The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 32

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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 32
After leaving the Boy’s Room, Bunny resumed her exploration of the Imperial Palace.
‘A hundred rooms in the Imperial Palace.’
No matter how many doors she opened, new passages appeared at every turn. Of course, only a limited number of doors were actually unlocked or could be opened.
In any case, just as Bunny was diligently exploring and rounding a corner, she heard something.
“Hey, did you hear? It sounds like the Crown Prince will be leaving soon….”
At the sudden sound of voices, Bunny’s footsteps came to an abrupt halt.
‘The Crown Prince…?’
The future human leader from the fairy tales.
‘That shimmering, beautiful golden hair.’
Bunny pressed her back firmly against the wall and waited for the maids to pass. If she was caught eavesdropping like this, it would be troublesome.
“That’s right. The physicians have already given up. Even the great Udiah Duchy can’t do anything about it, it seems. They say the purification won’t work. And he’s only nine years old.”
“I know. It’s such a pity for His Majesty. He’s the only heir. And Her Majesty the Empress can no longer bear children….”
“Hey! You two, watch your tongues! What are you saying in the Imperial Palace?”
Someone interjected sharply among the whispering voices, startled.
Bunny peeked her head around the corner, then quickly pulled it back.
“No, we were just….”
“If you want to keep your position, you’d better watch what you say!”
At the harsh voice, Bunny tapped the floor with the tip of her nose—tap, tap.
Pitter-patter-patter.
After quietly listening to their conversation, Bunny spun around and retraced her steps.
* * *
‘Not this one, not this one either….’
Bunny systematically reopened each slightly ajar door and light-looking entrance she had passed, poking her head in and out.
“Found it!”
There was another heavy-looking door, slightly ajar, just like before.
Bunny squeezed her head through the gap and quickly surveyed the surroundings. No one was inside.
Slipping through the door, she scampered across the room and hung from the enormous bed on her tiptoes.
The bed was so high and massive that no matter how much she struggled while dangling, she couldn’t pull herself up.
With no other choice, Bunny dragged a nearby chair in front of the bed and climbed onto it, wobbling slightly.
Then she hopped onto the bed, and it sank softly beneath her, embracing her warmly.
“…The future leader has a nice bed.”
Bunny’s own bed.
As Bunny recalled her own bed—not quite as plush as this one—her eyes narrowed slightly.
“…Hah, huh….”
Looking down at the boy whose entire body was drenched in cold sweat as he breathed heavily, Bunny gently placed her small hand, delicate as a maple leaf, on his forehead.
Warm, so warm.
If the future human leader dies, the current leader will be sad.
‘…It’s sad when a mother and father and baby are separated.’
Bunny thought to herself.
‘Bunny was sad too when she said goodbye to her mom and dad.’
If this child died, everyone would surely grieve.
Sadness was something Bunny disliked. She shook her head firmly and glanced around once more, scanning the surroundings carefully.
‘If I’m discovered, Bunny is done for.’
I had to return without being caught, no matter what.
“Huff… gasp, wheeze…”
“You’ll be fine now.”
Pat, pat.
Bunny gently tapped the cheeks of the boy lying motionless as if dead, careful not to hurt him.
『Come here.』
Clear Demon Clan speech leaked from between Bunny’s lips.
Bunny’s round pupils split vertically, and her deep pink irises turned crimson before brightening with heightened saturation, gleaming brilliantly.
Small horns sprouted from atop Bunny’s head.
The center of the Demon Clan.
The master of the Demon Clan.
The true form of the Demon Realm.
At the command of the future master, the pitch-black energy gnawing at the boy’s insides seeped out through his mouth, nose, and ears, beginning to flow into Bunny’s horns.
Whoosh.
Bunny pressed down firmly on the sharp horns sprouting from both sides of her head with her palms.
“Not yet, go back.”
It wasn’t time yet.
I had to remain human.
Only then could I grow up, only then could I meet Luriel again, only then could I become the great Demon King.
