Chapter 91
Flora looked at the shattered pieces of ice and dusted off her hands as if she had just accomplished something.
“If they only wanted me here for the trial, all they had to do was prove that. I don’t get why they have to make it so bothersome.”
After Benio left for the meeting, Flora sent Basilian outside the tent under the pretense that she wanted to rest.
She knew that even if she asked Benio what was happening in the meeting, he would never tell her, so she had no choice but to hear it herself.
Basilian looked at Flora with suspicious eyes as she lay down on the prepared bed, pretending to be tired.
〈You’re not planning to cause trouble again, are you?〉
No wonder Basilian was so perceptive.
Flora feigned innocence, sent him off, and as soon as she confirmed he had disappeared, she bolted out of the tent with Janet.
If Janet hadn’t been there, sneaking past the knights guarding the tent would have been impossible.
Flora patted Janet’s head for deliberately drawing attention with her noise and hid with her in a corner of the tent where the meeting was taking place.
Perhaps because they were near the Devil’s Forest, the ambient magical energy (magi) in the air kept them undetected by Benio or the officials inside the meeting.
However, the conversations that followed were rather irritating.
Benio’s actions to humiliate Lucipher, as if he were still young and inexperienced, irritated her.
Fortunately, Benio skillfully rebutted everything, so Flora managed to restrain the urge to intervene and overturn things herself.
She had planned to leave just before the meeting ended, but she got too absorbed and missed the timing.
Leaving awkwardly might have gotten her noticed by those departing, so Flora chose to stay until the very end.
Benio would be surprised by her absence, but she could excuse herself by saying she went to the restroom.
As she waited quietly, she overheard the bothersome Duke Belasia ordering someone to observe Benio, which made her anxious.
「Master, Belasia’s minion has hidden on the third branch from the top of the tallest tree on the right side of the tent.」
Flora quickly returned to the tent, immediately identified the location of the secret knight, and with Janet’s help, dealt with him in one swift move.
She didn’t forget to melt the ice with magic to erase any traces, just in case Benio might associate the ice fragments with the Devil of the Ice Castle.
‘Being near the Devil’s Forest makes it convenient to use magic.’
Since the magic was floating in the air, no one would notice she had used it unless they were specifically observing.
‘Even if they suspect, they’ll just think the forest’s magic seeped into it.’
Anyway, it felt good to eliminate the annoying one quickly.
‘I wonder if they’ll notice anything unusual after a day?’
She had no sense of the reporting cycle in this situation.
‘If I keep taking care of every intruder, Lucipher will realize it and act more cautiously.’
Flora patted the small bird perched on her shoulder and muttered.
“Why is the descendant of a hero so creepy?”
「Heroes usually look proper on the outside but are twisted inside. Wasn’t the first Belasia also like that?」
Flora recalled a distant memory in response to Janet’s question.
‘Opera Belasia definitely didn’t like the presence of Morse. He clashed most with Etar too.’
As the saying goes, blood doesn’t lie—the Belasias were unpleasant both then and now.
“This won’t end in just one attempt. Let me know immediately if another weird one shows up.”
「Yes, don’t worry. A smaller Lucipher is also looking for you, master.」
“Oh, right!”
She had forgotten about Benio while dealing with the secret knight.
If she stayed away too long, she couldn’t even use the restroom excuse, so Flora dashed back to the tent.
As she approached, the knights inside recognized her and were about to speak in surprise.
Flora raised a finger to her lips, signaling silence, and hurried into the tent, where she immediately ran into Benio, who seemed ready to dash out at any moment.
“Flora!”
Benio, slightly flustered, rushed over and picked her up.
Seeing him quickly check for injuries, Flora whispered urgently.
“I just went to the restroom. I went alone because I was embarrassed, so don’t scold the knights.”
Fortunately, Benio’s expression calmed quickly at the clever excuse.
“Still, tell me next time. I was worried.”
“Okay!”
Without complaint, she answered obediently, and Benio placed her gently on the bed.
“So, how was the meeting? You really didn’t tell them I was here?”
Benio nodded.
Although she already knew, Flora pouted and complained dramatically.
“Then should I send me to the nearby village immediately? Wait there until this expedition is over, then return with you? I heard from the others that children are going missing in the village. I’m scared to be alone.”
“No matter what, that won’t…”
Benio’s stern voice faltered as he remembered something.
‘Right. Flora said the demons are kidnapping the children.’
According to the investigation, not only the children playing near the Devil’s Forest but also those in the village had disappeared.
‘What if Flora disappears while waiting in the village?’
Even though Lucipher’s trustworthy knights would be assigned as her guards, the thought still made him uneasy.
‘It’s probably safer to keep her nearby.’
Perhaps he should have revealed Flora’s presence during the meeting.
‘But if they knew she existed, who knows what they’d do. It’s better to keep it hidden.’
As concern showed on Benio’s face, Flora suddenly rummaged through her pocket and proudly showed something.
“Tada! I got this from Basil.”
It was a round wooden token with a red snake painted on it—a mercenary badge verifying affiliation with the Red Army mercenaries.
“They said it was a commemoration for graduating from the wooden token to the metal one.”
Feigning ignorance and smiling, Benio blinked once, twice, thrice, then closed his eyes tightly.
Having spent so much time with Flora, he realized how clever she was.
Since she was still young and weaker than other Luciphers, he had forgotten, but Flora was smart enough to find a way to stay here using the ‘Mercenary Guild’ system managed by Lucipher.
Benio quickly understood her intentions and shook his head.
“No.”
“Why not!”
“You’re only seven. Who would believe you’re a mercenary?”
“But Basil started at nine!”
“That’s a two-year difference.”
“Two years isn’t a big deal!”
Benio couldn’t help laughing at her confidence.
At her age, even a one-year difference would feel significant, yet she dismissed a two-year gap so easily.
‘Is it because of me? Or because of His Highness the Crown Prince?’
Noticing his wandering thoughts, Flora’s eyes hardened.
“What are you thinking about in front of me?”
“Of course, I was thinking about you.”
Benio skillfully explained while brushing the tips of Flora’s pink hair.
“Look at this. It’s obviously a Lucipher princess’ hair. Do you really think people won’t notice?”
While pink hair isn’t common, it’s not unheard of either.
But in a place full of knights and mercenaries, her hair was bound to stand out.
No matter what, staying as a mercenary was risky.
As Benio pondered a solution, Flora revealed something from the small bag she had brought from the castle.
“Tada!”
“Candy?”
A rich brown candy with a sweet caramel scent appeared, and Benio looked puzzled.
Flora proudly popped it into her mouth.
With a crunch, the candy broke.
“…What’s this?”
Her lovely pink hair gradually changed to a deep brown from the crown of her head, and her sparkling golden eyes turned a light brown.
Benio, mouth agape in astonishment, couldn’t hide his surprise as Flora covered her mouth, laughing.
‘Why do you think I stayed up all night together?’
She had been preparing this—pressuring the alchemist Xenophia to make disguise items.
