The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

The day Laria turned the house upside down by dating Zenox Krassium.

The Rohan family decided on a plan through a family meeting.

They intended to make Zenox drink a potion that would cause him to dislike the person he loved, to drive a wedge between the two of them.

In no time, the Count of Rohan had prepared the potion.

“Emotion-controlling potions are difficult… the conditions for its effects are intricate,” the Count said hesitantly.

“The loved one has to be a member of the Rohan family. And after drinking the potion, their name should be called.”

Meaning it would only work if the loved one was from the Rohan family.

“There are no side effects, in fact… with the high-quality ingredients used, it’ll be beneficial for health.”

It seemed like getting too healthy might lead to other problems.

Herdin thought so, but as long as it worked, nothing else mattered.

“Hmm, how do we make the Grand Duke drink it?”

There were no connections between the Rohan and Krassium families.

They couldn’t give it through Laria either.

The plan had to proceed without Laria knowing.

While everyone was racking their brains, news came that Laria, believed to have gone to a fox clan meeting, had visited the Krassium mansion.

“I should have stopped her…”

Rodit, assigned as Laria’s guard, hung his head in shame.

“As rumored, the Grand Duke was truly intimidating.”

From the expression on Rodit’s face after coming back from the mansion, things didn’t seem good.

“He seems fine in front of the lady, but the problem is…”

Rodit’s face grew even darker.

“It seems the lady knows about it too.”

The Countess touched her forehead.

From a young age, Laria was overly curious and fearless.

She probably stepped into the wolf’s den herself.

“We must separate them immediately.”

Realizing the gravity of the situation, the Countess insisted they couldn’t delay any longer.

“Then I’ll look for an opportunity.”

“How?”

“If I follow the Grand Duke, there’ll surely be a chance.”

Thus, a heavy task was given to Herdin.

He shrugged off the Crown Prince’s attempts to persuade him and even took a long leave.

He was unhappy using his long leave not for Laria, but because of the Grand Duke. But it was all for a greater cause.

Like a snake hiding in the grass waiting for its chance, Herdin followed Zenox.

However, Zenox barely left his house.

Many days Herdin returned empty-handed, not even getting a glimpse of Zenox.

Then, one day, Zenox’s carriage left the mansion. Herdin quickly followed and found himself at a teahouse. He couldn’t follow inside because of a slight delay, but soon after, Zenox came out with a robed figure.

‘Who’s that?’

It was hard to tell if it was a man or woman in the robe.

‘I can’t hear their conversation.’

He couldn’t get closer without being detected, so he kept his distance and followed.

They entered a dress shop.

From outside, Herdin watched Zenox and the robed figure.

‘Is he trying to buy a dress for Laria to win her over?’

Laughing, Herdin thought, ‘Laria barely wears the dresses I buy her.’

Certainly, those dresses would end up hanging untouched in the wardrobe.

‘Something’s strange…’

Their proximity was quite close, almost like they were on a date.

Herdin’s expression soured, and he looked away.

Without even knowing the identity of the robed figure, any speculation about their relationship would be premature.

Feeling watched, the robed person turned toward Herdin.

He quickly ducked away to avoid detection.

After a close call, Herdin continued tailing them.

But he grew suspicious when they entered a jewelry store.

Their close interactions, Zenox’s soft glances, everything was fishy.

Forgetting he shouldn’t be seen, Herdin followed them inside.

“Welcome…”

The greeting of a store employee halted mid-sentence, sensing the tense atmosphere as Herdin approached the pair.

Unaware of Herdin’s presence, Zenox said:

“I suppose Liri can try it on instead of my fiance. Their sizes should be similar.”

Herdin froze.

He thought… was Zenox cheating on my sister?

Although his intention was to separate them, this was a different issue.

Is he daring to cheat on Laria?!!

Losing all sense, Herdin opened his mouth.

* * *

When he realized the robed figure was Laria, Herdin was at a loss for words.

He hadn’t even considered it might be Laria.

“Can I talk to my brother for a moment?”

At Laria’s request, Zenox nodded.

Considering the many prying eyes, Herdin took her outside.

“Why are you here…?”

He looked like a malfunctioning robot. Seeing Herdin so stunned was a first for Laria.

“I should be asking that. Why are you here, brother?”

Herdin clenched his mouth, unable to confess that he had followed Zenox’s footsteps.

‘I think I roughly get what happened.’

She thought it was strange that he didn’t tell her to break up for some reason, but he seemed to have followed Zenox. Was he trying to find a weak point?

Herdin, who was silently observing Laria, suddenly frowned.

“What’s with that look?”

“What’s wrong with the robe?”

“Do you have a strange hobby for the Grand Duke?”

“I wore it because I wanted to, any problems?”

With a single comment, Laria, who made Herdin shut up, sneakily glanced at the bottle in his hand.

“What’s that bottle for?”

“It’s a sedative.”

Contrary to expectations, it wasn’t a dangerous drug.

Laria crossed her arms, watching Herdin put the bottle back in his pocket.

“Apologize first.”

“I’m sorry. The robe suits you better than I thought.”

“Are you sure you want to apologize to me?”

Why is he like this? Really.

Laria let out a big sigh.

“It was all a misunderstanding by my brother.”

It was a serious matter, questioning the Grand Duke in public about having an affair.

Even when the Krassium family formally complained that their reputation had been tarnished, they had nothing to say.

“Apologize right now, got it?”

“It was his fault that caused the misunderstanding…”

“If you don’t apologize, I’ll never see your face again.”

Then, Herdin froze.

In the end, led by Laria, Herdin entered the store and faced Zenox with a face that he’d rather die than see.

He opened and closed his mouth several times as if he couldn’t speak.

Herdin, who received Laria’s glare, finally apologized.

“…I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay. I think it was a situation that could be misunderstood.”

Zenox forgave him as if he wasn’t offended at all.

At that attitude, Herdin felt even more humiliated.

Honestly, didn’t Zenox first behave in a way that anyone could misunderstand? If anyone asked who was wrong first, it was obviously Zenox.

Herdin, who was cursing Zenox internally, seemed to have a good idea and relaxed his expression.

His attitude became polite, as if he had never been hostile.

“I’d like to formally apologize and invite you to the Rohan mansion.”