Chapter 105

Ｒｅ​ａｄ ​ｏｎ ＫａｔＲｅａ​ｄ​ｉｎｇＣａｆｅ​

Camilla skipped down the forest path.

‘Hehe.’

She was on her way to find the ‘Lumiella’s Tears’, a flower that could make anyone fall in love just by giving it to them.

‘If I can just get that flower, I can make Alex mine…!’

The flower was said to be on a cliff deep in the forest.

A place with strong winds and thick fog.

She wasn’t sure exactly where it was…

‘Well, if I just keep going, I’ll figure it out somehow!’

With that thought, Camilla pushed through the bushes.

Sparkling eyes.

Light footsteps.

Some might think it reckless, but that’s what love is.

Sometimes, it makes people very reckless.

‘When will we get married? And the baby… I’ll have a daughter first, then another son… Their names will be Lulu and Lex. Lulu should go to the Magic Division. Lex would be good in the Knights Order…’

Camilla’s face flushed pink.

Her mind was filled with all sorts of rosy fantasies.

In her imagination, Alex says to Camilla with a serious expression.

—“Camilla, you make me smile all the time. I’m always happy when I’m with you. So… please stay with me forever.”

Camilla nods, her eyes moist with emotion.

Then Alex gently kisses Camilla’s hand…

‘Kyaaa~!’

Camilla brought both hands to her cheeks.

Her face was hot, as if she had a cold.

‘The wedding ceremony should be in the rose garden…! The dress should be white with lots of ribbons! And if the bouquet is made of Lumiella’s Tears, it’ll be perfect…! Kyaaa~ I definitely have to get that flower…!’

As she cleared away the bushes, taking one step after another,

Rustle.

A sound came from ahead.

Camilla stopped abruptly.

At the same time, something jumped out of the bushes.

“Kiek.”

It was a goblin.

Green skin and pointed ears.

A tiny stature.

It glared at Camilla with its ugly face.

Camilla blinked.

“…Small?”

The goblin was small.

Almost the same height as Camilla.

‘Maybe… I can win?’

Camilla put a hand on her hip and shouted bravely.

“What are you looking at! You ugly thing! I’m a noble lady! I won’t back down! If you mess with me, I’ll teach you a lesson!”

Of course, the goblin didn’t say anything.

It just tilted its head, then,

“Kieeeek!!”

It charged with a bizarre sound.

“…!”

Camilla froze for a moment.

At the same time, she realized.

The goblin wasn’t alone.

More were jumping out from behind.

Three, no, four.

“Kyaa!”

Camilla screamed and started to run.

She thought she could somehow manage one, but four was definitely too much.

Stumbling on her feet, she clutched her skirt tightly and ran frantically.

Her breath grew heavy, and her heart pounded like crazy.

“D-Don’t follow me!”

But the goblins didn’t stop.

They were much faster than she thought.

They chased after her with their small, short legs, yet they were strangely full of energy.

“Huff, huff…!”

Camilla felt like she was suffocating.

She staggered up a hill, and finally her legs gave way and she collapsed.

“Keuk!”

Her knees were covered in dirt, and her hands were scraped.

She looked up and saw the goblins right in front of her.

“…Hic!”

Camilla squeezed her eyes shut.

She covered her face with both hands and curled up.

“I-I don’t want to…!”

Her small shoulders trembled.

“I’m scared… Mommy… Alex… Lulu… Lex…!”

But then,

Bang!

There was a loud noise.

“Kiek! Kikieeek!”

Followed by short screams.

Camilla peeked through her fingers.

“Huh…?”

The goblins were all lying on the ground, and in front of them stood a man in black clothes, holding a sword.

The man’s face was half-hidden by his clothes, but his sharp eyes gleamed.

The man quietly sheathed his sword and asked Camilla.

“Are you hurt?”

“…Hic!”

Camilla, relieved of the tension, burst into tears.

“Huaaang…!”

She started crying in front of the man.

◈

A little later, when Camilla stopped crying, the man asked.

“Are you alone?”

“…Yes.”

“It’s dangerous to come to the forest alone.”

The man’s voice was calm and low, but it had a strange weight to it.

Camilla lowered her head and wiped her eyes with the hem of her skirt.

“I know… but I thought I had to get it on my own…”

“Get what?”

“The Lumiella’s Tears… I thought if I had that flower, I could make Alex fall in love with me…”

There was a moment of silence.

The man quietly opened his mouth.

“…I think I know where that flower is.”

“Really?!”

“Come with me. I’ll show you where the flower is.”

“Okay!”

And so, Camilla began to follow the man without any suspicion.

As if she had never cried, her face was once again filled with rosy hope.

