Emilone’s Temptation Labyrinth – Chapter 60

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T/N: Ezua has been changed to Ezra

–

“You’re the worst man I’ve ever met. More so than the Crown Prince.”

“How can you say that!”

“I never thought I’d be patting myself on the back for rejecting your confession that day.”

“I-I knew it! I knew it was because you thought I was ugly!”

“Shut up… Back then, I was at least flattered that someone liked me.”

“T-That’s impossible!”

“Why?”

“Because I…”

His grip on my wrist remained as firm as ever. I thought he might ease up if I shook him up a bit.

“Because what? Because you weren’t beautiful?”

“O-of…of course…yes.”

“Hah. You’ve got to be kidding me.”

One thing I was confident in was my ability to sneer.

I looked up at the man, raised my chin slightly and spoke confidently with an unflinching gaze.

“I despise men who are ugly on the inside.”

“Y-You’re lying! T-T-There’s no way!”

“You’re stuttering disgracefully, and your face is shaking with fear because you know you’re doing something immoral… to me, Young Lord Ezra, you are not beautiful in the slightest.”

Swish—.

Right at that moment, the curtains parted slightly.

All the curtains were enchanted with soundproofing, so no matter how loud it was inside, it couldn’t be heard outside.

Someone came in quietly, unnoticed by those outside, and I assumed it was Reneben.

“I…was short.. fat…always stuttering… ugly…”

“I might advise someone to lose weight due to their health, but I’m not the kind of person to judge someone for being short. And I certainly don’t judge people based on how they look…”

I liked beautiful things, but that didn’t mean I hated ugly ones.

“…”

“You told me you liked me, yet it seems you knew nothing about the person you claimed to like.”

“Impossible! When I confessed, even Your Holiness was..was…”

It was beginning to hurt to have my arms pinned up like this and just as I was wondering when someone would come to my rescue, an arm seized the man’s collar.

“Young lord Ezra.”

“Uh…uuck!”

“What do you think you’re doing to the Saintess?”

The young lord was seized by the throat and his grip loosened for a moment which allowed me to finally pull free.

“Insolent.”

“Wh…who!”

“And pathetic.”

“That’s impossible! I… I look…I look beautiful…!”

“Did you not hear the Saintess speak just now?”

Calm and steady.

A voice that I liked.

The kind that falls lazily and softly caresses the ear.

“You’re ugly on the inside.”

“Alois. Enough.”

I intervened because the young lord’s face was gradually turning blue. The grip on his neck was so tight that it was constricting his breathing.

Because I was behind Alois, I couldn’t tell what expression he was making, but he seemed to tighten his grip a little more before finally letting go.

“You harm the Saintess yet you are saved by her mercy,” he spat.

A violent cough echoed through the room.

I wondered why Alois was here instead of Reneben, but I put that aside for now and stared ahead.

As I rotated my arm to recover, I realized it might bruise.

…Hopefully, it would heal by tomorrow morning.

I guess he had grabbed me pretty hard.

“Young lord Ezra.”

I straightened my clothes and bent slightly to meet his eyes, while he was still gasping for breath.

“There’s something I remember from the day you confessed to me.”

“Euu…ugh…”

“I thought your purple eyes were similar to mine and they looked pretty. And I thought it was cute how nervous you were to get the words out.”

“…That’s imposs—.”

“When I say it happened, how can anyone say otherwise? That is what I felt.”

“Uh… uh…”

“I’m telling you that is what I thought.”

“…”

“Me. Not someone else, me.”

I saw tears welling up in his eyes.

“Why are you crying? You’re the one who did something terrible.”

“But… but…”

If I had stayed silent when this man pinned me down, something I didn’t even want to imagine might have occurred.

Is he a criminal in the making?

I narrowed my eyes and rubbed my thumb and forefinger together.

“When did I ever say I hate how you look?”

I shook my head repeatedly.

“Back then, I never said one word of dislike… but today, I’ve said it a lot.”

The young lord’s shoulders trembled.

I watched the large man’s eyes flutter with tears and begin to fall.

“A beautiful appearance is nice, sure. But being beautiful on the inside is beyond compare.”

“…Your Holiness.”

“What made you like me back then?”

“…When you…when you looked at me… you didn’t frown…so…”

“So you knew.”

I lifted my bruised wrist, allowing the young lord’s gaze to be drawn to it.

“You knew I didn’t frown when I looked at you.”

