I Became the Abandoned Daughter of an Underworld Boss

As time passed, the face of the curly-haired man, whose collar was being gripped, gradually turned pale. This was because Asil was increasingly tightening his grip, with subtle precision.

It was a clever trick he had picked up after spending so much time in Dark Town.

“Ugh…”

“Let go, now!”

“Let go, you scoundrel!”

“Do you want to die?”

“Apologize to my daughter first. All of you, get down on your knees and say three times, ‘We are truly sorry for our rudeness.’ Didn’t you say you’re deaf? Don’t tell me you’ve also lost your strength to speak?”

Now feeling more composed, Asil sneered.

Though it made him angry to think of Yuriana, stubbornly refusing to wipe off the dirt behind him.

He stood firm here because he cherished that mischievous and adorable daughter of his.

He didn’t even flinch at the knights’ threats.

Even if one of them drew their sword and stabbed his throat, making it bleed, he wouldn’t back down. Go ahead and try!

Asil, like walking a tightrope, refused to release his grip on the curly-haired man’s collar.

“Boss! We’ll rescue you.”

“So, what if they’re knights? They’re the ones at fault, yet they’re the ones causing a commotion!”

“Why don’t you guys step back instead?”

“Disgusting hypocrites!”

The Dark Town gang chimed in with their comments, adding to the fierce standoff.

“Go ahead and draw your sword. We’ve got weapons here too, approved by both kings of our neighboring nations! They even said we could use them if necessary!”

Clatter.

There was the sound of someone opening the back of a wagon and pulling something out. A morning star? A flail? Who knew?

“……”

Yuriana, too, did not retreat a single step.

If this were an insult she had suffered while visiting the royal capital alone, she might have endured it.

But it was deliberate. She was blatantly humiliated.

And it wasn’t just her; this happened to her as Asil’s daughter, in front of everyone.

She couldn’t back down!

“… it’s unfair!”

“… that’s right!”

Meanwhile, a strange noise from behind had reached the imperial envoys in the middle of the procession.

“What’s that commotion? We need to get moving, so what are they doing gathering and shouting back there?”

Baine frowned, and Charon spoke up.

“I’ll go check it out.”

“Hmm.”

Charon strode off and soon returned. Though his face remained calm, there was a wrinkle on his forehead.

‘That’s where Yuriana is.’

Karas, feeling uneasy, stood between Al and Baine, waiting to hear the report.

“It seems the Dark Town group and the knights who were inspecting the rear have clashed. You know Lord Litus’ daughter? One of the knights splashed dirt on her…”

Karas’ face hardened upon hearing the details.

Yuriana had been mistreated, and now Asil was surrounded by half a dozen knights! It was unfair.

The boy, who loved the girl, felt his heart break but couldn’t jump in right away.

Karas was sharp enough to understand that there were some in the kingdom who resisted the emperor’s orders.

Instead, there was a way he could help Yuriana indirectly. It was time to act.

Karas spoke up without hesitation.

“Fine, then I won’t go either.”

“Lord…?!”

Charon was visibly startled.

“Send someone to inform Queen Alice at the front. Tell her that until this is resolved, I won’t proceed.”

“Yes, understood.”

Al hurried off, trying not to laugh as he quickly dispatched a reliable subordinate.

Soon after, an urgent message reached Alice at the front of the procession, and the queen was irritated.

“What? There’s already been an incident?”

“Your Majesty!”

The Dark Town people refusing to move was nearly enough to make her snap, but she held her tongue.

How dare they cause a scene while escorting their own queen? Ridiculous.

However, Alice remained calm. Her recent conversation with Aidan before setting off for Elodia had softened her heart a bit.

It would be a lie to say she no longer held any grudges against Asil, but her duties as queen came first.

“… alright. I’ll go check it out myself. Summon the commander of the knights and the head maid to accompany me!”

“Understood.”

“The queen is passing through. Everyone, clear the way and show your respect!”

Alice adjusted her expression and, following the commander of the knights, moved elegantly toward the rear of the procession.

By that time, Yuriana still refused to wipe off the dirt.

Her white, pretty cheeks were smeared with filth, and cold sweat beaded on her forehead.

However, her sky-blue eyes glared fiercely at the wicked knights.

‘You’re the villains here, you scoundrels!’

‘I won’t let this slide. How dare you bully our young lady! I’ll make sure we avenge this!’

Even Levina, who was usually gentle and kind, was growing increasingly hostile toward the kingdom’s knights.

The people from Dark Town glared at the knights and surrounded them in a tight circle, preventing anyone else from approaching.

