The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 6

Episode 6

When Athanas's gaze returned to her, Flora pretended to flinch and buried her head in Mrs. Finny's arm.

Of course, she didn't forget to glance sideways through the gap.

'Suspicious, so suspicious.'

"The orphanage facilities are good, and the children look lively. They seem to get along well with each other too."

"Yes. They are all truly kind and good children. They get along very well with Flora too."

"I don't intend to take Flora away right now. If the child doesn't want it..."

After a moment of hesitation, Athanas spoke with difficulty.

"...I don't intend to take her by force."

As if she hadn't even imagined such words, Mrs. Finny gasped in surprise.

"If Flora says she likes the orphanage, I can't tear her away by force, of course. In that case, I plan to support this place generously as well."

Athanas fiddled with his empty teacup for no reason, expressing his regret.

"Of course, it would be even better if Flora came with me..."

Before his sentence could even finish, Flora avoided his gaze again, and he smiled bitterly.

"I want to do as the child wishes, so please don't feel burdened. So Flora, please don't be so afraid."

At his polite words, Mrs. Finny nodded her head, which was still trembling slightly.

Athanas, having finished the conversation, rose from his seat and seemed about to leave without hesitation.

No, he stopped at the door.

"If it's alright, I'd like to visit occasionally to get to know Flora a little better... Would that be alright, Madam? And would it be alright with you, Flora?"

"O-of course. If you tell the staff, they will deactivate the protective barrier when you visit, so please stop by the management office first."

With Mrs. Finny saying this, how could Flora refuse?

Flora pouted, tucked in her lips, and nodded her head.

"Thank you."

That was the end.

This time, Athanas left the reception room without looking back.

Ten seconds after Athanas left, Mrs. Finny pulled Flora into a tight hug with her trembling hands.

"Why, why did it have to be that man?"

As if forgetting that Flora could hear her, Mrs. Finny swallowed her sobs with a voice full of fear.

"Director?"

"Ah, Flora. It's alright. But the Duke said he would respect your opinion..."

Although Athanas's appearance was fierce, his personality didn't seem bad.

He didn't look down on the orphanage and treated Mrs. Finny, a commoner, with respect, yet she was still filled with fear.

Unable to swallow her curiosity, Flora asked.

"Is that person a bad person?"

"Gasp, Flora! You, you mustn't say such things carelessly!"

Even though Athanas wasn't here, Mrs. Finny covered Flora's mouth and looked around.

Athanas had left the room long ago and was probably already out of the building.

"Phew. Well, he is your biological father, so I suppose you should know."

Mrs. Finny gently wiped her tear-filled eyes and familiarly stroked Flora's soft hair.

"You know there are four Dukes in the Empire, right?"

"Yep. Except for the imperial family who directly defeated the Great Demon, the other friends received ducal titles, they say."

'That's why I'm angry now! The ducal houses are all the descendants of those who killed me in my past life, meaning the descendants of my nemesis!'

Just as Flora's mood was about to sour again, Mrs. Finny continued.

"That's right, our Flora is so smart. So... the gentleman who was just here is one of them."

Mrs. Finny hesitated repeatedly, unsure whether to speak or not, before finally spitting out the truth with a sigh.

"The gentleman from earlier is Duke Athanas Lucifer."

'Lucifer? Lucifer?'

At the unexpectedly familiar name, Flora unconsciously ground her teeth.

〈I'm so happy to be friends with you. My name is Etar Lucifer. Please feel free to call me Etar from now on.〉

Her first friend.

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

And the damn betrayer who abandoned his friendship with her and was the first to plunge his sword into the Great Demon's heart.

The descendant of Lucifer, who stood at the vanguard of the betrayers and gave her the greatest sense of betrayal, is Flora's biological father.

Stunned by the outrageous fact, Flora couldn't even manage her expression and cried out in a shrill voice.

"Lucifer?"

"Yes, Lucifer. The descendant of the Hero of Disgrace, called the Betrayer of Humanity."

"Pardon?"