As Bunny pressed down on the small horns with her tiny palms, they gradually faded from sight.
“There we go!”
Bunny giggled and lowered her gaze.
On the bed lay the boy, his complexion noticeably brighter than before. His ragged breathing had ceased, and he no longer perspired.
‘Bunny feels so heavy…’
For some reason, my body felt incredibly heavy, as if buried beneath a thick, suffocating blanket.
Spinning, spinning.
“Ugh. I need to go back…”
With my vision spinning, I forced my eyes to focus and tried to step down from the chair again, but suddenly my body swayed dangerously.
Thump.
My legs gave out, and I collapsed onto the bed with a soft plop.
Bunny shook her head side to side. The world spun before her eyes.
I struggled and tried desperately to stand, but I couldn’t regain my senses as the world whirled around me.
“Can’t…”
My swaying body tumbled forward.
Bunny fumbled to raise her hand, checking once more if the horns were still there, then closed her eyes.
‘The bed is so soft…’
I can’t leave because Fluffy told me not to.
Soon, Bunny’s face flushed crimson, her breathing growing ragged, and her thoughts came to an abrupt halt. She couldn’t think anymore.
“….”
Not long after Bunny fell asleep, the Golden-Haired Boy slowly opened his eyes.
“…What is this child?”
The Boy’s crimson eyes blinked slowly.
In truth, he had been conscious since the moment the child entered the room and dragged the chair about. He was simply curious about what she intended to do by climbing onto the bed.
Though he couldn’t discern exactly what had transpired while his eyes remained closed, the moment this small child’s hand touched his forehead, something that had been ravaging his entire body began to gradually fade away.
And… now, there was no pain at all.
The strange, searing discomfort that had always burned within him was gone, and that sensation of something gnawing away at his insides piece by piece had vanished.
‘My body feels light.’
The Boy thought, his eyes widening.
Years ago, around the time news reached the Empire that the Demon King had died, a Demon Clan Member who had infiltrated the Royal Palace left him a curse and chose death.
From that day forward, hell began.
The Boy’s entire body was relentlessly gnawed away and eroded by demonic energy. He couldn’t sleep, and even when he did, he would endlessly wander through nightmares.
What difference did it make to keep his eyes open?
None. If he was conscious, his entire body ached. If he slept, his mind suffered instead.
How many times had he prayed to God?
He had gone to the Holy Temple and received baptism with holy water, and people from the Udiah Duke Family Estate had come repeatedly to suppress the demonic energy, but it was all in vain.
Days of waiting for death.
A terminal diagnosis.
Everyone said so.
No one could possibly understand.
That horrifying sensation of demonic energy, of that demon, crawling beneath his feet ceaselessly, day and night, clawing at his entire body at every moment.
Today was still one of those days.
One of those days when he spent more time unconscious than conscious.
He knew. Everyone was now looking at him with pitying eyes, already accepting his death.
On the surface, he smiled and said he was fine, but inside, he was already rotting away.
But then….
‘This child who appeared suddenly….’
The one who had come and left earlier must surely be this child.
“Huh… Gasp, gasp….”
“You’re fine now.”
The moment he heard that small voice, everything truly became fine. Like magic. This child had accomplished what no one else could.
『Come here.』
Suddenly recalling that strange, childlike voice, Roel’s eyes narrowed.
Roel had heard that particular pronunciation only once before.
『We curse you. We curse and curse and curse again those who slew our great God, our noble King, our lives, our one and only guide!! Since you have shattered our moon, your sun too must surely break…. Repay with death, atone with death, regret in eternal agony.』
The Nanny who had raised him since childhood had spoken in that language on the day she went mad.
Though he still couldn’t understand what it meant or what it signified, he could tell that the child’s earlier words bore a striking resemblance to it.
She’s running a high fever.
Roel pressed his hand against Bunny’s forehead as she collapsed into sleep, then urgently pulled the bell cord.
“Who are you, little one?”
Roel cradled Bunny in his arms and whispered softly against her ear.

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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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