At that moment, Alice finally arrived.

“Step down, Your Majesty! Everyone, move aside! The queen is here!”

Despite the captain’s stern command, the Dark Town residents did not break their formation.

“Now!”

“…”

“…”

Only then did a narrow path, just wide enough for one or two people to pass, open up. With a fierce look in his eyes, the commander led Alice toward the standoff.

If they dared to act up, he’d suppress them all.

He exuded the majesty of an enraged lion.

“Apologize. I’ve asked the same thing more than ten times.”

The exhausted Yuriana spoke again, putting all her strength into it.

She could hear a buzzing in her ears, and she felt like she would collapse on the spot if she took one more step.

Still, she would get it. Even if she knew it was not a sincere apology, she would make it happen! Just forcing them to say the words would be humiliating for them.

Over Yuriana’s stubbornness, Alice’s soft voice floated.

“What’s going on?”

“Y-Y-Your Majesty! Commander, it’s nothing.”

The curly-haired knight who had started this mess already had unfocused, hazy eyes.

The one who spoke up on behalf of the knight, who was being grabbed by the collar, was the eldest among the knights surrounding Asil.

Seeing the situation, the queen raised her voice in disbelief.

“If it’s nothing, why haven’t we departed even though the break is over? Oh my…!”

Alice finally noticed Yuriana, standing defiantly amid the crowd.

Her radiant silver hair was covered in dirt and looked as though it had been splashed with filthy water.

Her round face was also caked in mud, as though she’d rolled in it.

Alice had heard a rough explanation before arriving at the back of the procession, but this was worse than she thought.

‘… yes. That girl was always meant for this role.’

The poor child, cast aside by Amira who almost became her fake mother. If Alice didn’t choose Asil, the girl would be left with nothing. A pitiable child who would be abandoned and left to die if the heroine didn’t extend a helping hand.

Would a child left to fend for themselves in the corner of Dark Town even survive?

No way.

‘Even though Asil somehow figured out what happened after the ending…’

Seeing Yuriana in person, she was quite small.

Alice’s twitching lips closed into a calm line.

‘If it’s known that she survived with the help of a dark elf, she probably wouldn’t have been allowed to join this procession to Elodia, right?’

Seeing this wretched child enduring, Alice’s anger, which had been boiling, cooled somewhat.

Even the jealous queen had some conscience.

“Everyone, stop now and end this. The queen has arrived! How far will you go in your rudeness?”

“Apologize to me and my father!”

Yuriana screamed out the words, almost as if squeezing them out, while the commander was speaking with force.

The trembling girl’s appearance was pitiful to anyone watching. Her face was pale, as though she might collapse if she spoke one more time.

The person who could end this now was likely the one on the other side.

Alice cast her gaze toward Asil, who was among the knights.

Asil, it’s me. It’s Alice.

“…”

“…!”

What… what was this?

Their eyes definitely met, but he…!

The commander shouted again from deep in his chest.

“Do you not hear me?! I said the queen is here!”

“Commander, don’t yell.”

“Your Majesty…!”

Alice stopped the commander, not for any particular reason.

She had been staring intently at Asil, hoping that meeting her gaze would break the standoff.

However, during the brief moment their eyes locked, Asil’s expression remained harsh and unchanged.

One second, two seconds, three seconds.

Still the same. Was he really going to look at her with that hostile gaze?

‘This can’t be happening. Asil is looking at me like this? Even when we said our farewells, he didn’t act this way.’

It was too cold. It was so cold. He…!

Finally, Asil spoke.

“Enough. Stop everything. Take your knights and leave. You’re free to go.”

Thud!

Asil finally released the collar of the curly-haired knight, and his hand, swollen with blood, dropped to his side.

The curly-haired knight fell pathetically into the mud, and Asil continued speaking coldly.

“I’ve seen how you tried to crush us with your authority after harming my daughter. The kingdom’s knights, the commander, and those you serve are all the same. There’s no need for further words.”

“Hey!”

The commander, furious that Asil dared to mention Alice, reached for his sword, forgetting even the queen’s orders.

Asil’s violet eyes were filled with a cold, hardened fury.

It was as if the magma, once violently erupting from a volcano, had cooled and hardened to icy stone.

“We won’t go to Elodia. We won’t demand your disgusting apology anymore. After forcing us to endure this disgrace and letting mud be intentionally thrown at my daughter, you’ve stood there for tens of minutes?”

“I…!”

“In Dark Town, we do not recognize scum like this as knights of the kingdom. Be on your way. Hear me! Everyone from Dark Town, we are returning!”