“Just what… are both of you okay?”
Kyriel Yudia asked, her voice missing its usual languid drawl as she failed to mask her bafflement.
At the sudden appearance of Kyriel, Bunny gazed at the guard with trembling eyes, her stare overflowing with a sense of betrayal.
“Liar…….”
The guard flinched, his shoulders shuddering under the weight of Bunny’s distrust. He scanned the scene—the clean-faced woman dressed in luxurious, unmistakably noble silks, the betrayal in Bunny’s eyes, and Alan’s expression, frozen in sheer disbelief. Unable to regain his composure, the guard stuttered.
“I apologize. Who might you be?”
“My children have caused you trouble. They seem startled, so it would be best if you spoke with my adjutant from here on out.”
As Kyriel Yudia delivered this languid notification, tilting her head with effortless grace, a man in a white uniform stepped forward from behind her.
“I am Levon, aide to Young Master Kyriel Yudia. Let us speak.”
“Y-Yudia… The Dukedom? Then those, no, those children are……”
The guard’s jaw dropped.
Kyriel Yudia, of all people? The peerless genius chosen by the gods who had annihilated countless demons in the war? The Angel of Sloth who was never seen in public? The monster of the Yudia Dukedom—the direct descendant so pathologically lazy that even the Duke had effectively abandoned her?
“First, I would appreciate it if you could explain the situation.”
Levon, the adjutant, sat in the chair Bunny had just vacated. Recalling the harsh words he had leveled at the child, the guard sank into his seat, his face ashen.
* * *
“…….”
Once they boarded the ducal carriage, Bunny and Alan watched Kyriel with bated breath. Kyriel, who had been standing with her arms crossed, looked down at them.
“Are you both hurt? Is anything aching……?”
“Ye-es……”
Bunny hung her head, fiddling with her fingers in a voice that seemed to be shrinking into itself. Alan nodded tentatively.
“Young Master. Bu-Bunny wasn’t a nuisance…… The man promised not to talk…… He’s a liar……. Bunny can pay the fine…… Don’t make me a slave…… *Sob*……. I’ll earn the money again. I can even give you my allowance……”
Bunny’s voice cracked, tears dripping onto her lap.
*“No, if you don’t have money, you have to leave. Why do you keep insisting on staying? I took in people who were homeless and had nowhere to go, even though the world is a dangerous place, and now you’re being shameless… Anyway, if you don’t have money, you can’t stay in this house, so get out!”*
*“I only have this much for this month. I’ll pay it properly next month, so please overlook it just this once. You know how it is. It rained so much that I couldn’t even run my business properly.”*
*“That’s your problem. Ugh, I took you in because I felt sorry for a single mother with a kid. This is the last time! If you don’t have money next month, know that you’re out!”*
*“Yes, thank you. Next month, I’ll pay for what I couldn’t pay this month, too.”*
*“Tsk, you’re always wearing a hood, which is highly suspicious, but consider yourself lucky I’m letting it slide. You know, right? We’re rounding up everyone who looks like they have connections to the demons around here.”*
*“Ah, what demons? You saw it before. It’s not horns, just a nasty scar. I wear it because I don’t want people to see it.”*
You have to have money to stay in a house. If you don’t have money, you get kicked out. If you get kicked out, you can’t become the giant Great Demon King, and you can’t meet Luri ever again.
“Luri… are you okay……?”
*“Ah, it’s because I didn’t pay. You have to pay money to stay in this house. It’s hard enough to hide, but here, everything is about money, not strength, so it’s difficult.”*
*“Money? Allowance?”*
*“Hmm, yes. Like an allowance. Humans really love money. If you have money, you can do anything. Anyway, you don’t need to worry about it, Little One. It’s just that humans are too greedy.”*
“Greedy-pants……”
*“That’s right! Humans are greedy-pants. But it’s okay. When you become an adult and become the Demon King, we can live proudly again.”*
“Bunny, I’ll be the giant Great Demon King!”
*“That’s right! The giant Great Demon King! So listen well to my stories and the fairy tales I read to you, and even if this Luriel isn’t around later, you must do well. You understand?”*
“Ung! Luri, will your horns come back too?”
*“…Of course. I told you, didn’t I? We will be apart for a little while, but once you become a wonderful adult, you will be able to know exactly where Luriel has gone.”*
Recalling Luriel, Bunny clenched her fists until her knuckles turned white.
‘Bunny… I can’t get kicked out yet.’
I have to grow up safely here to meet Luri again.
“Th-this is all I have for this month, but I’ll pay more next time. Please forgive me just this once……”
Bunny took out the item she had intended to offer as a fine and placed it on Kyriel Yudia’s lap, folding her small hands neatly. Kyriel stared at the offering with a stiff expression, while Alan’s jaw went slack.
‘Huck, is it too little money……?’
Bunny, taut with tension, gestured toward the stone.
“It’s a top-quality Holy Power Stone. I spent almost all my money to buy this, so I only have a little bit left……. Because Egg-ie was hungry……”
“…A Holy Power Stone? This?”
Kyriel narrowed her eyes, studying the lump of stone, then shifted her gaze back to Bunny. Bunny nodded, her breath shallow. After a long silence, Kyriel finally spoke.
“Bunny.”
“Ye-es……”
“I’m not sure if this stone is dangerous, so would it be okay if I had it examined and returned it to you later……?”
There was no trace of anger in her trailing voice. Bunny, who had been bracing for a storm, blinked and nodded slowly.
“Ung……”
Watching Bunny’s drooping shoulders, Alan reached out and gripped her hand tightly.
“…Young Master. Do you not like Bunny anymore? Am I a nuisance……?”
Kyriel Yudia paused. In truth, she wasn’t the type to be careful with her words. But looking at Bunny’s discouraged appearance—which surely would have been drooping like a dog’s ears if she had any—she felt an impulse to tread lightly, even if she had to struggle to find the words. She remained silent, unaware that her hesitation was causing a massive misunderstanding.
“My daughter is……”
After a long while, Kyriel Yudia spoke with profound seriousness.
‘I’m going to be kicked out.’
The moment Bunny squeezed her eyes shut in anticipation of the end, a warm, heavy weight rested upon her head.
*Thump.*
“You’re quite cute.”
“Ye-es……?”
At words that were neither painful nor frightening, Bunny blinked, wide-eyed. Slowly, she looked up.
“I don’t know what you were thinking, but I won’t scold you, so don’t worry. I would just like you to tell me honestly why my son and daughter were doing that there……”
“To, to earn money……”
Kyriel Yudia knelt on one knee on the carriage floor, leaning in to meet the child’s gaze at eye level.
“Why?”
“Bunny couldn’t summon the Heugyeomryong……”
Adults like special children. Special children who aren’t bothersome, are helpful, and aren’t noisy.
So…….
“You have to have money to be a good kid, uh, you have to have money to… stay in the house……. Because Bunny isn’t a nuisance and is a good kid……”
Though she had been studying hard, the human language still felt jagged on her tongue. Flustered, her pronunciation slurring into a frantic babble as she fidgeted, she looked at the noblewoman with desperate eyes.
“So… can you not throw me away…? I didn’t know I needed a permit……”