Let’s Kidnap The Male Lead

  

Hildes Street, located on the outskirts of the capital city, is bustling with chatter on this particular day. The narrow street, filled with small shops, seems unusually noisy.

 

“Have you read the newspaper?”

 

“Well, about that kidnapper story? Of course, I did. This marks the thirty-first time already.”

 

“With so many people here, how can they kidnap handsome men without getting caught? Maybe the culprit is a ghost?”

 

“A ghost, my foot. It’s probably just that the investigators aren’t working hard enough. What do they do all day working and paying taxes if they can’t catch a single criminal?”

 

“Hey, watch your words. Be careful. Don’t you know Princess Veronica is in charge of this case? You might get charged with disrespect.”

 

The fruit merchants forgot about attending to their customers and began arguing with each other.

 

Pretending to browse the fruits, I secretly eavesdropped on their conversation.

 

“This man, what an insult! It’s more of an insult to walk around with a face like that.”

 

“Let me tell you something, man. If anyone hears you, they’ll think you’re handsome, and you weren’t even kidnapped!”

 

“Oh, the culprit probably didn’t catch sight of my face; that’s why they didn’t kidnap me. Just wait and see; my name will be in the newspaper as the thirty-second kidnapping victim.”

 

Are they actually hoping to be kidnapped?

 

The abnormal remarks gave me a headache.

 

Even though rumors are circulating about being held captive in an unbelievably luxurious environment, this was too much.

 

‘Is kidnapping a joke?’

 

The merchant, who had been quietly listening to the story, seemed to have the same thought as me and shouted.

 

“Enough with this nonsense. Alright, back to work.”

 

He shook his head as if further conversation were pointless, then locked eyes with me.

 

“Ah, a customer. What can I get for you, miss?”

 

Come to think of it, Ren liked oranges.

 

Thinking about my subordinate waiting for me at the hideout, I reached out my finger.

 

“I’ll take six of these, please.”

 

The merchant swiftly packed the fruits and handed them to me.

 

“Thank you. Oh, there seems to be an extra one here.”

 

“Consider it a service, so come again. It’s a chaotic time these days, so take care of yourself and come back next time.”

 

Even the merchant next door, who had been arguing just moments ago, interjected.

 

“Yes, you should take care of yourself. What if that kidnapper does something?”

 

The words were spoken with concern, but I couldn’t help but chuckle at the nonsensical sentence.

 

‘Me? Kidnapped?’

 

I waved my hand as if to dismiss the thought.

 

“Oh, but I’m not handsome at all. Why would someone kidnap me?”

 

However, the indifferent merchant responded to my remark.

 

“Oh, come on. What nonsense. There’s no guarantee the kidnapper only targets handsome men. Beauties like you should also be careful, of course.”

 

“No, that’s not… Well, I’ll be careful. Thank you for your concern.”

 

“Good thinking. A young lady can never know the mind of a kidnapper.”

 

How wouldn’t I know? There’s probably no one who knows as well as I do.

 

Suppressing words that should not be spoken aloud, I responded with a smile instead.

 

Contrary to the worries of the fruit merchant, I reassured myself that I would not become the thirty-second victim of the serial kidnapping case.

 

It’s highly unlikely that the culprit, who consistently kidnapped handsome men, would suddenly change their target to beautiful women.

 

How do I know that?

 

Because the notorious serial kidnapper who targets handsome men is none other than me.

 

* * *

 

How did I, an insignificant person, become the culprit of an incident that made headlines in the media?

 

The story begins like this.

 

20 years ago, I was born as the illegitimate child of Marquis Schmidt.

 

And like most illegitimate children, I grew up in unfavorable circumstances.

 

I have no memories of my early childhood, as my mother passed away, and I was taken in by the noble family as their eldest daughter.

 

Naturally, my existence was a thorn in the side of Marquis Schmidt’s legitimate wife.

 

Being young and weak, I grew up emotionally bullied by my stepmother and my stepsister, Leonie.

 

To make matters worse, even my biological father, the Marquis, doesn’t like me.

 

I lived without anyone’s protection, enduring such a life.

 

I didn’t feel unfairly treated.

 

After all, to the marchioness, I was just the daughter of a mistress.

 

Frankly, I was grateful that they didn’t starve me to death.

 

Of course, that didn’t mean I was going to stay in that damn house.

 

As time passed, after a long wait, I finally became an adult.

 

‘Was that already a year and a half ago?’

 

When I expressed my desire for independence, my biological father, surprisingly enough, gave me a considerable sum of money and kicked me out.

 

“I never knew you had a sense of shame. Take this and disappear from my sight.”

 

Being kicked out on a rainy day didn’t feel particularly pleasant, but it was what I wished for.

I grabbed the check he threw at me and tried to board the carriage waiting at the front gate.

However, my troublesome sister, who had always bullied me, couldn’t keep quiet on the day I was leaving.

 

Without any suspicion, as I confidently lifted my foot onto the carriage, the step collapsed without resistance.

 

The culprit was obvious.

 

‘Leonie, you’re playing tricks on me again!

