IBMH 14

Chapter 14

I Imprisoned Him, But I Have No Evil Intentions

Chapter 14

The grilled steak was served with vegetables as garnish, and stew and bread were added. At first glance, it looked like an ordinary meal, but there was one strange thing about it.

“You expect me to eat with this?”

The only things provided to Kite were a small spoon and fork that looked like something a child would use. Even those were made of some unknown material and bent when he flicked them with his fingers.

“I believe they are enough for eating.”

Only then did Kite look carefully at the tray again. The steak and vegetables had all been cut into small pieces. The ingredients inside the stew were also small enough to eat even with children’s utensils.

“Huh?”

Kite let out a ridiculous sigh.

After reaching the realm of a Sword Master, his body had surpassed that of an ordinary person. Because of that, he could go without food for several meals without any problem. Still, it was better to fill his stomach if he had the chance.

“You didn’t put medicine in it, did you?”

When he asked that, Mary looked at Kite strangely.

“I should have.”

Then he would become quiet.

The meaning behind her expression made his stomach twist again.

“Did you cook this yourself?”

“Yes.”

“I see.”

She called herself a maid, but it seemed she was not very good at cooking.

He had asked for mushroom soup, but what came back looked like a stew made from random ingredients. There were suspicious things about her in many ways.

“First, I will taste it.”

If it tasted bad, he would make a scene.

Thinking that, Kite picked up a piece of steak with the fork.

Seeing the ridiculously small fork compared to his hand made him sigh again, but what else could he do?

He put the steak into his mouth and slowly chewed.

It was not as skilled as the cooking of the chef Kite had personally hired, but it was clear that the person had cooked before. The meat was cooked to perfection.

The vegetables were the same.

The problem was the stew.

It was not bad.

But…

‘This taste is familiar.’

No matter how much he tried to forget it, he could not forget this taste.

There was a time when the previous Emperor had sent him to stay on the northern battlefield. The stew he ate in the military camps back then had this exact taste.

The stew was made using low-quality ingredients, so honestly speaking, it was not delicious.

However, because Kite carried the blood of the imperial family, they had generously added spices for him.

“Mary.”

While savoring the taste of the stew, Kite looked directly at Mary, who was still standing by the door.

“You are not an ordinary person, are you?”

“I am not. I am just an ordinary maid.”

“No. You are connected to the Northern Army.”

At Kite’s words, Mary’s eyes widened.

But only for a moment.

Soon, she immediately denied it.

“That is not true.”

“How can it not be? The stew tastes exactly like the one I ate in the Northern Army. The north is too cold and harsh, so the quality of ingredients is poor. Raising livestock is difficult, and bringing supplies from outside is not easy either. That is why they use a lot of spices to hide the taste of the ingredients.”

Mary tightly closed her mouth.

“This is a recipe used for northern military supplies. If this much spice was added, the person eating it would have been a noble or a high-ranking officer.”

“You are mistaken.”

“You yourself probably were not one. Then it must be someone in your family.”

At Kite’s words, Mary’s body leaned back slightly.

“And another thing I noticed while watching you. Your posture is too proper for a maid.”

Then the answer was obvious.

She was either a noble with ties to the Northern Army or someone from a military family.

“I usually act comfortably. But Sir Kite is the Grand Duke, after all. Because of that, I became nervous without realizing it.”

Even in this situation, Mary did not give up.

“Right. And you also imprisoned that Grand Duke.”

Kite slowly placed down the spoon he was holding.

“I am becoming certain now. You claim to be the kidnapper’s maid, but that is not true, is it?”

His clear blue eyes stared at Mary.

“You are the kidnapper.”

Mary’s hands trembled slightly.

However, the answer she gave was not what Kite expected.

“Please enjoy your meal.”

Leaving those words behind, Mary left the room as if she were running away.

Even while panicking, she carefully locked the door.

“Hmm.”

Kite watched her leave and tilted his head to the side.

