The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

To any onlooker, Zenox’s current state was clearly one of diminished lucidity.

‘It must be because I couldn’t return the fox orb…’

Coupled with Laria’s week-long disappearance, his mana overload appeared to have worsened severely.

“…!”

The overwhelming oppressive force he could no longer suppress burst forth from Zenox.

An instinctual urge to flee gripped Laria – the primal reaction of a herbivore confronted by a carnivorous predator.

Though every nerve ending screamed a warning, Laria endured.

She didn’t wish to abandon Zenox’s side.

Barely supporting her trembling legs, she stood her ground, holding his gaze.

As the peculiar standoff lingered, memories of the past resurfaced unbidden. Zenox had also suffered from mana overload back then, while she had been in her fox form. The sole difference was that she could now communicate verbally.

“Zenox.”

Upon uttering his name, the suffocating aura threatening to engulf her seemed to recede slightly.

A glimmer of rationality yet remained, a flicker of his true self.

Forcing her leaden legs into motion, Laria stepped toward him.

In response, Zenox retreated a single pace, his features contorting into a pained grimace.

A faint groan slipped through his tightly clenched lips, as if assailed by a severe migraine.

Seizing the fleeting opportunity, Laria closed the distance between them with a few strides.

Reaching out, she pulled him into an embrace.

The unyielding form, as rigid as an unbending tree, crumpled into her arms.

Eventually, Zenox let his head drop heavily onto Laria’s shoulder.

After a momentary silence, he murmured in a hushed whisper.

“I fear your disappearance.”

His voice remained unsteady, as if addressing Whitie, laced with an uncharacteristic dread.

“Though you may come to despise me… don’t abandon me.”

It seemed Zenox believed Whitie had forsaken him once more.

‘But that is not the case.’

Laria barely managed to swallow the words that nearly spilled forth.

Clinging to her desperately, Zenox continued his murmured plea.

“If you must leave, then take me with you. I’ll forsake all else to follow wherever you may go.”

Ah.

Zenox was not perceiving her, but rather Whitie.

Without a word, Laria gently comforted him.

Only now did she fully comprehend the profound significance Whitie held for Zenox.

If she could, she would gladly remain his cherished fox for all eternity, steadfastly by his side. No longer plagued by uncertainty, simply the two of them, existing in tranquil contentment…

More than anything, she yearned to receive the depth of affection Zenox could never bestow upon Laria Rohan herself.

Yet what he truly desired was not a sorcerer in the form of a white fox, but rather a singular, devoted little fox who gazed solely upon him.

Brushing aside the tingling ache in her chest, Laria tightened her embrace.

Only then did Zenox slowly raise his head.

“Laria.”

At last emerging from his delusion, Zenox recognized her presence.

“Don’t leave.”

At his subsequent words, Laria’s eyes flickered momentarily with uncertainty.

Though acknowledging her identity, Zenox’s demeanor remained reminiscent of how he would regard Whitie, leaving Laria perplexed.

Was he still caught in the throes of his hallucination, or…?

‘No, that cannot be.’

Forcibly dispelling her doubts, Laria posed her query.

“Zenox, are you in your right mind?”

Zenox gave a slow, deliberate nod.

Gradually, a glimmer of clarity returned to his murky, clouded eyes.

Yet conversely, his cheeks had drained of all color.

Belatedly realizing the implications of his earlier ramblings, shame suffused his features.

“That’s not…”

Zenox began to offer a clarification before sealing his lips shut. Any excuse would undoubtedly ring hollow, a mere feeble attempt at denial.

His hands clenched tightly into the fabric of Laria’s attire, as if anchoring her presence.

Lest she depart, leaving him adrift once more.

Despite his momentary respite, the resurgence of distress was palpable.

“…”

The tremors rippling through his embrace conveyed the extent of his inner turmoil.

Laria bit her lip contemplatively.

‘Am I the source of Zenox’s pain?’

Zenox frequently revealed glimpses of vulnerability before her.

Whenever Laria found herself in jeopardy, his affliction intensified acutely.

It seemed he harbored fears of her eventual departure, just as Whitie had.

How could she reassure him, allay his profound insecurities?

Unless she bared her heart fully, this cycle would inevitably repeat, an endless refrain.

“I’m not going anywhere.”

As long as he refrained from releasing her, she held no desire to leave his side.

Day by day, her affection only deepened until a life without Zenox became utterly inconceivable.

