The Baby Villain Dreams of Conquering the World

Chapter 93

Episode 93

"By any chance, has any criminal who recently committed heinous crimes like child abduction or murder been released or escaped from prison?"

At Benio's sharp question, Duke Bellasia provided the answer.

"I've personally overseen and checked everything. There were none."

The Bellasia Duchy was famously known for punishing even minor criminals severely from the start.

Regardless of a criminal's status or power, release was unthinkable for violent criminals, and before any escapes could even occur, they were all executed, so it was certainly an impossible scenario.

"That's why we intend to subjugate the demon, the root of all evil in the west, on this occasion. As adults, it's our duty to hold funerals for the dead children, even if we can't protect them."

This time, Benio also nodded without further questions.

"First, we will deploy mercenaries over a week to eliminate the monsters residing inside the Demon Forest. It would be good if the Young Duke led them. You're familiar with mercenaries, aren't you?"

"Yes, I will do so."

He had expected an order of this sort, to handle all the dangerous and miscellaneous tasks and pave the way.

Although it was a criticism labeling him as a lowly person who mingles with mercenaries, he remained calm and nodded his head again.

'Flora is here, so I just need to complete the procedure of proving our innocence and return as quickly as possible.'

In the process, Flora's presence must not be discovered by these people.

He would work diligently in all matters out of pity for the children, but he would absolutely not do more than what was assigned.

After that, with the final instruction that once they paved the way, the knight orders of the western noble houses and the Executors would be deployed in a second wave, the meeting concluded.

Benio immediately rose from his seat, bowed, and left the meeting room. Worried about Flora waiting in the tent, his steps naturally quickened.

"Anyway, these Lucifers are quite peculiar and amusing, I tell you."

As Duke Bellasia watched Benio's retreating back and spoke with a laugh, the people around complained, calling them peculiar.

Those who had been hurling all sorts of insults, calling them insolent and such, soon all left the tent. Once left alone, the smile on Duke Bellasia's lips vanished.

He commanded his secret knight hidden in the darkness.

"Thoroughly investigate if he's hiding anything. If you see anything that could be a weakness, report it immediately."

"As you command."

The secret knight, completely immersed in darkness, immediately set off to follow Benio, taking up a position near the Lucifer tent to begin surveillance.

Or, he tried to.

"Huh, Mister. What are you doing here?"

If it weren't for the pink-haired girl approaching, having noticed his presence in the darkness.

"You followed my Oppa? Are you trying to see if he hid some treasure? That won't do."

'Oppa?'

Whatever this girl's identity, since his own identity was discovered, he couldn't let her live.

The moment he reached out to attack... the knight's fingertips, holding a concealed weapon, froze, and soon ice engulfed his body. Looking at the knight, suddenly trapped and bound in ice, Flora grinned.

"Whether he's a simple bear or a grizzly bear, he's my Oppa, you see. Oppa said he'd protect me, so shouldn't I protect him too?"

'Wait, could it be that child...?'

Unfortunately, the man's thoughts could not continue. Soon, his body, turned to ice, shattered into countless pieces.

"This counts as self-defense, right?"

The last thing heard was a chilling laugh, unbefitting a young girl.

Looking at the mess of shattered ice pieces, Flora brushed off her hands as if having completed a task.

"If they summoned us for the Judgment, they should just let us prove that and be done with it. I don't know why they have to make things difficult like this."

After Benio left for the meeting, Flora sent Basilian outside the tent, using the excuse that she wanted to rest.

Knowing that Benio would absolutely not tell her what was discussed in the meeting even if she asked, she had no choice but to go and listen herself.

Seeing Flora lie down on the prepared bed, claiming to be tired, Basilian looked at her with suspicious eyes.

〈You're not planning to cause trouble again like this, are you?〉

Anyway, true to Basilian's nature, his perception was sharp.

Feigning innocence, Flora sent Basilian away, and as soon as she confirmed he was gone, she swiftly slipped out of the tent with Janet.

Had Janet not been there, it would have been impossible to leave without being noticed by the Lucifer knights guarding the front of the tent.

Flora patted Janet's head fondly, praising her for deliberately making noise to draw attention, and hid with her in a corner of the meeting tent.

Perhaps because demonic energy flowed in the air near the Demon Forest, no one, not Benio nor the people from the Executor Bureau, noticed her hiding.

However, the conversations that followed were quite irritating.

The actions meant to insult Lucifer were so unpleasant, one might wonder if they were treating Benio this way because he was young.

Fortunately, Benio refuted them excellently, so she managed to suppress the urge to intervene and overturn everything right then.

She had planned to leave just before the meeting ended, but perhaps she was too focused on the meeting and missed the timing.

Leaving at an awkward moment risked being spotted by those departing, so Flora chose to stay until the very end and leave last.

