Eliya had a big scar on her face originally.
A very large scar that slashed diagonally from her chin to her eyebrow.
It looked less like she intentionally scratched her face and more like she had failed to stab her neck.
But Eliya now has none.
Her skin is white and smooth.
I was curious about why it was gone, but it was a mystery I couldn’t solve.
I just assumed it was because of me, that something changed.
Right after I possessed her, I completely forgot about the stuff in my pocket.
A piece of glass and some paper.
I was curious about my origins as well, but I didn’t dig too deep.
I figured I wasn’t someone that important.
The Molsin Church. Angra as well.
I just let it slide, not knowing what I didn’t know.
To find out would require a lot of effort, and Eliya next to me was more important.
And then, at an entirely unwanted moment, I learned my true identity.
“The assassin raised to kill Eliya….”
I couldn’t believe it.
No, I didn’t want to believe it.
Yet the reality was cruel.
If I am an assassin, all the questions get resolved.
The reason Eliya has no scar.
Because I didn’t do it.
The reason the original Eliya utterly despised knight protectors.
Because me, Judas, was the one who committed such acts and exited.
The reason I had skills specialized in assassination.
Because I was raised as an assassin.
When I saw Angra.
When I recalled memories in Judeca.
When I went to find the Assassin Guild.
All the strange sense of discomfort sprinkled throughout my life is explained.
I licked my dry lips and said after a long moment.
“Why…?”
The reason.
Why am I Eliya’s assassin?
Am I truly curious about that background?
Or am I just asking for a reason because I can’t believe this reality?
I couldn’t even figure it out myself.
Yurideke sighed distressedly and explained.
“From what we’ve uncovered so far, it’s because you are the Child of Revelation.”
“…Child of Revelation?”
“Yeah. To be exact, let’s say you have the qualifications to be a Child of Revelation. That golden eye of yours.”
I listened quietly.
“The scriptures of the Molsin Church say this: The primordial being that shines in gold. The human who inherits that legacy is equally formed of gold and is called the Child of Revelation. That Child is the savior who will defeat the beast of the Sun predicted in the Apocalypse.”
It’s similar yet different from the original scriptures.
It can’t be helped.
Each religion independently interpreted the original scripture and then compiled a new one to set forth as their doctrine.
The Molsin Church is no different.
“And Bishop Angra. He took you in because he considered you the Child of Revelation.”
“What does that have to do with me needing to kill the lady?”
“Angra, meaning the upper echelons of the Molsin Church, apparently viewed Eliya as the beast of the Apocalypse.”
Insane fire. Twisted sun.
Depending on the interpretation, she could be the beast of the sun, which the Molsin Church opposes.
The Molsin Church, which disliked the Sun Church, classified the sun as an enemy.
I understand that part.
But.
“They said the Molsin Church and the Empire are on the same side, right? Then why…?”
The Empire follows the Sun Church.
So why in the world were they planning to team up with the Molsin Church to kill Eliya?
Yurideke smiled helplessly before responding.
She chuckled dejectedly.
“It’s all because of monopolization.”
“Monopolization….”
“The Emperor wanted to take control of this continent. There are two major obstacles to that grand scheme: Balak and Eliya. So, they must have been trying to deal with the younger Eliya instead of Balak.”
“…Wait a moment.”
Eliya spoke up.
The Empire, Balak, and Molsin Church were supposedly conspiring to kill her.
The goal was to eliminate Eliya before she became a threat to power.
But if what Yurideke just said is correct, then Balak cannot be allied with the Empire.
As if sensing my doubts, Yurideke explained.
“I find that part strange too. Recently, I sent someone to the Bevel main house to gather information, but there’s no evidence of Balak collaborating with the Empire. It seems he communicated with Molsin Church quite a bit, but that was a long time ago, and the relationship wasn’t good. In fact, Balak had been preparing to take down the Empire for quite some time.”
“……”
“And then suddenly, with the deaths of Narcissi and his two direct children, war broke out. Before Balak could even make his move.”
Eliya misunderstood.
Balak, Molsin Church, and the Empire.
