The Monster Lady and the Holy Knight - Chapter 68

Hair brushed softly against her ear. Rough, knuckled fingers grazed the rim of her ear, lingering. Veronica shrank her neck at the ticklish, strange feeling.

“Are you asking because you don’t know?”

“I don’t know.”

“Princess Johanna.”

Leon was silent for a moment. Then, after a long while, as if remembering, he murmured, “Ah.”

“You thought I was involved with that woman.”

His tone was rude in mentioning the princess. While she was bewildered by his crude phrase “involved with,” he denied it in a low voice.

“It never happened. It never will.”

His denial was so resolute that she almost believed him, if not for the image of the disheveled bed in her mind. Veronica bit her lip.

“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter who you were with.”

“…Because you don’t like me anymore?”

“No. Because you’re a liar.”

“……”

“If you’re innocent, explain yourself. Tell me you know nothing. That you never deceived me. That even if the first Bahamut dies, I won’t die.”

Her trembling voice dripped with disillusionment. Despite everything, she had still hoped. Tried to find hope in his words.

Leon’s fiddling stopped long ago. His hand, which had been holding her hair, slowly dropped away. Though released, her heart ached as if it had been violently gripped.

Silence is another face of affirmation. Deep sorrow surged like waves. Comforting Hannah while thinking of the wilderness had been pitiful. All the brilliant memories were nothing but illusions; her despair was nothing more than fuel for his fire.

“Like anyone else, I wanted to live. Even after everything, I had many things I wanted to do if I survived. I thought, foolishly, that when it was all over, I could get along with you.”

It is most painful when a person breaks not from the outside but from within. That’s why she had given him her name. A name is a curse, forever etched in someone’s heart.

“Don’t forget. Not until you die. My name. And that I didn’t want to die.”

Veronica, the woman who brings victory.

Her name would slowly poison his heart like a diluted toxin.

If her existence was a sin, then he would bear the burden of that guilt. His flame had burned her at the stake.

***

Veronica passed by the frozen Leon and returned.

Sitting in the ruined house brought back memories of her previous visit. Hearing the name of the unborn child, imagining a blessed future. The fireplace burned warmly, and the brown chair, padded with duck feathers, was soft. Veronica buried her head in her knees.

The peaceful memory shattered like glass amidst the roar of the landslide.

Was it sudden? No, there had been signs. Bahamuts had suddenly disappeared. Kart should have wondered where they had gone.

Who could she blame? She herself had been preoccupied with Leon. Thinking about the limited time left, she had momentarily forgotten the outside world.

“This is troubling. We need to leave at some point, but more Bahamuts are gathering as time passes. They seem to be searching every building for people hiding.” Oscar, who had briefly gone outside to check, said with concern.

Were the people from the building they left hiding well? It had been almost a day without water. They needed to reach the palace and request the army’s help soon.

Emmett and Hannah came into her tired eyes. No more. No more of this.

“I’ll try to lure them away.”

The suggestion came out impulsively.

Oscar raised his eyebrows. “What are you saying?”

“I’ve done it once and returned safely. They don’t hurt me.”

“Veronica. The reason you survived back then wasn’t because the Bahamuts let you go.”

“Ah, of course, I’m grateful to you. If it sounded like I wasn’t, I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s not about gratitude…”

Oscar ran a hand through his hair and hesitated before crouching close to her, as if he had something to say that Leon, outside, shouldn’t hear. Veronica looked at him curiously, but a sharp voice cut through the darkness.

“Am I interrupting?”

Leon appeared behind Oscar, stepping forward with a cold gaze that seemed even sharper between the firelight and shadows. Oscar, flustered, shut his mouth and stood up.

“It’s not like that. Is something happening outside?”

Leon delayed his response, staring at Veronica until the silence became awkward before finally speaking, “They’re gathering around this area.”

He spoke of the chilling news without a hint of emotion.

“It’s an unexpected situation, but given that, the sooner we leave, the better.”

