I Decided to Kidnap the Male Lead

“Drugs?”

“Yes.”

The present condition of Marchioness Neir, which came out of Cooper’s mouth, caused a crack to appear between Richard’s forehead.

Richard, who crossed his legs and buried his back in the chair, opened his mouth.

“I’m sure you saw it.”

At the words of solid trust, Cooper bowed his head deeply.

“And?”

“For the things related to the marquis family, Lady Neir has asked for the end to this week.”

“One week?”

“Yes. She said it will be enough. The matters couldn’t be done in a week, no matter how I thought about it, but she was convinced that just one week would be enough.”

“If Marchioness Neir had handed it over beforehand, it wouldn’t be so strange. If that was the case, there would be no need for me to visit them in the first place.”

Richard, who swallowed the word ‘regression’ that immediately rose, gave an order exactly as he pointed to his temple.

“Give His Majesty Raisa Neir’s request. Summarize the condition of Marchioness Neir. It looks like the owner of the marquisate will change.”

Richard’s voice, talking about the Marquisate of Neir, was as calm as ever.

It was dry enough for sand to fly.

However, when he spoke of the medicine, his voice was as cold and sharp as frost.

“Find out what the drug is. Everything.”

Cooper silently lowered his head, and Richard, having come closer to him before he knew it, gently put his hand on his shoulder.

“I will take care of this matter.”

“Please leave it to me.”

When Cooper hurried to the emperor’s office…

Ophelia visited Richard’s office.

As soon as he faced her, Richard brought up her most important point.

“Raisa Nair will regress in a week.”

The words came out of nowhere, but Ophelia did not miss it.

Just the two of them in the world.

Ophelia to Richard, and Richard to Ophelia. They would be able to converse like flowing water even with words thrown out of nowhere without context.

“Then it will be decided within a week.”

“Yes. In any way.”

Ophelia shook her head at his answer.

“It can’t be in any way. The world should never fall.”

“If you want.”

Richard held her hand and kissed the back of it deeply, smiling at her with his eyes curved.

Looking down at him, Ophelia raised her chin.

“I want it. So please protect the world.”

“Gladly.”

The two looked at each other and immediately smiled. They had the same expression on their faces.

Then Ophelia, who raised him by pulling his hand, interlocked their fingers and waved it gently.

“The village of those fanatics. I gathered and put together what the man said and the information you sent me.”

Richard quickly glanced over the documents Ophelia handed over and commented.

“Using human trafficking, they sent the fanatics in this town as servants and dealt with the family head or heir.”

“They weren’t very big families, but they were families friendly to the imperial family.”

“I don’t know if it’s one or two families.”

“They must have known that the imperial family would secretly investigate if it went over five fingers.”

“They knew we would keep an eye on human trafficking, too. In the end, it must have been Raisa Neir who spilled Neir’s name.”

“Back then, when Marchioness Neir robbed the festival-related rights, it was also Lady Neir who exposed it.”

“She was falsely accused.”

As soon as Ophelia released the information she had, the picture Raisa was drawing was revealed.

“Yes. Lady Neir must have been trying to frame Marchioness Neir.”

An internal strife. The immorality of a child to beat their parents.

“Ultimately, was the town created just for this purpose?”

“I guess so. No matter how openly Marchioness Neir’s ambitions are known, actually using her hands and rumors spreading are two completely different things.”

Rumors that she was greedy for the throne could be dismissed as a joke or slander.

However, if she actually attempted to point a sword at the imperial family.

That would be an act of raising the flag of ‘treason’ without any excuse, and sticking her own neck into the jaws of the imperial family.

A deep gorge appeared between Ophelia’s brows.

“It must have been an attempt to obtain temporary indulgence by accusing Marchioness Neir while at the same time weakening the power of the imperial family.”

“Yes. No one would think that the person who accused their family of treason would start a treason.”

Gently pressing Ophelia’s forehead to straighten it, Richard added,

“And the reason Raisa Neir is trying to bring down Marchioness Neir must be much more insidious than the superficial reason of aiming for the throne.”

“It’s a parent-child relationship, so it’s a very private and intimate reason, but… Did something happen?”

