The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

No matter how fervently she tried, suppressing her feelings proved impossible.

Her affections only intensified, fueling apprehensions that she might inadvertently blurt out an ill-timed confession.

Of course, she harbored no expectations that such a confession would be well-received.

Even if Zenox reciprocated affection toward her, unveiling the truth could drastically alter his sentiments.

She simply yearned to convey her heart’s desires, nothing more.

After an extended journey, the carriage arrived at the Rohan estate.

“Miss!”

“Are you unharmed?”

The servants emerged in a flurry, surrounding Laria.

Joined by Rodit and Tigur, their tears and sniffles prolonged her homecoming as they clung to her in relief.

Only after reassuring them a hundred times over could she finally retreat to her bedchambers.

Having bathed and changed into sleepwear, Laria settled onto her bed.

She carefully arranged her collected spoils before her – Lumena Rohan’s research journal, the records provided by Ishel, and the music box she had retrieved.

Examining each item closely, she first picked up the music box.

‘It seems to be sealed by a spell…’

If she could enter the study itself, why was the music box inaccessible?

‘Is my magic power still insufficient?’

After scrutinizing the box from every angle, she set it aside.

Next was the record on Lumena Rohan that Ishel had provided. A compilation of accounts from other palace sorcerers who had known or observed her.

Though containing numerous gaps, Ishel’s years of restoration efforts had yielded a substantial wealth of viable information.

As Laria perused the record, her eyes widened.

[Lumena Rohan was born among the White Fox clan yet couldn’t wield magic at all. It wasn’t until adulthood that she manifested as a sorcerer.]

‘Just like me.’

Laria too had undergone her coming-of-age ceremony and begun wielding magic only after returning home from her abduction by Zenox.

Though in her case, it was due to swallowing the fox orb.

[Lumena Rohan was renowned as the Gemstone Sorcerer.]

The Gemstone Sorcerer?

[Whenever she practiced magic, all would watch in utter entrancement.]

The record didn’t delve into the specifics of why she had earned that particular appellation. Yet Laria swiftly deduced the reason. 

Lumena Rohan must have offered gemstones as sacrifices to cast her spells.

Laria had believed herself to be the sole sorcerer of her kind…

‘Could it be that she never discovered a solution?’

Requiring gemstones as payment with each casting must have been an immense burden.

More problematically, the inability to wield magic without gemstones on hand.

Though she scrutinized the record meticulously, Laria could find no mention of resolving that predicament.

[She established a tower dedicated to nurturing prodigious talents.]

As the description continued, mentioning a tower within the palace grounds, Laria paused in recollection.

It stated that the exterior walls had been etched with spell formations using dye infused with gold.

‘The Sorcery Office Tower.’

Lumena Rohan had constructed the Sorcery Office Tower itself.

This newfound revelation left Laria’s mind reeling.

‘I’ve heard the spell formations remain active even now…’

If the record’s accounts proved entirely accurate, deeming her a mere genius would be a vast understatement.

As Laria turned to the next page, her brow furrowed in consternation.

Most of the content had been erased, leaving little of substance to glean.

Then, upon reaching the final page, a single, succinct line caught her eye:

[Demise]

The date of her passing caused Laria’s heart to clench with sorrow.

Immediately opening Lumena’s research journal, Laria cross-referenced the 99th day’s date with a heavy sigh of realization.

‘She perished before completing the fox orb.’

The dates aligned – the 99th day and her demise were one and the same.

An utterly lamentable fate, cut short at such a tender age.

Yet the cause of her death remained obscured, redacted from the record.

Closing the record, Laria became lost in contemplation.

‘I wonder what the reason could have been? She didn’t seem to suffer from any chronic illness.’

Staring vacantly into the distance, Laria abruptly roused herself.

There was no time for idle musings. She needed to commence separating her magic power to craft the fox orb forthwith.

Even beginning today, the process would span a full hundred days.

‘With the hunting competition approximately a month away…’

She would be unable to complete it before the festival’s commencement.

Recalling Ishel’s words, if Zenox’s subjugation to mind control was inevitable, then immediate disruption would be the wisest course.

For forbidden magic would only entrench itself deeper, growing in potency as time elapsed.

‘This time, fleeing won’t be an option.’

Thanks to Solike’s diligent rumor-mongering, Marquis Hashir now found himself under suspicion of employing forbidden magic during the duel.

Though he vehemently denied the allegations, mere suspicions would no longer suffice.

Laria had briefed Ishel on the situation for this very reason.

Once Marquis Hashir was apprehended…

‘I must compel him to undo the brainwashing he has inflicted upon Zenox.’

