The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

The news of Laria falling ill threw the Rohan Mansion into chaos.

Even the Count and Countess, who had left for business, hurried back in a single stride.

“They say there’s an illness that Herdin can’t cure.”

“Our little fox became half of herself in just one day…”

Semela’s astonishment contrasted sharply with Theodore, who was already on the verge of tears.

Herdin, who had been sitting by the bedside, rose from his seat.

“She just fell asleep, so let’s discuss it outside.”

As soon as they closed the bedroom door and stepped out, Semela asked a question.

“Is her condition severe?”

“She had a high fever until morning, but she’s fine now after taking medicine.”

“But why does she look so pale?”

When Semela expressed doubt about the efficacy of the medicine, Herdin became annoyed. 

“People who get all perky right after their fever goes down are ignorant.”

“Could it be because she’s tired?”

Theodore asked with a muffled voice and tired eyes.

“Even though I gave her medicine that’s good for her energy, it hasn’t helped much.”

Laria may have thought that the Rohan family was short on money, but their storage was filled with ingredients more valuable than diamonds. Even just calculating the cost of the medicine Laria took in the morning would have covered the cost of a carriage.

Once again, when Semela gave Herdin a suspicious look, he declared angrily:

“There’s no illness I can’t cure.”

It might have been an unfortunate statement, but it was true. Other than the deceased, he had healed everyone.

“Of course, there are illnesses I can’t cure.”

“But you said you didn’t have any!”

“Mental illness is a little different.”

He shrugged when he mentioned extracting someone’s heart but not healing a diseased heart.

Theodore’s face turned pale as he imagined the scene of extracting a heart.

“A diseased heart, you say…”

Semela fell into deep thought. She began to suspect whether someone was tormenting Laria. The moment she formed that suspicion, Theodore exclaimed:

“Could it be because of the competition? Maybe she felt too burdened…!”

“Her?”

Herdin snorted.

“She doesn’t have the kind of personality to feel burdened by that.”

“Really…? Maybe she didn’t inherit it from me.”

Theodore’s shoulders slumped dejectedly but quickly perked up.

“No, thankfully, she didn’t take after me in that regard!”

Semela gazed at Theodore lovingly, finding his reaction endearing.

Seeing Herdin getting increasingly irritated, he snapped his fingers.

“We don’t have any concrete information yet, so let’s just leave her to rest for now.”

As they were about to disperse, the butler came running.

“His Excellency the Grand Duke has arrived!”

The three of them stood frozen in place. Due to Laria’s condition, Herdin had become more alert, and he firmly stated to the butler:

“He’s visiting, not just ‘arriving.’ Go and tell him to come in.”

“What should I say?”

“If you say Laria is sick, he’ll understand.”

“Understood.”

As the butler disappeared like the wind, the three of them exchanged brief words.

“Did they agree to meet?”

“I believe we met yesterday too.”

While they were in a ‘let’s wait and see’ position, they still didn’t trust Grand Duke Zenox.

Just as they were about to leave, the butler returned, and he brought Zenox with him this time.

Grand Duke Zenox, with an unapologetic attitude bordering on impudence, spoke the words that were the least appropriate.

“I’ve come to nurse her back to health.”

And then, he was chased away.

* * *

As soon as her family left, Laria opened her eyes wide.

After taking Herdin’s medicine, her condition had improved significantly. However, now that her body had recovered, the thoughts she had pushed aside began to torment her.

After doing a partial transformation in the forest yesterday, she felt like her head was going to explode.

‘I like Zenox… No.’

First of all, Laria immediately denied it.

There was no concrete evidence that she had undergone partial transformation because she liked him. Maybe she had just accidentally revealed her partial transformation form in front of him.

She tried to dismiss it, but…

Zenox’s wet face in the rain refused to leave her mind. Even in the midst of the rain, his voice remained as clear in her ears as if he were right there with her.

She couldn’t help but blush at the vivid image of him.

