The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 25

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————

Chapter 25
Bunny stared sullenly at those offering apologies, then decided magnanimously to forgive them.
After all, good children didn’t trouble adults.
‘If I throw a tantrum here, I’ll be petty…’
Bunny made a conscious effort to suppress her pouting, determined to become an adult who wasn’t petty.
“Well done.”
Bunny’s eyes widened as she nestled in Kiriel’s embrace. A rough hand had tapped the top of her head.
“If you think you’re going to get hit again, just hit back. You’re not supposed to go around getting beaten. Understand…?”
“…Mm.”
Bunny, growing limp and pliant, rested her cheek against Kiriel’s shoulder and laughed softly.
‘So warm…’
Human bodies were warm.
‘Luriel’s body was always cold…’
It was peculiar.
Humans were clearly wicked creatures, yet their embrace was endlessly warm—a fact that struck her as wonderfully strange.
“There.”
After Kiriel uttered a brief word and patted her back clumsily, Bunny, who had been nodding drowsily, soon let her head drop.
Kiriel Yudia gazed down at those still unable to lift their heads before him, then spoke slowly.
“Next time, I’ll move myself. If you see my daughter, avert your eyes.”
“Y-yes…?”
“Avert your eyes if you see my daughter…’
Spoken slowly yet with a razor-sharp edge, his words sent the entire cadet branch hurrying to bow their heads.
Since the Mansion of Trials had been established, the hierarchical strife based on rankings had intensified.
Moreover, the cadet branches had begun to check and counter one another frequently, all to climb even a single rank higher.
Even without reaching the top ranks, the benefits granted by a higher ranking were substantial enough to pave a smooth path forward.
‘Exhausting.’
Feeling lethargic throughout, Kiriel took long strides while cradling Bunny in his arms.
He couldn’t fathom what she trusted him with to feel so at ease, but watching her serene contentment made him want nothing more than to sleep while holding this warm, soft creature.
* * *
Bunny was serious again today.
With her short arms crossed, Bunny blinked as she gazed at the egg that had grown to be as large as she was tall.
Bunny tapped the egg gently.
“Heu-Gyeom Dragon, when will you be born?”
Grown this large, a magnificent black flame dragon would surely be born. Then Bunny would no longer be an ordinary Bunny—she would become remarkable and admirable.
She pressed her ear close and waited for a response, but no voice came.
Well, the baby Heu-Gyeom Dragon couldn’t be helped!
With that thought, Bunny pulled Luriel’s notebook from the pocket on Toto’s chest and bounded onto the bed.
Luriel’s notebook frequently had its contents changed or additions made. So Bunny made it a habit to check it every night before sleep, searching for any new entries.
Have you grown closer to your guardian?
(If not, turn to page 288)
A soft hum.
“I see. Then I’ll have to punish them. Expelling everyone should suffice.”
“Or, if anyone can prove before the scales that my daughter lied, let them step forward. If it’s proven to be true, I’ll apologize personally.”
Bunny helped me out. We’re close now, right?
“Yes!”
Bunny nodded vigorously and answered with enthusiasm.
Well, I’m sure you succeeded without even needing to see it! Young Master, shall we move on to the second operation now?
The second operation?
Bunny tilted her head curiously, then flipped the page while lying prone and kicking her legs playfully.
The second operation! “The adorable, clever, and slightly pitiful Young Master conquers the Duke’s House!” That’s the operation. Later, when
the heroine arrives
and a new child is adopted, we need to rack up points so you don’t give the impression of being disliked or useless. And that would be…
“That would be!”
The cuteness operation! No human can resist an adorable baby!
The ultimate cliché! Since Young Master’s household is the type that looks cold on the surface but is actually warm inside
anyway, let’s drop all the difficult words and just… be cute!
“Cute!!”
Bunny clenched her fists tightly as she communicated earnestly with the notebook.
“Marquis… let Bunny trap you completely.”
That’s how she would make him fall for her just like the orphanage children had.
