I Kidnapped the Hero’s Women

‘Maybe Charlotte is suited to being a swordsman after all.’

Since she’s destined to become the protagonist’s companion, it’s certain she’ll excel in a specific field.

If she doesn’t have the brains for studying, she should at least have exceptional physical abilities, right?

Charlotte is indeed much faster than Julia when it comes to running.

Her body type is also more suited for movement.

‘I wonder how she’s doing.’

Tilting my head slightly towards the window, I glanced at the training ground.

“Hold the sword firmly. Keep your feet light. Got it?”

“I don’t understand what you mean at all…”

“Hmph. How can you not understand? Just give it a try.”

“Hiyah!”

“Hmph. How can you not do it? Do you lack talent?”

The training seemed to be going smoothly.

Sylvia, according to the settings, is a knight with outstanding performance, no, skills.

She had to retire due to a heart injury that prevented her from using mana, but she’s more than capable of teaching Charlotte the basics.

I don’t want to imagine it, but if teaching her is useless?

That would mean she lacks both the brains for studying and the talent for physical activities.

In that case, I’ll take her to the church to see if she has any talent for healing.

Who knows, maybe the Stone of Wisdom will glow, revealing Charlotte as a saintess.

Of course, that’s unlikely.

A slender saintess?

That’s heresy.

A saintess should look more like Julia than Charlotte.

“Ugh. What’s with that look? You seem to be thinking something lewd!”

“…”

I was at a loss for words.

Does she have telepathy or something?

I silently covered my face with the book, ignoring Julia’s loud exclamation.

‘This book is nonsense.’

To perform dark magic, it says you need to sacrifice the head of a male goat killed on a full moon night…

I recognized it immediately upon seeing it.

This is superstition and pseudo-magic.

Unlike real magic, which is systematic, this book’s content is just local beliefs dressed up to sound plausible.

The problem is that all the books Aslan purchased are the same.

This fool secretly bought these cleverly written ghost stories for a lot of money.

It’s because of lunatics who believe this crap and start killing goats and torturing virgins that dark magic is suppressed by the state.

And because it’s suppressed, idiots like Aslan think it must be powerful and pursue it even more eagerly.

I’m sure the Emperor finds it troublesome too.

‘But something doesn’t add up. Towards the end of Chapter 1, Aslan uses what looks like dark magic.’

It doesn’t make sense to say that dark magic is completely fake and superstitious either.

In the game, Aslan controlled dark smoke to attack the protagonist.

If that wasn’t dark magic, what was it?

Is there a genuine dark magic manual written by a real dark magician?

‘I need to search this library thoroughly.’

If it exists, it should be here.

This library is vast.

How long will it take to search it all?

And would lazy Aslan, who always looks for an easy way, ever try to search the library for a hidden manual?

That’s hard to imagine.

‘Just looking through books won’t yield results.’

I have to at least pretend to make progress to appease Irene, who’s subtly pressuring me, and the evil god Kali.

So, for now, I’ll continue with these ridiculous rituals.

‘I’ve suddenly become a dark magic cosplayer.’

At least I need to show that I’m making an effort.

This way, I can buy time and slowly gather clues about dark magic.

If Aslan, a complete idiot, managed to do it, I should be able to as well, right?

The problem is what happens once I can use dark magic…

By then, escaping the family’s pressure will mean evading a nationwide witch hunt.

But I’ll worry about that later.

[The evil god, ‘Kali’, is looking at you lovingly.]

I can evade witch hunts by changing my identity and running away.

But I can’t avoid being strangled to death by the evil god who’s watching me right now.

‘Anyway, why doesn’t this body get sleepy?’

I stayed up all night.

So, I thought my body would be accustomed to a nocturnal routine.

But it’s already late afternoon, and the sun is setting, yet I don’t feel drowsy at all.

Did I take some kind of stimulant?

[You’ve noticed an anomaly in your body.]

[Contract Management function has been unlocked.]

What?

[Contract Management]

[Evil God Kali]

[Age: ???]

[Contract Effect: You can recover without sleep.]

[A blood contract. You can allow temporary possession of your body. The contract cannot be broken without mutual consent.]

What the hell?

A contract? With the evil god Kali?

Was this god so bored that they followed me around because of this contract?

I suddenly felt a headache.

‘Cancel the contract!’

[The evil god, ‘Kali’, has refused.]

‘Please cancel it!’

[The evil god, ‘Kali’, has refused.]

‘Please!’

[The evil god, ‘Kali’, is looking at you suspiciously.]

Of course, it doesn’t work.

Even the contract effect is minimal.

All it does is let me stay awake.

Where’s the magic power boost or physical enhancement?

Such a useless ability for a lazy person like Aslan.

Julia, who could use 24 hours a day, might appreciate it, but…

‘What’s up with her?’

I noticed a thumping sound and saw Julia dozing off and hitting her head on the desk.

If she’s sleepy, she should just sleep.

Why is she trying so hard to stay awake?

“Ugh. So noisy…”

It wasn’t that.

She wanted to sleep but couldn’t.

