The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

When he fell under the first brainwashing spell, the first emotion that came was unpleasantness.

He lost control as if the dominion over his body had been taken away.

He couldn’t move as he thought.

‘The prophecy has been fulfilled.’

He just needed to break free from the brainwashing spell.

He intended to wait for Laria to come like this.

However, the one who came first was not Laria, but Rubenta Krassium.

“Zenox.”

At Rubenta’s call, his body moved on its own. As if trapped inside a puppet, there was nothing he could do.

Zenox concentrated on regaining control of his body.

It was a tricky and difficult task, requiring commands to be given to each nerve.

Twitch.

Though faint, his fingertips moved according to his will.

Just as he was gradually regaining control of his body, Marquis Hashir cast the second brainwashing spell.

A dark red aura enveloped Zenox.

The intense pain that followed left Zenox unable to move.

It felt as if his entire body was being shattered and reassembled. It seemed like everything that constituted him had been turned inside out.

Boom-

An unknown force strongly pushed Zenox away.

As soon as he was banished to an unknown space, there was a thud, as if a door had closed.

The place he was expelled to was a pitch-black space without even light. Moreover, it seemed cut off from the outside, as he couldn’t see the external situation.

Zenox tried to gauge his situation.

Could he have been expelled from his own body?

“Kill Laria Rohan.”

Rubenta’s voice penetrated directly into his mind.

No, it could no longer be called a voice.

It was an inescapable, absolute command.

Feeling chilled, Zenox screamed. But as if blocked by something, no sound came out.

‘How do I escape from here?’

Since he heard the sound of a door closing, there must be an exit.

Zenox ran blindly.

But unable to gauge even direction, he didn’t know where to go.

‘Am I even running?’

At this sudden thought, Zenox stopped.

Looking down, the legs that should have been there were missing.

“…!”

Not just his legs, but no part of his body was visible.

In his current state, Zenox was just a mind without form.

But Zenox couldn’t give up.

He began wandering to find an exit.

No matter how far he went, the pitch-black space continued endlessly.

How much time had passed?

There was nothing to use as a reference point, and even the flow of time was imperceptible.

It felt like an instant, yet also like an eternity. He might be trapped here for a lifetime in this place without beginning or end.

Once caught by this thought, his mind began to crumble.

What would happen to him if his mind disappeared?

Laria, Laria, Laria.

To avoid losing himself, Zenox endlessly murmured Laria’s name. Even that began to wear down his memory after repeating it hundreds, thousands of times.

What was I looking for?

Who was I?

What is Laria?

The fragments of memory that constituted Zenox scattered in all directions.

Just before he completely lost himself like that.

Flutter-

Something brushed past his eyes.

Zenox blankly followed it with his gaze.

A single purple flower petal was floating in the pitch-black void.

Though it was a space without even wind, the petal began to flow as if riding a current.

His mind, suddenly clear, commanded ‘follow that’.

Zenox chased after the flower petal. After pursuing it for a while, a faint fragrance brushed his nose. With the scent of lilac, the name he had forgotten suddenly came back to him.

‘Laria.’

How could he forget that name?

From the moment he recalled the name, the lost pieces quickly found their places.

Once shattered, his mind rebuilt itself even more solidly.

As anxiety and doubt completely disappeared, a massive door appeared.

Zenox instinctively realized.

That he needed to open that door to return.

But Zenox had no hands to open the door.

Without even hesitating, he rushed towards the door.

Boom-!

Though he had no form, there was a response.

‘I can open it.’

An intense belief swept over Zenox.

About to rush at the door again, Zenox was startled. At some point, his arms had reappeared. Looking down at the sword in his hand, he swung it without delay towards the impossibly tall door.

Crash!!

With a sound like the world collapsing, the door shattered completely.

Through the shattered door, a faint light flowed out.

Following the light out, he emerged into the space where he had been when caught in the first spell.

He could see the outside again and hear sounds.

“!”

Zenox’s shell was in the midst of swinging a sword at Laria.

He turned the sword tip towards Rubenta with all his might.

If he had been a little later, Laria would have met death by his hand.

“Kill Laria Rohan.”

Rubenta’s voice rang out again.

As his body moved automatically following the command, Zenox concentrated his mind again.

As he struggled to regain control while fighting himself, the Power of Words fell in succession.

“You were born to follow my orders.”

“Kill Laria Rohan!!”

The space where Zenox was began to distort, as if trying to swallow Zenox. At this rate, he might lose his sense of self, swallowed by the shell.

“Zenox, you can never live a normal life. You are a calamity.”

“That would be you.”

As Laria’s voice was heard, bright light poured from all directions.

Zenox tightly closed his eyes against the intense light that made it impossible to keep them open.

Everything that had been binding him began to disappear.

It was the moment the brainwashing spell was completely broken.

“Laria. Close your eyes.”

Zenox immediately thrust his sword towards Rubenta.

Blood flowed down the blade.

Rubenta, who had been wagging his tongue to the end to survive, stopped breathing completely.

Turning his back without regret, Zenox silently gazed at Laria.

Desperate situations had come endlessly.

Though he wanted to give up many times, he endured thinking only of Laria.

Laria was his driving force to live, his motivation, and his guiding light. Even if he lost his way again, he would return using Laria as his signpost.

Because this was where he belonged.

Finally out of strength, Laria staggered.

As Laria’s body collapsed, Zenox stretched out his arms.

The one cradled in Zenox’s arms was not Laria, but a pure white fox.

-I dreamed of you embracing a white fox not long ago.

Ishel’s prophecy had finally come true.

Zenox carefully cradled and examined Laria, who seemed as delicate as a dandelion seed that might fly away if blown.

Then Laria slowly raised her head.

Meeting her large eyes, Zenox felt as if he were dreaming.

How long he had waited for this moment.

Whitie, whom he thought he would never meet again, was cradled in his arms.

Zenox’s expression, which had been excited while pondering what to say first, gradually hardened.

Laria had started crying profusely.

* * *

When she sensed she was about to return to her fox form, Laria wished she could stop time.

Transforming into a fox in front of Zenox was the worst possible situation.

However, contrary to Laria’s desperate wish, she inevitably transformed into a fox.

Seeing the surprised Zenox, her eyes instantly became moist, and tears began to flow.

‘I didn’t want to be discovered like this.’

She had wanted to return the fox orb and confess everything directly with her own words.

But all her preparations had been in vain. Even the magical power she had accumulated in the ring to return to Zenox had all disappeared.

‘I should have just been honest.’

Afraid of being hated by Zenox, she had insisted on revealing the truth while returning the fox orb.

The tears that welled up obscured her vision.

She couldn’t see Zenox’s face clearly.

She was scared because he was too quiet.

‘Is he angry after all?’

Of course he would be disappointed in her, but what if he didn’t even want to look at her face?

Unfortunately, still in fox form, she couldn’t even make excuses.

Lacking the courage to face Zenox directly, Laria lowered her head.

All sorts of negative imaginings she had had until now flashed before her eyes.

“Whitie.”

At the soft voice, her drooping ears twitched.

Zenox’s tone was gentler and more careful than usual.

Laria raised her head as if entranced.

Through her blurry vision, she saw Zenox’s face. There was no sign of resentment or anger, rather, he examined Laria closely as if worried. He was the same Zenox she had known.

Staring blankly at Zenox, Laria mumbled and shook her head.

Only then did he unfurrow his brow.

Adjusting his hold on Laria, Zenox wiped her eyes with his finger and whispered:

“I missed you so much, Whitie.”