Bunny glared sullenly at those offering apples, but decided to be an adult and forgive them.
Because well-behaved children do not bother adults.
‘If I throw a tantrum here, Bunny will be petty…’
To become an adult who wasn’t petty, Bunny tried hard to suppress the grumpiness.
“Well done.”
Bunny, held in Kyriel’s arms, went wide-eyed. A hand had landed crudely on top of her head with a thud.
“From now on, if you look like you’re going to get hit, just hit them back. You aren’t someone who goes around getting beaten up. Do you understand…?”
“…Ung.”
Bunny went limp, leaning her cheek against Kyriel’s shoulder with a smile.
‘It’s warm…’
Human bodies were warm.
‘Luri’s body was always cold…’
It was a strange thing. Humans were undoubtedly wicked beings, yet it was shockingly fascinating that this embrace could be so endlessly warm.
“There.”
After that short word, Kyriel tapped her back with a heavy hand. Bunny, who had been nodding off, finally dropped her head with a thud.
Kyriel Yudia looked down at those who still couldn’t lift their heads and spoke slowly.
“Next time, I will move myself. From now on, lower your eyes if you see my daughter.”
“Yes…?”
“I said lower your eyes when you see my daughter…”
At the slow, bone-chillingly cold murmur, all of the branch family members hastily bowed.
Since the Mansion Of Trials appeared, the hierarchy had become severe. There was a constant, vicious cycle of keeping each other in check among the branch families, all to raise their ranking even a single spot higher. Even if they weren’t in the top tier, there were too many benefits tied to the smooth path that opened up with a higher rank.
‘How tiresome.’
Feeling lethargic, Kyriel walked away with long strides, Bunny still in her arms. She didn’t know what the others were feeling relieved about, but seeing them so carefree made Kyriel want to hold this warm, soft creature and just sleep, too.
* * *
Today, too, Bunny was serious.
With her short arms crossed, Bunny blinked, staring at the egg that had grown significantly, now reaching her height. She knocked on the shell. *Tap-tap.*
“Heugyeomryong, when will you be born?”
Surely, a magnificent Heugyeomryong was bound to emerge from such a massive shell. Then, Bunny wouldn’t be an ordinary Bunny anymore, but a great and remarkable Bunny.
She pressed her ear tightly against it to wait for an answer, but silence met her.
*It’s a baby Heugyeomryong, so it can’t be helped!*
Thinking so, Bunny pulled out Luriel’s notebook from the pocket on Toto’s chest, hopped over, and sprawled out on the bed.
The contents of Luriel’s notebook often changed or were added to. Bunny made sure to check it once every night before bed to see if new stories had appeared.
[ Have you gotten a little closer with your guardian?
(If not, go to page 288) ]
Uum.
“I see. Then I have to scold them. I should just banish everyone.”
“Or, if there is anyone who can prove in front of the scales that my daughter lied, come forward. If it is proven to be true, I will apologize myself.”
Bunny helped. I guess that counts as getting closer, right?
“Yees!”
Bunny nodded energetically.
[ Well, I believe you would have succeeded even without me looking!
Little baby, now let’s move on to the second operation. ]
Second operation?
Bunny tilted her head, kicked her legs while lying prone, and flipped the page.
[ Second operation!
‘The cute, clever, and slightly pitiful baby conquers the dukedom!’
To ensure you don’t get hated or give the impression of being useless even if the female lead comes later and a new child is adopted, you need to earn points.
That is, specifically…! ]
“Specificallyyy!”
[ The Aegyo-Aegyo Operation!
There is no human who can defeat a cute baby!
Cliché of clichés! The place where the baby is is also the type of family that looks cold but is actually warm.
Anyway, skipping all the difficult words… Be cute! ]
“Bee cuute!!”
Bunny, having communicated diligently with the book, clenched her fists.
“Young master… fall into Bunny’s trap.”
She would make them fall for her just like the orphans. Determined, Bunny nodded her small head and read the notebook intently.