Mary, or rather Eveline, screamed internally.

‘Aaaaaah!’

She returned to the room on the second floor and jumped onto the bed.

She rolled around wildly, then buried her face into the pillow. Only after that did she calm down a little.

“He found out.”

No, she must not panic.

She had always thought that someday he would realize she was not a maid, but the kidnapper.

She had never even tried that hard to hide it.

The problem was not that!

“The stew.”

Eveline groaned.

She never expected the stew she learned from her grandfather to give Kite a clue.

No, but it definitely started as soup. Why did it become stew?

“Idiot. Stupid.”

If her grandfather knew how to cook, she should have thought about where his cooking style came from.

Eveline relaxed her body and stared at the ceiling.

Recently, she had focused too much on the basement, and she was exhausted.

Her body felt like wet cotton.

Maybe it would be better to rest for a while.

Then her thoughts would work better.

Eveline slowly closed her eyes.

It did not take long for darkness to arrive and her consciousness to sink.

Clang!

A sharp noise suddenly woke her.

After opening her eyes, she soon realized where she was.

The basement.

The room where Kite was imprisoned.

After finishing his meal, Kite had pushed the bowl off the tray.

The sound she had just heard was the sound of the dish breaking.

‘What a personality.’

She already knew, but seeing him act like that still made her feel afraid.

She absolutely could not let Kite discover her true identity.

If he found out Eveline’s identity and abilities, what would he do?

‘It probably would not end well.’

While thinking that, she saw Kite picking up the broken pieces of the dish.

He held a fairly large fragment and spun it around with his finger.

Even though the edge was sharp, his finger did not receive even a scratch.

“Seems like they are underestimating a Sword Master too much.”

Those who reached the peak of physical ability.

People said that for them, anything they held could become a weapon.

Kite smiled and tapped the wall with the fragment.

Then he stood in one place and raised the fragment higher.

A blue energy began to flow over the fragment.

However, Kite did not immediately use it to break through the wall.

He only stared at the wall as if calculating something, then hid the fragment under his pillow.

“Should I learn more first before making a move?”

Even while imprisoned by a kidnapper, Kite’s face looked relaxed.

It seemed like he believed he could escape at any time.

‘What can he even do with just a piece of a dish?’

Although she thought that, an uneasy feeling grew inside her.

And around that time, Eveline woke up from her sleep.

“Ah!”

Eveline blinked blankly before sitting up.

Through her precognition, she had just glimpsed the future.

Come to think of it, she did not know much about Sword Masters.

She had heard a few stories from her grandfather, but it was difficult to believe all of them.

Cutting through mountains with a sword, splitting rivers apart…

Wasn’t that power almost like a god’s?

Even though she loved and trusted her grandfather, those parts sounded like exaggerations.

But what if it was actually possible?

What if he had been able to escape but intentionally stayed imprisoned?

Eveline bit her lip.

First, she had to go down to the basement and check if the dish had broken.

She had planned to take only a short nap, but the house was already dark.

She lit the lamp on the bedside table.

Carrying it, she took the gun she usually carried with her.

Then she carefully went down to the basement.

Silence greeted Eveline.

Nothing had happened yet.

No.

She could not let her guard down.

Maybe everything had already happened.

Carefully, she unlocked the closed door and opened it.

The messy floor came into view.

The dishes were already broken and scattered everywhere.

Then she heard the sound of water from the bathroom attached to the room.

Fortunately, it seemed Kite had left to wash himself.

Thinking about taking a bath while being kidnapped…

He really had nerves of steel.

‘Still, that is lucky.’

She needed to solve the problem quickly.

Eveline swept away the broken dishes with a broom.

Then she approached the bed and lifted the pillow.

Just as expected, the dish fragment was placed there.

“Phew.”

A small sigh escaped her without realizing it.

Eveline carefully picked up the fragment.

Then, as she stepped down from the bed while holding it…

Suddenly, she felt someone watching her.