Let's Kidnap The Male Lead! - Chapter 32

The sun rose on the morning of the next day.

I, slumped over my desk, heaved a deep sigh.

Why do misfortunes always come all at once like this?

There was so much to think about that I felt my head might split open at any moment.

The biggest problem was none other than Leonie.

For Leonie to suddenly marry Siegfried like this. This was something that never happened in the original story.

I frowned as I recalled the contents of the original work.

Siegfried’s role as a supporting character began to increase dramatically in the middle of the story.

In other words, it was from the scene where he was appointed as the crown prince.

After winning the battle for the throne against Veronica, he immediately took Lilia, the youngest daughter of Duke Schneider, as his consort.

On their wedding night, he headed straight to the bedroom to spend time with Lilia as husband and wife, but…

‘Until I read that part, I thought it would be just another typical scene…’

Their first night was far from ordinary.

On a night when only moonlight quietly settled on the windowsill.

The one who greeted Imperial Crown Princess Lilia Schneider in the couple’s intimate space was not the human Siegfried, but a demon wearing his skin.

And not just any demon, but the king of demons, Belial.

Belial, who sought to completely take over the empire and further the human realm, had sneaked into the imperial palace decades ago.

He completely destroyed the soul of Siegfried, who was too young and weak to resist, and took over the empty shell of his body.

And since then, he had been living while pretending to be Siegfried.

Left alone in the bedroom on a night when magical energy grew stronger, Belial used demonic power to break down Lilia’s mind and brainwash her.

He turned her into a slave who would obey his every command.

‘I didn’t know until that scene came up. That Siegfried was the final boss.’

I had been trying to ignore this fact all along. Because it wasn’t directly related to me.

Anyway, I was planning to kidnap Callys and leave the original story, so whatever Belial did wasn’t my concern.

But suddenly, he’s marrying Leonie instead of Lilia.

It’s certain. The flow of the original story has been broken.

‘It must be because of me. After all that talk about the original story, I ended up influencing it myself.’

To be honest, I really dislike Leonie.

I resent her so much that I remember each and every one of the many actions she took against me.

But that doesn’t mean it’s okay for Leonie to fall into a ‘Lima state’ like the crown princess in the original story.

I picked up a pencil and started writing down the settings that appeared in the original work.

‘Lima’ referred to a state where human soul and magical energy were mixed, and there were two causes.

One was when exposed to dense magical energy for a long time.

One would lose their original intelligence and engage in violent behavior, but fortunately, it could be treated.

However, if Lima occurred by directly receiving the power of a demon, it was absolutely impossible to return to the original state.

This was because during the Lima formation process, the soul was shattered by the demon’s power.

Since the soul is not easily broken, it was safe to say that putting it back together was impossible.

Moreover, the consciousness of the fragmented soul remains partially intact, so one becomes alive but not truly living.

All they could do was follow the demon’s orders until death while watching their out-of-control body from deep within.

‘I remember it was said to be such excruciating pain that it would be better for the soul to be annihilated…’

Recalling the settings of the original work that I had forgotten, I tore up the paper I was writing on, as it was too horrific.

No matter how much I disliked Leonie, I couldn’t let her suffer such a fate.

‘But even if I tell her not to marry, would Leonie listen?’

She’s a child who automatically rebels against anything I say.

Even if I tell her that Siegfried is a demon, she wouldn’t believe me and would treat me like a lunatic.

Just thinking about this filled my head so much that I couldn’t sleep at all last night.

And in the midst of all this, another problem arose.

I made a grimace as I looked at the letter I had placed on the desk.

I read the letter again, which I had already read more than ten times.

It contained instructions to enter the palace immediately as there were questions regarding the disturbance at the Imperial Princess’s birthday banquet.

The sender was, of course, Imperial Princess Veronica.

‘Even if such an incident occurred, is it normal to summon someone like this?’

The Imperial Princess would surely be busy enough to need ten bodies.

She wouldn’t have time to personally care about a small incident at the banquet.

The more I thought about it, the more suspicious it felt.

