The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 106

Episode 106

Flora chose to show him with actions rather than words.

She stretched out her hand, holding demonic power in her palm, and the stone door, which looked heavy to anyone who saw it, opened with a loud noise.

"Wait, that power... Could it be...?"

As expected, actions were more persuasive than words.

Flora looked into the room, which felt chilly to the point of being icy, and nodded in satisfaction at the sight, which was more brutal than she had imagined.

"Now, shall we begin my introduction?"

She quickly recited the situation while looking at Pascal, who still hadn't regained his senses.

"My name is Flora Lucifer. I am the youngest daughter of the current Duke Lucifer. I secretly infiltrated the demon subjugation team to follow my older brother, who must be judged, but I was discovered and had to take refuge with a mercenary band. I was following my older brother, who noticed something strange about the child abduction case, when I was kidnapped by the demon worshippers. The western demon saved me. He's stupid and foolish, but I cherished him, though he doesn't recognize me now."

"W-wait a minute. Slow down..."

Given what she'd said, one might expect him to nod and welcome her gladly, but his face was still the picture of confusion.

"I don't have time. If you don't want to be truly subjugated by the subjugation team, you need to drive them out immediately. So they can't even dream of subjugation ever again."

"No, this is too sudden. Are you really the being I'm thinking of? I..."

He certainly had a lot of doubts.

Flora looked at her meticulous demon and pulled up the corners of her mouth.

Hoping it was a smile similar to the one she had when she first accepted him as her demon, she softly spoke his name.

"Long time no see, Pascal?"

"......"

"Ah, shall I ring the bell too?"

Seeing his dazed face, Flora took out the bell she had picked up earlier and rang it with a jingle.

"I need you now, my demon."

"...Master? My Master? My Mors? Is it really you?"

Tears welled up in his eyes, unbefitting of a demon.

Seeing this product of emotion, showing how much he had missed Mors, Flora smiled even more deeply.

"Let's save the emotional reunion for later. Once we resolve this incident, we'll have plenty of time."

Saying this, Flora rang the bell again.

At the clear sound, Pascal tightly closed his mouth and quickly knelt before her.

Stroking his familiar pink hair, she gave a command with practiced ease.

"I don't like my demon being misunderstood by demon worshippers for something beneath his station, you see? So, lure the subjugation team here."

"Do we have to? I can scare them right now so they never dare to look down on a demon again. I'll just crush everything...!"

As he raised his voice in excitement, Flora tapped his head as if to calm him down.

"I'm not satisfied with just that."

Just like with Janet, a good plan to change the image of the Lucifers had come to mind, and she couldn't miss this opportunity.

And for the sake of the dead children, she had to deliver an even more terrible punishment.

"My beloved demon, shouldn't we take revenge for the dead children? So, let's just put on a little play?"

Unable to refuse her gentle smile, Pascal nodded with enchanted eyes.

"Anything, as you wish."

And so, the second play began.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

For the subjugation team, the fireballs that suddenly began falling from the sky were like a bolt from the blue.

They tried to block the calamitous attack, but deflecting the rapidly falling fireballs was hopeless.

It seemed Benio and a few skilled knights managed to block them somehow, briefly boosting morale, but the mysterious attack didn't end there.

Not stopping at fireballs, huge stones, each the size of four human heads, began falling from the sky like rain.

Moreover, they weren't just stones but flaming rocks, forcing the subjugation team to move desperately to prevent the fire from spreading.

Since this happened while the search for the Young Lady Lucifer was temporarily halted, everyone was awake and there were no casualties, but this attack completely destroyed their temporary lodgings.

Eventually, following Duke Bellasia's orders, the entire subjugation team evacuated to a place where the flaming boulders weren't falling, and only after a considerable amount of time did the suspicious attack stop.

Their condition, having struggled through the dark forest to escape the attack from the sky, was not normal, to put it nicely.

Although the number of people mobilized for the subjugation wasn't small, all the supplies they had generously prepared were ruined. Furthermore, faced with dangers beyond their expectations, the morale of the subjugation members plummeted.

The news that the Lucifer Ducal House, with just the Duke, the Young Duke, and their knights, had defeated a demon had long been widespread throughout the empire.

Most had easily assumed that with this many people, they would leisurely subdue the demon, since the Lucifers had killed one in a single day.

Duke Bellasia clicked his tongue as he looked at the subjugation members, huddled together in a dazed and disheveled state.

He was quietly observing the leaders checking on their subordinates when Executors in white approached him.

"It's the demon's doing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. When we used the pearl, the flames died down. The five of us judged it was insufficient to block the attack, so we refrained from using our power and held back."

"...I see. Well done."

Confirming the pale green pearl embedded in the bow the Executor held, Duke Bellasia let out a groan.

