The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Laria couldn’t bring herself to turn around and froze in place. Solike, who sensed that something was amiss, raised an eyebrow.

“What’s wrong? Aren’t you coming in?”

Solike hadn’t spotted Zenox yet and tried to start a conversation again.

However, he hesitated as he sensed Zenox’s presence. What’s this unfortunate and ominous aura?

When Solike tried to quietly close the door, a large hand reached out and firmly grasped it. The arm that extended beside Laria’s shoulder seemed ready to tear the door apart at any moment.

Before the door could be destroyed, Laria hastily said:

“Solike, open the door.”

But Solike clung to the door like a shield, holding it tightly. Then, Zenox suddenly let go of the door, causing him to fall backward.

Inside, a sound of something breaking could be heard. Once the obstacle was gone, Zenox leisurely opened the door.

Laria, who saw Solike lying on the ground, was speechless.

“…Am I still mistaken?”

A low voice reverberated in her ears. Lately, she seemed to hear Zenox’s irritated voice more often.

“It’s a mistake. It’s just a habit of speaking.”

Laria quickly began to defend her relationship with Solike.

“Solike does the same thing with other clients too.”

“You call other clients ‘darling‘?”

Zenox looked at Solike lying on the floor like trash.

“And now he’s pretending. Just in case someone sees us…”

As she tried to explain that Solike was acting as if they were lovers, Laria paused for a moment.

“First of all, I don’t want my identity to be discovered, so Solike…”

Zenox quietly looked down at Laria.

Laria still seemed uncomfortable, so she changed her words.

“So Solike…”

“How long are you planning to call him by his name?”

Was that the problem?

While her pupils rolled around, Laria corrected herself.

“That rascal…”

Only then did satisfaction briefly flash in Zenox’s eyes. As if talking to himself, he mumbled:

“You never called my name.”

She had called him ‘Your Excellency’ without much formality every time, but… does that really matter?

‘Well, Zenox calls me ‘Lady,’ so I guess it would annoy me if he called other women by their first names.’

Comparing them, Laria began to understand Zenox’s feelings.

Since they couldn’t continue their altercation at the front entrance, Laria mustered up the courage to speak.

“Zenox, would you like to talk once we’re inside?”

“Yes.”

Zenox, who had turned into a lamb so suddenly, took a step forward.

With a hint of hostility in his demeanor, he approached them as if he was about to tear down the door, but then he handled the glass door with a gentle touch, closing it softly.

Suddenly, Solike, who had been silent the entire time, signaled Laria from a distance. Laria hesitated for a moment, then approached Solike.

“Why… did you bring him?”

Although he had changed his appearance, Solike didn’t ask who he was.

“Do you know who he is?”

“Even with my eyes closed, I can tell! Could there be another person with such an aura?”

Solike jumped in surprise, but then, realizing Zenox’s gaze, fell silent again.

Zenox, who had his fist clenched, was looking at Solike as if he was to dissect him into pieces.

“How could you do that to me?”

Solike whispered so that only Laria could hear.

“You didn’t even report it.”

“I’m sorry… I was also partly threatened.”

“Sigh… You’re going through quite a difficult relationship, too.”

It seemed like Solike had misunderstood it in a different way, not knowing that it was a contractual relationship.

Laria glanced briefly at Solike.

Solike had changed his appearance with the potion; his hair color and eye color had changed, and he had thickened his lines overall. He had even removed his blindfold, covering one eye with his hair.

Even regular customers wouldn’t recognize him.

Zenox approached them as if his patience had run out. Then he suddenly asked Solike:

“Have we met before?”

There was a moment of silence.

Laria and Solike’s eyes met in mid-air.

Officially, they had never met before. Although Zenox had hired Laria as a mercenary through Solike before, everything had been settled through written communication. It was a situation where they could potentially reveal that they had kidnapped a royal here, so they were in a precarious situation.

“Yes? What are you talking about…? Never mind.”

When Solike deliberately acted as if he didn’t understand, Zenox’s brows furrowed.

Before Zenox’s suspicions grew deeper, Laria intervened.

“We might miss our chance if we keep going like this. Let’s go quickly.”

She grabbed Zenox’s forearm, and his gaze, which had been directed at Solike, shifted down. Without saying anything more, Zenox nodded slightly.