Betrayer of Humanity?

Hero of Disgrace?

The words didn't match at all, making Flora tilt her head in confusion.

Seeing Flora's cuteness even in this serious situation, Mrs. Finny seemed to have lost a bit of her fear and let out a light laugh.

"The first Duke Lucifer was a person who contributed greatly to killing the Great Demon. But in his old age, facing death, he reached for dark magic to try and save the Great Demon. Fortunately, he failed."

The more the explanation continued, the more Flora had to try to close her gaping mouth to avoid showing surprise.

According to Mrs. Finny, the first Duke Lucifer's dark magic failed, and he lost his life as a price.

With the caster dead, the arrows of criticism turned towards the remaining Lucifers.

People began to suspect the later generations, the bloodline of the first Duke Lucifer, and the infamy spread throughout the Empire, earning them the nicknames 'Betrayer of Humanity' and 'Hero of Disgrace.'

Their contribution to killing the Great Demon was recognized, allowing the ducal title to continue, but that was all.

"It's a dark history that hasn't faded even after all this time. I hear they still regularly receive judgment from the Executors."

"Judgment? But they haven't committed any crimes?"

"The judgment the Lucifer ducal house receives is a bit different. Think of it as periodically checking that they haven't forgotten their predecessor's transgression and haven't strayed onto the wrong path."

"How is the judgment carried out?"

"That's still difficult for you to understand, Flora, I'll tell you later."

No detailed explanation followed, but it meant they were a family looked down upon by society.

She was angry that the man claiming to be her father abandoned her, and that he came looking for her so late! On top of being the descendant of Lucifer, the one who betrayed her first, instead of living luxuriously, they live in fear and contempt?

And he tried to take me to such a place!

Flora shot up from her seat.

"I'm not going!"

"F-Flora?"

"I'm absolutely not going! Flora will live at the orphanage forever with Teacher, unnis, oppas, and Sherry!"

"Oh my."

No one knew what moved her, but Mrs. Finny was touched and shed tears of another kind as she gently embraced Flora.

"I feel the same way. I want to be by your side until you become an adult, get married, and have children, Flora."

"Director."

Mrs. Finny and Lian alone were enough to fulfill the parental role; receiving any more attention and love was just burdensome and bothersome.

Yes, the Great Demon doesn't need parents in the first place, right?

Moreover, if she gained a real family, unlike the orphanage people, she couldn't accept them as subordinates.

And she didn't want to.

'Let's cut it off.'

When he visits next time, she would firmly refuse.

Thinking that, Flora gave Mrs. Finny a bright smile.

But Flora at this time didn't know.

That a day would come when, filled with rage, she would unknowingly shout that she would go to the Lucifer ducal house.

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It was the first month since Duke Athanas Lucifer started frequenting the orphanage.

Athanas was incredibly diligent.

"Good morning."

"...Yep, good morning."

And incredibly free.

'How can he come every day?'

He must have nothing to do, even though he's the Duke of Lucifer.

Otherwise, how could he visit the orphanage day after day?

'He said he would come occasionally.'

Flora could even swear that she had busier days than the Duke of Lucifer.

'Yesterday I played tag with the kids, and the day before that we had a book discussion together.'

Though the 'discussion' was just the children's playful argument that Flora was better than any prince or princess in the books.

Since they had decided to put on a play based on a fairy tale at the end of the month, the discussion was even more intense.

〈Are you stupid? Just look, Flora is the prettiest here! She's super pretty! So the princess role suits her!〉

As always, Kay raised an objection.

〈What are you talking about! Don't you know how cool Flora is? Flora is perfect for the prince role!〉

Sophia retorted.

〈And you think we don't know your scheme is to play the princess yourself?〉

Johnny joined in to support Kay's opinion.

〈Could you not state your wish? You're the one who wants to be the prince!〉

It got noisy with Jenny joining in too.

A debate had opened, which was a bit bothersome, but as always, Flora listened happily and was the one to wrap it up.

〈I'll play the villain who gets in between the two people.〉