The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 52

Episode 52

Mors's words prompted the large shadow before her to peer at the ice held in her hand.

Admiring the ice, so transparent and clear you could see right through it, it spoke.

〈It truly resembles you, Mors-nim. Clean, pure, and just looking at it makes one feel good.〉

〈Oh? It resembles me?〉

As if the compliment wasn't unpleasant, Mors laughed delightedly, finding it amusing.

〈It's a bit bothersome, but someday I want to build a castle made entirely of ice. Will everyone dislike it because it's cold?〉

〈Any place where you are is good for me.〉

〈Is that so? Then, after we annihilate humanity, let's build the new castle out of ice.〉

At Mors's happy face, the being before her nodded.

〈Come here, --.〉

Lured by the affectionate voice, the shadow approached her as if enchanted. Then it buried its face in her lap and enjoyed the sensation of her hand stroking its head.

It was a memory of a happy, leisurely time from long ago.

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"Ugh, my head."

Flora held her throbbing, ringing head and opened her eyes with difficulty.

An unfamiliar blue ceiling greeted her.

"Where is this place?"

She had clearly lost control in the middle of the garden and expended all the power she had gathered, so why was she in such an unfamiliar place?

'I must have overexerted myself. I even had an old dream.'

As if she missed the peaceful times from her Great Demon days, the dream had evoked a memory from very long ago.

'Sigh, this utterly weak body.'

Flora groaned and tried to sit up.

But her body, as if protesting her recklessness, ached with a throbbing pain as if she'd been beaten.

She tentatively moved her hands and feet, but it was the same. There wasn't a single spot that felt fine.

"Oww, if I lose my reason again, I'm a blockhead, a real blockhead. No, seriously, where is this place?"

Flora struggled to sit up, propping herself up, and looked around.

Look here, ice. Look there, ice.

In a room made entirely of ice, the only intact object was the soft, white blanket on the ice bed where Flora was currently lying.

"Brr!"

The moment she realized she was trapped in an ice room, a bone-chilling cold assaulted her entire body, and she began to shiver uncontrollably.

At that moment, something plopped onto her shoulders.

"Huh?"

A thick, soft, pink blanket had suddenly fallen onto her shoulders.

"Where did this come from?"

Clutching the suddenly appearing blanket tightly, she looked around, and something jumped onto her lap.

"Kitty!"

The ashen-gray cat she had seen at Lucifer Castle meowed, greeting her.

"How did you get here? Do you know where this is?"

Meow.

The cat gave a short reply, then jumped down from her lap, landing lightly on the floor.

Simultaneously, the cat's body writhed like slime and began to grow, stretching upward.

Where the cat had disappeared, in its place stood a beautiful woman with pale skin, long gray hair, and stark black eyes that contrasted with her skin.

"It has been a long time, my master."

This woman was someone Flora knew.

No, she was a demon Flora knew well.

As Flora stared with wide, dazed eyes, Janet smiled gently and knelt before her.

"Your faithful servant, Janet, greets her master."

Then she took Flora's hand and lightly kissed the back of it.

"Uh, uh. It's really you, Janet?"

"Yes, it is your Janet."

"How did you know I am Mors?"

"What kind of disrespectful servant would fail to recognize her master? Such a one would not be worthy of being a servant."

At the proudly smiling reply, Flora blinked dazedly for a moment before breaking into an unreservedly pleased smile.

"I see. Well done."

"Indeed, right?"

Janet looked up at Flora and then rested her head on Flora's knees.

"If you find me clever, please praise me."

"Okay. Ah, you're so clever."

Though a very long time had passed, Flora began stroking Janet's head with familiar ease.

'No wonder I dreamed of the past.'

It seemed that meeting the demon she had created had caused a memory to surface through her dream.

Janet, the first demon created by the Great Demon Mors, was the one who had served her as master more devotedly than any other demon.

