Let's Kidnap The Male Lead! (19 Chapters Left to Complete) - Chapter 12
A week had already passed since I kidnapped Dietrich.
“Just how long do you plan to keep acting like this?”
I asked, looking at Dietrich lounging comfortably on the bed as if it were his own master bedroom.
“Hmm, do you want me to leave? I assumed you captured me precisely for this.”
“Well… I can’t exactly say no… Aren’t you busy? You’re a viscount, after all—Viscount.”
“You’re absolutely right, my lady. I am indeed an exceedingly busy man.”
“Then would you please step out that door? I’ll release you. Go back home.”
I stretched both arms out in a gesture urging him to leave, but Dietrich just smirked and shook his head.
It was a clear refusal.
‘Why on earth is he acting like this?’
I couldn’t understand why he’d refuse when I, the very person who imprisoned him, was offering to send him home myself.
At first, I thought he might be taking the chance to rest after being kidnapped, but now it didn’t seem that way at all.
‘If he intended to rest, he wouldn’t have bothered me every single day like this.’
Was his well-behaved demeanor on the day I kidnapped Melphis merely a dream?
Since then, Dietrich had been trailing after me with even greater enthusiasm.
Even when I snapped at him to just stay put, he’d claim that promises only held meaning for a single day—and then promptly ignored me.
So every day I tried persuading him to go home…
‘Yet not a single word gets through.’
Sighing deeply with my forehead lowered, I finally lifted my head to look at him.
“But you said you were busy. Then why won’t you leave? Don’t you have your own schedule to keep?”
“Schedule…? Hmm. Now that you mention it… There was a High Nobles’ Council meeting today.”
High Nobles’ Council.
Hearing those clearly important words, my eyes widened in shock.
“What? Then hurry up and go—what are you still doing here?”
“I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that. There’s a far more pressing matter at hand.”
Dietrich, who had been arrogantly sprawled across the bed, sat up and pulled me toward him.
“Miss Vivian. It seems you’ve forgotten our agreement.”
“Huh? What agreement did I make with you?”
Bewildered by his cryptic remark, I tilted my head in confusion.
“You really have forgotten. You’re calling me ‘you’ again. Didn’t we agree you’d call me ‘Dietrich’ instead?”
Seeing my expression remain puzzled, he shook his head slowly.
“Miss Vivian, you’re excellent at kidnapping but apparently terrible at remembering things. Ah—now that I think of it, they say memory weakens when you frequently gaze upon handsome men.”
“Excuse me?”
“Now I see—it was my fault all along. I apologize.”
His utterly absurd statement left me dumbfounded, my original purpose forgotten as I stood there with my mouth agape.
Just what on earth is going on inside this man’s head?
[This is the timeline separator]The Grand Hall inside the imperial palace was packed with people due to the quarterly High Nobles’ Council meeting.
Behind the nobles seated in neat rows along the long table stood their advisors.
At the far end of the hall sat the Emperor, Crown Prince Siegfried, and Second Princess Veronica.
An invisible battle of nerves unfolded silently within the solemn chamber.
Siegfried and Veronica.
Everyone present knew these two were fiercely competing for the throne.
Originally, Veronica had been considered the strongest candidate for the next emperor.
However, everything changed abruptly when she took charge of the serial abduction case involving handsome noblemen.
While she remained fixated on the unsolved case, Siegfried—who had lain low—made a swift and formidable rise.
He took over duties that would have normally fallen to Veronica and instantly won the Emperor’s favor.
Rumors even began circulating secretly that Siegfried himself was behind the abductions.
Veronica, born to the Empress, and Siegfried, born to the Second Empress.
Already distant by nature, their mutual suspicion deepened further amid the struggle for the throne.
Just as it was now.
The tense standoff finally ended when Veronica turned her head away first.
‘I’ve been acting childishly without even realizing… This isn’t what matters right now.’
She pressed her fingers against her throbbing temples.
What she truly needed wasn’t these petty games of nerves but the Emperor’s favor.
Her father, the 34th Emperor of the Agrion Empire, was notoriously temperamental.
Though regarded as a competent ruler, he was utterly terrible as a father or husband.
He kept multiple concubines despite having the Empress—her own mother—as his wife.
Since she never expected anything from him anyway, she’d never sought his affection.
But gaining his favor was an entirely different matter.
She had her own compelling reasons—by any means necessary—to become Empress.
Veronica calmly scanned the assembled nobles with a composed, icy expression.
Among the tightly packed rows, one seat stood conspicuously empty.
It belonged to House Belvedus.
Behind the vacant seat stood Niels, Dietrich’s advisor, but Dietrich himself was clearly absent.
The seat was far too clean to be merely temporarily unoccupied.
‘Dietrich Belvedus. Absent again, is he?’
