The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 198
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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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Side Story Episode 2
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Imperial Palace, Office.
“Sigh….”
Roel gripped his hair, his expression twisted in frustration.
The work never seemed to end, day after day. It had become routine—entering the bedroom attached to the office only after Bunny fell asleep, or arriving in the early hours of dawn, or sometimes not making it there at all and sleeping in the office’s adjoining bedroom.
‘Will I be able to make it tonight?’
I hadn’t eaten breakfast properly and had been working all morning, yet the tasks kept piling up endlessly.
Meeting requests continued to arrive, multiple conferences were scheduled, and the visiting foreign delegation required careful attention.
After all, since the Empire had begun exchanges with the Demon Clan and Elves from other lands, there was clear interest in how the Empire’s civilization had developed so remarkably.
I couldn’t afford to neglect this. And I certainly didn’t want information leaking out carelessly.
Especially the Dark Elves, as they were now called, had established their own village in a quiet corner of the Demon Realm.
Naturally, they still had no desire for contact with humans.
Bunny was watching over them, but I kept their location strictly confidential to ensure nothing leaked out without permission. It was also the Elves’ requirement.
They didn’t want contact with other races while they were adapting.
Because of that, even I didn’t know their exact location.
“Sigh….”
In any case, for all these various reasons, the work never ended.
‘…I can barely afford to impress Bunny as it is….’
My favorability rating with her was definitely dropping when I could barely afford to lose points.
Just as Roel released his grip on his hair and let out a long sigh.
Crash—!
With a loud noise….
“Roel! Let’s go!”
An angelic demon suddenly descended.
Roel’s eyes widened in shock.
“B-Bunny? What’s going on here!”
“I came to kidnap you.”
“…Kidnap?”
“Yeah, let’s go.”
Bunny set down the letter she had written herself and scooped Roel up in a princess carry.
“…!”
Roel’s eyes widened in shock.
“W-Wait a moment. Bunny. This isn’t right.”
“No, it’s right.”
Bunny snorted sharply.
At her oddly resolute expression, Roel blinked blankly.
“Why are you suddenly like this, Bunny.”
“But… we haven’t seen each other in so long!”
“That’s true….”
Roel fell silent, at a loss for words.
“We’re still newlyweds! We should be sweet and affectionate, biting and sucking, with honey dripping everywhere!”
“…What novel did you read this time?”
“【They Made Passionate Love.】”
“…”
The shock of discovering that Bunny’s hobby was reading romance novels.
And she was reading them stolen from her older sister Shalone, no less.
“Speaking of which, I heard that Simon and Shalone are getting married soon.”
“…Huh? I didn’t hear about it. Why didn’t Sister’s beloved number one younger sibling hear about this?”
Bunny spoke with a serious expression and scooped Roel into a princess carry before launching into the air.
“Wait, you’re really going? Where?!”
“It’s fine! I wrote a letter to Father.”
What kind of letter…
Bunny flapped her wings. The Imperial Palace receded in an instant.
Roel’s face darkened as he thought of the documents piled high as mountains, the meeting requests he hadn’t yet attended to, and the remaining meetings scheduled.
“Did you want to play today? If you’d told me beforehand, I could have made time somehow.”
“I want to play today, and tomorrow, and the day after tomorrow, and next week, and the week after that too?”
“…What?”
Roel blinked. His expression showed he couldn’t quite comprehend what he was hearing.
“…Bunny, where exactly are we going right now?”
“To finish our honeymoon!”
“…What about work?”
“Hmph.”
Bunny laughed with utter confidence.
“Father said that a country where the king goes on strike and things still run smoothly isn’t really a country.”
“…?”
“And I left a letter too.”
“A letter?”
“Yes. For your father.”
He didn’t even dare ask what letter she’d written.
Roel’s lips trembled.
“…I can’t, Bunny. I have to work.”
“You can rest.”
“I can’t.”
If he, who had married a Demon Clan Member, failed to do his job properly, people would certainly point fingers.
They would say he was bewitched by the Demon King, that Demon Clan Members were indeed bad people, and never stop talking about it.
