chapter 16
“Pure nonsense.”
Kite had dismissed Baron Frilly’s goodwill with that singular, blunt verdict. And yet, in the end, it was always people who changed people. A drizzle, if continuous enough, would eventually drench one’s clothes entirely.
Under Baron Frilly’s quiet persistence, Kite had changed. It was thanks to him that Kite had survived the battlefields and made it this far.
Yes, Kite mused, if the old Baron’s granddaughter had grown up well, she would be just about her age.
The Baron had possessed a strange, flashes of brilliance during the war. There were times he had sniffed out the locations of ambushing enemy troops entirely on his own. He had never once spoken explicitly about the nature of his ability, but standing by his side, Kite had been able to piece together a rough guess.
It was entirely possible that his granddaughter had inherited that very gift. But if so, why on earth had this girl, Evelier, resolved to kidnap him and lock him away? One question bit at the tail of another in an endless loop.
Just then, the door swung open once more.
“You haven’t escaped yet, I see.”
Evelier stepped back into the room, but her voice instantly pitched higher the moment her eyes landed on Kite, whose upper torso was still completely bare.
“Please, put some clothes on!”
“What, have you never seen a naked man before?”
“Why would I have?!”
“For a kidnapper, you have a remarkably strict sense of morality.”
Kite let out a dry chuckle and scooped up the shirt he had carelessly tossed aside. As he slipped it on with deliberate slowness, his gaze never wavered from Evelier for a single second. His stare was so intense that she could practically feel the heat of it even with her eyes squeezed shut.
“About that headbutt earlier,” Kite spoke up.
“I had no choice. It wasn’t intentional.”
“Hardly the proper conduct for a noble lady.”
At those words, Evelier’s eyes snapped open. Fortunately, Kite was fully dressed by now.
“I once knew a man,” Kite said casually. “Would the name ‘Baron Frilly’ happen to ring a bell?”
Evelier pressed her lips into a tight line, staring back at him in silence.
“He used to brag about his grandchild quite often,” Kite continued. “How did he put it? He called them a lovely, cute, and sweet child, if I recall correctly.”
Her cover was blown completely.
Should I deny it?
No, that didn’t feel like the right answer. Besides, the moment her face had been revealed, hadn’t she already resolved to tell him the truth? Evelier let out a long, heavy breath.
“Your Grace, allow me to greet you properly. I apologize for my rudeness thus far. I am Evelier el Frilly. As you guessed, I am indeed Baron Frilly’s grandchild.”
“The late Baron?” Kite caught the nuance.
“My grandfather has passed away. I imagine someone else holds the title now.”
Kite tapped his fingertips against the ornate headboard of the bed. Right—if Baron Frilly had died, one of his children would have snatched up the title. But why was his grandchild up here in the capital, of all places?
“Fine. Then it is your turn to explain why you are here. I am intensely curious as to why you felt the need to leave your estate, travel all the way to the capital, and kidnap the Grand Duke.”
“There was no malice intended. I simply…” Evelier lifted her head, her gaze locking onto Kite with utmost sincerity. “I wanted to save you, Your Grace.”
“I see. The Baron Frilly I knew was a man of peculiar quirks. He would notice where enemies were hiding before anyone else, or casually drop pieces of information that should have been impossible to know.”
The Baron had been a thoroughly meticulous man, yet he had often made slips of the tongue in front of Kite. It was likely due to his soft spot for the young.
“Lady Evelier. Do you see the future?”
The age of magic had drawn to a close, and the world had shifted, yet certain mystical traits still endured. The common folk might be ignorant of it, but those of noble blood still remembered.
“…Yes,” she whispered.
“How?”
Evelier opened her mouth, answering far more meekly than he had anticipated. “I dream.”
“Dreams?”
“Yes. Occasionally, I see the future in my dreams. And I receive revelations.”
“If you know the future, I suppose you have nothing to fear.”
At Kite’s remark, Evelier’s expression contorted with a flash of bitter sorrow. “It is quite the opposite. Because I know the future, I am a coward. You have no idea how excruciating it is to foresee a future that you cannot prevent.”
“Is that so.”
“Your Grace. On the night of His Majesty the Emperor’s birthday banquet, you will be surrounded by assassins.”
