I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

Squirm.

As soon as they met, Asil’s facial muscles twitched unnaturally, thanks to Harun’s characteristic of picking a fight.

“That’s not true.”

“Is it?”

“Let’s skip unnecessary greetings. Will you also meet with your guest?”

Harun looked back at Karas and said.

“Haha, dragging him here on my own and having him sit with us would be torture. Karas, I’ll give you some free time. I have some matters to discuss with this man, so feel free to relax nearby.”

Asil quickly gave instructions.

“You can go anywhere in the visible buildings. The garden is also fine, but do not approach the buildings in the back. There are few people and nothing to see anyway.”

The unexpected kiss from his daughter while looking at the pebble map.

That one kiss changed Asil’s mind, and he firmly decided to keep Yuriana away from these people.

What did a six-year-old know?

It was not because of Harun or his nephew Karas. He couldn’t stand the sight of her climbing onto their torsos and giving them moist, warm baby kisses…!

Even if a storm of dirt swirled into his eyes, he wouldn’t allow it.

Yuriana, no kissing strangers!

“Understood.”

“Then.”

Two guards quickly followed behind the emperor. The remaining one stood to Karas’s left.

Of all people, the remaining one was Charon, the traitor of the family.

He’s watching me…

Karas didn’t want to stay in the same building as his uncle even for a moment. More precisely, he found it hard to endure Charon’s presence. So, he headed to the garden attached to the main building.

However, there was one thing Asil, who entered the main building with Harun, overlooked.

What rule said his daughter Yuriana would stay quietly in the annex?

As he had feared before, Yuriana was overly active…

“Please, have some.”

“Hmm.”

Harun and Asil, who entered the reception room, didn’t exchange any special words. They just silently ate and drank the prepared refreshments.

But they were in the midst of a fierce scouting battle.

The emperor of the empire, Harun, wouldn’t leisurely visit here for no reason.

It was not the beach, so what vacation could he have in Dark Town?

Why did he come when he didn’t even say why the queen wanted to meet him?

Harun’s deep scheme existed separately, just as Asil thought.

‘Hmm.’

The emperor of the empire wanted to recruit Asil, who had decent intelligence, to his side. This was the primary goal.

To be precise, the empire wanted to take over Dark Town in the kingdom. Telling Asil this outright might make him draw his sword.

Asil was thinking about Alice’s business.

‘She said she’d come before noon tomorrow.’

How dare they keep the emperor of the empire waiting for a day!

… but this was what Harun requested, and Alice, being a queen, couldn’t freely get away either.

If there were no big changes, the queen of the Nea Kingdom and the emperor of the empire would have an unofficial meeting tomorrow.

Without King Aidan’s attendance.

Did this make sense?

‘Would the king not know that the emperor of another country sneaked into Dark Town? He must have allowed it knowing, or they must have talked.’

Asil instinctively knew that Aidan must be aware of this.

He wondered if there would be a separate reprimand after this situation ended.

Perhaps Harun also knew this. Pretending not to ask was a wise move.

He could brush off annoying future problems.

‘It’s unbelievable for the queen’s second outing to go unnoticed.’

Asil strengthened his resolve again.

‘… Alice, our connection ends tomorrow. Please stop now. You are someone who will rule the kingdom where light enters, cutting off forever from Dark Town, where shadows and darkness seep in. Here… I’ll handle it. Without you by my side.’

Meanwhile, Karas, who stayed in the garden for a while, reluctantly moved to another guest room in the main building.

It was because of Charon’s urging. Going outside would tan your skin, he said?

‘Excuses, excuses.’

With nothing to do, sitting idly, time passed endlessly.

‘Is uncle still not done? It’s been quite a while since he went in.’

Karas waited patiently.

After having lunch alone and by the evening, he looked out the window to see a bright sunset.

‘Beautiful.’

It was Karas’s rare sentiment, who almost never spoke to avoid misunderstandings.

His shoulders on the sofa were now straightened out.

Growing up in the empire, Karas never lived a moment without vigilance.

Being alone was lonely. But did that mean he missed having people around? Did he want someone to gather around him?

No.

When relatives approached and talked to him, it was awkward and troublesome.

Endless tears and laments, futile resolves for revenge.

