The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 48

Episode 48

Then, with a gentle smile, she spoke in a trembling voice.

"We're going to play hide and seek now."

Out of the blue?

She wanted to refuse and say it was okay, but the words got stuck in her throat at the sight of Elena's terrified appearance.

Flora pretended not to know anything.

"Hm? Okay, but let's not do it for too long, okay?"

At that, Elena smiled brightly as if she had never been afraid.

"I just felt like playing it after such a long time, that's all."

'This is really strange. Why has she been trembling like that since earlier? And what's that glowing thing in her skirt?'

As Flora remained silent and still, Elena gently stroked her head with a tender hand.

'Is she trying to harm me, perhaps?'

Maybe she was trying to cause trouble, seizing the opportunity while Athanas was away.

But that expression, so full of sorrow, kept bothering her, making it hard to jump to that conclusion.

"I'll be 'it', and you, Young Lady, will hide. If I give up and call 'peek-a-boo', then you win."

"Okay."

"If you win, I'll secretly give you ice cream."

"Okay, I like that."

Even the way she looked so desperate, using Flora's favorite snack as bait, was telling.

'Something's going on.'

Before Flora could ask anything more, Elena uttered her final words.

"Young Lady, you must not come out unless I call 'peek-a-boo', no matter how much I call for you. Do you understand?"

"Okay, I understand."

"It's a promise."

"Okay, pinky swear."

When Flora held out her pinky finger, Elena also hooked her own pinky finger around the small one.

"Elena, you have to find me quickly, okay? Otherwise, I won't eat dinner and will just eat lots and lots of snacks."

"……Yes, well, we can't have that, so I promise I'll find you quickly. You must not be found by anyone else. Understood?"

"Okay."

The two firmly hooked their fingers and shook them up and down.

As Elena was about to leave, she bent her knees again to meet Flora's eyes and spoke with a sorrowful face.

"Young Lady, may I just kiss your forehead once?"

"Huh? Why?"

At the pitiful request, Flora nodded readily, and Elena lightly kissed her forehead.

She was smiling affectionately as always, but she couldn't completely hide the fear in her eyes.

"Now, I'm going to count to 100, so go hide quickly."

With that, she turned her back without hesitation and left the place where Flora was.

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Only after confirming that Flora had disappeared deep into the garden did Elena hurry her steps.

The paper in her pocket kept flashing, announcing its presence, but she pretended not to notice until the very end.

Just as she reached the garden entrance, a welcome face appeared.

"Basilian!"

"Ma'am?"

It was Basilian, who had just finished his training and come to the garden to see Flora.

"Why are you alone? Where is Flora?"

Basilian asked in a wary voice, but Elena was too anxious to notice it.

As if she had met a savior, she grabbed Basilian's shoulders and spoke.

"Go to the Young Lady right now."

"Huh?"

"The Young Lady might be in danger. So, you must take the Young Lady and flee to a place where there are people who can help you. Near the knight's quarters would be even better!"

"What are you talking about all of a sudden? Danger?"

"If you call 'peek-a-boo', the Young Lady will come out. So, flee as far as you can with the Young Lady. Ah, you must go in the opposite direction of the garden entrance!"

"Wait a moment, ma'am. You need to explain the situation in more detail……"

"There's no time for explanations. Please, please protect the Young Lady. I'm so sorry for making such a request. I'm sorry."

Elena threw out only the main point and quickly left the spot.

Her appearance was so frantic that Basilian couldn't bring himself to stop her and had to let her go.

'Flora is in danger?'

He didn't know what Elena's true intentions were, but there was no time to question her.

If Flora was in a dangerous situation, securing her safety was the priority.

Basilian quickly ran into the garden from which Elena had emerged.

Seeing from a distance that Basilian had entered the garden, Elena grabbed her pounding chest and let out a deep breath.

'Pull yourself together.'

Just as she was about to take out the paper from her pocket after confirming no one was around, a low voice suddenly came from beside her.

"Where are you off to in such a hurry?"

At the appearance of a suspicious man in a robe, Elena gulped.

"How did you get in here?"

"Lucifer Ducal Castle's security? With enough time, it can be breached easily enough. So, your answer?"

At the firm, commanding tone, Elena turned her head away with a displeased expression.

"The paper suddenly started glowing, so I was on my way to contact you. I was just about to check it, and you're here. What brings you?"

"With Duke Lucifer away from the castle, isn't this the perfect opportunity? But it's quite strange. I heard the Duke left quite a while ago. Why didn't you contact us sooner?"

At the voice laced with suspicion, Elena raised her voice with a look of wounded pride.

"Of course I was going to contact you! It's just that the Young Lady hasn't left my side, so I haven't had the time!"

"Hmm. Is that so?"

"Yes, it is!"

At her seemingly aggrieved face, the man smirked and pulled up the corner of his mouth.

"We thought you'd changed your mind after being by the ducal daughter's side for a while. We were worried you'd grown soft and wanted to save her. What a relief."

At the clear mockery, Elena began to get angry.

"What do you take me for?"

"Enough bickering. So, where is the ducal daughter?"

"She's playing hide and seek right now, so I need to find her. Please give me a little time."

"Hide and seek?"

Saying this, Elena began to walk towards the opposite side of the garden.

"I needed time to check the paper. She was so clingy and wouldn't leave me alone, so I suggested hide and seek. So, it would have been better if you had contacted me first!"

At her words full of irritation, the man remained silent.

Hiding her trembling heart, Elena began to call for Flora in a small voice.

"Young Lady, where are you?"

As she went deeper into the garden, her voice gradually grew louder, but no matter how much she called, Flora did not appear.

'She hasn't forgotten the promise.'

Unless the predetermined phrase was uttered, Flora would not come out.

And she would escape with Basilian.

To ensure that, she needed to buy time.

"This is strange. She always comes out when I call like this."

Elena naturally voiced her complaint and set out to find Flora again.

But even after a long while, Flora did not appear. Finally, the man, his patience worn thin, asked provocatively.

"You didn't hide her on purpose, did you?"

At the man's sharp question, Elena widened her eyes and glared at him.

"You keep asking unpleasant questions. Why would I hide the Young Lady on purpose? Are you saying that even though you know I've been waiting for the day to kill my enemy's child!"

"For someone in that position, you two seemed awfully close."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Do you know how dreadful it has been for me to be by that child's side!"

At the man's sarcastic voice, Elena flared up again.

But she closed her mouth as soon as the man drew his sword.

"Enough with the act."

"Wh-what act? What are you talking about?"

"Where did you hide her?"

Under his fierce gaze, Elena gulped.

It had already been well over an hour since they had been wandering the garden.

She could fully understand that the man's patience had reached its limit.

Elena checked the sun, which had begun to set without her realizing, and let out an inadvertent chuckle.

'By now, the Young Lady must have escaped safely.'

With Basilian by her side, she must have fled to a safe place.

If so, there was no need to continue the act, just as the man said.

"I'll ask one last time. Where did you hide the ducal daughter?"

The sensation of the cold sword at her throat was vivid. Just from its slight touch, she could feel a cut immediately forming on her neck, a testament to its sharpness.

With the pain she felt, fear began to wash over her.

If she didn't want to die in horrific agony, all she had to do was open her mouth.

But Elena couldn't do that.

She recalled the day she had put down the pen she was holding to make contact.