Chapter 181

He saw three black silhouettes slowly approaching him.

All parts of their bodies were covered except for their eyes, so it was impossible to tell who they were.

“Who are you?”

One of the silhouettes, who approached him before he knew it, spoke towards Louis.

Louis felt a cold sweat running down his back at the toneless voice of a middle-aged man.

“I came here because I wanted to do business with the Libro community.”

“You want to do business with us?”

“Yes. I heard that you handle magic potions…”

“Did you come with an appointment?”

Louis was speechless at the unexpected question.

The middle-aged man’s disapproving gaze seemed to see through everything.

“It would be better for your situation if you were honest. For what reason did you come here?”

Unlike his dull tone of voice, the man’s words were full of hostility and threats toward Louis.

He thought there was no point in lying anymore.

After hesitating for a moment, Louis slowly opened his mouth.

“Actually… I’m looking for someone. As long as you cooperate with me, the reward will be generous.”

“May I ask who it is?”

“… Count Jaden Serdian of the Stellen Kingdom.”

“…”

With Louis’ last words, the emotionless eyes of the middle-aged man turned cold.

Swoosh.

He tried to turn his body at the presence he felt behind him, but it was already too late.

A large hand suddenly appeared and firmly covered Louis’s mouth and nose, and he was unable to resist.

As soon as the texture of the wet linen cloth was felt on his skin, Louis’ red eyes began to disappear little by little.

***

Drip, drip.

The sound of water drops falling in the dark interior was terrifying.

He remembered being attacked by an unidentified person, but he had no idea what happened after that. He was completely defenseless. He could not guarantee he would live.

“Ah…”

A low sigh escaped Louis’ mouth.

The texture of the rough cloth covering both his eyes further heightened the fear that was rushing in.

The smell of damp soil. Large and small stones and puddles were scattered all over the place.

There was a stale smell inside, probably because it had not been ventilated in a long time.

After fumbling around with trembling hands, the corners of Louis’ lips slowly sank.

“Where the hell am I?”

A helpless murmur came out of Louis’ mouth, who had been silent for a while, but there was no one to answer his question. Judging from the sensations in his hands and how his voice echoed, he leaned towards the fact that the place he was now in was a cave.

Most importantly, it was clear that, whatever this place was, things were going badly.

It seems that the old woman’s words that he was going to a place that people deliberately avoided were not a lie.

There must be a reason for why they treated him like this even though he said they would get paid if they cooperated.

But for now, getting out of this place was more urgent than thinking about the reason.

Louis’ body trembled slightly as he took a slow deep breath to calm his nervous heart.

Trudge, trudge.

As his vision was obscured, he felt that his sense of smell and other senses had gotten more sensitive.

His sense of hearing was definitely one of them.

A sound he would not have normally heard lingered around his ears.

Someone was slowly approaching him.

One step, and another step.

Louis’ eyes, which were covered by a thick cloth, widened.

***

“What is this? Looks like he’s still unconscious?”

“I guess he’s weak for his size. That’s how aristocrats are after all, tsk tsk.”

“I don’t know why the Leader is just letting this guy leave. He is suspicious just by looking at him.”

“I heard that the lady who came recently asked for it.”

“In any case, our Sir is lucky.”

He could hear the voices of men conversing beside him, but he thought he shouldn’t be caught being awake.

It was kind of instinct. Survival instinct.

He had no choice but to act as much as he could and pretend that he didn’t hear them, and hope that the situation would pass.

“Hey, get up now. You should go home. Noble Sir.”

One of the men tapped Louis’ body, who was holding his breath while maintaining his posture, with his foot and spoke.

He felt like he was suffocating due to the rushing tension and pressure.

His mouth, which had been tightly closed, trembled from the anxiety that enveloped his body.

With a pained grunt, Louis grabbed his forehead and slowly stood up.

It was the only suitable way at this time.

Pretending to be as clumsy as possible and evoking sympathy through acting was the best thing he could do.

Even though he was the eldest son of the noble Duke Daniel, it didn’t work that well here.

Louis grabbed the black cloth that covered his eyes and spoke, pretending to look around while moving his head side to side as if he were anxious.