-Originally, love is terrifying. It can change from friendship to affection.

Laria, who remembered what Solike had said, turned around and laid her head on the pillow.

It was clearly a friendship…!

She herself felt that her feelings toward Zenox had changed.

Just a few days apart, and she missed him and wanted to see him so badly.

It was different from when she considered him just a friend. It was like her whole attention was focused on him.

Every action he took made her heart race, and her fingertips tingled. She had become consciously aware of him.

When had she started doing that?

Laria remembered the question she had asked last time.

What if she couldn’t see Zenox again?

At that time, she hadn’t been able to answer, but now she knew.

‘I would visit him without waiting even a week.’

She had gone to the Grand Duke Krassium’s residence herself yesterday because she missed him.

It was something that would have been unthinkable in the past.

Laria, who had been denying her emotions all along, began to examine the reasons she was drawn to him one by one.

Zenox, whom she met again after several years, seemed to have changed yet radiated the same kindness as ever.

Whenever he smiled at her, she couldn’t take her eyes off him, and when he called her name in a soft voice, her heart skipped a beat.

Above all, he kept approaching her in such a way; how could she not waver?

‘Maybe I like Zenox.’

After admitting without certainty, her expression darkened involuntarily. 

If it was indeed affection she held for Zenox, she needed to put an end to it before it deepened further.

She hadn’t even returned the fox orb, and, most importantly, she had told him too many lies. She didn’t even want to imagine how he would react when he found out the whole truth.

‘He’ll surely be disappointed… Maybe he won’t even want to see my face.’

To have concealed her true feelings for three years and then to suddenly like him now, from Zenox’s perspective, it must be bewildering at best, if not outright ridicule.

Moreover, knowing that Whitie was actually like a prisoner was shocking and added to the complexity of the situation.

‘Plus, it’s a one-sided crush.’

Zenox seemed to have no emotions for her at all.

They were bound by a contract, neither more nor less.

‘It’s still… okay.’

Before her feelings grew any stronger, she could just end it. She could stay by his side until she returned the fox orb, and that should be enough to satisfy her.

‘We can treat the contract as if it never happened.’

Fortunately, they hadn’t been engaged yet.

Laria buried her face in her pillow and let out a barely audible sigh.

Even though she had taken so much medicine, she still felt pain. Not in her body, but in her heart.

Her head had a throbbing pain again, and her fever started to rise once more.

Herdin had used the medicine several times, but each time, the fever briefly subsided before returning. Herdin probably thought it was better to leave her alone to rest.

Left alone in her room, Laria let out breathy sighs.

How long had it been since she had been this sick? When she was young, she used to catch colds often, causing her parents to worry.

Her thoughts fragmented and intermittently returned, but they were quickly interrupted.

As she drifted in and out of sleep, a large hand touched her forehead.

‘It’s refreshing.’

The size of the hand was familiar, but the temperature was unfamiliar.

It had always felt warm, but now it was pleasantly cool. Her furrowed brow gradually relaxed.

When she heard a soft noise, Laria struggled to lift her heavy eyelids. The hand on her forehead came down to cover her eyes.

Shh.

A gentle voice tickled her ears like a lullaby.

Laria, while continuing to think about who the owner of the hand might be, fell asleep again.

Each time she woke up briefly, she felt a presence nearby, and the constant watchful gaze was more comforting than burdensome. With each touch of the cool hand, her breathing became a little easier.

Eventually, when she fully regained consciousness, it was already dawn.

Laria pushed her heavy eyelids open. The moonlight coming through the window illuminated the room.

Following the light, she turned her head slowly, and at the end of her gaze, a man was sitting in a chair. Bathed in moonlight, it was Zenox.

Staring dazedly at the illuminated Zenox, Laria blinked her eyes slowly.

‘Is this a dream?’

At that moment, Zenox spoke.

“It would be best if you slept until morning.”

She was fully awake now.