* * *
The morning of the summoning ritual dawned.
Bunny had spent the night reading until the book was worn thin, only falling into a deep slumber in the late hours of the morning. She rose from her bed, rubbing her puffy eyes with the backs of her hands.
Still dazed and sleepy, she hugged Toto and swayed back and forth, unable to shake off the lingering remnants of sleep as she wiggled her way down from the bed.
After propping Toto up against the headboard, she dragged a chair over and grunted as she pried the window open.
Then, hopping down from the chair, she used her small, adorable hands to diligently pull and straighten the blankets that had become a mess while she slept.
Thanks to her habit of scurrying between the four corners of the bed, the bedding was soon neatly arranged.
“Hwaaa….”
Wiping away a stray tear like a grown-up with her sleeve, Bunny placed the child-sized step stool in front of the vanity and successfully brushed her teeth—a task even Luriel found troublesome.
After splashing her face with water that was so fresh it made her whole body tingle, and scrubbing her hair thoroughly, she spread a towel on the floor. She flopped down onto it and rolled, clutching the edge of the fabric.
Once she had bundled herself in the towel, she pulled out a fresh one, plopped it on her head, rubbed it in to dry her hair, and threw open the wardrobe.
“Hmm….”
Today… I feel like being a fashionista!
She pulled on the light sky-blue dress the orphanage director had gifted her and pinned the hairclip from her orphanage friend into her hair. She gave a nod of approval.
Staring blankly at the two towels stretched out along her path, she gave them a nudge with her foot, sliding them into a corner for the time being.
Finally, she brought over the Magomi, her brave Demon Bear doll, and used a string to tie it to her back. It was perfect.
“Bunny, perfect.”
Heh.
Bunny smiled happily and nodded.
Water dripped from her damp hair, soaking her shoulders, and the poorly tied bear doll had its waist bent backward, its head mere inches from dragging on the floor—but in Bunny’s eyes, it was perfection.
“Bunny is a genius, as expected.”
What if I’m so much of a genius that all the daddy candidates line up for me?
Thinking this, Bunny tucked the notebook she’d read all night back into Toto’s pocket to hide it, then laid Toto and her elephant doll down and tucked them in.
“Let’s go, Magomi!”
With her Demon Bear doll giving her courage, Bunny strode forward, recalling last night.
[The fact that you, my little baby, have opened this page means!
You’ve finally been adopted into a Duke’s family and are facing your summoning ritual!
Are you worried about what to do, my sweet baby?]
“Gasp! How did you know?!”
[However, there is no need to worry.
Because you are a special genius.
Trust in this Luriel.
Our baby will surely summon something incredibly cool and amazing.
I believe there is a guardian system in the family you’ve gone to, right?]
Gasp, did Luri know Bunny was coming here?!
‘As expected of Luri. An amazing genius recognized by the genius Bunny!’
Bunny, who had been wriggling her feet while staring at the elegant, neat handwriting on the page, raised her hands to cover her mouth.
[Surely, everyone will be head over heels for you and line up.
I, Luriel, guarantee it!
]
“Heh.”
[No matter how many line up, your criteria for choosing should be someone handsome or pretty.
After all, the importance of a role depends on how handsome someone is.]
Handsome or pretty!
The roles are important!
When she descended to the first floor, she saw other children who seemed to be undergoing the summoning ritual as well. Most looked to be in their early teens. This meant Bunny was the smallest and youngest of them all.
“Lady Bunny.”
“Oh, Roden!”
Bunny’s eyes went wide at the greeting from behind, and she raised one hand high, palm open.
“Hello.”
“Yes, good morning. Have you been well?”
“Yup! Bunny didn’t fail at all, and I’m fully adapted to this storm-like Dukedom. I’m scheduled to be super popular soon.”
With a giggle, Bunny gave a thumbs-up.
Roden Heiner burst into a soft laugh at her appearance. At that, the children gathered here and there widened their eyes.
“…The knight is laughing?”
“That iron wall, Roden Heiner?”
“…Must’ve seen it wrong.”
“What would we even have to do collectively to all see it wrong?”
