The Holy Knight Embraces the Imprinted Succubus - Chapter 10

Rosanna awkwardly stood up to calm Aril.

“Aril, I…”

“You can resent me if you want! No, you should resent me…”

“Aril, just listen to me for a moment…”

“Instead, I’ll take full responsibility. I’ll carry you on my back for the rest of my life…”

Rosanna tried her best to convey her words, but Aril wouldn’t listen.

It was as if Aril couldn’t see that Rosanna was standing just fine. As more eyes turned toward them, Rosanna’s expression hardened.

Then, just in time, a hand reached out to help.

“Oh dear, Miss Rosanna still needs to rest!”

Dahlia, who had been eating at the end of the same table as Rosanna, approached them.

Seeing Aril’s tear-stained face, Dahlia firmly said, “Stop crying!” and pointed with her finger.

“Aril, don’t you see Miss Rosanna standing on both legs?”

“Oh… she really is.”

Aril, realizing Rosanna was standing normally, stopped crying as if it had all been a lie.

With a sigh, Dahlia gave an OK sign to someone in the distance, seated Aril beside Rosanna, and brought over her own tray.

The commotion at the table died down, and the meal resumed.

“Well, after finishing off the charging beast, I hurried toward the direction you all ran… and Aril came running in a panic.”

Dahlia spoke after chewing and swallowing a spoonful of soup filled with carrots and potatoes.

She added that Aril had immediately led the way, which allowed them to reach Rosanna’s location without getting lost.

“If only I had been a little faster… Rosanna wouldn’t have gotten hurt…”

Aril murmured with a guilty face. The cheerful demeanor she showed on the first day was long gone.

‘She’s going to leave all her food at this rate…’

Watching Aril stir her soup listlessly, Rosanna gave a small smile. “Aril, I’m really fine. You don’t have to worry so much.”

“But…”

“Thanks to you quickly bringing the others, everyone made it out alive.”

“……”

“Do you know why? I’m terrible at running.”

To be exact, she had never properly run before.

Back at the count’s estate, Rosanna had never even dared think of running away.

Even when Demion approached her with malice, Rosanna could only wait for his rough hand to strike her face.

Running away only led to worse punishment.

So she had never had a chance to run properly. In fact, hadn’t she been caught by a monster almost immediately in the Black Forest?

“It’s a good thing we both survived…”

“Did you really believe you were any more capable than that girl?”

The sunken voice of a man echoed in her mind.

“That wasn’t survival. You were just lucky. You didn’t survive on your own.”

The cold warning, a reminder of her place, gripped and released her heart. Rosanna’s smiling face crumbled completely.

“…Rosanna? Is something wrong?”

Coming to her senses, she found Aril lightly shaking her sleeve. Seeing Aril’s face, now full of life again, Rosanna smiled faintly.

“Ah… no. It’s nothing.”

When Rosanna added that walking was no longer an issue, Aril seemed to fully regain her energy.

‘She must’ve been really scared.’

Judging by her reaction, Aril had been terribly frightened and worried about her.

Rosanna, feeling oddly restless, clasped her trembling hands tightly beneath her knees.

“Ah… and thank you too, Miss Dahlia, for your concern.”

“No, no. There’s no need to thank me. I didn’t really do anything.”

“Even so…”

“Well, if you must thank someone, there’s really only one person you should thank.”

Dahlia, eyes half-lidded for a moment, looked toward one spot as she spoke.

***

Having just said those words, Alix could hardly tell if his food was going down his throat or his nose.

“Alix.”

It was none other than the Duke’s direct ancestor who had been torn to death by that demon at the end of the war seventy years ago.

But in Raphael’s deep blue eyes, not a shred of fear could be found.

“What’s the problem?”

The tragedy in which the Duke of Caissen and his eldest son were brutally murdered became the catalyst that ended the Human-Demon War.

The human army could no longer continue fighting, and the demon side had also suffered great losses at the time.

“A rat hiding away so long it forgot how to come into the world…”

Unshaken blue eyes turned to Alix. His superior was even smiling faintly.

“Am I supposed to be afraid?”

It was a twisted smile. Alix couldn’t bring himself to say another word.

The previous Duke of Caissen had considered avenging the family’s enemy and severing the demon’s head his life’s mission.

He had amassed soldiers to excess, stockpiled weapons, and rigged his mansion with traps.

He took the lead in purging heretics and executed anyone even slightly suspicious without hesitation.

