Bunny clenched her fists and opened her mouth.
“No!! Bunny is a short-stack! The Young Master said Bunny is a short-stack!!”
No sooner had she spoken than the other children stared at each other, bewildered, before erupting into a roar of laughter so sharp it felt as if the very ground were trembling.
“She said short-stack. Hahaha!”
“What, is the Young Master just playing a joke on you? Who would actually adopt someone like you? He’s the hero Kyriel, after all!”
“Bu-but a short-stack is small and cute….”
“No, it’s not! Short-stack means you’re as small as a bean and ugly, you idiot!”
The children surrounding Bunny shrieked with laughter.
‘…Bunny, did I get tricked?!’
A brick of realization seemed to slam into her head.
‘Bunny, I’ve been betrayed….’
Her mouth agape, Bunny trembled as she squeezed her fists. She dropped her backpack, grabbed its rabbit ears, and focused all her strength into her glare.
“Wh-what are you glaring at?! You ugly thing!”
“…….”
Grasping the rabbit ears, Bunny let a grim glint sharpen in her pink eyes. She snapped her head up.
‘Luri told me what to do when someone bullies me. What was it in human language?’
Bunny blinked.
Dog…. Dog…….
“Baby, don’t forget. If you meet a talking dog on the street that bullies you, first, grab its rabbit ears and shout.”
Flash!
A lightbulb went off in her head. Recalling the memory, Bunny charged, swinging the rabbit bag wildly.
“You dog-bastard!!”
At her cry—filled with the frustration of not being able to perfectly translate the words—the rabbit bag emitted a gloomy, flickering glow. Simultaneously, it began to lash out at the children with a life of its own.
“This is a magic spell that prettily smears the bad bastards.”
Bunny smirked.
‘Luri is a genius after all.’
Everything is solved as long as you do exactly as Luri says.
“Argh! Argh! Aaagh!”
“Argh! This—argh!”
“It hurts! Aaagh!”
The bag struck the children with a sharp, rhythmic *slap, slap, slap.* They reached out to block it, but the bag slipped through their fingers like thin air. They couldn’t even lay a hand on Bunny herself.
“H-huuuuuhhhh!!”
As the children wailed, Bunny stepped back and put her bag back on. Soon, servants came running, and before long, the children’s parents arrived on the scene.
“Son!! Who did this to you…! Oh my, are you alright? My baby. Look at how your face is swollen.”
“Goodness, who beat my precious child like a stray dog!”
The sobbing children clung to their parents. Just as Bunny took a step back to retreat, a sharp voice cut through the air.
“Hey, you! Isn’t this too much! How could you do such a thing?”
“They were the ones who bullied Bunny first.”
“What? My child is so gentle…! He wouldn’t do such a thing. Besides, what could our delicate, fragile child have possibly done to someone as fierce and feral as a wild dog like you?”
*Delicate and fragile…?*
Bunny looked at the crying boy and narrowed her eyes.
“No, he’s chubbier than Bunny….”
“What?! Watch your mouth! I don’t care if you’re some nameless brat who crawled out of an orphanage, how dare you hit people and talk back like that!!”
Bunny flinched, her shoulders trembling, and pressed her lips together.
“Anyway, one shouldn’t associate with those without parents or a background…. I knew it from the moment you started hanging out with a beast.”
“Bunny has a mom and dad too.”
“Enough! Apologize to our children right now and bow your head!”
The children, held in their parents’ arms, sneered with red, puffy eyes. Choked up, Bunny turned her head away with a huff.
“No. Bunny didn’t do anything wrong.”
“Apologize! Or should we call the guards? Do you want to go to prison?!”
At the mention of prison, Bunny froze.
‘Prison is not okay….’
Her eyes welled up, filled with sudden sorrow.
[Please become a wonderful adult, my Baby.
I, Luriel, always wish for only that.
Even if the whole world hates you, I am here for you.
So… please, become a wonderful Baby.]
To become a Great Demon King, she had to be a wonderful adult. To be a wonderful adult, she had to stay in this house. To stay in this house, she could not go to prison. But she didn’t want to apologize.
“Hurry up! Do you want to make a big scene? You’re the one in the wrong!”
Bunny’s lips jutted out. It was unfair, but she had no choice. Luriel had said there would be unreasonable moments—times when you hate what you have to do, but you do it anyway.
‘Is this that moment?’
However….
“If Kyriel sees this, he will be greatly disappointed.”
*Clunk.*
Bunny’s eyes widened. She moved her lips, her face tear-streaked.
“Sor…, sor… sorry…….”
Bunny had done nothing wrong.
“Interesting. Since when did I get so many spokespeople? In this house….”
At the sound of that cool, languid voice, Bunny’s eyes went round.
“Hmm? Who is disappointed, and who is doing what…? I suppose I do look like an easy target. Seeing as you’re all wagging your tongues so recklessly….”
Along with the cold voice, Bunny’s waist was scooped up, and her body floated into the air. She turned her head to see Kyriel Yudia, his head tilted slightly, wearing an expression of chilling composure.
“Yo-, Young Master……. No, this is because that child violently hit our children……. Look! The bruises are already starting to show!” The parents pushed their children forward.
“Daughter, they were the ones who bullied you first, right…?”
Seeing how obvious it was, Bunny nodded.
“Yes……. They said I was ugly……. They pushed Bunny around… they said a short-stack is small and ugly……. Young Master is a liar…….”
“…….”
At Bunny’s accusing voice, Kyriel Yudia’s eyes flickered, and a fresh smile formed on his lips.
“I’m not a liar. My daughter is a cute short-stack. Who said that?”
“Them….”
Bunny replied, pouting, unable to hide her resentment. Kyriel laughed softly and tapped Bunny’s lips with his finger.
“I see. Then I should punish them. I’ll just have them all banished.”
As Kyriel spoke in a leisurely tone, the parents’ faces turned deathly pale.
“It seems the ones who need to apologize are elsewhere, don’t you think?”
The authority of the direct line was absolute. Even if Kyriel was currently treated as a loafer, he remained a hero of the Holy-Demon War. The collateral branches were, by comparison, like a candle in the wind—especially now, when the Duke was purging any branch that failed to produce results.
“Otherwise, anyone who can prove before the Scales that my daughter is lying, step forward. If it is proven to be true, I will apologize myself.”
The Scales. A sacred relic summoned by the current Saintess Salame Yudia at the age of ten, used to discern good from evil. In front of it, no one could speak a lie.
*Thump.*
One of the parents, eyes trembling, knelt down. One after another, the parents and their children bowed their heads.
“We, we are sorry.”
It was the moment when good and evil were discerned.