The Baby Sprout Who Bloomed in the Villain Duke’s Family - Chapter 127

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 127
“Was it her Authority that made you target my daughter?”
Before the ruined Temple, the High Priest of the Trina Church knelt with his head bowed.
Kalid, who had posed the question, spoke again.
“Why do you not answer?”
“Answer? If I appeared to be one who simply bows to strength…….”
“Speak plainly—you won’t submit?”
Kalid adjusted his gloves.
“Then my power was insufficient.”
Rumble, crash!
Thunder split the sky at that same moment, and lightning struck down upon a massive tree nearby. The instant the bolt found it, the tree erupted in flames, and moments later had blackened entirely, withered dead.
“!!”
That overwhelming display of power drew a stunned silence.
The Rosipheron royal house wielded the Flame-Burning Authority—an Authority that burned life itself and scorched the earth.
Yet why did a house bearing such power fear the Claudian? Think it through, and the answer became clear.
The Claudian’s Authority matched the royal house’s, or exceeded it. Those who had felt the sheer magnitude of that power trembled where they knelt, some losing consciousness, others collapsing outright.
“From this moment forward, only one of you lives.”
Kalid spoke.
“Tell me why you took the child. Tell me what you meant to do with her.”
Silence hung in the air. Behind Kalid, clouds gathered once more. As tension thickened—as though lightning might strike at any instant—the sound of swallowing echoed from all around.
Even a false religion is staffed by humans. Humans could not help but tremble before such overwhelming might.
It was then that a young priest of the Trina Church stepped forward.
“I—I—I will sp-speak, sir!”
A young priest with an unformed face and trembling voice. Among those kneeling, he was almost the only one who looked so young.
“Leri!”
A man seated at the far end barked out in protest. Claudian knights silenced him, gagging his mouth.
Kalid spoke with casual ease.
“Speak.”
“I—I was told that the World Tree’s soul would be summoned into the child’s body. That is all I know—the rest I am ignorant of.”
“By what method would the World Tree’s soul be summoned?”
“In the Temple, inside……there is a Fragment of the World Tree, and through it…….”
The frightened young priest spilled his words in a torrent. Though shouts of protest came from scattered voices, his desire to live drove him onward, unwavering.
According to what the young priest said, the Trina Church had been conducting continuous research into the method of summoning the World Tree’s soul into a human body.
And they had chosen Clover’s body for this purpose.
Hearing this, it made even less sense.
Upon hearing the term “World Tree Fragment,” Kalid tilted his head and spoke to his commander.
“It seems these fools possess a World Tree Branch.”
“We were searching mainly for living people before and missed it. Shall we conduct another search?”
“Yes. Find it and bring it.”
“Very well.”
Claudian knights entered the Temple once more. Kalid pointed to the young priest, who was shaking violently.
“Take this one with you, along with the kidnappers.”
“Yes, Commander.”
“And…….”
Kalid’s gaze turned toward the High Priest.
“Are you the leader of the Trina Church?”
“……Glory to the World Tree.”
“It would be wise to answer my orders if you wish to die with all your limbs intact.”
“To the World Tree…….”
“You seem to enjoy suffering.”
Through this repetitive exchange, Kalid came to a realization: there was another leader above this man.
It was certain that among those gathered here, this one held the highest rank. Yet Kalid sensed that the true architect of all this planning stood elsewhere.
Otherwise, the raid would not have been so hollow—like searching an empty house, its master already gone.
‘Did he escape beforehand, then.’
Sensing that the plan had failed?
Either way, it mattered little. He would enter and investigate. This was undoubtedly the headquarters of the Trina Church.
Moreover, consider the number of those captured—even if someone did slip away, it would be but a handful.
The moment a king abandons his realm and flees alone, he ceases to be a king and becomes merely one person fighting to survive. An old king stripped of his soldiers is nothing but an aged man.
So there was no need to rush the pursuit. Even if the High Priest lived, even if his remnants somehow evaded Kalid’s tracking, they would not be able to stir for the next ten years.
Just then, rain began to fall. The sky, resonating with Kalid’s Authority, released thick, cold droplets steadily downward.
Kalid gazed into the darkness with sharp, killing eyes, rain pouring down upon him.
It wasn’t long after.
