The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 127
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 127
“….”
Shalone’s eyes widened slightly.
“I’m the strongest, after all.”
Of course, her face crumpled again at the addition.
Shalone was truly a difficult person to understand.
“…Mother is a frightening person. She stops at nothing to achieve her goals. She was originally supposed to come two years ago, but the fact that she’s only arriving now means she’s definitely prepared something.”
“Shalone, does this world really reject me? Maybe it hates me. Perhaps I… shouldn’t have been born….”
At my words, Shalone’s eyes widened slightly.
“Bunny….”
“Sister.”
The moment I answered her distant call with equal tenderness and reached out my hand, I was suddenly grabbed by the collar.
“How far have you read ‘The Wolf and the Young Lady’? That’s a line from the middle of the novel! Don’t tell me you’ve seen the ending?! You haven’t, right?”
At Shalone’s interrogation, I rolled my eyes evasively.
“Answer!”
In truth, I hadn’t finished it. I’d hidden it away early because I’d sensed footsteps approaching from a distance while I was still reading.
“If I get caught, they’ll confiscate mine too! You’re banned from my room from now on! I’m telling the maids too.”
“What?”
“I can’t lose this. Nowadays, if you haven’t read things like this, it’s hard to join conversations at Salon gatherings or Tea Time!”
Shalone spoke with wide eyes.
“But… sister….”
As I clung to Shalone with a tearful expression, she flinched and quickly retreated backward.
Then, like a third-rate villain in a novel, she pointed at me with an extended index finger, saying “Stop!”
“Did you think I’d fall for that coquettish trick again? Allen and Kalbad might be fooled, but not me. Got it?!”
“Tsk.”
As I clicked my tongue softly, Shalone’s mouth fell open and she let out a hollow laugh.
“You’re certainly cunning!”
Shalone gripped the door handle firmly and turned it.
I watched her retreating figure intently, then sat on the window frame with my legs dangling, and slowly opened my mouth.
“Don’t worry, Shalone.”
At my words, Shalone stopped instead of opening the door, standing rigidly in place.
I continued speaking.
“Whatever happens from now on, it won’t be your fault.”
“You….”
Shalone turned her head to look at me.
I broke into a mischievous grin and flashed a sly smile.
“I’m completely the strongest, after all!”
“Are you really an idiot….”
“Oh, that’s right! Shalone. How are things going with Shimung?”
At my words, Shalone froze.
Shalone’s face flushed crimson in an instant, and she stammered in confusion before letting out a sharp cry and quickly opening her mouth.
“Why do you keep calling my fiancé like that, as if he were some puppy? And what business is it of yours whether we’re getting along or not?!”
At Shalone’s words, I blinked and tilted my head curiously.
Ah.
I think I understand what Shalone was thinking.
I smiled mischievously, leaned my head against the window frame with a soft tap, and opened my mouth.
“I was only asking how Shimung’s health was doing…?”
Boom!
Shalone’s face turned bright red as if it might burst at any moment.
As if struck by some tremendous shock, Shalone’s lips trembled for a long while before she bit her lower lip hard, her face flushed crimson.
“And how are things going between you and the Crown Prince?!”
As she shouted this question, I shook my head at the sight of Shalone’s deeply reddened face.
Shalone seemed to still be quite childish.
“I’ve already held hands with Roel and even napped together in bed.”
We went to the Picnic Spot this morning and played for quite a while, then got so tired that we fell asleep together in the bright afternoon sun.
After sleeping for a long time, when I opened my eyes, Roel was leaning against the headboard reading something like a book.
“B-bed…? You held hands and napped together in bed?”
Shalone’s face turned bright red as she pointed at me several times, then took a deep breath and opened her mouth.
“Did you tell your Father, Allen, or Kalbad about that?”
Father, Allen, and Kalbad?
I don’t like it when they lecture me about it.
There were far too many things I couldn’t do every single day.
“I can’t tell Father everything, Shalone.”
I shook my head gently as if to say she should know better, and kindly explained.
“…Anyway, the Crown Prince has been exercising daily using the method you taught me, and he’s become quite healthy.”
“Still calling him the Crown Prince? He has a name—Shimung.”
“It’s Simon, not Shimung!”
Shalone shouted loudly, her cheeks flushed red.
Shalone, who had been looking at me with a somewhat fresh expression, quietly turned her head away.
“I’m just not used to it yet.”
“Mm.”
I glanced down slightly at Shalone’s chest area.
I could see a cluster of mana gathered there. What had once been hazy and indistinct now had taken on a complete form.
“Besides, I only have about a year left now…so I have no choice but to cling to him.”
Though Shalone didn’t seem to know that her heart had already been formed long ago.
“What does the Witch say?”
“When Mother comes, we might be able to extend the time a bit. I’ve made many friends in High Society, but…they all still like you more anyway.”
As I listened to Shalone’s words, I drew one knee up to my chest and hugged it, then lightly rested my cheek against my knee and burst into laughter.
“The only one who can’t love Shalone is Shalone herself.”
“What?”
“Just because~”
“What are you saying? I’m leaving. If you steal again, I won’t let it slide!”
Watching Shalone threaten me adorably with her fists clenched, I couldn’t help but shake my head.
