The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

She should hate her?

Laria found it hard to understand those words

 Unlike Sienna, Laria didn’t particularly dislike her. There was a slightly annoying aspect to her, but she hadn’t committed any wrongdoing towards her.

But if Marquis Hashir was using forbidden magic and Sienna knew about it…

‘I’m sure I’ll be disappointed in Sienna.’

She wouldn’t meet Sienna in this way again.

“You mentioned that you wanted to visit the library, didn’t you?”

When Laria didn’t say anything, Sienna changed the topic first.

Laria obediently followed her out of the research lab.

The Sorcery Office had a unique structure, different from what one would see from the outside, with a central circular hall branching out in multiple directions.

On the ceiling, there were magical runes inscribed, and along the corridors, there were doors adorned with nameplates, one after another.

“You can use the magical runes to go directly to another floor.”

Sienna explained as she and Laria descended to the lower floor using the magical runes.

As soon as they arrived, they found a library with both doors wide open.

The library was so enormous that it felt overwhelming due to its high ceilings. It had three levels connected as one, and spiral staircases on both sides allowed access to the upper floors. In the center, there were desks and chairs, surrounded by massive bookshelves that covered the walls like a fortress.

Laria couldn’t help but be in awe.

She had never envied Sorcery Office-affiliated sorcerers before, but she did envy their library.

“No, I have to use this spell.”

“Are you a fool? It won’t work with that.”

“If I’m a fool, then you’re an idiot!”

Laria expected the library to be quiet, but it was strangely bustling.

She turned her head in the direction of the noise, and there, in the center, she saw people engaged in a heated discussion. They were rummaging through stacks of books piled up like towers to assert their opinions.

“Wait for another 20 minutes. I’m looking for references.”

“Where was that spell that increases movement speed…?”

They fell silent for a moment and then left in search of the spell. Curiosity piqued, Laria glanced over at them.

Sienna also looked in their direction, and someone noticed her, shouting:

“Oh! Lady Sienna!”

“What? Lady Sienna?”

The people who had covered their books as if throwing them away suddenly stood up.

“Why has Lady Sienna come to the library?”

“I can’t believe I’m seeing Lady Sienna here…”

Everyone responded that they were surprised that Sienna came to the library.

Sienna responded while maintaining elegance and composure, unlike before.

“I want to give a guest a tour of the library.”

At Sienna’s words, everyone’s gaze turned to Laria.

Even though she was wearing a robe with a hood, they didn’t seem to react to her presence. It seemed that there were quite a few people within the Sorcery Office who looked like this.

Just as Sienna was about to take a step, one of the sorcerers gathered the courage to speak up.

“We’re still in the middle of a debate, but we’d like to hear Lady Sienna’s opinion.”

“…What’s the topic?”

“Between a turtle and a horse under the effect of a speed-boosting spell, which one would be faster?”

Sienna raised an eyebrow with an expression that seemed to say, ‘Do we really need to discuss something so absurd?’

However, unlike Sienna, Laria’s eyes sparkled with interest. If she attended the fox clan gathering, she’d like to engage in discussions like this with other sorcerers. Even just hearing the topic was intriguing.

“Well… I’d say it’s the horse.”

Sienna, who didn’t want to mix but decided to play along, replied.

“No matter how much you boost the movement speed, a turtle can’t surpass the speed of a horse, and the duration is also an issue.”

“Is that so?”

The sorcerers hesitated for a moment and then nodded.

They couldn’t completely agree, but since it was Sienna’s opinion, they considered it valid.

As the debate was about to wrap up, Laria raised her hand.

“Can I speak too?”

“What?”

The sorcerers looked puzzled at Laria.

“I think the turtle might be faster.”

The sorcerers became interested in Laria’s opinion.

“If you cast a spell that momentarily increases speed on the turtle…”

As Laria recited the spell, the sorcerers’ jaws dropped. Some of them quickly opened their books to write down the spell Laria had just spoken.

“Isn’t that exactly like the spell in the book!”

“What? No… Did you memorize it all?”

But it wasn’t a very complex spell, after all…?

Laria had memorized most spells from her spellbooks, even before manifesting as a sorcerer, as a hobby.

“In fact, to cast it faster than written in the book, you just need to subtract the midpoint.”

“Uh, how do you do that?”

“Well…”

Astounded, the sorcerers raised their pens and began writing down the spell as Laria recited it.

“In addition, if you want to increase the endurance…”

The moment Laria mentioned the spell, the sorcerers’ mouths opened wider and wider.

Sienna, who was annoyed, also listened to Laria’s words.

Some sorcerers desperately flipped open their books to find the spell Laria was reciting.

A sorcerer, unable to contain their curiosity, took a hamster out of their pocket. The pet hamster moved its head around, crawling on the desk. Then, just as Laria cast the spell exactly as she had described…

“Hammy!”

The hamster raced to the end of the desk at an unbelievable speed. If the person at the end hadn’t reached out, it would have fallen.

“This is insane…”

There was a moment of silence, then amazement echoed from all corners.

The sorcerers, who had been staring dumbfoundedly at Laria, slowly turned their attention to Sienna.

What kind of guest was this, anyway? Their eyes seemed to ask.

“I need to go test it right now!”

Excited sorcerers jumped up from their seats.

Then, after hesitating for a moment, they proposed to Sienna:

“Would you like to come along?”

Sienna glanced at Laria.

At first, it seemed like she disliked the idea of unnecessary debates… However, when the topic of magical spells came up, her expression showed that she was curious and interested in experimenting with new spells.

“It would be better if Lady Sienna were there to observe. I’ll stay here and search for some references.”

“May I take a short break then? I’ll be back soon.”

“Take your time.”

Laria waved them off, and Sienna and the sorcerers quickly left the area. Finally alone, Laria began exploring the library in earnest.

‘First, I should gather all the information about the fox orb.’

She needed to find a way to separate the fox orb from her body.

However, with such vast information, it seemed impossible to find the answer by going through it one by one.

Laria approached a librarian who was organizing books nearby and asked:

“Where can I find information about the fox orb?”

“The fox orb? You should find it over there,” the librarian replied, pointing to a bookshelf.

‘Is there a method for separation…?’

Laria had never heard of anyone who had swallowed a fox orb like she did.

Still, she couldn’t give up. Without the fox orb, Zenox would suffer from madness.

‘It’s okay if I can’t use magic.’

As disappointing as it was, Zenox was more precious to her. She remembered the time when he suffered from hallucinations and delusions, and her heart grew cold.

‘He might still be suffering now.’

It had been three years since the fox orb disappeared. She needed to return it before the situation got worse.

Even though they won’t be able to continue the relationship as they are now after returning the fox orb… it was better than losing Zenox completely.

‘Besides, the fox orb originally belonged to Zenox, so returning it is the right thing to do.’

Laria pulled out a book with the title mentioning the fox orb. She carefully examined the table of contents, but the desired information was not there.

While pulling out and putting back several books, she noticed a book that was tucked away in a corner.

It seemed like it hadn’t been touched by human hands in a long time, as a layer of dust had settled on it.

Curious, Laria opened the book. It was about potion-making, and the content was quite intriguing.

For a moment, she lost herself in reading and forgot her original purpose.

‘I don’t have time for this.’

Laria closed the book in a hurry. But when she was about to put it away, she noticed a familiar name in the borrower’s list.

Laria was shocked and mumbled to herself:

“Theodore Rohan…?”

Thunk!

The sound of the book falling to the ground made Laria reflexively look up. A librarian, who had been organizing books nearby, was staring at Laria with a stern expression.