The Villainess Captured The Grand Duke - Chapter 148

Chapter 148

Leilda looked them up and down, standing by the door, and said, 

“I’m about to discuss something very important. Are you going to listen like that?”

Scheuer rolled her eyes in thought, unsure whether she should stay clinging to him or ask to be let down. She was already flustered by the sudden kiss. A faint joy surged within her, but so did complicated emotions. However, being held by him like this was rare, and she didn’t want to give it up so easily. Letting out a small groan as she wrestled with her options, she finally made a decision.

She quietly wrapped both arms tightly around his neck. Turning her head slightly, she said with determination, 

“Is that okay?”

She looked so resolute that anyone watching might think she was protecting something extremely important. Leilda shook his head and said, 

“There’s even a priest here, but suit yourself. What was your name again?”

“It’s Koa,” came the calm reply.

“Is that alright with you?” 

Leilda asked in an odd tone, neither formal nor overly casual, leaving Koa momentarily confused. However, he responded calmly as always. 

“Please, whatever makes you comfortable.”

Raygrain strode over and gently set Scheuer down on the sofa, though she clung to his neck for a moment before he carefully loosened her grip.

“It seems serious if even Leilda’s here,” he remarked.

Leilda gave Raygrain a disdainful once-over, his lips curling in mild distaste. 

“It is important. That’s why I dragged Koa the priest here this morning.”

“I understand the gist of what you mentioned, but I was half asleep when I heard it, so I hope you’ll forgive my confusion.”

Somehow, Koa’s face looked slightly haggard, indicating that Leilda must have woken him up at dawn. However, perhaps due to his earlier misdeed of breaking the black gemstone, he merely sat quietly with his hands folded on his knees, silently rebutting.

“Koa, right? “Leilda continued.

“Yes, it’s Koa.”

“Alright, then. Koa.”

“Call me whatever you’d like.”

Once everyone was gathered, Leilda leaned forward towards the table with determination, as if about to share a secret. When he gestured, Koa, caught off guard, leaned closer and bowed his head.

As everyone finally settled in, Leilda leaned in close to the table with great intensity, as though he were about to share a dark secret. When he motioned, Koa leaned in beside him, unsure of what to expect.

With his eyes gleaming, Leilda said in a serious tone, 

“Let’s kidnap the high priest.”

Raygrain’s brief response summed up everyone’s thoughts. 

“You’re spouting nonsense again.”

Scheuer pointed at Koa sitting next to Leilda with a glance and asked,

“Is it okay to say that in front of a priest?”

“Oh, you’re not stopping me? So, you’re fine with the kidnapping itself?”

“If it’s Lord Leilda, I’m sure there’s a reason!”

Koa, who generally disliked Sevi and wasn’t one to take on troublesome tasks, figured there must be a reason Leilda suggested kidnapping.

Surprisingly, Koa answered seriously,

“Indeed, High Priest Sevi will likely run away after the wedding ceremony.”

“Exactly. I noticed it too; he was calculating things just yesterday.”

“Still, kidnapping is not an option. There are too many holy knights. Please come up with a different excuse.”

“Priest, you don’t happen to have some sly skill for getting rid of the holy knights, do you?”

“No, I do not.”

“Ugh, so rigid.”

With the failed kidnapping plot, Leilda seemed displeased and leaned back against the sofa. Raygrain, sensing the unusual atmosphere, looked around with a serious expression.

In response, Scheuer added an explanation from the side. 

“We found out yesterday that the black gemstone reacts to the High Priest’s powers by chance. If we have the High Priest Sevi’s cooperation, it will be easy to figure out the mining site.”

“Does it only react to the vice mayor’s powers? ”

When Raygrain asked Koa, Leilda quickly answered instead.

“I already checked with Priest Koa’s powers this morning. It doesn’t work.”

“That complicates things.”

“Same here.”

Sevi would never cooperate unless it was beneficial to him, especially when it came to matters related to Leilda; he would use any excuse or trick to escape. Knowing this, Koa must have come here willingly.

