Chapter 33
‘What should I do?’
Flora couldn’t just leave behind the young boy who had stepped up to protect her.
‘Foolish. Just because you’ve spent time with humans, did you really think you became one?’
Seeing the boy act like that made Flora feel more and more that she had to resolve the situation herself.
But no matter how hard she thought, no good idea came to mind. It was a dead end.
The mercenaries who could have helped were all injured, so there was no external aid to count on.
If things continued like this, everyone would die.
‘I underestimated the Forest of Demons. I’ll have to use my trump card.’
The vessel within her that held magic energy had been formed the moment Flora first started to sense magic—she had gathered it little by little into a single shape.
Fortunately, once she created the vessel, the magic began accumulating in it on its own, and until now, she had never once tapped into the energy that had been used to create the vessel itself.
Normally, she would borrow ambient magic from her surroundings, and if that wasn’t enough, she would dip into the magic stored in the vessel.
‘If it breaks, I’ll just have to start gathering from the beginning again. But I’ve got no choice.’
Flora’s golden eyes began to glimmer with an uncanny light.
‘If this works, I won’t just hurt that beast—I might even kill it outright.’
If she destroyed the vessel she had worked so hard to build but failed to claim the monster’s life, her pride would suffer deeply.
A breeze began to rise behind her.
Through his fading vision, Basilian blankly stared at the radiant light surrounding Flora.
‘Why won’t you run away?’
The boy, four years younger than Basilian, bravely stood his ground against the monster. He shone like a hero come to rescue him.
The black orb forming in Flora’s hand slowly grew larger. If she hurled it into the beast’s mouth, the compressed magic would detonate on impact.
With a wicked smile, Flora rose to throw it—but at that moment, she felt a small hand clutch at her clothes.
“Da-dangerous.”
“It’s okay. I’ll protect you.”
Why did the lisping little boy seem so reliable all of a sudden?
A smile crept across Basilian’s lips—oddly out of place in such a dire moment.
‘This is the first time.’
That someone had stepped forward, saying they would protect him. And it felt better than he had ever imagined.
But as soon as he recalled the cold stares, the disdain, and the faces filled with fear that had always been directed at him, the warmth in his chest grew heavy.
‘Like this… I feel like I could die without regrets.’
How wonderful it would be if he could just spend a little longer with them.
Thinking thoughts that would make Flora faint if she heard them, Basilian forced his eyes open and clung desperately to his fading consciousness.
‘If this really is the end, should I use that power?’
But the moment he used the forbidden power, he would lose his reason and become nothing more than a madman.
Even if he was used to being despised, he didn’t want to meet death as an empty shell.
‘It really must be the end.’
So Basilian closed his eyes. At the same time, Flora prepared to unleash the black orb—
“Wooooaaah!”
The fierce battle cry of knights erupted in waves from afar.
A powerful energy swept outward, and light began to spread across the blighted ground.
Flora immediately recognized the holy aura with her own eyes, and quickly hid her hand behind her back.
Heavy footsteps thundered closer, and then a knight leaped high into the air, slicing the massive monster from head to toe in a single strike.
“Gr—ghhh.”
With nothing but a pitiful groan, the beast was split in two, dying without resistance.
The Duke of Lucipher had arrived.
Cheers erupted all around at his appearance, and as he felled the monster, voices rose in unison to press the attack.
Athanas flicked the black blood from his blade as if he were used to this sight. But suddenly, feeling something off, he whipped his head around.
“…Flora?”
There stood his daughter—who absolutely should not have been here.
“Uh, hi, Daddy.”
Flora awkwardly raised her hand, unable to meet his gaze.
Apparently, she knew she had done wrong, because she couldn’t face him with confidence.
Athanas blinked several times, then struck himself hard across the cheek with his fist.
“Gasp! Daddy!”
Flora, startled, tried to stop him, but his self-punishment didn’t cease until someone rushed in and grabbed his leg, forcing him to stop.
“Flora, why are you here?”
“Be…because…”
Flora’s eyes darted about nervously.
She had been bold enough to hide among the baggage, but of course, she was bound to get caught eventually.
