Chapter 102
Flora busily moved about, gathering the children who had scattered everywhere, just like the former commander would have.
“The last child will be hard for you to handle. He’s very shy, easily scared, and cries a lot. He won’t get angry, but he won’t listen to you either—he’s the hardest one.”
The former commander pounded his chest, insisting she let him handle it.
Of course, Flora ignored him and went into the room where the last child was.
“Hello, Eric. I won’t take long. I’ve come to tell you that your mother, Lady Gran, hasn’t given up on you and is waiting, and that the rescue squad that will bring us home has gathered.”
It wasn’t hard to stop the tears of the boy whose eyes were swollen from crying so much.
“C-Commander… h-how do you know the youngest’s name? Did you know him before?”
“No, I saw Eric’s mother before you were captured. She even warned me to be careful of kidnappings, but we got caught anyway.”
Flora sighed, thinking once again that you can never know how things will turn out, and then asked Eric, who was frozen in his seat,
“Are you going to keep crying?”
“….”
When Eric hiccuped without answering, Flora sighed and reached out as if to tell him to grab her hand.
“It’s okay to cry, but let’s cry where everyone’s gathered. It’ll make it easier for us to rescue you. You need to return to your mother’s arms.”
“…Okay!”
With that, even Eric was safely brought along, joining the other children.
Though he seemed a little shy at first, he quickly blended in with the group, radiating the same warm and hopeful energy as the other children.
“Hmph, this feels good.”
Flora, standing a little distance away with her arms crossed, smiled in satisfaction and nodded.
Indeed, children looked better smiling than crying.
She didn’t feel bad at all, sensing that the heavy weight pressing on her heart had lifted.
‘By now, my brother must have returned, so the rescue squad must be in chaos.’
Judging by Basilian, he would never intend to keep it a secret, and Benio likewise would not hold back.
‘He must be blaming himself for this.’
Being a gentle teddy bear, he would certainly think that it was his failure to properly protect them, even though Flora was the one who caused it.
‘…I really don’t want to see the expression he had when Janet kidnapped me.’
Thinking about how worried he must be, Flora realized this was not the time to be leisurely smiling.
“All right, children full of hope, where is the angel fairy spirit who saved you? I want to thank them since they helped you.”
She asked with bold enthusiasm, but the children all shook their heads, saying they didn’t know.
“The angel only showed themselves when we were first rescued.”
“Yeah. The fairy said we could freely explore the cave and eat whatever we wanted, but we weren’t supposed to look for them.”
“Since they’re a spirit, they probably shouldn’t appear in front of humans!”
Even though the number of questions increased, progress was slow.
‘Guess I have to find them myself, huh?’
Just as she worried it would take too long,
“I-I know where they are.”
Eric, the last child rescued, timidly raised his fist.
“It’s a bit embarrassing, but I cry day and night, so they must have worried about me. They told me where to go if I couldn’t hold out.”
Hearing this for the first time, the children’s eyes widened.
They wanted to express their gratitude too and stood up, but Flora shook her head.
“You’ve seen them at least once, right? You must have thanked them then.”
“I-I didn’t do it properly.”
The seventh child rescued shyly raised his hand like Eric, but Flora shook her head again.
“I’ll deliver the thanks as the commander.”
“B-but…”
“Tsk, you’re not listening to the commander.”
Seeing the child hesitate, Flora gave what she thought was a stern look.
“If the rescue squad comes while you’re gone, it might take longer to get home. You might meet your mom later than expected. Are you okay with that?”
At the promise that she would bring them, the child slowly lowered their hand.
“Then what about me? Can I come too?”
At Eric’s question, Flora again said no.
“Just telling you the location is enough. You can find it on your own, so don’t worry.”
While guidance would make things easier for him, if she wanted to reunite with Pascal after a long time, no third party could be present.
Then the former commander asked,
“What about you, Commander? Don’t you want to get back to your mother quickly too?”
“I’m fine. I don’t have a mother.”
The moment she spoke, a heavy silence fell among the excited children.
It was so quiet that Flora, puzzled, asked,
“What’s wrong? Why is everyone so quiet?”
“S-sorry…”
Despite asking cheerfully, the former commander mumbled an apologetic voice.
‘Is this because they think I miss my mother?’
Thinking that the children were just sensitive, Flora added explanation with a casual expression.
“I’m fine. My mother left me at the orphanage, so I’ve never seen her anyway.”
Though it was the truth, saying it out loud made her feel like a pitiable child.
‘Come to think of it… why did my mother abandon me?’
Looking at Athanas and Benio, they didn’t seem like bad spouses or mothers, so why did they leave Flora at the orphanage?
‘They’re already gone, so I can’t ask.’
Her mood soured, and the former commander apologized again in an even more dejected voice.
“…I’m really sorry.”
“Even if you say that, it’s okay?”
“No, no matter how many times I think about it, I’m sorry.”
The incomprehensible apology continued until Flora, frustrated, finally told him to stop.
“Anyway, I’ll go thank the angel fairy spirit, so don’t leave this place no matter what happens. Everyone stay together. Don’t scatter, understand?”
The children all nodded vigorously in response to her serious warning.
After awarding the former commander the title of deputy, and receiving repeated assurances from the children, Flora was finally able to head to meet Pascal.
“So, we were supposed to go left from Eric’s room and then just straight, right?”
Following Eric’s directions, they came to an endless corridor.
‘Feels just like an underground fortress.’
The first place she woke up in seemed like a cave room, but this was more like a well-maintained fortress interior, without any rough spots.
Even the doors were made of stone, yet they opened lightly despite appearances.
It seemed a lightweight spell had been applied so children could use it easily.
‘Janet said she made a castle for herself because I wanted to see an ice castle. Pascal… is it just simple? Did he just make it like this without much thought?’
Evaluating the peculiar taste, she arrived at the room Eric had pointed out.
‘Simple and stupid, indeed.’
There was no need to worry about being in the wrong place.
Unlike the other doors, this one was made of white marble with a gold-adorned handle.
‘It’s the same as the room Morse stayed in.’
A small bell hung from the handle, and when she lightly held it, sure enough, a familiar name was engraved.
“Pascal…”
She remembered giving him the name and asking him to ring the bell whenever she needed him.
‘Can’t be helped.’
Instead of taking the bell with her, Flora pushed open the door.
The bell rang with a clear “charr” sound as the door swung open.
Without hesitation, Flora stepped into the dark room and spoke.
“Are you here?”
Getting no response, she called a little louder.
“Angel fairy spirit! I came to thank you for saving us!”
Still no reaction. Just as she was about to shout Pascal’s name, flames suddenly flickered around, and her previously dark vision was instantly illuminated.
“Ugh, it’s blinding!”
She quickly raised her arm to shield her eyes, and from nearby, a sleepy, hoarse voice spoke.
“I can’t sleep because it’s too noisy.”
Adjusting to the light, she stared at the source of the voice and saw a man lounging in a large single-seater sofa.
“I knew you weren’t scared of me from the first meeting… should I call this courage or audacity?”
The man from her memories, with his usual bright aura, now looked utterly listless as he stared at her.
“Angel fairy spirit… what kind of ridiculous nickname is that?”
He chuckled, narrowed his eyes, and asked,
“How surprised would you be if you really knew who I am?”
At his words, Flora realized one strange thing she had missed all along.
‘…Could it be he doesn’t recognize me?’