Hesitating briefly, Laria finally voiced her innermost sentiments.

“I want to be together, always.”

At her words, tantamount to a confession, Zenox’s gaze wavered with uncertainty.

“Even if… I were to vanish…”

The mention of her disappearance caused his golden eyes to tremble precariously, as if teetering on the edge of an abyss.

“It wouldn’t be because I hate you.”

These were the words she had always longed to convey to Zenox.

That Whitie’s departure hadn’t stemmed from aversion toward him.

Though she had remained silent all this time, fearful of inadvertently revealing her identity as Whitie, she could finally give voice to the truth.

Laria studied Zenox’s visage, his lips parted yet rendered momentarily mute by her pronouncement.

Would this be the expression of one hearing the words they had most desperately yearned to hear?

As if that single utterance sufficed, a profound serenity settled over his turbulent gaze.

“…”

Zenox sensed it – a transformation taking root within himself from this pivotal day forth.

Rather than dwelling in ceaseless apprehension and doubt, he would reflect upon Laria’s words, indelibly etched into his consciousness.

Though Laria’s ultimate destination might not be by his side, her desire to remain with him for the present was enough.

For Zenox’s destination was Laria herself.

Thus, he need only follow her path.

A faint smile graced his features.

“I’ve been waiting for you… for so long.”

“I had no idea an entire week had passed.”

Laria vowed never again to enter that chamber without forewarning.

Given the distorted flow of time, she couldn’t trust emerging after a mere momentary absence.

This time, she had been fortunate – a single week. The next occurrence might span an entire year’s absence.

‘Is his mana overload under control now?’

Observing Zenox’s remarkably swift recovery from his previously dire state, Laria tilted her head in bewilderment.

As their conversation lulled, Zenox rose first from his seat.

With a wistful expression, he murmured:

“My family awaits our return. We should depart.”

* * *

On the way home, Laria boarded the carriage alongside her family.

“Can you imagine how alarmed we were, believing you had vanished?”

“At least we knew your whereabouts this time, so that was a relief.”

Though aggrieved, Laria remained silent instead of offering excuses.

Her potential disappearances were a subject her family treated with utmost sensitivity.

“So, what was this chamber like?”

In response to Herdin’s query, Laria recounted her experiences.

Listening intently, Theodore’s eyes widened in astonishment.

“The sorcerer who cast the Imperial barrier was Lumena Rohan?”

“Are you familiar with her?”

“I recall hearing mention of her long ago… but it has been so long, the details elude me.”

Theodore muttered that he might have encountered information about her at the Sorcery Office.

“For such a renowned sorcerer, one would expect records to remain if she hailed from our family lineage.”

“I was curious about that as well. The Crown Prince mentioned someone may have deliberately concealed or destroyed the relevant materials.”

“Then we shall endeavor to uncover them.”

Theodore nodded in solemn agreement.

As their discussion began winding down, Semela, who had remained a silent observer until now, interjected a question.

“And what of the Grand Duke? I had expected him to accompany you home.”

“He has returned to the Grand Duchy estate, it seems?”

“Well, given his condition, he likely requires rest.”

“What happened?”

Unable to inquire about the events of the past week on Zenox’s behalf, Herdin answered in Semela’s stead, rolling his eyes exaggeratedly.

“He spent the entire week without sleep or sustenance, standing vigil before that door. I thought we’d have to handle the disposal of a corpse.”

“What…? You simply abandoned him there?”

“Of course not. You have no idea how fervently we attempted to dissuade him.”

Herdin sighed, recounting how Laria had insisted Zenox would be unharmed, contrary to their concerns.

Theodore nodded in seeming understanding of Zenox’s plight.

“When love takes hold, one is powerless… I too would react the same if your mother disappeared for a week.”

“My darling, where could I possibly go, leaving behind my precious treasure?”

As Theodore and Semela embraced affectionately, Herdin averted his gaze in feigned disgust.

Yet Laria could spare no attention for her parents’ antics.

‘I wonder, do my parents perceive Zenox’s feelings for me as more than mere affection?’

The hopes she had firmly suppressed began to resurface, rising and falling in tumultuous waves with each passing moment.

Unconsciously tightening her grip on the journal, Laria knew the time drew near to return the fox orb to Zenox.

When that day arrived, she would lay bare every truth and…

‘I wish to confess my feelings to him.’