Translator: Nox

Chapter 49

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“One, two, three, fourr, five…….”

“What are you doing, Mistress?”

Bunny, who had been sitting on the bed with her legs spread wide and counting out the coins one by one from her elephant pouch, froze at the sudden voice from behind her and finally opened her mouth.

It was Belial.

“Counting money to buy choco later.”

Choco was way more expensive than holy power stones, after all.

Of course, this was obvious to Bunny.

Everyone knew that choco was sweeter and more expensive than rocks.

Naturally, Bunny knew it perfectly.

“Choco? Ah~ Is there some chocolate you want?”

“Yeah.”

“Just say the word, and this Belial will go fetch some right away…….”

“No. Bunny has to buy it herself.”

Bunny shook her head with an expression that said, Don’t you even know that?

Belial stared at Bunny for a moment before smiling faintly.

“I see. I’ve been rude, then.”

“Yeah. But Berry.”

“Yes, your Berry is right here, Mistress.”

“From now on, knock when you come in here.”

When Bunny adorably pretended to knock on the air with her tiny clenched fist, Belial grinned broadly and nodded.

“Ah, of course! I’ll make sure to knock from now on!!! I won’t forget.”

As Belial declared loudly with his fist clenched tight, Bunny nodded vigorously.

Berry, you’re kinda loud.

Bunny thought that as she resumed counting.

She counted the coins in stacks of ten rosts, lined them up neatly, counted the stacks once more, then tidied them back into her elephant pouch before hopping up from her seat.

“Where are you off to?”

“Allen.”

Bunny left the room and navigated the vast, sprawling mansion with ease.

She turned right, then left again, and rounded a large corner.

The topmost floor of the House of Trials.

Unlike the wooden floors below, the corridors here were laid with gleaming marble, and there was no strange smell.

Fourth room here.

Bunny stood in front of the door with “Allen” written on it.

Heh.

Bunny could read “Allen” now.

It was because Allen had brought it over, saying it was his name, and shaken it eagerly in front of her.

Allen looked dark today, even after giving me cookies.

It wasn’t exactly zzzt-zzzt or ziiing, but more like pwaaah.

Thump thump.

Bunny clenched her fist and knocked on the door energetically.

Normally, there would have been a response right away, but today, there was none.

“Allen!”

Thump thump!

Bunny clenched both fists and knocked twice more, hard.

Still, the inside remained silent. It was just then that Bunny’s lips puffed out in dissatisfaction.

Belial’s eyes flashed red once.

“It seems there’s no one inside, Mistress.”

Belial, who had peered inside, added that he sensed no presence within.

When Bunny lightly turned the doorknob, the unlocked door slid open smoothly.

Bunny’s eyes widened as she stepped inside.

Allen’s room is huge, bigger than Bunny’s.

And no stinky smell either.

Bunny hopped over to the desk, eyeing the books lined up on it.

There were clothes messily thrown on the floor, a notebook on the desk, and the open notebook had a slightly damp stain on it.

As far as Bunny knew, Allen went to bed at 10 o’clock.

It was 9 o’clock now.

But Allen was gone.

And the notebook had what seemed like Allen’s tear stains.

Surprise spread across Bunny’s serious face, and soon her eyes hardened with determination.

Kidnapped!

Allen’s totally been kidnapped!

But sadly, Bunny didn’t have the power to fight kidnappers right now.

Because kidnappers were monster-like people who commanded massive shadow beasts and snatched kids away in a net (or something?) before locking them in a super tight place!

Bunny’s still small and weak without transforming.

So, the conclusion Bunny could reach was just one.

Bunny turned her body resolutely and marched out of the room. Belial closed the door behind her.

“Berry, let’s go!”

“Where to?”

“Daddy!”

Bunny moved her short legs as fast as they could. Her toddling footsteps seemed quite urgent.

Belial rubbed his chin and strolled leisurely beside her as he spoke.

“Do you like that Allen fellow?”

“Yeah. Allen shared choco cookies with Bunny.”

“I see. He might not make a bad pet, for sure…… Though with a beast like that, it’d be better just to collar him.”

“Yeah?”

Belial, who had been muttering to himself, tilted his head up at Bunny’s puzzled gaze and smiled brightly, shaking his head.

“It’s nothing. Let’s go. I’ll escort you.”

