“……”
This wasn’t just some ordinary storage room to pass by. It was the meeting point noted by that little spy. The staff member dressed in the gaudy outfit near the door…
‘Is he a fellow spy?’
Knox slipped the monocle back into his jacket pocket and approached the man.
“Have you seen a little girl around five years old? She has blonde hair in pigtails.”
“Ah, you must mean the child with the blonde pigtails and a dress?”
The staff seemed to recognize Aisha right away.
‘So he is a fellow spy.’
Knox let out a bitter laugh internally. He had suspected this might be the case, but it still left a sour taste.
“It’s good you know. I’m her guardian. Where is she?”
But then…
“Five thousand gold.”
The staff member, grinning unpleasantly, suddenly demanded money.
“?”
Knox raised an eyebrow in confusion.
“Five thousand gold, and I’ll hand her over. We’ve got her with us.”
The man sneered as he spoke.
“……”
Not a fellow spy?
Knox bit his lower lip hard.
“Are you saying you’ve kidnapped her?”
“We just kept a lost child safe, and now we’re asking for a little compensation. Why are you being so stiff about it…”
Boom!
Suddenly, a loud crash echoed as the storage door burst open, and a terrified man rushed out, bumping into Knox as he fled.
“M-Madness… The ability suppression device has been deactivated! It’s a state of emergency!”
The ability suppression device?
Knox’s brow furrowed at the man’s words.
“What? How did it get deactivated? Why was it turned off?”
The man’s panicked response only confirmed Knox’s worst fears.
“The other staff? Have the monsters been released?”
“If we release the monsters, everyone here will be killed, you idiot!”
“And what about the little girl?!”
As the staff continued their frantic exchange, Knox listened intently to every word.
In this kingdom, the only ability that could be referred to as ‘power’…
…was the ice power of the Crost family.
Though his face remained calm, a chill ran down Knox’s spine.
‘…It couldn’t be.’
A sudden realization hit him, and his eyes widened.
As if guided by instinct, Knox stepped into the storage room.
His eyes were greeted by walls covered in ice crystals.
Boom!
“S-Someone stop this monster!”
“Who the hell deactivated the suppression device?! Damn it!”
After I had deactivated Lucas’s suppression device, the dangerous situation had quickly turned in our favor.
“Dandelion, stay close behind me.”
Who knew a young boy’s back could seem so reassuring?
“Okay!”
I stuck close to Lucas, peeking over his shoulder on my tiptoes to survey the scene.
It seemed the situation was already under control.
Ice pillars had sprung up all around the dark room, where staff had been wandering moments before. It was like being inside an ice cave.
‘…Is he overpowered? How is he this strong?’
In the original story, there wasn’t much detail about him since he was presumed dead early on.
‘So this is the ice power of the Crost family. This is unreal.’
Even the power of Tex, who was said to be powerful, seemed on a different level compared to Lucas.
Just then…
“Use a sedative! Put him to sleep first!”
At someone’s command, a large man emerged from behind the iron bars, aiming an arrow filled with a sleeping potion at us.
“Dandelion, watch out!”
Lucas, who hadn’t noticed the threat behind us, quickly stepped in front of me, but…
Thwip-
“Ugh.”
Just before the man could release the arrow, he collapsed. A long needle was sticking out of his neck.
Seeing him fall, Lucas, who had been shielding me, opened his eyes slowly, revealing a mix of determination and hidden fear.
“…Dandelion?”
Even though he was instinctively trying to protect me, his eyes still held a trace of fear.
His personality might be rough, but he’s brave. Just like Calypse, he has many similarities.
“Young Lord, did you just save me?”
Feeling grateful, I tilted my head and asked.
“…Of course! It’s only natural to protect someone weaker than you… Huh?”
Muttering, his face flushed red, he suddenly paused.
Then he noticed the fallen man.
“But why did he collapse?”
He soon spotted the needle in the man’s neck.
“I’m a former spy. I carry self-defense needles with me.”
I hadn’t had the chance to show this before.
“Ta-da! Impressive, right?”
Check out this sleek, black needle, perfectly designed for tiny hands!
“…You.”
I thought he’d be impressed since I had saved us, but instead, he frowned at the sight of the needle.
Oops. Maybe boasting about being a spy wasn’t the best move.
“Well… I said I wasn’t a spy, but in emergencies… Survival is important, right?”
