The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Zenox stood frozen stiff, not uttering a word.

It seemed he didn’t expect Laria to make such a suggestion at all.

Laria, struggling to hide her tense expression, waited for his response.

She gave all sorts of reasons, but frankly, her personal desire was the biggest.

She wanted to stay by Zenox’s side a little longer.

During the time they spent apart, she realized.

Laria could never shake off Zenox. The more she tried to erase him, the more vividly he was engraved.

As if he couldn’t believe it, Zenox asked back.

“You’re saying to continue the contract…?”

“Yes.”

Even though it was a fake lover relationship until she returned the fox orb, she wanted to be with him.

Zenox covered his face with his palm.

Then he fell silent again.

‘Could it be that he dislikes it?’

Laria was sure Zenox would accept her suggestion.

His unexpected reaction left her flustered.

‘I should have read the atmosphere better before speaking!’

Did Zenox not have such intentions, and she got carried away by herself?

“It doesn’t mean anything… It’s just convenient for you, isn’t it?”

The excuse she blurted out sounded pathetic.

To make up for it, Laria uttered words she didn’t mean.

“If you don’t want to continue the contract, we could be friends…”

Zenox slowly lowered his palm.

When her eyes met his wavering golden irises, Laria’s mind went blank.

He asked in a deeply sunken voice.

“Friends?”

Perhaps it was because of their different social statuses that he asked about being friends.

“…Then acquaintances?”

As their relationship grew more distant, Zenox’s brows furrowed closer together.

‘This isn’t it either?’

After hesitating, Laria asked Zenox for his opinion.

“Then what would you prefer?”

“I guess temporary lovers would be good for now.”

His firm tone suggested he couldn’t compromise on anything else.

For some reason, the word ‘lovers’ made Laria’s heart flutter, and she found herself nodding like she was enchanted.

Gazing at Laria’s flushed cheeks, Zenox couldn’t hold back and pulled her into an embrace.

“…!”

Suddenly held in his arms, Laria froze stiff.

At the same time, her fox ears popped out.

Half in a daze, Laria rested her cheek against his chest and heard a thudding sound.

Zenox’s heartbeat was loud.

Her white fox ears twitched in sync with the sound.

Unable to meet his gaze, Laria mumbled.

“Why so suddenly…”

Staring intently at her fox ears, white and soft like snow, Zenox barely resisted the urge to touch them.

Holding Laria tighter, he whispered in her ear.

“Since we’ve been apart for half a month, I forgot how to make contact.”

“…”

“If we’re going to pretend to be lovers again, we need to get used to it.”

As much as she thought about it, his excuse sounded flimsy, so Laria lifted her head.

His face looked so innocently charming that she wondered, ‘Is this for real…?’

It was true that Laria herself wasn’t used to the contact after such a long time.

She felt more tense than when he first embraced her.Her protruding fox ears brushed against his chin.

Belatedly noticing her ears, Laria’s cheeks reddened.

“I usually control my partial transformation well, you know?”

She hurriedly spoke, worried that Zenox might misunderstand her inability to control her partial transformation.

After a moment of silence, Zenox asked a question.

“So does it only release in front of me?”

“Uh…”

Laria hesitated before reluctantly nodding.

Hearing her answer, Zenox smiled.

It wasn’t a mocking smile, but Laria couldn’t help feeling embarrassed.

She recalled all the situations where only she had experienced partial transformation.

Even during her time as Whitie, she had never seen Zenox’s partially transformed wolf ears and tail.

Despite having watched him for quite a while, the fact that she had never seen them was quite a shock when she thought about it now.

Her mood sank in an instant.

Laria’s partial transformation failed to control itself in front of Zenox because she liked him.

Then…

‘I knew it, didn’t I.’

That Zenox didn’t like her back.

At this point, it was pathetic how she kept getting her hopes up only to be disappointed.

Trapped in his embrace, Laria gently pushed Zenox away.

“Let’s go to the garden for now.”

The hallway that had seemed to stretch endlessly was now coming to an end.

Zenox opened the umbrella he was holding.

It was big enough for one person alone, but for two people, they would have to stick close together.

“There was only one umbrella.”

The two left for the garden, sharing the umbrella.

The snow-covered garden was calm without a breeze.

Snow had accumulated on the flowers and trees scattered throughout.

Laria couldn’t take her eyes off the mystical scenery that combined summer and winter.

After admiring the garden for a while, Laria looked up.Somehow, the umbrella had tilted towards her side.Zenox, on the other hand, didn’t seem to care whether snow accumulated on his shoulders or not.

