Chapter 12
“Is this your taste?”
At the question, Mary slowly blinked.
“Huh?”
“I’m asking if this is your taste.”
“If you mean this…”
“Pornographic books.”
Mary’s eyes widened. With trembling hands, she picked up the book that had fallen to the floor and opened it.
“Ah?”
A breathless sound escaped her mouth, and her face turned bright red like a tomato.
“N-no! It’s a misunderstanding! I didn’t know it was this kind of book!”
“Lies.”
At the accusing voice, Mary shook her head violently.
“Really, really, I didn’t know! The bookstore owner just said it was a book men would like!”
Listening to her panicked excuses, he began to understand why everything had felt strange from the beginning.
“Hahaha.”
Kaite laughed.
Ah, so that’s why I was locked up.
From the way the maid was acting, it didn’t seem like she intended to harm him. If she had, she wouldn’t have put embarrassing pink fur lining inside the handcuffs. She wouldn’t have cared even if it caused wounds.
“I thought the clingy crazy bastards were all gone.”
It was different from when Sarain had been around. Kaite had wandered battlefields and awakened his talent, and now there were almost no people stronger than him. And since he lived as a madman, anyone perverted enough to cling to him had already disappeared. Or so he thought.
“You like me.”
He didn’t even know whether Mary’s master truly existed or not. But one thing was certain. Either Mary or her master liked Kaite enough to imprison him.
‘Then why didn’t they just express it properly?’
They probably did. But Kaite’s residence was heavily secured, and all letters from unknown senders were discarded. Visitors were the same—no one could enter unless they were truly close to him. And Kaite himself acted like a madman, so there were very few close people.
‘So the conclusion was kidnapping.’
Kaite thought this woman, Mary, must have been someone who had been tailing him.
If someone had truly intended to catch him, they could have done it somehow—but they didn’t. It was probably because someone this persistent was new.
And yet, she had been caught so easily due to such a sloppy method. It was absurd.
Still, he thought he understood her feelings a little. Even someone like him had a good appearance.
Kaite said firmly:
“So you locked me up, right?”
No one would imprison a Sword Master out of love… normally.
But Kaite didn’t trust people. Most might be ordinary, but some would risk even their lives to get what they wanted. That kind of person existed.
“You’re a stalker. So you’re a stalker.”
Kaite looked at Evelin with amused eyes. Of all the people who had ever shown interest in him, she was the most uniquely insane.
To think she even tried to imprison the strongest swordsman of the empire.
He smiled with his eyes curved.
“Alright, stalker. What are you going to do now?”
Whatever she did would be a new experience.
The empire was busy with the Emperor’s birthday, but Kaite himself didn’t have much to do. He could afford to play along for a few days.
Up until now, he had always overturned every crisis and turned the situation around. This time would be no different.
‘Stalker?’
Evelin opened her mouth without realizing it at the word she had heard for the first time in her life.
‘Stalker… stalker?!’
She had lived without shame toward the heavens, so why did she have to hear such an outrageous word?
And for some reason, Kaite seemed convinced that she liked him.
‘No!’
Evelin’s ideal type was not a good-looking scoundrel.
‘I like someone upright, like a grandfather.’
Looks could be average. But the personality had to be good. Someone kind, like the grandfather who had comforted her stubbornly when she was grieving after losing her parents.
“I’m not interested in someone like Your Grace, the Grand Duke.”
The words came out sharply before she could stop them.
No matter how frightening the person was, she had to say what needed to be said.
“Oh, really?”
He answered calmly, but he didn’t seem to believe her at all.
“Really, I’m not! I care more about personality than looks!”
“Is my personality not fine?”
“Pardon? Are you serious?”
When she asked directly, one of Kaite’s eyebrows rose slightly.
“Then let me ask you back. What exactly is wrong with my personality?”
“You can tell just by reading the newspaper.”
“Ah, newspapers. Half of those articles are lies. It’s all a conspiracy to make me look like a bad person.”
Lies.
While Evelin had secretly investigated him, she had found out that there were even more incidents than what was publicly known.
She looked speechless.
“Besides, you kidnapped me. Isn’t it funny that someone who kidnaps people would want a gentle ideal type?”
“Th-that’s true, but!”
All of this had been done to save Kaite. But would he believe that if she said it honestly? And her family had told her to keep her foresight ability hidden.
Even in this age where magic had faded, some descendants still carried abilities. And people who coveted them were many. Especially foresight—it was extremely rare and valuable.
Evelin closed her mouth tightly.
After a while, she muttered quietly.
“Still… I like kind people.”
“People always say they care about personality over looks. But when they stand in front of me, they change their words.”
Kaite was confident in his appearance. He really was beautiful enough to shake people.
But Evelin would never fall for him.
She sighed in frustration and placed a hand on her chest, quietly calling upon God’s name.
If she didn’t calm down, she felt like she would explode.
“Calm down…”
“So, stalker.”
“I’m not a stalker.”
“Someone who kidnaps and locks people up is either a kidnapper or a stalker.”
Grandfather, do I really have to help someone like this?
Evelin took a deep breath and tightened her grip on the tray.
She lifted the tea she had originally prepared for Kaite and drank it herself instead. Lavender tea that helped calm the mind—it did help a little.
“Where’s my tea?”
Evelin answered coldly.
“There isn’t any.”
“You said you’d serve tea. So you lock me up and don’t even give me tea?”
As if he ever drank tea often anyway.
Evelin gritted her teeth and dragged the tray back out.
“Stalker.”
It seemed that had become his name for her.
Exhausted, Evelin recalled what she had been thinking hundreds of times.
‘Still… he’s my benefactor. My benefactor.’
She forced a smile with superhuman patience.
“I’ll brew the tea again.”
There were tools in the underground to heat water easily. Using them, she boiled water again and brought the tea.
But Kaite immediately poured it onto the floor.
“Ah, oops. I spilled it by accident.”
Let’s not forget. This man saved her grandfather on the battlefield.
“Oh dear. Shall I bring it again?”
“Do that.”
At his arrogant reply, Evelin went out again.
But even when she brought fresh tea, the result was the same.
“I don’t like the teacup.”
What does that have to do with pouring tea on the floor?
“Besides, why should I trust tea made by a stalker?”
At his mocking voice, Evelin clenched her fist without realizing it.
Benefactor or not, she really wanted to hit him once.
Her grandfather always said food should be respected, but this man had no manners at all.
‘He’s doing it on purpose.’
He was provoking her on purpose. Trying to break her composure so she would slip up and give him a chance to escape.
Thinking that way, her heated head cooled down.
She almost forgot what her grandfather taught her.
“Dinner: steak with garnish, mushroom soup, and don’t forget the salad.”
“I’ll prepare it as best as I can.”
Evelin smiled again.
She would suppress her emotions for now.
Even if he was a terrible scoundrel, he was still a Sword Master. To keep him safely restrained, she had to adapt to him.
