I have never seen Axel’s face, but I knew very well about his handsome face from the portrait. Thanks to that, I could easily recognize him.

Sunken eyes, protruding cheekbones, and arrogant shining red eyes in between. I stared at him, swallowing my saliva.

“First time seeing you, Siyan Mirmord.”

“…Why did you call me?”

‘Actually, I wasn’t called; I was kidnapped.’

I bit my lips tightly and looked at Axel. At that moment, he chuckled and let out a bizarre laugh.

It was the first time I had seen someone who looked scary even when his cheekbones were raised and his cheeks swelled.

“Well…”

Around the time his words were strangely elongated, he raised his hand and slapped my cheek.

With a cracking sound, my face turned to the side, and the flesh in my mouth burst. Fortunately, my jaw didn’t dislocate, but I felt blood flowing on my cheek from the impact of the adult’s strength.

“Shall we start after a bit of a beating?”

I retorted with a disgusted expression.

“Already feels like my cheek is on fire, want me to get hit more?”

“Yeah, that way, I can relieve some stress.”

The crisp noise continued a few more times.

Before the pain could numb, I dozed off a bit.

“Enough.”

With his fingertips delicately lifted, a shock of breathless impact struck my throat, no, my whole body.

When his hand loosened, I muttered in a drowsy voice.

“Why go this far?”

There was no answer to my question.

I bit the inside of my mouth while looking at the insane person in front of me.

For a moment, I snapped to attention. Seeing the author’s mad eyes, I felt like I might die here today.

‘There’s only one answer. Get your mind straight, find hints about where this is, and figure out how to live.’

The place was dark and gloomy, with no light coming in without a window.

I faced Axel in this dark and ominous space, crouching in a cramped posture as if expecting mental confusion.

After inhaling and exhaling, I looked at Axel.

“How should I act to relieve your stress?”

“Simple. Since you, whom Matthias Mirmord loves, will die here. Then that bastard will die too.”

At his words, I stared at him with my eyelashes fluttering.

Seeing him tasting my death, I wasn’t particularly pleased.

“Quite an ambiguous expression, Siyan Mirmord.”

“Is this my grave then?”

“Well… It might be.”

“Not bad. Calling a temple my grave.”

I muttered with a sardonic smile. Laughing crazily, he spat onto my face as if he were insane.

“Seems curious about where this is. Do you think it’s a temple? But it’s better not to think about turning your head. Even if you’re about to die, I won’t bother telling you where this is.”

Axel spoke affectionately towards me.

“But you will be a good bait, so I’ll let you sleep a little. To make it less painful.”

Suddenly, I sensed a unique grassy scent in this space. Watching Axel, I remained still. When he brought his hand towards me again, an eye mask covered my eyes.

After that, it was again pitch black.

A voice whispered in my ear, ‘If you wake up, you’ll see something more interesting.’

I couldn’t tell how much time had passed.

There was already a grumbling sound from my stomach, and I was once again blindfolded. However, as my consciousness gradually returned, I regained my composure and started thinking again.

Axel didn’t say anything separately, but I could tell that this place was inside the temple.

It was simple to know about this place.

Even if my sight was briefly blocked, there was no way to eliminate my sense of smell.

The place seemed to be in a vacuum, but I could smell a faint scent of grass from Axel. It was the scent of medicinal herbs commonly used in the temple.
When I was young and had a stomachache, I could often tell that one of the village ladies would bring herbs from the nearby temple.

“I really hated it back then, but it turns out to be helpful. This is definitely a temple.”

Because I didn’t want to eat the soup made with herbs, I had practiced running away when I smelled the herbal scent from the lady. Little did I know that this would be helpful in such a desperate situation.

“I wonder exactly which temple it is. The central temple? And is it underground or above ground?”

If this place is the underground of the central temple…

“It means they plan to eliminate me without any trace. It’s a place only the Pope can access.”

Nowhere in the world could escape the eyes of the Mirmord.

Moreover, I was widely known as the child receiving the favor of the Mirmord. Openly eliminating someone like me would be a significant risk for them.

So, there was only one place where the eyes of the Mirmord couldn’t reach.

The area where entry required the Pope’s permission, a jurisdiction even the emperor needed approval to enter.

“There might be some risk, but they dragged me into the underground of the temple. They can kill me without any trace.”

I clearly didn’t even consider the risk.

Well, that would make sense. If they killed me without leaving a body, that would be the end of it.

“No, what the heck are you doing?”