Hearing the bickering from not far away, Roden Heiner quickly smoothed his expression.
He glanced at Bunny’s wet shoulders and the bear doll folded in half at the waist, then knelt on one knee.
“It’s a teddy bear.”
“Yes. It’s Magomi, who gives Bunny courage!”
“I see, Magomi. It looks like it might fall, may I tie it again?”
“Gasp, Magomi must not fall.”
Bunny, having blurted out the words in her rush, spun around.
Watching the limp doll swaying as she fidgeted, Roden Heiner pressed his lips together to keep the corner of his mouth from rising. He re-tied the string.
“All done.”
“Thank you.”
Bunny faced Roden Heiner and bowed her head low. His eyes widened at the sight of her bowing as if her head would touch the floor.
“Pfft.”
“What is that….”
“She bowed to the knight.”
The sight of Bunny, who looked like she was about to topple forward after losing her balance from such a deep bow, was more bewildering than the snickers echoing from around the room.
Roden Heiner reached out in a panic.
Flap.
Flap.
Bunny, who had bowed as if folding her body in half, seemed to realize she was tipping over. She flapped her arms for a long moment, hopped on the spot, and then stood upright as if nothing had happened.
“…….”
Only Roden Heiner’s awkwardly outstretched hand hovered in the air, having lost its destination.
Bunny, staring blankly at his awkward hand, blinked.
“Ah!”
As if realizing something, she trotted over and stood on tiptoe, pressing the crown of her head against his aimless hand.
‘Pat-pat!’
Bunny is already super popular!
At the look in Bunny’s eyes—shining with pink pupils and an air of smugness as if she knew everything—Roden Heiner couldn’t help but move his hand to pat the child’s head.
“…Shall we go?”
“Yes!”
Bunny answered vigorously and began her journey to the main mansion with Magomi, now properly tied.
* * *
“It’s been a while since you’ve all shown your faces. Whether it’s the one living in the temple or the one locked in his room who never comes out. You’ve really set your minds on breaking your father’s heart.”
“Come on, I still come to events. It’s not like these children’s talent-show-like summoning rituals are interesting enough to warrant skipping my duties for.”
The muscular man with dark skin chuckled, his tone slurred and cocky.
Duke Yudia, Ludbrid Yudia, glared at the man, who was dressed in an outlandish outfit with his chest exposed, looking quite displeased.
“Father, please, don’t be like that. My brother seems busy gambling and playing around, too~”
“Hey, are you running your mouth off again?”
“What…? Gambliiing?! You little brat…! Klein, is that how a member of the sacred Duke Yudia household acts!!”
“Oh, that’s not it! I’m just hanging around for information gathering, it’s not like I actually enjoy gambling or anything…. Tsk, anyway, why are you out here, little brother! You were holed up in the temple and wouldn’t even show your face.”
Thinking he was at a disadvantage, the man swiftly changed the subject.
Among the people gathered around the noisy tea table, the ‘youngest’ one, who had been silently tilting his teacup, twitched his eyebrows once before setting his cup down leisurely.
Black hair flowed down softly.
“Because Father said if I didn’t come this time, he’d send me on a long-term business trip.”
Ludbrid Yudia clicked his tongue at the extreme boredom and lethargy radiating from the man, whose voice was infinitely soft despite his dry demeanor.
“Other than that, let’s start and finish this quickly. It’s a waste of time.”
“The children are on their way now.”
The dark-skinned man said, running his fingers lightly through his hair.
Grrr.
A low growl of a beast echoed from somewhere.
“That…”
“So, I heard those runaway brats are participating today? The half-beast and the stray cat, to boot.”
“Watch your tongue in front of the kids.”
“I’m just a little curious to see if they’re duds or lucky draws.”
Ignoring the Duke’s warning, the dark-skinned man let out a light chuckle, stood up with a grin, and rose from his seat.
“Well, I don’t have high expectations, but… let’s get going.”
No sooner had the youngest member finished speaking in his lethargic tone than the four of them stood up and exited the snow-white mansion, which was adorned with gold.