Bunny glanced at Belial before toddling off toward the main mansion. She finally stopped when her eyes met those of the guards stationed at the front.

“Miss Bunny?”

“Yeah! Hello. Is Daddy here?”

“He hasn’t gone out separately today, so he’s probably somewhere in the mansion.”

“Neeeng.”

Bunny went inside, and Belial bowed slightly, pretending to be her escort knight.

Bunny dashed up and plastered herself to the door of Kiriel’s room—a place she’d visited many times before—and pounded on it with both arms.

“Daddy!”

“Bunny……?”

A surprised voice came from inside, and soon the door swung wide open.

Kiriel, who had just finished washing up and was dripping water with his shirt off, looked at Bunny and spoke.

“What brings you all the way here at this hour……? Don’t tell me you came to see Daddy…….”

“Daddy, Allen’s gone!”

“…Ahh.”

Kiriel paused for a moment, his words cut off by Bunny.

So that’s it.

With an expressionless face, he turned his gaze to the distant mountains beyond the window for a bit before turning back.

“Bunny saw, it’s kidnapping for sure.”

“Kidnapping?”

No way.

This was the Yudia Ducal Family, of all places. Such a thing wouldn’t happen here—especially not inside the ducal residence.

Starting trouble here meant you’d definitely get caught.

And I haven’t heard anything about it.

As Kiriel was thinking that and turning his head, the full moon rising high in the sky filled his view.

He stared at it for a moment, then paused.

“Ah.”

The night of the full moon was when beastkin powers were at their strongest. And Allen was half beastkin, half human.

“He’s probably sleeping somewhere else tonight.”

“Why?”

“Allen’s a special kid, so on nights when the round, full moon rises, he can’t stay in his human form. He probably doesn’t want us to see him like that.”

At Kiriel’s words, Bunny blinked her clear eyes with a puzzled look.

“If he doesn’t want to be seen, why not just say so?”

“Who knows. Maybe that’s it?”

“But…….”

Bunny thought of Allen.

The way he’d bow his head and shrink back a little whenever someone whispered that he was a monster or a beast.

Since everyone said that form was shameful and ugly, maybe he wanted to hide.

When Bunny lived with Luri, it hurt a little being called an orphan without parents. And when they pointed fingers saying maybe she was a demon child, she wanted to hide.

Luriel had worn a hat at first, and when Bunny was little, she wasn’t good at her human form yet, so she’d wrapped her head in a scarf to hide her horns.

That’s why they couldn’t stay in one place and kept wandering. Of course, it got perfect later thanks to Luriel’s teachings.

But……

“But then, if Allen thinks Bunny and Daddy hate seeing him as a doggy-thing, what then?”

“…….”

Kiriel’s eyes widened slightly at Bunny’s words.

“Or does Daddy hate Allen when he’s not human?”

“No. I don’t hate him.”

Kiriel said firmly.

If he’d been wary of him being beastkin, he wouldn’t have taken him in as a son to begin with. Kiriel saw everyone except demons as no different from humans.

He wanted to eradicate demons from the world entirely, though.

“Then you gotta say you like him even if he’s not human. Praise him lots so he cheers up. Otherwise… Allen’ll feel all lonely by himself…….”

Bunny said with a droopy, gloomy face.

Kiriel stared at Bunny, his expression slightly stiff.

It was a perspective he’d never even considered.

Since the kid wanted to hide it, he’d thought it was best to just let him.

But Bunny was right.

If they kept avoiding him every full moon, never facing it, never helping him, Allen would go on thinking his true form was monstrous, beastly.

That because he was a monster, no one came near him on full moon nights.

“…I see.”

Kiriel murmured softly and blinked.

“Don’t get close to the Yudia Ducal Family’s youngest young master. He’s afflicted with a curse from demons and has a disease. He could die anytime.”

“Kiriel! My little brother! You’re so cute today too.”

Suddenly, a voice from some memory overlapped with his brother’s voice—someone he couldn’t even place.

Come to think of it, there was that too.

Kiriel slowly opened his mouth.

“Do you want to see Allen?”

“Yeah!”

“Then shall we go find him together?”

Bunny’s face lit up at Kiriel’s words.

She nodded eagerly.

“Neeeng!”

At Bunny’s spirited reply, Kiriel stroked her hair and scooped her up into his arms.

Then, after ordering Belial to stand down, he carried the child out of the mansion.