Chapter 10
Several days after Demynic had disappeared as abruptly as he had appeared, Bellona found herself staring blankly at the face of a young man she had unexpectedly run into.
This life isn’t going to be easy, either.
“This area is dangerous.”
The figure blocking her path as she hurried forward was far too familiar.
“…Why are you here?”
A short, incredulous laugh escaped her lips.
Bellona had come to the back alleys with a clear destination in mind: the Information Guild. She had deliberately left her family’s carriage on the main road, pulled up the hood of her cloak, and entered the narrow streets alone.
“Pardon? I’m not sure what you mean…”
Brown hair. Brown eyes.
There was nothing particularly remarkable about his appearance, but if she mentally replaced that brown with the golden hue she remembered so well, he instantly became someone she knew all too well.
Ruyls.
The Temple’s most promising holy knight.
“Do you know me?”
“No. I don’t. I was mistaken.”
The moment their eyes met beneath the edge of her hood, Ruyls froze.
She immediately lowered the hood even further over her face, but his gaze continued to follow her as if he had been mesmerized.
Seeing him again brought back the nightmares of her previous lives.
He had been the one who had declared her maid, Rose, evil and cut her down without hesitation after the influence of dark magic had robbed her of her sanity and reduced her to little more than a puppet.
“There was still a chance! With divine power, the priests could have tried something!”
“I’m sorry, Lady Rosentine. The Temple’s laws state that evil must be eliminated immediately upon discovery.”
Rigid. Stubborn. Unwavering.
He had ultimately chosen the Temple’s orders over everything else.
He had arrived too late to save them because he had been busy protecting a Temple that hadn’t suffered a single casualty.
“I know you’ve sworn your loyalty to the Temple. But I wish you’d take the time to understand what kind of place you’ve devoted yourself to.”
At the time, overwhelmed by the grief of losing someone dear to her, Bellona had lashed out, wanting to wound him just as deeply.
“People like you are the ones I hate the most.”
Even after that, he had remained the most powerful weapon against Demynic.
At the same time, he was also the type of person Bellona despised most.
“Stop blindly following orders for once and actually think for yourself.”
“I’m… sorry.”
When she had clung to Rose’s cold corpse and cried endlessly, the young man with brown hair—who had only just shed the last traces of boyhood—had stayed beside her and personally dug a grave so she could bury Rose.
Back then, she had laughed at him and dismissed it as hypocrisy.
The Bellona of her first life—the Bellona who still believed life had an ending—had truly thought she would never forgive him.
But now…
She slowly blinked, pushing those memories away.
The person standing before her now wasn’t the brilliant golden holy knight whose divine powers had fully awakened.
He was simply an ordinary young man with brown hair.
In fact, no one would even guess he was a holy knight apprentice based on his plain clothing.
Even the sword at his waist looked completely ordinary.
“You seem like a young lady who was raised in comfort. If you go any farther, it could become dangerous.”
“I think we’d both be better off going our separate ways.”
Even so, she had no desire to talk to him.
Keeping her eyes lowered, she tried to walk past him without making eye contact.
He promptly stepped in front of her again.
“At the very least, allow me to escort you somewhere safe.”
“You?”
“My skills are more than sufficient.”
“Find another lady to impress with your chivalrous escort.”
Her sarcasm was obvious.
However, judging by the way Ruyls’s face instantly turned red and he quickly looked away, he had interpreted her words in an entirely different way.
Perhaps he’d been reminded of one of those common romantic stories that spread among the nobility every spring—stories about noble ladies and their knights.
“I-I had absolutely no such intention…”
“I know you didn’t. That’s why we’re done talking about it.”
Hopeless.
An utterly hopeless man driven by shallow, reckless goodwill who acted before thinking.
Bellona knew that Ruyls was acting out of genuine concern.
But memories of the Ruyls from previous lives—who had blindly absorbed every lesson the Temple drilled into him, repeating the Temple says this and the will of the gods says that like a frog trapped in a well—made it impossible for her to untangle the knot of frustration inside her.
In truth, it had been a long time since they’d actually spoken.
