The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 55

Episode 55

"Mother said it's my money, so I can use it however I want. She even gave permission for me to use it before I come of age, as long as you don't object, Father."

"But……."

"It's the inheritance left to me, so I'm just using it where I want to."

After confirming various circumstances, Benio was certain that getting a loan would be difficult for the Lucifers.

Even if it were possible, he anticipated the amount would be woefully insufficient for the business. After much deliberation, he decided to use the inheritance that Nersha had set aside for him during her lifetime.

Athanas had objected several times, but Benio wouldn't budge. Ultimately, with the loan application denied, they had no choice but to access the inheritance.

"It's fine. It's not like I'm spending it recklessly; it's an investment in the business, as we agreed."

"But if the business fails……."

Though the words were clearly spoken out of concern and guilt towards Benio, hearing them repeatedly from the start of the trip to the Imperial Capital all the way back to the duchy was bound to be exasperating.

"I don't want to think such negative thoughts when we haven't even started the business yet."

As Benio gave his characteristically firm reply, Athanas nodded, conceding the point.

"And I'm investing because I believe it has potential. So please, don't feel so sorry about it. Just make sure the business succeeds."

"……Thank you. Having children like you is a gift to this lacking father."

"I'm glad you're my father too."

"Is that so?"

"Yes, you're much better than that despicable Duke Bellasia. I dislike Duke Hermannus, who throws hysterical fits every day, even more, and I dislike the violently-inclined Duke Deshimo even more than that. To me, Father is the best."

Despite being a father with many shortcomings, seeing his son speak so highly of him touched Athanas deeply, making his heart ache with emotion.

"And you'll be a good father to Flora too."

"Thank you for saying that."

"I was just stating a fact; no need for thanks."

Ending the conversation, Benio reopened the book he had closed.

Although it wasn't an astronomically large sum that would let the business sail smoothly, it was a considerable amount, enough to cover the guild establishment costs and still have plenty left over.

'It should be just right to start by recruiting two or three small mercenary bands and gradually expanding the scale of the business.'

If word spread among the mercenaries and they started showing interest in the guild founded by the Lucifers, the likelihood of attracting investment from merchant groups would also increase, so it wasn't a bad start.

Benio focused hard on the act of pretending to read his book to avoid showing his proud feelings.

He had been feeling glum about having nothing to contribute to the business, so he was happy to be able to help like this.

'Mother would surely approve of it being used this way.'

It was a choice he wouldn't regret, and if it made Flora smile, that alone would be enough.

'She'll definitely be happy.'

She might even run over with a bright smile, shouting about how her brother is the best.

Benio smiled quietly as he pictured Flora's lively face, which he would see soon.

But what greeted them upon their arrival at the ducal estate was neither a warm embrace nor a joyful smile.

It was the worst possible news: she had been kidnapped.

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"It's been three days since I arrived at the Ice Castle."

Flora, comfortably nestled in Janet's arms as usual, happily chattered away while eagerly eating the ice cream Janet gave her.

Janet, also as usual, smiled as she wiped the ice cream that had dripped onto Flora's hand.

Seeing that nothing had changed from the past, Flora felt satisfied and secretly relieved.

The biggest reason Flora hadn't headed straight to the Demon Forest was that she didn't want to be treated like a child by those who saw her current form.

But being in this small, delicate human body, being treated more preciously and served more attentively than before wasn't as bad as she thought.

No, it was actually comfortable and nice.

'Hmm, was I just being unnecessarily worried?'

Thinking about it, whether in her past as Mors or in her current life as Flora, her habit of being willfully spoiled stemmed from this kind of pampering.

"Am I too spoiled?"

At the sudden question, Janet smiled kindly and shook her head.

"Not at all. The king is the most precious being in the world, so it's perfectly fine to be spoiled."

"Even if I'm willful?"

"You may even become a tyrant. If there is anything you desire, please command it."

Yes, it was this kind of outrageous indulgence!

Flora, who had been smiling contentedly, suddenly came to her senses.

'……I've been too busy having fun.'

Although the time spent with Janet was enjoyable, Flora couldn't stay here forever.

While Janet was precious, the images of the injured Elena and Basilian kept haunting her.

Of course, Janet had said they were only unconscious and their lives weren't in danger, which was a relief, but dreaming of them getting hurt for three days straight wasn't good for her mental or physical state.

"Janet, I'm going to make Lucifer my base, turn all those who follow me into my subordinates, and truly conquer the world to bring about its destruction."

