The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 161

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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 161
The innocent face had vanished without a trace, leaving behind only a countenance that had settled into an icy stillness.
In those eyes, frozen with cold fury, there remained not a shred of human emotion—only the quiet rage of something utterly inhuman.
Yes. A Demon Clan Member in its truest form. The very visage Hila had yearned to witness.
‘That’s right. This is how it should be.’
This suited her perfectly.
Let her rampage unchecked until everyone in the Empire discovered her true nature. Let them all despise her, point their fingers in accusation, cast stones upon her, and drive her to hide away in the Demon Realm….
‘That is your role.’
A role determined from the very beginning.
“She didn’t die.”
Bunny answered with clear displeasure.
“What?”
“Luriel is alive. She promised that if I become a happy adult, she’ll tell me where she is. Her body has weakened, but….”
As Bunny’s words continued, Hila’s expression grew increasingly peculiar. Then, all at once, she burst into laughter.
“Ahahaha!!”
Giggle, giggle, giggle.
Hila, who had been laughing until breathless, opened her mouth with a chilling smile.
“Your Notebook.”
“…?”
“It was created from the soul of that woman called Luriel.”
At Hila’s words, Bunny’s movements froze rigid.
Seeing the bitter emotion that surfaced on the child’s previously composed face, a faint malice flickered across Hila’s expression.
“What I’m saying is, there already exists someone made unhappy because of you.”
“Mother…!”
Shalone’s eyes widened as she called out to Hila.
Hila glared at Shalone with a rigidly hardened face.
Not a single one of them proved useful. Even Shalone, who should have unconditionally taken her side, now sided with that villainess Bunny. How could a villainess possibly become the center of everything?
‘I’ve never seen a route like this before.’
Click, click.
Hila bit her nails.
‘No, I’ve heard rumors that among the hidden routes, there’s one that starts with a villainess….’
The rumors had been rife, but no one had ever actually played it or posted a playthrough. The conditions for it were far too extreme.
Only after exhausting every route and viewing all the numerous endings prepared would the villainess character selection appear on the character selection screen.
Hila pressed her lips firmly shut.
“…A lie.”
Bunny murmured in a small voice.
Whoooosh—
Dense demonic energy swirled violently around Bunny.
At the emotion akin to terror that surfaced on the child’s now-pallid face, Shalone could not hide her bewilderment as she stared at Bunny.
“Bunny…?”
“…Tell me it’s a lie. Shalone’s Mother.”
“….”
Hila swallowed hard.
Whether there was a hidden route or not didn’t really matter to her. There was only one ending she needed to achieve. The character assigned to her was Shalone, after all. As long as she made Shalone happy, the objective was as good as accomplished.
This game was a survival game anyway. Only one person could live. Eliminating competitors was only natural. Just as she had done until now, Hila would probably have to eliminate the final competitor.
As she always had.
“Mother….”
Shalone called out to Hila.
Children had weak hearts. They were easily swayed by others. I could understand Shalone’s confusion. She might have become completely infatuated with that villain because of another competitor who suddenly appeared.
‘Then I just need to eliminate that person.’
If I erased that existence from the world entirely, there would be no problems at all.
“A lie…?”
Hila laughed softly.
“How could that be? It’s all the truth. If you want, ask your Notebook directly.”
“Why would Luriel….”
“Because that woman Luriel probably wants to return to her homeland just like I do! She can only return if she makes you happy.”
Malice poured out in torrents.
Bunny stared quietly as the malice flowing from Hila surged and rose to her very ankles.
“That woman didn’t make you happy because she loves you. It was all for herself. Because she wanted to return to the Original World…. That’s why she pretended to love you and used you! Because it would be better if you obeyed her well!”
“…No.”
“No, it’s true. Otherwise, how could a normal human being offer her very soul to a Notebook?”
Yes, she must be more than just ordinarily mad.
I don’t know how many years that woman had been in this world, but if she had lived as a Demon Clan Member in the Demon Realm, it would have been at least several decades.
At least several decades. Perhaps it had been well over a hundred years.
An ordinary modern human endured in such a world without going mad and without any purpose?
No, that couldn’t be.
‘She must have gone mad.’
She must have gone mad just like I did.
And surely only one goal kept that woman alive.
That woman had schemed. She chose the villainess as her character because it was difficult to create a happy ending.
She must have circled around that child, calculating everything from long ago.
“From the moment you were born, or perhaps even before that, she held her breath and waited. For you to grow up and become happy…. To take our Shalone’s place!”
“…No, Luri said she loves me. Because I’m so cute and kind… she really likes me so much.”
“Really? She must have explained everything about what would work well, right? She said she knew the future. She must have told you what actions would make her like you, or what actions you shouldn’t do.”
“…!”
At Hila’s words, Bunny clenched her mouth shut with fierce, upturned eyes. Her small body trembled without being able to say anything.
“No.”
“No, it’s true. That’s why I’m telling you to ask if you don’t know. I’m not sure how honestly she’ll answer. But honestly, you must be thinking of something too.”
At Hila’s words, Bunny stared at her silently, then clenched her fists tightly.
‘Did Luriel lie to me?’
Did you never actually love me?
“You were just being used!”
Luriel… was she only using me? Did she truly not love me at all?
“….”
Bunny turned her head away without a word.
“Young Master, remember this. If you stay here, one day a knight will come to make you a noble Young Lady.”
“Young Master, from now on you must become a child who isn’t troublesome. A child who accomplishes things admirably on your own.”
“Young Master, I will surely make you happy.”
“Grow up safely and leave that Dormitory Mansion. Then you will be the protagonist of this world.”
The conversations I had shared with Luriel flashed through my mind in succession.
Luriel had taught Bunny so many things. Where to stay so that someone would come find her, not to hope for love, that she must become an admirable child.
All of it.
Everything was something Luriel had taught Bunny.
“Young Master~! Our genius Young Master! This Luriel loves you most in the world. The one Luriel loves as number one is our Young Master!”
“Bunny too! Bunny too, Luri loves you most in the whole world!!”
At the memory that suddenly surfaced, Bunny blinked slowly.
Wasn’t I happy back then?
No, I was happy. So happy I felt I might die from it. I wished this happiness would continue forever.
Bunny had never once sensed a lie in Luriel’s words. Perhaps I didn’t understand it because I was a baby, but that doesn’t change the emotions I felt back then.
“…doesn’t matter.”
“What?”
“It doesn’t matter. Even if Luri used me, that’s fine. I believe Luri loved me. Because I believe it that way, that’s what matters.”
Luriel loved Bunny.
If only that premise is true, then nothing else is a problem.
Only then did Bunny gaze at Hila with a somewhat peaceful expression.
Hila looked somewhat startled, her expression dumbfounded.
“So….”
Bunny laughed brightly.
“If I can become happy and Luri can achieve what she wants and become happy too, that’s absolutely the best!”
Bunny thrust her thumb forward decisively.
In that grinning face, there was no longer a trace of worry or concern to be found.

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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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