IBMH 11

Chapter 11

“They have imprisoned him, but there is no malice.”

“Both of you, stop! Do you really need to fight at a time like this?”

Only then did Rsen and Alex stop grappling with each other. They both knew very well that although Seren usually looked calm, she became a completely different person when she was angry.

“First, we will go back and carefully trace the evidence again. Rsen!”

“Yes!”

“You take charge of this.”

“Understood.”

“And Alex.”

“Yes!”

“Try to find any witnesses who might have seen something.”

Even though they constantly bickered, both of them were top-ranked knights in the order. That was why they each led their own divisions.

Rsen and Alex quickly ran out, leading their respective teams.

After the knights rushed out, Seren remained and moved with a few remaining knights.

Rsen, once a ranger, was skilled at tracking traces. Alex, having risen from the bottom, was good with people. When he talked to them, even deeply hidden stories would often come out naturally.

And Seren could do what neither of them could.

Requesting cooperation from every department in the capital.

“My head is already starting to hurt.”

Seren was acting under the assumption that Kaite had disappeared, but she wasn’t sure others would believe her. He had caused far too many incidents before.

And her prediction was not wrong.

First, the capital guard.

“Uh… you mean His Grace, the Grand Duke Grasius, has disappeared?”

The guard captain’s face showed his honest emotions clearly.

‘No way!’

He looked like he had a lot to say but held it back.

“Maybe he just stepped out for a while? I mean…”

He chose his words carefully, as if life itself was precious.

“Isn’t he usually moving around freely anyway? And he’s the Empire’s Swordmaster. Who would dare lay a hand on him?”

If it were another Swordmaster, maybe it could be possible, but there was no reason. It wasn’t even wartime.

And that man was notoriously difficult to deal with. He was not the kind of person who would be quietly captured without leaving any trace. So from the captain’s perspective, it was hard to accept Seren’s claim.

“Still, we request your cooperation.”

The captain squinted at her.

Do you even have any shame? Do you really think the Grand Duke was harmed?

“Requesting cooperation.”

But Seren did not back down. She showed no sign of leaving until he agreed.

In the end, exhausted by the repeated demand, the captain spoke.

“…How should we help you?”

“Lend me the guard.”

“How many men do you need?”

“All of them.”

The captain barely swallowed the words that almost came out.

‘Crazy.’

This guy looks normal on the outside, but he’s no different from Kaite.

The guards had plenty of duties already—how could she ask for all of them?

“That’s impossible.”

“Then at least half.”

At some point, she had also started speaking more casually.

“If it’s half, then you must return them within one day.”

“I will try my best.”

Whether that effort would actually happen or not was unclear.

And so Seren secured the capital guards.

But she was not the type to be satisfied with just that, and visited several other departments in the same way.

In that manner, she gathered a large number of people.

“Search the entire capital.”

If it were up to her, she would have locked down the entire capital, but the Emperor’s birthday was near. Because of that, the gates could not be completely sealed.

In fact, everyone was so busy that even pulling this many personnel was a significant achievement. If Kaite were not the uncle and benefactor of the current Emperor, it would have been even harder.

Soon, the capital began to stir quietly.

But ordinary citizens did not know why.

Only those informed of Kaite’s disappearance were Seren’s allies and high-ranking nobles.

“Crazy people gather under a crazy person.”

The Empire’s only Swordmaster had disappeared, and they were openly searching like this.

Wouldn’t other countries be delighted if they heard this?

The Chancellor, Jaegro, held his forehead and groaned.

“Can’t he go even a single day without causing trouble?”

Was he cursed or something?

Jaegro did not think Kaite had been kidnapped. He assumed he was probably off somewhere causing some absurd incident again.

And it was already a hectic time. Foreign envoys were arriving for the Emperor’s birthday celebrations.

Everyone was busy, and now this had happened—he felt like he was going insane.

Recently, his hair seemed to be thinning more and more.

And Jaegro could confidently say Kaite was the cause.

As he was worrying about his hair, a blond boy approached him.

“Chancellor.”

“Your Majesty.”

“I heard about the situation.”

Jaegro was loyal and diligent toward the imperial family. That was why he immediately reported the incident to the Emperor.

“Do you truly believe it is real, Your Majesty?”

At that question, Emperor Leonhardt gave an awkward smile.

“Do you really think that monster could be taken against his will?”

“I also find it hard to believe. He is your uncle, after all.”

The Empire’s mad dog. A walking disaster.

Someone like that?

“Exactly. We should recall the search teams immediately.”

“Let them continue for a day. Just in case.”

“Just in case? Who would dare touch that man? And even if someone did, what could we even do here?”

If another country had targeted Kaite, pouring excessive manpower into searching him might be pointless. It would be better to assign only specialized teams and focus the rest on protecting the Emperor.

Even though he cursed constantly, Kaite was still the strongest sword in the Empire. If that sword was gone, defenses had to be strengthened.

“After one day, I’ll let you do as you wish.”

“Your Majesty!”

“Just think of it as me giving my uncle a day.”

Because of Kaite, Leonhardt was able to sit on the throne.

At those words, Jaegro could say nothing more. He only let out a long sigh.

At that same time, Kaite had risen and was casually looking around the room.

He checked the bookshelf, hoping to find any clues about his captor.

He picked up a book and opened it.

“‘Madam Jable’s Garden.’”

This title felt familiar.

He tapped the cover with his fingernail and opened it.

At first glance, it looked like a normal romance novel, but soon it was obvious.

It was one of those so-called “red books”—an erotic novel.

Come to think of it, Alex seemed to like books like this. When Rsen once criticized him for reading obscene material, Alex had loudly insisted it wasn’t like that.

But why was something like this here?

Kaite placed the book back and pulled out another one.

It was no different from the first.

‘Alex would probably like this.’

But it was not Kaite’s taste.

Since childhood, he had been controlled by his mother, Saraen, and he disliked such things.

People who approached him based only on appearance were the same. They treated him like a pretty doll, just like Saraen.

Thinking about it made him suddenly feel irritated.

He did not know who had imprisoned him, but their intentions were clearly impure.

It would have been better if he had simply been captured by an enemy nation and tortured.

As he thought that, a knock came at the door.

Then a maid named Mary spoke.

“Would you like some tea?”

Kaite stared into space for a moment and replied.

“…Sure.”

The door slowly opened, and Mary appeared again, pushing a trolley.

Just like at mealtime, she was pushing it from a distance.

Watching her, Kaite casually tossed the book in his hand aside.