Chapter : 22
“Hmm, truly a bold boy. His magic power is as immense as his personality is unusual. Just who is this child? Where is fate trying to lead this young hero…?”
“Lulu, where are we going?”
“Young hero, have you heard the saying, ‘one step back for two steps forward’?”
At the difficult words, Lulu tilted her head.
“That wasn’t in any fairy tale book.”
“Of course not. It’s too complicated for a fairy tale! What I mean is, let’s just pretend to go along with the boy’s request. At least we can’t let you take the blame for something you didn’t do!”
The Jewel’s reasoning made sense.
‘Good thing Lulu asked Jewel…’
Smooch!
As thanks, Lulu planted a loud, exaggerated kiss before returning her attention to the situation.
The boy still lay there like the dead.
‘If that kid could fake being hurt to trick Lulu… then Lulu can too…!’
“Hrrmmm.”
She switched on her best ‘hurt and upset’ tone. Lulu furrowed her brows into a dramatic droop.
“…I guess there’s no choice. If you die here, then Lulu will look like a bad dragon. So… I’ll grant your wish for now.”
“Really?”
The boy shot upright.
Nope!
Of course, Lulu had no intention of sending him off to the afterlife.
He might have been fooled by Lulu’s acting—
—but her lips curled upward mischievously.
“Yup. So take my hand.”
And the moment the boy clasped Lulu’s small white hand—
“Ah, it hurts. I’m scared. Please stop, Father!”
The boy’s shadowed, ash-gray eyes widened in terror.
“Tch. Are you going to cry every time I draw out your magic?”
“It hurts! It hurts so much—!”
A strange, suffocating fear flooded him.
“Your Majesty, Prince Chase… is fading fast. At this rate…”
“…I was even gentle with him, yet he’s still this weak? Bind him.”
“No! I don’t want to!”
The heavy footfalls of armored knights drew closer.
A massive shadow.
Utter helplessness.
The chill of death’s approach.
And then… an enveloping calm.
“!”
The boy flung Lulu’s hand away in shock.
His normally calm, deep-blue pupils trembled with horror.
For the first time in a year, he felt fear as vivid as a nightmare.
And the last sensation he’d felt then was—
“…How did you do that?”
His voice was rough, cracked like bark.
“Heok. Did it hurt a lot?”
Lulu, ignorant of his past, only held up her pale, squishy arm proudly.
“Lulu is strong!”
“That’s not what I meant…”
‘Huh? Is he troubled?’
Lulu tilted her head.
The boy frowned, unsettled. But when his eyes met Lulu’s innocent ruby gaze, he sighed in defeat.
“…Forget it. It’s unsettling, but… it must’ve been coincidence. Anyway, you’ll grant my request, right?”
“Yup!”
“Thanks.”
“But! Only if you complete a bucket list first.”
“…Bucket list?”
With a grave triangle-eyed expression, Lulu nodded.
‘Lulu has no choice left… This is the last plan…!’
Yes.
This was all just a build-up to delay the boy’s request.
‘If he completes a bucket list, maybe he’ll want to live longer… That’s Lulu’s plan!’
Thus was born their “Children’s Bucket List”:
Eat five fried eggs stacked together.
Travel to a place I’ve never been before.
Wear a pretty dress and spin in a circle.
Gain a mom and dad, and call them.
Sleep together with mom and dad.
Make a new friend (other than Lulu!).
Raise a snail.
Draw mom and dad’s faces.
Exchange gifts with friends.
…And more.
Of course, these were all actually the things Lulu wanted to do.
There had been a small issue when writing the list—
“What do you want to do before you die?”
“Hmm. Die without pain. Die in under five seconds. Die with my eyes clo—”
“Lulu will just write it for you!”
Lulu had almost ended up with “20 Ways to Die Quickly” and wiped cold sweat off her brow.
‘Phew, not interested in that at all!’
The boy read the list and nodded.
“Alright. If we do these, you’ll grant the last wish—‘to die’?”
