I Decided to Kidnap the Male Lead

Staggering thanks to the sudden heightened vision, Ophelia gripped Richard by the shoulder and managed to keep her balance.

Richard, who had lifted her lightly with one arm, whispered to her.

“Here we go.”

Before Ophelia could even open her mouth, the two disappeared on the spot.

(TL/N: this, is the ‘running faster than a horse’ part.)

Shortly thereafter, the two were not at the Imperial Palace, but at the place Ophelia pointed out on the map.

Richard looked around without gasping for breath. In contrast, Ophelia was barely breathing, her arms still wrapped around his neck.

“There is no sign of rain yet, but since it’s often unexpected rain…”

“Ugh!”

Before Richard could finish his words, Ophelia raised her head and yelled.

“I thought my heart was going to fall out!”

“It’s all right.”

“What are you doing!”

“I came here because you asked to go.”

Richard, seeing Ophelia’s widened eyes, put her down and turned his head away.

“Now. No more laughing. Come on.”

While emphasizing each word, Ophelia slapped him on the back.

However, the force of the hit was nothing more or less than a cotton ball, so the laughter that had subsided broke out again, and it took some time for the second wave to subside.

“Richard.”

Ophelia continued her words, raising her index finger at Richard.

“Come on, follow me.”

Richard’s eyes were folded as he nodded.

“It would be nice. But what?”

“‘I will warn you beforehand when I run while holding you.’ That is, me, Ophelia.”

“I will warn you before.”

“When?”

“When I run while holding you.”

Even though Richard obediently repeated after Ophelia, when she made a face that seemed to have deemed his words very unreliable, he looked at her pale cheeks and said once again,

“I will definitely do that in the future.”

Ophelia immediately nodded, looked around, and let out a gasp, although it was unknown if it was a sigh or admiration.

‘It’s really where I pointed.’

‘His speed is really fast.’

‘I’ve never ridden a horse, but as he said, it’s certainly faster than a horse.’

Otherwise, there wouldn’t have been any need to worry about whether the blade-like wind would blow off her ears and cheeks, which were fine when she was riding a horse.

Staring blankly at Ophelia, who was looking around, Richard asked.

“Can you feel something? Rain or anything else?”

“It’s just rain. And don’t you think it smells like rain?”

Richard responded to Ophelia as she gazed up at the sky and sniffed indifferently.

“You’ll know when you check it out.”

“Yes. If it comes down and I taste it, it’ll be clear that it’s just simple rain.”

“Ophelia.”

“Yes?”

Richard tilted his head, and Ophelia tilted her head in the same direction.

“Why do you taste it?”

“Why don’t you taste it?”

Silent for a while, Richard stared at Ophelia’s questioning expression that was as if she was asking something very obvious.

“It’s my first time hearing I have to taste it.”

“You have to confirm. See, hear, smell, taste and feel… No, the latter is not possible. Anyway, you have to use all five senses.”

In this place where there was no concept of elements, it was impossible to determine whether it was rainwater or not by analyzing the elements of what fell down.

At Ophelia’s confident expression and surprisingly logical words, Richard let out a short chuckle.

“What is it? Why are you laughing again?”

“No, I really didn’t even think of it.”

Ophelia’s eyes became dazed like a flounder’s and replied grimly.

“I’m glad you enjoyed it.”

“It’s not that. Besides, if you’re there…”

Richard stretched out his hand toward Ophelia, then hesitated.

“No, you said I should check.”

She was about to grab his outstretched hand, but paused as well.

“What are you saying all of a sudden…”

—Kwarreung!

—Shaaaaaa.

Before Ophelia could finish her words, her eyes flashed as if someone had pressed a switch, followed by the sounds of thunder and rain.

Like a rat caught in the rain in an instant, she blinked for a while.

Between her slightly parted lips, empty breaths escaped along with white puffs of air.

“Uh… Huh?”

‘Rain? Is it raining? No, should it be like this?’

Without exaggeration, it was really a downpour no different from someone pouring water from a bucket overhead.

The rain was so strong that it was difficult to keep your eyes open, and even though she was wearing clothes, the rain was piercing through the fabric, making her skin hurt.

“Suddenly? Really, so suddenly?”

‘Is this some kind of hidden camera? Like someone preparing and pouring water all at once… There’s no way!’

Ophelia, who managed to properly catch the mind that almost escaped from reality, was able to look up at the sky only after making a cover over her forehead with one hand.