Still, considering Sevi was the High Priest and dealing with something as serious as monsters, would he really be so careless? Scheuer, thinking this, asked cautiously. He seems to be planning to officiate the wedding, at least. Since he has that much sense of responsibility, should I try speaking to him?”

“His Highness seems unaware,” Koa said as he slowly lifted his stiffened face.

He continued speaking, his bloodshot eyes resembling someone who had just woken from a nightmare.
To High Priest Sevi, the wedding ceremony is nothing more than a festival, just a chance to have fun.”

“Even so, officiating a wedding isn’t an easy task,” Scheuer commented.

“He said he would officiate, but he never said he’d do it properly.”

“Oh…”

“In fact, he spent all of last night planning his escape.”

Koa pulled out a sheet of paper from his pocket, presumably written by Sevi: Thanks to this, he won’t wake up even if a wall collapses this morning.”

It became clear why Koa had come so willingly, despite Leilda’s wake-up call—Sevi was fast asleep. The paper was filled with Sevi’s messy, almost indecipherable handwriting, but the dates listed were immediately recognizable. Raygrain spoke bluntly as he realized, Festival dates.”

Even the northern region, though remote, was home to people, and with the wedding of Blenga, a representative of the north, there was no way they would let the occasion pass quietly. Small regional festivals were being held to celebrate the union of the Northern Duke and Duchess, even if they were modest gatherings where people would merely share food and drink without large markets or dances in public squares.

Sevi, however, had not let a single one of these dates escape his attention and had meticulously scheduled them.

‘He’s really committed to having fun,’ Scheuer thought, secretly impressed.

The places listed, starting the day after the wedding, along with his planned routes, made it clear that Sevi had no intention of helping with the black magic stone issue.

Raygrain, skimming over the paper casually, asked,

“Did Priest Koa try to persuade him?”

“Yes…”

Koa’s drawn-out answer conveyed the difficulty of his task. Leilda clicked his tongue softly and offered his opinion.

“We need to tie him down here somehow. I’m confident I could tie him up physically, though.”

With a snap of his fingers, ropes appeared out of nowhere, floating in midair. The ropes drifted toward Scheuer as if to bind her.

“Wow, that’s amazing!” 

Scheuer, knowing Leilda wouldn’t harm her, looked at the ropes with curiosity.

But Raygrain, without hesitation, picked up the paper knife that was always on the table and, with a single clean motion, sliced through the ropes in the air, cutting them all.

“If only I had permission from the temple to bind him, I could use a magic that would keep him tied up for life. He seems quite rebellious—how about I tie him to a chair and deliver him to the temple myself?”

His sly grin made it clear this was more of a personal wish than a serious proposal. As Sevi’s assistant priest, Koa couldn’t bring himself to agree with Leilda’s suggestion, especially not in front of everyone.

“Even so, he is the High Priest. Please refrain from using force as much as possible.”

Listening quietly to the conversation, Scheuer casually offered her own suggestion,

Then how about we hold an extravagant after-party here after the wedding, so he has something to keep him entertained? “

“I refuse,” came an immediate reply from Raygrain.

Scheuer lightly grabbed his arm, trying to soothe him. 

“If there’s no after-party and he runs away, it’ll be hard to find him.”

He didn’t deny it. After all, it was obvious that Sevi would do just that. Originally, they planned to have only a very brief after-party after the ceremony before dispersing. Due to scheduling, many guests would return right after the wedding ceremony. There was no need to extend the day unnecessarily.

However, if they could keep Sevi from escaping, this would be the best option.

“We’ll need to ask for the guests’ understanding.” 

She added enthusiastically to Leilda. 

“It’s just for a short while to keep him from running away after the ceremony.”

“Exactly! Scheuer makes sense,” Leilda chimed in.

“Then we can funnel him into a suitable place for some research, and the rest can be left to you, Lord Leilda?”

“End of Thinking Capacity {etc} “