Flora watched him standing there dazed, then turned to leave.
She was afraid that if she stayed any longer, she wouldn’t be able to stop herself from telling him things she shouldn’t, or that something unexpected might happen.
The wind blew directly across Flora’s face and then over to Kaan’s.
Kaan gradually recovered from his state of mental overload and looked at Flora’s retreating back.
‘That demon woman!’
‘She told me those things, and some were clearly about the Boss.’
‘This woman must know something, definitely!’
‘Maybe she can give me a definite answer on whether the Boss is actually dead or not.’
“Wait!” Kaan hurriedly ran in the direction Flora was leaving.
Flora heard his call and the sound of footsteps running behind her.
“Didn’t I tell you to leave quickly and not follow me? Do you want to be caught?” Flora turned around and looked coolly at the approaching Kaan.
As Flora looked at Kaan, her heart surged with emotion, and tears threatened to fall. But she had to maintain this facade; she couldn’t afford to cry.
“Wait, Miss… of the demon race… you know something, don’t you? You know what happened to Owen!”
Flora did her best to restrain herself, acting as if she were just a “normal” demon. She took a step closer.
“You already know all the choices he made, and you saw them for yourself. There is nothing else.”
Only then did Kaan get a clear look at the demon woman’s appearance. But she was very ordinary, with nothing special about her—just common brown hair and plain golden eyes.
She didn’t look like a special individual who would know a lot.
“But!”
“There are no ‘buts.’ Everything has ended. He certainly wouldn’t want you to continue searching for something here, let alone harrassing an ordinary demon citizen.”
Kaan looked at her eyes, which were cold yet firm, and felt a tightening in his chest.
“So leave quickly and live well. That is the greatest respect you can show him.”
Having said that, Flora didn’t stay any longer and walked deep into the forest.
“Don’t follow me.”
This time her pace was faster; she didn’t want Kaan to keep following her.
Kaan watched the direction Flora was going. He didn’t want to lose this opportunity—the chance to find the Boss.
Even though the demon woman had explicitly told him not to follow and her words were filled with hints, he still held a sliver of false hope in his heart.
‘I’ll just follow quietly for a little longer, just a bit…’
Flora was walking toward White Stone City, but she could still sense a faint, lingering presence behind her.
Kaan was still following.
“Sigh…” She let out a sigh. Kaan still hadn’t given up. She flicked her finger, shaking off a single droplet of water.
She stopped again, but this time, she didn’t look back.
She didn’t dare to look back.
“How much longer are you going to follow me?” Her voice wasn’t loud, but it was enough for Kaan to hear from a short distance away.
“This is my final warning. Do not follow me. If you keep following, I can’t guarantee I won’t lay a hand on you.” Flora’s voice trembled slightly, even carrying a hint of a sob, as her fingers dug into her palms.
‘Lay a hand on Kaan? How could that be possible? No matter what, I could never bring myself to do it. But I have no choice but to say it.’
Flora felt as if her own fingers were piercing her heart by saying such cold words to Kaan, her former brother.
There was no sound from Kaan; he didn’t speak.
Flora stood there, and gradually, she could no longer sense that presence.
‘It seems Kaan has finally left… I hope he returns to human territory quickly.’
‘I should head back too. If I’m any later, Lena will get worried and start nagging me again.’
Flora walked for a while and successfully returned to White Stone City.
When she entered her hotel room, Lena was sitting in a chair, watching the door.
“Oh, Your Highness is back.” Lena seemed exhausted; she even jumped a little when Flora entered the room.
“Yes,” Flora replied softly, not saying much else.
“Why is Your Highness back so late? Didn’t you say you’d be back in a short while…” Lena still sounded sleepy as she spoke.
“I ran into some unexpected circumstances. It’s fine now. Go to sleep.” Flora quickly changed into her nightclothes.
“Mm, okay…” Lena stood up somewhat stiffly, then wobbled over to the bed and lay down.
Flora turned off the lights and got into bed. She looked out the window, her breathing unexpectedly heavy and clear to her own ears.
‘My mind is in a mess.’
Lena fell asleep immediately. Within 2 minutes, the sound of her steady, light breathing could be heard.
‘Go to sleep. It’s all in the past…’ Flora looked blankly at the ceiling and then closed her eyes.
***
Early the next morning, sunlight seeped through the curtains accompanied by the sound of birds.
Flora stared blankly at the curtains and the quiet rays of light creeping across the floor.
“Your Highness, you’re awake,” Lena’s voice rang out.
“Mm.” Flora stopped looking at the light on the floor and looked at Lena.
“Your Highness came back so late last night. I was so tired I could hardly stay awake.”
“I did return a bit late.”
Flora watched Lena sit up and said, “Let’s go eat breakfast. Let’s go early. By the way, when is the carriage back?”
“At noon today. We just need to go outside the city then.”
Flora and Lena quickly changed clothes and went downstairs for breakfast.
Just like yesterday, Flora and Lena ordered one bowl of porridge and some side dishes.
Along the way, she had also picked up a few kitten soft candies, thinking she would eat some with breakfast.
Just as the shopkeeper brought the porridge over, she glanced at Flora and said, “Oh, you two girls, did you hear? A suspicious human was caught outside the city last night.”
Flora was about to take a sip of soup, but her right hand holding the spoon froze instantly.
“A human was caught last night? What happened?” Flora’s voice was fast, clearly anxious.
“Who knows? I heard the Patrol team found him wandering around suspiciously. Word is he had nothing on him—no identification, nothing.”
“No one knows what he was trying to do. You two girls should be careful not to run into any bad people.” The shopkeeper spoke with genuine concern.
Hearing this, Flora’s entire expression turned grim.
‘It’s likely Kaan. Didn’t he leave at the time? Why was he caught?’
“What did that person look like? Was it a man or a woman? What was his appearance?” Flora was so anxious she stopped caring about her tone.
“It was probably a man. I don’t know what he looked like; I’m just repeating what I heard.” The shopkeeper shrugged. “Why are you so worked up anyway?”
“I’m just… very surprised.”
Flora continued drinking her porridge, but her heart was no longer at peace. ‘If Kaan really was caught…’
Lena checked to make sure no one was around, then leaned in and whispered to Flora, “What is it, Your Highness? It’s just a human being caught.”
“If there’s a problem, they’ll find out, and if the interrogation goes fine, they’ll release him.”