With her resolve set, Bunny nodded her small head repeatedly as she read through Luriel’s notebook diligently.
* * *
“Good morning, Marquis.”
“…Bunny? What’s the matter so early?”
For Kiriel Yudia, who slept at dawn and woke late in the morning, 5:20 AM was far too early an hour.
Roused by the persistent knocking from early morning, he opened the door with a drowsy face to find Bunny beaming at him.
Water dripped from her hair and her shoulders were soaked, her clothes loose and disheveled as if she’d been caught in an explosion.
“I like you, Marquis.”
Bunny came rushing over and clung to Kiriel Yudia’s legs, delivering this bombshell of a statement.
“Huh…?”
What was this all of a sudden?
Well, hearing her say she liked him did make his chest tingle slightly, but he couldn’t help wondering if this was appropriate at such an ungodly hour of the morning.
‘…Raising a child is no simple task.’
He couldn’t fathom what was going through her mind at all.
Deprived of sufficient sleep and suddenly awakened, the headache forming in his mind made him stare blankly at Bunny, but she soon released the leg she’d been gripping and withdrew without hesitation.
“Then goodbye!”
“…?”
In other words, she was turning to leave as if she’d already completed her mission, like a general who’d finished his work.
Rarely showing bewilderment on his face, Kiriel hastily reached out and grasped the child’s hand.
“Wait, wait. Little one.”
“Huh?”
“Is that what you came to tell me?”
“Yes!”
“At this hour of the morning?”
“Yes! It’s my morning greeting!”
A morning greeting….
Should I really explain that no one exchanges morning greetings at 5:20 in the morning?
Kiriel paused in thought, exhaling a short sigh as he observed the child’s damp shoulders and shirt clinging to her skin.
“Your hair is soaked. What happened?”
For a moment, Kiriel’s brow furrowed, wondering if she’d been caught in a sudden downpour on her way here.
But Bunny’s lips trembled slightly before she planted her hands on her hips and thrust her chest forward proudly.
“Bunny did it all by myself—splash splash splash splash.”
“Splash splash… what?”
“Brush brush too. And rinse rinse. I can do it all by myself.”
“…Do… what exactly?”
Bunny giggled at the drowsy look in his eyes, wiggling her short, sausage-like fingers left and right—tap, tap, tap.
“It means totally awesome.”
“…Who on earth taught you such words?”
“That’s…!”
Bunny’s eyes widened as she opened her mouth to mention Luriel, but she suddenly stopped herself.
‘…It’s a secret.’
Bunny, you have to keep secrets.
You can’t tell the Marquis anything.
Because you tricked the Marquis into becoming your father, and when you grow up and become the Demon King, you have to leave this house.
Bunny fidgeted with her fingers and cautiously opened her mouth.
“It was the big sister who took care of me a long time ago.”
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel’s eyes narrowed.
‘She had a guardian?’
Well, if she hadn’t grown up in the Orphanage from birth, she might have had some sort of guardian.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, then chuckled softly.
“I see. Anyway….”
He scooped Bunny into his arms and carried her to his room.
The cold room contained only a bed and a desk.
Kiriel sat Bunny on the bed, retrieved a towel from the bathroom, draped it over her head, and sat beside her, gently drying her hair as he asked.
“Why did you bathe alone?”
“Because grown-ups wash themselves. Bunny is grown up.”
“What about the maids?”
“Maids? Oh! Those aren’t mine. Um… they belong to lots of other children. The… the shared servants…? Right.”
“You mean the common staff….”
Kiriel answered in a drowsy voice.
Bunny’s head swayed back and forth with each movement of Kiriel’s hand.
Though his touch was clumsy—more akin to vigorous scrubbing than gentle caressing—Bunny uttered not a single complaint.
“Yes. The dragon is my maid.”
Kiriel, observing Bunny nod with utmost seriousness, abandoned any attempt at further explanation.
“Now that I think about it, the Lower Ranks operated under such a system. I’d forgotten.”
Kiriel spoke as one who, despite having entered the Mansion of Trials according to household rules, had never once occupied a lower rank throughout his entire life.
‘I should have assigned her a maid from the start.’
There wouldn’t even be a knight.

—————
This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
—————