Benio, who returned first, would be surprised by Flora's absence, but the excuse of having gone to the restroom would likely suffice to get through the situation.

So she was sitting quietly, waiting, when she overheard that wretched Duke Bellasia ordering someone to observe Benio, and she grew anxious.

「Master, Bellasia's subordinate has hidden himself on the third branch from the top of the tallest tree to the right of the tent.」

Rushing back to the tent, Flora confirmed the secret knight's location and, using Janet's power, disposed of him in one go.

Concerned that Benio might recall the demon of the Ice Castle if he saw the ice pieces, she didn't forget to release demonic energy to melt the ice and erase the traces.

'It's good that I can use demonic energy freely since we're near the Demon Forest.'

Since demonic energy drifted in the air, no one would know she had used it unless they paid special attention and observed closely.

'At most, if they suspect anything, they'll think it got tainted by demonic energy from wandering the forest.'

Anyway, getting rid of the nuisance immediately put her mind at ease.

'I wonder if they'll notice something strange in about a day?'

Not knowing the usual reporting cycle in such situations, she couldn't get a feel for it.

'If I dispose of every one that comes, they'll realize Lucifer has caught on and at least act cautiously.'

Flora grumbled while tapping the head of the sparrow sitting on her shoulder.

"Why is the descendant of a Hero so sinister?"

「Originally, Heroes were all righteous only on the surface; inside, they were twisted, contradictory fellows. Wasn't the first Bellasia also a dirty character in this regard?」

At Janet's question, Flora traced back her memories to the very distant past.

'Opera Bellasia, that guy was certainly the most displeased with Mors's existence. He was also the one who clashed the most with Etar.'

Like father, like son, it seems. Both the first and the current Bellasias are equally wretched.

"It seems one time won't be the end of it. Let me know immediately if another suspicious person attaches themselves."

「Yes, don't worry. More importantly, the young Lucifer is looking for you.」

"Gasp, that's right!"

She had momentarily forgotten about Benio's existence while preoccupied with the secret knight.

If she stayed away too long, even the restroom excuse wouldn't work, so Flora hurriedly ran back to the tent.

As she approached, the knights who recognized her were just about to open their mouths in surprise.

Flora put a finger to her lips, went "Shh," and hurried inside the tent, where she encountered Benio standing as if ready to burst out at any moment.

"Flora!"

Benio, who had been pacing anxiously, hurriedly ran over and picked Flora up. As he quickly checked her for any injuries, Flora urgently whispered softly.

"I went to the restroom. I was embarrassed, so I went alone. Please don't scold the knights."

Fortunately, the excellent excuse quickly calmed Benio's expression.

"Even so, tell me next time before you go. I was worried."

"Okay!"

As she answered obediently without grumbling, Benio soon set her down on the bed.

"Oh, right, how was the meeting? You really didn't tell them I'm here?"

Benio nodded at that. Although she already knew from listening, Flora grumbled, making her displeasure very obvious.

"So, are you sending me back to a nearby village right now? To wait there until this subjugation is over, then go back with Oppa? Hng, I heard what the others were saying earlier, children are going missing in the villages and all? I'm scared to be alone."

"No matter what, what can't be done just can't......"

He started in a firm voice but stopped as if something occurred to him.

'That's right. As Flora said, they claimed the demon is abducting children.'

According to the investigation report, not only children playing near the Demon Forest but also children in the villages had disappeared.

'What if Flora disappears while waiting in the village?'

Of course, he would assign reliable Lucifer knights as escorts, but considering the possibility, however slight, his heart grew uneasy.

'It might be more reassuring to keep her by my side.'

Had he known it would come to this, wouldn't it have been better to reveal Flora's presence in the meeting room earlier?

'But if they learn of Flora's existence, it's unpredictable how they'll react, so hiding her seems more helpful.'

As signs of worry appeared on Benio's face, Flora suddenly started rummaging through her pocket.

Then she pulled out something round and showed it proudly.

"Ta-da! I got this from Basil!"

Inside the round wooden pass was a drawing of a red snake. It was the mercenary pass used to confirm affiliation with the Red Serpent Mercenary Band.

"He said he graduated from the wooden pass and got the bronze one this time, and gave it to me as a memento."

She laughed innocently, feigning ignorance. Benio blinked once, twice, three times, then tightly closed his eyes.

Quite a lot of time had passed since he started living with and spending time close to Flora.

Compared to other Lucifers, she was still young and weak, so he had forgotten, but Flora was clever enough to be called cunning.

His wise little sister had found a way to stay here because she didn't want her outing to end.

Namely, using the system of the 'Mercenary Guild' managed by Lucifer to stay legitimately.

Having instantly grasped Flora's intended meaning, Benio shook his head.

"No."

"Why not!"

"You're only seven years old now. Who would believe you're a mercenary?"

"Basil became a mercenary at nine too!"

"That's a two-year difference."