The former Dukes of Caissen, consumed by fear and anger, were driven to complete mental isolation.

To prepare for revenge, they feared the day would come when the silver demon would appear before the Caissen heir.

That obsession had naturally passed on to his son, Raphael Caissen.

‘It’s this damn mouth of mine, always saying unnecessary things… that’s the problem!’

Alix couldn’t shake the feeling that he’d said something he shouldn’t have.

It was a rumor that had persisted for seventy years without a break.

Sometimes, it was a meaningless rumor that circulated on the streets. Other times, it was spread deliberately by the royal family to keep Caissen in check.

There was no way his superior wasn’t aware that such a baseless rumor was going around again.

The man was still the most severely wanted individual by the temple, but very little was known about him.

The only thing confirmed was that he had ‘ashen silver eyes, like something burned white.’

Everything else had become a mystery once he completely vanished.

There were rumors he had become paralyzed, or that he was cursed beyond cure… but no one really knew.

“Um, Lord Raphael… I think I might’ve spoken out of turn.”

Raphael had already finished eating and was resting under a tree’s shade.

The man who looked like he had no need for rest at all sat with his eyes closed, resembling a sculpture shaped by divine will.

Even the moment his lowered eyelids slowly shut, he gave off that impression.

“What unnecessary thing did you say?”

“Well… it’s something I heard—”

“Ah, um…!”

Just then, the sound of hesitant footsteps stopped in front of them.

A soft and gentle voice, rare on the battlefield, slipped between their conversation.

Alix stared in shock at the approaching figure, eyes wide.

“M-Miss Rosanna…?”

With his back to her, Raphael asked, “What brings you here?”

He hadn’t even called her name, yet his voice came so naturally, as if he had seen her from the start. Her violet eyes widened in surprise.

“Ah, well… I came because I had something to say.”

“……”

If she didn’t say it now, she never would. While Rosanna had been recovering in the medical tent, Raphael hadn’t come to see her once.

It made sense. He seemed to hold quite a high position among the Holy Knights, and there was no reason he should visit her.

But still…

“It was Lord Raphael who healed your leg, Miss Rosanna.”

“He was the one who treated it before it completely rotted. No one else could’ve done it.”

“Thank goodness. You almost lost your leg.”

Rosanna took a breath, pretending to glance around.

Only after a moment long enough to test anyone’s patience did she finally speak.

“Um… I know it’s dinnertime and you must be busy… but I haven’t had a chance to speak with you.”

“……”

“So I… I had something I really wanted to say…!”

As soon as she finished, Rosanna blinked blankly and stepped back a few paces.

Raphael had turned to face her.

Facing him, all the words she had prepared faded like ink in water.

“What is it you wanted to say?”

His indifferent voice landed atop her head, echoing silently in her ears.

Her heart pounded, her legs trembling as if they’d give out. She held her ground, but the words wouldn’t leave her mouth.

Why is it so hard just to say one sentence…

“T-thank you. For saving me multiple times… and, um, for the injury too…!”

“……”

“They said it was a serious wound. That I might never be able to use my leg again…”

“……”

“Thank you for treating me… really, truly, thank you…!”

Rosanna bowed deeply and rushed to say all she had prepared.

“I’ll never forget it.”

The words that had weighed heavily on her chest were finally out.

It was only a simple thank-you, but it still made her feel lighter.

‘Finally, I said it!’

It was something she should’ve said long ago.

He had saved her life from the very beginning. By now, she owed him more times than she could count.

‘He’s still terrifying… it’s hard to even meet his eyes…’

But now, it felt a bit silly to be wary of him.

She remembered what happened in the forest. Back then, she had been the one who—

‘Stop!’

Rosanna shut down her thoughts quickly.

All that remained was to hear his response, and she could return to her seat and eat.

She waited. But when no reply came, she cautiously looked up.

And found herself meeting the quiet blue eyes staring down at her.

“…Um, well.”

The look in his eyes seemed to say, ‘You came all this way just to say that?’

“I… just wanted to say that. I don’t have anything more.”

“……”

“Sorry for interrupting your meal. I’ll go now…”

Rosanna, now pale, quickly turned around. She looked as if searching for an escape route.

Unlike when she had approached him, she turned back quickly.

It was as though she wanted to vanish from his sight. She scurried away—but unfortunately, not fast enough.

“Ah…!”

She nearly tripped on a tree root.