The Arranged Suitor Was the Kidnapper

At the appearance of Marquis Hashir, the expression completely disappeared from Semela’s face.

It was the first time Laria saw her face displeased like that.

‘Even when I brought Zenox she wasn’t like that…’

Marquis Hashir still fixed his gaze on Theodore while speaking.

“What brings you here? Your attendance at the banquet makes me think the sun will rise from the west tomorrow.”

Was father acquainted with Marquis Hashir? Even though they were both fox beastmen and sorcerers… currently, her father wasn’t active as a sorcerer.

Before Laria was born, he had been running an herbal medicine business as a businessman. So it was strange that the Marquis was pretending to know him in advance.

“It seems like almost ten years since I last saw you. It’s been quite a while.”

The Marquis raised his eyes, as if measuring the passage of time.

They had known each other for quite a long time.

However, Laria had never heard stories about Marquis Hashir through her mother or father.

Unlike the bewildered Laria, Herdin seemed to know something, and his expression resembled Semela’s. With a rigid expression, he stared at Marquis Hashir.

Judging by the way he put his hand in his pocket, it seemed like he was rolling a vial with his fingers.

Laria finally checked Theodore last.

His complexion, completely drained of color, Theodore couldn’t say anything and trembled his lips.

Seeing his unusual appearance, Laria’s eyes involuntarily sharpened.

Perhaps sensing Laria’s gaze, Marquis Hashir turned his head.

“Is she your daughter?”

“I am Laria Rohan.”

“Ah, that…”

He didn’t finish the sentence.

It seemed like Laria roughly knew what he was thinking.

Laria was called ‘half-tail’ among the fox clan.

She was famous for not having sorcery abilities and being unable to perform partial transformation, for other reasons.

“I heard you manifested as a sorcerer belatedly, huh?”

It was a tone filled with a strange sneer.

The Marquis, who looked up and down as if to assess Laria, suddenly grabbed Sienna’s shoulder.

Sienna’s eyes widened in surprise as if she was surprised by the sudden touch.

Sienna tilted her head a bit.

“I heard you and Sienna are the same age. It would be nice if you could help each other.”

The Marquis smiled as he looked at Sienna, like he was boasting about the most expensive item on the shelf.

“It seems like she’s still lacking in some areas…. Still, she’s the youngest member of the Sorcery Office, so if you need help, feel free to contact us.”

The way nobles in the social circle called on each other was less roundabout than this.

‘So, you haven’t joined the Sorcery Office yet, and my daughter is this outstanding?’

What is this Sorcery Office?

Even if it’s a place admired by sorcerers, Laria had no interest in it.

When the conversation turned to the Sorcery Office, Theodore’s complexion noticeably worsened. Although Laria thought it couldn’t get any worse, now he seemed like he could collapse at any moment.

Watching the Marquis with a cold gaze, Semela stepped forward.

“Is that what you want to say?”

“…”

“I don’t think there should be a conversation between my husband and you like this.”

The sharp pupils that had become sharper reflected the Marquis as Semela spoke.

Partial transformation sometimes emerged when emotions were uncontrollable, but sometimes it was deliberately revealed to threaten others.

Semela was undoubtedly the latter.

Only then did the Marquis turn to her, as if he had belatedly discovered Semela.

“Haha. I was glad to meet an old friend.”

Semela’s eyes were sharp at the word ‘old friend’.

“I was so upset when I heard that your daughter had manifested as a sorcerer and couldn’t even congratulate her.”

Then the Marquis turned his eyes back to Laria with a wry smile on his face.

“You will become a great sorcerer like your father.”

Theodore, who had been unable to say a word, finally opened his mouth.

“My daughter… won’t have anything to do with the Sorcery Office.”

Semela, who was about to argue with the Marquis, remained silent and held Theodore’s hand tightly.

“Maybe your daughter won’t think that way.”

“Father is right. I won’t have anything to do with the Sorcery Office.”

When Laria spoke clearly, the Marquis’ lips twitched.

The position of the head of the Sorcery Office was a source of great pride because it was the highest achievement.

It was absurd to see him confident that, of course, she would also envy the Sorcery Office.

“I think it’s too early to make a judgment. Well, we’ll see about that later.”

The Marquis laughed, anticipating that she would want to join the Sorcery Office in the future.

“Theodore, I’m curious about your skills. You probably have more time left after retirement, so you must have improved a lot.”

If someone saw, they might think he was going to the countryside to recuperate.

Memories that had been forgotten before the heat even began to rise came to mind again.

Laria bit her lower lip.

To Laria, Theodore was a better sorcerer than anyone else.

That fact hasn’t changed yet, but now…

‘Because of me, he lost half of his strength.’

The Marquis looked at Theodore’s reaction and smiled with satisfaction.

“Visit the Sorcery Office soon.”

It wasn’t a request or recommendation, but rather an order that treated him like a subordinate.

Theodore, who hadn’t been able to meet his eyes all along, opened his mouth with great effort.

“…I won’t go.”

“Are you embarrassed to run away?”

The Marquis’s words made Semela and Herdin’s expressions fierce.

Herdin, who had been silent because he was afraid obscene words would come out if he opened his mouth, burst into laughter.

“If you’re going to invite us, you should clean up.”

Herdin looked straight at the Marquis with one corner of his mouth raised.

“Who’s going to go to a rotten tower like that?”

“You rude…!”

The Marquis, who had been behaving leisurely all along, trembled his mustache.

It felt like they were about to fight at any moment.

The Marquis was about to question how they educate their son, but Semela came forward.

“Are you going to invite to the Sorcery Office and have a magical contest?”

“…It’s natural for sorcerers to have contests with each other. Well, I don’t know about those who are not sorcerers.”

The Marquis sneered as if ignoring Semela, who wasn’t a sorcerer, as if to ridicule her.

“Those who avoid contests are called cowards.”

For some reason, Marquis Hashir continued to provoke Theodore.

As if he were so curious about Theodore’s skills that he was going crazy.

Semela, who smoothly pulled up the corners of her mouth, lowered her eyes as if looking down.

“Snake beastmen also practice with poison. Fair and square.”

Marquis Hashir’s lips stiffened, as if Semela had pricked a past he wanted to forget.

Although the flow of the conversation was hard to understand, it was clear that there was something between Marquis Hashir and Theodore that Laria didn’t know about.

Seemingly irritated by Semela’s constant interference, the Marquis clicked his tongue.

“Tsk.”

The sound of the tongue clicking was so familiar that Laria unintentionally stared at Marquis Hashir.

Where had she heard that before…?

‘An illegal auction?’

It sounded exactly like the sound made by the mysterious sorcerer using forbidden magic at the illegal auction house.

Of course, one couldn’t be certain that it was the same person just based on the sound of tongue clicking.

But once she began to suspect, similarities kept catching her eye.

Physical build, unconscious gestures, and such.

Laria shook her head, half in disbelief, half in reassurance.

‘The head of the Sorcery Office wouldn’t be dealing with forbidden magic.’

Using forbidden magic would result in a minimum sentence of imprisonment and a maximum penalty of death. Someone who had reached the position of the Sorcery Office head would possess extraordinary skills and wouldn’t risk such actions.

Even without brainwashing, there were plenty of people who would obey orders with just a gesture.

However, unable to completely dismiss her suspicions, Laria looked at Marquis Hashir with a troubled expression.

“If you don’t like it, there’s nothing to be done.”

As if about to step back, the Marquis finally completed his nonsense.

“Well, what about a contest between the children?”