The limits a boy of eight could bear had long been exceeded. Karas was tired but couldn’t afford to feel tired, a pitiful fate.

‘It’s stuffy.’

He couldn’t sit any longer.

Karas quietly stood up, and Charon asked in a flat voice.

“Where are you going?”

“To the garden from earlier.”

“I will escort you.”

“Don’t follow too closely.”

He couldn’t say, .

“… yes.”

As soon as his words fell, Charon hesitated for just a second before responding.

Karas wasn’t curious about Charon’s true intentions.

Even without words, his actions spoke.

Even if he didn’t openly show hostility… the Ifrit family he walked out on his own was difficult to deal with.

Somehow, everything seemed tiresome.

‘Why am I living?’

If Karas, dressed in the empire’s attire, were to throw them off, change into the kingdom’s clothes, and shout this profound question in the middle of the street.

The adults passing by would click their tongues in disbelief.

Those with a kind heart might buy a cheap candy and hand it to him, saying.

-You rascal! Hurry home and help your mother. Reading too many books is making you think useless thoughts!

But a high-status yet precarious Karas would never experience such a thing.

At this rate.

“…….”

The boy sat down under the biggest tree in the garden.

Charon watched him intently for a moment, then stepped back a few steps.

He shifted his gaze slightly to the side, but that was all. A strange blend of respect and surveillance.

The foreign country’s weather was intriguing.

For early autumn, the wind was slightly chilly…

‘Huh?’

Under the tree, Karas looked up in confusion, feeling a gaze.

In a foreign land, in someone else’s home, what was this feeling?

Two pairs of eyes met his. Two eyes were from a human, the other two, feline.

“Meow?”

“… a cat?”

“What’s the matter?”

Charon rushed over, alarmed by the unusual cat’s cry.

In a rare moment of innocent curiosity, Karas put his hand to his lips.

“There’s a cat.”

“Pardon?”

The cat perched on a branch was quite chubby.

Its fur was a glossy black, and its eyes sparkled golden. Too bright to be just yellow.

‘Could it be… a beastman?’

In the Nea Kingdom, beastmen were extremely rare and inactive.

However, in the Reef Empire, there were quite a few, so Karas was familiar with them.

Karas had a subordinate named Tan, a black panther beastman. He couldn’t bring him here, and he was also under the emperor’s surveillance.

Unconsciously, Karas asked Charon in a relaxed tone.

“Are there many beastmen in this country?”

“No. But… as Your Highness said, it does look like a cat beastman. It seems to have lost most of its abilities…”

“Meow!”

The cat, listening to Charon’s straightforward comment, got angry.

A crime of spreading facts!

The cat, agilely landing from the branch, moved toward the thick bushes nearby.

Only then did Charon look surprised and blocked Karas’s path.

“There’s a presence…!”

“What?”

Rustle, rustle.

The cat rummaged through the leaves and approached the person behind the bush.

Charon was about to draw his sword but didn’t need to.

The presence hidden in the bushes was a small, young girl, far smaller than his escort target.

“Who…”

“Wait. It’s a child.”

Charon’s overly grim tone was interrupted by Karas.

Something he usually wouldn’t do.

‘Is she the owner of that cat beastman?’

Karas’s guess was right.

The young girl, who emerged from the bushes, moved sluggishly. Soon, the black cat approached her and rubbed its head against her ankle.

The suddenly appearing girl was quite pretty.

With thin, fine silvery hair and sky-blue eyes, her face was adorable.

She scolded the cat when aware of its presence.

“Hey. I told you a guest was coming today. How can you come all the way here? Let’s go back quietly.”

“Meow~”

“Huh? What’s wrong? Why aren’t you moving!”

“Meow!”

The sound of branches shaking with leaves attached.

The girl’s skirt, caught somewhere firm, wouldn’t budge.

“Um…”

“Wait, Charon. Hey…!”

“Huh? Oh!”

Without much hesitation, Karas spoke to the girl.

She, trying to move backward but looking at them, was startled.

“Wait. Your dress is caught in the tree.”

“What, I…”

The girl tried to solve it herself, but Karas reached her faster.

There were no thorns in the bushes.

But for a young boy to untangle the dress, it was quite dense and tough.