The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

Sienna stared blankly at Laria.

However, she wasn’t the only one who noticed Laria’s magic.

“What’s this? There was another sorcerer?”

The man turned to look at Laria.

Rather than looking tense, he cracked his knuckles in a relaxed manner.

‘Is that a magic-blocking necklace?’

Considering Sienna’s magic was consistently blocked, it seemed likely.

As Laria stared at the necklace, Sienna explained in a shaky voice.

“It’s a magic neutralizing necklace, made by senior sorcerers of the Sorcery Office.”

Laria, about to respond, quickly shut her mouth. She remembered she hadn’t taken the potion to change her voice that day.

‘Would three gems suffice?’

While Laria contemplated, the opponent unleashed his magic.

Blue magical power charged at Laria like a beast.

It seemed to want to tear her apart but then vanished instantly.

“What, what just happened?”

Seeing his magic disappear in an instant, the man examined Laria with disbelief.

“Could it be you have a necklace too…”

Laria didn’t need a magic neutralizing necklace.

She could neutralize any spell by using a counteracting one.

She didn’t understand why others would bother using such a necklace.

But she didn’t realize, others didn’t avoid using that method because they chose not to; they just couldn’t.

Laria drew a line in the air with her hand.

The sapphire she had shattered, and a white light flashed from her fingertips.

The light struck the man like a lightning bolt.

Crash!

When the necklace was broken with a single attack, the man’s mouth opened wide.

“How could this…”

Before he could finish his sentence, he crumbled to the ground, completely unconscious.

The other robbers immediately grabbed the nearest person.

“Don’t move!”

“Huh.”

A knife pressed against the hostage’s throat.

Laria, having somewhat anticipated this, remained calm.

‘Should I just knock them all out?’

As she pondered, Sienna, freed from her bindings due to the unconscious sorcerer, stood beside Laria.

Sienna, her face flushed, looked at Laria with twinkling eyes.

As if she had fallen in love at first sight.

She whispered softly after a few moments.

“Thank you… for saving me.”

Her shy voice was very different from the one at the material shop earlier.

Laria just nodded in response.

Excited Sienna bombarded with questions.

“How should we suppress the remaining ones? Shall I use the binding spell first?”

It was better to just stay still.

“What are you muttering about!”

The robber, clutching his knife again, growled menacingly.

Laria, determined to deal with two of them in one go, secretly gathered her magical energy. Just as she was about to cast a spell toward the robbers-

Boom!!!

Laria almost bit her tongue at the tremendous noise.

Reflexively turning her head toward the source of the sound, she saw a wide-open entrance.

The door had been entirely torn off.

“…!”

Thud!

The thick iron door crashed to the ground, making the ground shake.

A man, bathed in the pouring sunlight, walked in as if he had thrown the door away carelessly.

In an instant, the bank became silent, only the sound of footsteps echoing.

Laria, belatedly recognizing his face, was utterly shocked.

‘Zenox?’

He had been out of touch all this time. How did he come here?

His sudden appearance was surprising, but his face looked strangely unfamiliar after just a week. He seemed sleep-deprived, with dark circles under his eyes, and his already sharp chin looked as if it could cut paper.

Above all, his aura…

It was so intense that people took steps back, distancing themselves.

One of the masked men, seeing that Zenox was unarmed, charged at him.

“Ugh!”

The man was confident in his swordsmanship, having dealt with a guard effortlessly.

He thought he’d have the upper hand, but.

Before the man could even touch Zenox, he was flung far away. In just a blink, a sword handle appeared in Zenox’s hand.

“Grand Duke Krassium…”

At someone’s murmur, the last robber dropped his sword.

Clink!

The sound of metal falling to the floor echoed sharply. The name ‘Krassium’ made the robber completely lose his will.

Zenox, finally stopping, looked down at the trembling man.

“Please, spare my life…”

The robber, who once acted like a predator, had become prey in an instant.

Zenox looked around as if searching for someone, seemingly uninterested.

The moment his gaze landed squarely on Laria, his pupils narrowed sharply, like a beast that found its prey. Even with her hood on, it seemed he recognized her immediately.

Zenox approached Laria directly.

Caught off guard, Laria’s face turned pale.

‘I shouldn’t act like I know him…’

Revealing her true identity as Laria Rohan in front of Sienna would be a headache.

Then, Sienna stepped in front of Laria.

“It’s an honor to meet you, Your Excellency the Grand Duke,” Sienna began with a calm greeting.

But her voice trembled slightly.

“My name is Sienna Hashir. Do you have business with my companion?”

“Companion?” Zenox raised an eyebrow.

Hesitantly, Sienna clarified her relationship with Laria.

“…I am a client.”

Zenox, once again looking at Laria, spoke slowly.

“I came looking for him.”

Surprised by Zenox’s respectful response, Sienna glanced at Laria.

“Do you really know each other?”

Laria nodded in response.

Zenox knew Laria was hiding her identity and working as an informant.

‘If only I could speak, I would’ve simply said she’s a client.’

Zenox, seemingly understanding Laria’s situation, reached out his hand first.

“You seem to still have a sore throat. I came because you were late.”

With such natural lying skills, even Laria was momentarily fooled by Zenox. She couldn’t refuse him as he played along.

Hesitantly, she grabbed his hand, causing Zenox to tense.

Confused as to why, she slightly moved her fingers, and his expression quickly softened.

“Oh…”

Sienna looked at Laria with sorrowful eyes.

As if they were exchanging confidential words, she whispered softly,

“I’ll be waiting. Please contact me.”

As they began to walk, people parted on either side.

It seemed as though they didn’t want to get any closer to Zenox.

As they were about to exit, knights in black armor entered. All of them wore helmets engraved with the emblem of the Krassium family.

“Clean this up.”

Zenox issued a brief command.

Walking side by side with Zenox, Laria left the bank, feeling all eyes on her.

Though she could avoid the situation thanks to Zenox, it felt as if a bigger crisis loomed… or was it just her imagination?

Trying to shake off the unease, Laria paused to observe the outside scene.

The knights of the Krassium family lined both sides of the bank’s entrance. The atmosphere was so solemn that no one dared pass near the bank.

Descending the steps, Laria spotted a beaten man. Given his identical mask, he seemed to be a comrade of the robber playing hostage outside.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs, Laria looked for Rodit.

‘Why can’t I see him?’

She expected him to be the loudest searching for her, but…

Seemingly noticing Laria’s concern, Zenox said:

“The young lady’s escort knight is in my carriage.”

Somehow, that sounded like Rodit was taken hostage.

Smiling, Zenox suggested:

“So, shall we go to my carriage?”

His eyes were not smiling.