I Captured the Enemy Who Tried to Kill Me - Chapter 49
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“Or do you have any relatives with red hair like yours and a face that resembles yours?”
Cough, cough, I kept coughing repeatedly.
After coughing for quite some time, I asked with a face that had turned bright red:
“What exactly are you trying to ask?”
He wasn’t much different from usual.
That cold, emotionless gaze he had when looking at me during the day.
And a face even colder and more rigid than usual, showing he clearly remembered what happened at the end.
‘But why is he asking such questions?’
While the sound of my heart pounding like it might burst echoed in my ears, Kaisis spoke casually.
“You’re overreacting. Is this a question I shouldn’t ask?”
How should I respond to this?
Why is he asking such things!
‘What did he see inside the Gate? Is he… testing me now?’
Thump, thump.
My heart was racing so hard I wanted to scream.
For a moment, my mind went blank, but my will to survive was strong.
‘I can’t be discovered like this. I need to do something. I need to say something.’
Even though the system window hadn’t taken control of my body with a warning, I opened my mouth.
Words befitting the ice-cold Duke Ariel began pouring out through my opened lips.
“Even if it’s Your Majesty, your question seems quite prone to misunderstanding.”
“How so?”
I snorted and raised my eyebrows, visibly displeased.
Then, tensing my entire body to remain steady, I counterattacked.
“I am the only child of the Duke’s family. The entire empire knows this. Yet you suddenly ask about the existence of a younger sister—are you trying to mock me?”
Kaisis seemed uncharacteristically flustered and was about to say something.
But I was faster.
“Or perhaps you’re questioning my qualification as the head of the Ariel duchy? Because you believe I tried to harm Your Majesty’s precious brother.”
Now, how will you respond?
Say something, anything.
Thinking about what happened last time, I went on the offensive, not wanting to back down first.
Our gazes clashed coldly.
At that moment, Kaisis suddenly grabbed the report I had submitted earlier.
And he waved it.
“This is the report you brought. My earnest command. To bring the Emperor’s Indoja.”
I swallowed hard.
Why that.
The magicians and probably the Emperor’s knights, too, were diligently searching for the Emperor’s partner.
Kaisis, according to our agreement, hadn’t shared with anyone the suspicious aspects of the woman who visited him every night.
This meant that numerous high-ranking personnel were still making futile efforts today.
Outwardly.
Including myself.
“My Indoja, whom even the capable Duke has failed to find.”
Whatever he was trying to say, I had a bad feeling since entering the audience chamber.
“And you still haven’t even caught a trace.”
I couldn’t help but suspect that he had noticed something.
‘If you knew the truth.’
If he knew that the person glaring at him with burning eyes was his nighttime partner.
‘That man would probably vomit.’
He would make an expression of disbelief, get angry, or deny it.
I could always laugh about this fact inwardly.
But why? At this moment, that gap felt somewhat bitter.
Even knowing that the gentle attitude he showed only to his Guide with matching compatibility was actually pretense.
‘That difference is really…’
Too stark.
“How should I accept such incompetence from the Duke?”
I spoke with a cold, rigid face.
“There are too few clues. You should know that Your Majesty’s insistence on finding her with just that is more shameless.”
“Indeed. The clues are few. Is that the problem?”
“Yes. The one who appeared suddenly at the banquet, treated only Your Majesty, and disappeared has too many strange points.”
“Strange?”
“Yes. And since the witness is Your Majesty, you shouldn’t ask me to confirm it.”
Then Kaisis said.
“Then.”
“Yes?”
“Would it help if there were more clues?”
“……”
The Emperor, who somehow seemed to be smiling leisurely, urged me.
“Why no answer?”
Well. Well, you bastard, because it feels like I’ve been hit on the head!
‘This man is about to break our promise and betray me.’
I truly felt a surge of betrayal.
Because he had been my confidant all this time.
Saying it was a deal. Saying we should talk honestly. Promising not to catch his nighttime visitor! Promising not to tell anyone…
And now he’s going to spill everything?
“My partner…”
I clenched my fist.
What is he going to say?
Could it be that due to some suspicion, he’s planning to reveal everything about my nighttime self to the knights and magicians?
“My partner is frivolous.”
Yes, frivolous… Wait, what, man?
I looked at Kaisis with wide eyes, barely containing my rising temper.
He alone seemed relaxed in this space.
“Her speech is rough.”
Ah, I see. Sorry, my speech is rough.
“Her actions are bold.”
Well, that’s because I didn’t live in a class-based society!
“As if she’s not from this world.”
I couldn’t laugh at this point.
“Her clothing is neat, and the condition of her hair and skin is quite good. She looked like a noblewoman from a well-cared-for family. Yet with such an attitude.”
My heart sank.
“Isn’t that strange?”
Standing silently because I didn’t know what to say must have looked like I was criticizing his words as nonsense.
“Like someone who fell from the sky.”
Kaisis pierced through me with an inscrutable, expressionless face.
“Of course, that’s impossible, but I mean she’s that different.”
I got goosebumps.
All this time, while I casually spilled my stories, I knew he was listening attentively and remembering everything.
‘I didn’t realize he had figured out this much.’
I seemed to have trusted the system too much.
Even though I knew he was a determined man who tried to remember by embedding a magic stone in his hand.
‘I talked too much.’
And what was even more frightening wasn’t that.
“Why are you…”
That man is staring at me intently.
The meaning behind that gaze.
“Why are you telling me these things?”
What about me did he trust?
Why me, a political rival, rather than his knights or the loyal servants, called his right and left arms?
Why specifically me?
What about me did he trust?
“You must have heard. That I was dragged into the Gate.”
I was worried that my face might appear pale right now.
If only I could look in a mirror.
If I could see whether I was wearing the cold, solemn mask of the Duke properly, I would feel reassured.
“I almost died.”
I knew that well.
“And my partner saved me. My partner was definitely there.”
Kaisis rose from the Emperor’s chair, the high seat that required me to tilt my head up to look at him.
Fortunately, he didn’t approach me.
“You magicians call us monsters. I know that you, too, have hated and despised me. I am no different. I despise magicians.”
Why is he saying this?
“But she was different.”
Why such words?
“With one breath blown into me as she held my hand, all the pain disappeared.”
Words he shouldn’t say to me.
“From the moment I was born and became aware of my power, I had never once found breathing easy.”
I blinked slowly.
“She saved me. Somehow, devotedly enough to risk her life by jumping into the Gate. Always. But, Duke.”
Our eyes met.
“I saw.”
Blue eyes pierced through me.
“A face resembling yours.”
A white finger pointed at me.
“Red hair like yours.”
Finally, my eyes.
“Eyes that shine golden.”
He pinpointed like an arrow.
“Duke. What do you think of this?”