Even without the proof from the power of the pearls the Executors possessed, the violent attack that destroyed everything with fire and stone was clearly the work of the demon residing in the western forest.

'That person said the western demon wouldn't show itself unless bothered...'

Truthfully, Duke Bellasia had no great ambition for this subjugation.

Wasn't it precisely because of monster invasions that the authority of the ducal houses and the Executor Bureau increased?

As long as there was no direct damage to them, there was no need to form a subjugation team, but the sudden disappearances of the children had forced his hand.

It was obvious that if he didn't take some kind of action, even if it was just for show, the voices of discontent would grow louder.

If he left this unaddressed, the trust of the territory's people would gradually decline, and he couldn't let that criticism be directed at the Bellasia Ducal House or the Executors.

'I just intended to put on a moderate show and spread the rumor that the demon got scared and ran away.'

He thought the problem would be completely solved by giving sufficient compensation to the parents who lost their children, strengthening security to ensure such things never happen again, and refreshing his image.

Incidentally, he also planned to have the Lucifers participate and then tarnish their reputation by saying the demon didn't show itself because of them, but now that was all ruined.

'Was the information that person gave me wrong?'

The northern demon is deeply loyal, sleeping while waiting for its master. The western demon is easily annoyed and won't appear before humans unless they invade right up to its doorstep.

The southern demon is arrogant and hot-tempered, so if encountered, one must be careful not to offend it. The eastern demon is quiet but despises humans, so one must be cautious when dealing with it.

This was information he had received long ago when he ascended to the Dukedom, but the characteristics of demons who had lived for nearly a thousand years couldn't have suddenly changed.

'Something is strange. There's definitely something I'm missing.'

If the subjugation team were wiped out here, Duke Bellasia's prestige would plummet.

Then, the balance of power between the ducal houses, which had been maintained equally, would also break, and he didn't want to show such an unsightly appearance to the other Dukes.

At that moment, Duke Bellasia's gaze turned to Benio, who was organizing his ranks.

Unlike the other flustered lords, his calm demeanor in handling his knights and the mercenary band seemed more proficient than anyone else present.

Even if Duke Bellasia, worried about the subjugation team's safety, ordered them to withdraw, the Lucifer Ducal House would remain in this forest.

Since the Young Lady Lucifer was missing, he had no pretext to stop them.

Then, a situation might arise where only the subjugation team fled in fear.

'...Right. Above all, I can't leave the impression in people's minds that we are inferior to the Lucifers.'

"What shall we do, Duke? Would it be better to retreat for now?"

"What nonsense. Aren't we already in the demon's forest?"

Yes, they had entered the demon's forest in the late night, where they couldn't see ahead, to escape the attack.

Moreover, they couldn't let the demon know their location, so they were in pitch-black darkness without even a fire.

'There's no choice. We have to press forward.'

They absolutely could not return without achieving some result, like resolving the root cause of this incident or subjugating the demon.

Just as the Duke was about to order them to rest briefly, re-equip, and move again….

Rumble, kwoong.

Suddenly, the ground shook, followed by a strange sound, and it began to crack with a jjijeojik.

"Evacuate to a safe place immediately!"

The only command he could give was to run.

Unaware that the safe place was the demon's lair.

· · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · · · · ─────── ·𖥸· ─────── · ·

"Listen carefully. The Angel-Fairy-Spirit has received my thanks and returned to its original home."

In the large chamber of the cave where the children were gathered.

After explaining her plan to Pascal and sending him out, Flora returned to the children's side.

"What?"

"Why?"

"Gasp, no! I didn't even get to say hello!"

She had anticipated the children's passionate reactions.

Flora nodded with a serious face, agreeing that everyone's opinion was correct.

Then, when the children's complaints subsided, she placed both hands on her chest, looked down with a sorrowful expression, and let a single tear roll down her cheek.

"I'm... I'm really sad too. But there's nothing we can do. The Angel-Fairy-Spirit must not show itself to adults."

The emotional appeal was effective as a single tear rolled down her cheek.

"Gasp! That's right. It is an angel, after all."

"So fairies really do show themselves to children."

"Spirit... I'll want to see you again before I become an adult."

The children, completely fooled by Flora's acting, sniffled and believed her words.

"So, let's stay together until the people coming to rescue us arrive. It's okay, we'll be able to go home."

Enchanted by the Young Lady of the ducal house's kind smile, to which everyone in the ducal residence would swoon, the children nodded.

"Okay!"

Relieved by their cheerful answers, Flora laughed happily.

So, she didn't notice the black smoke subtly spreading beneath their feet.

A short while later, the children drifted off to sleep.

"Sorry, kids. The play we're about to put on isn't good for your emotional education."

Telling herself this was all for their sake, Flora stubbornly ignored her guilt.

Phew, protecting young children's innocence isn't easy.