* * *
Beep.
Bee-eep.
The rhythmic chirping tickled her ears, dragging Bunny from her slumber. She rolled across the bed, rubbed her eyelids with tiny fists, and sleepily hauled herself upright.
Bee-eep!
Before her eyes even fully opened, she swayed like a bobblehead. Hearing the sound again—*Bee-eep!*—she pried her hazy eyes apart.
‘Bunny’s room smells like… stink.’
Having returned just a few days ago from Kyriel’s sparkling, cavernous chambers, Bunny cast a flounder-eyed glare at her own shrunken living quarters and let out a deep sigh.
“Bunny needs to study…”
Get the rank up. Get a super nice room.
Beee-eeep!
At the sharp repetition, Bunny jerked her head around. Her jaw dropped. The large egg that was supposed to contain the Heugyeomryong lay shattered into jagged pieces.
“…Huh? Heugyeomryong….”
The Heugyeomryong egg is gone? Shattered? Did a thief break in last night?!
“No way!”
In a panic, Bunny hopped off the bed and scrambled to the center of the debris.
Beep!
The sound came from the wreckage. Bunny plopped onto the floor and began frantically digging through the shards.
*Poof!*
Something small and fluffy wriggled out from the fragments.
“Heugyeom…ryong…?”
Or… a bird?
‘Bunny’s Heugyeomryong….’
It isn’t pitch black. It didn’t manifest in my left arm, either.
“Did you hatch here?”
“Piyak!”
The sound was so thunderous for such a tiny body that Bunny’s heart melted into a puddle of goo. She flopped face-down onto the floor, pouting.
“Not a Heugyeomryong….”
It was bright red.
It looked exactly like that creature she’d seen once before—a long-tailed tit. But that bird had been snow-white. This one was vibrant crimson. Two feathers stood straight up on its head like bangs, and a tail, as long as its palm-sized body, flickered back and forth in a mix of yellow and red.
“Not super big….”
Super tiny.
“Bunny is ruined….”
*Sigh.*
Wilted, Bunny let out a long breath and clumsily poked the bird’s head with her finger.
“Luri is a liar….”
It’s not a Heugyeomryong. It’s not amazing at all. Bunny has become completely ordinary….
‘What if I color it black?’
She had a black crayon.
‘No, that’ll hurt.’
After a moment’s thought, Bunny shook her head and went limp. *Sniff.* She wiped her nose and sighed again. It was a shame, but it couldn’t be helped. She still had her secret notebook from the invincible, strongest Kyriel.
‘Luri’s notebook gave Bunny new info yesterday, too.’
She planned to deliver it to the young master today, along with her allowance.
When Bunny cupped her hands together, the red bird tilted its head and hopped right into her palm. Luriel’s notebook was erratic—some days it was silent, some days it shared wisdom, and some days it just prattled on about nothing.
Bunny stretched her short legs, opened the window, and snapped the four corners of her blanket into place.
‘Today is a new day to earn money!’
Luriel had said Bunny must become an all-around… Elter-something. Someone who can do anything on her own. She must never be a pathetic baby who relies on her guardians for everything.
‘Bunny, small but super big element.’
*Hmph.*
Bunny scoffed and shrugged. Today, too, she was a wonderful child earning her keep.
‘I even memorized 3 whole letters.’
Out of the 57 letters in existence, she had mastered three. If she kept working hard, she would soon become a genius Bunny who had conquered the human language.
“Stay here.”
After tucking the bird between her dolls and grinning, Bunny stripped off her clothes and tossed them on the floor. She was running *dodo-do* to hang from the bathroom door handle when—
*Knock, knock.*
Bunny froze, still clinging to the knob.
“Who is it?”
Is it Jessie? Roden?
She hopped down and scrambled to shove her discarded clothes back on.
“Oh, I’m Melissa, the maid assigned to assist Lady Bunny starting today by order of Young Master Kyriel. May I come in?”
“Yep! Just a second!”
She threw her dress on the floor, laid it out, and dove face-first into it. She pushed her head through the neck hole and wiggled like a caterpillar until she surfaced. The rest was simple—she just had to find the holes and *pop* her arms through.
“Phew.”
She saw her underwear rolling on the floor and gave it a quick kick under the bed before rushing to open the door.
Standing there was a pretty woman with blue eyes. The girl with tawny hair beamed at Bunny and knelt on one knee to meet her gaze.
“Nice to meet you! I’m Melissa, and I’ll be serving Lady Bunny from today on!”
“Ah, hello. I am, 4-year-old Bunny.”
“Oh my, the world is crazy. I’m so glad I threw a tantrum in front of Adjutant Levon. Then again, the Adjutant tried to quit working for such a lazy boss to apply as a guard, and he almost got *this* done to him by Young Master Kyriel.”
Melissa smirked, drawing a finger across her throat.
Bunny tilted her head. *This?* Does that mean getting her neck cut off?!
‘Young Master… as expected, he’s a super strong dad with no blood or tears….’
*But, he is warm to his own child.*
The thought, plucked from Luriel’s notebook, calmed her heart. Bunny blinked, stiffened her lips, and shook her head.
‘No, Bunny is a perfect human right now! No one knows Bunny is going to become a super big Demon King.’
“I came a little late today so as not to disturb your sleep, but….”
Melissa’s eyes darted around the room: the open window, the poorly made bed, the mysterious fabric peeking from beneath the frame, the dusty floor, the crumpled clothes, and the bathroom door that had clearly been swung open. She smiled brightly.
“I’ll come a little earlier starting tomorrow! Were you getting ready to wash up?”
“Gasp…. How did you know? Are you a great mage, Melissa?”
“Not a chance. I don’t have even this much talent for magic.”
Melissa scooped Bunny into her arms, and her eyes widened.
“…This weight, this touch. It’s so unfair that only the Young Master gets to feel this. Shall we wash up first?”
“Bunny can wash by herself.”
“Wow, but since you are a proper lady now, I will help you.”
*A lady!*
Bunny’s eyes sparkled. It was clear she had finally ascended to the position of a lady of the dukedom.
“Where is the Young Master?”
Bunny had to tell him that a red bird was born from the Heugyeomryong egg. *But what if he gets disappointed?* Everyone believed it would be a Heugyeomryong.
‘I don’t want him to be disappointed….’
Bunny rubbed under her nose. There was no other choice.
‘…Hide it thoroughly.’
Perhaps she could find a way to dye those feathers pitch black. Then she could trick them into thinking it was a baby Heugyeomryong.
“The Young Master is probably in his room? It’s rare for him not to be holed up in the temple… or rather, not to be there.” Melissa smiled kindly and stroked Bunny’s hair.
“Where is Grandpa?”
“His Excellency the Duke went to the Imperial Castle to see His Majesty the Emperor today.”
“The Imperial Castle! Where the big boss of the humans is!”
“Oh my, that’s right! That is where His Majesty resides.”
The enemy of Bunny, the future Demon King! She had to defeat him with *bang-bang* water.
“Now, step in here and try raising your hands in the air?”
“Okey-dokey.”
She raised both arms and squeezed her eyes shut.
“Alright, here comes the water~”
Before she could defeat the enemy, she had to get scrubbed down first.