Home/I confined you, but I have no ill will/ch6

6.

"Don't make bets on things like that."

There was contempt in his words to Alex. But Alex didn't budge—instead, he provoked Lucen.

"You're just saying that because you're not confident you'll win."

"That's ridiculous."

"Liar."

As Alex chuckled, Lucen fell for his bait as usual. It seemed Alex's laugh genuinely got under his skin—he always reacted like this when he laughed.

"Fine then. I'll wager two gold coins on a month."

That sparked the beginning of a betting frenzy.

"I say two weeks and two days. I don't think it'll last a month."

"Nah, the fact that it's already been two weeks means it might be someone impressive."

Someone impressive for tailing another person? For a moment, he doubted that—but then remembered that the man in question was Kite, the Mad Dog and captain of the Gracias Knights. In many ways, he was a fascinating subject to observe. The betting grew more heated.

Birds of a feather flock together. The knights would have scowled and denied it if they heard, but their temperaments were subtly similar to Kite's. The only relatively normal one was Vice-Commander Seren.

Seren tried to get angry and stop the knights, but Kite waved his hand to discourage him.

"Leave them be."

"But Captain!"

"They need some amusement, don't they?"

"We are a knightly order."

"Knights can do this too. Put down that stiff posture for a while."

With that, Kite rose from his seat and stood by the window. The gaze watching him was still there today. From the row of trees visible in the distance, he sensed a presence. He considered rushing out to chase them, but there was no guarantee he could catch them. The other party acted like a skittish rabbit.

"Tch."

It was irritating. Extremely irritating—but they didn't seem to be a professional, and they hadn't caused any harm yet. Even Kite, for all his ferocity, didn't beat people without reason.

Everyone called him the Mad Dog—but even that Mad Dog had his own code.

---

Ibelin clutched her pounding heart.

I think our eyes met.

But that couldn't be. The distance to the mansion was considerable—even someone with sharp eyesight wouldn't easily spot her.

It was an excessively far distance for a tail, but given who her target was, she exercised extreme caution. Because she had seen what happened to those who crossed the Archduke.

The most representative example was the information broker—the one who had shown her the inside of his mouth at their first meeting.

I don't want my teeth knocked out.

She was a penniless noble's daughter from the provinces, but she had lived peacefully. There had been crises, but she had never been seriously injured—and she didn't want to be.

Ibelin took a deep breath and cautiously peeked out from behind the tree again. This time, she felt no gaze upon her.

Was it just my imagination after all?

What a relief. Ibelin brushed her chest and let out a deep sigh. She remained there for a while, only slipping away from the tree line after the mansion's lights went out. Now it was time for other preparations.

She had observed the Archduke and pondered for a long time. Before long, she reached a conclusion. Sending letters to warn of danger was utterly useless.

The Archduke received an enormous volume of correspondence, befitting his fame—and letters from strangers were all discarded by his staff before they ever reached him. So no matter how many letters Ibelin sent, it was pointless.

She couldn't deliver the warning in person, either—the guards at the gate would drive her away.

But I don't want to give up.

It was her grandfather's dearest wish. Ibelin refused to abandon it and searched for a way.

Danger was approaching the Archduke, but she couldn't convey the information. And there was no chance he would believe her even if she could. What could she do in this situation?

First, she spoke aloud what she knew, counting on her fingers.

"I know when the Archduke will be in danger."

The Emperor's birthday. After verifying it through multiple dreams, she was now certain it would be that day.

"The problem is, I don't know anything else."

Who the attackers were, why they were attacking, what became of the Archduke in the end. If the dreams were going to show her the future, they could have been a bit more thorough.

Sighing in frustration, a thought suddenly struck her. What if the Archduke simply didn't leave his mansion during the festival? His residence was heavily guarded and safe.

"No."

It had seemed like a good idea at first, but it wouldn't work. Even if she sent a threatening letter specifying the date, the Archduke would not stay quietly holed up. In the first place, he received more than his fair share of threatening letters.

It might be better to simply kidnap him and confine him in a safe place.

At that thought, Ibelin blinked.

It was somewhat drastic—but it didn't feel like a bad idea.

Her grandfather used to say that to protect someone, you sometimes had to give things up. In this case, all she had to give up was her law-abiding principles.

"Isn't this a good plan?"

Later, Ibelin would recall this moment and wonder why her mind had gone there. She must have been exhausted from tailing the Archduke and gathering information day after day. But to actually consider putting it into action!

Perhaps her grandfather's spirit had flickered into her for just a moment.

---

Having decided to confine the Archduke, Ibelin set to work busily. Since her target was such a formidable figure, she could not afford any shortcomings in her planning. For that reason, she currently wished she could be in two places at once.

She tailed Kite as he moved about, and used her remaining time to prepare for the confinement. Choosing a location wasn't difficult—her grandfather's basement was available. But even that suspiciously well-stocked basement had some subtle shortcomings.

It seemed she would need to prepare more for a person to live there comfortably. The caretaker had never come down to the basement, so cleaning was the first order of business.

She dusted off the accumulated grime and laid carpets over the cold floor. Fortunately, there was already a bed—she only needed to change the bedding. Then she prepared food. There was a room filled with preserved provisions, but still—this was her benefactor. She wanted to feed him well.

Normally, noble ladies didn't bother learning to cook, but Ibelin was different. Her grandfather had taken her through mountains and fields, teaching her several things.

Quail roasted in clay, stew made with grain flour and jerky, whole freshly caught animals roasted over fire, mushrooms and fruits prepared for eating. Since mountain nights were cold, she had also learned to make hot stew.

I sometimes made it for Grandfather, too.

After eating, he would give her a thumbs-up.

"You have a talent for cooking."

Of course, he might have just been saying that as a doting grandfather. But still—if someone praised it, surely the food was at least edible, right?

Ibelin gave a small, false cough. Fortunately, the capital's markets sold every ingredient she could think of. Meal preparation posed no problem.

The problem lay elsewhere. Her grandfather had said that humans cannot live on food, clothing, and shelter alone.

"After all, you need things to enjoy."

A wise thought. Given the Archduke's temperament, if he got bored, who knew what he might do—so she decided to find something to keep him reasonably occupied.

Games.

There wouldn't be any games he could play alone. Ibelin decided to skip games. She had no confidence she could endure if he asked to play together. Instead, she decided to buy some books.

But I don't know what kind of books he likes.

After some deliberation, Ibelin stopped by a bookstore. Worried that traces might be found later, she sought out a small secondhand shop in the back alleys.

From her observations, compared to other bookstores, this one had older books, fewer customers, and the owner—perhaps due to age—often forgot things. In other words, it was a safe shop.

Ding.

As Ibelin opened the door and stepped inside, a small bell chimed.

"Welcome."

The bookstore owner smiled warmly and rose from his chair.

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