The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 53

Episode 53

Janet quietly rolled her eyes, then lifted her head with a regretful expression.

"So......"

The moment she parted her lips with a serious face.

Grrroowl.

A loud sound came from Flora's stomach.

"Huh?"

A flustered Flora gaped, and soon after, her stomach-clock rang again with another grumble.

"……You really have become human."

Though her face was expressionless, the surprise in her black eyes was unmistakable.

'No wonder I feel embarrassed.'

Flora coughed awkwardly for no reason, and Janet rubbed her stomach while suggesting,

"Shall we get up for a moment?"

"Wait! We haven't finished talking. I asked you what that meant."

"I will explain everything step by step. But I don't think talking here is a good idea."

Janet stood up, bent her knees to match Flora's height, and spread her arms.

"What is this?"

"Don't humans often hug like this?"

"I'm not in the mood for that."

"Please let me hold you."

If she didn't, Janet would definitely sulk.

Just like she had shown after happily mingling with the Heroes once before.

"Ugh!"

Flora grumbled in annoyance but still threw herself into Janet's arms with a thump.

With a satisfied smile, Janet held her and began to move.

Upon exiting the room, what greeted them was an even more extravagant display of ice than before.

The harmony between the opaque ice covering the floor and walls and the sporadically interspersed, perfectly transparent ice was beautiful.

"……It's an Ice Castle."

"Yes, you said you wanted to build an Ice Castle someday."

"You remembered my words and built it for me."

"It was something I could do because I believed you would return."

Because the surroundings were entirely ice, the air was cold, and white breath naturally flowed out, but it felt like an illusion that it was warmer than when she first arrived.

Their destination was a dining room made of ice, just like the other spaces.

"Please wait a moment."

As she gestured, a black void, like the one that had brought Flora, appeared in the wall.

Janet stepped inside and emerged a short while later holding a plate and spoon filled with hot soup.

"You should eat slowly so you don't get indigestion."

"Okay."

It was a sweet, crimson pumpkin soup, steaming warmly.

Flora smacked her lips, picked up the spoon, and scooped a hearty mouthful.

"!"

Upon tasting the soup, Flora's eyes widened at the familiar flavor. She swallowed it down and spoke in an excited voice.

"This tastes like Torré-ajeossi's soup!"

When she shouted the familiar name of the Lucifer Castle's Head Chef, Janet smiled proudly.

"That's correct. I made a quick trip to the Lucifer Castle's kitchen."

"So tonight's menu was pumpkin soup."

Perhaps she had overexerted herself, as her stomach felt empty.

Despite the generous portion, she ate so thoroughly, scraping the bowl clean, that she was satisfied with the meal.

As Flora smacked her lips in contentment, Janet took a handkerchief from her bosom and wiped Flora's mouth, stained crimson.

"Ha, I'm full now."

"I'm glad you found it satisfying."

"Yep, I've eaten, so now let's get back to the story!"

"Rather than telling you, wouldn't it be better to see for yourself?"

Saying this, Janet picked Flora up. At Flora's dissatisfied look that asked 'what?', she chuckled, then pressed her forehead against Flora's.

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

When Janet first witnessed Mors's death and went to find the Hero who killed her, what she encountered was the pitiful sight of a large man wailing miserably.

The Hero of Humanity, revered by all, the chosen one looked up to by millions.

〈It's, it's my fault. I shouldn't have been fooled by them!〉

Etar Lucifer, bearer of countless prestigious titles, was shocked and devastated by the death of his young friend.

With a face as disheveled as if he were drunk, he had been sitting dazed for a long time. The moment he spotted Janet, he began wailing and confessing his sins.

〈He said it was a sleeping potion made with holy water. They said they developed the medicine because they wanted to give the gift of sleep to Mors too, and he handed it to me with such a warm smile that I trusted him.〉

His pitiful, weeping state was so wretched it would evoke sympathy from anyone.

〈Mors said she was scared to sleep alone, so we took the sleeping potion together. But when I opened my eyes, I was holding a sword. I swear I never wanted to kill Mors, but why......〉

Staring at his pathetically sobbing form, Janet fixed him with a murderous gaze.

