Home/I confined you, but I have no ill will/ch 113

113.

Without hesitation, Unknown brought the blade to the back of his hand.

Slice—

The sensation of skin parting and blood welling up was as unpleasant as ever. As droplets fell to the floor with a soft thud, along with the dull pain, his silver eyes lost focus and grew hazy.

For a brief moment, fragmented visions of the future flooded in—a blood-soaked corridor, Teyrin's knights falling without a scream, and a single person responsible for it all.

"..."

When the vision ended, light returned to Unknown's eyes. Intense headache and nausea swept over him, but he swallowed the pain as he always did.

"What did you see!"

Pavltin pressed him impatiently. In this situation, Unknown's prophecy was his only hope. But Unknown didn't reveal Ibelin's whereabouts. Instead, he spoke of something else.

"Gracias is approaching."

"What? The knights!"

"They've already been subdued."

"You mean those knights fell that easily?"

"The opponent is a Swordmaster."

"Then what should we do?"

"With the forces remaining here, we can't stop his blade—we must flee."

Throughout, Unknown's voice betrayed no emotion.

"Then shouldn't we first secure Prince Richt?"

"Damn it!"

Pavltin kicked an old crate in frustration. It collapsed easily, sending dust into the air.

The plan was perfect!

He'd recruited Draven and assassins to divert attention and captured the seer. Not an artificial one, but the noble bloodline of ancient seers! How much could he have accomplished with that.

But everything had fallen apart. He could flee with Richt now and save their lives, but there would be no next time. Having lost the seer once, his enemies would be prepared. Attempting to kidnap her again would be far more difficult.

Besides, Richt wasn't the type to keep someone who'd failed so badly. Pavltin knew the fear of downfall—he'd come from a fallen noble house. He'd clawed his way up; could he afford to fall again? Absolutely not.

With bloodshot eyes, he glared at Unknown.

"Do it again! See the future again—and find the seer!"

"I can, but are you saying you want to waste time searching for her while Gracias approaches?"

Unknown's calm question made Pavltin grind his teeth. It wasn't wrong. But he had to do something rather than return empty-handed. Richt would protect himself—he was a prince. So he had to capture the seer.

"If necessary, yes!"

Flaring up, Pavltin then took a deep breath. Anger wouldn't improve the situation—he needed to be rational.

"Unknown. You have someone you hate, don't you?"

Finally, a human expression appeared on Unknown's face.

"The Wolf."

A figure who had once operated in Pabeln's Intelligence Department. Pavltin didn't know his exact identity, but he knew what he had done.

He'd rampaged through the Empire trying to save the test subjects, including Unknown, and had been driven out. He'd infiltrated once more afterward but gained nothing. Pavltin had heard from the managers that Unknown often spoke of his hatred for the Wolf.

When a man who usually showed kindness does something wrong, he's judged more harshly.

"Don't you want revenge on him?"

Intelligence Departments were generally filled with people loyal to their Empire—especially Pabeln's. So the Wolf would want Pabeln to stand firm.

"I'll help you."

Unknown's expression turned cold. Pavltin was certain he had struck the rawest nerve. Raised to obey unconditionally, Unknown's strongest emotion must be hatred toward the Wolf—and nothing drives people like hatred.

"So see the future again."

But that was a shallow understanding. Pavltin didn't know that beneath Unknown's hatred lay a longing for life.

Revenge. Yes—I must take revenge.

Unknown repeated the words as he looked at Pavltin. The Wolf wasn't his only target—there were many he wanted dead. If they hadn't kidnapped him as a child, hadn't made him a test subject, hadn't abused him to see the future... countless possibilities crossed his mind.

Pavltin had been one of the supervisors of the experiments.

I want to kill him.

He wanted to kill him right now.

But Unknown knew it was impossible. Pavltin had been trained in combat as Intelligence Department head. Unknown had never been taught to fight—and learning by observation required talent.

Overwhelmed by emotion, he felt suffocated. Then, Ibelin's words came back to him.

"Find the reason that will make you truly live and laugh."

Slowly, he exhaled and released the tension in his body.

"There's no time. We have to run."

Unknown had already made his decision. From the moment he let Ibelin go, he had chosen his own end.

He still hated Kailun. He still resented that he hadn't saved his friends.

Even so—

The thought of killing Kailun had faded. Instead, he wanted to erase the root of all this. Ibelin had told him to live for himself, but he couldn't imagine such a life. He'd lived this way his whole life—he couldn't change now. So he would return to Teyrin and sever the wretched ties.

"You useless bastard...!"

Pavltin cursed. It was clear he wanted to use Unknown somehow, but time had passed. If he wanted to escape Kite with his life, he had to leave now. Only by staying alive could he plan for the future.

He headed toward a secret passage cleverly hidden in the corner. The mansion had several escape routes, which was why they'd chosen it.

"Let's go."

At Pavltin's words, Unknown stepped forward. Walking back into hell, his feet felt heavy—but he could still move.

As he was halfway into the passage, a familiar voice came from behind.

"Where are you going?"

Ibelin. Unknown turned quickly—so did Pavltin. His perpetually twisted expression brightened.

"Oh—lucky me."

Ibelin stood proudly in the doorway. She looked much the same as when he'd last seen her, but the weapons in her hands had changed. She'd only had a short dagger before; now the blade was longer. In her other hand, she held a coiled whip.

"The seer appears in person!"

Pavltin grinned and drew a gun from his coat. It would be best to capture her unharmed, but time was short. He'd have to accept some damage.

"You know what this is?"

"A gun."

Ibelin answered calmly—more calmly than Unknown, who watched them.

"Good—then we understand each other. Drop your weapons and come here, or I'll shoot."

"Kill me?"

"Kill you? Of course not—I need you."

"Hmm."

Tilting her head, Ibelin spoke with distaste.

"How unfortunate."

Then she began to uncoil the whip in her hand.

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