ITABD 23

Chapter 23

What kind of men are these, really?

At a single word from the wolf-like man, they all threw off their black masks.

The faces revealed were—without exception—strikingly well-kept.

Like men who had spent their entire lives training their bodies, they had firm builds and eyes sharp with alertness.

I’d seen eyes like that once before.

‘Right… those were the same eyes I saw on the Imperial Knights during the banquet…’

Just as that thought struck me, the man who seemed to be their leader spoke.

“That’s enough. Follow us.”

“Huh?”

“It’d be best if you didn’t try anything stupid. We were told to bring you in—forcefully, if necessary.”

The word ‘forcefully’ struck a chord in my brain.

Did they really think someone like me—a frail woman with a terminal illness—could put up a fight against these warriors?

And sending this many men just to capture me? Something was clearly off.

‘They must know.’

They must know that I can use nature-based abilities.

“Wh-Who are you? Why are you—?”

Just as I was ready to use my powers if needed—

Click.

I felt something snap around my wrist.

“……!”

I immediately tried to summon power, but nothing came.

A suffocating wave of helplessness overtook me.

I struggled to remove the bracelet, but it wouldn’t budge—it was sealed with magic.

“W-What do you think you’re doing?”

“No need to look so shocked. You let your guard down—that’s on you. Now, I’d suggest you come quietly. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve got a two-year-old son, don’t you? Cooperate, and we’ll make sure you return unharmed.”

“What… what did you just say?”

A two-year-old son… He must mean my Cedric.

So they weren’t just some common thugs—they’d done their research.

A chill ran through my entire body.

And they’d even brought a mana-restricting bracelet. That confirmed it.

‘How much do they know about me?’

“Who are you people?”

Two men came forward and bound my arms.

“Take her.”

“Let me go! I said, let me go!!”

Instinctively, I thrashed and resisted. The wolf-like man warned me again.

“It’s better if you cooperate. If you behave, not a single hair on your body will be harmed.”

“What?”

“…I keep my promises.”

His words had a strange ring of sincerity, but I didn’t care.

How was I supposed to trust their promises?

I was just about to kick one of the men where it hurts—

“Mmph—mmph!”

Suddenly, something covered my nose and mouth, and a sharp, pungent scent hit me.

I struggled, but they were too strong.

Soon, my vision blurred—and I lost consciousness.

‘Ah…’

* * *

When I came to, I was surrounded by pitch-black darkness.

Worse yet, there was a gag in my mouth, and my hands and feet were tied tightly to a chair.

No way anyone could hear me scream.

‘If I die here… what happens to Cedric?’

But I shook my head fiercely.

‘No way. That man said they’d return me safely as long as I cooperated.’

It sounded like an attempt to reassure me, but the men who surrounded me earlier had a strange discipline to their movements.

They must have had military training. Knights, maybe.

And knights don’t make empty promises lightly—it’s tied to their pride.

‘If they were sent by faden, they wouldn’t have said something like that.’

Mikhail owned a mercenary group, not a knight order, so it likely wasn’t him either.

So, I took comfort in the fact that the men who kidnapped me weren’t the two who would be most desperate to find me.

‘They must want my power… because I’m a nature ability user.’

That was a problem in itself, but at least there was a chance I’d live—as long as I talked my way through it.

Thinking that, I drifted off again…

…until a sharp light pierced my vision.

The gag was removed.

I gasped and opened my eyes.

That’s when I saw him.

A man holding a lantern—and another man beside him with a striking appearance.

“…You’re awake.”

I called him striking because of his silver hair.

And in the lantern’s light, his eyes shone gold—sunlight-colored.

Young-looking, but I recognized him immediately.

Silver hair and golden eyes were the mark of royalty.

And in this territory, there was only one royal.

“…Grand Duke Rencias.”

At my words, the man’s eyes widened—then returned to normal.

He looked impressed.

“You’re observant.”

He was definitely Grand Duke Rencias, the emperor’s favored younger brother who had been given this land.

“How did you know? Sure, I look a bit flashy, but still.”

“Why did you bring me here?”

Though I had a good idea already.

“You’ve investigated me, haven’t you? Then you know—I’m not a dangerous person.”

Why would one of only a hundred nature ability users in the empire be living out in this remote region? Unless I was planted here by a noble family, which I wasn’t.

Rencias was no fool. And the Four Great Ducal Houses had terrible relations with the imperial family.

“…True.”

He nodded thoughtfully.

“You’re right. So far, your actions haven’t raised any red flags. So far, that is.”

‘So far.’

Those words stuck with me.

Why did that sound so ominous?

Maybe because I had a hunch.

A strong hunch that this man knew everything that had happened to me.

I was right.

“The repair work on the cornfields in Lowell village after the boar attack… and how you vanished, only to reappear recently as a flower merchant.”

Even that?

“Selling flowers in this frozen northern land—bold move. Thankfully, you were careful enough to disguise them as realistic-looking fakes, despite using your power to bloom them. A few northern noble houses bought them for every party.”