* * *
“Goo-morning, Young Master.”
“…Bunny? What’s going on this early in the morning?”
To Kyriel Yudia, who slept at dawn and woke up in the late morning, 5:20 AM was far too early.
He opened the door with a sleepy face, annoyed by the persistent knocking, and found Bunny smiling broadly. Water was dripping from her hair, her shoulders were soaked, and she was in sloppy, loose clothing—it looked as if she had been hit by a bomb.
“I like you, Young Master.”
Bunny dashed over, clung to Kyriel Yudia’s legs, and dropped the bomb-like statement.
“Uuung…?”
What was this all of a sudden?
He felt a tickle in his chest because she said she liked him, but it felt wholly inappropriate for such an ungodly hour.
‘…Raising a child is not an easy task.’
He couldn’t tell what on earth she was thinking.
Because he was sleep-deprived and had been woken up suddenly, he stared blankly at Bunny while nursing a headache. Bunny let go of his legs and stepped back without a hint of reluctance.
“Then, have a good day!”
“……?”
She tried to turn around without hesitation, like a general who had finished her duty.
Kyriel, who rarely showed embarrassment, hastily reached out and grabbed the child’s hand.
“Wait, wait. Baby.”
“Yees?”
“You came to say this?”
“Yes! In the morning!”
A morning greeting…
Should he tell her that nobody gives a morning greeting at 5:20 AM? Kyriel sighed, looking at the child’s soaked shoulders.
“Your hair is damp; what happened?”
Kyriel’s brow narrowed, wondering if she had been hit by a water bucket on her way here. Bunny trembled her lips, placed her hands on her waist, and thrust her chest forward.
“Bunny, did it all by myself.”
“Did it… what?”
“I brushed my teeth, too. And washed up, too. All by myself, fully capable.”
“…Fully, what…?”
Bunny, looking at his sleep-laden eyes, smirked and shook her sausage-like finger left and right. *Tsk. Tsk. Tsk.*
“It means it’s totally awesome.”
“…Who on earth taught you that? Such words.”
“That is…!”
Bunny opened her mouth to talk about Luriel, but then paused.
‘…Secret.’
Bunny, you have to keep the secret. I can’t tell the Young Master anything.
Because Bunny has to trick the Young Master into becoming her dad, grow up to be the Great Demon King, and then get out of this house.
Bunny wiggled her fingers and opened her mouth slightly.
“A pretty unni who took care of Bunny a long time ago.”
At Bunny’s words, Kyriel’s eyes narrowed.
‘She had a guardian?’
Well, if she wasn’t raised in an orphanage since birth, it was possible she had a guardian of some sort. He stroked his chin and smirked.
“I see. By the way…”
He grabbed Bunny and carried her into his room.
In the cold chamber, only a bed and a desk stood alone. Kyriel sat Bunny on the bed, went into the bathroom to get a towel, dropped it onto her head with a thud, and sat next to her to dry her hair.
“Why did you wash by yourself?”
“Because full-grown adults wash by themselves. Bunny is an adult.”
“What about the maid?”
“Maid? Ah! Jessie isn’t Bunny’s. Um… they said she belongs to a bunch of people. Gong… Gong-ryong maid…? That’s what they said.”
“It’s probably ‘communal’…”
Kyriel replied in a lethargic voice.
Bunny’s head swayed back and forth following Kyriel’s touch. Although it was clumsy—closer to scrubbing her roughly—Bunny didn’t complain once.
“Yes. Gong-ryong maid.”
Seeing Bunny nodding with such a serious face, Kyriel gave up on saying more.
‘Now that I think about it, the lower levels have that kind of system… Ah, that’s right. I forgot.’
Although she had entered the Mansion Of Trials due to household rules, Kyriel—who had never ranked below the top in her entire life—frowned.
‘I should have at least assigned a maid to her first.’
She probably didn’t even have a knight.