After Mors died, her four demons quarreled and scattered in different directions.

She wanted to eliminate all the Heroes chosen by divine mandate, but that was impossible with Janet's power alone.

But surely she could kill at least one Hero, even if it cost her own life.

Just as Janet's eyes gleamed sharply and power gathered in her grasp.

〈I, I will find a way to bring that child back to life.〉

The man with a tear-streaked face pulled up the corners of his mouth like a madman.

〈They said Mors is a being sent by the gods. The gods wouldn't have taken Mors's soul so easily. That means her soul must be somewhere in this world.〉

Janet had similar thoughts, but she wasn't easily swayed by him.

'How can I know if these words are lies?'

〈How do you plan to bring her back?〉

At the voice laced with mockery, Etar spoke, tears falling drop by drop.

〈I know a black magician. I will ask him to find a way, even if it means exchanging my life. Yes, even if my soul is eternally extinguished, I will somehow bring Mors back.〉

〈Is it acceptable for a Hero to do such a thing?〉

〈……How can someone who couldn't even protect their friend properly be called a Hero?〉

Since keeping humans close had caused this disaster in the first place, she couldn't trust this human, who was the root cause.

But Janet loved the master who created her more than anyone, and she respected and followed her.

Even if she wasn't perfect.

That's why, even knowing it was a foolish thing to do, she unknowingly uttered these words.

〈Fine.〉

〈……You're trusting me?〉

〈I'm not trusting you. I'm trusting my master, who trusted you.〉

Janet glanced at the liquor bottle rolling beside Etar and warned him in a low voice.

〈I will watch you until the moment your life ends. Remember this, Human Hero. If you break your promise, I will personally take your life.〉

After shattering all the liquor bottles filling the room, Janet disappeared with those final words.

After that, as if venting her anger, Janet repeatedly burned and froze parts of the northern territory, creating her own forest.

She built the Ice Castle Mors had once wanted to make and waited there for her master to return.

And finally, she received a letter from Etar.

I succeeded. I don't know how long it will take, but please tell my little friend, whenever she returns, to be sure to read the diary.

With that letter, Etar Lucifer breathed his last. After that, Lucifer became the Hero of Disgrace, but that was none of Janet's concern.

She simply waited and waited in this Ice Castle for the day her master would return to her.

Believing she would definitely return.

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

The memory ended with her sensing a small, familiar, and beautiful demonic energy emanating from the ducal castle.

Having shared all the memories, Flora calmly opened her closed eyes.

The life she believed the gods had newly granted her was actually something Etar Lucifer had created by sacrificing his own life.

"I don't know what kind of black magic it was. Or perhaps it wasn't black magic at all. But I had a strong premonition that you, master, would return someday, so I simply believed and waited."

"……I see."

She nodded as if it were of little consequence, but Flora immediately recognized what black magic Etar had performed.

A magic that uses the caster's life as collateral to infuse a deceased soul into a new body and create life.

It was an ancient magic, a domain of causality that no human should dare to touch.

Only then could Flora understand why she was born with Lucifer blood.

He had set the body for Mors's rebirth to be his own descendant.

Not only to provide a sturdy and strong body, but also so that his other descendants could protect her.

'You really tried to revive me by offering your life.'

Even faced with a shocking truth that would drive an ordinary person mad, Flora remained unfazed.

After all, she was the one who had originally created that magic and used that method to birth her four demons.

The only slight difference was that Mors, who received the grace of the Chief God Beshart, didn't need to sacrifice her own life and wouldn't be punished for violating causality.

The demons' blind love and loyalty were also inevitable; from their perspective, their souls, which couldn't return to the embrace of a god and wandered, were chosen by her and born into new bodies, so she, who saved them, became an absolute being to them.

Of course, since the demons had no memory of their previous lives, they also followed her as their master.

'Perhaps the "black magician I know" he mentioned might be referring to me.'

If it was Etar, who frequently visited her study when they lived together in the castle Mors built, he might have seen the magic she had recorded.

The only person who could provide the answer died too long ago, so no one knows the truth, but one thing was certain.