<CHAPTER 41>
Did You Come to Rescue Me?
Bella was hiding in the forest near the estate, her magic carefully concealed.
How dare a mere human provoke me?
From the very beginning, she had never intended to let Ehilie live.
A human who did not know her place and dared to run her mouth would be torn to pieces and burned without leaving even a trace.
Having made that vow, Bella ground her teeth all night as she waited, and at last she detected Ehilie’s aura within her magic.
You finally came out, you foolish girl.
Bella was a demon through and through.
Only after confirming that there was no other presence nearby did she reveal herself before Ehilie.
“Hello.”
Ehilie’s face turned pale the moment she saw her.
“Y-You… were a demon?”
“Correct!”
Bella winked with a seductive smile.
How long had she waited for this moment.
Thud.
Her sharp tail pierced the back of Ehilie’s neck.
Without even a chance to resist, Ehilie collapsed to the ground.
“Now then.”
Bella grabbed Ehilie by the hair and lifted her up.
She had deliberately not killed her.
She had no intention of granting a clean death to a human who dared toy with her.
“I will play with you slowly and kill you bit by bit.”
She intended to torment her thoroughly until the human begged to be killed instead.
I will make you wish you could end your own life.
***
Ehilie opened her eyes in an unfamiliar place.
It was a cold, damp room.
The walls were lined with solid stone, and one side was blocked by iron bars.
It appeared to be an underground prison.
As she surveyed her surroundings, a familiar face entered her sight.
“Gabriel!”
It was Gabriel, covered in blood.
Shackles bound his wrists and ankles, and thick chains were wrapped tightly around his body.
As if he had heard her voice, Gabriel flinched and opened his eyes.
His bloodshot blue eyes trembled faintly.
“E-Ehilie?”
“Yes, Gabriel. It is me.”
“W-Why are you here?”
He squeezed his eyes shut and opened them again, as if unable to believe it, his voice trembling with emotion.
“Did you… come to rescue me?”
“No. I was captured as well.”
An awkward silence fell between them.
Well, what could I do? It is not as though I learned swordsmanship. I was just an ordinary person quietly making and selling potions at home.
Ehilie remained perfectly composed.
Even a Hero had been captured so helplessly.
What could she, practically a civilian, possibly have done?
“First, let me remove your shackles before that demon returns.”
“Do you have the key?”
“No.”
Did he think she would have a key when she had been captured too?
Gabriel sighed and spoke.
“Then it will not work. This cannot be undone by your strength, Lady Ehilie. Do not do anything reckless. I will protect you somehow.”
While Gabriel recited those moving words, Ehilie stepped closer to him.
“Ehilie?”
Ehilie suddenly lifted the hem of her skirt.
Gabriel shut his eyes tightly in shock.
“W-What are you doing!”
What else would she be doing?
Before leaving the house, Ehilie had brought certain tools with her.
Clank.
At the loud sound, Gabriel cautiously opened his eyes.
His eyes widened in astonishment.
“E-Ehilie? What is all that?”
Over the fitted belt secured atop her undergarments were a self-defense dagger, pepper spray, and various potions.
And what she had just taken out was a special cutter capable of severing even heavy chains in a single strike.
Rek had prepared it specially for her.
“Humans are creatures that use tools. Did you think I would come without any preparation?”
Ehilie smiled confidently as she picked up the cutter.
“Wait. It is dangerous. Ehilie, how do you intend to cut those chains with such slender arms?”
“Yes, that is why I will not be using my arms.”
“What? Then how—”
Instead of answering, Ehilie fitted the shackle between the cutter’s jaws.
She braced herself against the sturdy prison bars to steady her balance.
“Stay still. It is dangerous.”
Returning Gabriel’s earlier words to him, Ehilie lifted one foot.
She then brought her full body weight down forcefully upon the cutter’s handle.
Crack. Crunch. Snap.
Under her relentless kicks, the shackles twisted and broke apart.
What was this called again? The principle of leverage?
Whatever it was, humans truly were meant to use tools.
Ehilie smiled with satisfaction and cut away the remaining shackles as well.
Freed in an instant, Gabriel could only stare at her blankly.
