CHAPTER 284: REUNION IN THE RUINS

It had been four days since Dominic was locked in that room, with no progress and no plan of escape.

He sat there while staring blankly at the closed black wooden door that had just shut behind Isolde after she took away his breakfast.

The woman who is heavy with makeup and drenched in the scent of perfume seemed to be in an unnecessarily good mood again today.

Still, it felt strange that a woman who proudly called herself the queen of this kingdom would bring him his meals herself.

Was she that desperate to keep him hidden?

Did she want to make sure no one else knew he was here, to lessen even the smallest chance of his escape?

All she ever did was sit with him during meals, talk about meaningless things all on her own and then leave.

Dominic could not figure out what she truly wanted.

To begin with, he didn’t understand the woman’s feelings.

He knew she was attracted to him.

In her mind, it seemed already decided that he would become her husband.

If only he could use her affection to his advantage to get information from her or make her do what he wanted that might have been useful.

But Dominic had never been good with women and such things were impossible for him.

He had tried a few times, but each attempt ended in failure.

He couldn’t think of a single thing that would please her.

He had never dated a woman, never even tried to charm one.

He was nothing more than a simple soldier a man who only knew how to swing a sword.

In his life, there had been no woman who ever caught his heart.

And now, after finding Shiao Yi, he had no need for anyone else.

Dominic placed his hand against the wall.

The surface was strange, hard, yet somehow soft to the touch.

If only he could destroy it and escape.

But the restraints fastened around his neck and wrists drained his strength the moment he tried to exert any power.

Right now, he couldn’t even muster the strength of a small child.

If he pushed himself, he would only end up collapsing from exhaustion.

"Damn it..."

His open hand tightened into a fist against the wall.

There was nothing he could do.

Even now, the wall seemed to suck away his magic energy, leaving his body heavy and weak.

Last night, during dinner, Isolde had used enchantment magic on him.

She must have been growing impatient with how closed off he remained.

When he resisted, she even tried to cast a spell of domination on him.

But Dominic did not yield.

Isolde had finally given up and left, but after that, the amount of magic being drained from Dominic had suddenly increased.

It was obvious that she planned to weaken him until he became completely helpless and easy to be controlled.

At this point, he could barely keep himself standing.

His legs trembled and he had to brace himself just to stay upright.

His condition was on the verge of complete magical exhaustion and it had been like that since the night before.

Then, the door opened.

Dominic instinctively tensed, ready for any small chance of escape.

But Isolde only entered the room while pushing a small food cart in front of her.

She quickly shut the door behind her and almost immediately, a strong barrier reappeared.

For just a brief moment, Dominic sensed multiple magical presences outside and most likely it’s from the guard.

That was nothing new; there were always several stationed nearby to watch over him.

Without saying a word, Isolde began to set the dishes neatly before him.

As always, it was a seafood meal that was brightly colored and carefully seasoned with herbs and spices and beautifully arranged on the plates.

It was clear the palace chefs had prepared it; it must have tasted wonderful to anyone else.

But to Dominic, it was like chewing sand.

Without Shiao Yi, he couldn’t even taste food anymore.

Still, since his magic was being drained constantly and hunger gnawed at him forcing him to eat just to keep his body moving.

It was no different from doing mechanical work.

After chatting to herself and laughing as though he were part of the conversation, Isolde eventually finished her lunch, collected the empty dishes and left the room again with the cart.

Dominic didn’t even bother pretending to see her off.

He just sat back down on the sofa while holding his head in his hands.

How long would this continue?

The hopelessness of not finding any way out weighed on him like a stone.

Then—

Boom! Bang!!

A sudden explosion roared through the room, followed by heat and a powerful shockwave that hurled bits of stone and wood through the air.

Spinning around, Dominic saw that the wooden door had been completely blown apart.

Beyond it, the thick stone wall had been shattered into rubble with dust swirling everywhere.

The sharp smell of gunpowder filled the ai and he understood instantly.

It was Shiao Yi.

He was the only person in this world who knew how to use gunpowder.

Dominic leapt toward the opening that had been blasted through the wall.

The explosion had destroyed the magical barrier that sealed the room.

He realized now that the door to his prison had been made of stone with a wooden layer attached over it and it’s two barriers instead of one.

And there, just past the collapsed bookshelves of what seemed to be a study room, he spotted Shiao Yi whose currently crouched down while clutching his head in pain.

Dominic froze for a moment, then quickly turned back toward the room he had just escaped from.

Inside that chamber stood a large block of black agate stone, the same mineral Isolde had used to amplify her teleportation magic.

But that stone also had another, far more dangerous property: it disrupted Shiao Yi’s unique abilities.