‘Could it be that she’s realized I’m the culprit behind the serial handsome men kidnapping case?’

But I soon shook my head.

If they had found evidence that I was the culprit, they would have come to arrest me immediately instead of calling me with another excuse.

It seems I was just getting scared on my own.

‘It’s not unreasonable to be conscious of it, since Veronica is the chief commander of the kidnapping case investigation team.’

Worried about my continued gloomy expression, Ren stopped what he was doing and approached me.

“If you’re that worried, wear the communication device. I’ll help you with the answers.”

He tapped the black earring on his left earlobe.

It was an earring-shaped communication device used for quick kidnapping.

‘It might be better if Ren helps… He’s calmer than I am.’

For a moment I was tempted, but soon shook my head.

“What if they check for magical devices when entering the palace? If we get caught, it’ll only make us look more suspicious.”

Despite my firm refusal, Ren made a few more suggestions, but each time I shook my head.

‘Whatever it is, I’ll know when I meet the Imperial Princess. Let’s not be too hasty.’

About an hour later, the carriage sent by the Imperial Princess arrived in front of the house.

Hoping that it wasn’t what I was thinking, I boarded the carriage.

After meeting the Imperial Princess, I realized that my uneasy premonition had come true.

“The reason I called you here is none other than to ask you a few questions.”

The initial questions were mainly related to the disturbance at the banquet, as written in the letter.

Yes, until then, I wasn’t too worried.

But from the middle, the direction of the questions started to become strange.

“I hear you are acquainted with Viscount Belvedere and the young lady. They are known for not engaging in much outside activity, so I’m curious how you became close.”

The reason I became close with Dietrich and Ruby… When I received this question, I truly felt dizzy.

I kidnapped them because they were handsome, and we became close!

If I answered like that, it was obvious that I would be arrested right away, so I had to make up a suitable lie.

“The young lady happened to visit a store near my house, and we met by chance and became close. I didn’t know who she was at first, but it turned out she was the young lady of the Belvedere family.”

“What kind of store was it, and what was the purpose of going there?”

“It was a weapon shop. I needed a weapon for self-defense.”

I mixed truth and lies appropriately in answering questions about Ruby, but the problem was with Dietrich.

“The Viscount… well, as we spent more time together with the young lady, we naturally became close.”

“Naturally, you say…”

The Imperial Princess wore an expression of slight suspicion while writing down my words on paper.

I really wanted to run away. It seemed I had no talent for getting out of situations with lies.

Before I knew it, the atmosphere of the space had changed to that of an interrogation room, and I started to feel pressured from all sides.

The gaze of the guard standing right next to the Imperial Princess was so fierce that it was hard to breathe.

It felt like I had become a criminal. Well, I actually was one, but…

I had to keep answering questions about Dietrich and Ruby. The same questions were repeated several times in between.

‘As expected, these questions have nothing to do with the banquet. What’s the purpose? Are they trying to dig into the Belvedere family?’

Just as I was wondering about this, I finally understood the reason.

“You must know that I’m in charge of investigating the serial handsome men kidnapping case.”

“Yes, Your Highness.”

I tensed up a bit at the sudden change of subject. As I was the culprit, I couldn’t help but feel nervous.

“Actually, I suspect that the culprit might be Dietrich Belvedere or someone close to him.”

The Imperial Princess paused for a few seconds before continuing.

“And you are one of the few people close to the Viscount, who has a rather narrow social circle.”

“What do you mean…”

“Vivian Schmidt. I mean that I suspect you might be related to the serial handsome men kidnapping case.”

A sharp statement that hit the mark.

My heart sank.

I tried to stay calm, but it wasn’t easy to hide even the wavering in my eyes.

Not wanting to reveal my inner thoughts, I slightly turned my body to avoid the Imperial Princess’s gaze.

When I finally finished preparing myself mentally and looked at her again, I was met with eyes emitting a piercing blue-green light.

I was overwhelmed by that strong gaze that seemed determined not to miss even my smallest reaction.