These three were not united.
Balak intended to attack the Empire, and the Empire aimed to eliminate both Balak and the Bevel Family.
In between, both factions pointed at Molsin Church as the bridge.
Molsin Church, playing both sides, ultimately sided with the Empire, betraying Balak.
From the start, Molsin Church and Angra were never on Balak’s side.
They were just pretending.
Unaware of this fact, Eliya spread the truth about their supposed cooperation and the persistence of war.
The flames of war had already spread across the world.
And before Balak could make a move, the Emperor acted first.
He killed Narcissi, Aghan, and Sara.
The embers ignited.
The war between the Empire and the Allied Forces.
Beneath it all lay the civil strife of the Bevel family.
Eliya and the others.
“We haven’t fully figured out all the details yet. But to summarize what we have discovered, here it is.”
I had heard about the tangled mess, yet my situation hadn’t changed.
I was a trained assassin raised to kill Eliya early.
“I’m still trying to figure out why you were trained that way. Was it simply because you caught Angra’s eye, or is there something deeper…?”
“…Who would know my information?”
“Excluding us for now, the higher-ups of Molsin Church. And I believe the Emperor, who had contact with them… would also know.”
Eliya went to meet the Emperor.
The Emperor wanted to eliminate Eliya.
I am an assassin tasked with killing Eliya.
So what’s the chance that the Emperor would mention me?
‘…Very low.’
He wouldn’t reveal that there’s an assassin next to her.
In my pondering, another question unraveled.
The Dark Wizard had attempted to use magic on me.
On that day of the Coming-of-Age and Installation Ceremony.
‘If I’m an assassin raised for their goals…’
There’s a high likelihood they had placed suggestions or brainwashing on me.
That Dark Wizard would have come to reinforce or awaken that brainwashing.
Perhaps my possession weakened or removed the existing brainwashing.
‘Consequently, I am an assassin meant to kill Eliya….’
I整理 my thoughts and accepted it.
I suddenly felt a surprising calmness sweep over me.
It was as if I had grasped the essence of the world, a kind of refreshing intellectual thrill washed over me.
Ah. I don’t even know what this is.
But the conclusion I reached in this moment was stunningly clear.
“Miss, you probably don’t know about this matter yet, do you?”
“Right?”
“Well, I expect so. They must have known all this and still didn’t keep you around.”
“Then that’s good.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, Yurideke was flustered by my calm demeanor.
Orphe looked at me with a worried expression.
Was it shock that made me lose my mind? It seemed like she was concerned.
No. That’s not it.
At this moment, I was completely rational and wise.
“In the end, I didn’t do anything to Lady Eliya.”
When confused, I should think like Eliya.
Her way of thinking can be beneficial at times.
It divides the elements constituting the current situation into what is provable and what is not.
Provable things.
The Empire and Molsin Church wanted to kill Eliya.
I was that assassin tasked with carrying out the assassination.
But.
I can’t prove that I truly intended to kill Eliya.
In reality, I didn’t act on it.
I never harmed her in any way.
Even the paper I discarded, nobody knows about that.
So, I just have to make sure Eliya is the only one who doesn’t know.
I can’t just say now, “Oh, I was the assassin who was supposed to kill you, but I changed my mind.”
More fundamentally, this is a game world, and I’m Judas Defecit, who lived in Earth’s South Korea, and had no knowledge of Judas’s past, so an excuse of innocence makes no sense.
Eliya would never believe it.
Could there really be a more perfect answer than this?
Maybe that’s why I kept wanting to laugh.
Isn’t it true?
I’m not Judas.
What kind of person Judas was in the past and what thoughts he had are entirely irrelevant to me.
I don’t care.
“Of course, it’s a bit shocking, but it’s something from the past that we don’t need to worry about anymore, right?”
“Judas, you…”
“I’m fine. As long as Lady Eliya doesn’t know…”
“Sir Judas.”
Hermis suddenly grabbed my wrist.
“Calm down.”
“……”
I cautiously looked down at my trembling hand.
It was shaking excessively, like someone suffering from alcoholism.
