Suddenly, the snake realized the presence of a beautiful man standing beside it. It also noticed that part of its body had vanished. Its horribly severed tail lay carelessly on the ground.

The man, without paying any attention to the snake, looked down at the summoning circle.

“So that’s how it is.”

The man murmured, his gaze fixed on the summoning circle.

While the snake was bewildered, the circle began to absorb its power.

The summoning circle had chosen the snake, not Shahar, as the sacrifice. Despite the snake’s fierce struggle, it couldn’t escape.

Only then did the snake realize that it could never defeat the King of the Underworld and that Iscallion had used it as a pawn to buy time.

The snake blamed itself for choosing the wrong sacrifice.

No, it shouldn’t have responded to its master’s voice in the first place.

But it was too late for regrets.

Finally, the ritual was completed, consuming the snake’s energy.

[M-my master will give me a new body when he arrives…!]

The snake cried out in a last hope. But for some reason, the wolf did not appear.

“This ritual connects the surface and the underworld. Just as beings from the underworld can be summoned to the surface, the reverse is also possible. This time, the one being summoned is not him… but me.”

Shahar coldly explained to the bewildered snake.

Without even a moment to despair, the snake vanished without leaving a trace.

Immediately, a brilliant light emanated from the summoning circle, enveloping Shahar.

* * *

As my deeply submerged consciousness returned, I opened my eyes in an instant. But I still couldn’t see anything.

Suppressing my rising fear, I groped around with my hands.

The first thing I touched was soft, cozy bedding.

‘Where am I?’

I was definitely talking with Iscallion. And then…

The last scene before I lost consciousness came to mind.

I shuddered violently and hurriedly sat up.

“Are you awake?”

I sensed someone moving in the darkness.

There was no need to ask who it was.

Barely moving my lips, I called out to him.

“Leon…”

At the same time, a candle was lit.

“You’ve been unconscious for quite a while. I was worried.”

Iscallion looked at me with his usual gentle expression.

“Where is this?”

“This is where you’ll be staying from now on.”

“What? What are you talking about?”

“Exactly what I said. From now on, you won’t be able to take a single step out of here.”

Despite his calm voice, his eyes glowed ominously.

I instinctively knew that provoking him now would do no good.

I tried to speak as calmly as possible.

“Wait a minute. There seems to be a misunderstanding. Listen to what I have to say first.”

“Listen to you?”

Iscallion let out a deflated laugh. It was more to mock himself than to mock me.

“I always tried to listen to you, Sister. There were many things I didn’t like or understand, but if you were happy, that was enough for me. But not anymore. Even if I listen well, you don’t love me. Isn’t that right?”

“What do you mean? Not love you?”

Iscallion changed his expression and glared at me as if he would tear me apart. It was the first time he had ever looked at me so fiercely.

“There’s no use denying it. Now, live here with me for the rest of your life, Lou.”

He whispered as he approached me, who frozen in place.

His large hand pushed me onto the bed, and he leaned over my body.

Seeing his hands pinning my head down, I suddenly recalled the ending that Lina faced in the original story.

Kidnapping, confinement, and next…?

I had taken Seren’s advice to lay him down first to heart, but I never planned to handle things this way.

“You swore to protect me. If you break that oath, you will go blind. You haven’t forgotten, have you?”

I reminded him of the oath from the past, hoping for everyone’s safety.

“How could I forget? I will protect you forever.”

‘He’s interpreting it however he wants.’

The oath, which I thought was a guarantee, had turned into a mere scrap of paper.

I quickly lowered my gaze. Seeing that the necklace was intact, it seemed he had no other intentions.

Despite my relief, there was something I had to ask him.

“The other people too… was it you who did that?”

He neither confirmed nor denied it.

That was answer enough.

“Are they all safe? No, just tell me what happened to Seren.”

“She’s fine. For now. So stop talking about others. It really makes me angry. Here, take this.”

He handed me something. It was clear soup.

“It was originally warm, but it’s cold now. I’ll bring you something tastier tomorrow.”

I had no appetite, but I decided it was best not to provoke him, so I took the soup and forced it down.