“Mmmhmmph.”
Nope. Lulu never said yes. She said Mmmhmmph!
She slipped that scam deal past him, pretending to busy herself.
It was then the boy asked, uncharacteristically:
“My name’s Chase. What’s yours?”
Lulu’s ruby eyes went round.
‘…He really wants to complete the bucket list!’
Her chest bubbled with joy, like watching soap bubbles pop, pop.
‘Is this… satisfaction?’
Yes. It was satisfaction.
A pure smile spread across Lulu’s face.
“Lulu is Lulu! Nice to meet you!”
And just like that, Lulu had saved a life. Humming cheerfully, she headed into the forest.
But—
“Hey, you brat! Where the hell have you been?! Because of you, we couldn’t run away and it was chaos!”
“…Eep.”
Dragged by Rian scolding her furiously, Lulu suddenly remembered—
Right before she met Chase, her friends had warned her the royal knights had come.
Shadow Forest.
Small figures hid trembling behind trees.
The children watched in silence, the tension stretched to breaking.
Lulu in particular held her mouth tight, sobbing softly.
‘It’s all Lulu’s fault. Lulu put Sister in danger…’
At the tower entrance, royal knights had already blocked the path.
From the children’s side, they could only see her sister’s and the Duke’s backs.
There was no way out.
Then—
A knight’s voice rang sharp.
“Duke Velix. You told us last time in the palace you couldn’t find the princess. Why are you here, then?”
“I didn’t find her. The princess recognized me.”
“How dare you say such a thing?!”
The knight’s roar shook the air, and Velix stepped protectively in front of Angela.
But then—
Angela, hand on Velix’s shoulder, stepped forward.
For someone cornered, she looked strikingly bold.
Her eyes blazed with fury, as if ready to kill.
“…I knew the knights had come. But to think the Third Order would come for me. You of all people know my circumstances best.”
Flinch.
The knights shrank back at her biting rebuke—especially their commander at the front.
Commander Del.
Taller than Velix. Broad like a bear.
A scar cut diagonally across his face, his square jaw and heavy build radiating power.
Yet in front of Angela, even he seemed small.
“…We do not wish to harm you, Princess. His Majesty only asks that if you return quietly to the palace, no further—”
“I don’t believe traitors’ words.”
“…Princess.”
The mountain of a man closed his eyes tightly.
Yes.
The truth was, the Third Order was the private force of Marchioness Gloria—Angela’s mother’s family.
As a child, Angela had trusted Del.
To her, he was one of the few who had been ‘on her side.’
But after the queen realized King Drische’s twisted ambitions, she died in a suspicious carriage accident.
And Del’s knights… somehow gained posts as the royal guard.
“You know how my mother died.”
At her words—‘your former liege’—the knights’ expressions twisted.
“…It was a carriage accident.”
“It was an assassination disguised as an accident.”
“It was determined to be an accident, Princess.”
Del clearly intended to deny it to the end.
‘As if talking to them will change anything.’
Though they’d been the only witnesses, the Third Order had buried the truth and accepted royal titles.
But Angela’s voice thundered again:
“You, of all people, know what goes on beneath the palace—don’t you?”
To ignore even that, they had no right to call themselves knights.
“You may be my father’s dogs now—but you swore loyalty to my mother! You should never be dragging me back to that palace!”
Her rage shook the ground beneath them.
“This place does not belong to the crown! So begone, palace dogs!”
Flap—
Birds startled from the trees, scattering into the air.
Dark leaves shivered like restless spirits, and even the hardened knights swallowed nervously.
Lulu, hiding behind the trees, was no less shaken.
‘…It’s the first time I’ve seen Sister this angry…’
No matter what trouble Lulu caused, Sister had never yelled like that.
Even when she scolded her as a troublemaker, her voice always carried warmth.
‘…Lulu, you must never cause trouble again.’
Just then, Lulu’s small hand clutched Rian’s tightly, like a red autumn leaf caught in the wind.
