The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

For a moment, Laria was left speechless by Zenox’s confident demand.

After all, she would be in disguise, so what did it matter if she was with another man or not? Wasn’t it enough to play the role of lovers in front of others?

To put it bluntly, sometimes Zenox got overly immersed in his role as her fiance. That’s why she had misunderstood.

Could it be that Zenox had different feelings for her?

Laria, who had dismissed her unfounded expectations, spoke up.

“You didn’t answer my previous question.”

Why couldn’t he break the engagement?

Not letting it slide and persistently asking, Zenox finally gave an answer.

“I’ll postpone the answer for now.”

As if such a thing existed.

When she looked at him dissatisfied, Zenox added a word.

“I’ll tell you after I return, so please keep your expression composed.”

It seemed she didn’t have the option to decline.

Laria considered telling Solike in advance that Zenox would be coming with her, but stopped after receiving Zenox’s gaze.

After leaving a mark that she had confirmed, he sent the crow away.

Laria closed the window and turned around.

“We’re not leaving right now.”

There would be an uproar if the sick child suddenly disappeared, so Laria planned to go out after seeing her family go to work.

“Please wait quietly.”

Since he was so large, there was a high chance of being caught if he roamed around freely. 

Laria hid Zenox in the dressing room, and before long, the morning sun began to rise.

Before the employee arrived, Laria left the bedroom. Coincidentally, she met Herdin, who had come to check on her condition.

“What’s this, you’re already awake?”

“I just woke up.”

“Hmm. You don’t have a fever, but… shouldn’t you rest a bit more?”

“That’s the plan. Is father leaving for work now?”

“He should be…”

Herdin quickly became gloomy. He let out a deep sigh.

“Don’t get a job.”

“Why are you so against it? At least your co-workers won’t bother me.”

“Incompetence is a form of harassment.”

So, Herdin was the one who was tormenting his colleagues with his personality.

Laria had a simple breakfast and then saw off her family, who didn’t want to leave for work.

“Make lots of money and come back.”

“Uh-huh…”

Once her family had all left the house, she brought food back to the bedroom.

“We’ll leave right after eating.”

Zenox quickly cleared his plate of the meat piled high on it. It was impressive how neatly he ate, despite eating quickly.

After filling her own stomach, Laria drank the potion that would change her appearance.

She gave one to Zenox as well, and his appearance changed in no time. His previously unkempt hair turned into a deep brown, his golden eyes turned blue, and he looked a few years younger, exuding a boyish charm.

However, Zenox was too preoccupied with looking at Laria to notice the change in himself.

“Is something strange?”

“…You look like a different person.”

Laria looked into the mirror, which she held up.

Her hair, which had been almost silver, was now a plain brown color. Her blue eyes had turned into a deep brown, and her slightly arched eyes had become rounder, giving her a different impression.

Her height and physique had also decreased slightly, making it difficult for even her family to recognize her.

“You’ve become too small.”

Zenox muttered to himself, and Laria shrugged her shoulders. After all, she had only shrunk by a few inches.

“Can’t you recognize me?”

“Hmm. It would definitely be hard to recognize you right away.”

With her changed appearance, Zenox scrutinized Laria from head to toe, as if he were trying to remember everything about her.

“Have you been to Evendell?”

“I’ve visited a couple of times.”

Evendell was a sub-city located to the east, relative to the capital. It would take at least a day by carriage to get there.

“I’m going there.”

“Using spatial teleportation magic?”

“I’ve never been there before, so I’ll move to the nearest area first and then take a carriage.”

Unfortunately, Laria had never visited the city, so she couldn’t go there directly.

After emptying the jewelry box and putting the contents in her pocket, Laria immediately cast the teleportation spell.

As soon as the scenery changed in an instant, Zenox blinked his eyes slowly. Although this was the second time Laria had used spatial teleportation magic, it was still an astonishing speed.

