I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

-Kill me?

When Karas heard that, all he did was hurriedly look around to make sure no one was eavesdropping.

The boy, confirming no one was nearby, tenderly comforted his sobbing aunt.

He promised he would definitely return… but he could not promise to come back unharmed.

That depended on the emperor’s intentions.

Whether he would return alive or be thrown as a corpse somewhere along a riverbank, no one could know.

“…”

A pitiful boy, only eight years old, well aware of his position.

Those who gradually gathered around Karas—specifically, the Ifrit family—were busy spouting nonsense.

Their talk usually revolved around this. Ludicrous schemes to launch a revolution and reclaim the throne.

They seemed unaware that such whispers would reach the emperor’s ears in less than half a day.

They were mad.

‘Make me a young emperor if I wish… ha, wake up from that dream. My uncle is childless now, but he will soon take a wife. Once a successor is born, I will have no meaning to live.’

Since ascending the throne, Harun had opened the harem and sent away all the former emperor’s women. He outright rejected the Reef Empire’s tradition of taking back women without children to prevent property division.

No one could speak against him.

Those who wished to remarry were allowed, and the rest were sent back to their hometowns.

Summarizing all this, it was a declaration of intent to unify imperial power.

They were all under him.

‘I’m fine.’

Karas was not afraid of what might happen next.

There was no need to go to a foreign country; if his uncle wished to kill him, he could do so anytime.

Even at this moment.

The emperor looked at his nephew with an unreadable smile.

“Karas, are you worried something might happen if you follow me?”

How did he know? He couldn’t have overheard the conversation with his aunt last night.

Then… the emperor had likely guessed everything as if he saw it in his palm.

The eight-year-old boy responded rather boldly.

“No.”

“No…?”

“Actually, there is something I wish to say.”

“What is it?”

“I am always grateful to Your Majesty.”

Harun chuckled.

“To me?”

“… yes. Thank you for sparing my mother.”

That was right.

Karas’s mother, now the former empress, was alive.

She had not had her hair cut or suffered any injuries.

Though she lost the imperial surname of Reef and returned to her maiden name Ifrit, she was still alive.

It was honestly a miracle.

Although his maternal grandfather and other male relatives were exiled, the women of the family remained in the capital.

Of course… there was no avoiding the constant surveillance they felt through various means. Not for a single day. That had been Karas’s fate even before he was born.

A cold smile crossed the emperor’s lips.

“Is that your true intention, nephew?”

“I harbor no wicked thoughts.”

Karas was adept at expressing this sentiment indirectly to anyone he met.

The only direct descendant of the previous emperor.

However, having lost all authority and merely a prospective head of the Ifrit family. Even that was uncertain.

Pledging loyalty and showing cautiousness, indicating he dared not challenge the current emperor, was something Karas had to do daily.

Harun, befitting a man who had seized the imperial throne, did not easily let it pass. Even if the nephew before him was only eight years old.

“Many speak to me that way.”

“I mean it…!”

At that moment.

Harun bent down, bringing his face close to the trembling Karas.

That face resembled Marid, the fearsome guardian deity who protected the Reef Empire.

Terrifying.

Despite Harun being renowned as the most handsome man in the empire, it did not erase Karas’s fear.

In the boy’s trembling eyes, Harun’s grim expression was reflected.

“I know. Your dreadful feelings.”

“Yes…?”

“For as long as your father lived, I was always tested in such a manner.”

Words that made one’s breath stop.

“…!”

“If you had been born earlier, what would have happened to me? If you were born just ten years before now. Would I be dead, or would I have received some useless land on the frontier, living as a harsh nomad? I do not know.”

‘Uncle…!’

Karas thought he might die before reaching the kingdom.

If the emperor wished… if his uncle wished, he could do it anytime.

Even in broad daylight, within the palace, before everyone’s eyes, he could swing a sword and more. The remaining retainers would confirm his death and then proclaim long live the emperor.

… if he was going to do it anyway, why not hurry?

A boy ready to surrender his life to the underworld’s god anytime felt a slight fear.

If he were to die alone, he wouldn’t be afraid.

