Meanwhile, inside the prison of the Security Department.
Kaan sat in the dim cell, his hands bound by handcuffs that prevented him from using magic.
“Seriously, how could I get lost! Then I get spotted by the city’s Patrol Team — honestly…” Kaan lowered his head, muttering to himself.
“Why did I even come here! Cole and Eileen are both doing fine. Why couldn’t I just stay put? I had to come running over here.”
“Even if I had just made a cenotaph for the Boss back in the human world, it would have been enough.” Kaan’s voice was low and thin, dripping with regret and frustration.
But what about now? The casket was buried, but he had gotten lost and captured.
That mysterious demon woman had said a bunch of things he didn’t understand, and rather than changing anything, it had only made him more anxious.
His trip here hadn’t made the Boss’s sacrifice any more valuable. Instead, he had gotten himself caught, causing Eileen and the others to lose another family member.
‘Cole, Eileen, and the rest of the brothers… I might never see you again. They didn’t just lose the Boss, now they’re going to lose me too… They’ll realize I’m gone in a few days.’
‘How could I be so foolish? Why did I have to seek answers? Wouldn’t it have been better to just leave? In the end, I didn’t get any answers, got lost, and ended up captured.’
Kaan’s dust-covered hands clawed frantically through his already messy hair.
‘If the Boss knew I turned out like this, he would look down on me so much. I’ve completely failed his expectations.’
‘The Boss would probably just think I’m useless. I can’t even protect myself, and I came all this way just to die for him.’
The image of Boss Owen surfaced in Kaan’s mind again.
‘Sigh, I shouldn’t think about this. I’m a dead man walking anyway. I can’t even give them a reason for being here. They even found that casket and detected my aura on it.”
“They asked me what the casket was for and why it was buried there. What am I supposed to say? That I didn’t bring anything inside it? They wouldn’t believe me.’
‘I’ve just let Eileen and the others down. I’ve failed the Boss’s expectations. I’m sure they wanted me to live a good life.’
***
Flora was eating her breakfast slower than usual, and she hadn’t said a word afterward.
“Your Highness, is everything alright?” Lena asked with concern, crouching beside her.
“Lena, I’m going back to the inn room first…” Flora’s voice was very soft. She kept her head down, avoiding Lena’s gaze.
“Alright.”
Flora walked to the door of the room with Lena following behind.
“Lena, stay out here for now. I want to be alone in the room for a while.”
Lena said nothing, and Flora returned to the room.
She sat quietly in a chair, arms folded on the table and her back hunched over as she rested her chin on the surface.
‘If I had stopped him sooner, if he hadn’t followed me for so long, maybe he wouldn’t have been caught.’
‘Or even if I hadn’t appeared at all and said nothing, he would have buried the flower casket and left. Nothing would have happened…’
A wave of self-reproach surged in Flora’s heart.
If it weren’t for her, Kaan wouldn’t have been captured.
Flora stayed slumped there for a long time until her emotions gradually subsided.
‘Sigh, what’s happened has happened. I need to figure out how to solve this now. I can’t keep dwelling on regrets; that won’t solve the problem.’
Flora sat up straight.
Just then, Lena knocked on the door.
“Are you alright?” Lena’s voice drifted in.
“Yes, come in.”
Lena opened the door and entered, seeing Flora sitting in the chair.
“Your Highness, are you… alright?” Lena walked over hesitantly.
“I’m fine. Sit down. I’m thinking about something.”
Lena sat obediently in a nearby chair while Flora stared at the tabletop, deep in thought.
The person who was caught was most likely Kaan, but she definitely needed to confirm it. If it wasn’t him, it would be difficult to handle.
If it really was Kaan, he would certainly be interrogated according to standard procedure. He was here to commemorate the original Owen, but there was no way he would mention that.
Even if he did, it would be useless. Who would believe a human came to the demon territory to commemorate a human?
He had no logical motive or evidence for being here. How could a normal interrogation possibly go in his favor?
Furthermore, he was just an ordinary human. No one here was going to speak up for him.
Besides, she was supposed to leave by carriage at noon today. If she left, there would truly be no one left to help him.
Therefore, if she wanted Kaan to get out safely, she had to do something. She was currently the only person here who could help him.
First, however, she needed to go and confirm if that human was actually Kaan.
Otherwise, if Kaan had already left and the person captured was a different human, it would be strange if she tried to save them.
‘How should I go about it?’
Flora’s fingertips unconsciously brushed against the hem of her skirt.
Asking directly was out of the question. As an ordinary demon girl, showing excessive concern for a human suspect would only arouse suspicion.
A thought suddenly flashed through her mind.
‘Perhaps I can pretend to be an ordinary person looking for a lost friend or relative?’
People occasionally got lost in the forest, so going to the Security Department to ask about someone with a similar appearance sounded reasonable.
She only needed to get a description; as long as she could confirm it was Kaan, that would be enough.
‘That seems doable. Let’s do it. There isn’t much time left.’ It was already past 9:00 AM. If she waited any longer, she would truly run out of time.
“Lena,” Flora said, trying to make her tone sound as relaxed as possible.
“I’m going out for a bit. It’ll take some time, but I’ll be back before noon. Can you stay here?”
“Where is Your Highness going now?” Lena was a bit confused. Flora had already mentioned going out for a while last night.
“It’s just… I suddenly remembered seeing an interesting stall at the market yesterday. I want to go take another look.”
“I’ll be back as soon as possible.” She didn’t wait for Lena to ask anything else before turning to leave the room.
The excuse was made up on the spot, so it sounded a bit strange, but Lena probably wouldn’t look into it too deeply.
Flora walked quickly down the stairs, having already planned out every subsequent step in her mind.
First, she would go to the service window at the Security Department and ask in a worried tone if a human had been caught last night.
She would describe Kaan’s general appearance but intentionally get two details wrong. This would allow her to confirm his identity if the guards corrected her.
Then, she could use those incorrect details as an excuse to claim she had the “wrong person” and leave immediately.
“Phew.” Flora took another deep breath.
She shook her head and headed toward the Security Department.
Naturally, before reaching the building, Flora ducked into an alleyway to practice disguising her voice.
She mimicked the expression and tone of a “panicked young girl” and tried to make her timbre as different from her usual voice as possible.
This was the only way to make it look real and prevent others from suspecting her true motives.
“Ah—” Flora’s throat felt a bit dry. The voice she finally produced sounded a bit more youthful.
‘My throat is practically ruined just from practicing a voice.’
Flora took a sip of the water she carried with her. At the very least, she was now ready to go to the security office to ask about “that human.”