She would fall asleep slightly, then frown and wake up as if forced awake.

Is she sick?

“Is it a headache?”

“No. It’s not… Ugh. Why are you touching my forehead without permission…”

“No fever. What’s making you so sleepy?”

“None of your business…”

“If there’s something wrong with your body, the medical expenses come out of my pocket. Confess immediately.”

“Jerk…”

Julia scowled with bloodshot eyes and pushed my hand away.

But her voice and hand lacked the vigor they had on the first day.

She seemed very tired.

What I initially thought was just tired eyes turned out to be quite serious.

It looks like she hasn’t slept for days.

What’s wrong with her?

Did Irene do something?

Various possibilities flashed through my mind.

“Voices… the voices… Huh. Why can’t I hear them now…”

“…”

Thud.

Julia, who had been grumbling irritably, suddenly slumped, and I quickly caught her.

Was she exhausted?

No, she was just asleep.

Sleeping so deeply and peacefully that it was almost absurd.

She looked like she had stayed up for a week, but now she was sleeping peacefully.

Whatever the reason, it’s good that she’s sleeping.

As I laid her on the sofa and was about to leave…

“Ugh…”

“Why, why, why.”

She suddenly frowned and groaned, looking uncomfortable as if she was about to wake up.

Alarmed, I approached her again, and she returned to a peaceful sleep as if nothing had happened.

When I stepped back a few steps, she frowned again.

As I returned, she instantly calmed down.

“Ha.”

She wakes up when I move away and falls back asleep when I get close.

What’s with this kid?

Laughing at the absurdity, I recalled what Julia had said before falling asleep.

‘Voices? Ah.’

Julia is destined to become a spirit mage in the future.

One common symptom of those who have the potential to be spirit mages is insomnia.

They constantly hear the voices of spirits around them but don’t know how to control it, preventing them from sleeping.

So why is Julia able to sleep so well near me?

Because I’m someone spirits avoid.

Aslan, who isn’t loved by mana, is a repulsive being to spirits.

What if I use my passive skill and add an active skill?

‘Skill. Touch of Death.’

Swoosh.

Suddenly, the air around me felt cold.

This would have killed all the spirits nearby.

Julia’s lips curled into a faint smile.

‘She is pretty.’

She always seemed irritated when awake, so I never found her cute.

But sleeping peacefully, she looks like an angel.

Waking up to her tantrums might be annoying, but for now, she’s adorable, so it’s okay.

“Letting your guard down when you’re sleeping, huh?”

“Hmm…”

Poke. Poke, poke.

I poked and pulled her cheeks to my heart’s content.

Her chubby cheeks stretched like dough, quite addictive.

“Hmph!”

“Oh.”

She caught me.

.

.

.

As the sun set, the green-haired girl sat down, panting.

“Huff! Huff!”

“Drink some water. That’s enough for today.”

“How did I do?”

“Well, you seem to have athletic potential, but that’s it. Your visual acuity, peripheral vision, reaction speed, multitasking ability, and instant focus are good, but you still lack a lot. So, we’ll continue training tomorrow. It will be harder and more demanding. Are you okay with that?”

“Yes! I like it even harder!”

Charlotte answered loudly, putting down her water.

This was the first time she found something so enjoyable.

She never found interest in studying or excelled at it.

Today, even though she only did jump rope and running all day under the pretense of swordsmanship training, she found it fun.

She felt she could work hard at this.

She wouldn’t lose interest.

Maybe she could even earn her keep!

Just the thought filled her with excitement.

“If I work hard, can I become a great knight like you?”

“I am… not a great knight. Don’t try to be like me.”

“Huh?”

“Go wash up. It’s almost dinner time.”

Sylvia’s expression darkened.

A great knight…

There was a time she dreamed of that.

Why is she now working under this evil family?

Gritting her teeth, Sylvia shook her head to dispel unnecessary thoughts.

That was all in the past.

“Young master, it’s almost dinner time… Huh?”

The library door creaked open.

Sylvia froze at the sight.

Aslan Vermont, sitting on a long sofa, holding a book with one hand and reading.

That wasn’t the problem.

The problem was his other hand was resting on the cheek of a child sleeping with her head on his lap.

“That bastard finally laid hands on a child…!”

“Miss, could you please not make so much noise?”

“What? Why?”

“Julia hasn’t been able to sleep recently. Seeing her sleep so comfortably now is the first time in a month. Can you let her sleep a bit longer?”

“…”

Charlotte tugged at Sylvia’s sleeve, pleading earnestly.

Looking again, Aslan’s hand was held by the child’s hand.

Julia had pulled it over in her sleep.

Sylvia clicked her tongue and stepped back.

“I’ll let it slide this time.”

Slam.

The library door closed quietly.

Even if she had insomnia, using sleep magic on a child is monstrous. What an evil bastard.

In the past, she would have immediately stormed in to separate the child and Aslan, but now she felt differently.

‘Am I? Trusting Aslan? Really?’

No, hold on. No way. Definitely not.

No. Impossible.