The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

After visiting the mining town of Brioschel, Zenox couldn’t meet Laria.

When he tried to arrange a meeting, he received a response that she was forbidden to go out. 

It seemed like something had suddenly gone wrong, possibly her transformation into a fox. 

If his guess was correct, as soon as Laria returned home, she transformed into a fox. Her family recognized her as Whitie and immediately brought her to the Grand Duke’s mansion. 

Laria stayed there until dawn, and rumors of her disappearance must have caused chaos in the Rohan mansion. 

‘Doesn’t her family know that Laria can transform into a fox?’

It might be possible that only he knew the truth about Laria being Whitie. 

A sense of pride briefly filled his heart before quickly fading. 

‘Could the person who kidnapped Whitie know as well?”‘

If he was the one who kidnapped Laria right in front of Zenox, there was a high possibility that he would know the full story.

It was unpleasant to know that there was someone else who knew Laria’s secret.

Zenox, who has a good hunch, vaguely sensed who the person who kidnapped Whitie from the illegal auction house was.

And this time, after visiting Brioschel together, he was convinced.

‘It’s probably that guy with insider information.’

Normally, he would have dealt with it immediately, but for now, he decided to leave it be. 

There was still a use for that person. 

However, whenever they called each other by name and acted friendly, he couldn’t help but entertain thoughts of just killing them. 

Laria should have praised him for not killing Solike.

Since their visit to the village, Zenox had been busier than ever. Worried that Rubenta might cause trouble, he sent elite knights to protect the village. He also arranged jobs for the villagers and personally investigated the situation. 

Marcel’s report arrived at a timely moment.

It contained Rubenta’s recent whereabouts after returning to the northern region following the imperial banquet. 

Zenox had summoned all the elders of the Krassium family.

He planned to strip Rubenta of his position as the acting Grand Duke using the events in Brioschel as an excuse. 

“Hoo…” 

Zenox let out a sigh while busily working.

Even in the midst of work, thoughts of Laria, not Whitie, came to his mind.

He had been away from her for just a few days since their visit to Brioschel, but he already missed her.

They had been exchanging letters, but that was not enough to satisfy him.mIt was like trying to quench his thirst with a few drops of water.

He had considered sneaking into the Rohan mansion as he did before, but he refrained. 

Unlike before, there was no excuse like Laria being ill. 

‘And she might not like it.’

If she wanted to see him, she would have proposed it herself.

Zenox suppressed his desire to see her immediately. 

‘I have to return to the North soon…”‘

He had plans to visit the northern region in accordance with the date he had summoned the elders.

It was a long journey, and he had to appoint an acting Grand Duke, so he would have to leave for about a week.

But he wanted to meet Laria at least once before he left. If he couldn’t bear it any longer, he thought about sending a letter asking to meet for just ten minutes, even if it had to be in secret.

And then, this morning, he received a letter from Laria.

Zenox abandoned all his work and immediately read the letter. 

[His Majesty the Emperor has invited my family and me to the imperial palace.]

With just one line, Zenox rushed out of his office.

His desperate state was so apparent that Verdo called out to him in dismay.

He had even forgotten the basic etiquette of taking a carriage when visiting the imperial palace. The urgency was unparalleled as he ran through his thoughts.

Until now, Laria had never had an audience with the Emperor or the Crown Prince. The Rohan family had no ties to the imperial family.

However, since the Imperial banquet, the imperial family had started paying attention to the Rohan family.

Above all, Zenox had temporarily forgotten that the Emperor showed a lot of interest in Laria. 

He cursed himself for being so careless. 

‘I should have kept an eye on her…’

With his lies, he had led Laria to misunderstand that Ishel was forcing them into a marriage, and now Ishel mistakenly believed that Laria and Zenox were genuinely in love and preparing for an engagement.

Zenox had intentionally fostered these misunderstandings and misconceptions. He had had a chance to talk with Ishel but had chosen not to.

