IBMH 06

Chapter 06

Held Prisoner, But There Is No Malice

“You shouldn’t make bets about things like that.”

There was clear contempt in Lersen’s voice as he spoke to Alex. But Alex didn’t budge and instead provoked him further.

“Is it because you’re not confident you’ll win?”

“That’s not it.”

“You’re lying.”

Alex chuckled, and Lersen once again fell for his usual provocation. He always got like that when Alex laughed—it seemed genuinely irritating to him.

“Fine then. I’ll bet two gold coins per month.”

With that, the betting started to spread.

“I’ll say two weeks and two days. No way it lasts a full month.”

“No, no. It already lasted two weeks. That’s actually impressive.”

A person who digs into others’ affairs? He hesitated for a moment, but that man was none other than Kaite, the “mad dog” captain of the Gracious Knights. In many ways, he was an interesting subject to observe. The betting grew more heated.

Birds of a feather flock together. If the knights heard this, they would deny it outright, but their personalities were oddly similar to Kaite’s. The only somewhat normal one was the vice-captain, Seren.

Seren tried to stop them in anger, but Kaite raised a hand to stop him.

“Let them be.”

“But Captain!”

“They need at least this kind of entertainment.”

“We are a knight order.”

“A knight order can have this kind of thing too. Let’s set aside rigidity for a moment.”

With that, Kaite stood up and walked to the window. The same eyes watching him were still there today. Far in the distance, near the tree-lined road, he could feel someone’s presence.

He even considered rushing out to catch them—but there was no guarantee he would succeed. His target was acting like a frightened rabbit.

“Tch.”

Annoying. Extremely annoying. And yet they didn’t seem like a trained expert, nor had they actually done anything harmful yet. As wild as Kaite was called, he didn’t strike people without reason.

Everyone called him a mad dog—but even that mad dog had thoughts.

Evelyn pressed a pounding hand to her chest.

I think our eyes met.

But that couldn’t be. The mansion was far enough that even someone with sharp eyesight shouldn’t be able to see her.

It was too far for proper surveillance, but given who her target was, she stayed extra cautious. She had already seen what happened to those who crossed the Grand Duke.

The best example was the information broker—the man who had shown her his mouth on their first meeting.

I don’t want my teeth pulled out.

She had lived peacefully as a minor, powerless noble lady. There had been dangers, but she had never been seriously hurt. And she didn’t want to be hurt now.

Evelyn took a deep breath and peeked her head out from behind the tree-lined street again.

This time, she felt no gaze at all.

Was it just my imagination?

Relief washed over her. She let out a long breath and finally left the trees only after the mansion lights went out.

Now it was time for another plan.

She had long thought about the Grand Duke while watching him, and she had already reached a conclusion.

Sending a letter to warn him would be useless.

The Grand Duke received enormous amounts of mail, and anything from unknown senders was discarded at the servants’ first inspection.

So letters were pointless.

And she couldn’t go in person either—the guards at the gate would drive her away.

But I don’t want to give up.

This was her grandfather’s wish.

Evelyn kept searching for a solution.

There was danger approaching the Grand Duke—but she had no way to deliver the information. And there was no reason for him to trust her.

What should she do in this situation?

She started by saying what she knew out loud.

“One. I know when the Grand Duke will be in danger.”

The Emperor’s birthday celebration. After verifying it multiple times through her dreams, she was certain it was that day.

“The problem is… I don’t know anything else.”

Who the attackers were. Why they would strike. What would happen to the Grand Duke afterward.

If the dreams were going to show her anything, they could at least show everything.

Evelyn sighed in frustration, then suddenly had a thought.

What if the Grand Duke simply didn’t leave his mansion during the festival?

His residence was heavily guarded and safe.

“No.”

It seemed like a good idea at first, but it wasn’t.

Even if she sent a warning letter with a specific date, the Grand Duke wouldn’t just stay locked inside.

And he wasn’t the only one receiving threats.

So rather than that…

It would be better to kidnap him and keep him somewhere safe.

Evelyn blinked.

It was extreme—but it didn’t feel like a bad idea.

Her grandfather had once said that if you want to protect someone, you sometimes have to give things up.

In this case, she would just have to give up legality.

“That’s a good idea, isn’t it?”

Later, Evelyn would look back and wonder how her thoughts had taken such a turn.

Maybe she had been exhausted from constantly tailing the Grand Duke.

Or maybe… her grandfather’s spirit had possessed her for a moment.

But at that time, she had seriously concluded:

She would imprison the Grand Duke.

Once Evelyn decided to kidnap him, she immediately began preparing.

Given how important her target was, her plan had to be flawless.

She even wished she had two bodies.

While she continued following Kaite’s movements, she used her remaining time to prepare for the imprisonment.

Choosing the place wasn’t difficult—her grandfather’s basement already existed.

However, even that strangely well-equipped basement was still missing a few things.

It needed to be more comfortable for a person.

Since the caretaker didn’t usually come down there, she started by cleaning.

She wiped away dust and laid carpets over the cold floor.

There was already a bed, so she only replaced the bedding.

Then she prepared food.

There were preserved supplies, but this was someone who had helped her. He deserved good food.

Most noble ladies didn’t learn cooking, but Evelyn was different.

Her grandfather had dragged her through mountains and fields and taught her many things.

Meat wrapped in mud and roasted quail. Stews made from grain flour and dried meat. Whole animals roasted fresh. Mushrooms and fruits carefully prepared. Warm stews for cold mountain nights.

I used to cook for Grandpa sometimes.

And he would always give her a thumbs-up after eating.

“You have talent for cooking.”

Of course, he might have said it just because she was his beloved granddaughter—but still, it meant it was edible, right?

Evelyn coughed softly.

Fortunately, the city market sold everything she needed.

Food preparation wasn’t a problem.

The real problem came elsewhere.

Her grandfather had said that people don’t live on food and clothing alone.

“You also need something to enjoy.”

That made sense.

Given the Grand Duke’s personality, if he got bored, he might do something unpredictable.

Games.

But there probably weren’t games for someone alone.

She quickly gave up on that idea—if he asked her to play with him, she wasn’t confident she could handle it.

Instead, she decided to buy books.

But I don’t know what he likes.

After thinking, she went to a bookstore.

Concerned about leaving traces, she chose a small secondhand bookstore in a back alley.

It was quiet, the books were old, and the owner seemed to forget things easily due to age.

A safe place.

Ding.

The bell rang as she entered.

“Welcome.”

The bookstore owner smiled warmly and stood up from his chair.