, hoarse from exhaustion, sounded like a plea. He liked it. So, impulsively, he demanded something.

“I’ll put you down if you cry. Like the day you came to find me.”

For him alone, again.

Grant sorrowful, lonely love to a pitiful human.

“Cry out loud, and I’ll let you go.”

“You’re crazy.”

Veronica muttered quietly, and Leon casually agreed.

“Seems like it.”

“You said I disgust you. You have a strong stomach, don’t you?”

At her mocking tone, Leon let out a scoff, curling his lips into a smile.

“You do disgust me. But I enjoy watching you fall apart in pleasure. It calms my anger in an instant.”

His already low voice dropped even further.

“Ah, I remember the kind of creature I’m dealing with—an inferior, savage monster who clings to anyone just to get a bit more holy power.”

Leon stared into her hurt eyes, as if trying to tear them apart. It was her fault for letting her emotions be so easily read. She should have worn a helmet. She should have protected herself instead of buying his.

“Not just anyone…”

“Really? I think it wouldn’t have mattered who pulled you out of the ashes. As long as they were willing to indulge your childish whims.”

He felt filthy after the words slipped out. Finally, Leon understood the motive behind the emotions that had driven him to search for her through the streets.

He was anxious.

The fact that she wasn’t as affected by him as he was by her made him anxious. Pathetically, he was wavering over a woman he would have to kill someday. A woman like poisoned wine—no matter how much he drank, his thirst could never be quenched.

Father, tonight I dared to dream of desiring a woman, so I shall accept the punishment of an endless night without dawn.

Snowflakes covered the dirty world in white. There was a scent of a gentle winter coming to an end.

***

It felt like she had endured a black night in a white bed.

Veronica sobbed quietly throughout the night. Like a long-forgotten habit from her childhood, she buried her face into the muffling blanket, trying her best to stop the tears.

Don’t cry to get attention, don’t sniffle when there are no tears. That’s what her father always told young Veronica. He wanted to raise her to be strong.

She hadn’t wanted much. She just wanted to be held, to be told it was alright to cry. She wanted him not to look at her like she was embarrassing every time her eyes welled up with tears. She wanted him not to ignore her crying like it was shameful.

Leon was the only person who had ever looked directly at her tear-streaked eyes and said it was alright to cry. He was the first man who owned every one of her “firsts.” He wasn’t just anyone. That cold man would never understand.

When Veronica finally broke into tears, Leon set her down on the bed. He sat beside her throughout the night, leaving the room before dawn. Veronica heard the clatter of a lock closing behind the door. Her initial thoughts had been correct.

This room was a Black Corridor where sunlight entered.

Desperately wanting to survive, Veronica tried to think of anything else, anything unrelated to Leon. Things that gave her hope and the will to live.

Suddenly, a memory from the previous evening crossed her mind. The cozy house where Hannah and Emmett lived was enough to drive away the dark images of the hallway.

Right after leaving the bathroom, Veronica had tried to act as naturally as possible, asking if they’d always lived in Kart. Emmett had said yes, but Hannah’s answer was different.

“Hmm, no. I was born and raised in Aseldorf. I moved to Kart after getting married. You haven’t been to Aseldorf, have you? It’s such a small town that everyone knows each other. The locals are kind. When the lockdown is lifted, you should visit. My parents run a small inn there; just mention my name, and they’ll take care of you.”

Despite mentally preparing herself, Veronica felt disoriented. It felt as though the ground beneath her feet was cracking open. She showed no outward reaction to hearing the familiar place name. She didn’t say she’d been there or describe the current state of the town. Sometimes, knowing something is more of a burden.

If she succeeded in protecting the city, there would be time for Hannah to learn the truth after ensuring their survival. Veronica believed that confessing everything honestly just to ease her own mind would be selfish.

Hannah wasn’t in a position to bear such news. Veronica thought back to Hannah and Emmett’s beautifully cozy home. They might not have been wealthy or the perfect couple deep down. But warmth was enough for a home. Whether the child was Felix or Felicity, their parents would give it love.

“Kart must be protected.”

Muttering to herself, Veronica forced herself up and walked to the bathroom. The wound on her back from the Holy See no longer hurt. When she reached back to touch it, she felt rough, hardened scabs.

After washing with cold water, she noticed food left by the door. She tried the doorknob, but it didn’t turn. Someone must have come in while she slept and left it there.

When she lifted the dish’s cover, she found a well-roasted chicken leg, turnip soup, and black bread. She hadn’t realized she was hungry, but the sight of the food made her mouth water. Veronica diligently used her hands and mouth, replenishing her energy. While eating, she focused solely on chewing thoroughly and swallowing. She had to survive.

It was a fate she’d resigned herself to—surviving alone to save more people, believing she’d been lucky to make it out of Aseldorf alive.

She couldn’t let her relationship with Leon be the reason she collapsed here.

After finishing her meal, Veronica picked up the parchment that was always provided and began to detail her theories from the previous day.

I heard a voice. Bahamut is looking for God’s head. I think the missing God may have possessed one of the people who gathered in the wilderness.

I don’t know if such a thing is possible. It’s almost laughable that I, someone who doubts the existence of God, am writing such nonsense. But my intuition, beyond logic, feels like a religious conviction flashing a red warning.

A being from beyond the sky wants to possess this land.

Normally, killing the being at the top of the pyramid would end it, but this one was wise enough to understand the truth. Humans have a ‘God.’

A God with no form cannot be killed. Even if swallowed, there’s no certainty that it will disappear.

One day, that God vanished. Disappeared from among humanity. So Bahamut decided to assimilate the humans who might harbor God. The assimilated ones would have their minds devoured by Bahamut, reduced to obedient limbs incapable of rejecting the commands of the world’s new deity.

Of course, all of this was ultimately Veronica’s unfounded speculation. Which was why she needed evidence.

If anyone could investigate the records on the statue from twenty years ago, whether in the archives of the Imperial Palace or the Holy See, it would be Leon.

With this thought, Veronica completed the final line on the parchment. And at that very moment, as if destined, someone knocked on the door.