To Karas, Harun was an overwhelming, absolute presence he couldn’t resist.

His only worry left in this world was about his mother.

His gentle mother and the relatives who constantly spoke dangerous words were different.

His mother… only wished for a peaceful life.

She prayed for the late emperor’s repose, living a life of prayer. Even the remarriage was not her own words.

The atmosphere around the emperor and his nephew was as quiet as if water had been poured.

Harun slowly straightened his back and spoke to those surrounding them for protection and surveillance.

“It’s time to depart.”

“Yes. Everything is ready. The advance party is lined up near the magic circle, so you can move anytime.”

“Alright.”

Swoosh.

The emperor’s large, strong hand lightly pushed Karas’s small back.

As he moved, Karas thought.

‘If this is a trap as Aunt said… will I never see my mother again?’

Perhaps he would be sent to the northern Tanat Snowfield, where he wouldn’t survive ten minutes without a fur coat and boots. Or he might be thrown into the southern sea to be eaten by sharks.

The terrifying imagination of an eight-year-old.

‘Will Uncle really kill me?’

No one would answer that question.

Not even the emperor himself knew.

If ever the empire’s imperial power was greatly threatened by Karas, he would.

Who created this anxiety? Neither he, the emperor, nor his mother wanted this. It was unfortunate.

Wiiing—

“The magic circle will activate soon!”

Shouted the palace wizard.

“Understood. Karas, breathe calmly and try to close your eyes. When space moves, the surroundings waver, and some people throw up.”

An old teacher had once whispered to him.

His Majesty the Emperor had risked his life to visit the Nea Kingdom shortly after ascending the throne.

Though the reason was unknown, Karas had felt at that moment.

‘… no matter how old I get, I will never be as bold as my uncle. How did he make such a decision?’

As long as his mother lived peacefully, and the Reef Empire continued.

Karas did not fear his death. He had to believe that to keep breathing and living.

The fearful boy tightly closed his eyes.

Wiiing—

“… we’re here. Open your eyes.”

Just a few seconds, but to Karas, it felt like an eternity.

Neither cold nor hot, nor the sensation of water choking his body. His shoes were undoubtedly on the ground.

‘I’m safe?’

Opening his eyes, he found himself unscathed but felt a subtle change in the atmosphere.

Harun spoke to Karas, who was looking around.

“This is Dark Town in the Nea Kingdom.”

“Dark… Town.”

“It’s like a slightly maintained slum in our country. Interestingly, just a bit beyond this place, there’s the bustling downtown. Isn’t it amazing? Light and darkness, with a shadow cast between them.”

“Was there such a place?”

The name Dark Town gave off a dreary and dark impression.

In the alleys, a knife-wielding thief could appear anytime, and from afar, came the sound of something crackling.

He could only hope it wasn’t an assassin running towards them with dangerous sparks.

“Yes. Let’s go. The destination is close.”

“We will escort you.”

What task needed to be done in the back alleys of a foreign country?

Karas’s small head couldn’t fathom it.

The main escorts were familiar faces.

One was Baine Dasser, the eldest son of the former chancellor and captain of the imperial guards; another was Al, the top-ranked mage of the imperial wizard corps. The last one was… originally the captain of the Ifrit family’s guards but had turned to the emperor’s side, Charon.

The man whom the women of his family, including his aunt, frequently cursed!

“…”

Charon didn’t even look back at Karas. He simply guarded the emperor’s side skillfully.

Shortly after moving from the magic circle, a small building came into view.

“We have arrived at Dark House!”

“Yes.”

‘It’s not that grand.’

In Yuriana’s eyes, the Dark House was a large and imposing mansion.

But as everything in the Reef Empire was grander, it was only natural for Karas to see it differently.

To him, it was more of a than a .

If Asil knew this thought, he would be exasperated and want to kick them out immediately.

“They are here.”

Harun smiled.

The leader of Dark Town, Asil, appeared, looking weary from recognizing the gravity of the situation.

“Welcome, guests.”

Asil, acknowledging the importance, did not use honorifics towards Harun.

“Asil, your face has become pale. Are you skipping meals? That’s unmanly.”