The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Her heart raced.

Related to Whitie? What does that mean?

Unable to even guess, she stood rigidly, and Ishel pondered.

“You do know about Whitie, right?”

She knew better than anyone else.

“Of course, with all the fuss Zenox made, you’d know…”

Murmuring to himself, a perplexed Ishel scratched his cheek.

“Anyway, it’s related to Whitie, and with Zenox not responding, it’s quite troublesome.”

Ishel didn’t explain in detail.

She wanted to grab him and demand answers.

Seemingly sharing the sentiment, the bag began to move violently. He seemed to have noticed the issues or articles, so Laria hastily grabbed her bag and pleaded.

“Your Highness, would you pass on the knights for a moment?”

“No!”

Before permission was granted, the knights opposed and stepped forward. Being the prospective fiance of Zenox was reason enough to be wary.

Ishel, looking back at the knights, spat out a single word.

“Do not be rude to the young lady. She’s the only sister of Lord Herdin.”

“Lord Herdin’s…?”

The knights’ eyes rolled and they quickly stepped back.

It was as effective as Zenox.

‘What on earth is he doing at the palace?’

He was truly an embarrassing brother to reveal outside.

When the conversation was distant enough not to be heard, Zenox leaned in.

“Explain the situation quickly.”

“Eek!”

Startled to the point of falling back, Ishel let out a short scream. Hearing the scream, knights tried to approach, but Ishel stopped them.

“I was startled by a bug!”

The knights hesitated.

It seemed familiar, so the knights returned to their original position.

Ishel, still surprised, looked at Zenox.

“A talking puppy… Wait? I just heard Zenox’s voice?”

“That’s correct.”

When the wolf cub responded, Ishel’s eyes shook wildly.

Dumbfounded for a moment, Ishel looked alternately at Laria and Zenox, wondering how this happened.

“It can’t be Zenox… No way.”

When Ishel couldn’t believe it, Zenox spoke.

“Your Highness saw a young girl at the lake behind the palace around the age of 10…”

“Wait! You’re definitely Zenox, yes!”

As if to tell him to stop talking, Ishel reached out.

With his face turning red, Zenox calmly explained the situation.

“I’ve temporarily become a wolf due to unavoidable circumstances.”

“A wolf…?”

Upon closer inspection, Zenox did look like a wolf.

“How did this happen?”

“Don’t worry about that. Please talk about Whitie.”

Perhaps annoyed that Ishel kept dodging his questions, Zenox’s eyes sharpened.

Getting the chills, Ishel quickly explained.

“I heard that smugglers have been collecting rare animals recently.”

“And?”

“I think the white fox you’re looking for is there.”

Zenox was silent.

For the past three years, Zenox had searched all the smugglers in the capital to find Whitie. Whenever a white fox was sold or auctioned, he never missed checking.

But without any income, he didn’t expect much.

However, Zenox’s attitude changed completely upon hearing the next words from Ishel.

“Not long ago, I dreamt of you embracing a white fox. I woke up the next morning and saw horns growing.”

“Where is this place?”

The desperation in Zenox’s voice only confused Laria.

‘Why a sudden dream?’

Ishel explained as if wondering what it meant.

“It’s related to the royal bloodline.”

Royals with the blood of the Golden Elk clan had prophetic abilities generation after generation. They couldn’t know everything perfectly, but they were capable enough to avoid major disasters.

It turned out they prophesied through dreams.

‘Zenox embraces a white fox?’

It seemed impossible.

Laria could no longer fully transform into a beast. Moreover, she believed she would never transform into Whitie in front of Zenox.

So would Zenox find another fox? Possibly due to the fox orb?

All sorts of emotions intertwined, creating a tangled mess.

Seeing an opportunity, Ishel suggested to Zenox:

“There’s an auction today. Want to go together?”

“Of course…”

Without hesitation, Zenox agreed but then realized he was in the form of a young wolf.

“It’s perfect for sneaking in, isn’t it?”

Evaluating Zenox from top to bottom, Ishel grinned.

“A black wolf is a rare animal. The smugglers will go crazy.”

“We have to go.”

Zenox signaled for Laria to let him down.

Instead, Laria clutched her bag tightly. She was hesitant to let him go alone.

Even if his original form was powerful, he was currently a young wolf. And she was very curious to know which fox Zenox would embrace.

“Then I’ll go too.”

“Young lady too?”

“It might be dangerous,” Zenox interjected.

“I’m the only one who knows Your Excellency’s circumstances in detail. I should accompany you just in case.”

“Hmm.”

After pondering, Ishel came to a conclusion and clapped.

“Young lady, how about to attend as a guest with me?”

As Zenox gave him a sharp look, Ishel quicklylowered his tail.

“Perhaps it’s best for Lady Rohan to return home…?”

“Choose, Your Excellency. Whether to return home or go to the auction.”

As if she was about to use spatial movement magic right away, Zenox finally conceded.

“Fine, but you won’t engage in anything dangerous.”

“Oh…”

Watching from a distance, Ishel exclaimed in admiration.

Controlling Zenox, indeed the prospective fiance… He muttered:

“Then shall we ride in a carriage together?”

Upon hearing Ishel’s proposal, Laria sighed inwardly.

Spatial movement magic couldn’t be used to go to places the caster hadn’t been. It was hard to get a separate carriage, and she knew that it would be best to ride the Crown Prince’s carriage…

‘It’s embarrassing.’

Until she had met Zenox, Laria had no particular feelings towards the Crown Prince.

Even when Herdin cursed the Crown Prince, she just let it slide.

However, after hearing through Zenox that the Crown Prince had proposed an alliance for the union of the fox clan and the wolf clan, she began to see him in a negative light.

Did he not even try to force a marriage without considering the feelings of the involved parties for political purposes?

Eventually, to avoid marriage, she even started a contractual relationship with Zenox based on their engagement…

Come to think of it, the cause of the whole situation was the Crown Prince.

‘How shameless.’

His behavior of hiding his true intentions and pretending to be friendly was disgusting.

Barely suppressing her disdain for the Crown Prince, Laria boarded Ishel’s carriage with Zenox. The knights decided to take another carriage.

“This is my first time doing something like this.”

Ishel couldn’t hide his excitement, like a boy embarking on an adventure.

‘Is this kind of person going to become the Emperor in the future?’

The future of the Empire seemed bleak.

Laria, looking at Ishel across from her, spoke:

“Your Highness, shouldn’t you change your appearance a bit more to attend the illegal auction?”

“Huh, isn’t it hard to recognize me as it is?”

“I recognized you immediately on the street.”

Ishel scratched his neck, looking embarrassed.

It’s too late to prepare a robe now… it can’t be helped. Laria took out an emergency potion she always carried and handed it to Ishel.

“This will change your appearance. For about half a day.”

“Normally, I shouldn’t accept gifts, but since it’s from you, Lady Rohan, I’ll gratefully accept it.”

Laria clicked her tongue inwardly at his words, implying trust.

The ominous Crown Prince was also good at acting. If she hadn’t been warned by Zenox beforehand, she might have been deceived.

Ishel drank the potion in the glass bottle without leaving any behind.

A moment later, he exclaimed in amazement as he looked at his reflection in a hand mirror.

“What! This potion is much better than the one given by the palace’s sorcerer?”

He felt his face, which now looked completely different.

He appeared about 10 years older, and his features had slightly changed.

“Who made this potion?”

“I did.”

Ishel dropped the hand mirror.

Without even thinking about picking it up, he stared at Laria, then quickly approached her and said with a serious expression.