I Decided to Kidnap the Male Lead - Chapter 104: Death Hunters (VIII)

The servant of the Sheffield family spoke in a low voice to the woman who kept her mouth shut and bowed her head.

“Please go back.”

Ophelia, who was guided to the main building after passing through the drawing room where people without prior arrangements gathered, naturally arrived at ‘that’ drawing room.

The jewel-encrusted sofa was said to make the back sore, so it was gotten rid of, but the dizzyingly ornate decorations remained.

Unbeknownst to Ophelia, this drawing room was exclusively for her.

If she knew that, she would feel burdened. But it was not only Catherine who knew that, Lawrence and the servants too, thus they all kept their mouths shut.

“Please wait a moment.”

And before the tea had the chance to cool down, Catherine appeared.

“Ophelia!”

“Ah, Catherine.”

“Yesterday, I… eup!”

Ophelia rushed and covered the mouth of Catherine, who was sitting next to her.

Because she knew what Catherine was going to say when she heard the word ‘yesterday’.

Ophelia smiled, the tails of her eyes lowering, and shook her head.

“I will tell you. Because that’s what I came for.”

At that, Catherine’s eyes opened wide. Then she swallowed saliva and nodded.

Taking Catherine’s hand, Ophelia drew a deep breath.

‘I’ve already said it a few times, but why is it still difficult.’

Maybe it was because she couldn’t tell the whole truth to the people she truly loved.

“I have someone I love.”

“Mhm.”

Catherine waited for her words to follow, her eyes shining.

Perhaps what she expected was who he was, how she met him, and how their romance developed.

But Ophelia couldn’t say anything properly.

On one side was anticipation and excitement, and on the other, silence mixed with embarrassment and regret.

Catherine’s twinkling eyes slowly filled with doubt.

She had heard the story through Lawrence, but Ophelia had told her about it herself, so the former’s words had been erased from her mind.

And at the same time, she expected that she would also be able to know the person who was shrouded in a veil.

However, even after waiting for a long time, Ophelia just looked at Catherine with a slightly flustered expression and handed her an apology.

“Sorry.”

Catherine opened her mouth, but she closed it almost immediately.

She naturally wondered who the person was.

As Lawrence said, it was not intended to find out whether the person was a good match with Ophelia or a dangerous person.

If Ophelia chose him, Catherine would only support it.

The reason she wanted to know who her partner was was because she just wanted to get along well with him.

However, Ophelia did not reveal who he was.

And she even said she was sorry.

Catherine shook her head vigorously.

“No. Not at all!”

She opened her arms and hugged Ophelia tightly.

“I am sorry. I should have said congratulations. Sorry.”

“Catherine…”

“And congratulations.”

Catherine’s congratulatory voice was just as heartfelt as Iris’, so Ophelia held her breath and faced her.

“Congratulations. Congratulations, Ophelia.”

Through her ears, her beloved friend’s sincerity entered her heart.

‘Someday, one day.’

‘I hope I can sit with my loved ones in a quiet place and laugh and tell the truth about everything I’ve been through— no, everything I’ve been through with Richard.’

Ophelia really hoped.

.

“What?”

Cooper asked back with a puzzled face, and Iris, who slapped him on the back, replied.

“She says she has someone she loves.”

Even after hearing it again, Cooper only blinked and stood up, putting the documents down.

“Congratulations! For that to happen… we must hear about it over some drinks!”

“You want to celebrate or you want to drink?”

“Same time, same time! It’s a happy occasion! We’ll soon be able to serve you… Oh-eup!”

Before any more words came out, Ophelia relentlessly threw a bundle of papers into Cooper’s face.

“Thank you very much!”

“How about we go now? Let’s go for a while.”

Like the other day before the regression, Cooper suggested so.

But as then, Ophelia nodded in one breath, kicked her seat, and didn’t get up.

No, she didn’t have time to get up.

“Look at that document.”

“Huh?”

Cooper picked up the papers, unable to hide his regret.

