To The Eternal Knight (2 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 12
“Just a minute! Twenty more seconds! I just need a little more time to steel myself before I go greet you!”
“I’ll give you five seconds. You coming or not?”
After five years of living in this house, Nerea finally realized that the soundproofing here was utterly terrible throughout.
The bickering beyond the front door had gone on for over thirty minutes. Seeing no end in sight, Nerea flung the door open.
Alejandro, who had just reached for the doorknob, raised an eyebrow in surprise. The brown-haired man who had been holding Alejandro’s arm stared at Nerea, clearly startled.
“M-M-My Lord, Count.”
Stammering foolishly, the man immediately dropped to one knee, bowing deeply as he looked up at Nerea.
“Johnny Hamilton pays homage to Your Excellency, the great war hero, Count Esteban.”
First “knight,” now “count.” But hearing his voice trembling so violently, she couldn’t bring herself to correct his address.
Across his strikingly handsome, unmistakably adult face, a fleeting trace of youthful innocence passed—familiar to Nerea.
“You likely don’t remember me, but I once served as Squire Terabans’ page on the Kirkly Peninsula. You even saved my life back then, my lord.”
The count’s expression remained unchanged. Johnny’s voice grew quieter.
“Of course, you saved tens of thousands, so you wouldn’t recall—but you also shared bread and food with me. And before that…”
Before that, and before that again… Johnny’s voice dwindled nearly to a whisper as he struggled to continue recounting the very incident himself—when suddenly, the count’s lips curled faintly upward.
“The brat who nearly burned my entire tent to the ground? How could I forget him.”
As Johnny’s eyes widened in shock, Nerea gazed alternately between Alejandro and him, chewing over a strange, bittersweet feeling.
That small brown-haired boy who had somehow started sticking close to young Alejandro—Johnny had helped haul buckets of hot bathwater for Alejandro so many times that he eventually suggested boiling water right inside the tent. Naturally, it nearly burned not only the bathtub but the whole tent as well.
“Rise. I’m grateful you came all this way.”
“Thank you, my lord.”
Johnny stood up. Watching him now beside Alejandro, Nerea couldn’t help but smile.
All this time, those pages I left behind have grown up together like this.
She felt unexpectedly relieved—Alejandro hadn’t been alone after all.
“My apologies, Count, for coming empty-handed despite working at a trading company. Next time, I’ll surely bring you a worthy gift.”
Johnny’s eyes reddened as he spoke, not even touching the tea Heather had brought him.
At least he hadn’t gone hungry, working at a trading house—no wonder he’d grown so well. Nerea turned her gaze toward Alejandro.
And the very next moment, she swallowed her smile.
“Then why are you sulking now that you’ve brought a friend along?”
“…I’m not sulking.”
Sure you aren’t.
His eyes, which had been lazily downturned just that afternoon, now turned sharp. His lips jutted out in unmistakable petulance—yet he insisted he wasn’t sulking.
Let’s see how far this goes, Nerea thought, feigning indifference.
“Then…”
“I’m just offended.”
“Why?”
For an instant, Alejandro’s face twisted.
This won’t do—she was about to burst out laughing. Quietly, Nerea called his name.
“Alejandro Zenax.”
At the soft call, Johnny looked at Alejandro, startled. Their entangled glances strangely grated on Nerea’s nerves, but she ignored it and instead spoke as lightly as she could.
“You went out just because you didn’t want to restore this house to its original state, didn’t you?”
“…”
“…Fine. Clasimen’s not here anyway, so I suppose keeping things as they are would be better if you plan to stay.”
Alejandro’s expression brightened slightly.
“But don’t touch my room.”
It dimmed again just a bit. Seeing his emotions play so openly on his face brought back fond memories of his younger days.
“And…”
“You’re going to add more conditions after already telling me not to replace the bed and wardrobe?”
Alejandro complained petulantly. There was still one crucial thing left unsaid. Nerea gave a pale smile and looked at the space between Alejandro and Johnny.
“…Don’t ever call me either ‘knight’ or ‘count.’”
“Then how should we…?”
Johnny, flustered, spoke a beat too late. True—what should they use? Nerea tilted her head slightly, puzzled.
“Anything’s fine. There must be some appropriate, plain form of address.”
Truthfully, anything other than those two was acceptable.
Upon hearing she’d accept any other name, Alejandro answered with a faint smile.
“No.”
“…What?”
Nerea, doubting her own ears, narrowed her eyes sharply. Instantly, the atmosphere froze.
.
.
