The Baby Fairy Is A Villain [EN]: Chapter 167

The ground was muddy from the previous day’s rain.

However, Kieren’s shoes remained spotless as he stepped through the muddy streets.

Dressed in a stylish long coat and suit, complete with a cane, Kieren stood out in the chaotic alleyway.

Despite being a figure in the underworld, he seemed utterly out of place.

His attire, resembling that of a nobleman, was clearly unsuitable for the dirty back alleys, drawing the attention of passersby.

Yet, no one spared Kieren even a glance.

They were all too busy with their own affairs.

It was as if they couldn’t even perceive Kieren’s presence.

‘He must have used black magic?’ Chesha wondered.

In the underworld, there was no need to hide black magic.

Thanks to that, Kieren was free to use his powers, unlike in the outside world.

Meanwhile, the fact that he used magic to keep mud from splashing on his clothes and shoes was somewhat… endearing.

“…….”

Chesha quickly regretted her thought.

Endearing!

She glanced at Hata, who was standing beside her.

He was so tense that he was trembling from his tail to his ears.

If he found out she thought Kieren was ‘endearing,’ Hata might genuinely worry if she had hit her head.

Chesha forced herself to dismiss the idle thoughts and continued to follow Kieren.

Kieren strolled leisurely before entering a shop.

It was a place Chesha knew.

A high-end bar that catered to nobles seeking a ‘taste of the underworld.’

It offered luxurious food and drinks while maintaining the rough and unique atmosphere of the underworld.

With security guards stationed, it was a tourist attraction where one could safely enjoy the underworld like a social club.

She had heard they made a tremendous amount of money…….

‘Is this also Kieren’s?’

He seemed to have an extraordinary knack for this sort of thing.

Instead of entering the bar, Chesha and Hata stuck to the windows.

She wanted to rest her face on the ledge of the wide-open window, but she was a little too short.

Hata picked Chesha up so she could look inside.

The interior of the bar, decorated to feign shabbiness with high-end materials, was packed with customers.

Kieren skillfully navigated through the nobles and spoke briefly with an employee waiting inside.

Then, he naturally took a seat at the largest table.

It was a card game table.

The people sitting there were dressed particularly lavishly, and some wore masks to conceal their identities.

Even though they were likely high-ranking individuals who would recognize Count Vasilios, they weren’t surprised and welcomed Kieren.

It was as if they recognized Kieren as someone else entirely.

A burly man with a bear-like build greeted Kieren with delight.

A booming voice cut through the noise.

“You’ve arrived! It’s no fun without you!”

As if he had been waiting, he gestured to an employee to deal cards to Kieren as well.

Kieren smiled lightly and rolled the dice.

The game, which determined victory or defeat based on the numbers and patterns on the dice and cards, relied heavily on psychological warfare.

Naturally, Chesha expected the quick-witted and intelligent Kieren to win every time, but surprisingly, he alternated between moderate wins and losses.

Observing his actions, Chesha soon realized the real purpose of the card game.

Kieren was gathering new information here.

With their minds loosened by alcohol and mild brainwashing [a common technique in the underworld to extract information], the people weren’t careful with their words.

They casually revealed things they would never say when they were sober, along with the cards.

Then suddenly, a woman approached Kieren.

Judging by her suggestive glances and gestures, it was a clear invitation.

As she leaned in slightly, Kieren politely smiled and declined.

“I must be going now.”

After spending a reasonable amount of time, Kieren left the bar.

Chesha resumed her pursuit.

A strange perfume scent wafted on the breeze, along with the smell of alcohol.

Feeling a slight sense of unfamiliarity, she followed his straight back.

After walking for a while, Kieren turned into a secluded alleyway.

Chesha wondered why he was going there since it was a dead end.

Then, Kieren suddenly turned around and said with a playful voice.

“How long are you planning to watch?”

At the same time, shadows surged from the ground.

The shadows, split into dozens of strands, covered the entire alleyway, pierced the sky, and then subsided all at once.

Kieren glanced over the path swept by the shadows and made a short sound.

“Hmph.”

No trace remained on the path.

Not even a drop of blood, let alone dead or injured people.

Confirming that nothing was caught, Kieren smiled faintly.

“Not bad.”

His red eyes gleamed with cruel interest.

‘I think I’ve gotten into something bad…….’

Chesha exchanged a look with Hata, beads of cold sweat trickling down her face.

They barely, really barely, avoided Kieren’s attack.

Chesha was a child now, and Hata wasn’t very big either, so they barely managed to evade it.

If they had both been in their adult forms, at least an arm or a leg would have been blown away.

Fortunately, Kieren didn’t attack again.

“Since your skills are decent, I’ll spare you once…. If you don’t want to die, don’t follow me anymore.”

After leaving a leisurely warning, he simply hummed and went on his way.

As if he didn’t care whether they followed or not.

Chesha and Hata, thoroughly intimidated, suppressed their presence even further and cautiously followed him.

Kieren’s final destination was the Master’s mansion.

He passed through a garden overgrown with greenery, which seemed out of place for the underworld, and entered the mansion.

Following Kieren into the mansion, Chesha diligently surveyed her surroundings.

It was a place Chesha had only been to once.

Of course, she hadn’t been able to properly examine it back then because she had been preoccupied with Hylon.

The mansion, shrouded in a subtle darkness, was only sparsely lit with lamps.

It certainly wasn’t because the Master lacked the wealth to light it up; it just seemed that Kieren didn’t feel the need to have it brightly lit.

Since his power stemmed from darkness, it seemed he had created a favorable environment in preparation for any possible situation.

The central staircase of the mansion split into two, leading to the upper floors.

A large frame hung on the wall where the stairs split to the left and right.

Unusually, the frame was covered with a white cloth.

Kieren, who was climbing the stairs, stopped in front of the frame.

“…….”

Even though he couldn’t see anything, he didn’t remove the cloth.

He simply stood there, gazing at the white cloth, and then smiled softly.

“I’m back, Rose.”

It was a surprisingly sweet voice.

Kieren, greeting the pure white cloth, was clearly not in his right mind.

But his eyes seemed clearer than ever.

With even a faint blush on his cheeks, gazing with loving eyes, yet he never removed the cloth.

As if he were afraid of something.

After finishing his greeting, Kieren continued up the stairs and disappeared onto the second floor.

Confirming that he had completely disappeared, Chesha cautiously approached the frame.

The frame was hung a little higher than Chesha’s height, so she had to tilt her head back a lot.

The clean white cloth, with a bluish tint, was free of dust and even the smallest stains.

It was clear how carefully it had been maintained.

Chesha gently pulled on the long string hanging next to the frame.

Then, the cloth draped over the painting smoothly lifted.

A portrait of a woman appeared from behind the cloth.

“…!”

Chesha trembled as if struck by lightning.

‘It’s, it’s me?’

For a moment, she flinched, thinking it was a painting of Richessia.

However, upon closer inspection, she realized that although she looked a lot like Richessia, she was definitely someone else.

The woman in the portrait had pink eyes, not red.

Chesha stared at the portrait for a long time.

Wavy golden hair, sparkling pink eyes, elegant eyes and nose, and lips with a faint smile tinged with playfulness.

She examined everything, leaving nothing out.

Her chest grew hot, and a helpless, short exclamation escaped from her parted lips.

“…Ah.”

Chesha knew who she was.

The previous Fairy Queen, and Chesha’s mother.