Chapter : 42
“I shall bestow a blessing, so raise your face and extend your hands.”
“D-dare I…”
“Extend them.”
At King Drishe’s command, the village chief hesitated but finally lifted his head and held out his grimy hands.
Then, with his eyes closed, the king scattered the powder he held over the chief’s face and hands.
A moment later.
“Ahh—…”
The chief opened his eyes slightly, a faint smile curling at the corners of his mouth.
He sighed as if he were seeing something invisible, his expression filled with awe.
“I bless you directly. From now on, God is with you. Can you see Him?”
“Y-yes… I… I can see.”
The people around them murmured at the chief’s response.
“Wow… the blessing really has power…”
“I always believed it. I prayed that His Majesty would walk the path of blessings, and kept praying.”
In the chief’s vision, a gigantic figure of a god appeared behind the king—though it was only an illusion.
That was the problem.
At that moment, a commoner waiting for his turn knelt eagerly.
“Your Majesty, there’s been a complication.”
A knight approached silently like a shadow and whispered cautiously.
“What is it?”
“Your Majesty, we’ve received urgent information. The Antrelle Guild’s Braksapool fields have been discovered at the Marquis of Siria’s estate.”
Drishe said nothing for a moment.
His kind smile remained, but…
“Let’s go check immediately.”
With a swift motion, Drishe turned his back on the outstretched hands directed at him.
“Today’s blessings end here! His Majesty has urgent matters—wait for the next opportunity!”
“The God’s envoy—!”
“Your Majesty—!”
Shouts rose behind him, but Drishe ignored them, still smiling as he left.
Of course, his face crumpled the moment he entered the carriage.
“I’ve never been caught like this before… How did the Marquis of Siria manage this?”
“Tourists happened to be traveling through and reported it after seeing the guild.”
“…And you’re saying it was just tourists who discovered it?”
The advisor, sensing the tension, nodded.
“My goodness. And what about the hostages of the Third Knight Order? Are they still with the Marquis?”
Even if it was Conran, the hostages had to be rescued.
But the advisor’s expression was grim.
“I checked the hostages directly using the Dark Magic Detection Artifact… but couldn’t sense if they were alive or dead…”
“Damn it!”
Drishe crumpled the documents in his hand and threw them.
“I told you not to be greedy, you fool! How could you let tourists find them?!”
Thwack.
The thrown paper bundle hit the advisor squarely in the face. He swallowed hard.
The advisor was used to this. He knew that in private, the king did not hide his emotions.
“Why! Why is there no one who can follow orders properly?! All we had to do was capture that dragon and the princess! And no one could do it?!”
“Your Majesty, perhaps some cold water will calm you.”
As always, the advisor handed over a glass of iced water, and the king gulped it down in one go.
Thankfully, reason seemed to return.
“…First, it must remain hidden that the Antrelle Guild made a deal with us. Set fire to their building as soon as possible, and deal with Conran and his men who are imprisoned.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. We’ll handle it as soon as we return to the castle.”
“And…”
The advisor watched him closely, knowing the order was not finished.
“Let’s go to the Mage Tower.”
“The Mage Tower?”
“Yes. Better to use a wizard than just blindly swinging swords.”
But the advisor knew the real reason he served Drishe.
“He will issue a deployment order to the Lord of the Tower. And… this time, we’ll issue a bounty so that all mercenaries in the world will search for our daughter and the dragon.”
If evil rules the world, it’s easier to ride on it.
“Finally, we’re here—!”
Hop.
Lulu returned to Shadow Forest, shedding her robe and stretching her arms.
“Hello, horned rabbit. Hello, grass rabbit too!”
Hm. Still gloomy and dark!
But her heart raced with excitement, as if returning home.
“Lulu, aren’t you tired?”
“Nope. This is the most fun right now!”
Then.
“…Is this where Dad and the knights hid?”
Daisy and the others stepped onto the forest floor, looking around curiously.
The forest was a wonder to them, having never seen it before.
Thud, thud.
Lulu ignored them and ran deep into the forest, spotting Lian.
“Lia-an!”
Lian, gathering berries into a basket, jumped in surprise.
Then, spotting Lulu, her mouth fell open.
“Lu-Lulu is here! Hey, Lulu—!”
“Lian! How are the Black Lake troops?”
“Of course! Why are you so late?”
The two children hugged, sharing stories of what had happened.
Meanwhile, those who escaped from the Antrelle Guild began to reunite with their families, tears streaming.
“Da-Dad!”
“My goodness, my son… my son!”
“Honey! I’m here! The princess saved us and guided us here.”
“Princess! Thank you, Princess!”
The quiet Shadow Forest erupted with joy.
‘Huh?’
Lulu, talking with Lian, looked around.
People. People. People.
‘The forest is filled with so many people now!’
At first, it was just Woonni and Lulu.
Then the knights arrived, Lian arrived…
Countless sparkling ruby-colored eyes filled the forest.
They talked, laughed, and rejoiced together.
“…Family.”
It came to her.
“This is family.”
A warm, fuzzy feeling stirred inside Lulu’s heart.
Her lips curved, and her white cheeks twitched with pride.
But.
“…Chase is still alone?”
Under a tree’s shade, a boy sat by himself.
He had been quiet ever since Lulu melted Madame Ascelin’s dark magic.
He seemed lost in deep thought…
‘Huh.’
At that moment, Lulu made eye contact with Chase as he rose.
I have to introduce him to Lian!
“Chaa-se!”
Lulu waved, smiling widely. The boy flinched, then quickly left.
Lulu was ignored.
“Hm?”
But worry crept in.
…What if Chase wants to leave for the afterlife again?
‘No way.’
Lulu’s round eyes narrowed like needles.
‘I have to keep an eye on Chase!’
Thud, thud.
She ran swiftly toward where Chase had disappeared.
Named Shadow Forest because sunlight never reaches it.
But here, it was warmer and livelier than any sunlit place.
Because the Third Knight Order and families had made it their home.
“Move the boards here!”
“Here, we’ve built a house!”
Angela had decided from the moment the Third Knights found the families that she would welcome many.
They had nowhere else to go.
If they returned to the royal palace, they’d be executed. Even if sent to a remote countryside, no place within the Kingdom of Lydia was safe.
Better to turn this place into a fortress.
After gaining trust from the Marquis of Siria, they had officially informed Count Delton that they would live in the forest.
Of course, Count Delton was displeased about Angela and others hiding here.
But Shadow Forest wasn’t truly part of the Delton estate, and the monsters’ incursions ceased, benefiting the village of Shadowum.
In the end, the Count agreed to coexist, with the condition that he bore no responsibility if the royal family attacked.
Thus—.
“This place is hereby named the Kingdom of Angela!”
Everyone cheered at her proclamation.
“We’ll lay our bones here!”
“Princess! Thank you!”
Only two remained silent.
“……”
“……”
Chase, watching something from afar, and Lulu, observing him through a telescope.
-Don’t you really want to see it, young hero? A storybook filled with treasures awaits you!
Lulu had ignored the storybook promising rewards for days, following only Chase’s trail.
Her conclusion:
‘Chase is extremely strange!’
Some days he ran around all day; other days he never left the temporary tent.
Even during meals, he didn’t call Lulu.
‘Even though he said my cooking was delicious!’
And now.
‘Chase, what on earth are you doing?!’
The baby dragon’s wings flapped as it peeked through the telescope.
