The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 21

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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 21
“Are you both… truly all right?”
Kiriel Yudia spoke in an unusually measured tone, unable to hide his bewilderment as he posed the question.
At Kiriel’s sudden appearance, Bunny’s gaze trembled faintly as she slowly looked toward the Guard Officer, her eyes brimming with a sense of betrayal.
“A liar… a big fat liar…”
The Guard Officer flinched beneath Bunny’s stare, her eyes dripping with distrust.
The Guard Officer’s eyes darted between the elegantly dressed man whose noble bearing was unmistakable at a glance, Bunny’s eyes overflowing with betrayal, and Allen’s eyes widened in disbelief—then he opened his mouth, unable to conceal his confusion.
“My apologies. Might I ask who you are?”
“My children have caused you trouble. They seem frightened, so I’d prefer you speak with my aide instead.”
As Kiriel Yudia announced this languidly with a nod, a man in a white uniform stepped forward from behind.
“I am Lebon, aide to Young Master Kiriel Yudia. Shall we speak together?”
“Y-Yudia… the Marquis family? Then these children are…?”
The Guard Officer’s jaw fell open.
Kiriel Yudia, no less?
That peerless genius chosen by the gods—who participated in the war against the demons at such a young age and annihilated countless of them?
The Angel of Sloth, whose face is never seen?
The sole direct descendant of the Udiah Duke Family who refuses to appear at official functions, whose laziness has even caused the Marquis himself to give up?
“If you would, please explain the situation first.”
Lebon, the aide who now sat in the place where Bunny had been, spoke to the Guard Officer.
Recalling the words he had directed at Bunny moments before, the Guard Officer’s complexion paled slightly as he took his seat obediently.
* * *
…
Inside the Marquis’s carriage, Bunny and Allen exchanged cautious glances at Kiriel. With his arms crossed, Kiriel looked at them both and opened his mouth.
“Neither of you is injured or in pain anywhere?”
“N-no…”
Bunny hung her head low, her fingers fidgeting as she answered in a voice that seemed to shrink into itself. Allen merely nodded awkwardly.
“Young Master… B-Bunny didn’t break the agreement… The man promised not to tell… but he told anyway… Bunny has to pay a fine… can’t be a slave… and has to return the money… and the allowance too…”
Bunny spoke miserably, tears streaming down her cheeks.
“No, if you have no money, you leave. Why do you keep insisting on staying? The world is dangerous enough as it is, and I took in children with no connections and nowhere to go—and you dare to…? In any case, no money means you can’t stay in this house, so get out!”
“It’s just that this month we could only manage this much. We’ll pay properly next month, so please overlook it just this once. You know how it is—the rain was so heavy we couldn’t do business properly.”
“That’s your problem, not mine. Goodness, I took pity on an unmarried mother with a child, and this is what I get? This is the last time! If you can’t pay next month, you’ll have to leave!”
“Yes, thank you. Next month I’ll bring what we couldn’t give this month as well.”
“Tsk, always wearing that headscarf—it’s rather suspicious, you know. But I’ll overlook it. You understand? If anyone in this area seems connected to demons, we’re rounding them all up.”
“Oh, demons? Come on, you saw it yourself the other day. It’s not horns on my head—just an ugly scar. I wear the scarf because I don’t want people to see it.”
To stay in the house, I need money.
Without money, I’m cast out.
If I’m cast out, I can never become a great Demon King, and I’ll never see Luriel again.
“Luriel… will she be all right…?”
“Ah, it’s because I don’t have money. You need money to stay in this house. It’s difficult to hide here, and since this place runs on money, not power, it’s hard.”
“Money? Allowance?”
“Well, yes. It’s like pocket money. Humans are incredibly fond of money, you see. With money, they can do anything. Anyway, Young Master shouldn’t worry about it. Humans are just too greedy.”
“Greedy….”
“That’s right! Humans are greedy. But that’s okay. When Young Master grows up and becomes the Demon King, we can live proudly again.”
“Bunny, and big big Demon King!”
“Exactly! A really big Demon King! So you need to listen carefully to my stories and the fairy tales I tell you, and later, even without this Luriel, you must do well on your own. Understood?”
“Yes! Luri, horns come back?”
“…Of course. I told you, didn’t I? We’ll part ways soon enough, but once Young Master becomes a fine adult, you’ll be able to know exactly where Luriel has gone.”
Bunny, thinking of Luriel, clenched her fists tightly and squeezed her eyes shut before opening them again.
‘Bunny… I can’t be cast out yet.’
Only if I grow up safely here can I meet Luriel again.
“Th-this month is all I have, but next month I’ll have more. Just once more, please….”
Bunny fumbled out what she had tried to hand to the Guard Officer as a fine earlier, placed it carefully on Kiriel Yudia’s lap, and spoke with her small hands folded together prettily.
Kiriel Yudia looked at Bunny with a slightly stiffened expression. Allen’s mouth hung open as well.
‘Oh no, is the money really this little…?’
Bunny, rigid with tension, lifted the stone and spoke again.
“It’s high-grade spirit stone. I spent almost all my money buying this, so I only have a little…. The chick was hungry…”
“…Spirit stone? This?”
Kiriel narrowed his eyes and looked down at the rock, then looked back at Bunny.
Bunny nodded, tense and rigid.
After a long silence, Kiriel slowly opened his mouth.
“Bunny.”
“Yes….”
“This stone might be dangerous, so would it be alright if I inspected it once and returned it to you…?”
There was no anger or irritation in his slightly drawn-out words.
Bunny, reading the mood carefully, rolled her eyes and nodded.
“Okay….”
Allen, watching Bunny with drooping eye corners, gently squeezed her hand.
“…Marquis. Do you hate Bunny now? Is she a bother…?”
Kiriel Yudia, who had been choosing his words, hesitated again.
In truth, was Kiriel Yudia ever the type to choose his words carefully?
Yet watching Bunny’s dejected form—whose ears would surely have drooped if she had them—he felt an impulse to choose his words, and so he remained silent.
Not realizing this would cause a tremendous misunderstanding.
“My daughter is….”
After a long moment, Kiriel Yudia opened his mouth with a serious expression.
‘I’m going to be cast out.’
It was the moment Bunny squeezed her eyes shut.
Thump—a large hand settled atop her small head.
“Quite adorable.”
“Yes…?”
At words that were neither painful nor frightening, Bunny blinked her eyes.
Bunny, who had been looking thoroughly dejected, lifted her head slightly.
“I don’t know what you were thinking, but don’t worry—I won’t scold you. I’d just appreciate it if you’d be honest about why my son and daughter were doing that there….”
“T-to m-make… money….”
Kiriel Yudia, who had been watching the child with her head bowed and fingers fidgeting, dropped to one knee on the carriage floor and bent down abruptly to meet her eyes, tilting his head.
“Why?”
“Bunny can’t summon the Heu-Gyeom Dragon….”
Adults like special children, after all. Children who aren’t troublesome, who are helpful, who aren’t loud.
So….
“If Bunny has money, she’s useful, and, um, if Bunny has money… she can stay in the house…. Bunny isn’t talented but is a good child, so….”
Though she was studying hard, human language still wasn’t quite natural to her, and flustered as she was, her pronunciation had become even more slurred than usual as she rambled on, her fingers fidgeting.
“So… if I don’t have money, I can’t stay…? I didn’t know I needed permission….”

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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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