Chapter 39
Chapter 39
Even though Lawrence wore that smirking expression and taunted them, Sylvanas’s conviction remained unshaken. Still, he didn’t stop watching me as if trying to pierce through my very soul.
‘Thank goodness… my growth rate is abnormally fast.’
His light brown hair and green eyes were beautiful just like the woman I’d always seen in my dreams; my mother. They have the same colors. His features were so delicate, I almost mistook him for a girl at first. But looking again, he really was a mirror image of my mother.
Who would’ve thought my mother had a younger brother?
“Well, if not, then that’s that. I thought our little journey together would end today. Tsk, what a shame.”
Lawrence even clicked his tongue, as if genuinely disappointed.
‘A hired mercenary, maybe…?’
Or perhaps a guide.
As I sat there with a blank, innocent face, pretending not to understand a thing, Sylvanas looked at me with a gentle, apologetic gaze and said,
“I’m sorry, child. I didn’t mean to offend you. It’s just that blue eyes are a rare color in this land… I was surprised, that’s all.”
“Rare? In the Empire of Tekka, blue eyes have practically gone extinct. And that kid’s got sky-blue ones. That’s not something you’d find in an imperial bloodline.”
“She’s from Inphetera…”
“Even that seems a bit odd to me. Ever seen anyone from Inphetera with black hair and sky-blue eyes?”
Lawrence snorted and looked at me again, his gaze so intense it felt like he was glaring.
“I haven’t heard of such a thing.”
His words weren’t completely wrong. Sylvanas gave a nervous, awkward smile.
‘So basically, they’re saying my eyes are so unusual, I’m suspicious!’
It was a relief that my black hair wasn’t considered strange in the human world. After all, I had always dreamed of escaping the dangers of the demon realm and living a normal life among humans.
But to think that my eyes, something I thought was normal, would stand out so much!
‘Come on, give me a break!’
Even in the demon realm, my eye color had made me feel out of place, being the only one without red eyes. Now I was going through the same thing here.
“You’re lucky, kid. This guy noticed you, otherwise, if Lombard’s crew had found you first, you’d be missing your eyeballs by now.”
Gulp.
That name, ‘Lombard’ had been dropped several times now in the conversation. Just who was he, if even someone like Lawrence, who looked like a bandit, was wary of him?
“He took control of Inphetera and runs his business from this crazy place. You especially need to be careful around him. Remember that name.”
I’d already heard it so many times, it was burned into my memory. Just what kind of place was Inphetera, for someone to be feared just for doing business there?
I hadn’t expected the human world to be this dangerous.
“Bella, where are you from? Do you remember which direction you came from?”
“… No.”
I shook my head with a downcast expression.
‘I came from the demon realm,’ I wanted to say but all I could do was pretend I didn’t remember. Thankfully, Sylvanas didn’t press any further. Maybe he didn’t expect much from a three-year-old anyway.
That, at least, was a relief.
But my twisted fate… no, my cursed destiny, never left me alone for long.
Step, step, step.
The sound of many footsteps slowly approached from a distance. It was still pouring outside, so the sound was faint, almost drowned out. But Lawrence, clearly experienced, noticed it immediately.
“Shh. Someone’s coming.”
He instinctively rested his hand on the hilt of his sword and fixed his eyes on the door. Sylvanas stepped forward, placing herself protectively in front of me.
‘This time… I have a really bad feeling.’
My hypersensitive senses, sharpened since my transformation, were screaming red flags. Whoever was outside was dangerous. I carefully pulled the unconscious Derion into my arms again.
I couldn’t let him get hurt because of me… not again.
A creeping, eerie sensation crawled up my spine, a quiet but persistent dread anchoring itself to my ankles.
***
Lucifer’s mood darkened rapidly as the hours passed. So much so that even the demons living near the Demon King’s Castle had taken notice, thanks to the celebration preparations nearby.
The Demon King’s Castle itself would change with Lucifer’s emotions.
Now, thick black clouds were gathering, covering even the massive red moon hanging above the castle which was another ominous sign.
“Is this going to turn into a full-on fog storm too?”
“What on earth is happening in the Demon King’s Castle?”
“Weren’t they holding a celebration today?”
