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This is the fourth and final introductory chapter of 【The Spirit King of the Forest's Beloved Child】.

Mishtille, carried away by the Forest Spirit King, was then given love and happiness by the Spirit King... but wait?

Wait?

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Splish, splash, splish...

A shallow spring, reflecting like a mirror the brilliance of a sky full of stars, and the trees of the Spirit Forest shining like jewels.

Only the sound of Luctoria's footsteps, advancing as if to ripple and erase the spring's brilliance, echoed through the surroundings.

In the Spirit Forest, the voices of insects and the roars of beasts cannot be heard. 𝓯𝓻𝓮𝙚𝙬𝓮𝙗𝒏𝙤𝒗𝙚𝙡.𝒄𝒐𝓶

For some reason on this day, not even the laughter of the small spirits could be heard.

Anyway, it was a quiet night.

Splish, splash, splish...

Through such a quiet Spirit Forest.

Luctoria walked on, silently.

She walked, and walked.

At some point, the spring ended, and a carpet of moss, shining a bluish-green, spread around her.

This is still the shallow layer.

The outskirts of the Spirit Forest.

But she had walked for /N_o_v_e_l_i_g_h_t/ quite a while... so she was quite far from the village.

Her voice wouldn't reach.

There was no sign of soldiers following her to watch.

In that situation, Luctoria.

"Aha."

Looking up from her downcast face to the sky, towards the stars spilling light from between the leaves of the trees.

"Ahahahaha, HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

She suddenly burst out laughing.

"Hahaha, hahaha... hahahahahaha."

Luctoria's laughter, having thrown away her lady-like mask, gradually took on a dangerous... and ferocious tone...

"DON'T SCREW WITH ME... DON'T SCREW WITH MEEEEEEE!!!"

In the end, it turned into a scream, released with the rage of a blazing fire!!

"'I was 'pretending' to be the Spirit King's beloved child!? ME!? THAT'S WRONG!! Everyone around me just assumed it, didn't they!? Is it my fault!?'"

Luctoria, furious, stomped her feet, crushing the mysteriously shining moss!

Yes... Luctoria had not, of her own will, pretended to be the Spirit King's beloved child and deceived those around her.

She, and those around her.

They had simply believed it to be true... there was not a single trace of malice in it.

"Certainly, 'that man' is evil!! He's trash!! It's horrifying... that his blood flows through my veins!!"

Next, Luctoria, her skin crawling, trembled, rolled up her shabby prisoner's uniform, and rubbed her upper arm.

The deeds of the former Count Brutom, who is considered the source of all this, were, even to his daughter Luctoria, nothing short of demonic, and she was truly terrified that her father's blood flowed in her.

"Mother, Mother too!! Getting carried away, tea parties, evening parties, tea parties, evening parties every day... On top of that, playing at conspiracies!! How much do you think I've cleaned up your messes!!"

Furthermore, Luctoria vented her anger at her mother, who had been acting quite the evil woman.

Luctoria's mother had repeated a lot of unnecessary luxuries and corruption, to the point where no one would complain if she was held jointly responsible for this crime, and the fact that her mother's blood flowed in her was also painful for the current Luctoria.

"I was born from trash like that! Yes, that's right!! I'm a super-elite piece of trash with a pedigree!! AHAHAHAHA!!!"

Luctoria scratched her head hard, bleeding because of it... and then, as if having given up, she laughed loudly again.

"BUT!!!"

And then, she suddenly sat down on the moss.

"Even so, I... I've been trying my best, haven't I...!!"

She began to shed large tears, drop by drop.

"The traitorous Duke Infideli's family, the bribe-ridden Marquis Fraudon's family, the Count Kornekuu's family who increased the number of useless people in the knightly order through connections, the drug-dealing Baron Torizun's family!! And yet, I'm the one who crushed them all... before things got serious!!"

...In public, Luctoria is called the 'Mad Dog Princess', and the four families mentioned above are considered the prime examples of victims of Luctoria's tyranny.

However, there was a reason for Luctoria's tyranny... and in reality, Luctoria's claim is true.

Luctoria was a genius.

At a young age, she saw too much of the political machinations.

And her cultural backing in the Hyupuet Spirit Kingdom, as 'the Spirit King's beloved child', was too strong.

That's why Luctoria was able to act 'as she pleased', for the good of the country.

If she had a quieter personality... she probably wouldn't have been so disliked.

But her personality was harsh.

That's why she often resorted to violence to eliminate her enemies.

Before she knew it, her reputation had been reduced to that of a mere 'Mad Dog'.

"The royal family... I thought the royal family understood..."

And yet.

When the king pronounced the punishment for the Count Brutom family.

The four families mentioned above were in the line of vassals, and along with the other nobles, they looked down on Luctoria and smirked!

"Why! Why!!"

