I Decided to Kidnap the Male Lead

Sebastian, who managed the Bolsheik, started his day when the sun was dimly rising.

As usual, he handled the things for the day as smoothly as flowing water, but stopped at some point.

“Your Highness?”

“Oh, Sebastian.”

On one side of the garden, the child, who was looking down in the sunshine, nodded lightly towards Sebastian.

“Does it have an owner?”

It was overly solemn for a seven-year-old child, but it was also well-suited as the empire’s one and only crown prince.

—Meow, meow.

Sebastian answered when the cat, who was washing its face with its soft jelly paws, began to cry.

“No.”

“I see.”

It was a calm answer, but there was no way that Sebastian, who had seen the child since birth, could not have noticed the expectations underlying it.

—Meow! Meow!

As the child’s hair, redder than a blazing fire, rustled on his forehead, the cat’s round eyes moved back and forth along the ends of the hair.

The way the cat turned its head around was so cute that even Sebastian smiled faintly, and it was no different for the child, who also reached out impatiently.

It seemed like he couldn’t let it go without stroking the soft, round back of the head.

However, it was something to be frantic about from the point of view of a cat who suddenly faced something several times larger than itself.

In the shadow of the child’s hand descending right over the face, the cat shouted, ‘Meow!’ It made a noise and jumped back.

“Hmm.”

It might be embarrassing or upsetting that his pat was openly ignored, but the child just tilted his head.

Staring at the cat widening its distance while being vigilant when it had just been proudly purring in front of him, the child asked,

“What’s the problem?”

A young voice responded. Clearly, only Sebastian could tell.

(TL/N: from here on, there are two kids, the child is the prince and the boy is… well, you’ll find out soon ^^)

“I know, right.”

It wasn’t a sincere answer, though.

“I know, right?”

The child’s piercingly blue eyes flashed with a sharpness that could hardly match his age.

The boy was a few years older than the child, but it was not enough to be called a young man.

When the child noticed the boy, his eyes widened, and at the same time he turned his back and looked at the cat’s tail as it ran away.

“It’s running away now.”

“I see. Follow it.”

“Yes. What… what?”

“Why are you still standing? Chase it. Don’t leave any marks along the way.”

The child, who nonchalantly jabbed the boy whose eyes were twitching, added, looking at the direction in which the cat disappeared.

“If you miss it, I’ll pat your head.”

“Ugh, don’t say something that gives me goosebumps!”

With a single shout, the boy melted into the shadows and disappeared.

It didn’t matter because even if he spoke like that, he was sure of his skills.

“Tsk, if the head is bad, the body suffers.”

The child, who clicked the tongue lightly like an old man, also moved in the direction the cat had disappeared, and Sebastian followed suit without being given a command.

.

“Oh, where did it come from?”

Instead of Iris, who left for an emergency even during vacation, Catherine, who was gracefully yet militantly finishing the cookies, grinned and cautiously pointed her finger at the cat.

At that, the cat sniffed her fingertips, and soon pressed its face closer and rubbed its cheek against it, and Catherine was able to hold her cat in her arms without difficulty.

“It follows well.”

“I know. It must be because it’s still a baby.”

Cooper, who saw the cat and approached, calmly smiled.

But that was for a mere while.

“Oh, Mother caught it.”

Despite being shocked oftentimes when the boy sprung up from the shadow, Cooper patted his chest, astonished once more, and the cat puffed up its fur.

But Catherine, neither surprised nor wary, looked at her son who resembled her and Cooper in an 8:2 ratio.

“Were you chasing the cat?”

“Yes, well. It just happened.”

Catherine smiled brightly at the honest answer of her son, who stuck out his neck, gazing at the cat.

Of course, the boy’s bones grew slack and soft, and Cooper, who was right next to him, immediately straightened his body; it was a reaction born from experience.

Sensing something unusual, the boy threw away his loose attitude and straightened his back.

“Oh, Mother, it’s not like that. His Highness…”

“…Yes. His Highness told me to chase the cat.”

“Yes!”

The moment he thought he could breathe because he had reduced the number of arrows directed at him as he blamed the person who was not here…

“Shouldn’t you stick with His Highness as if you’re one body?”

—Wasn’t that why you abandoned the heir position and left?

There was no mention of it, but those words were already ringing like thunder in the boy’s ears.

“You really… how you resemble your mother so closely.”

The boy, who inwardly cursed as much as his mother could, wanted to defend himself. But Catherine was not tricked by her own son, who tried to get out of his current situation like a loach, which resembled her brother, Lawrence.

