The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Inside the returning carriage, Laria was half lost in thought.

‘Zenox went back to the North?’

The words she had heard from Tigur were shocking, and she still couldn’t come to her senses.

She had so many questions.

Why did he return to the North? Was he okay after that day? What was he doing these days?

But she didn’t ask a single one. She and Zenox were no longer anything to each other.

‘The Grand Duke is from the North, so he could have gone back.’

On the contrary, it wasn’t ordinary for lords to stay in the capital for several years.

As far as Laria knew, Zenox had originally lived in the North and settled in the capital after picking up White.

Hadn’t Verdo mentioned it when she recently visited the Krassium mansion in the form of Whitie? Zenox hadn’t left here because he was looking for Whitie.

‘Does that mean he’s giving up on finding Whitie?’

It was shocking because, even if the contract ended, she had thought that he would continue searching for Whitie.

To suddenly stop after searching so diligently for so long? Did Zenox really not need her help anymore?

If he never returned to the capital again…

‘We won’t be able to meet again, will we?’

She had tried to avoid seeing his face, thinking that it would shake her heart, but now that she heard he had gone to the North, her chest tightened.

It seemed like Zenox had left without any lingering attachments.

In the end, he hadn’t asked her why they had broken up or even talked about it.

She didn’t harbor any grudges against him, yet she couldn’t help but shed tears when she thought about how he had given her money and jewelry without any ill will.

Instead of answering the question, Laria impulsively opened her mouth.

“Do you have any strong alcohol among your collectibles?”

“…Huh?”

“Give me one bottle, no, three.”

Herdin’s brow furrowed.

“You’re not in the best condition. What kind of alcohol do you want?”

“If you’re not going to give it to me, get out of the way.”

As she was in the mood to rob the warehouse right now, Herdin had ordered a servant to bring some food.

“I’m going to open some of my treasured collections.”

He should have done this earlier.

“What about parents?”

“They had an urgent matter and went out for a while. That’s why I took a leave and came here.”

A grown adult could be alone, but she didn’t know why it was such an unusual situation.

Laria felt a bit bitter for a moment, but she was probably glad that Herdin was there.

If she were alone, she would end up digging a hole again.

Laria and Herdin moved to a room where family members usually drank tea or liquor.

In a row on the display shelf were the liquors that Semela and Herdin had each collected. 

Herdin, standing in front of the display shelf, hesitated in deep thought.

Most of his collectibles were alcoholic beverages, and they were mostly hard liquor. He should have prepared some low-alcohol drinks.

After a moment of contemplation, Herdin cast a glance at Semela’s display shelf. 

He thought about stealing some of his mother’s drink, but gave up right away.

He didn’t know which bottle contained the poison.

Herdin, who was struggling, found a bottle of alcohol stuck in a corner.

He received it as a gift from the Crown Prince, and it was low in alcohol and sweet. When he received it, he cursed at him for giving me something like this as a gift, but he never thought the day would come when it would be helpful.

Herdin took out the bottle, and Laria narrowed her eyes suspiciously.

“It doesn’t look poisonous.”

“Is this the most poisonous bottle among all the liquor you have?”

Herdin jumped when she gave him a look full of suspicion.

“Did you know that the more beautiful a mushroom is, the more toxic it is?”

“Alright. Give it to me.”

Herdin prepared some food by having a servant bring it over.

The table was filled with dishes, and Herdin poured the liquor into the glasses.

The clear glasses sparkled with golden light.

Laria remembered the champagne she had shared with Zenox at the imperial palace banquet.

‘The first time I ever properly drank alcohol was then.’

She had never been interested in alcohol, but she had learned that alcohol could be delicious for the first time.

Laria, who remembered Zenox again, emptied her glass in one go.

“Drink slowly!”

Herdin was shocked and tried to stop her, but Laria didn’t even listen.

It seemed like it wasn’t the strongest alcohol, but…

‘Still, it tastes good, so I’ll give it a try.’

Laria drank the alcohol sip by sip.

Herdin, who was sitting across from her, occasionally encouraged her to eat something or drink water.

