The Confession That Shattered Her World
That was the moment Elisa fell for the hero. The instant she witnessed him asking someone to become his lover, her mind went utterly blank. What… a lover? Him… really? Really, just like that, so meaninglessly? It had been only a single sentence, yet it struck with the force of a relentless magical bombardment, enough to shatter anyone’s sanity. It felt as though her chest had been carved open and her heart ripped out. Even Elisa, who had survived countless brushes with death, found the agony almost unbearable. As that gut-wrenching pain consumed her, her mind began to scream in madness.
…No…
That single word surfaced amid the storm of emotion. In that moment, everything around her became unbearable. The sight of the hero. The woman receiving his confession. The very place they stood. And within that sudden, violent surge of rejection, Elisa made a choice.
It happened in an instant—like an arrow flying from afar.
Rebekah, who had been listening, was seized by deep confusion. What… what is this…? D-Don’t tell me the commander is actually… The words had rung clearly in her ears: the hero asking someone to become his “lover.” For a split second, shock gripped her, and she tried to see who the woman receiving his confession was. Then—
“!? W-Wait a moment…”
The next instant, she was being dragged away, firmly gripped by Elisa’s hand. Honestly, Rebekah wanted to stay and observe the hero’s situation a little longer. But the pull was so sudden and forceful—and because it was Elisa, not someone else—she couldn’t resist. She had no choice but to flee alongside her.
A short while later, they arrived at a dark alley far from where the hero stood. Only then did Elisa finally stop, allowing Rebekah to catch her breath as well.
“Hah… hah… U-Um… W-Why did you suddenly…?”
Unlike the composed Elisa standing before her, Rebekah was panting heavily. She looked at Elisa with a mixture of confusion, bewilderment, and a hint of fear. Elisa remained silent for a moment, saying nothing. Watching her back, Rebekah steadied her breathing and began to study the Demon King’s elite guard commander.
Then—
“…You… saw it too?”
“Pardon?”
“That scene just now… Did you see it?”
Elisa’s voice was heavy and sunken, laced with a desperate desire to deny what she had witnessed. Rebekah flinched slightly, then answered as carefully as she could.
“Y-You mean… the scene where the commander confessed to someone…?”
“Kuh…!”
Rebekah’s words carried clear anxiety. As if in response, a short, violently emotional sound escaped Elisa’s lips. Immediately after—
“Hiiik!”
A chilling sensation ran down Rebekah’s spine. In that moment, she saw Elisa radiating an unmistakably menacing aura, visible even to the naked eye.
“Why… why did things turn out like this… this… damn…”
Elisa muttered in a spine-chilling voice, her head bowed low. She resembled a beast that had lost its prey, seething with frustration. The air around her felt like that of a wild animal ready to explode with rage at any moment. Watching her, Rebekah felt her heart instinctively shrink, even though she knew she wasn’t the target of that fury.
Ah… no… W-Why is she suddenly acting like this? Just because the commander confessed, why is Elisa reacting this way…?!
Just as Rebekah was feeling a deep sense of injustice and confusion at having to endure such terrifying fear despite having done nothing wrong, a plausible interpretation of the situation suddenly clicked into place in her mind, like puzzle pieces falling together.
W-Wait… Could this possibly be…?
It was a picture she could hardly accept even in her own thoughts. Yet, through the horrifying sensation still prickling her skin, Rebekah was forced to acknowledge one undeniable fact.
D-Don’t tell me… really? Really, Elisa… the commander…?
The hero had confessed to some unknown woman, and the moment Elisa realized it, she had erupted in fury. There was only one meaning to that: Elisa harbored feelings for the hero—perhaps even romantic ones.
No, no… Even so, there’s no way this monstrous Elisa would feel that way about the commander…
Elisa was one of the worst-tempered people Rebekah knew. The idea that she could hold such feelings for the hero was still hard to believe, but there was no other way to explain the situation. And then, as the storm of rage passed more quickly than expected, Rebekah saw something new.
“Hic… ugh…”
“Ah…”
Following the anger came tears—tears of utter despair streaming down Elisa’s face. In that moment, she didn’t even seem to notice Rebekah still standing behind her. Watching her like this, Rebekah’s earlier speculation, which had seemed absurd, was confirmed as undeniable truth.
Th-There’s no doubt… This is clearly… love! I don’t know exactly when it started, but Elisa has definitely been in love with the commander all this time!
From Rebekah’s perspective—someone who feared Elisa—this was knowledge she truly hadn’t wanted. After pondering how she should act, she made her decision and carried it out.
“U-Um… Are you… all right?”
Rebekah offered Elisa a handkerchief, her expression carefully filled with sympathy. Elisa accepted it and began gently wiping her tears.
“…Hic… ugh… Th-Thank you…”
The terrifying aura from moments ago was gone, replaced by the pitiful sight of a heartbroken girl. Watching her—almost endearingly so—Rebekah felt a strangely complicated emotion before carefully asking,
“Um… Lady Elisa? Do you… like the commander?”
“…Uh… huh?”
At Rebekah’s question, Elisa’s eyes widened as she stared at her. Finding the sight genuinely cute, Rebekah continued.
“I-It’s just… from your reaction, I couldn’t think of anything else. The fact that you’re this upset after seeing the commander confess means you must have feelings for him as well…”
“W-What are you saying?! Th-That’s impossible. No matter how much we’ve become comrades, the hero is still human! There’s no way someone of my noble bloodline would fall for such a lowly creature!”
Elisa’s face flushed bright red as she raised her voice in protest. But her reaction was so obviously false that Rebekah, forgetting her usual fear, spoke firmly.
“Even if you say that… you do like him, don’t you?”
“I-I don’t like him! Th-This is just admiration… Y-Yes! It’s nothing more than admiration. I just want to stay by the side of such a strong and magnificent warrior—that pure feeling of…”
“I believe people call that ‘liking’ someone. Am I wrong?”
“Ugh…”
Rebekah’s words drove the final nail into Elisa’s desperate excuses. Elisa fell silent, unable to argue any further. A short but seemingly endless silence followed. In that moment, Rebekah suddenly feared she had gone too far in her excitement, and her face turned pale.
Th-This is bad… I got a little carried away and pushed too hard. I-Isn’t this really dangerous?
Just as she began trembling at the thought that she might have stepped on an irreversible landmine, Elisa spoke in a trembling voice.
“…You’re right. You’re… correct.”
She spoke with sincerity.
“I like him… I… like the hero…”
Elisa’s confession was heavy with sorrow and despair. Then, with the desperate look of a girl seeking help, she asked Rebekah,
“U-Um… Then what should I do now? What am I supposed to do? The person I like confessed to another woman. In a situation like this… what should I do? Should I just kill that woman who’s getting in the way of my love? W-Would that work?”
As her words tumbled out, Elisa’s eyes began to fill with madness. Watching her, Rebekah instinctively felt that if she didn’t handle the situation carefully, something truly terrible was about to happen.