(TL/N: Okay, so… in the raws, it’s not Lawrence but ‘Duke Heirian’. Catherine has no other siblings, and Sheffield is a marquisate, and I don’t recall a Heirian in this story… do you? ;-; Lawrence is the only important character missing in this last grand finale… did he not take over Sheffield and marry into another family or start another family and become a duke? Idk, it’s not mentioned, soooo I made the decision to literally replace the name…)

In other words, the boy received Catherine’s love pouring out like a rapid-fire cannon before he could even get a single word out of his mouth.

“It’s all right. He just did what I told him to do.”

After the boy’s soul was thrashed, the child appeared out of nowhere.

“I see Your Highness. You found this kitten.”

When Catherine spoke with a gentle smile, as if she already knew that the child was there, the boy’s face was stained with resentment and sadness.

‘His Highness made me chase the cat, but why only me!’

Of course, the boy wasn’t stupid enough to voice his displeasure, but he couldn’t hide his expression, so Cooper belatedly did a fatherly act and hid his son from his wife’s sight.

“Okay. How about I slowly…”

The moment the child said that and reached out for the cat again…

—Meow-ow!

For some reason, with a more irritated cry than before, the cat that had been calmly held in Catherine’s arms leaped up.

The expressionless child’s forehead creased, and Catherine smiled and winked at her son.

At that, the boy disappeared again without a moment to resolve his anger, and the child gave a short nod to Catherine and Cooper, then promptly chased the cat again.

Sebastian, who was standing behind the child, bowed politely.

“If there is anything lacking, please tell me anytime.”

At that, Catherine laughed mischievously.

“Tell my dear Ophelia to have a drink after work. At most, a vacation to the Bolsheik mansion should be like a vacation.”

.

“…So, with this, earthquake countermeasures could be prepared to some extent. And according to the report sent by a member of the Gryu family, who is not attached to the Imperial Palace…”

—Baswak.

In the midst of Iris’ report, Richard glanced at the small swishing sound.

At the edge of his field of vision, a small, round tail like a raccoon’s waggled.

It was inevitable that the cat, who began to scour the whole room silently with Richard staring from the sidelines, came into Ophelia’s eyes.

The second Ophelia widened her eyes at the sudden appearance of the kitten and was about to open her mouth.

“Ah, achoo! Achoo, achoo, oo-euk!”

Ending the sneeze with a strange sound, Iris grabbed her nose and blinked rapidly.

Seeing Iris startled by her own sneeze, Ophelia quickly stood up and patted her on the back.

“Riri, that’s enough for today, see you later.”

“Huh? Ah, ah, achoo!”

Pushed, Iris left the room in an instant, and Richard, who had been watching all this, tilted his head.

At that, Ophelia shrugged her shoulders.

“Riri must be destined not to be with cats.”

It was a sudden statement, but in this day and age, it was impossible to say, ‘It’s dangerous for her to stay with cats for a long time!’

Richard nodded in spite of the vague and incomprehensible answers.

The ones who knew what others did not were the Bolsheiks.

Well, even if she wasn’t a Bolsheik, anything Ophelia said would have him nodding.

Literally blinded by love, but Richard was okay with that.

Which was also why he was staying at the Bolsheik mansion in the name of a vacation, even though he knew that the palace would be turned upside down.

Richard’s eyes turned to crescents as he smiled at Ophelia, who was hugging the cat in her arms.

“Come here.”

To Richard’s words, Ophelia responded coolly, gently stroking the cat.

“Am I a cat? Telling me to come.”

“No. I should be the cat.”

The cat widened its eyes, wary of Richard, who drew closer in a flash, but soon calmly lowered its gaze.

Because it was best to bow quietly to an opponent who couldn’t be defeated.

“Where else is there a cat this big?”

The smile on Richard’s face grew as he lightly kissed Ophelia’s forehead as she rolled her eyes.

“Is that why you don’t like it?”

“It’s just nice.”

Richard laughed out loud at the answer that came back without a gap, and Ophelia didn’t make a sound so as to not scare the cat away, but smiled brilliantly until his eyes were dazzled.

“I am yours.”

“Great. Because I am yours too.”

The lips of Ophelia and Richard, who were whispering sweet nothings to each other, were about to touch.

—Tok tok.

“Father, mother.”

Ah yes, only their son could get in between them. They smiled, bearing the same expression.

“I followed the cat.”

“Yes.”

“Did anything interesting happen in between?”

At that question, the image of the boy who had been scolded by Catherine momentarily appeared in the child’s mind, but he shook his head.