Still, she had prepared an excuse for just such a time.
“I—I was playing hide-and-seek…”
Tears welled up in her eyes, and Athanas, flustered, scooped her into his arms.
“I must have fallen asleep… a-and when I woke up, everyone was gone…”
“…It was my fault for not paying closer attention.”
Holding her tightly, Athanas gently patted her back.
“I should never have forgotten how mischievous you can be.”
“I was so scared. I’m sorry.”
Showing weakness in front of Lucipher wounded her pride, but to avoid his scolding, Flora was willing to endure it.
“D…Daddy?”
At that moment, Basilian opened his eyes again and muttered in shock.
“Oh, right! Daddy! Basil got hurt! We need to heal him!”
“I’m fine, really—urgh.”
Basilian tried to rise, but clutched his chest and collapsed back down.
“Basil!”
Flora reached toward him, but Athanas, afraid she might tumble forward, held her tightly in his arms.
“Daddy, Basil!”
An unexpected high-ranking monster, his daughter appearing in the middle of the chaos, and a young boy trying to protect her—
So many unforeseen things had happened, but sighing in front of his daughter was out of the question.
‘At least all the monsters that descended near the village have been dealt with.’
Athanas ordered nearby knights to tend to the wounded boy, who seemed to be the mercenary company’s errand-runner.
In the arms of the cold, wintry man, the little flower of a young lady made a startling impression upon the Lucipher knights.
After halting the subjugation to deal with the sudden attack, Athanas carried his daughter to the safety of Lucipher’s encampment before returning to the hunt.
“Troublemaker.”
“I’m not a troublemaker.”
“You are a troublemaker.”
When Benio, left behind to guard Flora, declared this firmly, Flora shut her mouth—her faint sense of guilt winning out.
Because there lay a message, a belated urgent report from the manor about Flora’s disappearance.
‘Good thing he caught her before reading this.’
Had Athanas not found Flora in person, and instead read this letter, he might have abandoned the mission entirely, frantically searching for her.
‘Just my guess. Would he really abandon a job for money?’
But there was a bigger problem.
From the look of things, the manor must have been in an uproar. For now, she wouldn’t be free to move as she pleased.
“You’re daydreaming because you don’t want to hear me nag.”
“No, I’m reflecting.”
“Fine. I’ll believe you—just this once.”
Sighing, Benio applied ointment to the scratches on Flora’s cheek and hand.
“So this is what it’s like, growing up outside the castle of Lucipher.”
“You told me not to sigh at you.”
“Maybe it’s just that you’re special.”
Another sigh slipped from him.
Somehow, he was certain that spending more time with Flora would only mean more sighs.
After checking Flora’s injuries, Benio turned his attention to Basilian, sitting quietly beside her.
“No matter how urgent, I can’t believe the mercenaries use someone this young as an errand boy.”
“You said you started young too.”
“I had my duties as—”
Sensing he was about to repeat the same lecture he always gave, Flora turned her head away, clearly uninterested.
“You okay, Basil?”
“…So you’re not a knight’s daughter?”
“Um, I guess I am?”
Flora glanced at Benio for help, and he backed her up.
“Her father and I both swore knightly oaths and pledged loyalty to the crown. So yes, we are knights.”
“See! He said so!”
“….”
Basilian’s expression grew strangely complicated.
‘Odd. He doesn’t seem nearly as frightened as I expected.’
Well, living among mercenaries would shape his view of Lucipher, no doubt.
“Basil, you really protected me, huh?”
“Yes. That’s why you’re safe, even though I got hurt. You’re very brave and admirable for someone so young.”
At Benio’s praise, Basilian quickly turned his head away in embarrassment.
Such insolent behavior would normally be unacceptable in front of nobility, but instead of rebuking him, Benio simply smiled and handed him an antibiotic.
“Take this.”
Woooaaah!
At that moment, cheers erupted outside once again.
“Once we finish off the monsters that reached the villages near the county, we’ll be able to return.”
“When will that be?”
“Even though unexpected monsters appeared in an unexpected place—including a high-ranking one—since your father himself took command, it won’t be long. A few hours at most… or a day.”
