Let's Kidnap The Male Lead! (19 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 1

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Prologue

New Times Newspaper.

〈Front Page, May 3, 715〉

『Want to prove you’re handsome? Head to Hildes Street!』

Subtitle: Mysterious serial abductions of handsome men occur once again.

On the 2nd, another report was filed stating that a good-looking man had gone missing again on Hildes Street in the capital.

According to the witness, who is also the victim’s acquaintance, the victim was a man in his early twenties visiting from the northern Palatinate region, known for his striking golden hair and sharp facial features.

(Excerpt omitted……)

According to palace investigators, based on similarities to the “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Abduction Case,” this incident is also likely the work of the same perpetrator.

The term “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Abduction Case” refers collectively to a series of abductions that began on February 17, 714, all occurring on Hildes Street.

The key characteristics are that all victims were exceptionally handsome men over 170 cm tall. Unlike typical abduction cases, every single victim was safely released exactly thirty days later.

What made this case especially newsworthy were the interviews with the formerly missing victims.

Below are excerpts from interviews with the third, seventh, and twenty-eighth victims of the Handsome Men Serial Abduction Case.

– At first, I didn’t even realize I’d been abducted—I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. Honestly, the lavish banquet laid out as if it were nothing, and the bathtub with hot running water… it was absolutely unreal. I honestly wondered if all nobles lived like that.

To be honest, if I could just get abducted one more time, I’d have no more wishes in life. Getting to stay somewhere that amazing for free makes me not want to work anymore—it’s really troubling.

Abductor, if you ever happen to read this, could you please kidnap me again? Seriously, I beg you.

– Third Victim

– I once had a dream—to become a judge. But for someone like me, who might starve to death tomorrow, studying was an unaffordable luxury. Just as I’d nearly given up on my dream, rumors of the Handsome Men Serial Abduction Case reached me.

Out of sheer desperation—like grasping at the last straw—I deliberately walked down Hildes Street. And indeed, I was successfully abducted.

(Excerpt omitted…….)

Just being able to study legal textbooks for those thirty days of captivity made me happy. But the abductor’s kindness didn’t end there.

When I returned home after my release, I was met with an unbelievable sight: piles of legal textbooks stacked right outside my door.

Instinctively, I knew—this was the grace not of my abductor, but of my benefactor.

And today, several months later, I’ve become the first commoner ever accepted into the Academy’s Faculty of Law—as a full scholarship student.

All of this is thanks to my benefactor. I, too, wish to grow into an admirable person who gives back just as my benefactor did.

– Seventh Victim

– Hotels across the entire nation ought to reflect on themselves. I’ve paid good money to stay in countless lodgings, yet none could compare to that place. How is it acceptable that hotels collecting payment provide worse treatment than an abductor?

– Twenty-Eighth Victim

As evident from multiple cases, the peculiar aspect of the “Hildes Street Handsome Men Serial Abduction Case” is that the victims were never tortured or threatened—in fact, they were treated with exceptional hospitality.

All thirty victims from the abductions so far unanimously described the place they were held as “paradise.”

With this latest incident included, it marks the thirty-first occurrence of the serial abductions, yet the culprit remains utterly untraceable.

An investigative task force led by Princess Veronica von Agrion was assembled, but even after thirteen months since the first incident, they’ve achieved no results.

Not only is the perpetrator’s gender, age, or residence unknown—even their motive remains entirely unclear.

Notably, not a single victim claims to have encountered the abductor directly, so investigators anticipate the case will remain at a standstill.

Some speculate that, given all victims are universally acknowledged handsome men, the abductor might be an unusual individual who derives satisfaction simply from making handsome men happy—but nothing has been confirmed.

The issue now is that crowds are flocking to Hildes Street despite the total absence of any information about the culprit—hoping to test whether they themselves qualify as handsome men, and perhaps enjoy a free vacation while they’re at it.

However, both the investigative task force handling this case and the Imperial Palace Security Bureau have urged the public to refrain from such behavior.

Princess Veronica, the task force’s leader, warned residents: “The abductor’s unusual behavioral pattern may merely be preparatory steps toward a far greater crime.” She recommended that people stay indoors for the time being.

– By Philip Brandt, reporter

Chapter 1: The Emergence of the Serial Handsome-Man Abductor

Hildes Street, located on the outskirts of the capital.

Usually lined with small shops, the street was unusually noisy today with idle chatter.

“Did you read the paper?”

