I Captured the Enemy Who Tried to Kill Me - Chapter 17
What should I do about this?
“Why do you remain silent until the end? Or is it that you don’t want to properly speak with monstrous Awakened Ones like us!”
Seeing their fiercely rising energy, I became desperate.
‘Those madmen really seem like they’re about to attack!’
My heart felt like it would burst seeing their eyes rolled back in anger toward me, completely forgetting that the Emperor’s brother was behind me.
And finally.
“Well then, let’s see this Tower Master skill that magicians boast about!”
Like an Esper, or rather, like an Awakened One of this world, he displayed his foul temper without filter.
“You sang that song, didn’t you? Asking permission for a battle between Awakened Ones and magicians!”
Following the shouting knight’s gesture, a pillar of fire rose.
‘Ack!’
That snake-shaped thing opened its jaws wide and began charging toward me and Luias.
‘Oh no, insane!’
I screamed internally.
‘System, hey, what are you doing? Save me. Unlock magic. Hey, hey, hey! I said unlock it, you bastard!’
And.
—KWAAANG!
An explosion sounded.
My vision turned white, and my head spun.
Ah. Am I dead?
Maybe not.
In front of my eyes…
‘Strange. I seem to be seeing someone who shouldn’t be visible.’
Why can I see that back now?
“What is this?”
That familiar low voice, too.
“What nonsense is this?”
I clearly saw the wall of sharp ice spears spreading fiercely.
“Explain immediately.”
The one who blocked the Awakened Ones’ attack.
It was a man who seemed more likely to kill me than save me.
Kaisis, that is.
***
“This is outrageous. Since when did I permit duels between magicians in the imperial palace? Especially with Duke Ariel!”
When he coldly rebuked them, those who had caused the trouble turned deathly pale.
“Yo-Your Majesty! Th-this situation!”
“No excuses needed.”
Kaisis couldn’t bear the foul feeling.
Crack— Branches of ice extending around him pointed threateningly at the shoulders, backs, and skin of those reckless individuals.
“Yo-Your Majesty! That wasn’t our intention! We, we were just. We just wanted an explanation.”
Kaisis glared at those who dared cause trouble in his palace, pressing his temple firmly.
“Do you imperial knights protecting the empire, dare think of breaking the balance?”
The knights desperately shouted.
“We-we’re sorry! We never meant it that way…!”
“We couldn’t contain our anger when we heard magicians were hiding Your Majesty’s mate. We-we’re sorry!”
Believing such baseless rumors.
Looking at the knights prostrating themselves with terrified expressions, Kaisis swallowed the piercing pain in his temples.
‘Tsk, doing things without being ordered.’
Magician and Awakened One groups.
If those two began competing for power, endless discord would follow.
One of the rules established to prevent that.
Magicians and Awakened Ones never attack each other with force.
‘How dare they cause trouble in the imperial palace?’
Fiery anger erupted.
“Brawling with the Duke over rumors—this is absurd. Are you really imperial knights?”
“Yo-Your Majesty! Please forgive us, we-we were wrong…”
Familiar pain spread through the blood vessels carrying his power.
But strictly speaking, the cause of this pain now was elsewhere.
The woman standing behind him.
‘Duke Ariel.’
Kaisis swallowed the unpleasant nausea rising up.
He couldn’t understand his own actions just now.
‘Why did I intervene?’
He turned around, gathering back the energy that had extended outward.
When their eyes met, he saw the Duke’s face, unable to hide her contempt.
‘Right, why would I protect someone like her?’
Why did he block the path of this woman, Duke Ariel, who was looking at the knights with a cold face as if their situation was amusing?
‘Knowing full well she would have responded with that precious magic of hers. Why bother?’
As soon as he entered the palace, he felt the energy of the Awakened Ones about to explode.
When he hurriedly arrived, what he saw was Duke Ariel’s hardened face.
And also the shocked face of his young brother clinging right behind her.
What followed happened in an instant.
In the blink of an eye, he blocked the Duke’s front.
His mood instantly turned foul.
‘Was it because of Luias?’
That’s how he understood it.
‘Yes, that must be it.’
He threw away the sticky doubt that seemed to cling to him.
And verbally attacked the subject before his eyes.
“Duke, why did you cause such a commotion when you could have just let it go?”
“…Ha!”
Indeed, it must have been his imagination that for a moment, the Duke seemed to freeze in surprise.
Who would dare sneer so clearly in front of the Emperor?
“This is truly an amazing sight, Your Majesty. You criticize me when these men appeared before someone walking quietly and picked a fight, unleashing their power?”
“How should I view a Duke who prolonged a confrontation that could have been dismissed with a single gesture?”
“No. You should punish your noble knights, not me. As you can see, your precious brother was also behind me. So please don’t let this pass with just a light reprimand.”
He frowned.
Once again, because he met Luias’s clear eyes.
He threatened with a growl.
“Why is Luias here?”
Is this a new form of intimidation?
Warning not to forget that a hostage of the imperial palace is in her hands when intimidating the magicians?
Seemingly confirming his suspicions, Duke Ariel pointed to the prostrated knights and said with a sneer.
“Should I explain that here?”
Anger boiled up.
Kaisis clenched his fist.
‘As irritating as always.’
The Duke’s hair, let down unusually long today, provoked his annoyance.
Perhaps because that abundant style reminded him of his mate’s hair from his flickering memories, who had suddenly disappeared.
‘Today, uniquely, there was no pain.’
The tedious daily task of handling Gates continued today as well.
Normally, every time he exerted his power, pain like his entire body breaking would follow.
But like a fish caught in a net, cutting through it and jumping into the sea, Kaisis felt liberation.
‘It was ecstatic.’
It was like when his mate had visited.
Maintaining that clean feeling, he used his power and poured it out again.
Knowing the surrounding knights were cheering with admiration and emotion, he deliberately tested it.
‘When I’m not in good condition, that woman appears immediately.’
What does that mean?
Someone close enough to the Emperor to know his condition right away.
‘Or someone with the ability to monitor him that way.’
He couldn’t understand why his mate would disappear using such strange methods.
But at that moment, he felt he could forgive her no matter who she was.
‘It was as if my personality had split in two.’
The will to persuade and somehow bring her down after capturing her had collapsed.
In his blurry vision and consciousness, as soon as he felt that woman in front of him, tender emotions bloomed.
Like a child throwing a tantrum, he desperately clung to the unrecognized person.
He clearly remembered his feelings.
Don’t leave. Stay by my side. Be mine. Please.
Those weak feelings are so unlike him.
Moreover, he had already caught one clue about his mate.
‘The fact that she’s monitoring my condition.’
She would appear again if he became dangerous enough to go berserk.
If he knew he was becoming bait, the hunt would be simple.
If he just decided to capture and keep her by any means necessary, he could do it.
Yet Kaisis hadn’t told anyone about the existence of his mate, who might visit every night.
He couldn’t.
She was someone even the imperial knights and, going further, that cold-faced Duke Ariel couldn’t find.
‘What if she completely disappears?’
That was the first fear felt by Kaisis, who had never known fear before.
It was hesitation.
“Duke.”
“Yes, Your Majesty.”
He returned to the present and looked at Duke Ariel, stiff with irritation.
He also took in the face of his brother, blinking round eyes that looked like they might whisper, “Brother, Your Majesty.”
Curses rose to his throat.
“Duke, follow me.”
