The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 149

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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 149
‘…And then there’s Shalone….’
I rubbed my face.
There were things I needed to ask Bunny.
The main ones would be about Bunny’s parents. It was time I learned the truth.
‘What did my brother want…. What made him decide to be with the Demon King, and why hasn’t he returned….’
I wanted to know.
How he came to think that way, how he could abandon and turn his back on us. How he came to have such a child in the meantime.
“Bunny.”
“Yes?”
“Are you alright?”
“About what?”
“…The Priests earlier, and other things like that.”
I fumbled over my words in a way unlike myself. I couldn’t bring myself to ask directly if she’d been hurt when everyone so openly shunned her.
Bunny nodded.
“Father, I’m not that young, and my heart isn’t weak either.”
Bunny let out a long sigh and shook her head, then spoke.
I nodded awkwardly.
“Is that so?”
“Yes. It’s all something I’ve thought about. Since I know I’m a bad Demon Clan member, there’s nothing I can do about it. I do look scary, and sometimes when a really big man stands in front of me, I get a little frightened….”
At Bunny’s words, I burst out laughing without dignity. It was funny seeing her shake her head at me with an expression that said I didn’t understand the ways of the world.
“That’s right. Our daughter is stronger than Father.”
“Of course. I’m going to protect you, Father.”
The child pounded her small fist against her chest.
“By the way, when did this person Luriel start taking care of you?”
“She said it was even before Bunny was born!”
“Really…? Then you must have met Bunny’s mother and father too?”
At my question, Bunny nodded eagerly.
“Luriel had incredibly weak power, she said.”
“Weak?”
“Yes.”
Bunny nodded.
My expression became subtle. That made sense, because if you had to define the word “Demon Clan” in one phrase, it could be summed up as “survival of the fittest.”
The Demon Realm and its Demon Clan members were places where the weak had no rights and were simply trampled upon as a matter of course.
‘But a weak one was entrusted with the Demon King’s child?’
If the Demon King hadn’t intended to abandon the child, this wouldn’t be a particularly efficient choice.
“But Luriel was incredibly intelligent and clever, and not just Bunny’s mother, but all the Demon Clan members loved Luriel so much. Luriel said she was super popular and had even received marriage proposals from three different Demon Clan members.”
“…Really?”
“Yes!”
The child chattered away excitedly at this rare mention of Luriel.
‘A proposal, of all things…?’
Kiriel Yudia understood better than anyone how difficult it was for the word “proposal” to even apply to the Demon Clan.
They were a race fundamentally incapable of experiencing love.
As the Elf Leptha had said, they were born from every dark emotion and desire that existed in the world.
While there were those among them who formed bonds with humans, and perhaps through learning they could come to experience love, the established truth remained: between Demon Clan members themselves, no emotion existed beyond instinctive lust.
“Mother liked Luriel too. Enough to entrust Bunny to her! She used to talk with Luriel often. A friend to talk to? A conversational partner? That’s what she was.”
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel nodded with a slightly awkward expression.
‘So that affection was deep enough for her to spend her own life force to create an artifact for the child.’
If that were the case, the Demon King had chosen Bunny’s caretaker exceptionally well.
Kiriel gave a short nod.
“I see. She was a good nanny.”
“Yes. Luriel is Bunny’s benefactor! So Bunny hopes Luriel will be happy too.”
Bunny hugged the rabbit bag tightly as she spoke. Every doll the child held in her arms had clearly been made by that nanny called Luriel.
“…Father, could I speak with Luriel sometime later?”
“You want to talk with Luriel? Luriel said… Father can only meet her when Bunny becomes a wonderful adult.”
“Ah, you mean that notebook. The notebook seemed incredibly clever.”
“That’s right. It must have been made with magic… Sometimes it acts so much like Luriel! Like Luriel is really alive.”
Bunny’s eyes trembled slightly as she murmured softly. Then she broke into a small smile.
