The Baby Raising A Devil - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76

After finishing his conversation with the Duke, Johan stepped out the door. The East Wing at noon was quiet. Even the noise seemed to have been devoured by the thick shadows.

If only it weren’t for those pattering footsteps that had been following him from earlier.

When Johan whipped around, Leblaine froze in place, still in the position of tiptoeing forward while holding up her skirt hem.

“What.”

“Well… that is…”

Johan spoke as he watched Leblaine, who had stiffened up and was rolling her eyes around.

“I can hear the sound of your brain working from here.”

“That’s not it!”

“Then what.”

“…Actually, you’re right.”

Leblaine’s shoulders drooped as she became dejected.

“I absolutely didn’t mean to bother you. I just… if Johan-nim is okay with it… I mean, if you’re really okay with it, I was wondering if I could get a little bit of what you have…”

Her voice was practically crawling.

‘What’s her purpose.’

If that child wanted something, her father would get her just about anything. Moreover, there were Henri and Isaac, who seemed to be living with half their minds elsewhere lately. There was no need for her to come to him specifically to ask for something.

Even while he was making up his mind, Leblaine kept glancing at him nervously.

At this point, he was purely curious.

What exactly did she want.

“What is it.”

“Fingernails or hair.”

“…What?”

* * *

I wanted to bite my tongue.

‘Fingernails or hair…’

Anyone who heard that would think I was going to cast a curse or something.

But I really needed those things. Because they would serve as a medium to obtain some of Johan’s mana.

Paimon specifically, particularly, deliberately wanted Johan’s mana!

I tried to appease him by showing him Father, Henri, and Isaac. But he said he didn’t want them because their purity wasn’t as good as Johan’s.

“Why do you want my hair or fingernails. Are you planning to curse me or something?”

“That’s not it. Johan-nim is going to the Academy soon, right? Since you’ve been attacked several times, I thought it might be good to prepare a double so that won’t happen this time.”

I rattled off the excuse I had prepared in advance. Earlier, when I got caught tailing him, my mind went completely blank and I couldn’t say it.

“They say you can make one if you have fingernails and hair!”

This was something that only appeared in legends, but it didn’t matter.

‘Since I’m in a child’s body, I can believe in things like this.’

When I sparkled my eyes brightly, Johan was about to open his mouth to say something.

“What?!”

Isaac’s voice came from behind us.

He quickly ran over, grabbed my hand, and hid me behind his back while frowning. Henri also approached following behind.

“Why is Elder Brother with Little One? Did you bully her again?”

“You’re someone who has no interest in others. Please continue to show no interest going forward.”

When Henri and Isaac spat out sharp words, Johan’s eyebrow twitched upward.

I panicked and tugged at both of their sleeves.

“No. He never bullied me. I’m the one who followed Johan!”

“Little One, why would you. Did Elder Brother give you some kind of hint?”

“If that’s the case, you don’t need to worry about it, Leblaine.”

That’s not what I’m saying.

While I was saying “That’s not it─”, Johan turned his back. Without a single word of excuse, he walked away from us.

I stamped my feet in frustration.

“It’s not like that! I really just followed Johan on my own!”

“…Really?”

Isaac asked, and Henri had a rarely stern expression.

Henri gently grabbed my shoulder and met my gaze.

“I told you. Elder Brother is a dangerous person, so never be alone with him.”

I drooped my eyebrows and looked at them. At my displeased expression, Henri called “Leblaine?”

“Johan doesn’t seem like a bad person.”

“Little One, Elder Brother has absolutely no emotions─!”

“When I went to see a play with the maids last year, everyone cried because it was sad, but I didn’t cry. Does that make me a bad person?”

Isaac panicked and shouted “That’s…!”

“Second Older Brother didn’t have to look at the documents that came up from the Accounting Office today, right? That’s why you had time to read books.”

“…That’s right.”

“Youngest Older Brother didn’t have to be a training partner for the Knight Order, right? That’s why you ate snacks with me.”

“Yeah.”

“Johan did all of that instead.”

“….”

“….”

I shook off Henri and Isaac’s hands with a sulky expression, saying “I’m leaving.”

* * *

When I returned to my room, I saw a long-haired beauty… no, handsome man munching on cookies on my bed.

I looked at him with bleary eyes.

“My snacks….”

“They didn’t taste like much.”

“But you ate them all without leaving a single one?”

“I’m bored because of this. You don’t keep me by your side, and you confine me to this place.”

Well, it’s because you can read my thoughts. Someone who knows my inner thoughts inside and out is troublesome to deal with.

But there are also constraints to keeping him away. First, he can’t be more than about 1 kilometer away from me, and if my condition is poor, people will recognize the demon.

‘I need to send him back before going to the Imperial Capital.’

With that thought, I picked up the letter envelope I had kept under the bed. It was a letter from Seria.

[After Adolf, one of the 21 Priests, was executed, the Temple’s movements have been unusual. They are desperately searching for Divine Artifacts to restore their fallen honor. They are displaying Etoile, which is like the symbol of the Temple, in the Grand Cathedral for several days…]

‘In my past lives, there was never an occasion when Etoile was displayed.’

If they were desperate enough to bring out even the Sacred Relic from mythology to hold onto the hearts of disappointed believers, they must have been truly urgent.

I checked the picture of the Temple’s Etoile that Seria had sent.

‘Huh?’

Then I frowned in surprise.

