As I stepped inside, his right eye, which had a faded color and was cloudy like a glass covered in dust, looked at me. I also did not avoid it and openly observed the gorgeous appearance of the other person.

The line that went from his eyebrows to his nose, and to his lips, was clear, showing his elegant figure. Vivid platinum hair that did not suit this place.

I never thought I’d see this guy here from Celina’s point of view.

‘The leader of the underground city, the Catacombs. What is the story hidden in his left eye, covered with an eye patch?’ This was Zeno’s introduction.

Honestly, this was a bit cringy. The ‘story’ was obvious enough to anyone who knew the typical cliché of creative work, but sadly, this setting was my limit.

His eye, Elijah pulled it out. To be precise, that cheap bastard ran away with all the Philosopher’s stones that were supposed to be divided in half. And now he’s living in that castle, boasting his wealth.

“Hi.”

After a long silence, he spoke first. It was a calm, dreamy voice with a stem of sunshine, like under the sea. It was close to a sweet voice, but it wasn’t exactly kind-hearted.

“Hi.”

I returned casually.

“You really look alike.”

“In any case, I am his daughter.”

“In any case, you say… That’s the funniest thing I’ve heard recently.”

A faint smile flashed across his perfectly shaped lips.

“Your subordinate behind me says I’m not funny.”

“What? Red, did you say that?”

He threw his gaze behind me and asked quite happily.

“That’s right.  She’s extremely boring. She didn’t really react to anything, so I wondered if she was some kind of doll.”

“I’m having fun.”

“Gosh. You just said that for the first time.”

She responded as if it was ridiculous.

“That’s right.  I just said that for the first time, but the Archmage’s daughter is very, very funny.”

His eye turned to me for a moment, then looked behind me again.

“Anyway, good job. You can wait downstairs.”

“Yes. Call me if you need me.”

I could hear Red Tail’s clothes rustling a couple of times in a regular motion. She was probably giving him a salute. After that, she left the room very quietly.

“Hey, you don’t need to save face and endure your pain while you’re here.”

Zeno said generously.

“What do you mean?”

“Those uncomfortable shoes. You can take them off.”

He glanced at my feet.

“That’s right.  in that case.”

He had a good sense. I took off my shoes without hesitation and held them in one hand. Unfortunately, Celina’s feet were covered in blood. The wounds weren’t severe, but it seemed that my feet got to this state due to the constant friction.

“But you don’t seem to be too scared. Why is that?”

Behind Zeno’s back, who spoke a bit surprised, the scenery of the underground city unfolded.

No matter how decorated it was, the place where the sunlight could not reach was dreary. The grief of the marginalized was also buried in the lingering atmosphere.

“What should I be scared of?”

“Well. You have been kidnapped.”

“Ah. That.”

“Ah, that? Is that all?”

Perhaps there was something funny about my insincere answer, as he let out a small chuckle.

“Aren’t you scared of dying?”

“You brought me here to kill me?”

“What if I did?”

He tilted his chin to one side.

“Dying is not that scary.”

This place isn’t real anyway.

“That’s an unexpected answer. You really are funny.”

Taking his back off the wall, he approached me in a carefree step. As Zeno got closer, I had to lift my chin. It was uncomfortable, but I couldn’t help it. It was my fault for making the male characters so tall.

“But wait. I’m fine with dying, but I don’t want to be in pain.”

I added urgently.

“Ah. An excessive contradiction.”

Zeno said, grabbing my neck effortlessly. I could feel the touch of well-worn leather gloves.

I frowned. Why are the people here so antsy to grab my neck? The woman before was like that, and this man now was like that too.

“If you’re going to kill me, can you not make me feel pain as much as possible?”

Zeno smelled surprisingly good. I didn’t know how to express it, but it was a clean and refreshing scent that didn’t suit this roughly put-together place at all. For some reason, I remembered the sea.

People like Celina took a bath every day and meticulously applied fragrant things from head to toe, so it was natural to have a good scent, but I didn’t expect this man to also be like that.

“I never said I would kill you.”

He muttered indifferently.

“Excuse me. You clearly said you were going to kill me just a moment ago.”

“I never said so. You assumed it to a great extent.”

“Are you joking right now?”

He smiled quietly as I got angry, then made eye contact with me as I bent my body. I could barely feel the focus in my eyes as they moved around this desolate place.

“You know, you have a fever. It must be a cold.”

A little more strength was added to the fingers around my neck.

“Can you feel that while you’re wearing gloves?”

I asked bitterly.

“That’s right.  Did my members do that to your cheeks?”

Zeno’s gaze turned slightly downwards.

“No. It happened somehow.”

“Alright then.”

I felt like my face was being completely dissected by his sharp persistence. His eyes lingered on my hair, eyebrows, nose, lips, and cheeks.