The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 13

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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 13
* * *
Clink, clink, clink.
Bunny had torn open Elephant’s trunk, spilled everything from inside onto the floor, and carefully stacked each coin one by one into a tower. Now, with a grave expression, she crossed her stubby arms and planted her hands on her hips.
“This is a disaster.”
Two days ago, I had given Elephant such an enormous sum of money to show off how impressive Bunny was that the creature’s belly had become completely hollow.
Sigh.
Bunny exhaled a deep breath and sprang to her feet.
‘There’s no helping it.’
With a quiet sniff, I wiped my nose and hastily dumped the countless fairy tale books that had come from Elephant’s belly into my bag, then slung the jingling rabbit-shaped satchel onto my back.
“Young Lady, Young Lady. This Luriel shall teach you an incredible secret method. Since you pick things up so quickly just by watching, please remember this well and use it whenever you need it.”
If you have no money, you earn it.
To do that, I first needed to buy materials.
Hmph.
Bunny, a splendid child who could shop alone. Not troublesome at all. The Marquis would surely find me admirable too.
Feeling quite pleased with myself, I was just about to leave the room.
“Miss Bunny!”
“Hm? Jessie!”
“Yes. Are you heading out now?”
“Mm-hmm.”
Bunny nodded first.
‘How did Jessie know I was about to go to the Market?’
Gasp, could Jessie actually be an incredible genius too?!
“I came to fetch you because you didn’t attend class. I’m relieved to see you don’t seem to be ill. Class has already begun. This way, please.”
“Eh…?”
“Pardon me.”
Jessie simply picked Bunny up and cradled her in her arms.
Jingle, jingle.
Jingle, jingle.
Each time Bunny’s body moved in Jessie’s embrace, the coins clinked together with a bright, crystalline sound.
“How is it you were late today, Young Lady?”
“Ah…”
I completely forgot about class.
“C-Concerns about the future?”
Bunny spoke, having intended to go to the Market to buy materials for Elephant’s plump pouch.
‘Money is indeed a concern about the future.’
Bunny hadn’t lied.
With my chin resting on Jessie’s shoulder, I rolled my eyes in thought.
“Don’t worry too much. From what I can see, once you master your letters, Miss Bunny, your ranking will climb steadily.”
“…Mm-hmm.”
Bunny was originally a genius.
I had memorized every single word of the demon language!
‘Human speech is so difficult….’
With that thought, I was led away by Jessie into the classroom.
Unsurprisingly, there still wasn’t a single character I could recognize.
* * *
“So, you’re saying that’s real?”
To Ludbreed Yudia’s curt question, an elderly man with a perpetually gentle expression nodded his head.
“Yes. According to reports submitted to the Imperial Palace as of yesterday, an unknown plague broke out in Rubia Territory on May 18th. The local domain tried to keep it quiet and handle it themselves, but neither the physicians nor the researchers could determine the cause.”
“…Are you truly saying that quail egg possesses the power of foresight?”
Ludbreed Yudia, recalling the utterly insignificant white quail egg, narrowed his eyes.
“What do you think, Kiriel?”
“…I don’t know.”
Kiriel Yudia, who answered with deliberate slowness as if disinterested, appeared absorbed in rubbing the jingling cloth pouch he held between his fingertips.
At that, Ludbreed Yudia exhaled a long sigh.
“Just in case, have the internal staff keep quiet about this, and dispatch a few people from our side. Have them bring that sap as well.”
“Understood.”
The Man in Formal Attire, having heard Ludbreed Yudia’s command, bowed at the waist and slowly withdrew from the office.
“So why did you call for me…?”
Kiriel Yudia asked in a slow, languid voice.
“Why did I call you? The sacred ceremony only just ended—what in the world have you been doing?!”
“Weren’t you the one who kept asking to see your grandchildren? One son, one daughter—perfect, wouldn’t you say….”
Kiriel Yudia answered languidly with a tired expression, then let out a small yawn.
At that, Ludbreed Yudia’s face twisted as if to say, ‘How can such a creature exist?’
“How could you possibly take in children whose very origins you don’t even properly know?!”
“Wasn’t it you who told me to raise them with some sense of responsibility…?”
“I told you to keep animals, not raise children! In the first place, how are you supposed to raise anything?! How many times have you been found on the brink of starvation because you forgot to eat?!”
Kiriel Yudia furrowed his brow and rose from his seat with deliberate leisure—so slowly that an impatient person would find it maddening.
Yet that slowness didn’t make him appear dull.
Rather, that unhurried grace made Kiriel Yudia seem all the more refined and composed.
“In any case, if there’s nothing more to say, I shall take my leave….”
“You’re not actually thinking of making those children your own, are you? Keep it to guardianship.”
At Ludbreed Yudia’s words, Kiriel Yudia let out a soft laugh.
“Now that you’ve told me not to, I’m tempted to do it….”
Kiriel Yudia, murmuring softly, left the reception room without concern for the clamoring sounds coming from behind.
‘Troublesome, sleepy….’
I moved forward slowly with that thought.
In truth, I didn’t believe I would make a good parent either. As the Marquis said, I was someone for whom troublesome matters were abundant, and forgetting to eat was practically routine for me.
“Well then, thank you. I’ll visit again next time! Take care!”
Besides, they didn’t seem to particularly need parents either.
He had never truly intended to become a proper parent, but he was willing to lend his name as a guardian if the need arose.
‘What exactly is a guardian supposed to do….’
Kiriel Yudia, lost in languid thought, entered the Holy Temple that he used as his own room and collapsed onto the bed with a heavy sigh.
‘I’ll think about it after I wake up….’
He slowly closed his eyes.
At this moment, Kiriel Yudia did not yet know.
That a four-year-old child brimming with curiosity would prove far more revolutionary than expected, and that he would find himself constantly summoned because of it.
* * *
“Ugh…. I can’t read a single letter….”
Whimper.
Bunny, her face twisted in misery, buried her face deep into the pillow as she muttered softly.
There was no child younger than Bunny, and all the other children in her lessons could read. Bunny alone could not read.
Gathering her courage, Bunny quietly asked the child sitting beside her, only to learn that they had learned their letters at home from their mother or father when they were young, or from a private tutor.
Bunny entered her room, set down her homework and pile of books to one side, gathered Ma-Gom, and fastened the rabbit-shaped bag that jingled with coins back around her waist.
Then she hopped down from the bed and set off on her way.
Bunny harbored a most devious plan—a scheme so enchanting it had already conquered the Orphanage!
According to Luriel, with this alone, she would never starve no matter where she went.
Bunny had always watched Luriel make this, so she intended to use the same method this time.
The kind Director of the Orphanage gave each child five brown coins as allowance once a week—just enough to buy one small pastry at the Bakery.
Hehehehe.
‘Bunny always saved those up to buy chocolate.’
By using this method, Bunny could afford chocolate, which required a whopping thirty brown coins, once a month now that she had grown rich.
‘Bunny is the most popular with everyone.’
The Udiah Duke Family Estate would all fall right into Bunny’s trap.
The tiny Bunny glided smoothly between people who bustled about carrying luggage or armfuls of fabric.
With each of Bunny’s movements came a regular jingling sound.

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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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