Being a commoner, I was the only one who was easy to approach because I wouldn't be able to take political revenge once touched.

Of course, regardless of my trivial background, I was also the person Ian loved.

'So now, I'm a hostage with a good value for money.'

I was seriously thinking.

'I think he will try to negotiate something with me...'

Obviously they were going to get out of the black magic situation, but Richard and Elburn didn't want to receive even that punishment.

'If that's the case, that's fine.'

I thought that the punishment was too small compared to the crimes they committed as well as the things they did to me.

'Receive life imprisonment with Carlon.'

Even if the mouse was cornered and bit the cat, it was the mouse that got eaten.

My prediction was not wrong.

"Are you Annabelle Rainfield's sister?"

As soon as I entered an inn before arriving in the capital, a child found me reading a book and approached me with a smile.

"I am a complete fan! I want to be a swordsman too!"

"Oh my... You're a fan? Shouldn't it be Ian?"

"I am a fan of you!"

The child who came directly to me without even giving Ian a glance was clinging to my side.

"You look like the legendary swordsman Bianca!"

"...The legendary swordsman Bianca?"

"You don't know?"

The child blinked her eyes and held out the book she was holding by her side.

"You are the main character here, so I will give you this book. Please read it."

"Huh? You don't have to... I will buy it and see."

"No, it's a gift!"

The child left the book and then ran away.

Unlike Ian, I, who had never been a child's idol, was slightly excited and looked down at the children's book titled .

And as I opened the book, I frowned involuntarily.

"...Huh?"

The bookmark in the book.

"Haha."

I couldn't help but laugh because I couldn't be ignorant of this flower-shaped bookmark. (pr/n: lmao why do they keep selling the same bookmark shape)

When I tried to harm Ian in the past, the people who analyzed schemes harder than anyone else were me and Reid.

To be precise, although I was not as good at swordsmanship and planning, it was planned by Reid, who had an excellent talent for snooping on rogue illegal organizations, and I only agreed with it.

"Hey guys."

I had just arrived and spoke awkwardly among the cluttered crowd.

"I'm tired, so I'll go in first and rest."

I was the first to be assigned a room, so I tumbled in, opened the book, and placed the bookmark in the far corner of the table.

In any case, it was obvious that it would be difficult to find the girl who gave me the book even if I asked for her.

There was also a high probability that she was not a child staying here in the first place.

This was not the first time I saw this bookmark.

Because before the whole bookmark incident with Ian, Reid had proudly shown it to me.

"Wow, Reid. You had something like this? How the hell did you get it? Isn't it perfect? To a swordsman, it's like a mosquito that'll never get caught!"

"So, this is how it works..."

The thing was that Reid had a personality that he liked to show off quite a bit.

Each time I admired each of his tactics, Reid would explain the items he had obtained.

He did save a lot of money on big things like terrorism, so he was good at sorting out illegal drugs and items like a ghost.

Those were situations that were not well known by others, but had a good effect.

In particular, this bookmark was a very vicious magic item that gradually weakens eyesight.

Although it required 'the blood of the person that really hates the other person'.

'This is just...too obvious that it's from one of the men of Marquis Abedes.'

This bookmark was designed to explode soon after the other person started looking at the book.

'In other words... It should explode by now.'

And just about the time I expected, the bookmark exploded with a popping sound.

'How is it?'

I clicked my tongue as I picked up the tattered flower-shaped bookmark.

'In the original story, I was caught with this... Now it looks like the men of Marquis Abedes are going to be captured.'

There was no way Elburn or Marquis Abedes would have this kind of plan, so it must have been a ploy from Richard's head, who had 'not yet come to his senses'.

The problem was that it was a strategy that Reid and I had already used once before.

After all, it was a way to meanly harm someone with excellent swordsmanship.

'The first one is this... Then maybe next time...'

It was when I was flipping the bookmark around.

"Annabelle."

Ian's voice was heard along with a knock.

"Can I come in?"

"Oh, yes."

