Rejected by Daughter’s Second Male Lead Chapter 95

“Yuan, are you really going to be okay?”

On the way down to the basement, Gillen grabbed Yuan’s arm and whispered. Yuan was silent. But Yuan’s voice echoed in Gillen’s head.

[You didn’t eat anything in the dining hall earlier, did you?]

Gillen was startled and looked at Yuan. Yuan was walking with his mouth tightly shut, looking straight ahead.

Isn’t this… telepathy, something I’ve only seen in martial arts novels? It seemed there was no end to what could be done with magic. Well, I guess that’s what magic is. But the problem was that Gillen couldn’t use telepathy. He looked at Yuan and shook his head from side to side.

[Good. I left the dining hall because I didn’t know what they might have put in the food or drinks.]

I see. Marius seemed to be eating the wine and meat just fine. Then suddenly, Gillen’s eyes widened. He remembered that he had made Yuan drink water. But before Gillen could open his mouth, Yuan’s voice came through via magic.

[I spat out all the water earlier, so don’t worry.]

Ah, so he deliberately spat it out while pretending to be shy. Gillen was inwardly impressed. This kid’s mind really works fast. He briefly blamed himself for not having a basic level of suspicion. At the same time, however, he felt a sense of pity for Yuan, who had to make such a basic suspicion as natural as breathing.

[Drugging people is one of that old fossil’s favorite tricks. Don’t drink or eat anything unless you’re with me.]

Gillen quietly nodded.

The three of them soon arrived at the basement. The stairs leading to the basement weren’t hidden very strictly. A large wooden door on the garden floor simply opened to reveal the stairs.

“I’ll go first. Please follow me carefully.”

Marius smiled kindly, picked up a candlestick from the wall, and went down first. It was as if he were giving them a tour of the temple. Gillen held Yuan’s arm more tightly and stepped down the stairs with him.

The basement was extremely deep and large. The stairs didn’t continue for long, but it seemed there was an underground space exactly the size of the temple below, and it was so vast that it gave him the chills, with no end in sight.

On either side of the long, narrow, and dark corridor, there were doors packed tightly together, each with a number written on it. Below the doors, there was a small hole-like opening for passing food through. Other than that, there seemed to be no windows connecting this space to the outside.

‘You mean all of this is a prison…?’

Gillen’s hand, holding Yuan’s arm, tightened even more. Yuan’s arm, though he himself was unaware, was also more tense than before. The damp smell and cool temperature of this underground space, and the appearance of the room where he had been confined, seemed to bring back the memories of that time vividly.

That’s what trauma is. No matter how much time passes, it is never forgotten. Instead, it becomes distorted and transformed, growing into an even bigger and more powerful monster and taking root.

In the past, Gillen would clench his molars just thinking about his family. The reason he was able to move past his trauma was not due to things like transmigration or the passage of time, but thanks to Cecilia’s existence. And Cecilia’s trauma was also weakened by Gillen.

But Yuan didn’t have anyone like that for him.

‘So I’ll protect him.’

Gillen thought.

Of course, now that Yuan had come to like him, Gillen had to keep his distance and draw a line. Only then could he be sure of the identity of the ‘affection’ Yuan felt.

But protecting Yuan was another matter. This was something an adult, a human being, had to do.

“How far are we going?”

From what he’d heard, the deeper you went into the basement, the more vicious or powerful prisoners were confined. That’s why the smell of blood was so strong in the depths, from trying to control those prisoners. The three of them were still walking in the entrance area of the underground prison, but it felt like they had been walking for at least five minutes.

“The place we are going to is a little far. You can walk with a relaxed mind. The holy prison is only strict with sinners. The innocent who have not committed any sin are safe here.”

Marius answered calmly. Gillen snorted loudly enough for Marius to hear. Marius didn’t react and just kept walking.

But then, Yuan’s voice was transmitted into his mind again.

[Why are you deliberately provoking that old fossil? You’re so weak you’d fall over if he so much as nudged you.]

“For your information, I’m a sword master! What do you mean I’m…!”

Gillen’s voice, who had retorted out of reflex, boomed through the basement. Marius turned to look at Gillen.

“What did you say, Your Grace the Duke?”

“Ah… um… I’m naturally innocent and safe, because I’m a sword master recognized by the empire! That’s what I was trying to say.”