‘Come to think of it, I never told you why we broke up.’

She hadn’t even told him that they had broken up.

She had so many questions about him, and while she couldn’t be completely honest, she thought that at least sharing a little would relieve her frustration.

Perhaps it was the alcohol, but her tongue felt a bit lighter.

“You heard that we broke up, right?”

Herdin flinched in surprise.

And with his eyes, which had been rolling around, he nodded.

“I realized that I was the only one who liked him.”

“…I don’t know for sure, but it seemed like the Grand Duke liked you too.”

Even the subtly perceptive Herdin felt that way, so it was understandable that Laria would have misconceptions.

Even if it wasn’t romantic love, it was safe to assume that he had some degree of fondness for her.

“They say he’s gone to the North now.”

“When is he coming back?”

“I don’t know. He might not come back.”

Herdin’s face became serious as he set his glass down.

“To be honest… I think you two broke up for the best.”

Herdin had never really liked Zenox from the beginning. He hadn’t even been excited when they were first introduced.

He had expected that Laria would just keep ranting about Zenox, but what Herdin said next took her by surprise.

“You should meet someone who likes you more.”

“…”

“It’s okay, really.”

Laria blinked slowly, her gaze fixed on Herdin. His words were serious, devoid of any hint of humor, but they were filled with affection.

After hesitating for a moment, Herdin continued cautiously.

“Laria, when you disappeared…”

Up until now, talking about Laria’s disappearance had been a forbidden subject, and nobody had brought it up or mentioned it. This was the first time they had talked about that day. 

Herdin recalled the six months that had been the most dreadful time of his life.

During the first week after Laria’s disappearance, he had held on to the hope that she would return soon.

But as a month passed, that hope gradually faded, leaving no trace behind.

They had distributed missing person flyers throughout the capital, but no one had claimed to have seen Laria.

Herdin had suffered from insomnia during the time of Laria’s disappearance, constantly checking the front door in case she returned while he slept.

“I was afraid I’d forget your face, so I thought of you every day.”

On the other hand, he had been fearful of how much Laria might have grown during her absence.

He had worried that she might not recognize him, or perhaps she had decided not to return.

“I decided that if you ever came back safely, I would grant any wish you had.”

And so, half a year later, Laria had returned to her family, covered in burns.

Herdin had wept as he tended to her injuries, one by one, vowing never to let her go through such a thing again.

“The reason I opposed your relationship with the Grand Duke… was because I saw you getting hurt.”

Before their feelings for each other had deepened, Herdin had tried to break them up by feeding the Grand Duke a potion, fearing that he might hurt Laria in the future. The potion had failed, but in the end, Herdin had become an observer of their relationship.

Laria, who had been in a relationship with Zenox, appeared happier compared to the past three years.

Although she had seemed somewhat melancholic after her return, recently, that feeling had disappeared entirely.

That was one of the reasons he hadn’t actively opposed Laria’s relationship.

“If I had known you were having a hard time, I should have tried to stop you more.”

Laria lowered her head, tears welling up.

Herdin hadn’t done anything wrong. It had all been Laria’s choices.

But knowing Herdin’s true feelings now, she felt like crying.

“I just… I don’t know how to forget someone I liked.”

This was her first experience with liking someone, let alone trying to forget them. That’s why she was so afraid.

‘What if these feelings last a lifetime?’

People said that time was the best medicine for a breakup, but her longing only seemed to grow stronger.

So much that she wanted to go after Zenox to the North right now…

But looking at her worried family, she realized she needed to get a grip on herself. She couldn’t keep showing them how much she was suffering.

“Don’t worry, I’ll be fine soon.”

Laria got up from her seat and sat next to Herdin.

She had so many secrets she hadn’t confessed to her family.

She had pretended to have amnesia during her disappearance because she was afraid that the Krassium mansion and the entire capital might go to war to find her.

In fact, she wasn’t sure if all the choices she had made so far were the right ones, and she had many days of doubt.

But one thing was clear: escaping from the Krassium mansion and returning to her family had been the right decision.

Laria declared with a determined voice:

“I’m not going anywhere now.”