“Yeah, that abduction story? Of course I read it. Isn’t this already the thirty-first case?”

“How does the abductor manage to sneak around in broad daylight and only take handsome men without getting caught? Maybe it’s actually a ghost.”

“Ghost, my foot. It’s just that investigators aren’t doing their jobs. What’s the point of us paying taxes every day if they can’t even catch one criminal?”

“Hey, watch your mouth, will you? Don’t you know Princess Veronica herself is overseeing this case? Say something wrong and you’ll be dragged off for defamation.”

The fruit vendors, forgetting to attend to customers, started arguing among themselves.

I pretended to browse the fruit while secretly eavesdropping on their conversation.

“Defamation over something like that? Honestly, walking around with that face is more like defaming public decency.”

Trending

“Oh, look who’s talking! Anyone hearing you would think you’re handsome. You haven’t even been abducted!”

“Tch. The abductor just hasn’t seen my face yet—that’s why they didn’t take me. Just you wait, my name will be in the paper as the thirty-second victim.”

Could they actually be hoping to get abducted?

Their absurd remarks gave me a headache.

Rumors claimed victims were held in unimaginably luxurious surroundings, but still—this was ridiculous.

‘Abduction isn’t a joke!’

The vendor who’d been silently listening apparently shared my thoughts and finally snapped.

“Again with that nonsense! Ugh, forget it—get back to work!”

Shaking his head as if the conversation was pointless, he accidentally locked eyes with me.

“Oh, we have a customer. Right, miss—what can I get for you?”

Now that I thought about it, Len liked oranges, didn’t he?

Remembering my subordinate waiting for me back at the hideout, I reached out my hand.

“Just six of these, please.”

The vendor swiftly packed the fruit and handed it to me.

“Thank you—oh? There’s an extra one in here.”

“It’s on the house—come back again soon. With all the chaos lately, take care of yourself and visit again.”

The neighboring vendor, who moments ago had been bickering, chimed in supportively.

“Yes, be careful. Who knows what that abductor might do next.”

Though his words came from genuine concern, the absurdity of the sentence made me stifle a laugh.

‘Me? Get abducted? By that handsome-man kidnapper?’

I waved my hands dismissively, as if to say that was impossible.

“Oh, come on—I’m not even handsome! Why would anyone bother kidnapping me?”

But the vendor was shocked by my carefree remark.

“Huh? What are you talking about? Who said the abductor only goes after handsome men? Girls like you should be extra careful too!”

“Well… alright, I’ll be careful. Thanks for worrying.”

“Good thinking. How could you possibly know what that abductor is thinking?”

How could I possibly know? Well… no one knows better than I do.

Swallowing the words I couldn’t possibly say aloud, I simply smiled.

Contrary to the fruit vendor’s concerns, I wouldn’t become the thirty-second victim of the serial abduction case.

After all, the perpetrator—who had only ever targeted handsome men—wouldn’t suddenly switch to beautiful women.

How could I be so certain?

Because I am the infamous serial handsome-man abductor myself.

[This is the timeline separator]

How did someone as utterly unremarkable as me become the culprit behind the case splashed across every newspaper?

It all began like this.

Twenty years ago, I was born as the illegitimate daughter of Marquis Schmidt.

And like most illegitimate children, I grew up in unfortunate circumstances.

My mother passed away when I was too young to remember, and I was formally registered into the family as the eldest daughter.

Naturally, my existence was a thorn in the side of the legitimate Marchioness Schmidt.

Weak and defenseless as I was, I endured emotional abuse from the Marchioness, my half-sister Leoni, and the rest of the household.

To make matters worse, even my biological father, the Marquis, regarded me with disdain.

With no one to protect me, that’s simply how I had to live.

I wasn’t bitter about it.

After all, to the Marchioness, I was merely the daughter of her husband’s mistress.

Frankly, I was grateful they hadn’t starved me to death.

Not that I intended to stay in that cursed family forever, of course.

Time passed, and after a long wait, I finally reached adulthood.

‘Has it really been a year and a half already?’

When I declared my intention to live independently, my father generously—perhaps gratefully—gave me a decent sum of money and sent me away.

〈I thought you were just a fool, but at least you’ve got some sense of shame. Take this and get out of my sight.〉

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Being chased out on a rainy day wasn’t exactly pleasant, but it was what I’d wanted anyway.

I took the check he tossed at me and climbed toward the carriage waiting at the front gate.

But of course, my sister—who’d always tormented me—wouldn’t stay quiet on the day of my departure.