Luctoria, in her anger, clenched her fists and punched the mossy ground over and over again!

Luctoria, even though she's a mad dog, was a former count's daughter and a former crown princess candidate.

In this case, she understands that the Count Brutom family will be crushed.

As the person involved, she really doesn't want that, but she can understand it in her head.

But at the same time, to reinstate the trash nobles that Luctoria worked so hard to eliminate... that's wrong, Luctoria thinks.

The country will be ruined!?

...Originally, in the Hyupuet Spirit Kingdom, the royal family has a strong color of being a family that presides over the rituals to continue to protect the pact with the Forest Spirit King, and compared to other countries, their political power is weak.

That's probably what influenced it.

But.

Even so.

Think a little more.

Her parents are trash, and the royal family is unreliable.

Seeing the scene where her efforts, which she thought she was making alone, were completely nullified.

Luctoria was pissed...!

"But... more than that, more than anything!!"

However, for Luctoria.

"I can't forgive..."

There was an existence... more unforgivable than her trash parents, the trash nobles, and the trash royal family!

That is...!!

"YOU TRASH SPIRITS...!!!"

Yes, that's it, the spirits!

At the New Year's celebration, the Forest Spirit King told all the nobles the details of the matter.

The trash Count Brutom put the maid, who was carrying his child, in the dungeon.

The child born in the dungeon... the true beloved child of the Spirit King, Mishtille, was kept alive by the spirits.

During that time, the former Count Brutom family "pretended" that the fake, Luctoria, was the beloved child of the Spirit King.

To harm the true beloved child, and furthermore, to deceive the Forest Spirit King, is unforgivable.

If you summarize what he said, it would generally be like this.

Among this, Luctoria's claim that she was "'pretending' to be the beloved child of the Spirit King"... Luctoria, as mentioned before, wants to strongly object to that...

But besides that, there are many points that Luctoria can't accept.

"In the dungeon, with the help of the spirits, that child was kept alive... No, no, no, no!! Before you took care of her, get her out! Get her out of the dungeon!? Isn't that pitiful!?"

...Yes.

Mishtille had been living in the terrible environment of the dungeon while being taken care of by the spirits...

But if that spirit had taken Mishtille out of the dungeon in the first place, she wouldn't have had to be so emaciated.

Spirits possess powers that transcend human comprehension.

Luctoria has seen them casually teleport and disappear many times.

If they had taken Mishtille out of the dungeon with teleportation, she could have lived a much happier life!

Even if the spirit taking care of Mishtille was weak and didn't have that ability...

Even so, there should have been many other ways.

Like asking other spirits for help.

Or telling a human about Mishtille's situation, and asking for help!

I mean, Mishtille was the beloved child of the Forest Spirit King!

Then, report her situation to the Forest Spirit King first!

And the Forest Spirit King, if he has someone he likes, pay more attention to that child!

And yet, that trash Spirit King, who had neglected her plight for 12 years!

At the New Year's celebration, he just called Luctoria a fake and condemned her!

Without mentioning the negligence and incompetence of the spirit side or himself!

That Spirit King is trash!

That Spirit King is also trash!

He's just a pretty, sparkling piece of trash, worse than garbage!

"I'll never... never FORGIVE YOU!!!"

Luctoria, screaming with boiling hatred, stood up with great force!

And with her entire body surging with magical power... she started walking deeper into the forest again, stomping.

"I'll kill you... I'll kill you, you spirits..."

Her thoughts were possessed by murderous intent and madness towards the spirits.

Spirits' combat ability is high because they can use mysterious powers as if they were breathing.

Even if Luctoria was a genius of sword and magic, if she made an enemy of all the spirits in the forest, she would have no chance of winning.

However.

If it's just a few dozen small spirits... Luctoria could probably slaughter them!

"I'm going to die if I stay like this anyway. Toyed with by those foolish little spirits... Then! I'LL TAKE AS MANY OF THEM WITH ME AS I CAN!!!"

With her blue eyes shining with madness, Luctoria started walking through the forest, where the glowing moss was laid out like a carpet, stomping.

But it was then.

WHOOSH!!

Suddenly, a gust of wind blew from in front of Luctoria.

"Kuh..."

Luctoria, involuntarily stopping her steps, covered her face with her arm and narrowed her eyes.

From her ears, was it a spirit's voice... a sound like a person's scream, 'raaaaah'... was carried by the wind from deep within the forest.

"............"

At that eerie sound, Luctoria, for some reason, felt an instinctive fear, forgot her anger for a moment, and froze on the spot.

However.

However.

"I'm not going to be scared by such a silly threat..!!"

Luctoria, having calmed down a little, still didn't stop moving forward.

Step by step, she advanced deeper into the forest.

To slaughter as many of the hateful spirits as possible.

The mad dog princess's desperate exploration had begun.