I Decided to Kidnap the Male Lead

“Saying only Iris, are you saying that this kind of information is still too early for Ophelia?”

Cooper clicked his tongue briefly.

“One thing is for sure. Ophelia would be sad if she heard it.”

Having no idea what kind of relationship Richard and Ophelia had or what the former was thinking when giving him that order, Cooper felt sorry for Ophelia who had not yet been properly recognized.

Even though Ophelia was squeamish at first, she got along very openly with Iris now, and she was also a comrade who he made a tight-knit comradeship with while Iris was away.

Heading to the secret drawer inside the library in search of the letter, Cooper shook his head.

“Okay, the aides should have some time to chat during the festival.”

.

The evening party was reaching its climax as Cooper rummaged through the papers relating to James Gryu.

As the snake, mongoose, and rabbit approached, the ladies who surrounded Raisa retreated one step at a time as if they had promised beforehand, creating a circle.

And a larger circle surrounding that circle was formed naturally as the other ladies invited to the party gathered.

So the board was laid, but the issue of the festival’s interest was sensitive, so they had to find an opportunity to bring it up while talking about trivial things.

[TL/N: I rephrased it into ‘talking about trivial things’ because the actual raws, ‘while smoking something’ can give another impression if the reader isn’t careful. Anyway, it basically means they gotta come up with bullshit to keep the conversation going as they try to get to the main point (I didn’t use the ‘bullshit’ version as it feels cruder than necessary)]

But unexpectedly, before Catherine could come up with something plausible…

A lady belonging to Raisa’s group jumped out.

“I didn’t expect to see you here. Really, the right… Yes, admiration comes out automatically in view of the lady’s family history.”

In other words, it was flattery.

It was a tribute to the Marquisate of Neir, who obtained one of the festival rights, which were extremely difficult to obtain and were rarely given away once obtained.

Normally, others would cling to one compliment and starting praising Raisa to the sky.

But this time, no one agreed with the point the lady brought up.

That would be smart.

As there were very limited ways to get such a huge advantage.

Marriage, or alliance.

However, there was no news that Lady Neir was engaged to someone within the count’s family, which originally had the festival right, or that they had formed an alliance for a certain period of time.

Thus, everyone except for that ignorant young lady would have noticed that the method of obtaining the advantage that was so difficult to grasp was neither peaceful nor normal.

Of course, Raisa was silent, and Catherine did not miss the opportunity.

“Yes. I’m amazed by your great feat. So, if you obtained another right, would you brag about it? Or…”

Her eyes shone so fiercely that the ruby in the snake mask seemed to be covered in blood at first glance.

“Did you say that to subtly insult my family?”

But the one in a lion mask didn’t even flinch. She answered calmly.

“If telling the truth is an insult, I have nothing more to say.”

Facing the gray eyes shining through the mask, Catherine involuntarily swallowed dry saliva.

Unlike before, she couldn’t read Raisa.

It was not just because the face was covered by a mask.

Even if it was covered with a mask, she could see the movement of the mouth, jaw, and eyes.

Still, she couldn’t read it easily.

Indeed, as Ophelia said, there was no sign that it would end so easily.

As the snake and the lion confronted each other again, silence like a grave swept over the villa.

It was an unexpected voice that broke the heavy silence where even slight breathing was audible.

“How about an explanation instead?”

The voice was very unfamiliar to the young ladies, probably because it echoed from behind the rabbit mask.

That’s why they couldn’t even get a clue who the rabbit was from the voice alone.

“Liquor license, roses and tulips control and…”

After that, the rabbit, who had listed a few more festival’s rights, looked down at the lion, looking down at the fingers she had stuck out one by one.

“These are the rights of the families that are not here. And as everyone knows, among the families that are eligible to be invited to this evening, there’s only one family that only has a son. So, except for the county family, the ladies of those families did not come to this party…”

After reaching that point, the rabbit paused and tilted her head.

“They didn’t come? Could they not come?”

The rabbit, who tilted her head a little more, answered her own question.

“If they have a head, there will be no reason not to come here, so it must be that they couldn’t come. Well, there’s only one person who knows why.”

The rabbit’s voice fell noticeably for an instant.

“The person who shouldn’t be here originally.”