Laria, who had only been moving her lips, finally spoke again as she straightened her head.

“What are your plans for Rubenta Krassium from now on?”

She wondered if he would imprison Rubenta until the brainwashing spell was resolved.

Laria hesitated before continuing.

“Actually… there have been some unfavorable rumors spreading outside.”

Among the public, Zenox was rumored to be an immoral person who had kicked out his caring uncle.

None of Rubenta’s wrongdoings were known.

Laria informed Zenox of the rumors, carefully edited to avoid hurting him.

“The elders must have spread them.”

“Why would the elders do that?”

“Because they’re on Rubenta Krassium’s side.”

“But you’re the family head, aren’t you?”

Zenox looked at Laria with an ambiguous gaze and gave a bitter smile.

“I’m just a family head in name, I suppose.”

“…”

“The elders’ loyalty to the  head of the family has always been strong. Until the previous Grand Duke.”

Zenox became the Grand Duke of Krassium at a young age.

Shortly after, he went to war, but the reason was quite different from the rumors.

Being located near the northern border, the region was often invaded by barbarian tribes.

When his parents passed away, Rubenta said their carriage accident might have been an attack by barbarians.

Zenox took up arms to avenge his parents and protect the northern region they loved.

He achieved hundreds of victories, but his achievements were never acknowledged. Instead, only baseless rumors spread, such as him going mad with killing or devouring humans.

-Don’t worry, they’re just rumors.

Zenox grew more reliant on Rubenta, who consoled him.

Thinking back now, if Rubenta had truly cared for Zenox, he wouldn’t have let the rumors spread.

Zenox didn’t realize anything was amiss until then.

It was only after leaving the battlefield and staying in the capital, away from Rubenta’s control, that he became aware.

He had been overly dependent on his uncle.

“…The elders’ support for my uncle was understandable, but their loyalty seems suspiciously excessive.”

They turned a blind eye and deaf ear to the truth, supporting Rubenta.

Just like the past Zenox.

After silently listening to Zenox, Laria muttered to herself.

“They probably didn’t use brainwashing spells…”

With Marquis Hashir’s skills, he couldn’t have cast brainwashing spells on all the elders.

‘Could Rubenta have some kind of ability?’

Not the known power of the wolf clan, but something else…

Struck by the thought, Laria stopped walking.

“Who is guarding the prison?”

“Someone I can trust.”

Zenox added that he was a loyal subordinate who had fought alongside him in the war.

Well, Zenox couldn’t guard the prison all day…

However, an inexplicable unease kept nagging at her.

‘I should check it out.’

Just as she was about to suggest going to the prison, a flickering light appeared in the distance.

As the light drew closer, a figure became visible.

It was a burly man wearing light armor.

After running through the darkness, the man stopped in front of Zenox and urgently spoke.

“Rubenta Krassium has disappeared.”

The two froze.

Without getting agitated, Zenox calmly asked him.

“What about Merdic? He was supposed to be guarding the prison.”

“Merdic himself opened the door. He seemed confused as well.”

He must be the knight Zenox mentioned.

Laria urgently grabbed Zenox’s arm and asked:

“Where is the prison?”

If Rubenta had just escaped, there might still be clues left behind.

The three immediately crossed the garden and headed to a building behind the castle.

As they descended underground, a suspicious aura lingered. The unpleasant residue of magical energy remained faintly.

“He was imprisoned here.”

Following the knight’s explanation, Laria gave Zenox a meaningful look.

“You’re going to catch him, right?”

Zenox didn’t answer right away.

He seemed reluctant to let Laria and Rubenta confront each other.

The knight standing behind them smoothly interjected:

“However, none of the knights guarding the castle have found Rubenta Krassium.”

“Of course. He didn’t escape on his own.”

“Pardon…?”

The knight blinked, unable to comprehend immediately.

Instead of persuading Zenox, Laria clutched a gem she had brought, just in case.

As the gem shattered, magical energy surged.

An intricate spell pattern spread widely under their feet.

Laria’s pure white magical energy swiftly chased after the faint, reddish-black residue.

After casting the tracking spell, Laria quickly found Rubenta’s trail.

“I’ve got it.”

The startled knight looked at Laria as if to say, ‘Already?’

The knight immediately took a stance, ready to rush out at any moment.

“Please let me know where, and I’ll pursue him right away.”

“No need for that.”

Laria flipped up her coat’s hood instead of her fur hat and immediately grabbed Zenox’s arm.

Then, she cast a spatial movement spell.