Bunny, who had been sleeping with soft, rhythmic breaths, suddenly snapped her eyes open.
*Blink, blink.*
Her small eyes fluttered before finally curving into half-moons.
‘No more throbbing. No more burning up.’
Rubbing her forehead with tiny hands, Bunny hopped up to a sitting position.
“Bunny, revived.”
When Bunny, fists clenched tight, turned her head side to side with a smug grin, her gaze landed on something—or rather, someone—and her eyes went wide.
“…….”
A boy was slumped over on the bed in an awkward, uncomfortable heap. It was Alan.
Bunny’s mouth softened into a relaxed, liquid smile. She reached out a small hand and tapped Alan on the head.
*Twitch.*
Shuddering at the touch, Alan slowly pried his eyes open.
“Mornin’, Alan.”
“You……!”
Startled by her voice, Alan jerked his head up, eyes wide with shock. He lunged forward and pulled Bunny into a crushing embrace. Bunny’s eyes rounded in surprise.
“Al, Alan? Can’t brea……”
“You… you. I thought you were going to die. Why did you go alone! You promised we’d go together. No, that’s not it……”
Watching Alan shout and ramble, his composure completely shattered, Bunny *thwack!* smacked his cheek with her small hand.
The sting made Alan freeze, staring at her.
His face crumpled, looking as if he were about to weep.
“I’m sorry. I’m so sorry. I should have gone with you. If I had known you would catch such a dangerous, life-threatening illness……”
*Bunny is perfectly healthy, though.*
At Alan’s words, Bunny tilted her head.
“I didn’t know you had the type of holy power that absorbs and purifies demonic energy.”
*Bunny doesn’t have holy power.*
“And that your innate holy power was of such a high rank that you couldn’t accept external holy power……”
*That’s because Bunny is a demon…….*
“I didn’t know my little sister was an incredibly strong but frail human……”
*Bunny is a demon…….*
“You only healed the Crown Prince because he looked sick, right? You sacrificed your own body… to accept and purify the demonic energy.”
Bunny blinked at the boy clutching her. The words were difficult, and she only understood half of them.
‘Bunny went to sleep for a bit and woke up as someone amazing.’
She thought to herself, her expression solemn as she remained cradled in Alan’s arms.
Luriel had said so. That Bunny was a special baby demon, so she shouldn’t be exposed to too much demonic energy. That was why they had to part ways—because while she would be incredibly strong when she grew up, she couldn’t handle the strain as a baby.
“Bunny is okay.”
Bunny said, patting Alan’s back with her short arms.
Alan’s eyes widened.
“You’re not okay, you little fool. You didn’t wake up for two days. I was so worried.”
“No, really, okay…….”
Even as a baby demon, she was still a demon. She knew she would eventually digest the energy. She just hadn’t expected the fever to break so quickly. Usually, it left her bedridden for a week, weak and trembling.
‘Maybe I grew up.’
She hadn’t turned to dust under that bright white light, which meant she had grown. Two days was nothing.
“F-Father was very worried about you, too.”
“…Hm? Father?”
“……Yeah.”
At the words he stammered out, his face flushing a bright red, Bunny’s eyes went round.
“Alan, you got a dad?! Wow… super-duper amazing. Congrats!”
At Bunny’s bright, celebratory face, Alan’s eyes widened before he hurried to clarify.
“What? He’s your father, too. The, the, Duke……”
“Duke……? Bunny’s guardian.”
“The Duke told me not to call him Duke anymore. Said it made us sound like strangers……”
Alan whispered, his cheeks burning.
*Thump.*
A large hand settled on Alan’s head. Both children froze.
“Ah! Duke! Hello!”
“Hello. You should stop calling me Duke, too. Hearing ‘Duke, Duke’ all day is enough with my fearless adjutant and the humans around here.”
The lazily drawling voice sounded gentle. Kyriel was always expressionless, but his tone now was infinitely soft. Bunny loved that languid, relaxed quality.
“I don’t want to hear it from my children, too.”
Bunny blinked, tilting her head.
“Is it good if Bunny calls you Duke, or Dad?”
Kyriel paused, then nodded slowly.
“Yes.”
Bunny’s face beamed.
“Are you Bunny’s super-strong Dad?”
“I am quite strong, indeed.”
“Are you Bunny’s young lady of the Dukedom?”
“That’s right.”
“Do you say, ‘Give all the candy from here to there to Bunny,’ too?”
As Bunny diligently recited her checklist—all the things she’d dreamed of if she ever had a super-strong dad, just like the protagonists in Luriel’s fairy tales—Kyriel let out a low chuckle. He sat on the edge of the bed, naturally scooping Alan onto one knee and seating Bunny on the other, stroking their hair.
Alan flushed with shyness; Bunny’s cheeks glowed with joy.
“Is that what you wanted? If my daughter wants it, I shall provide it.”
Bunny’s eyes went round.
*Bunny, is Operation Cuteness a success?!*
*Hmph.*
‘Bunny is a genius, as expected.’
The invincible Great Demon King who can do anything.
*Alright, accepted.*
“Dad!”
Bunny clung to Kyriel and hugged him tight. As she beamed up at him, her arms wrapped around his neck, Kyriel’s eyes widened.
*Thump. Thump. Thump.*
His heart was hammering against his ribs.
“…….”
Feeling a strange, foreign fullness blossoming in his chest, Kyriel watched the child in his arms. The raw, unreserved warmth of the two children left him reeling.
“What about me?!”
Alan suddenly shouted. When Bunny looked at him, the boy added, “Me too… like, older brother or something…….”
As Alan lowered his head, his face beet-red, a lightbulb flashed over Bunny’s head.
*Older brother? Oppa? The brother who dotes on the protagonist no matter what she does?*
‘Bunny didn’t even need Operation Cuteness on Alan, and I conquered him?’
She worried with a serious face.
‘What if Bunny ends up conquering the human world while still a baby demon at this rate?’
* * *
One corner of the Mansion Of Trials.
As Bunny appeared, walking with short, rhythmic steps alongside Alan, the children loitering in the lobby turned their gazes toward her.
Bunny let out a long sigh, wiped her brow in a show of effort, and found a spot to spread out a small picnic mat. Alan helped her set things down until they were stacked high like a mountain, then rolled up a thick bundle of paper and placed it in Bunny’s hand.
Soon, Bunny raised her head and tapped the bundle against the floor.
“It’s not here every day, it’s not here every day!! A super-duper delicious snack that’s so good you wouldn’t care if you died while eating it. Only ten packs available today!!”
“Squeak! Squeak!”
The red finch flapped its wings on Bunny’s shoulder.
As soon as the words left her lips, the loitering children scrambled to form a line.
“Me! I want one! Give me two!”
“Me too! I want three! I’ll give one to my maid and one to my knight!”
“Hey, get in line properly. Don’t push. Do you want to hurt ‘my little sister’?”
Alan stood to the side, his voice a sharp, chilling edge. The children flinched, and despite their irritation, they obediently fell into a proper line under his command.