Richard looked in the direction of the pharmacist and continued.

“Marchioness Neir has become like a dead man at the hands of Raisa Neir.”

“D-Dead… What do you mean?”

“I heard she is heavily addicted to drugs. I wouldn’t be too surprised if an obituary appears sooner or later.”

At the word ‘addiction’, Ophelia reflexively recalled the great meeting before the festival.

“Could it be… at that time, those bloodshot eyes and excessive sweating?”

“They are early symptoms of addiction. But it’s over now.”

Ophelia opened her mouth, but she couldn’t find anything to say.

After pursing her lips several times, Ophelia managed to utter,

“I don’t have to ask what Raisa Neir is after.”

They knew that she, like Marchioness Nair, was aiming for the throne.

“I didn’t expect her to go that far, making Marchioness Neir like that.”

If Raisa wanted to overtake the marchioness and seize the throne, there would be no reason for her to ruin her via drugs.

It would be better to have her framed and hanged for treason.

But to destroy Marchioness Neir without waiting that long.

“Like I said before…”

“Personal… That’s why.”

When Marchioness Neir abandoned Raisa very simply and cut her head, she kept it a closely guarded secret, and even the imperial family did not figure it out.

So, the only person who knew that fact was Raisa, the person who came back after experiencing it.

Just like when Ophelia wasn’t kidnapped after regressing to the festival, the two had no way to know Raisa’s heart.

Just like Raisa didn’t know about the two of them.

Before long, Ophelia let out a harsh sigh of emptiness.

“I didn’t think that Marchioness Neir would collapse like this.”

She remembered Marchioness Neir, whom she met during the second infinite regression, but it was only vague because it was a memory from so long ago.

However, she still remembered that Marchioness Neir was a villain who matched the main character, Richard, so she was even more bewildered by the futile end.

‘It’s not fiction, it’s reality, but in this world I’ve stepped into, she’s the one who stands at the forefront of those who oppose Richard…’

“Marchioness Neir is ambitious enough to take over the throne, and she has the power and ability to match that ambition.”

Yet, she was ruined due to addiction.

Speaking of Marchioness Neir, she was definitely a villain.

Simply put, the way she stole the interests of the festival represented the entire path she had taken.

Ophelia had never thought that anyone who opposed Richard would win.

She predicted that he would not be defeated not because the villain was a villain, but that they would be defeated and crawl on the floor because it was Richard.

So when she heard that Marchioness Neir had completely collapsed and couldn’t rise again…

“I thought it would be refreshing, like removing a tooth that had been hurting…”

Ophelia tilted her head with an indescribable expression.

Refreshing… It would be a lie if she said it wasn’t great, but it wasn’t really not great either.

‘But I don’t think it’s great at all, what should I say?’

Ophelia, who unconsciously held Richard’s hand and pressed or scratched every knuckle of his fingers, sighed and confided her complicated feelings.

“Really… collapsing in an instant… Like that.”

Those words were directed towards Marchioness Neir, but they were also ultimately true of the entire world.

No, it would apply to anything.

There was an old saying, ‘Will the tower of hard work collapse?’

However, in the world… There were more times when the tower built with so much effort collapsed due to things one couldn’t do anything about on their own.

Depending on what and how you did at that time, tomorrow, or the next moment, would be different.

Richard took Ophelia’s hand.

The joined hands were cold, but as the warmth of the two interlocked, they slowly began to warm up.

“If Raisa Neir has the power to regress, then Marchioness Neir’s disastrous downfall wouldn’t be too surprising.”

“That… That’s true.”

Regression.

The power to go back in time and change the choices you made at the time.

The regressed party would know the future to come, so they could take the most beneficial course for themselves.

Just as the huge village Raisa Neir created through infinite regression became her trump card.

“If you put all these things together, something will happen in that town within a week…”

Before Ophelia finished speaking, a knock rang out.

—Tok tok.

“Your Highness. It’s urgent.”

At Iris’ voice, Richard immediately allowed entry.

“Come in.”

“There is a letter from Sir Gryu.”

Credits goes to Jassie for raw providing, Ame for translating, and Dea for proofreading.