Zenox muttered to himself with a troubled look:

“How can I catch her if she escapes using magic?”

His mutterings didn’t reach Laria’s ears.

The streets were bustling, perhaps because it was market day.

As they were about to leave the alley, Zenox grabbed her hand suddenly.

“It’s better to hold hands just in case you get lost.”

“…Alright.”

With their changed appearances, it would be difficult to find each other if they were to lose sight of one another.

Laria glanced down. Zenox’s hands were so large that her hand was almost entirely enveloped.

After a while, Zenox’s finger slipped between her fingers. Their joined hands pulsed with warmth. It had felt cool when she touched his forehead earlier in the morning, but now it was warm again.

Once she was conscious of it, all her attention was focused on Zenox.

Finally, shaking off her distractions, Laria held Zenox’s hand tightly and went to rent a carriage.

“None of these are good.”

Although various carriages were on display, none of them seemed to appeal to Zenox.

“How about this one? It looks clean and fast.”

“Isn’t it too small?”

Compared to the Krassium family carriage Zenox usually rode in, it seemed rather shabby.

Nevertheless, considering that their appearances had changed and Zenox’s physique had also shrunk slightly, it was sufficient for the two of them.

“It’s too conspicuous, isn’t it?”

In the end, Zenox nodded with a disapproving look on his face.

“Where are you going?”

Despite her plain clothing, she still sounded like a noble, and the coachman’s tone was polite.

“We’re going to Evendell. Please take us there as quickly as possible.”

“Evendell? Even if you say as quickly as possible, it’ll still take about three hours…”

When the coachman looked serious, Zenox took out his wallet from his pocket.

As he dropped the gold coins into the coachman’s hand, the coachman agilely hopped onto the coach seat.

“Hold on tight. I will fly from now on.”

Laria couldn’t help but think, isn’t he spending the money as if it were water?

She glanced at him. Zenox, feeling the gaze, asked:

“Do you think I gave too little?”

In a hurry, Laria hastily pushed him into the carriage, fearing that he might even pull out diamonds.

The excited coachman carried them to Evendell in precisely one hour and forty minutes.

‘I would’ve been in big trouble if I hadn’t taken motion sickness medicine. Thank goodness I brought the one Herdin made back then.’

As soon as Laria got off the carriage, she looked around.

Evendell, viewed from the high ground, was a small sub-city nestled along a narrow river. Behind it, the forest surrounded the city, giving it a peaceful and serene appearance.

“First, I’ll meet Solike here and discuss our next move.”

“…For information purposes, do you call the owner by his first name?”

“He doesn’t have a last name because he’s a commoner.”

However, Zenox wasn’t easily convinced and decided otherwise.

“Shouldn’t you just call them ’employer’?”

“But how do you call a person ’employer’?”

“You can just say ‘information provider’.”

“After doing business for a long time, it was natural for me to call him by his first name.”

Laria, who had been trying to explain that she had no relationship with Solike, suddenly became bewildered. Why should she even have to make excuses?

Someone might think she’s having an affair. Is he telling her not to have any other thoughts while we’re in a contract relationship?

Laria would understand that to some extent, but…

‘He never answered properly either.’

Whenever Zenox came out like this, she couldn’t help but get her hopes up for nothing. She was trying so hard to suppress her feelings.

When Laria firmly denied, Zenox fell silent and seemed to be in a bad mood. A strange chill hung in the air between them.

‘Let’s hurry up and join Solike so that we can move on to the next area.’

Once Solike joined them, Zenox would probably drop his strange suspicions.

Upon entering the village, Laria went to the address written on the note. It was an ordinary house with no special features.

Laria knocked on the door according to the pre-arranged code.

Knock, knock, knock, knock.

After a moment, a noise came from inside, and footsteps approached. As the door opened, Solike, who had changed his appearance with a potion, greeted Laria.

“Darling, are you here?”

Thud, something behind her seemed to break.