“…”

“You knew I didn’t judge you based on your looks.”

“But you…rejected my confession.”

“Am I required to accept it?”

“That…that’s not it but…”

“The reason I rejected you wasn’t because of your looks.”

Soon, young lord Ezra began to weep, and seeing that, I was suddenly thankful for the soundproofing enchantment on the curtain.

***

When I saw Reneben standing anxiously outside the curtain, I instructed him to escort young lord Ezra back home.

After healing his puffy eyes with divine power, he looked more presentable.

With the curtain closed, one problem remained.

“How was my help?”

“…”

Somehow, every word seemed to strike a chord.

I didn’t expect this reaction from a man who drew my attention by sacrificing himself to the Marquis.

“…Thank you for your timely intervention,” I offered.

“And what if I hadn’t come?”

“…”

I heaved a deep sigh. I didn’t think he’d act like that because of the soundproofing.

My toes curled knowing that if the curtain were accidentally opened, Alois’s pure dissatisfaction would be revealed to the whole world.

“Right, Your Holiness is the victim here. I have no right to say anything.”

The way he was glaring at me was strange and I wondered if he had misunderstood something, so I opened my mouth.

“Alois, I really didn’t reject young lord Ezra because of his looks.”

“I know. I know that much.”

He got on one knee, much like young lord Ezra had done earlier.

I sat on the couch, wondering what he was doing then he picked up my shoe and slipped it on my foot.

“But I’m sure I could only become your weapon because of my beauty.”

The word ‘weapon’ surprised me, and I was surprised again when he said it was because of his appearance. I leaned back on the sofa and furrowed my brows.

“Why do you say that?”

“Because beauty is a weapon.”

“…There is something you misunderstand. I would be okay with you even if you weren’t beautiful.”

“But it was this beauty that got you to be okay with me…”

“I won’t deny it and say you’re wrong. But that weapon doesn’t work for everyone.”

I looked into his eyes and lightly twirled the tip of his brown hair with my finger.

“Of course, everyone prefers beauty. I have that preference too.”

“…Hah.”

“But I won’t dislike something just because it’s not beautiful.”

Alois understood people too well. And he knew how to exploit their weaknesses.

If I had to sacrifice 49 to save 50, I couldn’t do it, but I’m sure he could.

He had a side to him that I didn’t have.

“Unfortunately, Lady Emilone.”

Still kneeling, Alois lifted my foot.

The shoe he had put on me had mistakenly slipped off again. While I was frozen, Alois’ hand touched my foot.

And I could only blink when he slowly kissed the tip of my toe.

“Since a young age, I have survived using this appearance.”

“Ack.”

He even revealed his teeth slightly and bit them.

Since I didn’t know how to react to this development, I simply stared at him foolishly until he pulled his hands away.

“You said my looks aren’t that important to you, correct?”

“Of course.”

“…What you need isn’t someone to share affection with but a steed that thrives in the palm of your hands. I doubt you’ll find a finer steed than I, Lady Emilone.”

I kept my mouth shut, wondering what he was getting at, then he stood up.

“I will be a worthy steed for you.”

“…You make it hard to refuse.”

“But even if you don’t care about looks, there are many others who will try to use it.”

“…”

“So, let me handle that. If you don’t care enough to look, I will be by your side and see what you might miss, Lady Emilone.”

I drummed my fingers on the sofa.

It was a habit of mine.

“…You always say things that are hard for me to refuse.”

“Because I know how to make it hard for you to say no.”

“That’s not a very nice thing to say.”

The brief seriousness in the air was shattered by his words.

When I wrinkled my nose and shook my head, Alois laughed.

Hearing him laugh put me in a good mood and just as I was about to suggest that we head out…

“Your Holiness, wait…”

“Huh?”

Bang!

A loud noise rang out and immediately, the man in front of me looked down at me and furrowed his brows in displeasure.

Wasn’t…he just laughing a second ago?

His large frame cast a shadow over me.

“Your Holiness needs to be little careful from now on.”

His expression had crumbled, and his knuckles stood out as he undid a few buttons of his uniform.

I wasn’t sure what to say and glanced down slightly, finding his other hand gripping the sofa.

“Someone tries to harm you and you don’t even think of killing them yet you’re so calm about it.”

“…”

“If you think you can rely on the swordsmanship you learned from the paladins, I’m afraid you’re wrong.”

“Alois.”

 

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