LKTML 09

chapter 09

“What does this target look like?”

After finishing my preparations, I asked Ren.

“Yes, Lady Vivian. This target has silver hair. His eyes are blue, and his height is similar to mine.”

As I quietly listened to Ren’s explanation, an uneasy feeling crept over me. I stopped in place and fell into thought.

“Blue eyes, huh… Blue eyes… Hmm, something feels off.”

“Is there something bothering you?”

I didn’t even answer for a moment, lost in thought, before I finally realized the source of my unease.

“Ren.”

“Yes, Lady Vivian?”

“That guy… you know, him. When was the last time we kidnapped him?”

“That guy… do you perhaps mean Melphis?”

I nodded vigorously. After thinking for a moment, Ren replied:

“Ah, now that you mention it, it’s about time he showed up again. The last time we kidnapped him was two months ago.”

No wonder I had a strange feeling.

Up until now, while working as a “handsome-man kidnapper,” I had made a great effort not to kidnap the same person twice.

I tried to remember all my previous victims’ faces and always checked new targets carefully to avoid overlap.

But there was one person who completely ruined all that effort—Melphis.

At first, I only kidnapped him because he was handsome. It should have ended there…

But not long after, he showed up again on Hildes Street—disguised—just to get kidnapped.

I fell for it completely and kidnapped him again. Sadly, this happened multiple times.

I had already confirmed long ago that he wasn’t Kallis.

So there was no need to bring him in, yet he would reappear just when I’d forgotten about him, make his presence known, and then leave.

The problem is… it feels like his “cooldown” is about to be up again.

I let out a deep sigh and spoke in a tired voice.

“This target… it’s not Melphis, right?”

“It won’t be. Don’t worry too much.”

Right. Ren was probably right. It wouldn’t be. No—it had to not be.

Normally, I wouldn’t care, but dealing with Dietrich alone was already exhausting.

If Melphis got added to the mix, I had no confidence I could handle it.

More importantly, this isn’t the time for this. I’ll lose the target at this rate.

No matter who the target was, the fact that I had to kidnap him didn’t change.

Growing anxious, I immediately tried to leave the hideout—but suddenly stopped.

Dietrich was standing in front of the door.

“Excuse me? Could you move?”

“I will… if you allow me to follow you.”

What… what kind of nonsense is that?

I was dumbfounded.

“Weren’t you supposed to be imprisoned? Why are you so confidently saying you’ll come along?!”

“I can just be released for a moment and then imprisoned again. Doesn’t that work?”

“Then how about you just go home instead?”

“That would be inconvenient. I refuse.”

“Ha…”

I groaned and smacked my forehead. I had already reached my limit.

Villain or not, I had to say what needed to be said.

With an angry expression, I snapped at him:

“No means no. Absolutely not. You said you’d stay imprisoned first. I have things to do today, so I can’t entertain you. Stay quietly locked in your room, got it?”

“Hm.”

“What do you mean ‘hm’? I asked if you understand!”

I grabbed his collar and tried to shake him, but his body didn’t budge at all.

Instead, Dietrich shrugged with a faint smile.

“Alright, alright.”

“That’s a promise.”

The moment I said that, he suddenly held out his little finger.

“What is that?”

I looked at him suspiciously, but he didn’t withdraw his hand.

“You said it’s a promise. Aren’t you going to hook fingers?”

“Huh?”

Before I could process it, he reached out and hooked his pinky with mine.

“There. A promise.”

He even pressed our thumbs together afterward, looking satisfied.

Surprised by this unexpected side of him, I then noticed something else—he was looking past me.

At Ren.

With an oddly unpleasant expression, he exchanged glances with Ren, then suddenly let out a laugh.

After that, he simply returned to his room.

What was that? What’s wrong with him?

Though I didn’t fully understand his behavior, I brushed it off and looked at Ren.

…Wait. Was it just me, or did he look a bit down?

“Ren?”

But as soon as I called his name, his expression returned to normal.

“Yes, Lady Vivian. Did you call me?”

“Yeah, I’m heading out. Prepare the room to lock him up!”

As I stepped outside, I saw Ren waving at me.

Melphis or not, let’s just focus and kidnap a handsome man!

Activating my ability, I leapt onto the rooftop.

Following Ren’s guidance, Vivian soon arrived near the target.

Standing atop a building, she looked down.

A man with silver hair and beautiful blue eyes immediately caught her attention.

