“…Mommy?”
The Emperor’s eyes widened, as if he had heard something impossible. Kiriel looked just as flustered.
“Wait, Bunny. You didn’t have to go that far…”
“Yup! Daddy is a man who hasn’t been chosen yet. That’s why he doesn’t have a mommy. But Daddy needs a mommy!”
“Pfft…”
The Emperor turned slightly, his shoulders beginning to tremble. He couldn’t very well laugh openly in front of a child, so he turned away, doing his absolute best to stifle a roar of mirth.
*So, being a man who hasn’t been chosen is sad enough to cry over.*
Bunny looked at Kiriel with a pitiful expression. Seeing his pupils tremble, she was certain he was deeply shocked by his lack of a “chosen” status.
*Bunny will find Daddy a mommy no matter what.*
Bunny clenched her fist. After all, she had successfully scouted a guardian candidate and buttered him up until he became her daddy!
*Bunny… failed to summon a Heugyeomryong, so nobody lined up behind Bunny.*
However, she hadn’t given up. She had simply taken her allowance, approached her preferred candidate directly, and sold herself as a “clearance item.”
*Daddy can’t give up, either.*
She had used the same charm offensive on her guardian. Plus, he stayed in his room far too much. He needed to go outside and show off how amazing he was…
*Hmm.*
But wait, what exactly was amazing about Daddy?
He had super-duper strong black hair and super-cool red eyes. He was a mega-rich person who could buy her mountains of clothes with seven zeros on the price tag. He was also as handsome as the Human Boss, though the Human Boss was a bit more sparkly.
“Pfft. S-so… you want to get your daddy a mommy as pretty as a doll.”
“Yup! To give to Daddy.”
“Right, right… That’s how it should be. The young Duke of Judia has two children now, so it’s about time he married and settled down. I’ll look into it. Pfft.”
“Okayyy! Thank you.”
Still held in Kiriel’s arms, Bunny bowed her head.
Heh heh.
With her nose held high, Bunny looked up at Kiriel, her expression clearly asking: *How’s that? Did I do good?*
Kiriel quietly shut his mouth. Though all sorts of things happened, Bunny always exceeded his imagination.
“Let’s be off now.”
“Okayyy.”
“Bunny, I’ll send some mother candidates to your father soon.”
“That’s unnecess—”
“Yup!”
Kiriel, who was about to snap at the Emperor’s sly remark, fell silent at the sight of Bunny’s energetic response and bright, clear eyes.
The Emperor watched her, rubbing his chin, his expression turning subtle. His eyes went round as she waved her arms wildly.
“Bunny! Let’s meet again soon.”
“Yup. Bye-bye.”
Bunny, nestled tightly in Kiriel’s arms, saw Roel waving over his shoulder and waved back at the boy just the same. Once she disappeared from view, the bright smile vanished from Roel’s face.
The Emperor rubbed his chin quietly before speaking.
“Son.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Don’t you want a younger sister?”
“Please persuade Mother yourself, Father. I have a lesson to attend, so I shall take my leave.”
“My son lacks that certain sense of cuteness.”
The Emperor shrugged, chuckling as he watched the Crown Prince bow and walk away. The boy, who had finally regained his health after a long illness, had lost much of his younger charm. His time in the sickbed must have worn him out; it was to be expected.
*…I never thought he would recover.*
As the child grew weaker day by day under the curse, even the Empress—notorious for being sharp-tongued and vicious—began to wither away. The woman who used to pick fights and act aggressively was gone; she had lived as if merely breathing, reducing her social interactions to silence.
I used to feel my stomach churn every time I saw her lifeless face, wondering where that spite had gone… but the day she received news that the child had recovered, she laughed brightly for the first time in years.
*It’s a strange thing.*
An arranged marriage with a Marquis’s daughter, brought together by contract and common interest. After the heir was born, we never even slept in the same bed. It was fortunate we had a child quickly; otherwise, I would have had to spend many uncomfortable nights sharing a bed with her. She was an arrogant, haughty, and shrewd woman—a villainess in the eyes of the world, possessing none of the grace expected of an Empress.
There wasn’t a single thing I liked about her, but that day—the day she laughed so brightly—she looked… a little different.
*…A daughter, huh.*
If something as small as Bunny were to cling to me, calling me “Daddy, Daddy,” it would certainly be cute. The problem was that you couldn’t make a child with one hand clapping.
*Should I arrange a seat so the Empress can meet Bunny?*
Even if I brought it up, the Empress would need to feel the benefits of having a daughter herself.
Thinking this, the Emperor lazily rubbed his neck.
“That’s not the immediate priority, though.”
Poisoning. Who would dare target me, and for what purpose?
“Demons… Does that remnant still remain?” The Emperor clicked his tongue. “It would be troublesome if I don’t find them again and pull them out by the roots.”
He muttered softly and slowly exited the parlor.
* * *
“Daddy.”
“What.”
“But, did the cook get in trouble?”
Kiriel, walking toward the carriage with Bunny in his arms, hesitated and slowly shook his head.
“No. I didn’t scold him.”
“Really?”
“Yes, really. As you said, my daughter, it wasn’t that the cook was bad, but that he was possessed by something bad. One cannot hold him responsible for that.”
“What is ‘possessed’?”
Kiriel pondered how his words had been interpreted that way, then gave up. Bunny’s thoughts often jumped to strange places.
“It means he lost his mind and became all dazed and out of it.”
“Dazed and out of it!”
“Exactly.”
Still, he wouldn’t be able to work at the Imperial Palace anymore. The fact that he left an opening for a demon meant he already harbored dissatisfaction with the Palace. While it was the demon who used him, it was the cook who provided the opening. Demons fed on malice, digging into small dissatisfactions—things one might dismiss as mere thoughts—and giving them the courage to act.
Though, in this case, the demon’s influence had been the deciding factor. Kiriel, of course, didn’t bother telling Bunny that.
“Then what is the bad thing?”
“A demon.”
*Shudder.*
*A demon!*
Bunny’s shoulders gave a small jolt. *Bunny didn’t get ‘possessed’ by the cook, did she?!*
“I was tracking the traces of that bad demon, but I lost them.”
“Ah.”
So it wasn’t Bunny. Relief washed over her. Bunny wiggled her fingers, then opened her mouth cautiously.
“Daddy.”
“Why?”
“Do you hate demons?”
At Bunny’s question, Kiriel blinked once and slowly nodded.
“I do.”
“How much?”
“Enough that I would wipe them all out of the world if I could.”
At Kiriel’s cold answer, Bunny’s eyes widened, then she immediately drooped and nodded. *…Daddy’s words, a bit stinging.*
“But don’t worry, the Dukedom you live in is safe.”
Thinking that the downcast Bunny was scared, Kiriel tightened his arms around her and patted her back.