“Didn’t you see the squad flying out earlier? That was the entire search unit. Rumor has it the Demon King’s daughter has disappeared!”
“Who?! Who would be mad enough to pull something like that?!”
Those who heard the rumors fell silent as they looked up at the heavy skies.
Everyone living near the castle knew one thing: how dearly Lucifer cherished his daughter.
He had purged everyone who dared question her legitimacy due to her mixed human blood. You could meddle in the Demon King’s affairs, sure, but oppose him? That was suicide.
Even Regnator, despite his reckless actions in the name of protecting her, hadn’t faced a single public rebuke. That alone showed how serious it was.
“All we can do now… is hope the princess is safe.”
“Surely this won’t spark a war…”
They laughed nervously, but everyone stared wordlessly at the cloud-darkened sky.
The saying went: ‘Surely not’ are the last words before a demon is killed.
Someone had struck the Demon King from behind. Who had the nerve to provoke the sleeping beast?
For the first time in their lives, born from the Demon God’s Tree, they began to pray. Oh Demon God, please… let the princess return safely. Everyone’s heart was united in that single plea.
Meanwhile, the cause of all this fear, Lucifer, was asking the same question for the third time.
“Have you found her?”
In the audience chamber, only the tall, singular throne stood high above, emphasizing the gravity of the moment. Lucifer sat there, tapping the armrest. The sound echoed ominously in the vast space.
The commander of the search party swallowed hard, trying not to show fear.
Lucifer stared down at the kneeling demon with detached coldness. If he heard the words ‘Not yet found’ again, he had already decided that he would kill them all and go search for them himself.
“We found her.”
Thankfully, one of the three elite units that guarded the castle wasn’t about to be wiped out.
Lucifer nodded slightly, massaging his temple.
“Report.”
“Lady Bellatrix used a teleportation gate to head toward the western forest. It seems she fell through a rift in the boundary there.”
Lucifer closed his eyes, trying to sense Bellatrix again.
He had searched every corner of the castle but there was no trace of her, not even a shadow. Not once, since the day he brought the shriveled, dying Bellatrix to the demon realm, had he failed to sense her presence.
That alone made his already sour mood take a sharp turn toward fury.
“A rift in the boundary?”
“Yes. The rift opened in the western forest, not far from where the teleportation gate led.”
“So you’re guessing… not confirming?”
Lucifer’s patience had run thin.
“That area should be guarded by Balun.”
At that, Regnator suddenly spoke, having appeared in the chamber as if he’d been there all along.
“Balun had left temporarily to deal with some rats disrupting the celebration.”
“…”
“I believe the rift was opened while he was away. It’s larger than expected.”
“Who are the insects behind this?”
“I’ll dispatch search parties. Whatever escaped through the rift are cowards and weak enough to flee from me. They shouldn’t be too hard to catch.”
“And?”
Lucifer tapped his finger, he wouldn’t tolerate delays in getting to the main point.
Regnator furrowed his brow. “Lady Bella appears to have crossed into the human world.”
That explained why the search had failed despite combing through the entire demon realm because Bellatrix wasn’t even there. Two days had been wasted because they hadn’t considered that.
If he had known, he would’ve etched a tracking spell into her when forging their blood pact. Lucifer clenched his fist unconsciously.
He couldn’t track her exact location but she still carried his energy. Now that he knew she was in the human world, he could cross over, track her aura, and pinpoint her location.
And once he knew the place, finding her would be instant. The situation was escalating but Lucifer resolved to go to the human world himself.
“Lucifer, we’ve brought Lukevart.”
Lucifer, just about to depart, paused at Regnator’s words.
“He confessed to creating the teleportation gate in the hallway that linked to the western forest.”
Even if he hadn’t confessed, Lucifer already knew who was responsible. But hearing Lukevart’s name still soured his mood further.
“Why?”
Before Regnator could answer, Lukevart floated mid-air.
He gave an exaggerated bow and said, “I was merely playing a little prank on Regnator. Just a tiny prank… I had no idea it would lead to something like this.”
He even shrugged, looking genuinely baffled.
==
TN: Ugh, Lukevartttt!! Goodness gracious, you chose death? You’ll really diee
