Translator: Nox

Chapter 13

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Clatter.

After tearing open the elephant pouch and spilling everything inside out onto the floor with a jingle, Bunny counted the coins one by one, stacking them into a tower. She crossed her short arms with a serious expression.

“This is big twouble.”

Two days ago, in order to introduce the magnificent Bunny, she’d given away too much money as a gift, leaving the elephant pouch completely empty.

Sigh.

Letting out a deep sigh, Bunny hopped to her feet.

’No helping it.’

Hmph. Rubbing her nose, Bunny dumped the countless coins that had spilled from the elephant pouch into her bag, then slung the jingling Rabbit Backpack onto her back.

“Baby, baby. This Luriel has an amazing secret technique to teach you. You pick things up so quickly just by watching, so remember it well and use it when you need to.”

If you’re out of money, just earn more.

And to do that, she needed to buy ingredients first.

Hmph.

Bunny, a fine child who could go shopping all by herself. Not a bit lazy. The Young Master would surely think Bunny was amazing too.

It was just as Bunny, shoulders shrugged, was about to leave the room.

“Miss Bunny!”

“Ung? Jessie!”

“Yes. Are you heading out now?”

“Uuung.”

Bunny nodded first.

‘How did she know I was about to go to the market?’

Gasp, was Jessie actually a super genius too?!

“I came to escort you because I was worried when you didn’t join the lesson. I’m glad you’re not feeling unwell. The lesson has already started. This way.”

“Eeng…?”

“Pardon me.”

Jessie scooped Bunny up into her arms with a swing.

Jingle, jingle.

Jingle, jingle.

Every time Bunny, held in Jessie’s arms, moved, the clear sound of coins clinking rang out.

“How did you end up being late today, miss?”

“Ah…”

She’d completely forgotten about the lesson.

“Fu… future stuff worries?”

Bunny, who had planned to go to the market to buy ingredients for the elephant pouch’s plump pockets, said.

‘Money worries are future worries too.’

Bunny didn’t lie.

With her chin propped on Jessie’s shoulder, Bunny rolled her eyes around, thinking.

“Don’t worry too much. In my opinion, once Miss Bunny learns to read, your rankings will shoot right up.”

“…Uuung.”

Bunny was a genius to begin with.

She’d memorized every single demon language word!

‘Human words are hard…’

With that thought, Bunny was dragged in Jessie’s arms to the lesson.

Naturally, she still couldn’t recognize a single letter.

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“So, you’re saying that’s really true?”

Even to Duke Ludbrid Yudia’s sharp question, the elderly man kept his consistently gentle expression and nodded.

“Yes. According to the report sent to the Imperial Palace yesterday via express courier, an unidentified strange disease broke out in Rubia Territory on May 18th. The local lord tried to hush it up and handle it quietly, but neither the physicians nor the researchers could find the cause.”

“…Are you saying that quail egg really has the power of prophecy?”

Duke Ludbrid Yudia narrowed his eyes, recalling the plain white quail egg that had seemed utterly insignificant.

“What do you think, Kiriel?”

“…I don’t know.”

Kiriel Yudia answered slowly, as if uninterested, his attention seemingly fixed on rubbing the jingling silk pouch in his hand with his fingertips.

Duke Ludbrid Yudia let out a long sigh at that.

“Just in case, tighten internal security and dispatch a few people from here. Take that sap with you too.”

“Yes.”

The man in formal attire bowed at Duke Ludbrid Yudia’s command and slowly withdrew from the study.

“So why did you call me…?”

Kiriel Yudia asked in a slow, languid voice.

“Why do you think? How long ago did the sacred ritual end, and what the hell have you been up to!”

“Didn’t you keep asking to see your grandchildren, Father? One son and one daughter—perfect, right…”

Kiriel Yudia, with a tired expression and a languid reply, let out a small yawn.

At that, Duke Ludbrid Yudia’s face twisted up like, what the hell is this guy?

“What were you thinking, bringing unknown brats under your wing without even knowing their origins!”

“Wasn’t it you who told me to raise them with a sense of responsibility…?”

“I said raise animals, who told you to raise kids! You can’t even feed yourself properly—who knows how many times we found you on the brink of starvation!”

Kiriel Yudia furrowed his brow and rose slowly from his seat. It was the kind of slowness that would frustrate anyone short-tempered.

But did that make the man look dull? No, it didn’t.

On the contrary, that slowness only made Kiriel Yudia appear even more refined and leisurely.

“Anyway, if there’s nothing else, I’ll be going…”

“You’re not really planning to make those kids your own, are you? Just be their guardian and be done with it.”

Kiriel Yudia smirked at Duke Ludbrid Yudia’s words.

“The more you tell me not to, the more I want to…”

Muttering softly, Kiriel Yudia left the drawing room without a care for the quacking sounds coming from behind.

‘Troublesome, sleepy…’

Thinking that, Kiriel Yudia walked slowly.

In truth, Kiriel didn’t think he himself would make a good parent. Just as the duke said, he was incredibly lazy, and skipping meals was an everyday occurrence for him.

“Then thank you very much. I’ll come again! Take care!”

Well, they didn’t seem to need parents much anyway.

He had no intention of truly becoming proper parents, but he was willing to lend his name as a protector if needed.

‘What does a protector even have to do…’

Thinking languidly, Kiriel Yudia entered the temple he used as his room and flopped onto the bed.

‘I’ll think about it when I wake up…’

He slowly closed his eyes.

At this point, Kiriel Yudia had no idea.

That a curiosity-driven four-year-old would turn out to be far more groundbreaking than expected—and that he’d be constantly summoned because of it.

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“Puhuh… Can’t wead a singwe wetter…”

Hng.

With a teary expression, Bunny muttered softly and buried her face in the pillow.

There was no child as young as Bunny, and all the other kids in the lesson could already read letters. Bunny was the only one who couldn’t.

Gathering her courage, Bunny had quietly asked the child next to her, only to hear that they’d learned from mom or dad at home since they were little, or from a tutor.

Back in her room, Bunny set down her homework and pile of books to one side, grabbed Ma-gomi, and slung on the Rabbit Backpack once more, now full of coins and jingling away.

Then she hopped down from the bed and started walking.

Bunny had a very, very wicked plan. A devilish scheme that had conquered the orphanage!

According to Luriel, just this would ensure she wouldn’t starve anywhere.

Bunny had always watched Luriel make it by her side, so she planned to use that method this time too.

The kind orphanage director gave the orphanage kids five brown coins as pocket money once a week—enough to buy one small gonggal bread from the bakery.

Hmph.

‘Bunny always saved them up to buy chokko.’

With this method, Bunny could become rich and eat chokko—which cost a whopping thirty brown coins—once a month.

‘Bunny, super popular with everyone.’

She’d drag the whole ducal family into her trap too.

The tiny Bunny slipped effortlessly past the busy people carrying luggage or bolts of fabric.

With every step Bunny took, a steady jingle-jangle rang out.