“Those who came out there.”

Fumbling slightly, Ophelia pulled out one of the papers she had previously tucked away.

It was from the collection of documents related to the bizarre human trafficking, whose ‘victims’ were said to be voluntarily.

“Here are these people.”

Iris and Cooper looked through the papers together, and their eyes met.

As if they had promised, they each pulled out documents from their respective seats.

“First and third here.”

“The second is this.”

“I have the rest. I’ll see you midway.”

Ophelia left the aide’s office with all the documents and materials collected by Iris and Cooper.

Practically immediately, Ophelia was in front of Richard. She put down the documents and pointed them out one by one.

“The incidents where the servants attacked the masters.”

Ophelia, who briefly described the first to the fifth recent incident, added.

“The similarities I found in this case was that the servant is new and the families support the imperial family.”

“That’s why I gave an order not to hire new employees for the time being.”

“Yes. I heard it’s best to prepare for an accident before it happens, but it’s also used at times like this.”

With a light sigh, Ophelia tapped a document.

“Here are the perpetrators. You remember? The people who asked to sell themselves. It’s this man and the woman.”

“Human trafficking… it’s related to the pseudo.”

“Yes.”

Finally, the pieces of scattered clues began to be woven one by one.

Ophelia emphasized with her fingertips the records of the siblings who killed the family heads and killed themselves on the spot.

“In the meantime, only things about the affected families have been uploaded in detail, so I haven’t found a connection between the actual servants who did this.”

“Did it come up as an additional report?”

“Yes. I looked everything up just in case, which was why I saw this sibling thing. And the other servants in other cases…”

Before Ophelia could finish her words, a knock rang.

Tok tok.

Simultaneously, Ophelia and Richard turned to the door and their mouths dropped open.

“Is it the 6th goal?”

“Is it the 6th?”

Soon Richard gave permission.

“Come on in.”

“Your Highness.”

“Iris. What’s going on?”

“This is the latest data on the case Ophelia made an interim report on.”

Richard skimmed the documents Iris handed over.

“Also.”

“Is this the sixth family they are targeting?”

“It seems so. And the target person is a little different from the previous case.”

Ophelia, holding the documents Richard handed her, frowned.

“Oh my…”

She looked up at Richard, barely swallowing the harsh sound that flowed naturally.

The two, whose gazes met, spoke at the same time again.

“Go.”

“Let’s go.”

As soon as such a single word was over, Richard and Ophelia disappeared.

Iris’ eyes widened for a second, but soon bowed her head deeply.

Towards the spot where the two disappeared.

.

How long had it been since Richard became accustomed to holding Ophelia and stepping into the shadows, running faster than a horse toward the sixth target?

Ophelia, who had endured the tearing sound in her ears and the bitterly cold wind, opened her eyes.

It was because Richard suddenly stood still.

“Richard?”

The moment she lifted her head that was buried in his neck.

“Here.”

A low voice leaked from between his lips, sinking like an abyss.

Following Richard’s gaze, Ophelia looked up at the sky.

But all she saw was the clear blue sky and the scorching sun, just like yesterday.

“Ec…lipse? But just yesterday…”

Ophelia couldn’t even finish her words.

Because the sun was being eaten by the shadows right in front of her eyes.

It was different from yesterday’s solar eclipse that had disappeared like a hallucination.

As the shadow of the moon completely encroached from the tip of the round sun, the whole world slowly began to turn into darkness.

In the wake of the event that occurred to the sun that illuminated the entire continent, someone prayed to a god they had never searched for before.

“Oh, God!”

Another ran towards their precious person.

“Darling! Darling!”

Some even let out meaningless groans.

“Ugh… Aaaah, ah…”

And Raisa.

On one side of the mansion of the Marquisate of Neir, in her study… she was watching the solar eclipse.

This time, she wasn’t alone.

A few minutes before the eclipse…

Ame:I feel like we are mere episodes away from doom and gloom

Dea: Get your tissues ready everybody…