There were a few clouds floating just now, but it was as if the relatively clear sky had been a lie.

Currently, all Ophelia could see of the sky was dark black clouds.

She licked her lower lip, running a hand through her wet hair just before it clung to her forehead and poked her in the eye.

In a dejected voice, she said,

“Rain… yes. It’s rain. It’s just water falling from the sky.”

The raindrops blocked her vision like a curtain, to the point she could only see the silhouette of Richard although he was right in front of her. The water was also hitting her body hard.

“And it’s filthy cold…”

Again, things changed before she could finish her words; the radiant sky stretched over her head.

Ophelia, flinching and closing her eyes tightly at the sudden glare, saw Richard in front of her nose.

“Are you okay?”

“Do I look okay?”

Richard didn’t answer, and wrapped a large robe around Ophelia’s shoulder, from where he had pulled it out from, she did not know.

She felt a little less cold in the sunlight, but she bit her teeth at the chill of the cold water dripping down her skin.

“Did you know?”

“Ah, right before.”

Her response continued as she gathered her damp hair together and squeezed it; it mercilessly wet her robe.

“Then you could have pulled me away.”

“I only knew that it was going to rain. I didn’t know if it would come to me or go towards you.”

“But you could have pulled me as soon as the rain fell!”

When Ophelia shouted in a fit of rage, Richard reached his hand out.

He tapped the raindrops that were precariously hanging from the tip of her nose, and after doing so, his hand wrapped around her whitened cheeks.

Instinctively rubbing her cheeks in the warmth, Ophelia soon stiffened.

‘No, this is not the time!’

Drops of water dripped from the tips of Ophelia’s hair as she leaned her cheek against his palm.

At that moment, Richard also paused.

‘Very, no, it’s terribly cold.’

As Ophelia’s lips parted, Richard withdrew his hand as though he had been burned.

He looked down at the palm Ophelia had rubbed her cheek against and clenched his fist.

“It’s… cold.”

“Because I’m wet!”

Thinking about it again made Ophelia burst into anger and shout.

“I think I’ll die alone like this!”

“You won’t die from getting hit by the rain…”

Richard blindly hugged Ophelia as she charged forward, her head hitting his chest.

It was a movement that was no different from a headbutt without force, but neither as soft as a butterfly nor as elegant as a crane.

And Richard should be able to avoid it sufficiently.

No matter how nimble Ophelia was to hit the backs of assassins, before Richard, she was like a firefly in front of the sun.

If he had taken just one step to the left, she would have fallen face down on the floor. But he moved to lessen her shock.

This wasn’t the first time the two had hugged each other.

Having gone through so many regressions, it would be insufficient to count the number of times Richard held Ophelia in his arms.

However, Richard froze while holding Ophelia.

A body as cold as the cheek rubbed against his hand.

And her wet, bright red hair clung to her frame like a rose in full bloom.

No, as if her entire back was red and stained with blood.

Visions of the past shimmered over her current figure and eventually overlapped.

He didn’t know. After each regression was over, he couldn’t remember whether he was dead or alive.

Nevertheless, only that red-stained back remained vividly in his memory…

Richard unknowingly tightened his arm around Ophelia’s waist and pulled her closer.

It wasn’t until after they were tightly joined that he could hear the thumping sound of her heart over her cold body temperature.

‘No, or is this the sound of my heart beating?’

Now, it was hardened and wouldn’t run anymore.

Like the time when he gasped before losing all his escorts, it seemed like someone was digging into his chest.

“Richard.”

Ophelia whispered as she looked up at his strange and unresponsive condition and swept the corners of her eyes.

“Richard.”

Only then did the breath he had been holding back escape from his lips.

He slowly exhaled and closed his eyes, while she carefully examined him.

How many times?

No, there would be no end to this situation in the future.

Ophelia knew too.

That when he was with her, he saw visions of the distant past.

Looking back on the past that was crushed, he dug again and again where only the dust remained.

It was not something he could quit on his own volition.

Like a scar that couldn’t be erased, like a trauma that would follow you for the rest of your life even if you wanted to cover it up.

He must see the remnants of the past embedded deep inside every day like a ghost.

Ophelia gazed at Richard, his face paler than hers who was soaked in the rain, and then hugged him tightly.

‘What I can do is so limited, so small…’

Ame: They both need a warm blanket and cocoa!

Dea:Maybe also a cabin in the woods away from everyone