 

My body, which had been floating in the air, instantly lost its balance and fell.

 

Thud!

 

I was unconscious as my head hit the ground hard.

 

You might wonder what this has to do with becoming the serial kidnapper of handsome men, but this was the beginning of everything.

 

When I was taken to the hospital, I had a long dream there. And it was even a dream of my past life.

 

I realized that the world I was living in, where I breathed and existed, was actually the world of a shoddy novel written by my friend.

 

Moreover, I was nothing more than a supporting character who kidnapped the male protagonist and was then killed off at the beginning of the novel!

 

* * *

 

So, this is a story from when I was still Korean.

 

I had a friend who dreamt of becoming a romance novel writer, and I would often read and critique her self-written novels.

 

The novel that I reincarnated into, “Blood-Stained Flowers,” was also one that I first read through her.

 

“So, what do you think? Fun, isn’t it?”

 

“It’s really exciting. I think this one will definitely do well if you submit it.”

 

Although my friend’s novel was over 600,000 characters long, I was completely captivated by the fast-paced plot that kept me engrossed without a break.

 

The characters, in particular, appealed to me even more.

 

There was Ludovica, the lady who lost her parents at the hands of her older brother.

 

Calis is a prince who has been imprisoned in the underground of the Empress’s palace and abused his entire life because of his special powers.

 

Their collaboration in seeking revenge, depicting a bleak and sorrowful drama, deeply touched my heart.

 

It was an almost perfect novel. Except for one fatal flaw.

 

“No, but what does the male lead look like?”

 

『Ludovica looked up at her brother, whom she once loved the most.

 

His pitch-black hair fluttered in the fierce wind, revealing eyes as empty and as black as the void.

 

Was his face like this when he killed their mother and father?

 

Ludovica gnawed at her lips while looking at Dietrich’s expressionless face.

 

Her eyes, darker and redder than the blood of a beast, burned with madness.

 

Eventually, the final battle between the magic swordsman siblings began.』

 

– From the novel ‘Blood-Stained Flowers’

 

‘Blood-Stained Flowers’ was truly a unique novel, and if you look closely, you’ll notice that the appearance of the main villain, Dietrich, and the heroine, Ludovica, is described in detail in most scenes.

 

But it wasn’t just them.

 

Even passing characters like ‘Merchant 1’ or ‘Villain Extra 1’ had their appearances described in at least one line.

 

‘Even the fact that I have purple hair as an extra… I mean, even that was mentioned.’

 

However, it was particularly difficult to find descriptions of the male protagonist, Calis Agrian.

 

『Calis stroked Ludovica’s hair, which reached down to her waist.

 

Her hair, woven as if from golden sunlight, softly scattered from his touch.』

 

While descriptions of Ludovica were present in every scene, there were no clues to be found about Calis’ appearance anywhere.

 

I even went back to reread, questioning if I had missed something.

 

When I asked my friend about this mystery, she timidly replied, “Honestly, that’s been bothering me too. I can’t decide how Calis looks.”

 

What kind of story is this when the author can’t decide what the main character looks like?

 

“How about silver hair and blue eyes? It gives a cold and sharp impression.”

 

“Yeah, I’ve thought about that too. But Calis looks good no matter what color. Silver hair with blue eyes, black hair with golden eyes, or even gray hair with jade eyes… It all suits him!”

 

“Hmm… Then how about black hair with golden eyes? Anyway, we should decide quickly and submit it.”

 

My friend frowned unexpectedly and let out a sigh.

 

“What? What’s the matter? Don’t you think black hair with golden eyes is fitting? Platinum hair with jade eyes—how about that? Ugh, it’s really frustrating to have such a perfect male protagonist and go through this dilemma.”

 

“Haha…”

 

My friend rambled on for a while about what she thought was a good look for Calis, but in the end, she couldn’t decide after a few hours.

 

Six months later, I received a phone call with good news.

 

– I’ve finally decided on Calis’ appearance!

 

“What, really? Hey, congratulations.”

 

Excited by the long-awaited good news, I eagerly asked.

 

“So, what does he look like?”

 

– Well, brace yourself! You’ll be surprised when you hear it. It’s a perfect fit for the narrative.

 

“What? How does he look, exactly?”

 

As I saw a traffic light suddenly change to green, I started crossing the street with light steps.

 

– First of all, he’s incredibly handsome, and his hair…

 

Bang!

 

At that moment, a sudden noise covered my friend’s voice on the phone.

 

Turning my head towards the source of the sound, I could see a truck rushing towards me.

 

I thought I should avoid it, but the truck had already hit me.

 

That’s how abruptly my first life came to an end.

 

When I regained consciousness, I found myself reincarnated as the villainous supporting character, Vivian Schmidt.

  Okay, everyone, this is my first time doing Ropan. I hope you can bear with me. I am still clumsy. My translation is not very fast and good. I know it's unexpected, because I dropped this novel out of nowhere and didn't announce it on Discord. And I'm concerned about whether or not this novel will be subject to DMCA. So I did not put this on NU. Yes, I hope not. And I'm still contemplating whether to do this in the long run.