Ian, who immediately responded to my gracious answer, was holding a mug with a worried face.

"You came in early because you wanted to rest. Are you sick? Why aren't you lying down and sitting there? Is the bedding uncomfortable?"

"Huh? You came for that?"

So, the excuses I gave around saying I was just tired to get into the room seemed to have made up his mind and chased after me.

"First of all, I want you to feel better and sleep well."

The mug he held out contained thick hot chocolate.

It wasn't because I was really tired, but as the warm and sweet taste spread in my mouth, my whole body felt drowsy.

"Look, you haven't had a bath yet. I'll get you some bath water, so wash up while I look at the bedding. And what is in this air? You need to ventilate."

I burst out laughing as I saw Ian taking care of my resting environment so naturally.

It was because it was funny for him to keep an expressionless face and speak in a blunt tone in the midst of it.

Looking at my interested face, Ian continued speaking in a still indifferent tone.

"Be patient, even if it's a little strange. If the environment surrounding my lover is not the best, I will have an uncomfortable disease."

"What disease do you have? Desire?"

It was a joke, so Ian's ears turned red and he coughed a few times, and then he really went to get my bath ready.

I couldn't ignore Ian's sincerity, so I ended up taking a bath at just the right temperature, and in the meantime, I sat down on the perfect bed from his touch.

"The scent of the bath soap is really good. Since we're not even home, where did you get it?"

"I thought you would like the mint scent, so I combined a few materials."

He spoke calmly as he closed the window, and I sighed and answered indifferently.

"You don't have to do that. I'm happy."

"You can't say things like that when you're tired."

Ian gave a low warning as he leaned against the window and looked at me sitting on the bed.

"Because I can't stand it and it might make you even more tired."

"Well... Actually, being tired was an excuse... I had to do some work. Do you see the bookmark there?"

I said, pointing to the bookmark I had placed on the table.

"Do you remember? It was a crime I planned for you in the past... Now someone is trying to hurt me with it."

Ian frowned and strode over to the table, looking at the flower-shaped bookmark.

"This..."

Then he murmured with sharp eyes for a moment.

"The day you first attacked me..."

"...I don't think the word choice was very good."

"What kind of person planned to tear you apart?"

"...Well...right..."

Ian's pupils momentarily shook at my words, who had a past of committing a crime to tear him apart. And he added hastily.

"Oh, no. Not a big deal. Everyone is doing things like this."

"..."

"Of course, you don't."

"...

In fact, he was right that I did something really bad, so I decided not to put Ian into a contradiction any more.

"Well, maybe it's Richard or Elburn, right? You don't know, but it requires the blood of the person who hates their target... You can find out if you go to the capital with that. Can I get some help from the Duke of Wade?"

In the original work, the Duke of Wade investigated in earnest and then revealed the background, so it would be possible to find out this time as well.

"Of course. I'll have to direct it and track it down."

"Wow, that's reliable."

I smiled as I sat on the more comfortable bed.

"The duvet is so smooth like real magic. Thanks, Ian."

No matter how much I thought about it, it was the right choice to tell Ian the truth.

If I had decided that it was an old crime and no one knew and just washed my mouth and lived as a lover while hiding, the hidden things would increase one by one, and I couldn't imagine how much guilt I would feel on the inside.

But this felt so nice.

Also, my mother was right. It would be good in the long run if there was nothing to hide from the person you sincerely want to be with.

'Yeah, I wouldn't live like that. After admitting all wrongdoing, repenting and doing good...'

I really thought it was something like an educated villain, but in fact, Ian was the only one I wronged.

That was a very odd point. The only person who could call me a villain was now my lover.

"I will take this myself. We need to solve it as quickly as possible."

Ian decided that there was no danger because it had exploded once, and slowly put down the bookmark.

His expression darkened even more, as if terrified at the thought that I might be in danger.

"And immediately call the capital and ask them to be detained because Richard seems to have come to his senses..."

"No."

I cut off Ian's response.

"Let's leave it for now."