Chapter 62
Bunny loved being in her daddy’s arms.
Even though he wasn’t her real daddy, hated demons so, so much that she had to lie, and she might even have to fight him fiercely once she became the Great Demon King…
“Yes, grow up nice and slow. If you became an adult too quickly, I’d feel so lonely.”
Bunny burst into giggles at the hand patting her back.
“By the way, from now on, don’t go anywhere alone. Always go with someone.”
“Yees~.”
At her obedient reply, Kiriel glanced at Bunny with a somehow uneasy expression.
“You’re a special child who drew a special phoenix…”
Bunny’s ears perked up, and her little nose wrinkled proudly.
Hmph.
Her face couldn’t have looked more satisfied as she puffed out a breath through her nose.
“Bad people might try to kidnap you, so you can’t go alone.”
Heh.
At Kiriel’s worried words, Bunny stuck out her thumb with a confident face and opened her mouth while looking up at him.
“Bunny’s gonna be queen, so I’m super-duper strong against bad guys. It’s fiiiine.”
“No matter how much of a queen you become, there are even stronger people in the world than kings, so that’s why you have to be careful. If you get caught, you could be locked in a tiny prison forever, eating only hard bread and being used endlessly with your phoenix.”
“…Hard bread’s nooo.”
“It won’t just be hard bread. There won’t be any snacks or snack cookies either. You’ll be shut in a stinky room, working nonstop, forever and ever.”
“…Stinky room’s gross…”
“So when you go anywhere, even if it’s not with Daddy, make sure to bring someone with you.”
Kiriel tucked his hands under her armpits, hoisting her up into the air with a swing, then brought his face close to hers and spoke in a deliberately grave tone.
“Yees…”
Hng. Sniffle.
Bunny wiped her nose and nodded her small head with a slightly deflated expression.
“And if a stranger talks to you, ignore them, remember what they look like well, and come tell me.”
“Yup.”
Kiriel smiled faintly and lightly stroked her hair.
The corners of Bunny’s mouth relaxed a little.
“And starting tomorrow, we’ll live together in the annex, so keep that in mind.”
“We’re mooooving?”
“Yeah. I told you before. Let’s live just the three of us somewhere else. Though it ended up being four somehow…”
“Bunny worked hard and got a house key!”
Bunny quickly pulled out the key she’d stashed carefully in her pocket and held it up high.
Kiriel stared at it blankly for a moment, blinked once, then calmly took the key and slipped it into his own pocket.
“Hwiiiing?! Bunny’s key!!”
“Babies can’t live alone.”
Rumble crash!
Flash!
Thunder boomed and lightning flashed overhead once again today, and Bunny’s mouth fell open wide.
Then, as if deeply wronged, she clenched her tiny fists and opened her mouth.
“Bunny’s not a baby?!”
“You’re still so little, sweetie. Living alone is only possible after you grow up big and strong.”
At Kiriel’s words, Bunny’s lower lip jutted out.
She had so much to say, but even Bunny knew she was still so, so small. She wasn’t as big as Daddy, or even Allen or Kalbad.
“Bunny wanna… indepen…”
“Independence is something you can do after you grow up big and strong and have tons and tons of money.”
She was still so tiny…
There was nothing she could do.
“Everything in the world is haaaard…”
Even surviving at sea was hard, but worldly affairs were hard too—Bunny let out heavy sighs from her little mouth.
Kiriel looked at her with an incredulous expression, then chuckled softly and patted her back a couple of times.
“I’ll stay by your side until you grow up big. So become an adult slowly. I won’t go anywhere until you do.”
At Kiriel’s words, Bunny’s eyes went wide.
Bunny grabbed tight to the hem of his clothes and buried her face firmly in his chest.
“Daddy.”
“Yes.”
“You hate all demons?”
Kiriel froze at Bunny’s words.
She had asked him something like this once before.
His lips twitched, hesitating over and over.
Yes.
Of course it was true, but somehow the words wouldn’t easily come out of his throat.
The child’s innocent face filled his vision.
“…I don’t know. Not sure.”
After a long pause, Kiriel’s answer finally came out, and Bunny said nothing, just quietly buried her face deeper into his chest.
“Why do you ask that? Did something…”
Kiriel trailed off, his lips moving.
What if, after asking, the answer wasn’t what she hoped for?
Then what should he do?
In the end, Kiriel couldn’t bring himself to ask anything.
The child, whom he’d thought might be sulking or even crying quietly with her face buried in his chest, smiled brightly as ever the moment they reached the room, as if nothing had happened.
Strangely, the nagging irritation gnawing at his heart furrowed Kiriel’s brow.
* * *
Direct lineage meeting.
Occasionally, the Yudia Ducal Family would summon all the direct descendants.
When their opinions were absolutely necessary. When the matter was too grave for one person to decide alone.
These meetings were usually held before major issues arose or when demons were involved, and attendance was generally mandatory.
Of course, Kiriel Yudia had mostly skipped them until now… but lately, his attendance had strangely increased.
“Aren’t we having meetings way too often these days? Dad.”
Salame Yudia, who was already busy being dragged here and there as the saintess, spoke with a tired face. Dark circles shadowed her hollow eyes.
“The first thing you say after so long apart is… I’d love to see less of your annoying faces too.”
“I recall the last meeting was only a month ago.”
At Kiriel’s words, Rudbride’s brow furrowed instantly.
With a sigh, he waved his hand dismissively.
“And why are you so quiet today? Klein.”
Rudbride narrowed his eyes and scolded his son, who unusually had his arms crossed, lips pressed tight in silence.
Klein glanced at him, straightened his posture, and slowly uncrossed his arms.
Klein’s gaze briefly met Kiriel’s. Kiriel shrugged lazily in response.
“It’s nothing.”
At Klein’s words, Rudbride looked back and forth between Kiriel and Klein with a strange expression, sighed, and nodded.
“Anyway, we have a lot to discuss: the ancient elf, the phoenix, the marriage proposal for Bunny from the Imperial Palace, and… that rascal Dios too.”
“…Wait, isn’t there something that doesn’t fit the agenda?”
Salame Yudia, who had been listening quietly, blinked in bewilderment and countered.
She could understand the rest. They were all complicated enough to warrant summoning them.
But ‘Bunny’s marriage proposal’ slotted in there felt completely out of left field.
“If it’s a proposal from the Imperial Palace, isn’t that good? They’ve been hinting at it for a while anyway.”
“She’s still too young.”
“I agree. It’s not the time for talk of marriage or engagement yet.”
Kiriel, who had kept silent throughout the meeting, added his two cents to Rudbride’s words.
Salame Yudia stared at Kiriel in disbelief, then turned to Klein.
“Oppa, if Dad and the youngest are causing problems, you’re supposed to rein them in. What did you do?”
Klein, who would normally respond to Salame’s words with his usual smooth smile, stayed quiet.
“…Enough pointless talk. Let’s wrap this up quickly.”
“Why are you like this too, Oppa? What happened with him?”
