The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 65

Leon felt as if he had been struck over the head. The corners of the woman’s eyes were flushed red like a rabbit’s, filled with resentment close to deep-seated anger. She had never shown it, so he hadn’t noticed. To be precise, he hadn’t even tried to understand her feelings.

“Out of everyone I’ve met, you’re one of only four people who haven’t asked for my name: His Holiness the Pope who wielded the whip, Sir Mecklenburg who choked me, Her Highness the Princess, and you.”

As her calm words flowed, Leon furrowed his brow. Sir Mecklenburg choked her? Did that happen before Blasen?

Suddenly, an image of the woman panicking in the palace arena came to his mind. Even after seeing her pale face then, he hadn’t comforted her—instead, he had pressured her. Understanding that her panic stemmed from the fear of death, his heart throbbed unpleasantly.

“They all have something in common, don’t they? None of them see me as human.”

To her, he was no different from the rest.

“Then why do you pretend to be friendly now? Do you need a place to satisfy your desires because you can’t act like this with Her Highness?”

She pulled down her collar deliberately, revealing the red and purple marks he had left on her neck. Her delicate skin, already bruised, bore light welts, evidence of how much she had suffered. The acts he had committed were like blank spots in his memory—scars as if eaten away by insects.

Leon reached out irresistibly. As his finger traced from her neck to her collarbone, she shivered slightly and stepped back. He lowered his arm without moving closer.

He was an irredeemable piece of trash.

She glared at him with her red eyes before turning on her heel, heading toward Oscar. Instead of stopping her, Leon quietly watched her profile as she spoke to Oscar. She had once looked at him with those same eyes—no, even more lovingly.

He had always known she’d eventually shudder in disgust at him. Every time she confessed her feelings, reached out, and collided with him, he saw fragments of light breaking apart.

Despite pushing her away, selfishly, he had hoped she’d continue loving him—blindly, enough to lose herself. He had been wrong from the start. She was too clear-headed to lose herself. She wasn’t like him. Despite pretending to be similar, they were different, and that was why he had been drawn to her. He craved her soul, wanting to consume it even if they could never be alike.

Damn it. You twisted bastard.

Leon laughed at his own paradoxical thirst. He couldn’t comprehend the feeling of jealousy. He had been on edge ever since he saw her with Oscar in the street. Moreover,

Leon chuckled as he felt his aching body. He roughly ran a hand through his hair—a habit to calm his heated body. Ever since the day he had been drugged and went on a rampage, he’d often found himself like this. Having lustful dreams like a child, and committing the sin of touching himself repeatedly. Just recalling it was difficult enough, but facing her directly today had pushed him far beyond his boiling point.

In truth, Leon didn’t know how to face the woman who had held and comforted him. For the first time in his life, he found someone difficult to deal with. The mask of composure had cracked.

Around then, a massive rockslide approached again with a loud rumble. The woman left the window, crouching alone in the corner. She covered her ears like someone trying to endure the deafening noise, contrasting with Oscar and a few others stubbornly peering out the window. It was a wise decision. The mountain collapse would continue for several more hours, and the window was one of the most dangerous spots.

Leon stepped closer, approaching her. If the building collapsed, being near her would make it easier to protect her.

“Why are you following me?”

She glanced at him as he sat beside her, and he understood her by reading her lips amidst the noise.

Leaning his head against the wall, Leon answered, “Because I feel like a complete bastard.”

“……”

The woman turned her head away without a word. He wanted to capture her gaze, lost in empty space.

Leaning on his bent right knee, Leon looked up at her, trying to stay in her line of sight.

“Tell me. Even now.”

“……”

“Your name.”

The woman gave him a look that said, ‘Now, after all this time?’ She had every right to be angry. He wanted her to be angry.

“What do you want? I’ll give you anything in exchange for your name.”

Amusingly, it was the same question she had asked when they first met. “What do you want from me?” she had asked when she woke up.

