Home/I confined you, but I have no ill will/ch 26

26.

"I suppose I should go see him."

With that, Kite turned to Ibelin. Sensing something ominous, she frantically shook her head—but there was no way Kite would heed that.

"My fiancée should come too."

He smiled as he said it, and he looked just like a demon.

"We haven't even held an engagement ceremony—how can you call me your fiancée!"

Desperate to avoid being dragged into an even more serious situation, Ibelin raised her voice. Yes—well said. They hadn't held an engagement ceremony, nor had their families reached any agreement. There were many deficiencies in calling her his fiancée.

"That's true."

Kite acknowledged that point readily. So could she finally extricate herself from this terrible situation? Just as Ibelin held onto a faint hope, he spoke again.

"Then we'll hold the engagement ceremony after His Majesty's birthday."

No—that's not it. Ibelin now waved her hands wildly.

"An engagement ceremony is between people who love each other!"

"I love you. You love me. Is there a problem?"

The problem is that it's all a lie!

Ibelin calmed herself down. Surely he couldn't really mean to go through with an actual engagement. It was just a lie to solidify their cover. Once the Emperor's birthday passed and he no longer needed her, he might let her go.

With that thought, she felt somewhat relieved.

"No—no problem at all."

Watching Ibelin suddenly calm down and look almost enlightened, Seren gazed at her with pity. She seemed to be quite an extraordinary person herself—but she was still no match for Kite. No matter how much Seren served his lord, realistically, Kite was not easy to handle.

"Then let's go see His Majesty."

"N-now?"

"Yes."

At his cold reply, Ibelin slumped to the floor. Before long, she was swept away by maids summoned by Kite. Though she had clung to the doorframe at first, it seemed even they couldn't bring themselves to be rough with a delicate young woman.

After Ibelin disappeared with sobs, Seren looked squarely at Kite.

"Now tell me the truth."

"The truth?"

"It's not really because you love her, is it?"

"Well—no."

Kite sat on the edge of the desk and grinned. Only Seren, Lucen, and Alex remained in the room. Seren was Kite's most trusted man, and Lucen and Alex were similar. Though they currently served as squad leaders, they would rise higher someday.

"First, Ibelin is indeed Baron Frillie's granddaughter."

"The eccentric man who saved your life?"

"Yes. And as befits an eccentric, he raised his granddaughter oddly. She's no ordinary noble lady—at the very least, he taught her how to fight against people."

"That's not something you'd normally teach a granddaughter."

"There must have been a reason."

"But even so—that alone isn't reason enough for her to be here."

Even if Ibelin could fight well, they were knights of House Gracias. Among the Empire's finest knight orders, there were many knights with exceptional abilities. Did they need Ibelin?

"Baron Frillie sometimes did strange things. He easily found hiding places for barbarians, and warned me of dangers that would befall me."

"Surely not—you think she has a special ability?"

"I don't know about Baron Frillie—but Ibelin definitely does."

Seren asked with a grave expression.

"What ability?"

"She said she sees the future in dreams. And what she saw this time was my death."

At Kite's smiling words, everyone's expressions chilled.

"So she confined me to protect me."

"Confined! You mean she was able to confine you?"

Alex gaped in astonishment. Even if they all attacked together, they couldn't subdue Kite—so the fact that she had confined him spoke volumes. No wonder there were so many strange things in that basement.

"By the way—seers aren't exactly common nowadays, are they?"

"They're just hard to find—but they exist somewhere."

In the era before magic faded, there had reportedly been many seers. As the times changed, their numbers diminished—but because the ability was inherited by blood, someone might still possess what was once called a legendary power.

"Have you verified it?"

"Yes."

"Very well—then Lady Ibelin should stay here."

"Playing the role of a fiancée suits her well."

Lucen also agreed with Seren.

Thus, Ibelin's fate was decided in her absence.

---

Meanwhile, Ibelin had been dragged to the mansion's bath and was being washed by others.

"I can—I can wash myself!"

She tried hard to protest, but the maids only smiled gently and shook their heads.

After scrubbing her clean, they applied oil to her softened skin and perfume to her hair. They rounded her nails and removed every hangnail, then coated them with a clear polish that made them sparkle.

After being groomed from head to toe and dressed in new clothes, she felt like a different person.

I don't feel like myself.

Ibelin marveled at her reflection, turning this way and that. Each time, the expensive earrings dangling from her ears swayed lightly.

"I apologize—if we had known earlier, we could have prepared better clothes. Our preparations were insufficient."

Even then, the maids apologized to her. That meant even this didn't satisfy them. What kind of lives did noble ladies live? Ibelin was also a noble lady and knew a few—but none lived like this. The capital was evidently different.

When she stepped out after such extensive grooming, Kite was waiting for her.

"Oh?"

Kite let out a low whistle at the sight of her.

"Lord Kite!"

Seren immediately scolded him, but he paid no mind. He simply approached Ibelin and smiled gently.

"My fiancée has become even more beautiful?"

She was tired of denying it now. Ibelin asked coyly.

"How much more?"

"Beyond words."

What a flirt. She knew he had never actually had a woman by his side, but it still felt strange.

"Shall we head to the palace now?"

Normally, entering the palace required prior notice and permission—but there was one person exempt from all that: Kite von Gracias, the Emperor's uncle and the Empire's greatest sword.

Ibelin boarded the same carriage that had brought her to the ducal residence, and headed to the palace with Kite. Her heart began to pound at the thought of entering the palace for the first time in her life.

And so, on that day, Ibelin entered the palace for the first time and had an audience with the Emperor.

---

The young Emperor's face lit up at the sight of Kite.

"Lord Kite! Where have you been all this time?"

Running over in a flurry, Leonhardt immediately embraced Kite. They looked like an ordinary uncle and nephew, heartwarming to behold—but not everyone felt that way.

The pale-faced man beside Leonhardt wore an even darker expression at their reunion. But the Emperor paid him no mind, clinging to Kite and chattering.

"Do you know how worried I was? Where were you?"

"I had something to take care of, so I laid low for a while."

"What was it?"

Leonhardt asked with wide eyes. For the man said to be the strongest in the Empire to need to hide—he couldn't help but be curious.

"Would you like to know?"

"I do!"

"Then let's go inside—I have someone to introduce you to as well."

"Ah—you mean the person behind you?"

"Yes."

Kite naturally placed Ibelin beside him.

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