"I killed the human who dared to attack you, master. I considered killing the small human and the large human as well, but you seemed fond of them, so I held back for now."

"You did well. I would have been angry if you'd killed them."

"Yes, I know your heart better than anyone."

At the voice tinged with pride, Flora let out a small laugh.

Seeming even more pleased by the sound, Janet began to purr like a real cat, and Flora's touch grew even more affectionate.

"How have you been all this time?"

"Even though you were killed by those damned humans called Heroes, I believed you would one day resurrect and return. So I settled in the north and waited only for the day of your return."

"So the northern Demon Forest was your doing?"

"Yes, I burned part of the damned Lucifer's territory and froze all the remaining lifeforms. I also released the magical beasts I once commanded to roam freely. They multiplied on their own and have been helping to torment the humans."

"I, I see."

No wonder the magical beasts were running rampant so diligently; it seemed Janet had been excessively hands-off.

"I was sleeping quietly, waiting for you, master. Then, not long ago, I sensed your energy and awoke from my slumber. I am ashamed I realized it so late."

Seeing Janet's sullen expression, Flora comforted her by diligently stroking her head again.

"No, I haven't been here long myself."

"Is that so?"

"Yep."

At Janet's happy face, Flora tapped her head lightly, calling her clever.

"The vile Lucifers didn't kidnap you, did they?"

"Yep, no."

"Then why was master in that place……?"

At Janet's cautious question, Flora pondered for a moment.

Janet was a loyal servant, but she might be horrified to learn that Flora had been reborn as a descendant of her enemy.

'Should I tell her the truth or not?'

After agonizing for a while, Flora ended up having to tell Janet the story of her short four-year life.

"So, you died, opened your eyes again, and were a newborn baby. You overcame various adversities and hardships at the orphanage and were living well when your biological father, Duke Lucifer, found you and took you in. Is that what you mean?"

"Yep, it hasn't been that long."

It had been a little over half a year, so it wasn't long.

"So you haven't been there long. This Janet understands."

Despite the shocking news, Janet, unexpectedly, did not react with surprise or outrage.

"Being the descendant of my enemy is hard to believe, but I have to stay alive to get revenge. And if I want to conquer the world, I have no choice but to stay with the Lucifers for now."

"Yes, I understand completely that you were there because you, master, have a great purpose."

'This is strange. I thought she'd immediately offer to behead Father and present his head to me.'

As Flora was puzzled by the docile behavior, Janet, who had been quietly enjoying Flora's touch, spoke.

"Fortunately, it seems what that Etar fellow said was true. He kept his promise."

"……What does that mean?"

"……Don't tell me you don't know?"

'A promise?'

Though Janet asked with a bewildered face, no one was more bewildered than Flora at that moment.

"I only remember dying. I remember the Heroes all gathering to kill me."

Flora recalled her naive past self.

Mors was originally a being that did not need sleep.

But the Heroes had insisted that to mingle with humans, she needed to adapt to their lifestyle, and they encouraged her to sleep, even creating a special sleeping potion for her to help her learn about sleep.

Normally, a potion made by humans wouldn't affect her, but the sleeping potion, said to be made from a holy tree bestowed by the gods, was very effective on her body.

And so, on one such day of deep sleep.

Mors awoke to a pain piercing through her body, saw the sword embedded in her and the Hero holding it, Etar, her first friend, and realized they had betrayed her.

The Heroes had taken advantage of Mors's curiosity about humans and created a situation where she, off her guard, would be easy to kill.

Above all, the one who had taught her about sleep, recommended the sleeping potion, and even procured it himself, was Etar Lucifer.

〈Enemy of humanity. I will take your life with my own hands!〉

The one holding the sword that pierced Mors's heart, shouting with hatred, was also her first friend and betrayer, making the sense of betrayal all the greater.

Thus, even as she was dying in agony, she cursed them again and again.

"But a promise? What promise did he make with you?"

"……Yes, he did."

The serious tone held not a trace of falsehood.