“Shalone is too easily embarrassed, and it’s becoming a problem.”
Click.
I murmured softly while gazing at the closed door, then turned my head to look outside the window.
‘It’s starting soon.’
The “future” that Luriel had mentioned.
I thought for a moment, then quietly reached under the unbroken desk and pulled something out.
“I need to read this quickly.”
It was a red book with the same title as the one Shalone had retrieved earlier.
Actually, the moment the chair collapsed, I had secretly used magic to swap them.
What Shalone took was a fairy tale book that appeared to be a red book on the surface, but was actually made to look like a red book through illusory magic.
‘Before Shalone notices the one she took is fake…’
With a mischievous grin, I opened the book.
Crash—! Bang!
“Hey! You, you… annoying Bunny Yudia!!”
Of course, my sinister plan fell apart in less than ten minutes when Shalone’s Familiar noticed the book was enchanted.
Tch.
How disappointing.
* * *
“Hello. My goodness, so you’re Bunny. I’m Hilaranda, Shalone’s Mother. It’s nice to meet you.”
As soon as I came down to the Dining Hall early in the morning, I encountered a White-Haired Woman who greeted me. Bunny gazed at her for a moment, then nodded.
“Hello.”
“Yes, I’ve heard a lot about you from Shalone. Oh, I hope it’s not uncomfortable for me to be so casual? It’s just that you don’t feel like a stranger…”
Bunny, who had already met her before yet was greeting her as if for the first time, trailed off her words. She stared at Hilaranda with her round face, then shook her head lightly.
“It’s fine.”
Shalone, already seated at the Dining Table, seemed uncomfortable, constantly glancing between Bunny and Hilaranda.
“My goodness, thank you for saying so.”
At Bunny’s permission, Hilaranda’s crimson eyes curved with delight and kindness.
“Yes.”
Bunny glanced at her and answered lightly, then turned her head away. She simply wasn’t in the mood to engage right now.
‘Sigh. Am I last again today?’
But the protagonist always appears last anyway, so it shouldn’t matter, right?
Bunny, always generous with herself, walked briskly toward her seat.
“Father.”
“Good morning, Bunny.”
“Yes.”
Bunny reflexively started to run toward Kiriel, who had opened his arms wide, but suddenly stopped. With a composed expression, she tensed her upper body and slowly shook her head.
“Bunny, no.”
Tap, tap.
I gently tapped my own lips with my palm and let out a long sigh before speaking.
“Sigh. Father, I’m too old to be held like this anymore. You can’t keep treating me like a child.”
“…A father and child can embrace each other. What’s wrong with that?”
“That’s something only children do.”
As I shook my head firmly, Kiriel’s expression grew wounded. He closed his mouth and quietly lowered the arms he had opened.
Whether I had matured since last year or experienced some shift in heart, I had been keeping my distance from Kiriel more and more recently.
‘They say children grow up so quickly….’
There was a time when I would rush toward him at the slightest glance, crying “Daddy!” and cling to his legs, dangling from them, my body wiggling with joy whenever he stroked my head….
At some point, the frequency of my embraces gradually decreased, and by now, it had been nearly a month since I’d properly let him hold me.
“I understand, so come sit down quickly.”
“Yes.”
Instead of running like Toto, I walked gracefully and sat down skillfully beside Kiriel.
“Good morning, Bunny.”
“Good morning, Grandfather.”
As I bowed my head respectfully, Ludbreed’s smile deepened with satisfaction.
“Everyone has arrived.”
Ludbreed spoke before picking up his utensils.
“From today onward, Shalone’s Mother will be living here at the Dormitory Mansion. She will be staying in the Small Annex Behind the Marquis Estate, so keep that in mind.”
“Thank you so much for welcoming me. I worried for a long time about whether such a noble family was fitting for someone like me, but I’m so happy to finally be able to live with my daughter again. I’ll make sure not to be a burden, so I look forward to your kindness going forward.”
It was an exceedingly polite and courteous greeting delivered with a kind-looking expression.
I felt a tingling sensation across my skin and narrowed my eyes, but then pretended not to notice and picked up my utensils following Ludbreed’s lead.
“Furthermore, the Holy Temple will be holding a banquet for the High Priest’s inauguration ceremony soon. Try to have everyone attend if possible.”
I paused as I was about to put a piece of juicy meat into my mouth.
“The High Priest?”
“Yes.”
“But wasn’t the High Priest supposed to arrive next year?”
I tilted my head slightly.
I recalled hearing that since the High Priest was still young, he would be inaugurated as the High Priest at the Holy Temple in the Capital around the time of his Coming of Age Ceremony.
Ludbreed nodded at my words.
“However, for some reason, he expressed a desire to take office a bit earlier, so we’ve decided to do so. At seventeen, he’s hardly that young.”
Ludbreed explained.
I slowly chewed and swallowed the meat in my mouth, and my brow furrowed slightly.
‘This is different from the future Luriel showed me.’
It was the moment I lifted my head slightly while reaching for a glass to drink water.
Hila’s crimson eyes gleamed diagonally across from me. Her lips curved upward in a round smile, her gaze fixed precisely on me.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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