WRBEFM 05

Chapter 5

‘Good.’

I needed to look as suspicious as possible.

‘Looks like it worked!’

I grinned as I looked back at the building I’d just come out of.

I hadn’t expected the warden himself to go to such lengths just to ask me questions.

But there was absolutely no way I had intended to tell him everything honestly from the beginning.

‘If I had, he would’ve lost interest right away.’

More precisely, the person who would’ve lost interest was the Duke, who had been hiding nearby.

That’s right.

I knew that the Duke was hiding in the same room.

Of course, I hadn’t noticed him from the very beginning.

I’d sensed his scent while we were talking.

That fresh, clear scent unique to dragons.

With my sense of smell being far more sensitive than other people’s, there was no way I wouldn’t notice him.

‘Then he must have heard everything I said, too.’

He must be extremely curious by now, right?

I’d deliberately given nothing but strange answers.

He’d probably told the warden to keep an eye on me, or ordered him to investigate me further.

‘Because the warden is a member of the Bancadium family.’

Siss, the warden of Izteille.

It was only much later that it became widely known that he was a loyal retainer of the Bancadium family.

For now, nobody knew.

“Hey.”

At that moment, someone blocked my path as I was returning to my room with a guard.

I looked up at the incredibly tall man.

His shaved head was covered in strange tattoos whose meanings I couldn’t identify.

On top of that, he was so enormous that even an ordinary-sized person would look tiny beside him.

“Step aside. Number 392.”

The guard recognized the man and warned him in a low voice.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be so stiff. I just want to ask the kid something.”

It’ll only take a moment. Just a moment.

Apparently this wasn’t the first time something like this had happened, because the man skillfully calmed the guard down before turning his attention to me.

“Hey, kid. You’re in the same room as Number 444, right?”

‘Number 444?’

I thought over the familiar number before nodding.

Number 444 was Veronica’s number.

“Yes.”

“If you’re living together, then you must know that woman pretty well, right?”

The man grinned, exposing his yellowed teeth.

I instinctively got a bad feeling.

“I don’t know her.”

“You don’t?”

“No. We don’t talk to each other.”

“Hah! No way. I’ve seen you two messing around together in the dining hall.”

The man glared at me as if telling me not to lie.

“Little brat’s already blackmailing people at this age. Keep that up and you’ll grow into a nasty adult.”

“Like you?”

“Yeah. Like me… What?”

The man was about to agree without thinking when his brows suddenly furrowed.

Before he could argue, I quickly changed the subject.

“If you have something you want to know, ask my sister yourself.”

“Hey. You think I haven’t tried? She won’t give me the time of day. She won’t even respond to me. That’s why I came to you…”

“If she rejected you enough for you to come all the way to me, you should’ve just given up.”

The man’s eyes widened.

Even the guard looked quite surprised.

But I was right.

‘If Sister rejected him that clearly…’

He should stop.

‘Why come to me?’

I didn’t understand.

“If you don’t even have the courage to keep trying, then just back off. You’re not good enough for my sister.”

“……Hey.”

The man’s expression quickly turned vicious.

“You’re young, but you’ve got a nasty attitude.”

“You’re an adult, but you don’t have one either…”

“What?”

The man glared at me fiercely.

Unable to tolerate his threatening demeanor any longer, the guard stepped between us.

“Kid. Do you only have one life? You sure know how to run your mouth.”

“But I’m right.”

It’s not like I said anything wrong…

“Hey! Number 392!”

The guards who happened to be nearby began gathering one after another.

I quickly hid behind the legs of the guard standing beside me.

The man glared furiously at me and clenched his fists.

He clearly wanted to punish me right then and there, but this was Izteille.

If he acted recklessly, he’d only receive an even harsher punishment.

“Number 100. You stop, too.”

“Okaaay.”

I obediently nodded.

The guards who had approached us grabbed the man’s arms.

Whether he was annoyed or not, the guards dragged him away from me.

But apparently the fact that he’d been verbally defeated by a child had wounded his pride terribly, because even while being dragged away, he didn’t forget to glare at me.

“Back to your room.”

The guard who had shielded me also resumed his brisk walk.

‘Hmm.’

I stared at the path the man had disappeared down before turning around.

‘That’s strange.’

Why was he looking for my sister?

Even within Izteille, my sister was quite famous.

She was not only incredibly beautiful, but also known among thieves for her dazzling eloquence and nimble movements.

It was only natural that she attracted attention.

Besides, Izteille was a co-ed prison.

As a result, there were occasionally men who tried to hit on my sister…

“What’s wrong, baby?”

“……”

“Why are you looking at your sister so prettily?”

“Sis.”

“Yes?”

“You absolutely mustn’t meet strange people.”

“What?”

“Even if they say they’ll buy you candy, don’t go with them. And even if they say, ‘I’ll do everything for you!’ you still can’t go!”

“Oh, my.”

As she listened to me, my sister gently stroked my head.

“Then I guess Karin should live with your sister so nobody can come near me.”

“No!”

I had extremely dangerous and important things to do in the future.

If that happened, my sister could end up in danger as well.

“If you’re with me, you’ll get hurt.”

“Hmmm.”

At my firm refusal, my sister curled up the corners of her lips.

“That makes me even more interested.”

“Huh?”

“Your sister likes dangerous people.”

“Eek!”

What was this woman talking about?!

Alarmed, I shook my head vigorously.

There were so many bad people in the world!

I was starting to worry that she might eventually bring some strange man home and introduce him to me.

“But, baby. Why are you suddenly worried about your sister’s love life?”

“I saw a strange person earlier.”

“Huh? Everyone here is crazy. I mean, strange.”

She’d changed her wording halfway through, but I pretended not to notice.

“Some man asked if I knew you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. So I lied and said I didn’t know you, but he gave me a really bad feeling.”

Just like my sister had said, this place was full of nothing but unsavory people.

So I warned her in advance to be careful.

My sister listened carefully to my advice before breaking into a bright smile.

“Thanks, Karin. If some weird guy comes around, I’ll kill him. No, I’ll chase him away.”

“Yes!”

“And if anyone approaches Karin again, tell your sister immediately, okay?”

“Okay!”

“Aww, what a cutie. You even answer so nicely.”

She poked my plump cheeks with her fingers and smiled.

“But how long are people usually kept in solitary confinement?”

“Hmm. About a week? Depending on the situation, it can take a little longer. Why?”

“I was just curious.”

A week.

Did that mean I might not be able to see him until next week at the earliest?

‘That won’t do.’

I’d succeeded in getting his attention, but that was only temporary.

I didn’t know when his interest might fade.

‘……!’

Wait.

‘If I can’t go see him myself…’

Then I simply had to make it so that he had no choice but to come to me.

‘I just need to cause some trouble, right?’

My eyes suddenly lit up.

“Heehee.”

I’d just had a brilliant idea.