After I emptied the bowl, he laid me back on the bed.

“Sleep more.”

He seemed unaware that lying down immediately after eating could cause acid reflux. Well, the Grand Duke of the North probably had a stomach as strong as steel.

Once again, I obediently closed my eyes.

But having just woken up, I couldn’t fall asleep.

Contrary to my expectations, drowsiness hit me as soon as I closed my eyes. There must have been something in the soup.

‘What happened to Shahar?’

That was my last thought before I fell into a deep sleep.

When I opened my eyes again, I was alone.

Only then could I properly assess where I was.

It was a fairly luxurious and spacious room, hastily decorated. But there was only one window. It was high up on the wall and so small that I couldn’t see outside.

At least I could tell the time.

As expected, the door was firmly locked, and there were no other escape routes.

Out of habit, I tried to rub Shahar, but realizing he wasn’t with me, I nervously bit my lip.

The Sun God, who transformed into a fake fortune-teller, had warned me not to lose him.

Maybe that warning was meant for today.

— Even if you lose him, follow him to the end and get him back.

Could I really find him while being trapped here?

I decided to assess the situation first.

From our conversation yesterday, it seemed Iscallion was very worried about me leaving.

But no matter how I thought about it, I couldn’t understand why he was acting so impulsively.

‘Let’s set that aside for now.’

First, the man who swallowed Shahar. His eyes were so black that it was impossible to distinguish the pupils from the irises. Now I remembered where I had seen those eyes.

‘Ines Poel had that same look when the snake took over his body.’

I was sure that snake had died at Iscallion’s hands, so how did it end up here in Pontos Castle?

And why was Iscallion with a man who was possessed by the snake?

I had no idea what was going on.

And Shahar…

I shook my head to dispel the extreme scenarios running through my mind. There was no way Shahar would be defeated by such a lowly creature.

‘I need to worry about myself first.’

As I fretted and worried, evening fell once more.

“Lou!”

Just as I sighed in frustration, I heard a squeaking sound from the window.

Michalis was flapping his wings vigorously.

“Michalis!”

For the first time in my life, I was glad to see him. The window was so high that even with a chair, I had to stand on tiptoe to reach the bars.

“How did you find me?”

“When you disappeared, I followed that guy. I was so nervous about getting caught.”

“Do you know where we are?”

“We’re in an isolated tower a bit away from Pontos Castle. There are no signs of people around, so it seems they’re determined to keep you locked up.”

His light-hearted tone, despite the serious situation, eased my fear a little.

“Do you know where Shahar is?”

“Well, how would a mere vampire know the whereabouts of the King of the Underworld?”

“What about Sir Roengreen and the Crown Prince? They don’t know I’m missing yet, do they?”

“I’m not close to those two, so I wouldn’t know. Sorry I can’t give you the answer you want. Oh, and even if I did tell you, you wouldn’t believe me anyway.”

Was he sulking because I didn’t trust him?

I was astonished at the pettiness of the second oldest being I knew, next to Shahar.

But I needed his help, so I pleaded earnestly.

“Please tell anyone that I’m here, I beg you.”

Michalis approached the window teasingly.

“Oh dear, your face looks haggard after just one day. But don’t worry too much. The main character always grows through adversity.”

His voice, pretending to be concerned, was filled with hidden amusement.

But I didn’t care. I was alone and desperate.

“Then at least call Janet for me.”

I requested desperately.

“You’ve been treating me like an errand boy, so I don’t feel inclined to help. Janet is your servant, so you should ask her for help yourself. Oh, he’s almost here. I better go before I get caught.”

“How am I supposed to call Janet in this situation!”

“Summon her. Even an idiot should know that. Anyway, I really have to go.”

With that, Michalis turned into mist and disappeared.

“Summon her?”

Come to think of it, Ines had summoned Michalis before.

I had never used it because Janet was always close by, but summoning her shouldn’t be too difficult since we had a contract.

I heard Iscallion’s footsteps climbing the stairs.

I quickly put the chair back in place, climbed onto the bed, and pulled the blanket over my head.