The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

A heavy silence enveloped the dueling arena.

Everyone bore dazed expressions, as if trying to ascertain whether the scenery they had witnessed was indeed an illusion.

Even the senior sorcerers summoned as judges were rendered speechless.

They had never in their lives encountered such a high-level illusion magic.

Doubts arose as to whether they were qualified to judge at all.

While the others were stunned, Laria calmly awaited the official’s response, as if nothing out of the ordinary had occurred.

The slack-jawed official stammered.

“There…there is no time limit.”

As Laria made to summon her magic power once more, the flustered official hurriedly declared:

“However, we have witnessed sufficient demonstration of your abilities, so we shall conclude the first round here.”

Only then did the sounds of pent-up breaths being released emerge from all around.

As thousands erupted into clamorous chatter, the surroundings grew raucous.

“So what we just saw wasn’t real, huh…”

“I genuinely thought I had been transported to the North and didn’t know how to get back.”

“Didn’t they say she only manifested as a sorcerer recently?”

“Prodigy is the only word for it…”

Those lacking sorcerous abilities could only voice their personal impressions.

“I have never witnessed such illusion magic before.”

“What kind of spellcraft did she incorporate, I wonder?”

“Maintaining an illusion of that scale must have consumed immense magic power…”

Meanwhile, the sorcerers were preoccupied deciphering the illusion Laria had cast.

Not a single person seemed concerned with the judges’ evaluation.

Such was the overwhelming disparity.

After dissipating the magic power she had re-summoned, Laria stole a glance at the still-frozen Sienna.

‘I wonder if she realized I’m Liri.’

Magic power alone wouldn’t reveal her identity. Still, having handled spells in Sienna’s presence multiple times, the perceptive Sienna might have caught on.

Eventually, her true self would be unveiled to Sienna. Laria had anticipated this day would come…

It had simply arrived sooner than expected.

Laria turned her gaze toward Marquis Hashir.

As expected, the Marquis was piercing her with a sharp glare. His taut, rigid expression laid bare his emotions.

‘It seems the Marquis hasn’t realized yet.’

Marquis Hashir didn’t appear to have discerned Laria’s identity.

Their only direct confrontation had been at the auction house, where Laria had refrained from fully releasing her magic power to conceal her identity.

Today’s duel had been aimed at the Marquis, after all.

Blatantly glaring at Laria, the Marquis abruptly rose from his seat and approached the official.

After a brief exchange, he returned to his place.

The officiating official cleared his throat.

“The rules have been changed.”

The murmuring crowd briefly fell silent.

“All three rounds will be completed before determining the outcome.”

Originally, the winner was decided after each round.

However, the rules had suddenly shifted to a cumulative scoring system.

Evidently, they had judged the current trajectory to be disadvantageous for Sienna. Before any objections could arise, the official briskly proceeded with the duel.

“We shall now commence the second round.”

In this round, the participant who demonstrated higher-level spellcraft based on a prescribed spellform would emerge victorious.

Any magic could be performed, as long as it incorporated the given spellform.

‘I should give a moderate showing.’

Having decided which spell to present, Laria glanced at Sienna.

As their eyes met, Sienna’s gaze flickered briefly with evident bewilderment.

Rather than Sienna taking the lead this time, the official called upon Laria.

“Lady Laria Rohan, you may begin.”

All eyes turned toward Laria, their gazes brimming with anticipation of witnessing another astonishing display.

The soft sound of shattering gems resonated.

In the mere blink of an eye.

The instantaneously completed spell caused the observing sorcerers’ faces to contort in shock.

* * *

‘Laria Rohan was Liri.’

The second round had concluded.

Having returned to the waiting room before the next round commenced, Sienna remained in a daze.

She had to accept the reality she had been denying.

Previously, when she had invited Liri to the Sorcery Office library, she had witnessed Liri’s unique approach to handling spellforms – completely deconstructing and rearranging existing forms.

It was the first time she had seen anyone do so.

And Laria Rohan had manipulated spellforms in precisely the same manner as Liri.

