Chapter 6: The Photograph... Ineffective?

Once upon a time, Walnut suddenly realized that even under the brightest sunlight, there existed such dark alleys. She was puzzled, wondering why she had never noticed how many opaque paths there were within the school before.

A small alley, still a small alley. The branches crisscrossed, complex and difficult to discern. Despite Walnut being utterly certain that she was still within the Empire's largest Royal Academy, and more certain that it was now spring, with the daylight's warmth lingering in the clouds above, casting a gentle gaze upon the earth, everything seemed unrelated to these winding alleys, which spread like veins.

Cold, as if winter had yet to pass. Dark, refusing to allow any sunlight to penetrate. Dirty and chaotic, these roads could no longer be called roads—they were merely gaps, mere fissures.

Yes, these gaps, teeming with filth and despair, would never allow the light in, only opening their narrow doors to the rats of the sewers.

Walnut leaned against a slightly sticky wall, moving forward inch by inch. A water pipe nearby had cracked, spraying a stream of dark yellow water toward the opposite wall. Walnut swallowed nervously, closing her eyes, attempting to dash through, but after several tries, she was unable to make it.

"Ugh..."

Looking at the tangled roads around her, Walnut's brows slowly furrowed. Not out of fear, for she had realized that she no longer feared the chill and darkness. Her frown stemmed from her anger—anger at how the carefully set trap had been completely ruined by that idiot.

"You dwarf! Come out here!"

The echo spread throughout the alley. No one responded, only the spraying water and filthy walls silently confronting her.

"Fine, you won't come out? Then listen to me! I'll count to three! If you don't come out by then, I'll... I'll tell my father to put you on the national wanted list! I'll make sure... I'll make sure you die swiftly! Swiftly, swiftly, swiftly, so swiftly... ugh... my tongue hurts..."

Tears in her eyes, Walnut covered her mouth, squatting down. But before she could squat fully, a figure suddenly appeared before her.

The little princess had no idea how he had come out, only knowing that the shackles on his hands and feet were still tightly in place. His cold eyes locked onto hers, his left hand holding a small bread, and his right arm extended forward, grasping a pitch-black dagger.

"Hmph, finally decided to come out?"

Walnut quickly wiped away the tears at the corners of her eyes and straightened her back. Faced with the darkness, the princess still appeared slightly afraid. But compared to before, she only took a small step back before quickly standing firm.

"I ask you, what's your number?"

The idiot stared at Walnut, unable to comprehend what the "princess" meant by such a question. After a moment of thought, he finally withdrew his right hand, still holding the dagger, and pulled out a list of numbers from his chest, handing it to her.

Seeing him sheathe the dagger, Walnut let out a relieved breath, patting her chest. She took a step forward, not to take the list, but to gently stroke the head of the small bread in the idiot's arms.

"Good little bread, be good~ be good~"

"Ah woo~!"

The little bread, feeling the comforting touch, squealed happily. Then, it reached out a small hand toward Walnut.

"Yes, so good~" Walnut took the little hand and gently held it. Then, she turned toward the idiot, her face immediately turning as cold as a summer day.

She snorted and grabbed the list from his hand, glancing at it briefly before holding it up towards him.

"What's this? Didn't I tell you to write 'odd-even-odd-even-even'?" she demanded. "Why did you choose this common combination, 'odd-even-odd-even-odd' instead?"

Walnut appeared fierce, showing no mercy. Seeing this, the idiot took a cautious step back, clutching the dagger, ready to flee at any moment.

"Answer me! Why did you disobey me?"

"...You want to kill me. Why should I listen to you?"

The idiot had fully prepared for a fight, boldly stating the truth.

"What? Kill you? Why would I want to kill you?!" Walnut took another step forward. The idiot instinctively took a step back.

"Don't push me. Otherwise, it will be mutual destruction."

The idiot's expression was serious. His fear of the "princess" couldn't be explained by a few words. Especially when he saw her not only not run from the dagger but actually advance closer, the sense of fear and danger heightened.

