TOYLCG 12 🍒

Chapter — 12

She had to deal with this before Duke Efrian arrived.

That was the only thought in Rosebell’s mind. She had planned to rely on the gnome’s help, but that had now become practically impossible.

Since she couldn’t step in directly, it felt ridiculous to force the gnome to do something for her.

Just like when she had first made a contract with the gnome, Rosebell decided to throw herself into it and try with her own body.

Of course, if Aren or the Duke found out about this, they would be horrified. But in the current situation, she had no other choice.

“Th-this… I won’t die, right? It really is a spirit, right?”

Muttering to herself in anxiety, she slowly stretched her trembling hand toward the flames. She was relieved that Aren couldn’t see what she was doing, hidden behind her back.

If he saw this, she knew exactly what he would say.

“Please… let it end with only a first-degree burn….”

She knew it was an impossible wish, but she prayed sincerely anyway. Her shaking hand reached into the fire.

Then, the flickering flames suddenly calmed down. Rosebell felt as if she had dipped her hand into warm water.

“It’s warm… ah!”

The flames that had wrapped around her fingertips suddenly changed direction.

Startled, she turned her head. The fire was moving deeper into the forest.

—Rosebell! Chase it! Hurry!

Without any explanation, the gnome urgently told her to follow it. But Rosebell was just as desperate.

This wasn’t a natural fire, and it had been created with control. She had thought it would be easy to put out.

That assumption was wrong.

“Where are you going?!”

Rosebell screamed and ran after the moving flames. Her breath rose to her throat, and her vision blurred.

—Rosebell, we’re almost there! Just a little more!

The gnome flew ahead, urging her on. Rosebell swallowed the curses climbing up her throat. The gnome could fly, yet it kept telling her to run faster—it was absurd.

Her legs felt like they would give out at any moment.

“What is that? A person?”

At the place the gnome led her to, a person dressed in black was lying on the ground.

“Ugh!”

“Excuse me! Are you okay?”

“Damn it!”

Rosebell flinched at the harsh voice. In that brief moment, the man in black shoved past her and fled.

“What… was that?”

—Please, I’m begging you, improve your mana control!

“It’s not like I’m doing nothing! Don’t run your mouth when you didn’t do anything either!”

—If I had used my power, that would’ve caused problems too, you know? And… that guy smelled rotten!

“…Rotten?”

—Yes! Like a corpse rotting—ugh… huh?

The gnome suddenly stopped mid-sentence. Rosebell’s expression had turned cold.

Her shoulders shook as she breathed heavily, but her face looked sharp, as if she might hurt someone at any moment.

“You can’t track that guy, can you?”

—If I were a sylph, maybe… but it’s hard for me.

“So I have to figure out myself who the bastard spying on us is?”

—Th-that’s right….

The gnome thought Rosebell was pure. No—more precisely, it believed that her love for nature was pure.

And it knew very well that when people like her became cruel, they were impossible to stop.

Her previous contractor had been the same. If someone within her boundaries was hurt, she never endured it.

Even if she herself got hurt.

—Maybe it’s only natural… since she’s her daughter….

“What?”

—Nothing. Anyway, we should put out the fire, right?

“Oh! Right! But when I touched the fire, it felt warm. Why didn’t it appear?”

—Who knows? Maybe it’s scared of you?

“Stop talking nonsense and put out the fire.”

—I’ll apologize in advance!

“For wha—ugh!”

Rosebell suddenly felt her stomach churn. Her vision flickered, and she lost consciousness.

The man in black gasped for breath as he clutched his right arm.

He wanted to stop the bleeding, but the burns made it difficult.

“Damn it… I clearly checked that no one was around!”

His tone made it obvious he was acting under someone’s orders. More than his injury, he was afraid of failing his mission.

“If I go back empty-handed like this… ha….”

He had endured brutal training that made him immune to torture. But before his master, he always shrank.

He had been taught never to show emotion, but there was one person for whom that was impossible.

“I never imagined a forest fire would break out. Only the Efrian Duchy was in drought, so I thought it was strange….”

He hadn’t expected spontaneous combustion due to prolonged drought.

Thinking about returning to report like this made his head ache. The only thing he had gained was the existence of a man staying close to the Duke of Efrian’s daughter.

“A mage, huh… He’s definitely not from around here. Where did he come from?”

He knew mages existed, but they were rare in the Empire.

The few that did exist were special enough to be strictly managed by the Empire.

Night fell, and the scent of blood spread through a lavish space.

The man who appeared from the darkness was Archangelos. Unlike his usual gentle smile, his cold, stiff expression was familiar to the man in black.

“I greet the Empire’s Little Sun, His Highness the Crown Prince.”

“Kane, what state are you in?”

“While investigating as ordered, a forest fire broke out, and I was injured.”

“I see.”

At the prince’s indifferent tone, Kane’s heart began to race. The prince’s gaze was fixed on his wound.

There was no concern in that gaze—only reproach for failing the mission.

Kane couldn’t be mistaken. The prince was not someone who acted in ways that invited misunderstanding. That became clear in his next words.

“So the investigation wasn’t done properly.”

“I apologize.”

Before he could even finish speaking, a burning pain exploded across his cheek. Blood filled his mouth, but he continued reporting.

“Ugh… however, I learned something new about the person beside the Efrian young lady. He is a mage.”

“What?”

Archangelos’ eyes widened. Kane had never seen him this shaken before.

“I saw him raise an ice wall when the fire broke out.”

“Ha… a mage? An ice mage, at that?”

“Yes. I did not discover the abnormal phenomenon you mentioned, but the relationship between the young lady and that man seemed quite close.”

“Close? Don’t be ridiculous. A slave and a master can’t be close.”

It was the first time Kane had seen Archangelos spit out words like that. His hostility toward mages was unmistakable.

The prince wanted to be special.

From Kane’s perspective, that seemed to be why the prince had ordered surveillance on the Efrian Duchy.

What exactly was there, and why the prince believed it was connected to the Duke’s daughter rather than the Duke himself, Kane did not know.

“I will treat my injuries and return immediately.”

“No… rest for a while. Someone might catch the scent of blood.”

“Neither of them seemed trained to sense presence.”

Kane feared he might be cast aside. He knew very well what that would mean.

He had seen how his colleagues met their ends.

“A mage who can’t sense presence?”

“Yes. The meditation we reported before at the training grounds seems to be just meditation.”

“I wonder what it’s for.”

“I can handle that.”

Kane was desperate to survive. Seeing him like that, a thin smile spread across Archangelos’ face.

Desperate people were easy to use.

“Then… observe the two of them closely. She may become the future Empress.”

“I accept the order.”

Hearing the words “future Empress” directly from the prince sent chills down Kane’s spine. The prince never took interest in anyone unless they were useful.

In a way, he felt he should pity the Duke of Efrian’s daughter. But that was a luxury he could only afford if he himself was safe.

Reminding himself that he must never fall out of the prince’s sight, Kane withdrew.

Archangelos felt irritation spread through his entire body over this unexpected development.

“What on earth happened to that woman after she injured her head?”

He had kept her close because she was useful. But since her injury, she had been trying to distance herself from him.

Worse still, she was turning into the type of woman he despised most.

“It’s annoying enough when someone is moderately smart… but she seems to be getting smarter by the day….”

The reason Archangelos had looked down on Rosebell was because she was stupid.

She had been suitable for use, so he had played along to some extent. But now she was shedding that foolishness and declaring her intent to leave his reach.

It was fine if he discarded something himself.

But he could never tolerate something escaping without his permission.