The funny sight he saw today should be used forever, there was no reason to volatilize it all at once.

“None.”

The answer was blunt, but Ophelia, who read the meaning that there was something more in it, used a hand to ruffle her son’s hair, which was the same color as hers.

The child’s cheeks reddened when he was touched by his mother. He was about to reach out for the cat, but was caught by his father.

“Father?”

“If you do that, it’ll run away again.”

“What?”

As the child tilted his head, Ophelia explained.

“You can’t reach out from above like that.”

“Then how?”

“First, put your fingertips out and let it check your scent.”

Looking at his wife and son, who were whispering over the cat, Richard asked the man who arrived.

“What is it, Sebastian?”

“I beg your pardon, Your Majesty. She has been waiting for liquor since early evening.”

The words did not go well with his well-groomed face, but Richard smiled and nodded.

“If I continue monopolizing her like this, I might get stung by bees, so I’ll have to give it up today.”

Sebastian bowed deeply when Richard recited Catherine’s nickname in her prime and gave permission.

.

A night when the sunset had ended and the full moon was up.

“Riri! It’s fate that you can’t be with a cat! Oh my God! Half of the joys of life are gone!”

“Cathy, you’re noisy. I said I’m okay to watch from a distance.”

Holding a glass in her hands, Catherine was intent on making fun of Iris, who was also with a glass.

“Your Majesty, the houses are built to prepare for earthquakes…”

“Hey! Are you going to come all the way here and say something boring? Drink! Drink!”

Lawrence, who ran over after work, put a bottle of alcohol in Cooper’s mouth as he talked about work even though he was already drunk.

“Ah. Sebastian, come in. It looks like it will stay like this until morning.”

As soon as Ophelia finished speaking with a bright smile and flushed cheeks, she was led by Richard and he kissed her face.

Sebastian, who, to put it nicely, was gleefully gazing at the sight close to a mess. Eventually, he tidied up the room and left after filling it with alcohol and snacks.

Returning to his room after stepping away from the party of those who firmly supported the empire that started early and still continued, Sebastian took out a small notebook from a drawer.

He opened the notebook, which was obviously worn out but clearly showed signs of being maintained so that it would not fall apart, and he slowly turned it over page by page.

Amongst his stacked records, he found a combination of drinks that were good for relieving hangovers, and after transcribing that part separately, he began to record what happened today.

And as he was about to put a period on the last sentence, he hesitated and then started playing with his pen.

[I hope for an extremely normal and happy day when you can run after the cat tomorrow, and the next day, and someday in the far future, just like today.]

▼メ I Decided to Kidnap the Male Leads, END of Side Stories ﾒ▽

A happy and suitable ending! If there’s a manhwa and more side stories, you can be sure the team will be back ＼(٥⁀▽⁀ )／ Till that day comes, if ever, won’t you read our love notes and leave us a comment or NU review? ♡

Translator Ame: Whew, who’s that smiling and laughing like an idiot? The plot/regression spins me in circles, but it’s just sooooo good? It keeps me guessing, and it makes all the good parts amazingly beautiful and the bad parts even more tragic. The way it’s written, the words used… absolutely hits me in the heart and feels.

I love almost every important character in this novel almost, because I abhor Raisa and Marchioness Neir, and I truly feel they are well-incorporated into the story. Not a single character is redundant. Plus, the FL having friends, not followers, is always a welcoming sight. Oh oh oh, and Cooper being with Catherine? That’s what I’ve been hoping for for ages! If only that 4th side story can be about their blossoming love… There are so many small details in this novel that I want to read again in all its translated glory (I sure hope I did it justice…)

Anyway, another one done and dusted with my awesome proofreader Dea! I’m not kidding when I said this project would be impossible without her, you’ve seen the angst, right!? We screamed and cried till our throats are sore, and we screamed some more when our leads become stickier and sweeter than melted candy („• ᴗ •„) Much thanks and love to Jassie and Sue too, who helped me with the raws! ❤ And last, but not the least, the readers who joined us on this mind-boggling and heart wrenching journey. I wish you a great day today, tomorrow, and forever (＾▽＾)

Proofreader Dea: Thank you all for reading this story, I hope you enjoyed going on this rollercoaster of emotions and regressions. I for one loved the story, though I wish we could have had a love interest for Iris as well!! But at least we got Catherine and Cooper so I won’t complain too much haha

Also thank you Ame for introducing me to yet another amazing novel! And congrats on another completed work ^^

PS: Who the heck is Duke Heirian? He will go down as being the greatest mystery of this novel…