Translator: Nox

Chapter 41

Bunny turned her head.

“Daddy.”

“It’s dangerous, so let Daddy lift you up. Just sit still, all right?”

“Yeeng.”

In an instant, she was grabbed under the armpits and dangled before being set down on the chair.

She hadn’t noticed from below, but the chair was piled high with all sorts of things. Now that she was sitting, Bunny was about the same height as Kiriel.

“I didn’t know what you like, so I had them prepare a variety. If anything catches your eye, just let me know.”

“Yees.”

At Bunny’s reply, the emperor smiled softly and snapped his fingers. Maids and servants appeared and began filling the large round table with food.

“Waaah……”

The table brimmed with meats and desserts, along with gorgeously decorated breads.

Meals with Daddy at the ducal residence had been quite modest, but this was extravagant enough to make the table legs buckle. There was even a chocolate fountain on one side.

‘Bunny… should I get a new daddy?’

No, but the human big boss was her future enemy.

‘No helping it.’

After much agonizing, Bunny gave up on adopting the emperor as her daddy.

“Thank you for saving my son. I didn’t know how to express my gratitude, so I invited you here first.”

Bunny paused at the sudden voice and looked up.

His golden eyes sparkled with honeyed affection, but Bunny merely blinked at them steadily.

‘Fake smile.’

Bunny made a subtle face and nodded.

Bunny could tell warm things from those that weren’t.

All the time she’d spent with Luriel, Bunny had seen many humans. Each one had their own warmth.

‘Daddy’s warm. The future big boss is warm, too.’

Shifting her gaze slowly in thought, Bunny looked back at the emperor.

‘Human big boss… lukewarm.’

He seemed to adore Bunny and acted so affectionate, but it felt like he didn’t actually like her that much.

“By the way, how did you end up helping my son? Bunny.”

At the emperor’s words, the space between Kiriel’s brows narrowed faintly.

He’d caught on that the snake of a man was prying into Bunny again, curiosity glinting in his eyes.

“If the baby boss dies, the daddy boss and mommy boss will be sad. Being alone is sad.”

Reaching out, Bunny plucked a cookie dotted with sweet-looking chocolate chips from amid the arriving foods and spoke.

The emperor’s eyes widened for a moment. Kiriel reached over and took the chocolate chip cookie as if it were the most natural thing.

“Eung?!”

“Cookies after you eat your meal.”

“…Hing.”

Bunny pouted in dissatisfaction.

Kiriel set the cookie back down firmly.

“Did my son seem like he was going to die?”

“If he sleeps ten nights… he might die, too……”

At Bunny’s words, Crown Prince Roel’s spine prickled with chill. He had teetered on death’s doorstep more than once, after all.

‘If it weren’t for that child, I’d already be…’

Gulp.

Roel clenched his fist tight, then released it, every nerve on edge.

His heart had already been devoured, and the demonic qi had been on the verge of corroding his brain. Once demonic qi engulfed the entire body, no human could survive.

Bunny watched the foods arriving, kicking her feet as she mulled it over.

“I see. Then I owe you a tremendous debt.”

At the emperor’s words, Bunny’s eyes went round.

‘Debt!’

With a debt, Bunny could chase the emperor around. People in debt naturally got hounded. Debt meant handing over whatever was demanded.

“Kee hee hee. Human big boss! Hand over the human world to Bunny, who holds your debt!!”

“Wah wah. I can’t let it end like this. I can’t lose the human world this way! If only for this debt……!!”

In Bunny’s imagination, the emperor dropped to his knees and offered up the human world. Her lips crept up in a gleeful grin as she pictured it.

“Then please dig in.”

Bunny, lost deep in her fantasy, snapped her eyes wide at the sudden voice and whipped her head around.

‘Zing zing.’

Demons were sensitive to malice. Young demons especially so.

Malice.

It was sustenance to demons, like food itself.

To demons, human malice was as sweet as rations. They sought out humans where it bloomed, corrupted them, and forged contracts to devour their souls.

Even without a contract, humans rife with malice were easy marks—demons’ favorites.

Sensitivity to others’ malice meant sniffing out anything rotten in no time.

Bunny’s eyes slit vertically for the briefest instant before snapping back to normal.

It was over in a flash. The only one who noticed was the boy sitting across from her since the moment she entered, his gaze never once leaving Bunny.

“Let’s hold off on the commendations for now and eat first. Enjoy your meal, Bunny.”

It was the moment the emperor took up his utensils.

Bunny raised her hand and pointed her short index finger at the utensils gripped in his hand.

“Daddy, that’s poison.”

“What?”

Kiriel’s expression turned puzzled at Bunny’s words.

“Peeek!”

As if sensing her will, a red bird burst from her yellow chick bag with a pop! and flapped upward. It body-slammed the fork in the emperor’s hand with its tiny frame, knocking it loose.

Clunk.

Roll roll.

The fork dropp—

“My preciouuuusss!!”

—instead, her precious went tumbling?!

Seeing the red bird sprawled on the table after smashing into the emperor’s firm grip, Bunny wailed “Hweeng!” and flailed her arms out in front.

Clunk.

A large hand shot forward and scooped up the red bird—eyes still spinning—placing it gently in Bunny’s palm.

“Bunny’s precious…”

A large hand settled atop Bunny’s head.

She looked up, eyes going round. Kiriel’s eyes were glowing blue.

Kiriel’s blue eyes swept across the table.

“There’s poison on the utensils.”

“Daddy, your eyes are blue.”

No sooner had Bunny spoken than the color drained slowly from his eyes, returning to red.

The emperor set down his utensils, frowning as he crooked a finger.

“We’ll prepare new ones.”

The servants, faces taut with tension, began clearing away the lavish meal.

Soon enough, a voice quaking with fear drifted in from outside.

“P-poison assassination? What do you…? No, no! I was here the whole time! What are you talking about…? I didn’t leave the kitchen at all today—I wasn’t feeling well!!”

Bang!

The man hauled into the greenhouse was clad in chef’s whites, his face drained of color.

At the terrified voice, Bunny shrank back and clutched lightly at Kiriel’s hem.

“Your Majesty.”

“Oh dear, my apologies. I got heated and forgot about the child. Bunny, if you’d rather, would you wait somewhere else?”

“……”

Bunny, clutching Kiriel’s hem tight, slowly shook her head.

“I wanna stay with Daddy……”

Kiriel’s eyes widened ever so slightly at her words. A faint smile tugged at his lips as he patted her back lightly.

Bunny’s gaze shifted to the chef on his knees.

That was when she suddenly pointed at him with her finger and spoke up.

“This one’s not a poison human.”

“Not? Why do you say that?”

“No zing zing. Poison humans go zing zing.”

At the child’s words, Kiriel eyed the chef with subtle wariness.