As she followed the man deeper into the forest, it gradually became darker.

Moss-covered trees, uneven ground underfoot.

She could even hear the sound of an owl hooting in the distance.

Soon she saw something hidden behind a large rock.

A flag with a skull pattern.

Camilla’s eyes widened.

“Um, is this… is this…?”

Without answering, the man pushed open something like a fence and went inside.

Instantly, people rushed out from inside.

Men with axes and swords.

None of them were dressed neatly, and they all had grim expressions.

“…Huh?”

Camilla stopped.

Her heart sank.

Something… felt wrong.

“Wait a minute… is this… where the Lumiella’s Tears are?”

Camilla took a step back and looked at the man.

The man lowered the collar of his coat, which had been covering his face.

“Hehe.”

The man’s exposed face looked very mean.

Camilla finally realized.

‘W-Was I tricked…?’

One of the men chuckled and said.

“She came all the way here on her own? A noble lady?”

“Look at her face. She’s quite pretty.”

“We could make a lot of money selling her.”

“Catch her!”

“Kyaa! No! Don’t touch my body!”

Camilla shouted, waving her arms.

“D-Do you know who I am?! I’m a noble! I’m friends with the Norchell family! How dare you!”

“Shut your mouth! Before we strip you naked and hang you upside down!”

“…!”

Instantly, Camilla closed her mouth tightly.

Her eyelashes fluttered, and her shoulders twitched slightly.

Soon, someone grabbed her arm roughly.

“Kyaa…!”

Her body was thrown back, and she was dragged across the cold stone floor.

Thud.

Then she was thrown somewhere.

Bang! The sound of an iron gate closing.

“…”

Camilla slumped to the ground.

With her mouth tightly shut, she slowly looked around.

Rough, damp walls, dim torches…

It was like a prison.

She couldn’t believe it.

Just a little while ago, she had been imagining a happy wedding with Alex…

She could hear the voices of the men outside the prison.

“Hehe, judging by her looks, the perverted noble sirs will love her.”

“But how did you bring her here?”

“I don’t know, she said she was looking for some flower. I told her I knew where it was, and she followed me obediently.”

“Puhaha, what a stupid bitch.”

One of the men pressed his face against the bars and said.

“Little girl, you better behave. If you cry or scream, you know? We won’t go easy on you just because you’re a kid.”

“…”

Camilla bit her lip and slowly nodded.

Tears streamed down her cheeks, but she quickly wiped them away with her sleeve.

She felt like if she cried, she would really be stripped naked and hung upside down.

‘Alex…’

Camilla curled up, calling Alex’s name in her heart.

◈

Lucy, who had come to the forest to look for Camilla, suddenly stopped walking.

There was a goblin’s corpse lying in front of her.

A deep gash on its neck.

The blood had not yet dried, and red bloodstains were vivid on the leaves.

It seemed to have died not long ago.

At that moment,

Thump, thump.

Footsteps echoed.

Lucy slowly raised her head.

A group of goblins appeared through the bushes.

About a dozen of them.

Each of them held crude weapons in their hands, and their eyes were sharply raised.

Their gaze passed over the goblin’s corpse and went to Lucy.

As if asking, “Was that you?”

“…Not me.”

Lucy said as if she was wronged, but it was no use.

“Kieeeek!!”

The goblins screamed and charged.

Lucy sighed softly and waved her hand carelessly.

Whoosh!

Black flames soared from her fingertips and swallowed the goblins.

“Kieeek! Kiiiiiek!!”

The goblins, engulfed in flames, twisted their bodies and screamed.

The sound of flesh burning, the thudding of struggling.

One by one, they staggered and collapsed.

As the flames subsided and the last of the smoke dissipated, the surroundings became quiet again.

All that remained was the burned traces and a heavy silence.

Tap.

Lucy flicked her fingers.

Then the flesh of the dead goblins began to melt away.

The flesh disappeared, leaving only bones.

The bones moved with a click-clack, fitting together as if being reassembled.

Goblin skeletons.

Soon, a dozen goblin skeletons gathered in front of Lucy.

As if waiting for orders.

Lucy nodded in satisfaction and looked at the ground again.

There were footprints on the dirt floor.

One large footprint that appeared to belong to an adult.

One small footprint that appeared to belong to a child.

The two footprints led deep into the forest.

Lucy began to walk along the footprints.

Behind Lucy, the goblin skeletons, emitting blue light from their eyes, quietly followed with the clattering sound of their bones.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Hope you have a happy weekend~!

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
Ah yeah, about the recent Novelpia things, I’d likely soon abandon all current projects.

As for which direction I’m taking, honestly no clue…?

Hmm