I can’t believe he’s already back in the capital. Did Demynic’s different actions change the timeline?
Because Bellona had always avoided him on purpose, their recent timelines hadn’t even included a single conversation.
“Go help someone who’s actually lost instead of following me.”
“I simply want the person standing in front of me to remain safe.”
He tried to sound composed, but the tips of his ears were still bright red.
Most noble ladies would probably find this handsome but hopelessly innocent man adorable.
Bellona certainly didn’t.
Why here? And why now of all times?
Then she noticed the bundle he was carrying.
Only then did she remember.
Right. His mother…
He had a mother.
Or rather, he had a mother who had already passed away.
Or, more accurately, a mother who was destined to die soon.
She was his only family.
Her illness had already progressed beyond saving, but Ruyls had cared for her devotedly until the very end.
Now Bellona understood why he was dressed so plainly and wandering around this area.
Medicine purchased through ordinary shops was far too expensive.
Though, with the salary he receives from the Temple, there would still be limits to the medicine he could afford.
Knowing too much was a problem.
Whenever she actually met people and spoke to them, her heart softened against her will.
And before she knew it, she’d begun thinking that perhaps his abilities might actually be useful.
After a brief hesitation, she nodded.
“If you follow me, you’ll have to do me a favor. Are you still planning to accompany me as my bodyguard?”
She had deliberately left her family’s guards behind.
They were her father’s people.
And they were completely unnecessary for what she was about to do.
Ruyls, however, was different.
He had no connection to the events that were about to unfold, yet he was someone who might still be willing to grant Bellona’s request.
She didn’t need overwhelming strength.
But in an emergency, his status might prove useful.
“Does your request involve harming someone?”
Why are you always so rigid?
It was a perfectly reasonable question.
Yet she still found it irritating.
“No. If anything, it’s the opposite. There’s someone I need to protect.”
Today, Bellona intended to establish a new heir for House Rosentine.
Which means I need to move quickly.
Without even checking to see whether he was following, Bellona simply increased her pace.
“If it isn’t too rude to ask, may I inquire why you’re going to the Information Guild?”
His voice beside her was much calmer than she’d expected.
Pulling her hood even tighter around herself, Bellona answered indifferently.
“No. I don’t want to tell you.”
“You said there’s someone you want to protect. Doesn’t that mean your intentions are good?”
Bellona stopped walking.
As always, Ruyls’s extraordinary reflexes allowed him to halt just before bumping into her.
“…It’s not a good habit to make assumptions like that.”
“I’m sorry.”
Those kind brown eyes immediately showed understanding, and he apologized without hesitation.
Bellona sighed inwardly.
There was no point in sulking in front of someone like him.
She would only be the one to suffer for it.
Turning around, she continued walking toward the Information Guild.
“Since I already agreed to accept your help, you can listen and decide for yourself.”
She had no interest in wasting time arguing.
There was someone she absolutely had to find today.
Then, something caught the corner of her eye.
Perhaps she’d imagined it, but she could have sworn she’d seen someone’s silhouette.
“Is something wrong?”
Ruyls looked in the same direction, but there wasn’t a trace of caution in his gaze.
“No. Let’s go.”
If Ruyls wasn’t on guard, then there probably wasn’t anyone there with malicious intentions.
Suppressing the strange sensation that someone had been watching her, Bellona continued forward.
When they finally arrived at an old wooden door attached to a rundown building, Bellona didn’t even bother knocking.
She simply pushed it open.
The interior was dark.
Aside from what appeared to be a counter, there wasn’t another person in sight.
The place felt eerily deserted.
Bellona stepped inside without hesitation.
Ruyls followed closely behind her.
“What brings our guests here today?”
A large man with several scars covering his face slowly rose from his seat.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Ruyls instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword.
“Don’t draw that carelessly, Ruyls.”
Afraid he might ruin everything, she turned slightly and placed a hand over his before stopping him.
She could see him freeze in surprise.
The tension gradually disappeared from his rough, calloused hand.
“How do you know my name…?”
Ah. Damn it.
Bellona’s face stiffened in dismay.
Knowing too much information truly did create more problems than it solved.