Viscount Belvedus was an arrogant man.
Though he hadn’t officially inherited his title yet, he behaved as if he were already a duke.
Moreover, he frequently skipped imperial meetings at his own whim, displaying outrageous arrogance.
‘Yet his work is always impeccably done, making it impossible to fault him…’
Veronica, a perfectionist, disliked him immensely.
And the Emperor felt the same.
Amid the quiet, stern atmosphere, the Emperor cleared his throat—a clear signal for attention.
“We shall now commence the 113th High Nobles’ Council meeting. But… there’s an empty seat.”
His low voice dripped with displeasure.
Niels, standing behind the vacant seat, calmly accepted the Emperor’s sharp glare.
He should have brought Dietrich regardless—never anticipating abduction as a variable.
Failing to account for such a factor was itself a fault, so Niels silently endured the Emperor’s reproachful gaze.
All the while, he mentally repeated that he’d quit this job someday—no matter what.
“Since your master isn’t here, you may leave. After the meeting, you’ll explain in full detail precisely what circumstances led to this.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. I shall obey.”
Niels bowed his head and quietly exited the chamber.
Praying fervently that Dietrich would be released as soon as possible.
[This is the timeline separator]Having just finished a private audience with the Emperor, Niels swiftly left the council chamber with quiet, hurried steps.
During the audience, he’d reported Dietrich’s abduction and explained his absence from the meeting.
Though the Emperor claimed to accept the reason, his face remained rigidly stern.
His expression was a mix of fury, displeasure, and other negative emotions.
The moment Niels received permission to leave, he hurried out.
He needed to escape quickly before any stray sparks of imperial anger fell on him.
Outside the chamber, he relayed the Emperor’s message to Princess Veronica von Agrion, who’d been waiting there.
“His Majesty commands you to enter alone.”
At Niels’s words, Veronica’s throat went dry.
A private audience—clear proof the Emperor was deeply displeased.
The moment she stepped inside, she confirmed her suspicion was correct.
“What disgrace is this because of you!”
The outburst came flying toward her along with a cup of cold black tea.
Veronica didn’t flinch as the teacup hurtled menacingly toward her; she simply closed her eyes and stood still.
The cup struck her temple, leaving a red mark on her skin.
She was drenched in tea as well—though thankfully it was cold.
Keeping her head bowed, Veronica immediately offered repeated apologies.
“I beg your forgiveness, Your Imperial Majesty. I shall rectify this at once.”
“Do you even understand what you’re apologizing for? Viscount Belvedus was abducted by that handsome-noble kidnapper! Had the princess apprehended the culprit in time, none of this would’ve happened!”
“…”
Hearing that the Empire’s greatest swordsman had fallen victim, the princess’s body instantly stiffened.
Now it made perfect sense why all previous attempts to catch the perpetrator had failed.
Veronica silently bit the inside of her cheek, inwardly sighing in frustration.
“Three months.”
“…”
“Catch them within three months.”
Amid the frigid, wintry atmosphere, those firm words landed heavily upon Veronica’s head.
‘…Meaning there will be no second chance if I fail.’
Faced with a situation far graver than expected, Veronica carefully chose her next words.
She needed to propose a new plan—one even the Emperor would acknowledge.
In that instant, a doubt sprouted in her mind.
‘Does it even make sense that Dietrich Belvedus was abducted?’
This wasn’t just anyone—it was *that* Dietrich.
Even if captured and imprisoned, demolishing a building to escape would be trivial for him.
Suspicion bred more suspicion. Her thoughts raced in an almost irrational flurry.
And in that fleeting moment, Veronica arrived at a single conclusion.
“…I shall hold a banquet.”
“A banquet? What’s this sudden idea about a banquet?”
She cautiously opened her mouth, watching the Emperor’s skeptical expression.
“There is someone I suspect. I intend to invite everyone connected to that individual without exception and observe their movements closely. Surely, we’ll uncover a vital clue to the case.”
Dietrich had been captured suspiciously easily.
Veronica now suspected he might have allowed himself to be kidnapped deliberately.
‘The simplest way to evade a manhunt is to pose as the victim yourself.’
Moreover, Dietrich was currently in talks for a political marriage with nobles aligned to Siegfried.
He had more than enough reason to oppose her.
All signs pointed squarely toward him.
‘Even if he isn’t the direct culprit, he must have at least a small connection to the perpetrator.’
The Emperor listened silently, his gaze fixed firmly on her resolute face.
Fortunately, his anger gradually subsided, and he gave a slow, approving nod.
“I thought you’d been chasing the culprit’s shadow without results—but apparently not. Proceed as you propose.”
Watching him, Veronica’s sea-green eyes quietly burned with resolve.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
[Touch the gear icon in the bottom right corner of the screen to move to the next chapter if you want.]
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