Marquis Hashir had subjected Zenox to mind control, preventing him from eliminating Rubenta Krassium.

Should Rubenta perish, the spell’s effects could prove unpredictable.

Every loose end needed to be tied before returning the fox orb.

Only then could she relinquish her magic power without trepidation.

Opening the research journal, Laria pondered what vessel to utilize for containing her magic power.

Though it had been dubbed the ‘fox orb,’ imbuing a literal bead wasn’t a prerequisite…

‘It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bead, right?’

Zenox had, in fact, found the bead cumbersome and inconvenient.

He had often grumbled about its diminutive size and spherical shape, prone to being misplaced.

An object he could carry with him at all times would be preferable.

Her deliberations didn’t last long.

‘Since I intend to return it regardless.’

Studying the ring adorning her finger, Laria reached her decision.

Closing her eyes in concentration, the magic power dispersed throughout her body began coalescing.

The ephemeral mist solidified, flowing like water before condensing into a tangible, crystalline form.

‘Not too little, nor too much in excess.’

Regulating the precise quantity proved the greatest challenge, just as the journal had described.

A luminous white orb detached from Laria’s form.

Carefully, she guided the extracted magic power into the ring’s setting.

The gem flashed brilliantly before returning to its original luster.

“Exhausting…”

Though she had extracted only a fraction of her magic power, a profound weariness gripped her.

Collapsing onto the bed, Laria expelled a weary sigh.

To undergo this process a hundred times over…

Fatigue threatened to lull her into slumber until a sudden realization jolted her awake.

‘What is today’s date?’

As she calculated the passing days, Laria’s brow creased with dismay.

The week squandered within the study had caused her to miss the appointed rendezvous with Ort.

‘Unavoidable, I suppose.’

Having bound Ort with a spell, locating him would be a simple matter.

Resigning herself, Laria drifted into a deep slumber.

The following day, Laria ventured to the predetermined meeting place with Ort.

“I-I’ve been waiting.”

Though she had assumed he would be long gone, Ort awaited Laria at their agreed rendezvous point.

His expression bore the unmistakable terror of one whose life had been threatened.

Blinking in surprise at his demeanor, Laria could only wonder what had transpired…

* * *

“This damned wretch!!”

The resounding bellow echoed thunderously throughout the chamber.

Alone amidst the devastation of his ransacked office, Banesion seethed with unbridled fury.

Since his defeat in the duel, he hadn’t set foot outside this workspace situated on the Sorcery Office’s uppermost level.

Banesion had suffered utter disgrace, his decades of painstakingly cultivated reputation crumbling like a shooting star consumed by the abyss in a single, cataclysmic instant. Whispers questioning his aptitude swirled incessantly.

Compounding his humiliation, rumors began circulating that Banesion had resorted to forbidden magic during the duel itself.

“Incessant prattling from loose lips.”

Banesion seethed with indignation.

He had merely skirted the boundaries, employing magic just shy of forbidden realms – actions none should have detected.

Swiftly eradicating any evidence, he had vehemently denied the allegations, yet the suspicions stubbornly persisted.

By this juncture, Laria Rohan’s meddling hand seemed undeniable.

“I will kill her without fail…”

Even in his dreams, visions of slaughtering Laria Rohan plagued his slumber.

First that ill-fated father, and now his wretched daughter too sought to disgrace him.

Devouring the entire Rohan family would scarcely suffice to sate his fury.

Yet he recognized the folly of confronting her directly.

Recalling Laria’s formidable magic power, witnessed firsthand, Banesion trembled violently. Mere contemplation of that suffocating, gargantuan force caused his hair to stand on end.

“To manifest such prowess at such a belated age…”

It defied the natural order.

Some hidden truth must lurk beneath the surface.

Thus, he had ordered his subordinates to employ mind control on several Rohan servants, yet gleaned no substantive information.

None could recall Laria’s activities during the period when her powers had first manifested, their memories of those crucial months rendered hazy.

‘That’s strange.’

For them all to experience such a prolonged lapse in memory spanning nearly half a year was highly irregular.

It had transpired only a few years prior, after all.

Rather than delving deeper, Banesion instead meticulously revisited the events of the duel itself.

‘With each spell she cast, I heard the sound of shattering glass.’

Reflecting further, he seemed to recollect glimpses of luminous fragments.

To offer payment with each incantation – he had never witnessed such a phenomenon…

No, he had indeed borne witness to it once before.

The prodigious sorcerer renowned as the Gemstone Sorcerer.

“Lumena Rohan.”