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The Kidnapping of the Villain and the Villainess (Part 1)

Treat me to a Ko-Fi to give me more motivation!!!

Errr, the title kinda redundant but the Japanese one had the term separated so I'll just do it like so.

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After Wellmy was released from Eides's mischievous teasing and was finally able to stand on her own two feet...

She ended up heading back to the Ormirage villa alone. Eides apparently had to stay behind to clean up the aftermath of the recent incident.

Left with the ambiguous feeling of not knowing whether he had carved out time for her sake or simply out of his own selfishness, Wellmy began her journey home.

Inside the carriage, she found herself growing drowsy.

(I wonder if I'm just tired...)

Wellmy looked blankly at the maid sitting diagonally across from her. Seeing that the woman's head was also beginning to loll, a sharp prickle of alarm—like a distant warning bell—flashed through her mind.

(Wait... is this magic...?)

By the time she realized it, a sleepiness so heavy she could barely keep her eyelids open had already overtaken her. Without even a moment to attempt a counter-spell, her consciousness plunged into a deep abyss.

---

When she opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar room.

It was a wooden structure with a single window positioned high up near the vaulted ceiling. Wellmy, who had been laid atop the brand-new sheets of a bed that matched the room's color palette, cautiously sat up.

Her head was still foggy, but she noted that no light was streaming in from the window. Instead, a magical lamp near the door bathed the area in a faint glow, leading her to guess that she hadn't been asleep for very long.

Or, perhaps she had been sleeping for far too long.

As the gears of her mind slowly began to turn, the door clicked open, and a man appeared.

「...Lord Zumiano.」

「Are you awake, Myy? Ah, don't worry, the maid you were with is safe. I was the one driving the carriage, so I just left her near the royal castle.」

Without a hint of remorse, Zumiano narrowed his green eyes and crossed his arms, leaning elegantly against the closed door.

「Are you the mastermind?」

「Yes. You noticed, didn't you?」

When he asked so nonchalantly, Wellmy shook her head.

「No. I only suspected you.」

「That's enough of an answer, isn't it?」

He let out a chuckle and pressed a fist to his mouth, looking as though he truly felt no guilt whatsoever.

「Why did you do such a thing?」

Zumiano had certainly been under the influence of the "Sacred Art of Enchantment." Wellmy was the one who had dispelled it, so there was no mistaking that.

Judging by the circumstances, it should have been impossible for him to have had no hand in the interference, yet not a single shred of evidence had linked him to it.

(That's why... it never went beyond suspicion.)

「...What is your goal?」

Wellmy couldn't fathom his intent in kidnapping her. Was it a grudge for having her interfere with his plans, or did he have some other motive?

Then, with a joyful expression like a child revealing the solution to a puzzle, Zumiano spoke.

「---Because it seemed like it would be fun.」

That was all.

---

Zumiano Olbrun's life had been colored by boredom for as long as he could remember.

He had parents who loved each other deeply, whose power was unshakable, and who possessed connections even within the Empire. He had talented younger siblings and clever, role-conscious childhood friends he could trust.

Then there was the beauty he had been gifted—a result of his mixed foreign blood—and a brain that could master anything with just a modicum of effort.

He possessed everything one could be blessed with from birth.

(How dull.)

That was what he had always thought.

If he wished for something, everything went exactly as he intended. It just happened.

Things to be earned through effort; things to be gained through hardship.

None of those existed for him.

Even women would fall easily with just a few whispered words of love. He traveled to the Empire regularly, and the shallow social climbers who wanted to cozy up to the Olbrun family would shower him with marriage proposals the moment they saw his face.

While politely declining those offers, he only had to turn a bit of charm on the young ladies for them to become entranced and swoon.

(Easy.)

Most of the information and rumors they possessed were worthless, but picking out the few useful bits of intelligence hidden within was something of a hobby for him.

An herb that releases a fragrance that strips away the power of thought and fogs the mind.

Apparently, it was spreading secretly among those with vulgar desires—those who wanted to create a *fait accompli* with their person of interest—and those who wanted to forget the shackles of mundane life, even for a moment.

(People use it for *that*?) Zumiano had thought.

(If I use this right, couldn't I manipulate others at will?)

That sounded a little bit interesting.

To kill time, he first tried it on himself. He found that the haziness brought on by the incense was, in a way, quite pleasant. However, the slowing of his mental faculties was simultaneously a bit repulsive.

Having successfully extracted the components and turned it into a perfume through his own research, Zumiano tested it out on various young lords and ladies.

He watched with a secret sneer as people who had been feuding over trivialities suddenly locked arms in friendship, or as those committing misdeeds began to expose their own crimes.

(This... is useful.)

Once he learned how to guide the direction of a person's thoughts, Zumiano next analyzed the herb's properties and created a magic tool.

He named it the "Puppet's Bracelet." It possessed an effect even stronger than the perfume, but conversely, it made people *too* easy to control—which wasn't fun.

Zumiano was seeking a thrill. He wanted to walk a slightly dangerous tightrope, playing pranks that wouldn't cause *too* much trouble for others.

Would someone notice, or wouldn't they?

It was during such a time, at a night party in the Lionel Kingdom, that he discovered a mysterious girl.

A lady who dressed vibrantly and acted with a foolish, unrefined boisterousness, yet harbored unmistakable intelligence within those vermilion eyes.

While keeping his eyes on her—this girl who felt somehow "off"—Zumiano realized it.

(Ah... this girl is the same type of person as me.)

She was constantly searching for something. She wasn't just hiding a hideous true nature; she was wearing a mask with a specific purpose.

This petite girl with small features, a lovely face, and eyes like a headstrong cat. She carried an air of liveliness and appeared free-spirited, yet she would gracefully slip through the fingers of anyone trying to approach her under the guise of being "capricious."

Zumiano was captivated by those vermilion eyes that sparkled whenever they crossed paths.

So, he researched her. He observed her. When he saw through her schemes—strategies that were not for her own benefit—Zumiano felt a surge of joy.

(Fascinating!)

He watched her plan from the sidelines. Once, as a prank, he had approached her to talk and flirt. She had stared at him intently with those eyes of a magnificent hue, and then...

With a lady's smile on her lips and the clear light of rejection in her eyes, she had said this:

「I'm terribly sorry, but---you only ever think about yourself, don't you?」

*****

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