“I cross paths with assassins often enough as it is. But I have never once felt my life was in danger. Good, now that the mystery is solved, let me go.”
Evelier shook her head, narrowing her eyes. “I cannot do that. Your Grace will remain here until the Emperor’s birthday has passed.”
“What? Lady Evelier, do you truly not understand what it means to be a Sword Master? Though, I suppose living in the remote provinces might explain your ignorance. A Sword Master is someone who has reached the absolute pinnacle of swordsmanship. If there were a man alive capable of besting me, why on earth would he work as a mere assassin? With that kind of power, he could easily secure a title higher than a Marquis anywhere he went.”
In this empire, families without imperial blood were strictly barred from receiving titles higher than a Count. However, exceptions existed everywhere—specifically, when an individual possessed power so overwhelming that bloodlines ceased to matter.
“Even so, the answer is no.”
“Hah. And what if I insist on leaving?”
“You are welcome to try. But you won’t be able to.”
Watching Evelier declare this with her chin held stiffly high, Kite let out an incredulous laugh.
“I admire your confidence. Though I expect it will be shattered rather quickly.”
He had only allowed himself to be held here to satisfy his own curiosity; the moment he willed it, he could walk right out. The title of Sword Master was not something won in a game of dice.
Kite strolled over to the wall and gave it a few testing taps with the back of his hand. Then, suddenly, he balled his hand into a fist and drove it straight into the wall. Even with his hands bound by handcuffs, his striking form was flawlessly straight.
Thud!
The violent impact made Evelier flinch violently. Ignoring her, Kite continued to hammer his fist against the wall. It was no easy feat for a human hand to demolish solid architecture, but his opponent was a Sword Master.
Because she had never witnessed his might firsthand, she couldn’t gauge the exact parameters of his strength, but one thing was certain—he was terrifyingly powerful.
Evelier watched the wall with a racing heart. It was holding up well for now, but the anxiety gnawing at her stomach wouldn’t fade. Reaching behind her back, she drew the item she had been concealing.
A broom.
Logically, trying to subdue Kite with such an object was absurd, but she had already verified the broom’s extraordinary durability. Every item prepared in this basement possessed bizarrely unique traits, and this broom was no exception.
In truth, Evelier would have felt much more comfortable handling a gun, but she could hardly bring herself to fire bullets at her grandfather’s savior. A gun and a broom… even the words carry a different weight. A gun felt inherently vicious, a weapon of death, whereas a broom carried no such malice. With that justification in mind, Evelier began to creep up stealthily behind Kite’s back.
Sensing the movement, Kite whipped around with lightning speed, but Evelier was faster.
Whack!
The blunt end of the broom caught Kite squarely on the head.
“Ow!”
Oh no, I didn’t actually mean to hit him that hard! She had only picked up the longest object available because she was too terrified to stop him with her bare hands.
A sharp shriek tore from Evelier’s throat in sheer panic.
“I-I’m so sorry! It wasn’t intentional!”
“Not intentional… ‘not intentional,’ you say?” Kite rubbed the spot on his head where the broom had delivered a resounding thwack. “You strike a man’s head with a broom and claim it wasn’t intentional?”
Evelier’s eyes darted frantically around the room. She began to take slow, deliberate steps backward. At the very least, she had succeeded in diverting Kite’s destructive attention away from the wall and onto herself.
Wait, is this actually a good thing?
Breaking into a cold sweat, Evelier forced a bright, desperate smile. The broom had long since been tossed far behind her.
“Just… hear me out first.”
“I believe I have been listening to you this entire time.”
“I—I haven’t told you the real reason why I’m trying to save you yet!”
“The reason. Right, come to think of it, I haven’t heard that part. Well then, let’s hear it.”
Evelier’s heart was hammering so violently against her ribs she feared it might burst from her chest. Yet, she stood her ground, digging her heels in as she spoke.
“Your Grace… you are my grandfather’s savior.”
“…I am?”
“Yes, yes! When he was alive, grandfather would always tell me that he owed his very life to the Grand Duke!”
As the words tumbled out, the dangerous edge in Kite’s expression began to shift into something entirely different.