She quickly spoke through her earring-shaped communicator.

“That’s him? I’ll grab him right away.”

—Lady Vivian, wait!

Startled by the sudden loudness, she stopped.

—There are six people positioned around the target. They seem to be investigators in disguise.

Investigators?

That hadn’t been part of the plan.

Vivian quickly scanned the area.

Around the target were several ordinary-looking people—

Someone reading a newspaper on a bench, someone carrying luggage, someone eating bread by the roadside…

But strangely, all their gazes seemed fixed on the target.

It was suspicious enough that Ren was probably right.

“A sting operation?”

—It doesn’t seem like that. They probably just spotted a handsome man and are closely monitoring him.

Hmm.

The situation didn’t look good.

Several investigators watching closely, ready to catch Vivian.

And among them—a man with the perfect appearance of a tragic male lead.

Either way, I can’t give up this target.

Then there was only one thing to do.

“I’ll just break through head-on.”

—What? Lady Vivian, wait—!

Ignoring Ren’s protests, Vivian leapt into the air without hesitation.

Behind her mask, her golden eyes gleamed intensely.

She ignored the investigators completely, focusing only on the target.

Landing lightly, she hugged the man from behind—covering his eyes with one hand and lifting him effortlessly with the other.

It all happened so fast he couldn’t even comprehend the situation.

Unable to resist, the man simply went limp in her arms.

Holding him, she jumped high into the air.

Then, leaping across rooftops, she disappeared into the distance.

All of this happened in less than the blink of an eye.

The investigators, who had been watching the man, forgot even to pretend to be ordinary civilians and stood there in shock.

They hadn’t taken their eyes off him for even a second—yet suddenly, he was gone.

They exchanged bewildered glances, all shaking their heads in confusion.

Not a single one had even seen the culprit’s silhouette.

Even Bain, a former knight confident in his visual acuity, was no exception.

He stared at the ground in despair, biting his lip in anxiety.

Damn it… this is bad. I boldly told Her Highness I’d find a lead…

Princess Veronica von Agrian.

It had already been 12 months since she took command of the task force investigating the serial handsome-man kidnappings on Hildes Street.

Once known as the epitome of competence, her reputation had begun to decline after taking this case.

She had even been pushed behind the First Prince, despite once being considered closest to the throne.

To regain her standing, she had to catch the culprit.

They even tried using handsome men as bait—but the kidnapper never appeared.

As a last resort, the princess assigned knights with exceptional vision and physical abilities to the investigation.

Yet even then, despite their presence, another civilian had been kidnapped—and not a single clue was found.

Though unhappy with the situation, Bain had no choice but to report.

He made his way to the princess’s office with heavy steps.

“Your Highness, I greet you.”

Hiding his dark expression as best he could, Bain bowed respectfully.

But no matter how natural his face looked, he couldn’t hide the stiffness of his tense body.

The princess, skilled at reading people, immediately understood everything from his posture.

“You failed.”

Her voice was cold and sharp like frost.

The quiet office turned icy.

Bain swallowed hard.

Though he had seen countless battles, her innate aristocratic authority filled him with a different kind of fear.

“My apologies, Your Highness.”

The princess let out a sigh, as expected.

“…I see. You didn’t even see the culprit’s face? Any small clue would suffice.”

“…My apologies.”

Bain lowered his head deeply and shut his eyes tight.

Though he couldn’t see her, he imagined her face filled with anger—and couldn’t bear to look.

Contrary to his expectations, her face was calm.

But the tightly clenched fist beneath the desk revealed her true emotions.

She had deployed mages before, and now knights.

Yet no one had found even a single clue.

And despite investigators being present, another civilian had been kidnapped.

Repeated failure was something she was not used to.

“Have you identified the victim?”

“We investigated, but… the identity is unknown.”

“…That is at least a small relief. Cover up this incident.”

“B-But—!”

“Are you unaware that the noble council is approaching? Do you intend to advertise that we failed to catch the culprit even when he was right before us?”

Bain pressed his lips together and bowed his head.

“My apologies, Your Highness. I will ensure confidentiality.”

Veronica stared at him coldly, then quietly composed herself.

With a calm and elegant tone, she said:

“We must devise another plan.”

The weight of her position felt suffocating today.

But she was destined to become Empress.

If she failed here, there would be no next chance.

Her teal eyes burned with renewed determination.