She chewed her lip for a long time before finally saying something. This time, he couldn’t make out her words. He leaned closer, and her clear voice pierced through the roar, her tone sharp.

“I want to ruin you.”

Leon held his breath for a moment. When he turned his head, her face was so close it seemed she might cry.

“I want you to truly fall. To be even more of a mess, to the point that God himself would shudder and abandon you.”

Leon stared at her. He let her small hand reach up to his neck, applying pressure to his throat. As if she meant to choke him, his Adam’s apple pressed down under the weight. He struggled to breathe.

As he waited without resistance, she tilted her head and kissed him briefly. It wasn’t the kind of sloppy exchange that mixed saliva, nor an expression of affection. If anything, it was a reward—a reward for waiting while being choked.

Ah, right. He wasn’t the only one twisted. In his half-lidded gaze, only her red eyes stood out—eyes that shone even in darkness. The madness overwhelmed him like a firebird.

“Alright. Do as you wish,” Leon whispered softly.

She leaned in, her lips moving near his ear. Each syllable pierced his heart like a thorn.

“That’s my name.”

Leon didn’t question why she told him her name. Even if it meant she wanted to drag him down, it didn’t matter now. His relationship with her was ambiguous and vague. He had no particular desire to do anything about it. She would die, and he would never fully express his feelings. Just for now, until the end.

After all, others were distant and chaotic, inherently uncertain. Even the closest person could rise and vanish like the glimmering ripples on the ocean. He simply wanted to hold onto that beautiful sunlight on the vast sea.

***

The mountain’s death throes finally subsided as darkness fell. Despite the briefness of the disaster compared to a millennium of peace, the time felt like a week rather than half a day.

With each subsequent landslide, the building they were in grew more precarious, dust and stones falling, tilting dangerously. People screamed, were injured, became isolated, or died. Cries and sobs filled the air—it was a pandemonium.

Fortunately, the corner where Oscar had joined them was close to the building’s main structure, making their situation slightly better. However, when the ceiling collapsed, debris scattered, and Leon had to shield Veronica just as he had during the bombing. Veronica didn’t push him away—there was no point.

She was clearly his ‘type,’ and it seemed she was somewhat disappointed when he said he didn’t like her. But no matter how kindly he acted, she wouldn’t be deceived again. Instead of getting angry at him now asking for her name, Veronica cursed him. He would never forget her name now.

“Excuse me…”

A stranger approached them shortly after the outside had quieted down. Veronica looked at the short, stout man who struggled to steady himself on the tilted floor. His face was desperate.

“Are you the Red Knight, by any chance?”

The man glanced at Leon’s scar and hair color as he asked. When Leon didn’t respond, the man seemed to take it as confirmation and crawled closer, clutching Leon’s arm.

“Please, please help me. My wife and child are still at home. It’s not far from here. Just escort me as far as the Fountain of Five Angels.”

The Fountain of Five Angels. Veronica closed her tired, dizzy eyes for a moment.

That area was where Hannah and Emmett lived.

Leon exchanged a glance with Oscar before speaking slowly, “It’s impossible for me to leave with you. Wait here in a safe place. However, when I leave, I’ll check if there are any survivors in that direction.”

Judging by his words, it seemed Leon was planning to head out soon. Veronica felt her blood rush back to her head in tension.

“But… No, that’s alright. That’s more than enough. Thank you. Thank you very much.”

The man hesitated but changed his words upon seeing Leon’s emotionless face. He bowed deeply several times, wrinkles forming on his chin. Veronica cautiously joined the conversation then.

“If it’s near the Fountain of Five Angels, is it by number 25?”

“Pardon? Oh, yes, it’s by number 26.”

“Do you happen to know the neighbors next door?”

“You mean Emmett? Yes, yes, he’s a decent young man. But…”

For a moment, hope flickered as he mentioned Emmett, but soon Veronica’s face turned pale.

“I’m not sure about him now. When I met him this morning, he said he’d be home today because it would be too crowded on the first day of the festival… I’m sorry. I wish I had better news.”