Home/I confined you, but I have no ill will/ch 107

Chapter 107: 

"Don't lie to me."

Ivelyn's voice was firm. At her words, Unknown's silver eyes trembled faintly. She stared intently at his thin hand gripping her wrist, then raised her head to meet his gaze directly.

"You say it doesn't matter? I don't know how you survived that hellish past, or what terrible pain you endured to make it this far. But is the only reason you held on so desperately really just to turn yourself to ashes in the end?"

"...What—what do you know?"

"You're right, I don't know. But I can see you trembling precariously on the edge of a cliff right now."

Instead of pulling her wrist free, Ivelyn raised her other hand and gently covered Unknown's cold fingers. Her touch was slow and calm.

"Revenge? Fine. If you can do it, then do it. But if all that remains after your revenge is your own death, then that's not victory."

"Shut up...!"

"You want to live."

Unknown's lips quivered, as if she had struck him in his very core. His face, always so dry and expressionless, twisted in agony like a young boy confronting pain for the first time. In Ivelyn's steady gaze, there was no mockery, no fear—only compassion and conviction.

"You want to live an ordinary life. The one who destroyed you wasn't my grandfather. It was you who destroyed yourself."

That truth only drove Unknown further into madness. If she had shown fear, he would have shoved her away and ended the conversation then and there. But Ivelyn looked at him like a wounded, lost soul.

"Then..." Unknown barely managed to force out the words. "Then what was I supposed to do? After everything was taken from me, after I was trapped in hell—how was I supposed to live?!"

"You can stop now. Even now."

Ivelyn answered without a moment's hesitation.

"You can't change the past, but at least you can choose your ending. Don't throw away the rest of your life as fodder for the ghosts of yesterday. Your life is precious too."

In that instant, the strength in Unknown's grip on her wrist melted away. The hatred that had filled his entire being extinguished like a fire stamped out. He flinched as if he had touched a burning ember and stumbled backward.

"You..."

Unknown started to speak, then clamped his mouth shut. Caught in inner turmoil, even his breathing grew ragged. He had lived his entire life thinking only of revenge, yet now, hearing Ivelyn's words, his resolve wavered.

In the end, unable to meet her eyes, he turned away like a hunted beast and fled.

BANG—!

The door slammed shut. His footsteps faded into the distance. Silence descended once more over the room. Ivelyn gently rubbed her reddened wrist.

She didn't know what had possessed her to say all that. But looking at Unknown, she had felt nothing but pity. She wished for the rest of his life to be happy—to find joy in small things like any ordinary person, to eat well and sleep peacefully.

Even knowing that Unknown was the mastermind behind the current events, she couldn't bring herself to hate him completely.

"Really, this meddling nature of mine is hopeless."

With a small sigh, Ivelyn sat down on the sofa.

---

Pavltin could not for the life of him read Rihart's true intentions. This was a man who had survived the blood-soaked succession race for the throne—clearly no fool. Yet his attitude toward Ivelyn seemed dangerously reckless.

"Your Highness, what in the world are you thinking?"

Unable to contain himself, Pavltin raised his voice harshly.

"That woman is a prophet! And now you suddenly speak of making her your empress? This is too great a gamble."

"Calm down, Pavltin."

Rihart wiped the wine from his lips with elegant grace and smiled coolly.

"No matter how much of a prophet she is, in the end, she is still just a woman."

"Have you already forgotten that she pulled lethal weapons from beneath her skirts?"

"I remember. In fact, that part left quite an impression."

Rihart planted both hands on the table and leaned toward Pavltin. Greed and calculation wove together sharply in his eyes.

"Think about it, Pavltin. When she drew those weapons, it wasn't some childish bluff. In a space full of enemies, she was calculating how to lure them into carelessness and secure her own safety—a highly strategic move. For a young lady from a border territory, she's remarkably clever and quick to read a situation."

"Which is precisely why you should not keep her close! Above all, she is the woman who was with Kite!"

"Exactly! That's the point!"

Rihart cut him off, his eyes gleaming.

"That woman chose Kite—the strongest sword in the empire—to survive, or perhaps for power. So what if we isolate her physically and mentally here? Clever people always side with the winner. The moment she deems Kite's sword useless, she'll have no choice but to reach out to me, the next emperor, to survive."

Rihart's words were laced with ruthless calculation. Pavltin fell silent for a moment.

"Do you fully trust Unknown?"

At Rihart's question, Pavltin's eyes wavered.

"Unknown's actions have grown noticeably strange lately. He speaks of a greater cause, but it seems his true purpose lies elsewhere. Moreover, his foresight has become erratic. We need to replace him before he slips out of our control."

Rihart rose from his seat and swept his hand across the imperial map adorning the wall.

"Ivelyn. If she carries the bloodline of foresight, I will make her my empress and imprint that power into the royal lineage. I will claim both the imperial throne and the unbetrayable power of prophecy in one stroke. For that reward, isn't it worth taming that dangerous woman?"

This was no simple infatuation. Everything was calculated for the throne. Only then did Pavltin grasp the depth of Rihart's ambition and madness, swallowing dryly.

"But Your Highness, will that woman so easily accept your proposal? Only moments ago, she hurled insults at you."

"That's because she still clings to the shallow hope that Gracias will come to save her."

Rihart lifted his chin arrogantly and sneered.

"Give her comfort over time, but block all information from the outside. Once despair seeps into her very bones, she will choose my rational salvation over that beast Gracias."

"...I will keep that in mind."

Rihart's strategy was politically sound. Even Pavltin, unable to find a logical counterargument, bowed his head.

But as he left the command room, cold sweat trickled down Pavltin's spine. If Ivelyn were truly the shrewd woman who moved only for Kite's power, then Rihart's calculation might work.

Yet the first time he had faced her—the aura she radiated, those unflinching eyes—they were not the eyes of someone clinging to power to survive. They were closer to the eyes of a hunter, biding its time to strike prey.

'Unsettling. She is not someone who will be tamed as quietly as His Highness imagines.'

Pavltin resolved to double the surveillance. Just in case. For now, that was all he could do.

"Inside and out."

It wouldn't be easy to guard her. Especially since they were not yet within the Taerin Empire—extra caution was necessary. Though it seemed unlikely Kite would find this place anytime soon, it never hurt to be careful. For the time being, Unknown's monitoring would also need to be tightened. In times like these, one could never be too cautious.

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