“What is this…”

“What’s wrong?”

“The Divine Artifact is strange.”

Paimon approached and checked the picture.

“Etoile?”

“You know it?”

“Of course.”

He said he had mastered all kinds of Academics, so perhaps he had also learned theology. I nodded and said.

“That’s right. It’s Etoile, but it’s a little different from what I know.”

“How so?”

“Originally, the Etoile that the Temple kept had gems embedded at each corner of the Six-Pointed Star, but this one doesn’t have them.”

I definitely saw it.

When Mina possessed the Temple’s Etoile, there were gems embedded at each corner.

I took out my own Etoile that I was wearing around my neck and showed it to Paimon.

‘Like mine, it has no gems.’

Paimon sat across from me, propping his chin as if I was saying something strange.

“Since there are no Familiars, naturally there are no gems.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Isn’t Etoile originally a Sacred Relic for containing Familiars? To use your analogy, it’s like a Warehouse.”

I opened my eyes wide.

“Familiars? The ones created with Mana or Divine Power?”

“I’m talking about real souls. Like demon Familiars. Your Familiars don’t have consciousness, do they?”

Paimon pointed to the small grooves carved at each corner of the Six-Pointed Star.

“You contain Familiars inside these. So you can take them out and use them whenever needed.”

At those words, I opened my eyes wide.

There are six grooves in total. So does that mean you can command six Familiars?

“If it’s souls, could demons also become someone’s Familiars?!”

“Of course. But noble beings like us cannot be contained without our own consent.”

“Is that so.”

“Above all, the user wouldn’t be able to maintain us. Even you are exhausting this much divine power just to borrow our special ability once.”

“Then what do you usually put in them?”

“You turn human souls into familiars. But familiar creation of humans isn’t something fellow humans can do. You have no choice but to obtain souls that have been turned into familiars by higher beings like demons.”

Frowning and tapping the table with my fingers, I looked at Paimon.

“Could it be that my ability to summon demons is for completing Etoile?”

Paimon’s lips curved up crookedly.

[Only after gaining qualification can Little One and I have our dialogue.]

So that’s why Bune said I wasn’t qualified without Etoile.

I gripped my skirt hem tightly.

‘Mina also completed Etoile.’

All of her tremendous abilities were the power of demons or familiars.

And Mina, who completed Etoile, became a powerhouse that even the Pope couldn’t easily handle.

If I complete Etoile before Mina…

‘I could become the strongest on this continent and make Dubbled an independent nation in one stroke.’

My heart trembled.

Paimon looked at me and cleared his throat.

“That said, you shouldn’t target me.”

“Yes!”

“…”

For some reason Paimon looked a little dejected, but I just tilted my head.

‘I do covet Paimon’s abilities, but he has a difficult personality to use as a familiar.’

Only six chances. I need to create familiars that will definitely be helpful.

I immediately connected to Seria through the communication stone.

[Yes, Young Lady.]

“Gather information about special gems and minerals in the Imperial Capital. Buy them if possible.”

[When it comes to special gems and minerals, some might demand unimaginable prices.]

“It doesn’t matter.”

After all, it was a trading company I’d been running to earn funds for making Dubbled independent.

“And we can make plenty of money now.”

With long-distance teleportation circles.

* * *

That night, I secretly snuck into Johan’s room.

As I had confirmed, Johan seemed to have gone to the training ground. The room was very quiet.

‘He changes his sheets before bed, so I need to collect hair before then.’

It wouldn’t be the amount Paimon wanted, but there was no other way. I planned to gather dust to make a mountain.

[At this rate, a year will pass before you return.]

Paimon spoke sarcastically, so I thought, ‘Be quiet.’

I carefully opened the bedroom door.

And as I tiptoed toward the bed…

“Gasp!”

Something was crouched on the sofa beside the bed.

Startled out of my wits, I froze stiff and covered my mouth.

But this was strange.

It looked like a human silhouette, but why was there no reaction at all?

‘Paimon, if anything happens to me, attack immediately.’

After saying that, I carefully headed toward the sofa and was shocked.

“Johan!”

It was Johan crouched there with a pale face. Thick veins were bulging from his wrist to his neck.

If Johan, who keenly notices any presence, couldn’t say anything even after I entered, this was serious.

“Get a hold of yourself! What should I do, a doctor, call a doctor!”

Just as I was about to rush out in panic, Johan grabbed my wrist.

“Qui… et. This mere poison… I can purify it in a week.”

“But…!”

“I’m the… eldest son of House Dubbled. If my body is harmed, do you think there’ll only be… one or two who get ideas?”

That was true.

The reason the retainers’ factions haven’t split is because there’s Johan as the clear heir.

‘Could it be…’

I examined Johan’s condition closely.

Even though I may not look it, I had been educated at the temple during two lifetimes, so I had an eye for illness.

‘Bloom poison.’

It’s a poison that mercenaries often use.

“You were hurt when mercenaries attacked at the border, right? That’s why you came to rest at the Imperial Palace under the excuse that House Dubbled was being disrespected.”

“…”

“You’ve been enduring it this whole time?”

“Don’t be a bother…”

“Fool!”

I shouted angrily.

Where in the world is there such a fool!

Everyone else criticizes him for being inhuman, for not valuing anything, even his siblings don’t understand his heart, yet he was carrying all this burden alone.

I felt so upset about Johan that my vision kept blurring.

Johan was looking at me very intently.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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