The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Laria glanced at the blood-drawn magic circle. Even at a glance, a sinister aura oozed from it.

“I didn’t think it would take three months to create this.”

Ort’s grumbling voice carried an undisguised sense of pride.

As Laria and Zenox approached the magic circle, Ort warned them:

“Don’t step on the magic circle. Your body will separate the moment you step on it.”

The two of them stopped in their tracks.

“Are we really going to handle dozens of people one by one?”

Ort clicked his tongue.

“There’s no one else but you to show off this masterpiece.”

Ort, who had been soliloquizing like an actor on stage, seemed to be getting bored as he sighed.

“Now, let’s go get the people. We don’t have much time.”

He had been saying there wasn’t much time for a while now. Was it because they needed to perform forbidden magic right away?

For now, they should pretend to go get the villagers and then meet up with Solike…

“Wait a moment.”

Just as they were about to walk away, Ort called out. When Laria turned around slowly, he approached her step by step.

She felt a cold sweat on her palm, wondering if he had noticed something.

Ort extended his hand and roughly pulled down Laria’s hood.

Her wheat-colored hair, which had been changed by the elixir, flowed down her shoulders.

“Oh, it’s a woman?”

Laria was briefly taken aback but quickly regained her composure, staring at him with a blank expression.

Ort looked Laria up and down.

His gaze felt sticky.

“Did the Sorcery Office have such a beauty?”

Grinning, Ort suddenly gestured to Zenox as if he had remembered something.

“Hey, you, go by yourself.”

Ort fixed his gaze on Laria again, lifting the corners of his mouth.

His hand was about to touch Laria’s cheek.

“Cough!”

A violent cough echoed, and Ort’s body seemed to float in mid-air.

Zenox’s hand, which had grabbed Ort’s thick neck with one hand, had bulging tendons.

Laria’s eyes, now turned green by the potion, had narrowed.

“Wh-what are you doing?!”

Ort’s legs, which weren’t touching the ground, flailed.

“As expected, it doesn’t suit my temperament to resolve things with words.”

Laria held her breath at Zenox’s tone, which barely suppressed the desire to kill.

She seemed to be seeing an angrier side of Zenox lately, and among them, this seemed to be on another level.

He emitted an overwhelming presence that made her feel suffocated.

“Ugh…”

Zenox tightened his grip on Ort’s neck with his hand.

If he had applied a little more force, Ort’s neck would have snapped.

Only now did Ort’s eyes show the fear of impending death. He could be killed at any moment. He was merely postponing it because he had a purpose.

“Khhugh, di-die…”

As Ort was about to lose consciousness due to lack of air, Zenox released his grip.

Ort’s fallen body thudded onto the ground.

He writhed on the ground, looking defenseless.

The smell of blood, which had been wafting from various places, intensified.

Under Ort’s feet, black magical power began to surge.

Ort, who had raised his head, suddenly cast a spell.

“Die!”

The gathered magical power turned into dozens of blades and rained down on Zenox.

“…!”

But the blades bounced off like they had hit a stone wall.

When his most confident magic was blocked, Ort could do nothing.

He belatedly realized the situation and looked back at Laria, who was standing next to Zenox.

Could it be that that woman…

“Aaaah!!”

Ort, whose hand was trampled upon, screamed until his stomach was pounding.

Zenox gently pressed the back of Ort’s hand with his foot and slowly bent down.

“What are you trying to do by sacrificing the villagers?”

“W-what do you mean…”

“It seems like you don’t understand what I’m saying, so I guess I should speak more clearly.”

The blue eyes captured Ort’s trembling eyes.

“Marquis Hashir, who is he trying to use forbidden magic on?”

Ort’s eyes widened.

“I’ll tell you… Ugh!”

Zenox, who casually broke his hand, looked back at Laria.

“Since he’s useless, shall we kill him?”

“Ugh!”

“Since it’s a disgusting sight, turn around.”

With a tone that evoked the imagination, Ort struggled to stand up.

He was confident that this man could more than carry out what he said.

“Th-the… Grand Duke!”

Like a bolt from the blue, Ort’s words stunned Laria and Zenox.

Laria, who had been standing a step back, immediately approached him.

“Speak clearly.”

When Ort tried to buy time with just his lips moving, Laria extended her hand.

An arrow-shaped spell, crafted through magic, pierced Ort’s face. Startled, Ort began to stutter out an answer.

“The Grand Duke… To brainwash him, we needed fresh blood.”

A heavy silence hung in the air.

‘I had expected him not to give up, but… I hadn’t anticipated that he would be actively preparing for forbidden rituals like this.’

Sacrificing dozens of lives for forbidden magic would be difficult for anyone, even Laria, to prevent.

Before the situation could escalate, she had learned of it, which was fortunate, but at the same time, a greater sense of unease washed over her.

‘Will Zenox’s uncle give up?’

Since he was stopped by Laria twice, he might have become even more cunning.

Laria remembered the man who had been brainwashed by Marquis Hashir at the illegal auction. His movements, like a puppet dangling from a string after losing his mind, were eerily unnatural.

If Zenox were to become like him…

The eyes looking down at Ort instantly became cold.

Her pupils, like the eye of a storm, seemed calm on the surface but roiled as if ready to explode at any moment.

When Ort met Laria’s gaze, he swallowed hard.

He felt the terror of death from Zenox. However, when Ort saw the look in Laria’s eyes, he felt a premonition that not even his soul would remain intact.

To escape, Ort struggled desperately, as if he had gone mad.

Realizing he couldn’t escape on his own, he shouted:

“If you kill me, you’ll all die too!”

“Nonsense.”

Zenox raised his sword.

“The mine will explode soon!!”

The bright blue blade stopped in mid-air.

The echoing voice that had spread widely became an echo that repeated several times.

Both Laria and Zenox, who had been calm until now, were shaken. Ort grinned when he saw their reactions.

“I’ve drawn explosive magic circles all over the mine.”

“…”

“When the mine collapses, there will be landslides, and the village will be buried as well.”

Ort’s eyes sparkled as he laughed.

“If I die, you’ll all die with me.”

It seemed like the reason he had been checking the time repeatedly was for that purpose.

Although Rubenta Krassium would cover for him, begging so boldly was suspicious. Laria finally understood the plan.

Marquis Hashir planned to use the villagers as sacrifices for forbidden magic and then blow up the mine to eliminate all evidence.

Laria and Zenox exchanged glances in the air.

They had to stop the explosion first.

Dozens of villagers and Solike were still inside the mine.

“How much time do we have left?”

“Five minutes.”

It was more urgent than they had expected.

Laria immediately cast a binding spell on Ort. With his hands and feet tied up, Ort’s face was pressed against the ground.

According to Ort’s words, the explosion would occur as soon as he died, so it was best to keep him restrained.

“First, we need to deactivate the magic circles.”

“In just five minutes? Do you even know how many there are?”

Ort scoffed at her, calling it a futile endeavor.

In response, the gems scattered over Laria’s body shattered one by one. The gems burst into a rainbow of colors like fireworks.

Laria, who had gathered magical power, tightened her lips and said:

“Do I really need to know the quantity?”

Ort’s face was filled with astonishment as he gazed at the white magical power filling the cavern.