Even after Hermis released my wrist, my hand kept vibrating.
It wouldn’t stop.
Even if I tried to will it to stop or held it with my other hand, it kept shaking.
I felt a bodily change I hadn’t noticed.
My body was cold and numb, as if blood wasn’t circulating from my head to my toes.
I was shivering like someone who was freezing.
“Haa…”
I sighed and covered my face with both hands.
I stayed still for a moment.
I wanted to curse.
Just say anything.
This whole situation was annoying.
It was Judas who tried to kill Eliya, not me.
But that’s just my perspective.
Could Eliya think like me?
Ah, I see. Because she’s a different person, it doesn’t concern her. Could she accept it like that?
“That’s ridiculous.”
Would it have been better if we hadn’t gotten into this relationship?
No, at least if I had known before it got to this point.
Just thinking that my relationship with Eliya might break because of a past that has nothing to do with me was frustrating.
“Huh…”
I slowly calmed my mind and took a deep breath.
This was a method I often used before important matches back in the day.
I imagined that with each exhale, unnecessary tension and worry were leaving my body.
“Whoo…”
I deliberately slowed my breathing, relaxing my tense body.
So, I relax my stiff body.
I objectively assess my state.
‘…I was out of my mind.’
Although it was brief, I just lost my sanity.
I was in what they call a mental breakdown.
Eliya. Me.
I am a person prepared to kill Eliya.
But right now, I’ve become someone who likes Eliya too much.
And Eliya also has the same feelings for me.
How can we resolve this situation?
If I honestly confess to Eliya, will that solve it?
As I pull my hands away, I notice the three people looking at me with concern.
I barely managed to calm my heart.
“…I apologize for my disgraceful behavior.”
“No, it’s okay. I totally understand.”
“Thank you…”
“But… I’m really sorry to say this, but this isn’t over.”
“…What?”
Yurideke’s expression darkened.
Did she intentionally reveal bits of the truth for my sake?
To lessen the shock.
What on earth could be more shocking than this?
“Judas, you’ve already killed a person once. In the Assassin Guild.”
I roughly knew that too.
“The first target you killed was a person named Maria.”
Maria.
I casually noticed that name while rummaging through records in the Assassin Guild before.
My reaction is the same now as it was then.
“I see…”
“…Judas? You don’t know who Maria is?”
The reaction isn’t one of disbelief at my killing someone; it’s disbelief that I don’t know that name.
“Uh… Yeah. As I’ve mentioned, my memory isn’t intact, so I don’t know who she is.”
This is the only excuse I could muster.
“Hah… truly, what kind of situation is this…”
Yurideke sighed deeply.
“Check this.”
As she handed over a document, suddenly—
Sparkle!
A light shone from the necklace.
Eliya is calling for me.
‘Of all times…!’
It seemed the one-on-one with the Emperor had ended.
I must not be caught here.
A moment’s delay and Eliya wouldn’t be able to hold back and would come for me.
“The lady is calling. If you don’t respond immediately, she’ll come here.”
“…!”
“Next time, or with Lady Hermis, in any case, I must go. Thank you for letting me know.”
“Wait…!”
I spoke urgently and responded to the summoning.
Though it seemed like she wanted to hold me back, wasting time wouldn’t be good.
Neither for me, nor for them, nor for Eliya.
In the end, I left without hearing the last piece of information meant to convey to me and moved to Eliya.
*
The location I was summoned to was the garden of the mansion.
The Anemone Garden.
Soon, the red flowers had fully bloomed in that place.
As soon as I arrived, Eliya wrapped herself around me.
I carefully held her shoulder.
‘…Stay calm.’
What should I do?
Should I tell her the truth?
For now, I need a little more time to think.
I forced a smile and said.
It was a relief that she was leaning against me, so she couldn’t see my face.
“Did the negotiation go well?”
“…Judas.”
Instead of answering, she called my name.
Her voice was cold and low.
‘Could it be….’
In an instant, my body stiffened.
She slowly lifted her head.
Expressionless face.
A cold countenance she rarely shows in front of me lately.
I waited anxiously for her lips to part.
