A short while later, Delia arrived at the bridge located on the long corridor of the villa. 

From there, she had a clear view of the scenery below, including the people passing by.

If anyone were to ask why she was walking around with a random flowerpot, there was only one reason.

A new way to eliminate Kaiel Ceder.

Soon, a long shadow stretched out from the end of the corridor. 

Delia extended both arms, clutching the flowerpot, over the railing.

Kaiel emerged from the end of the shadow.

‘There he is!’

As he approached the spot where she stood, the system sent a notification. A message she had become all too familiar with.

[The system has detected an opportunity.]

[Eliminate the villain ‘Kaiel Ceder’ and fulfill the author’s responsibility.]

The notification window disappeared.

At the same time, Delia let go of the flowerpot she had been holding. It was the perfect timing, taking into account the time it would take for the pot to fall and his walking speed.

The flowerpot plummeted silently and swiftly, its weight emphasized by the silence.

The soil on the surface of the rotating flowerpot scattered in all directions. 

Even as the flowerpot drew near, Kaiel’s gaze remained fixed straight ahead. 

One second.

In one second, the flowerpot would hit him somewhere. His large build made him an easy target.

However, in a split second, even less than a second.

He smoothly took a step back, interrupting his stride.

Crack!

The flowerpot crashed onto the floor, narrowly missing his foot.

The sound of heavy pottery shattering echoed through the corridor. 

“…….”

The broken shards scattered everywhere, but only one piece touched him. It was a small, insignificant fragment that barely grazed his heel as it fell.

Kaiel looked down at the few scattered flowers on the floor, then up at someone on the corridor above.

“You have no idea how to conceal your presence.”

The servants, who had witnessed the falling flowerpot from afar and rushed over in shock, cried out in alarm. 

“A flowerpot fell from the sky! Who is it……!”

“I’ll go catch the culprit right now!”

“Everyone, stop fussing over my safety.”

The servants were all dumbfounded by the Grand Duke’s nonchalance.

“B-but, there was definitely someone up there!”

“There wasn’t.”

The servants wanted to say more, but the Grand Duke’s expression silenced them. They exchanged glances and closed their mouths.

As if they could have missed seeing the figure when even the Grand Duke hadn’t.

However, the Grand Duke simply left after his firm statement. As the servants continued to whisper amongst themselves with worry, Kaiel finally spoke up to quell the commotion. 

“It was just training to improve my reflexes.”

The servants, feeling as if they would die from the Grand Duke’s glare if they didn’t drop it, pretended not to notice the dangerous situation that had just unfolded before their eyes.

The next day, Delia appeared in the hallway of the villa, clutching a thin, sturdy rope. A long staircase stretched out before her.

How many times had she tried this already?

After tying the rope to the opposite pillar, Delia hid behind it, pulling the rope taut to prevent it from sagging. 

‘Step on it, come on, step on it!’

A few minutes passed. 

Although she couldn’t see what was happening from behind the pillar, she heard footsteps followed by the rope pulling taut. 

‘He stepped on it!’

This time, she would finish it for sure.

Delia tightened her grip on the rope, anticipating the loud commotion that would soon erupt from the staircase.

However, her hopes were dashed. 

The taut rope pulled with even greater force, and before she knew it, she was being dragged along!

“Gah!”

Delia, involuntarily pulled from behind the pillar, quickly averted her gaze as she came face to face with someone she didn’t want to see. 

A low voice spoke from the other end of the rope. 

“Interesting. You came out when I pulled the rope.”

“…….”

Delia remained silent. She had nothing to say, so she had no choice but to stay quiet. 

Then, Kaiel pulled the rope once more. 

Delia, yanked towards him like a fish on a hook, barely managed to keep from bumping her nose against his chest. 

“Amusing.”

Kaiel looked down at her and flicked his wrist lightly. In an instant, Delia found herself tied up. 

“Hey!”

“This is how you tie a knot when you’re capturing someone. Keep that in mind.”

Delia’s eyes darted around.

Keep that in mind? Keep what in mind?

To use it on you?

Her bound hands, tied together, waved up and down as Kaiel shook the rope. His actions seemed oddly playful. 