The moment she witnessed Laria’s spellcasting, Sienna was struck by such profound shock that she couldn’t react at all, her memory of how the second round had unfolded became a blur.

‘Unbelievable…’

While she had anticipated Liri being a woman, she had naturally assumed her to be an experienced, seasoned sorcerer much older than herself.

Yet Liri was Laria Rohan.

As the haze lifted from Sienna’s vacant stare, her focus gradually sharpened.

‘Why did she deceive me all this time?’

Sienna had genuinely respected and admired Liri. Not just her skills, but her humble demeanor and consideration had captivated Sienna.

Even after their commission ended, she had frequented information store in hopes of maintaining contact with Liri.

How foolish and laughable she must have appeared, chasing after Liri in ignorance.

Sienna recalled the words she had spoken to Laria in the waiting room earlier.

-Surely you don’t think someone who couldn’t even gain admission to the Sorcery Office could defeat me?

From the very beginning, she had never even considered Laria a rival.

Waves of shame flushed her face crimson, then drained it of color.

Unable to restrain the onslaught of emotions, Sienna buried her face in her palms.

At that moment, the waiting room door burst open.

“Sienna!!”

Trembling, Sienna slowly lifted her head.

Marquis Hashir, his face flushed red with rage, stormed toward her.

He violently swept aside the table in front of Sienna.

Bang!

Startled by the loud crash, Sienna instinctively squeezed her eyes shut.

The sounds of shattering objects assaulted her ears.

When she reopened her eyes, the surroundings were in disarray.

Yet the Marquis still seemed unsatisfied, his body quivering as he muttered through gritted teeth:

“So this is my daughter…”

Thump. Her heart plummeted.

Her parted lips quivered, the tremors spreading throughout her body.

Though she tried clenching her fists to steady herself, no strength remained.

Helplessly hanging her head, Sienna stared at the floor.

“Why didn’t you take the potion? Are you defying my orders?”

The Marquis berated her, asserting that had she taken the potion earlier, this would not have happened.

“You have thoroughly disgraced the Hashir family!”

Oblivious to the blood trickling from her bitten lip, Sienna could only gnaw on it numbly.

“I don’t know what schemes that wench Laria Rohan has been plotting…”

“…”

“But in your current state, you cannot win.”

Involuntarily, Sienna jerked her head upward.

The Marquis regarded her with a gaze one would give a worthless, discarded object. His chilling stare stole her breath away.

Gasping, Sienna reflexively cried out”

“I…I’ll take it!”

She had striven her entire life to live up to her father’s expectations.

Until now, she had desperately sought to prove her worth as a useful child. She didn’t wish to be cast aside over a single mistake, like her mother.

‘It’s only fair.’

Laria had likely deceived her intentionally from the start.

The conditions had been unfavorable, so this was to be expected.

Sienna retrieved the glass vial from her pocket.

A crimson liquid sloshed within.

The Marquis had said this potion would significantly enhance her magic power.

Though she had scoured countless tomes trying to identify its nature, she had failed.

‘Since Father gave it to me, it should have no adverse effects.’

Before the Marquis’s watchful gaze, Sienna downed the entire contents of the vial. The strength gradually drained from the hand clutching the empty vial until…

Shatter!

Accompanied by a piercing sound, the glass shattered into pieces.

“Ughhh!”

Doubled over from a sensation akin to her organs being wrenched, Sienna curled into a ball.

Reaching out in a desperate attempt to grasp something, anything, her fingers could only futilely scrape the floor.

“Hnngh.”

She longed to scream, but the agony was too intense for even a scream to escape.

By the time the excruciating pain wracking her entire body finally subsided, Sienna’s sunset-hued crimson eyes had transformed into a blazing red.

Catching sight of her altered eye color, a flicker of satisfaction ghosted across the Marquis’s lips.

He placed a hand on Sienna’s shoulder.

“The third round is direct combat.”

Offensive and defensive spells would be employed to determine the victor.

In other words:

“Losing a limb or two is a possibility.”

The ominous whisper burrowed into Sienna’s mind.

“I will handle the aftermath.”