855-chapter-97
“Ugh…”
“Are you awake now?”
Anais found it hard to adjust to the familiar voice coming from her own body speaking in a slightly elevated tone. It was only after realizing that the voice was coming from her own body that Anais could look ahead.
“Try to get up.”
“My head hurts.”
The pain in Anais’s head was so severe that she couldn’t focus. Even if she had been knocked unconscious, she was currently in Lilith Isadora’s body. By all accounts, she should have recovered by now, but her head was still throbbing unusually.
“Where are we…?”
“Ha, Anais. Snap out of it.”
Lilith spoke irritably. She tried to maintain a casual tone but inadvertently reverted to formal speech with Anais.
“Is it Lilith behind me?”
“Yes.”
As her eyes adjusted to the darkness, Anais surveyed her surroundings. The place was unfamiliar, but she could sense someone behind her, likely Lilith, since it was her voice.
Moreover, her body wasn’t responding well. Anais wondered if her inability to move was due to the headache as she tried to twist her body. But her wrists hurt too much, and she felt weak all over, as if she had been drugged.
“Why are we here?”
“How would I know?”
Despite Lilith’s sarcastic tone, Anais couldn’t fully come to her senses. It seemed her movement was restricted, but it took her a while to realize this, given her groggy state.
“My head feels weird.”
“You’ve been given painkillers from the Temple of Morpheus.”
“How do you know that?”
“I’ve taken them myself.”
Anais wondered if this was all a hallucination from Lilith’s words, especially since she could see someone approaching her.
“Kylian?”
Lilith sighed dismissively.
“The hallucination will wear off soon. It doesn’t seem like you were given much.”
Anais couldn’t grasp Lilith’s words as she was distracted by Kylian smiling at her. He had the face of his youth from five years ago, not the stern emperor’s demeanor but the fresh-faced joy of their wedding day.
Kylian with glazed eyes that really wouldn’t kill even spiders, and good eyes that curled slightly when he sees her. Brilliant as if he had gold in his eyes.
“It’s a hallucination.”
“I told you it was.”
“Ha.”
Anais was startled as the smiling Kylian seemed to approach her side.
“Why can I feel the touch?”
“It’s a side effect.”
Anais was bewildered as Kylian’s apparition felt real and caressed her cheek. The hallucination smiled sweetly at her and then gently opened his eyes to meet hers.
“Wife.”
At that moment, his face transformed into the current Kylian, prompting Anais to mutter a curse under her breath.
“Damn.”
“Wife, I would appreciate it if you could remove the leaves from my hair.”
Anais asked Lilith desperately.
“When will it disappear?”
“What are you seeing that makes you react this way? Is Kylian cursing at you or something?”
Lilith sighed in frustration by Anais’s almost tearful words.
“The hallucination will fade in about 30 minutes. And it seems we’ve been kidnapped.”
“What?”
“Wife, you need to focus.”
“Ah…”
Anais shook her head, wondering if even Lilith was an illusion.
“Wife, I wish you would look at me.”
“Please, stop!”
Anais closed her eyes tightly, but she could still feel the touch on her cheek, which soon grasped her chin. She was startled that she opened her eyes to find him approaching her, as if to kiss her.
“Can’t this be forcibly stopped?”
“It will stop if you feel pain. But given the painkillers, it would take a lot to feel anything.”
Anais clenched her jaw, then felt Kylian’s lips on her cheek. She tried to endure the burning sensation by clenching her fist tightly, but it was useless.
“Just bear with it quietly. It’s only for 30 minutes, after all.”
Anais couldn’t just sit still. As she twisted her body around, she and Lilith were separated as the pole they were tied to fell. The clear sound rang out as Anais grabbed the fallen pillar with her hands tied behind her back and tried to strike her own shoulders.
“Wife, what are you doing?”
But it wasn’t easy. As she attempted to strike her shoulders again, Lilith snatched it away.
“What are you doing?”
“I said I want to wake up.”
Lilith turned around and jabbed Anais in the stomach with the stick she had grabbed very forcefully.
“Ugh!”
“Wife! Are you… okay…?”
At that moment, Kylian’s illusion disappeared.
Anais’s head cleared as if she had fully regained consciousness.
“Ugh…”
The pain in her stomach gradually subsided. Anais gasped for air, struggling to get up from the floor.
“Why have we been kidnapped? Where is this place?”
