Chapter 96
“No, why are we going deeper and deeper into the forest?”
Flora had a lot she wanted to say, but she silently followed the knight who was walking ahead without looking back.
She really felt like just overturning everything, but if she did that, all the patience she’d exercised until now would be wasted.
“Sir, how much farther do we have to go?”
“Call me Knight.”
“Alright… Knight Sir. How much farther? My feet hurt now.”
“Tch, this is what you get with uneducated children. No manners, no courtesy.”
Even though the knight corrected her, she spoke freely anyway, and she could feel the harsh judgment in his gaze.
‘A knight has to act like a knight to be treated as one.’
Anyone could see he was leading her somewhere suspicious, yet he had the nerve to lecture her.
On top of that, he wasn’t even matching his pace, so she had to hurry to keep up with his fast stride.
Realizing that rushing would only earn more unpleasant looks, she quietly trailed behind him.
After a while, the narrow grassy path ended, and an open clearing appeared.
It was hardly a place suitable for protecting a child.
There, a man stood with a commanding presence, next to a large box nearly as tall as his legs.
A suspicious place, and now a strange box too.
Flora thought he must have planned something seriously. Just then, the man frowned in displeasure upon seeing the arriving knight.
“Why are you so late!”
“I apologize. The mercenaries kept bothering us, so it took longer than expected.”
“The mercenaries, what? I told you to handle it quietly before Viscount Lucifer arrived!”
The man did not spare his scolding, as if the knight’s explanation sounded like a poor excuse.
‘Ah, I know who you are now.’
She had been uncertain from his face alone, but hearing his irritable voice made it clear.
This man was Count Tassen, the lord of the territory that had suffered the most damage.
She remembered how irritating he had been during meetings.
‘Not the executioners, but the Count is stepping in?’
She had assumed the executioners would have handled things since they saw her, but apparently not.
‘Or perhaps it’s cowardly, and the executioners are just watching from afar.’
Either way, as Flora had suspected, she was to be used as bait.
“Do you think this is a joke? The lives of everyone and the future of the East depend on this! Where is your mind wandering?”
The knight’s expression soured at being scolded over a mere mercenary and the child involved.
“Well, you’re not bad as I heard. Child, how old are you?”
Having finished his anger, the Count scrutinized Flora from head to toe before nodding in satisfaction.
“Seven years old.”
Ignoring Flora’s puzzled gaze, he turned away, lost in thought.
Flora, frightened, asked the knight who had brought her along:
“Knight Sir… Isn’t this different from what you said? You said the executioners would protect me.”
He gave her a blatantly disdainful look.
“Tch, do you think they have the leisure to protect someone like you?”
Then, with a strong grip, he grabbed her wrist and dragged her body along.
“Get in here. We’ll carry you like this.”
“Yes, understood.”
“W-wait! Sir?”
Before Flora could comprehend, the knight lifted her and placed her inside the box beside the Count.
Seeing the unusual situation, Flora pouted and desperately grabbed the knight’s wrist.
“Knight Sir? What are you doing? Are you selling me to some strange place? I don’t want to go, I’m scared.”
Fully immersed in her act, tears began to well up in her eyes.
Even the knight, who had despised mercenaries, froze when he saw a child crying.
Count Tassen, perhaps reaching his limit of patience, clicked his tongue and stepped forward.
He looked down at Flora solemnly.
“Listen well, child. You have the most important role in this hunt. You are the bait.”
“…Bait for the demon?”
Flora understood the situation immediately, her fearful expression causing the Count to nod in satisfaction.
“So… does that mean I’ll die?”
Tears streamed down Flora’s face.
“Why do I have to die? I don’t want to die.”
Perhaps feeling some sympathy for the sight of her tearful, innocent eyes, he continued in a surprisingly gentle voice.
“I don’t know why the Eastern demon wants a child, but if it does, it will appear in front of you. That’s when we’ll act.”
Still confused, Flora looked at him, and he spoke with a calm, almost indulgent tone.
“The hunting party will be lying in wait around you. And when the demon appears to target you, everyone will attack it.”
“So we just have to lure the demon, right? I won’t die?”
“Of course not. This is all part of the hunting party’s plan. Trust us.”
The hunting party’s plan—what a joke.
Benio had never once mentioned any of this. If they had planned it secretly after losing Lucifer, he wouldn’t know, but Janet said there was no trace of a secret meeting.
“But the reason you brought me here was a lie from the start. How can I trust you?”
Flora couldn’t quietly let that pass. Sniffling, she voiced her indignation.
“You said the executioners would protect me when the mercenaries brought me. What if something happens to me? My brother would have heard everything clearly.”
The knight, quietly listening behind, scoffed.
“Who would listen to mere mercenaries?”
If he knew who her brother was, he wouldn’t be laughing so easily.
Since Benio hadn’t returned yet, things were calm, but if he came back and heard this, the hunting party would be in an uproar.
‘Now, I’m not just some innocent little bear.’
Of course, the knight, unaware of the hidden meaning, probably found her posturing rather amusing.
“Little one, you don’t understand the ways of the world yet…”
“Sir Pete, I am speaking, aren’t I?”
His blatant mockery was stopped by Count Tassen.
“We cannot use a civilian child as bait. Do you want another child here instead?”
Seeming kind for a moment, he quickly added a threatening tone.
“Would you like another child trembling in fear here instead of you? That would have been bad, wouldn’t it?”
Flora, still sniffling, shook her head. The menacing expression on his face relaxed.
“Nothing you worry about will ever happen.”
Firmly, Flora shot back:
“Are you sure you won’t regret using me as bait?”
Perhaps seeing this as her final struggle, Count Tassen reluctantly raised his hand.
“Child, you will save everyone.”
He roughly patted her brown hair.
Though he quickly pulled away as if something dirty had touched him, he couldn’t hide a small smile.
“Now, sit quietly in the box. We have a long way to the prepared location.”
Flora nodded resignedly. Though clearly reluctant, there was nothing more she could do.
She settled into the box made for a child her size. Soon, the lid closed.
As darkness surrounded her, Flora stretched her curled-up legs and leaned against the box.
She felt herself lifted into the air as the knight carried the box.
‘So what’s the real purpose?’
Was this secretive extraction truly to use her as bait?
‘There’s no reason to do this while my brother is away.’
Even if they had asked Lucifer for help, she might understand, but this procedure made no sense.
And it was suspicious that only Count Tassen was here.
Clearly, he was aiming for something, but she couldn’t tell what.
‘Ah, why bother thinking? I’ll know when I face them.’
How could she possibly read all human minds?
She decided to give up and just wait.
“This time, we should be able to greet him, right?”
A voice reached her ears that made her doubt she had heard correctly.
“An innocent, fragile soul under ten years old. The scriptures say that if one offers one hundred children as a sacrifice, he will appear personally and grant their wishes…”