“Let me go.”

“Let’s eat.”

She was used to his non-sequiturs by now. 

“No.”

She was also used to refusing him as easily as breathing.

Delia tried to step back, but Kaiel tugged on the rope gently yet firmly, effortlessly pulling her along.

‘I’m being escorted like a criminal!’

A while later, the servants bringing out the food in the dining room nearly choked on their own meals. This was because their Grand Duke had appeared, holding the rope that bound Delia’s hands. 

“G-Grand Duke?”

He looked as if he had actually captured a criminal, and the servants were worried that Delia had done something wrong.

One of the servants, mustering up their courage, asked as they looked at Delia, who had been dragged there helplessly,

“Hahaha, um, Grand Duke. Did Miss Delia do something wrong……?”

However, it was Delia who felt a pang of guilt at those words. 

She had done more wrong than anyone could count. Just hearing Kaiel’s name or words like “wrong,” “sin,” or “crime” made her heart clench.

She didn’t know if it was guilt, tension, fear, pain, or worry.

One thing was for sure, though. After five failed assassination attempts, she had gained confidence in her ability to act.

Kaiel sat Delia down and said,

“If you’re talking about wrongdoing… yes. She tried to cut the rope with her teeth the whole way here. It was quite bothersome.”

‘As if that’s even a real offense!’

Delia sighed, looking down at her bound hands.

“I’ll eat with you, so untie me.”

“No.”

“Untie…!”

Delia was about to yell at him again to untie her, but then she remembered that Kaiel hadn’t listened to a word she said lately and gave up. 

“Fine, I get it! Do whatever you want, Your Grace, it’s your way or the highway.”

Kaiel’s eyes gleamed softly. 

“Alright.”

How did things end up like this?

A short while later, tender meat and soft bread appeared.

Even with both hands tied together, it wasn’t impossible to use them. Delia picked up a fork as if she were wielding a sword. 

A large hand covered hers. Delia, startled as she dropped the fork, looked up at Kaiel with a bewildered expression. However, this was nothing. What he did next made her doubt her own eyes. 

“Here.”

What was with this piece of bread being held out in front of her?!

“Eat.”

The sight of the fork piercing the bread, held in Kaiel’s hand, and heading towards her mouth felt incredibly strange. 

Delia’s eyes wavered.

“Are you… feeding me?”

Seemingly unaware of the implications, Kaiel paused. 

“I’m just putting the bread in your mouth.” 

Wasn’t that the same thing?

After a brief standoff with the bread, Delia cautiously opened her mouth.

“If you’re going to do that, then the meat……”

The rest of her words were swallowed by the soft bread that slipped past her lips. As if on cue, Kaiel held out a piece of meat. 

“Here.”

Neither of them noticed, but the servants standing behind them were so shocked that they started banging their heads. 

Kaiel might have been a familiar and approachable figure to Delia, but not to others. He might have mellowed out recently, but he was still a cruel and fearsome man.

And this man… was kindly serving food to someone else’s mouth?!

Delia, busily chewing, suddenly spotted the meat knife and her eyes gleamed. Just as quickly, Kaiel spoke in a calm voice.

“That knife’s too dull. It’ll be too tough for you to use. Here.”

Another piece of meat entered her mouth, bursting with flavor. Kaiel spoke in a satisfied tone. 

“You eat well.”

* * *

Late that evening, Delia returned to her room, making a racket. 

‘I should be the one with the invincible body, not Kaiel! Seriously!’

Delia plopped onto her bed and sighed. 

She felt like she had spent the past week being toyed with in Kaiel’s palm. 

She had made over ten attempts on his life during that time. 

If she had kept a record, it would read something like this:

「……Sixth attempt: Lure him to the lake and push him in → I fell in instead. Failed. Kaiel saved me.

Seventh attempt: Oil the floor in front of the stairs → He didn’t leave his office all day. Failed.

Eighth attempt: Loosen the wheels of Kaiel’s carriage and drive it myself → He rode his horse instead of taking the carriage. Failed.

Ninth attempt: Untie the reins of his horse → He came back perfectly fine without the reins. Failed…… 」