“I don’t know. Since I’ve been kidnapped too, Kylian will probably come looking for us.”
Lilith sat back down after saying that. Anais agreed, but the situation didn’t feel entirely unfamiliar, perhaps because they had been kidnapped together before.
“Your body is really comfortable, Anais.”
“What do you mean?”
“Even sleeping on the floor doesn’t hurt, and I can see everything clearly in this dark place. Plus, you’re strong. So that’s why everything was so easy for you.”
Anais didn’t respond to Lilith’s seemingly complimentary yet sarcastic remark. Instead, she looked around for something to untie her hands. The surroundings were very clean, resembling a warehouse, but devoid of any items.
The unique damp smell of mold, the scent of dust, and the lack of light all confirmed that this place was underground. Then, she noticed a faint light seeping in.
“It’s still night.”
The dim moonlight suggested the room was a basement, with half the window above ground and the other half buried. The size of the window seemed barely adequate for an escape.
“What are you doing?”
“Uht…”
Anais grabbed a pole that Lilith had discarded nearby. Turning around, she attempted to break the window.
Creak.
“What are you doing?”
Just then, the door opened, precisely when Anais hadn’t heard any footsteps.
“Sit down.”
Anais realized that what was pointed at her was a gun. Guns were precious and not widely distributed, so it was inaccessible to civilians.
While hunters had different rules, their guns required permits, and bullets were not distributed to individuals.
This indicated that the man in front of her might be a nobleman. His attire was obscured by a black robe, making it difficult to see him clearly.
“Stay quiet.”
Anais thought being shot might not be the worst way to untie herself, given she wasn’t in her original body and had failed to notice someone upstairs or hear footsteps coming down.
“Just put the gun down.”
“Sit.”
“….”
Anais sighed and sat down. Behind him, she could see about five men. There could be more, but that was all she could see for now.
“You guys.”
Anais deliberately called out to them, and they looked her way.
“You are the Priests of Death, huh?”
The men frowned at her words, then pulled their hoods down deeper, and silence enveloped the room.
* * *
Leviathan spoke to Phileal with a displeased face.
“You don’t even listen.”
“Why should I listen to you?”
Phileal was frustrated. He had tried to check on Anais in her room, only to find out she had gone to the servants’ quarters.
He had even checked there, but Anais hadn’t unpacked or left any trace.
Phileal had spent almost the entire night looking for her but to no avail.
“The High Priest of Death isn’t your parent.”
“He’s more valuable than a parent.”
“That’s your misconception.”
“Why start a fight first thing in the morning? Just leave me alone.”
Phileal was on the verge of exploding. Anais had been acting strange yesterday, appearing resigned and distracted.
It was clear something had happened after she met alone with the Empress.
“It’s not too late yet.”
Leviathan blocked Phileal’s path. He had been repeating the warning not to trust the High Priest of Death since their last encounter. Each time, Phileal was puzzled by his sudden change in attitude, unsure why Leviathan’s warnings were directed at him.
Phileal suspected the motive might be related to something Leviathan sensed or learned during a conversation with Anais. However, he couldn’t understand why he was caught in the crossfire.
Moreover, Phileal felt a twinge of disgust each time he recalled how naturally Leviathan conversed with Anais better than him.
“If you want me to listen to you, then stop meddling in my affairs.”
“I’m not interested in your prey. Haven’t you realized that yet?”
“Then what about last time? Why did you suddenly approach Anais and speak to her?”
“It seems you’re trying to nurture your prey, but that’s not a wise move.”
“What’s your reason for advising me? Are you just here to pick a fight?”
Phileal felt that seeing Anais would dissolve his current frustration. He imagined her hiding somewhere and silently crying. Yet, she was nowhere to be found, not even in the abandoned palace.
“Anais Percival is not in the palace.”
“What? How do you know that…? Don’t tell me.”
Leviathan did not want to disobey his superior’s orders, fearing he would have to bear the consequences of any fallout.
“It was meaningless. Even if you hurt others, hate them, and live as if it’s someone else’s life. In the end, it’s empty, and nothing remains.”
Yet, Anais’s words still echoed in his heart.
“Did the High Priest take Anais away?”
“No.”
“Then what?”
“The priests took Anais Percival. The High Priest allowed it.”
Leviathan sighed as if making a decision. Then he looked Phileal in the eyes.
“And you will soon become the High Priest’s sacrifice.”
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