Gillen made up an excuse on the spot. Marius smiled brightly and nodded his head.

“I’m sure you are. There are rumors that Your Grace the Duke is a non-believer, but I know, don’t I? That the Blake Duchy makes more donations than anyone else.”

‘I’m not giving it to you because I like you, you bastard.’

He was deliberately making large donations because he was afraid Marius would approach Cecilia separately, citing her neglect of her religious life. It would also be good if that money could contribute even a little to the temple’s volunteer work. But Gillen was 99% certain that the money was being illegally embezzled.

“We’re almost there now.”

Marius finished with that and started walking again. And a short while later, they came to stand in front of a certain door.

‘We’re about halfway through the basement.’

“Room 444. A room I specially prepared for Yuan. I used to come and go so often… Ah, this place has been specially treated. It has been empty ever since Yuan left.”

When Marius grabbed the doorknob, there was a sound of the lock being released by divine power.

And creak—

The door that had swallowed Yuan in the past opened.

The doors of the holy prison looked ordinary, but they actually had the function of blocking divine power. This was because the doors and walls of the holy prison were all made of sulfur stone, also known as ‘demon’s tears’. Sulfur stone was a rock that contaminated and neutralized divine power.

Unless one had the immense divine power of a high priest, even most high-ranking priests couldn’t use their power in here. That’s why even priests and holy knights who had done wrong had to be docile inside the holy prison.

But magical power was different from divine power, so Yuan could use his power even in here. That was why Marius had bound and tied up Yuan, who was just a child, with magic-suppressing chains.

“How is it, Yuan? Doesn’t it feel familiar, seeing it after so long?”

Marius asked with an expression of genuine pleasure.

“…You crazy old fossil.”

Yuan said, as if chewing the words. He had been trying to avoid speaking out loud as much as possible, but in this place, he just couldn’t hold it in.

“…”

Meanwhile, Gillen couldn’t say a word. He was severely shocked by the desolate room.

The room wasn’t small. But the moment he realized that the pattern on the brown stone walls and floor was actually bloodstains, and that the true color of the stone was gray, Gillen’s vision went white.

All of this was blood that Yuan had shed. These reddish-brown marks that covered the entire room were Yuan’s. There were even bloodstains soaked into parts of the ceiling.

That wasn’t all. Below the small chair where Yuan was presumed to have been tied up for three years, a chamber pot and thick iron chains were neatly placed.

Marius stroked the wall as if touching a precious memento and said.

“I haven’t cleaned it with water once in thirteen years, for fear that even a trace of Yuan might be erased. Of course, I didn’t want dust to settle, so I looked in every day. Do you remember these chains, Yuan? These chains probably can’t bind you anymore, can they? You’ve become much stronger than before.”

“You psycho bastard…”

The one who spat out the curse was not Yuan. It was Gillen, who was glaring at Marius while emitting aggressive pheromones. His gaze was so fierce that Yuan was startled.

“The god Retina is quite funny. To think she gave such strong power to a vicious bastard like you. Is she actually some kind of mastermind? Maybe she’s a demon in disguise, or something?”

Gillen, consumed by rage, shot back without any filter. His usual easygoing and gentle demeanor was nowhere to be found.

“Huhu, a demon? What are you talking about, Your Grace the Duke?”

Marius laughed at Gillen leisurely.

“I don’t know what you’re imagining, but Lady Retina bestowed her divine power so that more people could become her children. I, who have the most outstanding qualities, was chosen as the High Priest.”

His eyes, filled with ecstasy, turned to Yuan.

“And the next High Priest chosen by me… is none other than Yuan.”

Gillen was shocked. On the other hand, whether it was fortunate or unfortunate, Yuan’s complexion was not much different from before. There was no emotion on his expressionless face.

“Yuan, I’ve been thinking constantly. How could I make you return to the embrace of God? How could I… keep you by my side.”

Marius continued.

“But then I heard you became lovers with Duke Blake. At first, I was at a loss, disappointed, and also sad… but on second thought, it was a golden opportunity.”

He grinned. Gillen thought that handsome face looked like a slit-mouthed demon.

“All I have to do is take what’s precious to Yuan and tie it down, right? Then you’ll naturally come to my side.”

The moment those words ended, a bolt of pure white lightning struck inside the room.

BOOM! A tremendous roar and vibration that shook the entire underground holy prison enveloped Gillen.