When she first thought about making Lucifer into a real traitor, no specific method came to mind.

She had intended to think about it while at the Ice Castle, but under Janet's devoted care, she spent three days busily playing and eating.

She felt a bit awkward only now bluntly stating her future plans, but Janet clapped her hands and cheered her on.

"Does that mean I may follow you as well?"

"If Janet isn't with me, who will be by my side?!"

"I'm so happy you said that."

Janet subtly conveyed her wish to be by Flora's side wherever she went and successfully achieved her goal.

They had made a mutually satisfying promise, but the biggest problem still remained for Flora.

"But we have no money at home. We're poor."

Athanas had said he would find a way to raise money, but if even the Imperial Bank wouldn't lend him money, there would be no way to get it.

She had sent him off to the capital with a smile, but it wasn't very reassuring.

Watching Flora sighing deeply, Janet started moving somewhere without a word.

"Where are you going?"

"I have something to show you."

She went down a staircase leading underground, and what they encountered after a short while was an immense space filled with trees.

"Is this Shalias? Gasp, and they even have fruit!"

This was the beginning of a goldmine.

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Shalias. A precious tree that brings luck just by owning it, whose fruit has miraculous effects, known as a panacea for wounds inflicted by magical beasts.

Its seeds are rare, and it's difficult to cultivate, making it an ornamental tree sold at high prices!

The basement, densely packed with Shalias as if they had entered another world, was beautiful.

The Shalias, grown larger than the one at the orphanage, were covered in white flowers, beneath which hung plump fruits.

Even when the petals fell, they didn't just drop to the ground; they drifted through the air before gently settling, exactly like snowflakes scattering.

As she stared, mesmerized by the beautiful and enchanting sight, Janet asked.

"Is this tree called Shalias?"

"Yep, yep!"

Flora shook her head up and down in vigorous affirmation.

"I see. I fell asleep for a while and woke up to find the trees had grown so densely."

"You didn't tend to them separately?"

"No, they grew on their own. In my opinion, Shalias seems to use demonic power as nourishment. This place is a focal point where the demonic power of the Demon Forest gathers."

"Ah, no wonder. It's easy to breathe here."

The demonic power she had depleted during her stay at the Ice Castle had been gradually accumulating, but upon entering this space, she could feel it accumulating twice as fast.

"More than that, it's amazing. I've only ever seen the flowers."

Seeing Flora's wide-eyed observation of the fruit, Janet found it adorable and smiled, holding her tightly so she wouldn't fall.

"Yep, I heard they absolutely won't grow if tended by human hands. They say it heals wounds! They said it even heals wounds from magical beasts."

She remembered chattering about hearing somewhere that someone had completely healed a wound from a magical beast.

She had chattered endlessly about it being a panacea and a miraculous fruit, so why had she forgotten until now?

"That's fascinating. Could it contain some mysterious power that weakens magical beasts?"

"I don't know about that either."

Flora shook her head and wiggled her feet.

Janet, who understood the signal to go forward perfectly, moved between the large trees until Flora's gesturing stopped.

"Ah, this feels good."

With demonic power filling her body, laughter kept spilling from Flora's lips.

'There are so many, surely eating one would be fine.'

Unable to resist her curiosity, Flora reached up and plucked a fruit hanging high with a pluck.

Munch. Taking a bite, a sweet fragrance similar to apple scent wafted out, and the taste was even sweeter.

"Mmm, the fruit is full of demonic power."

"Does that mean a mere tree fruit contains demonic power?"

"Yep, eating it makes me feel good. But the purity of the demonic power is too high. Maybe that's why magical beasts dislike it."

Unlike the magical beasts in this world, which hold polluted, low-purity demonic power, the demonic power inside the fruit was pure and pristine, like primordial demonic power, so the beasts might have mistaken it for a demon's power and feared it.

'Of course, the stronger ones probably wouldn't care.'

"It's so full of pure demonic power that it must completely heal wounds from magical beasts too."

It seemed to have a similar effect to when Flora healed Basilian, which is why it was called a panacea for magical beast wounds.

After eating the Shalias fruit, the speed at which demonic power filled her body began to increase even faster.

"If I eat a couple more, I'll probably be similar to before."

At Flora's words, Janet plucked two more fruits from the high branches and placed them in her arms.

"Thank you!"

'Great. I'll expand my demonic power vessel like this, recover sufficiently, and then go back.'

Rather than blindly absorbing power like in the past, she planned to focus on slowly increasing the size of her demonic power vessel from now on.