Translator: Nox

Chapter 18

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“Nyaanghaseyo! Grandpa Family Head. I’m four years old, it’s Bunny!”

She bowed deeply.

Like a bird on the verge of taking flight once more, Bunny straightened up rigidly with her arms held stiffly at her sides, then stood tall in her spot.

After her greeting, Bunny walked over with a prim expression, plopping down neatly on the sofa opposite where Ludbrid Yudia was seated.

The way she climbed up using her arms was remarkably practiced.

Sitting demurely with her hands folded on her knees, Bunny gazed at Ludbrid with clear, innocent eyes.

Ludbrid Yudia, who had been watching her with a rigidly stiff expression, reached out his hand as if entranced. Bunny tilted her head at the extended hand, then grinned widely and thrust her head forward.

Ludbrid Yudia naturally stroked the head that fit perfectly into his grasp, then cleared his throat loudly with a “Ahem.”

“Right, you’re Bunny.”

“Neeeng.”

“You summoned an egg this time, didn’t you?”

Speaking sternly, Ludbrid Yudia pushed a plate of cookies forward toward Bunny.

He had prepared them specially knowing the child was coming.

Of course, if the other children—who had faced interviews under intense pressure—saw this, they might faint from shock or collapse in outrage, clutching their necks.

“That’s all? Last time, they said you got scolded terribly for eating snacks without permission.”

Bunny’s eyes widened round as she recalled the conversation the children had chattered about earlier.

‘This is a test! A trap!’

Having splendidly spotted the trap, Bunny smirked.

‘Bunny’s not some little fish that falls for this.’

Of course, for Ludbrid Yudia, the treats had been prepared with purely innocent intentions.

The reason? Favoritism.

Why? Because she was cute.

Her chubby cheeks, her lively speech, and her bold spirit that pressed on undaunted by the prejudiced gazes of others.

That was it.

Ludbrid liked cute things.

He had never shown it outwardly—raised as the ducal heir in his youth and living as a duke in adulthood—but he couldn’t help turning his eyes toward this pure, harmless little creature that had tumbled into the harsh winds of the ducal family.

And besides, this was perfectly legitimate in the form of an interview.

‘Does she not like cookies?’

Ludbrid Yudia spoke up as he watched Bunny, who hadn’t touched them.

“Will you show it to me once?”

“Neng!”

Bunny answered vigorously, hopping down and wriggling out of her Rabbit Backpack, setting it beside her.

She rummaged around, burying her face inside as if it could swallow her whole, then carefully pulled something out.

“It’s a Hugyeom Dragon egg.”

“Hugyeom… what?”

“A baby Hugyeom Dragon will hatch from here.”

Bunny puffed out her chest as she said it.

Luriel had told her she would summon something truly amazing, so surely a king-sized dragon would emerge from this egg.

Luriel had said that with a Hugyeom Dragon, she could accomplish anything without fear.

So, once she had a Hugyeom Dragon, Bunny would finally become an incredibly praiseworthy child.

‘Dad will be so proud of Bunny then.’

He would surely pat her head in感動 and melt into a puddle. He might even say, ‘I’ll give everything from here to there as a gift to my daughter.’

‘Bunny, wickedly using Dad.’

“Let’s take a look.”

“Neng!”

It was just as Bunny placed the egg on the table with a gleeful grin.

“Uwing…?”

The egg—no, the quail egg—floated lightly upward, then suddenly plopped down onto the gem on Ludbrid Yudia’s ring.

Crack—

“……”

“……”

A crack formed in the sparkling blue gem on Ludbrid’s ring, and in an instant, it crumbled to dust and was absorbed into the quail egg.

Squelch.

The quail egg grew just a tiny bit larger.

Bunny’s mouth fell open wide.

‘Gasp, the egg broke the ring?! But Bunny needs to get full points on the interview!’

Rumble, boom!

Thunder crashed above Bunny’s head. Trembling, she looked up at Ludbrid with shaky eyes.

His face was rigidly frozen.

His cold gaze narrowed to slits.

‘She has spirit… Is this thing alive?’

His fierce glare seemed ready to smash Bunny’s Hugyeom Dragon egg right then.

