IMYL 28

Chapter: 28

4. The Return of Alpheus

“Dahlia, Dahlia!”

Dahlia opened her eyes while still half-asleep. Pale dawn light was dimly filtering through the window.

Lady Hawin, tears streaming down her face, was shaking Dahlia awake.

“What is it?!”

“…Why? What happened?”

“Your father has been kidnapped!”

Dahlia shot upright.

Her father… kidnapped?

Was that even possible?

“And they’re demanding five sacks of wheat as ransom…”

Dahlia’s pupils trembled.

Wheat? She was certain there wouldn’t be a single grain of wheat left in the central region.

“Dahlia, what are we going to do? Huh?”

Dahlia grabbed the note that Lady Hawin was holding and read it.

[We are holding Baron Hawin.
We will exchange him for five sacks of wheat.
At midnight tomorrow, beneath the largest zelkova tree on Errolamo Hill.
If you bring unnecessary people, the baron’s life will be forfeit.]

“What about Father’s knights?”

Dahlia said breathlessly.

“We should tell the knights to track them down!”

“I don’t know where the knights are either.”

Lady Hawin replied tearfully.

“Actually, Dahlia… your father and the knights went out today to collect wheat.”

“What?”

“I don’t know the details, but they went to exchange wheat for Brisa and the serfs…”

“Brisa Sears? Then was Brisa captured too?”

“I don’t know…”

As Lady Hawin gasped anxiously, Dahlia rang the bell irritably.

The maids rushed in.

“Let’s go, Mother.”

“Huh? Where to?”

Dahlia ordered the maids to help her get ready and shouted:

“We have to go to Brisa Sears to find out what happened! Whether she was captured or if she saw anything!”

“Wouldn’t she have been captured too? If your father was taken…”

However, Lady Hawin was wrong.

When the mother and daughter arrived at the Sears Marquisate, Brisa was sitting gracefully in the reception room, eating bread.

She wasn’t alone. The knights and maids were also biting into freshly baked bread, steam rising from it.

“It’s so delicious with strawberry jam.”

“The strawberries are growing well by the river these days.”

“The young lady told us not to cut these vines, so maybe she meant the strawberry vines.”

Dahlia swallowed unconsciously.

It had already been over two weeks since she had eaten freshly baked bread like that. If she hadn’t been restricted, she would at least have been eating corn bread.

“What brings you here, Aunt?”

Brisa greeted them calmly.

While placing a soft-boiled egg and jam on her bread, she tilted her head slightly.

“Why did you come here so early in the morning?”

Seeing her, Lady Hawin was stunned.

Brisa’s neat appearance felt like a splash of cold water.

“…Don’t think about lying. I know you went out with my husband last night.”

She lifted her chin.

“My husband has been kidnapped, and we received this letter.”

With a thud, Lady Hawin placed the ransom note on the table.

Brisa lowered her eyes, read it indifferently, and nodded slowly.

“Oh, he was kidnapped.”

“W-What do you mean, ‘he was kidnapped’?”

Dahlia widened her eyes.

“You came back safely, so why couldn’t my father? Didn’t you write this? Didn’t you kidnap my father?”

“Why would I?”

Brisa tilted her head.

“I have plenty of wheat. I don’t need five sacks. I brought a lot with me.”

“That’s not what we’re talking about!”

Dahlia snapped in frustration.

“You kidnapped my father! Or ordered someone to! Who else would do something like that if not you?”

“Here they are. The serfs your father sold.”

Brisa replied calmly.

“I have no reason to commit a crime against your father. If nobles harm each other and are caught, they must face trial in court. Unlike serfs, whose fate is decided by the lord.”

She sighed gently.

“Dahlia, you should study imperial law first. You don’t even need to attend the academy for that.”

Behind her, the maids snickered. Everything had been calculated in the flow of conversation.

“I know that! Who doesn’t know nobles must go to trial?”

Dahlia shouted, then muttered angrily.

“But my father…”

Before she could finish, Brisa explained calmly.

“When we were exchanging wheat for the black mages, western knights stormed in. During the chaos, the serfs your father had planned to sell beat down your father and his knights. That’s all I know. We only brought the wheat.”

“What? Then why are you unharmed?”

“I only sold one person. There were many other knights. So I could subdue that one.”

With her composed explanation, Dahlia asked incredulously,

“So you just came back alone, leaving my father behind?”

“No.”

Brisa shook her head while finishing the remaining bread in one bite.

“My knights and the wheat came back with me. As you can see.”

“That’s not what I meant!”

Dahlia glared at her.

“Of course I know you resent us. But last night, Father was acting as the lord of the territory alongside you. At least then, he and you were on the same side!”

“We weren’t on the same side.”

Brisa answered without blinking.

“Unlike your father, I’m only twelve. Taking care of myself was already difficult. It’s hard to look after a grown adult in that situation. A child’s abilities have limits.”

She then instructed a maid:

“Spread plenty of strawberry jam, and this time make two sandwiches with chicken and fresh vegetables.”

“Yes, my lady.”

At that, both Dahlia and Lady Hawin couldn’t suppress their anticipation.

Bread with chicken and fresh vegetables?

It had been far too long since they’d eaten anything like that. It was a basic instinct separate from anger.

Lately, they had been surviving on pickled olives from the market street in Jezel—carefully counting each one because the supply was running low.

“And in case you forgot,”

Brisa looked at Dahlia.

“I don’t resent you. I just dislike you.”

“Is it because of the territory? But my father legally obtained it from yours!”

“That’s why I didn’t file a lawsuit. But I have no intention of sitting down and discussing your father’s rescue with you.”

Soon, the maid brought two sandwiches on a tray.

However, instead of placing them in front of Dahlia and Lady Hawin as expected, they were set right in front of Brisa.

“If your questions are answered, you may leave.”

Brisa said while biting into a new sandwich.

“I don’t really have anything else to say.”

Just then—

Lady Hawin, catching her breath, asked,

“Then… could we borrow five sacks of wheat?”

“Mother!”

“We have no choice. We have to find your father.”

After scolding Dahlia briefly, she looked at Brisa.

“We don’t have wheat to pay the ransom. But it seems your territory has plenty.”

“Yes, quite a lot.”

Brisa shrugged.

“But I can’t lend it. Once the warp is restored, prices will drop sharply. So I’ll only allow you to purchase it.”

“Really? Then how much…”

As Lady Hawin brightened up, Brisa smiled gently.

“Jezel Street and Veron.”

Dahlia and Lady Hawin’s expressions stiffened.

Brisa picked up her second sandwich.

“Isn’t that why you came, Dahlia? Last time I told you—if you’re short on money, I’ll give you a fair price for Jezel Street.”

“If survival becomes impossible, hand over Jezel Street. I’ll pay a fair price.”

Without even a hint of a smile, Brisa added calmly,

“I don’t usually say things I don’t mean.”