.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you, Miss, took a cup of tea in there?”
“I’ll serve you tea—why don’t you go in?”
“No. Still, she’s the Count’s—no, the Knight’s—handmaiden, so surely she’s far more capable than I am.”
“I’ve never seen our young lady wear that expression before. I can’t go in.”
Nerea heard every word clearly through the door. Why hadn’t she noticed the terrible soundproofing until now? Shrugging her shoulders, she pondered briefly.
In truth, that very noise proved no one had visited this cabin until now. In this secluded place shared only by Heather and herself, all she’d ever heard was Heather’s humming, blended seamlessly into daily life.
Nerea didn’t want to ruin the current moment any further.
“I’ll give you one last chance—right now—to go out there and share a cheerful laugh with Johnny.”
Her raven-black hair, curled delicately at the ends, swayed lightly. Seated in his chair, Alejandro looked at her with dark eyes.
His gentle face, betraying no inner thoughts, felt strangely alien. On impulse, Nerea added,
“You could even tell me how you’ve been.”
“I’d rather not.”
The corners of Alejandro’s mouth lifted faintly. Beneath his aristocratic, firm jawline, his Adam’s apple moved softly. Every motion seemed to unfold in agonizing slowness. Then, Alejandro rose from his seat.
“How I’ve been…”
Two spans. Once two spans shorter than Nerea, he now felt more than two spans taller than her.
“I’ll tell only my knight.”
My knight.
That deliberate phrasing made her heart plummet. Afraid her expression might give her away, Nerea turned her head.
Did he mean their bond held no value if she wasn’t his knight?
As she struggled to suppress the ache in her chest, she suddenly caught Alejandro’s reflection in the window.
It was a strange sight. Perhaps due to the glass’s bulge, Alejandro’s expression seemed… Yes—just like her own right now.
At that moment, Alejandro, who had been silently watching her back, continued,
“Still, if you’d look at me right now, I’ll share an amusing fact.”
“…”
“I’m no longer Alejandro Zenax.”
Could this be connected to the rumors of his death? Nerea turned toward Alejandro before she even realized it.
“Alejandro Rosa.”
Nerea’s eyes widened. A startled breath escaped her lips.
“You’re Rosa? What does that even mean?”
Who in the Empire hadn’t heard of Rosa?
Rosa—Isolde Rose Castarti.
How could Alejandro possibly bear as his surname the honorific belonging to Isolde Rose Castarti, the most exalted imperial princess of the Castarti royal house?
Seemingly pleased by her reaction, Alejandro’s eyes curved into a smile. His jet-black irises sparkled like gemstones. His mesmerizing, low voice drew slightly closer.
“So now I may proudly address you as Rosa Nerea. Since everything I am belongs to my knight, even my surname submits to you. Above all…”
Though she couldn’t tell whether his words were truth or fiction, Nerea knew one thing: Alejandro wouldn’t lie about something like this.
And so, her breath trembled even more.
“After all, aren’t you the noblest woman in the world, my knight?”
Ah—now that she thought about it, there had been someone who didn’t know what “Rosa” meant: twelve-year-old Alejandro.
“Rosa Nerea. Alejandro Zenax, second son of House Zenax, pays homage to Count Esteban. It is my honor to meet you. I pledge my unwavering loyalty and service from this day forward.”
At twelve, believing “Rosa” to be a title reserved for the world’s most precious woman, Alejandro had stubbornly called her “Rosa Nerea” every time.
Carefully, reverently—as though uttering the world’s most noble name. And so, she’d never corrected him on purpose.
Those brief, sweet moments had lifted the curse Brienna had hurled upon her name like a vile insult.
Of course, it had been forcibly stopped days later by another knight who resented Nerea—but that was another story.
“Rosa? You don’t mean you’re calling Count Esteban ‘Rosa,’ do you? That’s imperial blasphemy, you idiot!”
“Alejandro.”
Nerea called his name.
Her voice trembled slightly, so she cleared her throat once, firmly. Alejandro smiled faintly.
“Yes?”
“How… how did you become Rosa?”
What on earth had happened to him—while scars formed on his large, sturdy hands and he shot up in height like this?
Just thinking about it made her dizzy. Overwhelmed by the weight of it all, Nerea could only stare at his lips. As she fought the feeling of her blood running cold, those lips, holding secrets close, parted gently.
“It’s a secret now. If you truly wish to know, command me to tell you.”
“You really—!”
Nerea bit back her scolding because Alejandro slowly knelt down on one knee.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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