Ishel was usually honest and didn’t lie, so his actions would have betrayed him.

However, it was all just an excuse.

When he lied initially, he didn’t mind getting caught. Before Laria found out the truth, he planned to check if she was hiding Whitie, and if his guess was correct, he would have threatened her to bring Whitie back.

But as they got more and more entangled, the lies grew like a snowball.

He couldn’t have exposed himself before Laria did.

Zenox had a fleeting sense of unease. What if Laria found out everything?

It was different from the time when it didn’t matter if his lies were exposed.

Zenox forcefully cut off the endless stream of thoughts. He had left as soon as he received the letter, so it might not be too late. 

“Stop!” 

Zenox pushed aside the knights blocking his path and headed towards the main palace.

He knew he would probably hear from the Emperor later, but there was nothing in sight now. 

He opened the door to the reception room where Laria would be.

Finally, when he saw Laria’s face.

‘I’m too late.’

Zenox examined Laria thoroughly.

He wondered if she might be disappointed in him or shocked… He was uncertain about their feelings, but when Laria averted her gaze, he felt like his breath was caught in his throat.

It felt as if someone had blocked his airway.

Oblivious Ishel poured fuel on the fire. 

“Hurry, explain to Lady Rohan that I was just preparing because I heard you were announcing your engagement…” 

If only he could turn back time…

Feeling a sense of drowsiness in his throat, Zenox finally spoke. 

“…I want to talk for a moment.” 

Laria, who had risen from her seat, started walking ahead. Instead of standing to the side like usual, Zenox followed behind her.

His mind was a mess the entire walk to the garden.

What should he say first? How could he gain forgiveness? Perhaps pretending to be pitiable might make her relent. Laria couldn’t just pass by someone who was pretending to be pitiful…

The silence continued for so long that it was better to get angry.

In the end, Zenox couldn’t bear it any longer and spoke first. 

“…Lady Rohan. What did you hear from His Highness the Crown Prince?” 

“Is that important?” 

Her first words, in a cold tone he had never heard before, startled Zenox.

He felt bewildered and anxious, unable to remain quiet.

He grabbed a handful of her hem, but Laria, who had been avoiding his gaze all along, finally looked at him.

It was as if the power had dissipated from her eyes. It seemed as if her anger had vanished completely.

Rather than anger, her gaze seemed filled with confusion.

Zenox, on the other hand, felt even more afraid.

Anger was still an emotion directed towards the other person. The moment her eyes lost emotion and her gaze turned cold, Zenox felt like she had completely let him go.

He felt like a child who had been abandoned in anticipation of being discarded.

Anticipating like a child that he might be abandoned, Zenox desperately called her name. 

“Laria.” 

Instead of answering, Laria said something else. 

“Shall we pretend the contract… never existed?”

The words he had erased from his mind because he didn’t even want to think about them came out of Laria’s mouth. 

“There’s no need for that anymore.”

“…”

“I’ll help you find Whitie.”

Zenox’ pupils, which had been focused on Laria, shook finely.

Initially, that had been his intention, but… Zenox felt a strong sense of unease when Laria said it now. 

“You don’t need to help.” 

Zenox, who saw Laria’s puzzled eyes, tried to remain calm.

First of all, the priority was to reveal that Whitie wasn’t the only reason why a contract relationship was recommended.

“I’ll be the one to find Whitie.”

“Then, why did you maintain the contract with me?”

Zenox was at a loss for words in the face of Laria’s question.

At first, he had proposed a contract relationship to monitor her, and later, he wanted to keep her by his side, convinced that she was Whitie. 

‘Was that all?’ 

Zenox recalled the reason he had continued the contract relationship, even though he knew his uncle had his eye on Laria.

It was because he wanted to keep Whitie by his side.

Because he could meet her anytime under the pretext of being lovers.

Because he didn’t want to lose this place to anyone else.

And… 

‘Because I really wanted to become Laria’s fiance…’ 

The realization that suddenly hit him shook Zenox to his core.