“Sir, we’ve found it!”
Those who had discovered the World Tree Branch inside the Temple brought the golden-gleaming branch to Kalid.
It was truly a World Tree Branch. The moment it fell into Kalid’s hands, cries of “No!” erupted from among the bound prisoners.
But the Claudian knights did not stop. Those who had searched the interior emerged carrying a considerable amount of items, speaking as they went.
“We’ve brought everything that appeared necessary for investigation—inside there is only what is unnecessary.”
“We also found records documenting the history of the Trina Church.”
The knights rapidly ferried the contents of the Temple to the ships. Even if they burned the Temple to ashes, they would conduct a more thorough investigation of the Trina Church afterward.
Kalid, who had been watching the scene intently, gave his order in a monotone voice.
“Secure the World Tree Branch, and we return now. Handle the rest.”
“Yes, sir!”
The resounding response ended, and the moment the Claudian knights withdrew entirely from the Temple, lightning struck once more.
As a tremendous bolt of lightning struck the Temple, the marble structure crumbled to dust in an instant. Over the charred remains of the collapsed Temple, where only traces of what had once stood remained, thick raindrops fell with an eerie sound.
Immediately after.
Whoosh!
Flames rose high behind Kalid. But he did not turn to look.
If they had laid hands on Clover and Pluto, they had to be prepared to pay a price of at least this magnitude.
The flames rippled endlessly.
***
Father is coming.
“Lucky, father is coming.”
[Can you feel it?]
“Yes, he’s coming now.”
A warm breeze caressed Clover’s cheek, as gently as Kalid’s touch.
Clover’s eyes brightened at the sensation, her ears perking up. As the child stretched onto her tiptoes, clinging to the inn window, Zitheia stroked Clover’s head.
“Clover, are you curious about what’s outside?”
“No, ma’am, father is coming.”
“Father?”
“Yes, father is coming now. To Clover.”
Clover’s eyes sparkled. Hearing the child’s words, Zitheia peered out the window.
She saw no Claudian carriage, no sign of Kalid’s Summoned Creature. Moreover, she felt none of his Authority.
So why was the child saying such a thing? Just as Zitheia’s expression grew puzzled, Clover gripped her hand tightly.
“Clover knows when father will come. It’s because Clover waits for father every single day.”
And at that moment.
Clover felt the Claudian Authority.
It was as good as proof that Kalid had drawn near. When Zitheia sensed the Claudian Authority, she looked at Clover, and Clover gazed back with an expression that said, “I was right, wasn’t I?”
“How did you know? Hmm? You clever little thing. I only just felt it myself—how could you sense it so quickly?”
“Because father is Clover’s father!”
Clover herself could not explain how she knew. But lately, whenever father was near, somehow her eyes would brighten and her heart would lift with joy.
With such feelings, waiting for father this way, Kalid would always come. Kalid had never disappointed Clover.
As Clover’s eyes sparkled, Nia, who had been listening quietly to the story, spoke.
“Nia can sense when mother is coming too.”
“Really?”
“Mother wouldn’t understand—she can’t. This is a special ability children have.”
Just as Nia answered brightly, a strong wind blew and the inn’s window swung open with a bang.
And not long after, Kalid arrived at the inn with the Claudian knights.
He was soaked and disheveled, but Clover didn’t care about such things. What mattered was that father had come.
Clover, bursting with excitement, bounded down the stairs, with Nia and Pluto following in her wake. And behind them, the Wolf Cub that had been licking Clover came scampering down.
And soon.
“Father!”
The children rushed to embrace Kalid. Clover hugged him first, and as Pluto nuzzled against his leg, Nia, swept up in the moment, also threw herself at Kalid.
“Well, now.”
Kalid, unable to bathe properly, tried to gently push the children away for fear his wet body would give them a chill.
“Father, did you travel safely? Were you careful?”
“…We were worried.”
“Nia kept Clover safe the whole time, and Pluto too.”
Kalid simply lacked the power to turn away the chattering children.
Though he had half-destroyed a Temple and an island mere moments before, he could not push away the children rushing toward him. Instead, he gently stroked each of them in turn.
It was then that Zitheia, stepping into view, leaned against the inn wall and regarded Kalid, asking her question.
“So, did you manage to sort it all out?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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