Without suspicion, I stepped firmly onto the carriage’s footrest—and it collapsed instantly beneath my weight.

The culprit was obvious.

‘Leoni, pulling pranks again…!’

My body, suspended mid-air, immediately lost balance and lurched downward…

CRASH!

I slammed the back of my head hard against the ground and passed out.

You might wonder what this has to do with becoming the serial handsome-man abductor—but this was the true beginning of it all.

I was taken to the hospital, where I fell into a long dream—specifically, a dream of my past life.

And in that dream, I realized the truth: the world I now lived in was actually the setting of a trashy novel written by a friend of mine.

Worse still, I was merely a minor character doomed to be killed off early in the story after attempting to kidnap the male lead!

[This is the timeline separator]

This part goes back to when I was still Korean.

I had a friend who dreamed of becoming a romance novelist, and I often read and critiqued her original stories.

That’s how I first came across the novel I’d later be reborn into—〈Blood-Stained Blossoms〉.

“What do you think? Is it good?”

“It’s really good! I’m sure this one will definitely succeed if you submit it.”

Though her novel exceeded 600,000 characters in length, its relentless pacing completely swept me away.

The characters especially won me over.

There was Princess Ludovica Belvedus, who lost her parents to her own brother.

And Prince Calis, imprisoned underground in the Empress’s palace for his special abilities, enduring lifelong abuse.

Their joint, tragic, and sorrowful revenge plot deeply moved me.

It was nearly a perfect novel—except for one fatal flaw.

“Wait, but what does the male lead even look like?”

『Ludovica looked up at her once-beloved elder brother.

His raven-black hair scattered in the fierce wind. Beneath it, eyes as empty and dark as the void of space.

Was this the same face he wore when he killed Mother and Father?

Seeing Dietrich’s expressionless face, Ludovica bit her lip.

Her eyes, redder than any beast’s blood, burned with frenzied murderous intent.

Thus began the final battle between the demon-mage siblings.』

– From the novel 〈Blood-Stained Blossoms〉

〈Blood-Stained Blossoms〉 was truly unique. As you can see, the appearances of the main antagonist Dietrich and heroine Ludovica were described in detail in nearly every scene.

And it wasn’t just them.

Even bit characters like “Merchant #1” or “Villain Extra #1” each received at least a line describing their looks.

‘They even mentioned my purple hair, and I was just an extra…’

Yet curiously, there was almost no description whatsoever of the male lead, Calis Agrion.

『Calis gently stroked Ludovica’s hair, which reached down to her waist.

Her locks, as if woven from golden sunlight itself, softly scattered through his fingers.』

While Ludovica’s appearance was meticulously detailed in every scene, there was absolutely no clue anywhere about Calis’s looks.

I even reread it carefully, thinking I’d missed something—but no luck.

When I confronted my friend about this mystery, she answered sheepishly.

“Honestly, that’s been bothering me too. I just can’t decide what Calis looks like.”

How could an author not know what her own protagonist looked like? What kind of story was this?

“What about silver hair and blue eyes? Sensitive and sharp-looking?”

“Hah, I thought of that too! But Calis is just so perfect—any color would suit him. Silver-blue, black-gold, or even gray hair with violet eyes… they’d all slay.”

“Hmm… Then just go with black hair and golden eyes? You need to decide soon so you can submit it, right?”

My friend, unusually serious, scoffed.

“What? Are you kidding? Then red-eyed black hair would feel left out! And what about platinum blond with blue eyes? Ugh, why did I make such a perfect male lead that I’m stuck with this dilemma?”

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“Haha…”

My friend ranted passionately about what look would suit Calis best, but even after hours, she still couldn’t decide.

Six months after that conversation, I finally received good news over the phone.

– I’ve finally decided Calis’s appearance!

“Really? Wow, congrats!”

Excited by this long-awaited news, I asked immediately.

“So, what does he look like?”

– You’ll be shocked when you hear it! It fits the story perfectly.

“What? Seriously, what is it?”

Glancing at the traffic light that had just turned green, I stepped lightly into the crosswalk.

– First off, he’s incredibly handsome, and his hair is……

BANG!

Suddenly, a deafening crash drowned out my friend’s voice over the phone.

I turned toward the sound—and saw a truck speeding straight toward me.

I thought about dodging, but the truck had already hit me.

And just like that, my first life ended unexpectedly.

When I came to, I’d been reborn as Vivian Schmidt—the villainous side character.

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