As they were about to depart for their destination, Solike rolled his eyes.

“I only prepared two horses… What should I do?”

“Don’t worry, we’ll ride together.”

Zenox, perhaps wondering if he had been too sharp in front of Laria, corrected his tone.

“Ride alone.”

He didn’t become particularly kind despite that.

As they exited through the back door, two brown horses were peacefully tethered. When Laria hesitated for a moment, Zenox asked:

“Have you tried horseback riding?”

“I have, but…”

Laria, who couldn’t dance and disliked exercise, had never developed a hobby like Herdin did with horseback riding. She had ridden only a couple of times.

“No need to be nervous.”

Well, Zenox would take care of it.

With his assistance, Laria reluctantly managed to mount the horse.

She attempted to help Zenox, but he effortlessly mounted with one hand.

Compared to his physique, his movements were so light and quick that she wondered, ‘Isn’t he actually a cat beastman?’

Seated behind Laria, Zenox took the reins.

“Then, let’s go.”

Solike took the lead, followed by Zenox and Laria.

A firm chest touched her back.

As the horse picked up speed, her body pressed tightly against his due to the recoil.

She straightened her waist so much that it felt stiff. Zenox noticed and held her closer, pulling her against him. And so, she ended up tightly held in his arms.

Zenox’s warmth and the sound of his heartbeat transmitted through her back.

She was so focused on the man behind her that she had no mind to appreciate the passing scenery.

They left the city and entered the forest.

Even in early summer, the forest emitted a somber atmosphere rather than a refreshing one.

At some point, crows began to circle above them. One of them landed on Solike’s shoulder and cawed loudly.

“We’re almost there. Let’s walk from here.”

Solike said before leaving the forest edge.

Zenox, descending from the horse with Laria in his arms, gently put her down.

Viewed from a high place, the village was much smaller and more peaceful than Evendell. It looked isolated, surrounded by large mountains on both sides and in the back.

Solike began a brief explanation.

“It prospered as a mine, but after it closed, the village fell into neglect. Now, it’s completely cut off from the outside.”

“Are you saying that Marquis Hashir receives blood and bodies from this village?”

“Probably. A sorcerer from the Sorcery Office visited here regularly.”

Solike said they needed to go in to confirm what was happening.

Then, unexpectedly, Zenox asked.

“What is the name of this place?”

“It’s called Brioschel.”

Zenox’s eyes sharpened upon hearing the name.

The Empire’s land was vast, and only a few people remembered all the names.

Especially in such small villages, most people had never heard of them in their lifetime.

Yet Zenox reacted as if he already knew this place.

Standing beside him, Laria silently gazed down at the village.

Perhaps because the clouds covered the sun, the surroundings were unusually dark for daytime. As a result, unless intentionally looking for it, the village wasn’t noticeable enough to be seen casually.

Laria scrutinized the village and furrowed her brows.

“The entire village is under a spell.”

Solike and Zenox both turned to look at Laria simultaneously.

“If we just enter, we won’t be able to reach the village.”

“The whole village?”

Solike’s expression grew serious.

If the entire village was under a spell, it would have been cast by several sorcerers from the Sorcery Office. Even for Laria, breaking a spell of this scale…

Before he could finish his thought, a white light burst from Laria’s fingertips.

“Let’s go.”

A surprised Solike asked in a daze:

“Did you… break the spell?”

“I wasn’t sure if I could, but I felt like the caster might notice, so I just made it normal to us.”

Laria explained that by secretly infiltrating someone else’s spell and introducing errors, you could disrupt it.

It wasn’t easy…

“I can see it now.”

Zenox’s words made Solike raise his head.

The hidden village gradually revealed its true form due to the dispelled spell. The first thing they saw was the enormous iron wall surrounding the village.

“What is that? Is it also a spell?”

“No, that’s real.”

Real?! I would have preferred it to be a spell!

Solike clenched his head. It was too high to jump over, and the only gate was tightly closed.

“How do we get in? Should we climb the mountain?”

“It would be quite challenging.”

Solike thought to himself that Zenox might be an ordinary person when it came to physical strength.

“How about breaking it without making any noise?”

“Breaking it…?”

Solike immediately canceled his previous thought.