“That can’t be right! It must be a notebook created because Luriel was so incredibly clever.”
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel slowly closed his mouth.
He knew well how Demon Clan artifacts were created.
Demon Clan artifacts required a sacrifice.
The soul of a sentient being.
Suddenly, an uneasy premonition flickered through Kiriel’s mind.
‘…Does Bunny not know how artifacts are made?’
That would mean Luriel deliberately hadn’t taught her. Yet she’d had time to teach useless ancient Elvish.
‘…I hope this isn’t something that will make Bunny sad.’
For some reason, an ominous feeling settled over him.
* * *
Whoosh, whoosh.
“….”
Patting the sleeping child’s back, Kiriel Yudia gazed at the notebook spread before him.
Before bed, Bunny had chattered away with Luriel about something and then handed it to him.
The notebook had nothing written in it.
He extended his index finger and tapped the notebook gently. The pages fluttered, and then words began to appear.
Kiriel Yudia. I heard that the Young Master wanted to speak with me.
Of course. Bunny had conversed with Luriel right in front of him.
The child had held the notebook and spoken with it as if Luriel were truly there.
It was a conversation that couldn’t possibly be attributed to mere magic. An artifact can carry the will of its creator, but not to the extent of conversing like a person.
Kiriel extended his finger and placed it on the notebook, then opened his mouth. He had no way of knowing how the notebook perceived conversation.
“Why….”
Kiriel Yudia tucked the blanket around the child, then opened his mouth in a hushed voice.
“Why did you become an artifact?”
Luriel fell silent at Kiriel’s question.
She remained wordless for quite some time. It was such a prolonged silence that I momentarily doubted whether the notebook was functioning properly.
How did you figure it out?
After a long while, words appeared on the page with a faint scratching sound.
Kiriel Yudia stared at it in silence before exhaling. The fact that she admitted it so readily was rather surprising.
Does the Young Master know as well?
“No.”
Please don’t tell him. It’s not the right time yet. It’s something he’ll come to understand naturally as he grows older.
“Bunny will be sad.”
If the Young Master finds happiness, there will be at least one thing she won’t have to grieve over.
Luriel uttered words laden with meaning.
At those words, Kiriel Yudia’s expression became strange.
He pressed his lips firmly together and narrowed his eyes.
Bunny had certainly said that Luriel knew many things.
She spoke like prophecies about things that hadn’t yet occurred, or offered guidance on how to handle problems when they arose.
“You’ve said strange things to Bunny from time to time. I heard you can even make prophecies.”
Luriel fell silent at Kiriel’s words.
Kiriel stared at the notebook for a long moment before slowly speaking. Though he found it utterly unbelievable that he was using a Demon artifact, he had to ask regardless.
“You must have heard from Bunny earlier, but information about her has spread throughout the Dormitory Mansion. It seems to be the work of the newly appointed High Priest and… probably Shalone’s Mother.”
….
Even after Kiriel said this much, no words appeared on the notebook. Anyone watching would surely have thought him a madman talking to a notebook.
“I don’t know the reason, but… anyway, I was planning to take Bunny away. Just to a quiet place. But she refused. She said she’d stay here and face it head-on.”
….
“You said you see the future. What do you think should be done for Bunny? How can she have the happy future you envision?”
The Kiriel of old could never have imagined such a thing. Speaking to an artifact of the wicked Demon Clan, no less. Expecting an answer from that artifact.
Yet Kiriel was desperate in his own way. If word had spread through the Udiah Duchy, it wouldn’t be long before rumors reached the Imperial Court and High Society. When that happened, he feared the wounds Bunny would suffer.
‘I can’t leave things as they are.’
That was the premonition he felt.
Luriel remained quiet even at Kiriel’s question.
This time too, she was silent for quite a long while. Whether she was deep in thought or for some other reason, there was no way to tell.
After an interminable silence, words finally began to appear on the notebook.

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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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