I stammered, trying to explain.
“I’ll… repay… this.”
But then…
“Huh?”
“I said I’ll definitely repay this debt!”
Suddenly, Lucas shouted and jumped to his feet.
“Yikes!”
Startled by his outburst, I toppled over.
“Are you okay?!”
“Yeah, I’m fine…”
Just as I was about to say so, I felt a vibration through the cold floor, accompanied by a faint, struggling sound.
“…Ugh.”
There it was again—a faint, weak groan.
‘What is that?’
Like a spring, I snapped my head up and saw one of the men who had collapsed from Lucas’s attack.
And beneath him…
“……”
Two bright purple eyes were staring back at me.
“Meow…”
A kitten.
“Meow…”
A small kitten was trapped under the man.
“Dandelion!”
I rushed over, startling Lucas, who quickly followed.
But I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the kitten as I asked.
“Can you move this man?”
“What?”
“This man! There’s a kitten trapped under him!”
“What!”
Lucas, now equally shocked, turned to confirm the kitten’s presence.
He then slowly raised an ice pillar under the man’s head, lifting him up like a pillow.
“Thank you!”
I lay flat on the ground and reached out to the kitten.
“Come on, it’s okay now.”
But the kitten just trembled, too scared to move. It seemed its fur was still partially trapped under the man’s body.
I carefully slid my small hands under the kitten and gently pulled it out.
Soon, a tiny ball of fur was nestled in my arms.
As I gazed into the kitten’s purple eyes glowing in the darkness, I felt my entire body freeze.
‘Aisha.’
When I had fled to the garden’s drainage system, the desperate voice of the Duke calling out to me echoed in my mind.
Was this how he felt when he found me?
“……”
But there was no time to dwell on those thoughts. The kitten came first.
Shaking off the memories, I abruptly held the kitten out to Lucas.
“Young Lord, please save this little kitten.”
“What?”
“You said you’d repay me. When we return to the Duke’s estate, please save this kitten.”
Lucas’s mystical eyes studied me as he scratched the back of his neck.
“…Whether it’s a person or an animal, I’ll protect anything weaker than me. That’s what it means to be from the Crost family.”
It was a positive response, but his tone was a bit ambiguous.
Was he surprised that I asked him to save the kitten as repayment? Did it bother him?
‘He said he’d repay the debt, so why does he seem reluctant?’
Regardless, I turned my attention back to the kitten.
Its life was slipping away, but I could still feel a faint warmth in its tiny body.
They must have brought this little one as monster bait.
‘What could they possibly find to eat on this tiny thing?’
The kitten was so malnourished, it was practically skin and bones. Its purple eyes, crusted with sleep, held a faint wariness, but it was too weak to even hiss.
“My wish is that, instead of that, you stay at the Duke’s estate as my subordinate…”
“Young Lord, the kitten looks really cold.”
“Ugh.”
Lucas, who had been about to stroke the kitten, hesitated and withdrew his hand.
It seemed his cold powers had lowered his body temperature too much.
“I’m too cold, so you hold it.”
“Okay.”
I carefully tucked the fragile bundle of fur into my clothing.
“Meow…”
The kitten let out a faint cry, but soon relaxed as it felt the warmth, its expression peaceful as if it had never known such comfort.
If I hadn’t found this little one, it would have likely died on the cold floor.
Just like I would have, shivering alone before Calypse found me.
“……”
Holding the small life in my hands, I couldn’t help but think of my past self.
“Alright, Dandelion.”
Lost in thought, I was brought back by Lucas’s voice.
“Let’s get moving. You protect the kitten, and I’ll protect you.”
He nodded as he spoke, though he hadn’t finished nodding before a large shadow loomed behind him.
At the same time, a sword was raised.
“Die, you cursed ability user!”
Lucas’s eyes widened in shock.
In that split second, a whirlwind of thoughts rushed through my mind.
If Lucas dies and I survive, I’ll lose all trust and be alone again.
If I save Lucas and die instead, I won’t lose trust, and I won’t be alone.
“Young Lord!”
If I had to choose between the two…
‘You were adopted out of pity, but they don’t trust you. After all, you were the one who lied first.’
Mai’s voice, harsh and cutting, echoed like an arrow through my mind.
It helped me decide.
Even if I have to die, I’ll save him.
“Aisha!”