In a dazed voice, he muttered.
“How can such a delicate lady accomplish this…”
“Excuse me, I believe you are mistaken. I am not particularly delicate.”
Ehilie added firmly.
“Perhaps Rek might be, but such a description does not suit me.”
“What? That man is delicate?”
“Of course. He collapses if he overexerts himself even slightly, he is physically weak and often gets small injuries. His heart is very tender as well.”
“That is why I worry about him… and why I want to protect him.”
A wistful smile formed on Ehilie’s lips.
Ah. Did I gush too much?
No, strictly speaking, she had not.
It was all true.
“…Do you love him?”
At the blunt question, Ehilie answered without hesitation.
“Yes. I love him.”
Gabriel’s face twisted.
His eyes were filled with hurt.
Ehilie felt she understood what he must be feeling.
Gabriel likes Rek… so to him, I must be a rival.
Unfortunately for Gabriel, he had no chance.
Because.
Rek loves me too.
“Ehilie, there is something you must know.”
Gabriel spoke in a grave tone.
“Rek… that man is deceiving you.”
“What do you mean?”
“Everything he has shown you until now has been an act. His true nature is… a vile and cunning demon.”
***
Ehilie’s face distorted.
Her clear blue eyes trembled with confusion.
Unable to bear the sight of her wounded expression, Gabriel lowered his head.
I have no choice.
He had hesitated until now.
He had struggled with whether revealing Rek’s true identity to Ehilie would truly be for her sake.
But the moment she said she loved him, his heart had made its decision.
He would tell her the truth.
This is for Ehilie.
It was not out of personal feelings.
It was solely for her sake.
After standing blankly for a long while, as if deeply shocked, Ehilie’s small lips parted.
“Why are you telling me this?”
“For you.”
“Is it truly for me?”
“…Yes. Truly. I—!”
When Gabriel lifted his head to meet her gaze, he froze.
The look in Ehilie’s eyes was unbearably cold.
Her pure, clear blue eyes seemed to see through everything.
They seemed to ask whether this was not merely to satisfy his cowardly desire.
No. I truly did this for you.
Gabriel tried to insist again, but strangely, no voice came out.
The reflection of himself in her eyes was too ugly to bear.
I…
The truth he had long avoided poured out.
This was not for her.
He had wished that the loving smile she wore when thinking of Rek would be directed at him instead.
He had wanted to steal her boundless trust and affection.
It was not righteous concern for her.
It was merely the squalid jealousy of a man craving love.
“Ah.”
Finally facing his own heart, Gabriel let out a short groan.
“…I am sorry.”
If he had truly acted for Ehilie…
He should have waited until she discovered the truth herself.
At the very least, she should have heard it from that man’s own lips.
But his selfishness had ruined everything.
Words once spoken could not be taken back.
There was no way to fix this now.
As despair consumed him, Ehilie’s voice fell softly upon his ears.
“It is fine. I already knew.”
Gabriel flinched at her calm tone.
“You knew? You mean you knew he was a demon?”
“Yes.”
“H-How…”
“And I also know why you told me.”
Gabriel’s heart sank.
The thought that she had already seen through his ugly intentions filled him with shame.
“But nothing changes. Gabriel, I love him.”
Her eyes were filled with conviction.
They were the eyes of someone prepared to abandon everything for love.
At that moment, Gabriel understood.
No hardship or adversity would ever change her heart.
With a hollow smile, he spoke.
“I envy you.”
As Gabriel let go of the feelings he would never confess—
Clank.
The door opened.
A familiar face appeared beyond the bars.
That person is…
Ehilie called out warmly.
“You have come, Herond!”
Gabriel blinked in confusion.
The man standing outside was the butler he had long seen at the estate, Herond.
“…Ehilie, is that not Butler Herond?”
“No. He is Rek’s guard, Herond. He is Butler Herond’s twin brother.”
No sooner had she finished speaking than Herond said.
“I am His Highness’s guard, Herond.”
Not only his face but his voice and even his manner of speech were identical to Butler Herond’s.
Could twins truly resemble each other to such an extent?
Gabriel felt utterly confused.
What in the world was going on?
