The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Startled, Laria jolted upright, and her vision momentarily spun. Zenox, who had risen from his seat, reached out and held her.

“Please lie back down.”

Laria, still lying on the bed, blinked continuously. Was this reality, not a dream?

‘Since when on earth has he been here?’

She kept feeling a presence, but she thought it was someone from her family…

“…When did you even come?”

“I originally visited formally.”

Originally?

“They said the young lady is sick and I was kicked out to come later…”

Laria instinctively glanced at the window, wondering if he had come in through there. Reading her thoughts as if he could, Zenox chuckled softly.

“I came through the door.”

She wondered how he hadn’t been caught when her family had been coming and going. 

‘Well, he used to sneak in when he turned into a little wolf cub.’

He had a rough understanding of the layout of the Rohan mansion.

‘Then, was it Zenox who has been touching my forehead all the time?’

The cool sensation still lingered on her forehead.

Lost in thought about the large palm, Laria didn’t say anything, so Zenox added as if making an excuse:

“I just came to check your face, but I couldn’t leave when I saw you were unwell.”

“…Thanks to that, I’m feeling much better. Thank you.”

It wasn’t an empty expression; she really felt better than she had in the morning.

Her eyes had been rolling in her head, but now she muttered:

“I feel embarrassed because only I caught a cold.”

Ironically, Zenox was the one who had been out in the rain, but she felt awkward being the only one to get sick.

“I should have just gone straight home.”

“Still, you must have caught a cold. The early summer cold is said to be the worst.”

Zenox nodded slowly, even though the moonlight was all there was, Laria could clearly read his worried eyes.

Her fingertips tingled, and an itching sensation crept up to her chest as if fire had spread to dry grass. She finally realized her emotions. She hadn’t been able to grasp them before, so she thought it was an opportunity to sort them out quickly.

She had planned not to meet for a while using the excuse of being ill, but… the moment she saw his face, all her resolutions crumbled.

She just wanted to be together a little longer.

When their eyes met, Laria looked away for no reason. She felt awkward and uncomfortable, so she kept fiddling with her fingers.

Zenox, who seemed to be reading her mind, asked softly:

“Is there something uncomfortable?”

Laria muttered without realizing it:

“…I’m hungry.”

As soon as she said it, she really felt hungry. She had only eaten a thin cream soup all day. 

Zenox suddenly stood up as if it were a big deal.

“I’ll bring the food right away.”

Without making a sound, Zenox left the room. And not long after, he appeared with a tray full of food.

It was all Laria’s favorite dishes.

‘I wonder how he got it so late at night.’

As if he could read Laria’s thoughts, Zenox said:

“I cleared out the kitchen.”

The kitchen staff would be surprised to find it robbed when they woke up in the morning. 

Somehow, Zenox seemed to know the Rohan mansion better than she did.

“I’ll eat well.”

While Laria ate, Zenox handed her water and a towel, gracefully holding them. It was so natural that he was more skillful than the servants who served her.

‘Maybe it’s because he did it a lot in the past.’

Zenox was also clumsy at first. But later, he reached the point where he wiped the milk from her lips without looking, even when he closed his eyes.

It felt strange.

Laria was so full of Zenox’s affection when she was Whitie, and yet, she couldn’t help but feel jealous at the same time because, as a prisoner, she couldn’t accept it.

‘Am I really jealous of myself?’

She couldn’t believe it and just laughed out loud.

Shortly after her hunger was satisfied, Laria lay down on the bed again.

Even though she hadn’t done anything, it was already late dawn. In an hour or two, the family would wake up from their sleep.

“When are you going?”

“I’ll leave after seeing you asleep.”

With that, Zenox covered her with a blanket.

Perhaps because she had slept so much during the day, she couldn’t fall asleep, but she closed her eyes for now. It was a quiet time and a good time for intrusive thoughts to flood in. 

Suddenly, she remembered what Zenox had said in the forest yesterday.

-It’s right to break off the engagement… but I can’t.

The engagement was just an excuse to avoid the pressure from the imperial family to get married right away. When the imperial family calmed down, they agreed to break it off due to personality differences.

But…

‘Is he unable to break it because he’s still worried about the imperial family? Or is there a reason I’m needed?’

No matter how much she guessed, there was no answer.

In the midst of her thoughts, Laria eventually asked Zenox directly:

“Why can’t you break off the engagement?”

There was no reply.

Wondering if he hadn’t heard, she asked once again, but a sharp, chilly aura poured forth.

Laria, who had opened her eyes wide, glanced at Zenox.

Her gaze, once as gentle as a spring breeze, now felt as cold as winter. It seemed like the temperature had suddenly dropped around Zenox.

“Do you perhaps want to break off the engagement?”

His voice, low enough to seem like it could touch the ground, sounded acidic.

Laria found herself inhaling deeply, almost involuntarily.

The sound of her inhale spread through the quiet room.

Zenox, keeping his lips sealed, let out a long sigh. The intense aura around Zenox seemed to instantly soften.

“I’m sorry.”

Zenox offered an apology with a submissive tone, perhaps checking if Laria was frightened.

Sometimes, when Zenox couldn’t control his aura, Laria felt a sense of intimidation, even though it wasn’t his intention to threaten her. So, rather than being scared, she understood that Zenox was uncomfortable.

She didn’t know the reason behind Zenox calling Whitie a fearless fox, but she didn’t know. 

When his shoulders drooped without energy, Laria quickly raised her head.

“I was just curious.”

It was a relationship based on an engagement contract, so it was a predetermined relationship.

She was genuinely curious why Zenox couldn’t let it go.

“Because…”

Zenox began to speak as if it were obvious, but he soon realized that it wasn’t the right answer and kept his mouth shut.

He seemed to be contemplating the reason, even though he himself didn’t seem to know.

As his expression grew increasingly serious, Laria also became tense.

‘Is there some tremendous reason I don’t know about?’

She had hesitated to ask, but she had waited quietly because she wanted to hear the answer.

‘Perhaps, just in case, although there’s no way…’

If Zenox didn’t want to end the contract because he didn’t want to break off their relationship? Even though she knew she would be disappointed, her expectations were inflated for no reason.

Finally, as Zenox was about to open his mouth…

Tuk!

At the sound that broke the silence, Laria and Zenox both turned their heads toward the window at the same time.

There was a crow perched by the window.

‘It’s Solike’s crow, right?’

What could be happening at this hour when the sun hadn’t even risen?

Laria hurriedly opened the window, and the crow flew in and landed on the bed.

Laria’s face froze as she checked the note tied to its leg.

“…Is there a problem?”

Zenox, sensing that something was amiss, approached her.

Laria shared the contents of the note with him.

“I think we found out where Marquis Hashir obtain blood and bodies.”

Zenox’s eyebrows rose when Laria got up.

“Do you intend to go there yourself?”

“I won’t be going alone, so it’s fine.”

“…With whom?”

Zenox knew about Solike, but he didn’t know that he was the one who kidnapped her when she had transformed into Whitie. Besides, Solike was afraid of Zenox.

She thought about just skirting around the topic, but Zenox guessed the answer.

“Is it the owner of the information store?”

Laria nodded helplessly.

“That makes me even more worried.”

“Why?”

“I can’t believe my fiance-to-be is going to meet another man at this hour…”

Anyone who hears about it would think she’s having an affair. She was at a loss for words, and Zenox informed her with a sigh.

“Let’s go together.”