In contrast to the idiot, Walnut hesitated for a moment. Slowly, she pondered. Though she couldn't figure out the real reason behind his wariness, his current behavior finally triggered the little princess's full anger.

"You... you idiot! Dwarf! You're such a... such a big idiot! How could I, so foolishly, want to invite someone like you to my birthday party? This is a huge mistake! I know, you're definitely not a prince, nor a knight! You're just an absolute idiot!"

The idiot remained cautious, still trying to decipher the true meaning behind her hysterical outburst.

"Fine! So, you don't want to come to my birthday party, right? Fine! Then don't come! I don't care! You annoying little jerk, I hate you! Yes, I hate you, I really, really hate you! You don't want to come? Well, I'll make you come!"

Stamping her foot angrily, Walnut pointed fiercely at the idiot and loudly declared—

"You listen to me! Now, as the First Princess of the Deer Empire, Walnut Durea Frius, I command you to attend my birthday on that day! But not as a guest! You will be my servant! That means you will be my slave, maintaining the order of my banquet!"

This was of course an unreasonable demand. While Walnut was a princess, the idiot still held a trump card that could restrain her. After hearing her words, he slowly reached into his chest and pulled out two "photographs," waving them in front of her.

"I don't need to listen to you. Because..."

"Hmph! You must listen to me!" Walnut's face instantly turned crimson upon seeing her own photograph being carried by the idiot. Realizing this, she became even more enraged. She stamped her foot again, her finger pointing directly at the idiot's nose.

"If you dare spread these, just... just try it (her blush deepened)! But when that happens, my father will definitely kill you! I don't care about these things anymore, but you have to come, and you have to be my slave for the day! Or else... or else..."

Walnut fumbled for words, unable to finish her sentence. After about five minutes of awkward silence, she could only let out a frustrated "hmph!" as a conclusion.

The idiot appeared somewhat dazed, speechless. In this world, what was more dangerous than a beast? The idiot knew—the ones who were reckless, who didn't value their lives.

The idiot was afraid of death, because once dead, there would be nothing left. That's why he was always cautious, never acting unless he was absolutely sure.

For those who didn't value their lives, those who feared nothing, were the hardest to deal with. You couldn't threaten them with their lives, and because they cared for nothing, they could abandon everything they once cherished. Now, the idiot knew his photographs no longer held the power to control this princess.

Seeing the idiot lost in thought, Walnut finally felt a sense of "victory." She continued pointing at him, saying:

"You better remember this! You will come! And on that day, you will listen to everything I say, no resistance allowed! And! And! On that day, you are not allowed to be paranoid like today! You must believe everything others tell you! If you can't, then... then..."

Walnut's little body shivered for a moment before her face grew even redder, and she immediately turned around. "I'll... I'll really have my father kill you! Do you... believe it?"

With that, she dashed away, running swiftly, not stopping until she was several alleys away, desperate to escape the sight of her blushing face.

As Walnut disappeared, the idiot's gaze turned cold. He stood still in the dark alley, deep in thought.

"Ah~~"

The little bread, seeing the idiot deep in thought, called out and snuggled up to him. The little girl lightly patted his neck with her fingers, resting her head on his shoulder, looking up at him with her emerald eyes.

"Ha ha ha, how interesting. Looks like you've met your match this time?"

The blood-red eyes opened, tearing the dark alley apart with a crimson slit.

"What are you going to do? But now it seems that even if you don't want to attend the banquet, you must go. And you'll be a slave that day! Ha ha ha, this is too interesting! Making you, who's always so paranoid, believe everything on that day will be harder than killing you."

Laughter echoed in his mind as the idiot lowered his head, watching the water splash from the walls, gathering into a small puddle. He stood there, deep in thought, engaging all his brain cells, reflecting on every trick he had encountered in Senag. He was searching for any potential trap that could end his life. He stood there for two full hours, until the last rays of sunlight could no longer reach the alley. Finally, he closed his dark eyes and turned, vanishing into the shadows...