Dragon's Awakening: The Duke's Son Is Changing The Plot-Chapter 114 - 113 - Mistress Awake.

The morning sun slanted through the high canopy of Bestiary Mountain Forest, painting golden beams over dew-flecked leaves and very, very exhausted squirrels.

Raven rubbed his eyes, crouching beside a semi-conscious scout squirrel that had just delivered another failed report.

The tiny creature hiccupped and collapsed into his palm, gripping his thumb dramatically like it was whispering a final message.

"Still no trace," Raven muttered, shaking his head at these overdramatic squirrels.

Clara crossed her arms beside him, brows furrowed. "We’ve checked four quadrants, twenty-two trap sites, three illusory fog zones, and one squirrel disco rave—don’t ask—yet no Siris."

Jessy tilted her head. "Wait, there was a disco rave?"

"I said, don’t ask."

Alex emerged from a nearby bush with two squirrels perched on his shoulders, their tiny vests stained with berry juice and trauma.

"One of the Nutfang scouts said they found a tree full of suspicious claw marks, but then they realized it was Jake’s training area."

Everyone turned to Jake, who stared blankly, shrugging.

He said nothing, as he didn’t need to.

Training wasn’t a crime. He just did it secretly because he had been feeling weak for some time.

He felt that Raven was growing fast, and he would be left behind, so he had to train.

If he wanted to be someone Raven could rely on and not turn into a burden, then he needed to be stronger.

Jessy and Rufus, standing not far away, could somehow understand him; even Clara could.

Lia, looking at everything from the sidelines as she was asked not to roam around and bring trouble, lowered her head.

’At least he can grow stronger,’ she lamented.

After all, unlike others, no matter what she did, she had never seen any progress since she reached the second circle.

As for Alex, well, he didn’t even notice anything.

Then there was Selena, who didn’t even hear the previous words. She was continuously staring at Raven.

She kept thinking about things like, ’He looks more handsome these days.’

’I guess people don’t lie when they see you find someone more attractive when you know that you might not get them.’

... She was probably going to remain like this until Raven solved her situation.

Raven, on the other hand, didn’t have time to think about other things or focus on others’ expressions.

"We’re spiraling," Raven muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. "She’s been gone for over a day now."

Yes, it has been a day since Siris disappeared.

Despite the usual madness, something was off.

It wasn’t just that Siris had wandered off—that was her brand at this point.

One hour or maybe two hours was no big deal.

But the problem was that even the squirrels couldn’t track her.

The squirrels. Couldn’t. Track. Her.

That meant one of two things.

Either she was dead.

Or she had vanished into some anti-squirrel void.

Raven didn’t like any of the options, especially the first.

Her death wasn’t something Raven could accept.

Not when she was finally growing on him.

Not when it was his fault for letting her go without inquiring where she was going.

"She’s not dead," Clara said suddenly, her voice firm as if reading his thoughts.

Jessy nodded. "She’s Siris. She wouldn’t die that easily. Not unless Death personally asked her out for coffee."

"And even then," Lia added, "she’d probably stab death and steal its wallet."

Jake, Rufus, and even Selena, who was finally focusing on the present topic, nodded, while Alex was busy talking with the squirrels.

None of them knew how strong Siris was. They couldn’t possibly know something even Raven didn’t know.

But they couldn’t see their leader faltering, so they tried to reassure him in whatever way possible.

Raven stared at them for a minute longer, then he turned to Nibbles, who had gathered several squad leaders and unrolled a tiny war map made out of stitched-together leaves and inked acorn juice.

General Nibbles pointed at several marked zones.

"Chk-chk-chk-twee," he declared.

Alex translated. "He says they’ve narrowed it down to two possible areas where Siris might have gone. Both recently showed traces of corrupted mana and squirrel disappearances. One of them also contains... suspiciously dramatic wind gusts and tragic violin sounds."

Everyone looked at him.

"I’m just translating."

"Alright," Raven stood. "Let the squirrels continue gem collection while we split into two teams. We will search these zones."

"And what if we find demons instead?" Jessy asked, calmly checking her short swords.

Raven glanced at the squad.

Clara: Ready.

Jake: Silent as always, but his body tensed.

Jessy: Calm but sharpened.

Alex: Holding a squirrel like a baby.

Nibbles: Drawing bloodlines in the dirt with a toothpick-sized saber.

Selena: Somewhat absentminded but strong... maybe.

Lia: Well, she was... a royal cheerleader.

Raven stared at them for one full minute before he replied, "We handle it."

"Cool," Alex muttered. "Love that our rescue plan has the same vibe as a war crime—"

"Ghh!" Selena groaned, cutting Alex’s words short as she knelt on the ground, gripping her head.

Raven immediately turned to her, his eyes narrowing. "Selena?"

"Stomachache?" Alex tilted his head.