“If we’re talking about leaving, I agree. The air quality is bad, and I’m worried about Hannah. One of us should cover while another supports Hannah to move,” Veronica interjected, seemingly prepared.

Leon tilted his head slightly. There were three people, excluding Hannah. One person was missing.

“The other person?”

“I’ll lure them away, like before.”

“No.”

Leon dismissed her proposal immediately.

“Why not? It’ll be safe. They won’t kill me. Maybe they’re even looking for me, like last time. And…”

Veronica glanced at the sleeping Hannah. She didn’t want to carelessly say anything that might wake her.

“Hannah is from Aseldorf.”

At the unexpected statement, Oscar looked bewildered, but Leon’s straight eyebrows furrowed slightly.

“Her parents ran an inn, I heard.”

That was enough. Leon likely understood why she was willing to take the risk again. Hannah’s parents had died in Aseldorf, and now she had lost her husband too. Veronica was projecting herself onto Hannah, who had lost her family. Ensuring Hannah’s safe escape was also saving her past self.

“If someone has to make a sacrifice, it should be me. You both have people you care about. If they’re gathering because of me, then staying like this is more of a burden.”

“…Hah.”

After a long silence, Oscar let out a heavy sigh, clutching his forehead as if wanting to bang it against something.

“I want to stop you, but… I can’t argue against it. I’ve never hated myself more than today.”

He unbuckled the sword from his waist, handing it to Veronica, who stared at him wide-eyed. The scabbard, plated with silver, bore the lion symbolizing a knight of God.

“I’ll entrust this to you. Return it to me safely.”

“But… it will be dangerous outside. Are you sure it’s okay to give me this?”

“If it goes like the last time, the Bahamuts won’t even care if I’m right next to them. Besides, I can’t wield the sword while supporting Hannah anyway.”

“Thank you. Truly.”

Oscar gave a faint smile.

Oscar ‘Berg’. He was a commoner before joining the knights.

She could only imagine how much that sword meant to him. Veronica took it with a heavy heart and looked at Leon. Her gaze conveyed that it was now up to him to agree. He stared at her for a long moment before speaking bluntly.

“How do you plan to return after luring them? Bring all the Bahamuts back here?”

“Of course not. I have a plan. It’s hard to explain, but let’s say I have a ‘second eyelid.’ When I open it, they seem to notice me. After leading them away, I’ll hide and close my eyes.”

“It sounds more like a declaration than a suggestion.”

“Exactly.”

“I suppose you plan to do as you please unless I abduct you.”

“Most likely. You might even need to knock me out.”

Leon raised a corner of his lips as she shot back at him without backing down. “Fine, do as you want. None of us have the right to interfere with where the others go.”

His indifferent response had a suspicious undertone. Veronica, filled with doubt, suddenly realized and looked aghast.

“…Don’t tell me you’re planning to follow me.”

“I am.”

“Are you crazy?”

“If your plan works, the others will be safe without needing any cover. And if it doesn’t work, then the only person I need to prioritize in this world is the assimilated one.”

Veronica glared at him, displeased. She searched for a flaw in his logic, but he added, “Besides, if I die now, I feel like I’ll never forget you.”

“……”

“I agree that it would ease my mind if Sir Berg followed. To be honest, I’d rather go with you than just give you my sword, but…”

“No. Someone has to reach the palace and report about the survivors. Remember the voices we heard beneath our feet.”

Veronica turned her head and firmly declined. Oscar’s face twisted with regret. Bearing a heavy responsibility on his own must be a burden.

“If it seems like they’re not rescuing the survivors, tell the Deputy Commander to keep the promise made during the extermination. That if no one was hurt then, he’d support me once. My request is to save the displaced.”

Someone had to reach the safety of the palace or the Holy See. And in her view, the one who could afford to die was Leon Berg.

Oscar looked at both Leon and Veronica in turn with a sad expression before lowering his head.

“It’s decided, then.”

Leon straightened from where he had been leaning, and Veronica secured the sword to her belt.

It was time to move.