No one could point fingers at Bunny. To prevent that, Roel had been trying to work even more perfectly…
Even if things didn’t fall apart, they might not run smoothly either.
He didn’t want to see the innocent look on Bunny’s face turn to tears.
“I can’t, Bunny. Let’s go back.”
“I don’t want to. Why? Don’t you want to play with me, Roel?”
“No, I do want to play with you. I’ll make time somehow. If I work hard, I can manage about four days.”
Four days?! That’s absurd!
Bunny’s eyes widened and she shook her head.
“You can’t make a baby in four days!”
“…What?”
“Even if that’s not it, I want to have real fun. Why are you so determined to work so hard?”
Roel’s mouth snapped shut.
“Bunny, do you like me?”
“Yes.”
“So… um. Am I the one you love most in the world?”
“Father is the one I love most in the world.”
Bunny tilted her head.
“And Luriel too.”
They were her benefactors and her only parents.
So… to be honest, no matter who comes in the future, Father and Luriel will always be my number one.
“…I see.”
“But after them, I like you the most, Roel.”
“….”
“What’s wrong?”
Bunny, who had descended into a forest that was reasonably sparse of people, tilted her head. Something about Roel’s atmosphere felt strange. Like something was troubling him.
As she gazed at him with a puzzled expression, Roel smiled faintly and shook his head.
“It’s nothing, really.”
There’s nothing to say about shamefully indulging in jealousy. Because that’s exactly what he was doing.
“But we have to work. If I don’t work, people might speak ill of you.”
“Why?”
“Well, there are still many people who believe the Demon Clan is evil.”
“So what if people speak ill of me?”
Bunny tilted her head in confusion. Whether people spoke ill of her or not, she didn’t see how it mattered much.
“Will you speak ill of me too, Roel?”
“Me?! Never!”
Roel’s eyes widened and he shook his head.
“Father and Luriel and my older brothers won’t speak ill of me either. Probably.”
“That’s… obvious.”
“And Sister Shalone won’t either.”
“…What.”
“Melissa, Pel, and Lebon won’t speak ill of me either.”
At Bunny’s words, Roel found himself speechless. Everything she said was true, but it was all so obvious.
The real issue wasn’t whether these people would speak ill of her, but rather people’s perceptions and prejudices.
“Roel.”
“Yes.”
“Not everyone can like me.”
“…!”
Roel’s eyes widened sharply.
“It’s impossible to be loved by everyone. Of course, it’s also impossible to earn everyone’s approval.”
Impossible.
Not difficult—impossible. Coming from Bunny’s lips, who was always innocent and optimistic, it was a startling thing to hear.
As I stood there momentarily stunned, Bunny smiled faintly and pulled me deeper into the forest.
“But isn’t it enough that there’s someone who loves me and trusts me, no matter what happens?”
“….”
“Do humans really need approval from countless people? Isn’t the trust and recognition of one person enough?”
Patter, patter.
I followed silently behind Bunny.
A head shorter, delicate skin, a seemingly fragile back. Yet always walking ahead of me, stronger than anyone who had ever saved me.
Standing before her, I always felt small. Even though I’d grown far larger than in childhood, possessed far more, and become Emperor….
“I believe in you, Roel. Even if you laze about at home, I’ll believe it’s because you worked hard and deserve to rest.”
“….”
I still felt small before Bunny.
“Isn’t I enough?”
“…How could that be?”
“Then why are you anxious?”
“It’s just that compared to you, I feel so inadequate. You’re… so radiant that sometimes standing beside you makes me feel insignificant. I feel like I need to do better, work harder, or you won’t like me….”
Bunny tilted her head.
“I like you right now, though?”
“…Still, a little more.”
“I like you so much, though?”
I wanted to keep being together, wanted to play, wanted to talk, wanted to roll around in bed together.
“Yes.”
That expression of complete disbelief.
“It’s because we don’t have a child, isn’t it?”
“Huh…?”
“Let’s go!”
Bunny scooped me up without hesitation and dashed off somewhere.
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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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