When the rabbit closed her mouth, there was a silence that was even heavier than before.

By the time the faces of those who felt like they were about to die in the silence went white.

Something more unexpected happened than when the careless young lady brought up the story.

Under the lion mask, Raisa’s mouth drew a shady arc.

“Yes. I am the only one who can answer that.”

Raisa, who seemed like she would never open her mouth judging from her great distance with Catherine, began to tell the whole situation as directly as Ophelia.

And as her words continued, the suspicion of ‘no way?’ on the faces of those gathered at the evening party turned into an astonishment of ‘that much?’

Catherine and Iris also had similar expressions.

It was expected that Neir did something, but no one expected it to be done so quickly and mercilessly.

Because Neir wouldn’t have had to.

It was a family that had already built a solid position without having to take advantage of the festival.

Besides, if Neir reached out beyond what it currently had, it was obvious that not only other families but also the imperial family would keep an eye on them, so people thought they would be even more careful about such things.

Was it recklessness or arrogance?

As if Raisa hadn’t considered such things at all, she was reaching out in all directions to almost every family involved in the festival.

“…if that’s the case, it should be considered that the right was eventually passed over.”

Having confused the minds of everyone present with her calm voice, Raisa added belatedly like she had forgotten.

“Oh, and. All of this. It’s the Marchioness’ work.”

Ophelia, who had been staring at her without blinking, flinched when she saw the momentary twist of the corner of Raisa’s mouth.

In addition, she was also surprised by Raisa’s unexpected confession, but she was not too shaken because it was Marchioness Neir.

But wasn’t Raisa’s belated statement really ambiguous?

If it was understood that it was done under the leadership of the marchioness, and that even Raisa, the successor and next marchioness, did not know much about it, it could be overlooked as self-deprecation.

But if an issue she supposedly didn’t know much about was revealed so openly.

…It would inevitably be a problem.

While it might have been possible to covertly organize it when it was done below the surface, it would rise up to the families that did not fall into the hands of Neir.

The imperial family wouldn’t keep its mouth shut.

And at that time, the lady of the marquisate took a step out of the question of whether or not she was responsible for this.

‘It’s a disadvantage for the marchioness anyway, and it would affect the entire family, so it’s a wonder about what the point in escaping alone is…’

Raisa’s mouth, which had been distorted as she spoke of Marchioness Neir, did not leave Ophelia’s eyes.

If.

‘What if there is an infighting between the marquis and the young lady within the marquis family?’

If the puppet had cut the thread controlling her…

Ophelia opened and closed her strained hands, hiding them in the folds of her skirt.

‘It’s gone too far.’

‘It’s too much.’

Ophelia tightened the reins of thoughts that went to extremes without any basis.

Even so, it kept bothering her like a gnat on her fingertips.

Lady Neir was ridiculing herself? Exposing all the family secrets in front of so many people, not to brag, but to mock?

Even if it wasn’t Lady Neir, how many people would expose their weakness that they were not trusted by the head of the household?

‘I can’t quite understand…’

“It ended sooner than I thought.”

Iris’ voice, which penetrated Ophelia’s thoughts, showed that she felt uncertain about the current situation.

“Yes. But since it all exploded at once, there’s no need to spend more time.”

“What the hell is Marchioness Neir thinking? To deal with these things this way.”

As expected. Iris was also focused only on the marchioness.

If Lady Neir hadn’t said this right now, Marquis Neir’s work wouldn’t have been ‘this way’.

It started and ended so quietly that no one knew about it until the three of them decided to dig it up.

All kinds of colors mixed and sparkled in the lion mask of Raisa, who broke through the soundless clamor and left leisurely.

As Ophelia stared at the group of lights that seemed to be muddled and dark at first glance, her head was complicated.

Attempts to assassinate the crown prince, extortion of festival rights, and even reluctance toward her mother, the marchioness.

Those were things that could happen, of course, but there was something that was not clear somewhere.

In the foggy place where Ophelia couldn’t see an inch in front of her, she groped for something, seemingly taking one step forward and one step back.

‘It’s so frustrating… Oh, the mask.’

Ophelia tugged Iris’ sleeve as she looked at Catherine, surrounded by a swarm of young ladies.

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