Fury emanated from every part of Ludbrid Yudia. His blue eyes flashed like a monster’s.—Bunny’s imagination—

Shivering, Bunny hurriedly pulled out the sweet potato money she had brought for today from her bag and placed it on the table.

Only then did Ludbrid’s gaze fall on Bunny.

‘A money pouch?’

As he looked at the child with a puzzled expression, Bunny bowed her head deeply.

“Um, our egg is still a baby, so it’s sorry… N-no one gets bitten when they’re full… It must have been hungry…”

Bunny swallowed hard and pushed the money pouch a bit further toward Ludbrid Yudia. His expression grew even more puzzled.

“W-with this… c-can Bunny, s-save it…?”

Bunny stammered, recalling how Luriel had apologized and paid for the chocolate she had mindlessly eaten at the market before.

“You want to buy this with that? This is a ring with a Holy Power Stone.”

It won’t work? What now?

“If I bring an elephant’s trunk, I can give more…”

Ludbrid paused at Bunny’s teary eyes.

“It’s not enough…?”

Ludbrid quietly removed the gold ring with the shattered Holy Power Stone and placed it in Bunny’s hand.

“No, even after the purchase, this much is left.”

It was the moment a platinum gold ring adorned with a Holy Power Stone—worth at least tens of millions of rosts at auction—sold for a mere 1,500 rosts.

Ahem. Ahem. Ahem!

Ludbrid Yudia cleared his throat repeatedly, rubbing his callused large hand over his face, barely managing to compose his expression before speaking.

“…Right. Anyway, about the interview.”

“Nee!”

“Your test scores and ranking…”

Ludbrid Yudia flipped through the documents, then paused.

He looked at the score sheet filled with zeros, his gaze wavering slightly as he turned to Bunny. Her ranking was, naturally, dead last.

From the moment the word “test” came up, Bunny’s face had crumpled, her eyes starting to well up. Ludbrid Yudia quietly closed the file.

“Hm. You’re doing well.”

“Bunny… is doing well…?”

“Yes. Among children under ten, you’re number one, Bunny.”

Ludbrid Yudia replied flatly to Bunny’s tentative question.

It wasn’t a lie.

Because, excluding exceptions, only branch family children over ten could enter the House of Trials. So among those under ten, Bunny was indeed first.

“Bunny is first place?”

At Bunny’s wide-eyed stare, Ludbrid pretended to flip through the innocent papers before nodding.

“Yes. It says you’re working hard.”

Of course, not a single line in the report said that. It only had subject scores and brief evaluations.

Ludbrid Yudia was the sort who hated any extraneous comments in reports.

“Right, tell me what you want to be when you grow up.”

“Bunny wants to be the king greatest Demon King!”

“…Hm?”

Oh no.

This is a den of villainous humans! Bunny’s done for.

“Rather, the greatest archmage!”

Bunny quickly exercised her wits. Ludbrid Yudia paused at Bunny’s splendid lie.

And understandably so, for in the Yudia family, not once since its founding had anyone bearing even the “ma” of mage been born.

“…I see. So you want to be an archmage.”

“Neng!”

“Ahem. No interest in high priest or saintess…?”

“High priest or fairy?”

“Yes. In the Yudia family, they are the most remarkable people who serve the gods closest, the highest of all.”

Bunny blinked, then smiled brighter than ever.

Because it was a dream she could never achieve. She’d turn to powder first.

Ludbrid Yudia paused at Bunny’s innocent smile.

“Neng. Bunny likes archmage!”

After all, Bunny was destined to become the king greatest Demon King, so she couldn’t be the leader of bad humans.

Of course, if another child had said this, they would have been severely scolded, or forced to endure Ludbrid Yudia’s lengthy lecture.

“Right. You can do it. Archmage.”

Unable to ignore those clear eyes, Ludbrid Yudia nodded.

To an outsider’s ears, it would sound laughable, utterly absurd.

Scratch, scratch.

[Future Aspiration: Archmage]

And so, for the first time since the founding of the Yudia Ducal Family, the bizarre title “archmage” was entered into the interview log.