"Since when did a stomachache happen in one’s head?" Jessy deadpanned at Alex’s question, making the guy widen his eyes in realization.

"I never thought about it!"

Selena, on the other hand, hissed. "...She’s waking up."

"...She?" Clara echoed.

Then it hit.

Like the moment your browser crashes while you’re writing your final report, Selena’s brain flickered.

Darkness surged at the edge of her vision, her breathing stilled, and then—

A sultry voice echoed inside her head with all the smugness of someone waking up in silk sheets and chaos.

"Oh? Someone missed me~"

Selena flinched.

"It’s been a while, but your head is still filled with Raven this and Raven that. Just ask him to impregnate you or something."

Selena mentally screamed, ’Mistress?!’

"The one and only, darling. And there’s no need to yell; I’m not partially deaf." The demoness yawned, the sound echoing like velvet across a demonic cave.

"Honestly, what a mess. It took me five mental resets to wake up in your head. You need to grow stronger for this to be smoother and painless next time."

Selena could only grit her teeth, but the Mistress continued, ignoring Selena’s emotions.

"Anyways, let me take over for a minute. I’ve got something I need to tell my deal partner."

’What?’

"I mean, let me talk to Raven. I gotta tell him something important—"

Her voice, however, was cut short by Selena. ’Tell me. I will relay it to him.’

Mistress went silent at those words, wondering if she had heard it right before she felt what Selena was feeling.

"Hoho~, the girl wants to be useful to the boy, eh?"

Those words made Selena bite her lips, but she nodded nonetheless.

"Alright. I don’t care. That boy is still too young for me, anyway."

With those words, Mistress’s tone shifted from mocking to serious—still playful, but now with an edge. "You remember Travis? That worm is nearby. I got the news that he was in the Bestiary Mountain Forest, searching for some legendary beast. I woke up to tell you his coordinates."

Selena’s breath caught as Mistress continued.

"Also, he’s not alone. He’s summoned something—something strong. I don’t know what he fed the summoning circle, but it wasn’t chickens and incense. You need to be very careful. Tell your broody leader boy to stop splitting up the cheerleading squad."

Selena’s eyes widened. She stood up shakily, wobbling as if she had just mentally done five laps in a lava lake.

In reality, however, not even a minute had passed.

The group was still processing the fact that Mistress, who had been silent for a while, was back.

Clara reached out to steady Selena, her expression filled with worry. "Are you alright?"

Raven also focused on Selena’s words, wanting to know what Mistress was doing.

Selena didn’t hesitate. "She told me where Travis is."

The whole group froze.

"What?" Raven asked. "We don’t have time to go search for Travis right now—"

"She sensed him nearby. In the Bestiary Mountain Forest," Selena cut him off, her words turning her expression serious. But she wasn’t done yet. "He has also summoned someone—or something—powerful. Something we might not be ready for."

Everyone stared at her.

Even the squirrels stopped squeaking.

Jessy slowly blinked. "...So. Should we... not split up?"

"Yes," Raven said, already pulling the leaf map closer. "We move as one group. Until we understand what Travis brought here, we don’t take risks."

Clara frowned. "Don’t you feel like it could be a trap?"

She turned to Selena and rubbed the girl’s back as she seemed exhausted.

Selena smiled back at her, and Raven finally replied to Clara’s question.

"We probably are," Raven said without missing a beat. "We just walk in with swords drawn."

Jake nodded.

Alex raised his hand. "Uh, do I still hold Nibbles?"

The squirrel on his shoulder squeaked proudly.

"Yes," Raven said. "He’s an honorary commando."

"Chk!" Said Nibbles, flexing his biceps—or what counted as biceps on a rodent—making Fluffy, who was also on Alex’s head, clap her paws.

Raven stared at Selena for a second, looking at Clara helping her drink some water, before he leaned closer to her. "So... is she still here? Can she hear us?"

From within her mind, Mistress purred, "Tell him I’m single and looking for tall, quiet men with tragic backstories. I don’t really like young guys, but he might have a chance if you agree."

Selena nearly choked before she turned to Raven, her eyes hiding her feelings. "She can hear us. I don’t know how long she will be here."

Meanwhile, Lia cleared her throat. "S-So, we’re going together now. That means I’m... useful again?"

Rufus patted her head wordlessly like a kind uncle placating an overenthusiastic puppy.

Lia gave a proud thumbs-up. "I will stand behind all of you bravely."

"Very behind," Clara muttered. freёweɓnovel_com

They began moving.

Nibbles gave a sharp war cry, and the squirrel squads reorganized like little tactical blurs.

The Clawtail Recon took point, while the Nutfang Rapid Strike Unit flanked the trees.

Alex whispered, "Operation Find Siris and Not Die has begun."

"I’m renaming it to Operation Demon-Smackdown," Jessy said.

Meanwhile, Raven ignored all that and wondered what he would do now that he had a demoness keeping an eye on him.

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