The Oracle of the Villainous Baby - Chapter 87

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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 87
Kiriel raised his hand and slowly, gently stroked the child’s small back.
At his tender touch, Bunny whimpered softly and burrowed into his chest, her small fingers kneading against him.
“My dear, where do you think you’re going?”
…
“Nowhere. I won’t send you away, won’t abandon you, won’t hate you. You don’t have to do anything. You don’t need to be useful, don’t need to share any information. If you don’t want to learn Ancient Elvish, you don’t have to. Father will go to the Imperial Palace and overturn everything before the Emperor.”
His voice was languid as always, monotone as always, yet somehow soft and tender—and Bunny’s eyes widened considerably.
“You can throw tantrums, you can refuse to do things, you can be as spoiled as you want. You don’t have to do anything alone.”
…
“You’re still just a child. Lean on Father a little more. I want you to grow up happy and carefree, like any other child.”
“But… if I don’t become a wonderful adult, what if the great Demon King doesn’t acknowledge me?”
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel chuckled softly and stroked the child’s hair.
Bunny’s cheeks flushed with joy, her face brightening.
“Then you’ll simply be the daughter of a slightly less wonderful father. If that’s not enough, Father will make it enough.”
Bunny blinked a few times, then burst into childish giggles and suddenly threw her arms around Kiriel’s neck.
“I love you, Father!!”
“I love you too.”
Kiriel patted Bunny’s back, his cool eyes lowering as he glanced at his notebook and spoke.
“I love my dear daughter very much.”
* * *
“Bunny! Come here.”
“Oh? It’s Noel. How are you?”
“It’s Roel, not Noel. Thanks to you, I’m doing well. I’m healthy. Abamama said you were coming today, so I came to greet you.”
The Crown Prince Roel, beaming with a bright smile, approached Bunny in an instant and spread both arms wide in welcome.
“Um. Hel… hello.”
Seeing Roel rush toward her, Bunny nodded with an indifferent expression and accepted his greeting lightly. Then she clung to Kiriel’s leg and hung from it like a sloth.
“Oh, let’s hold hands and go together. I’ll show you the way, Bunny.”
“Bunny, today you’re like a monkey.”
“A monkey? Is that why you’re hanging on? Hmm, I can’t very well hang from my father-in-law’s leg….”
Father-in-law?
Kiriel looked down at the Crown Prince with a somewhat bewildered expression.
Sensing that gaze, the Crown Prince offered a bright smile and bowed respectfully—to the young master of a Duke’s House with no rank whatsoever.
‘Like master, like servant. The boy’s as cunning as a fox.’
This was a boy who once merely nodded perfunctorily to maintain minimal courtesy. Yet now he appeared remarkably well-mannered, as if someone else had taken his place.
Though his daughter was adorable, Kiriel had no intention of engaging in a power struggle with an eager child simply because she was his. So he nodded indifferently and accepted the greeting.
The Crown Prince’s attendants, who had followed behind, swallowed hard, their breath catching.
‘The Crown Prince….’
‘Smiled?!’
‘And with such a broad smile at that….’
The Crown Prince they remembered was arrogance incarnate.
As a member of the Royal Family, it was only natural, and no one complained, but the basic truth was that he came across as unusually taciturn and solemn for his age.
But look at him now.
With his cheeks flushed crimson, his arms spread wide open, yet he was being ignored.
And yet, watching Kiriel walk forward with Bunny clinging to his leg without a care, as if observing a completely different person, was surreal.
It was as though they were witnessing a harmless child their own age, rather than the man they knew.
‘And Kiriel Yudia, no less….’
‘Kiriel Yudia is actually walking around with a child hanging from his leg….’
‘So it’s true that he adopted a daughter this time.’
How many times had they gasped in astonishment today?
The attendants swallowed hard, struggling to keep their jaws from dropping open.
The man who treated people as though they were beneath regard, who had shut himself away in the Holy Temple and wouldn’t show his face even if the Emperor himself called a hundred times—now he walked forward without a care, a small girl clinging to his leg like some lump. It was remarkable, utterly astounding.
“Bunny, even monkeys fall from trees and get hurt, so if it becomes difficult, tell me, will you?”
“Okay!”
Moreover, the way he interacted with the child seemed practiced, natural.
“Bunny, I’m sorry about last time. I caused you trouble, didn’t I? Abamama scolded me quite severely too. And thank you for saving Noel.”
“Noel wasn’t saved by Bunny—it was Father.”
Bunny pointed at Kiriel with her finger as she spoke.
Kiriel gazed down at Bunny, who dangled so contentedly from his leg, and released a short sigh.
The moment Bunny finished speaking, Roel spun around swiftly to face Kiriel.
“Ah! Thank you so much, Father-in-law!”
“…I merely went to rescue my daughter. And I would prefer if you changed that form of address.”
As Kiriel furrowed his brow and expressed his displeasure, Roel’s eyes widened and he nodded eagerly.
“Yes! If ‘Father-in-law’ is uncomfortable, I’ll call you Father instead. And please speak casually with me. I don’t wish to hear formal speech from the father of my betrothed.”
“….”
At Roel’s cunning words, Kiriel let out a low hum of acknowledgment.
Yet it would be unbecoming for an adult to interfere in the romantic affairs of mere five and nine-year-olds.
“Where is His Majesty?”
“His Majesty is in the Reception Room. Today, Father and Bunny have simply come to share refreshments with us.”
At Roel’s words, spoken with the corners of his eyes curved upward in a smile, Kiriel nodded.
Following their discussion with the Emperor, they had decided this matter would proceed in utmost secrecy and be left unspoken. Only the Emperor, Kiriel, and Bunny would be present as observers.
Along with the Emperor’s Shadows, whose discretion was beyond question.
Though it seemed the Crown Prince might be there as well, judging by appearances.
“Bunny.”
“Yes?”
“If you’ve finished being a monkey, come down now.”
Kiriel, who had walked forward with ease despite carrying the weight of a child on one leg, arrived at the Reception Room where he was to meet the Emperor, and there he watched Bunny leap down from his leg with a bounce.
Bunny was truly a child to whom the phrase “mischievous and unpredictable” applied perfectly. She was mature, yet simultaneously whimsical.
As Kiriel took Bunny’s hand and gave a slight nod, the Soldier standing guard before the Emperor’s Reception Room announced their arrival.
“Enter.”
With the Emperor’s permission, Bunny entered, her hand clasped firmly in Kiriel’s.
Roel approached quietly and gently took Bunny’s other hand.
“My, what a long journey you’ve made. Was the trip not too arduous?”
“It was arduous.”
“I wasn’t asking you, Marquis of Yudia.”
The Emperor, his face radiant with laughter, gestured toward the Sofa Table laden with ornate desserts and cookies as he gazed upon Bunny.
“I’m delighted to see you and the Crown Prince getting along so well. I heard you’re fond of chocolate, so I’ve prepared an assortment. Come here and eat as much as you’d like. Thank you for coming all this way.”
Bunny, observing the Emperor’s smiling countenance, glanced sideways at Kiriel.
‘The human leader certainly shines more brilliantly.’
But what of it?
Even if Father didn’t gleam quite as brightly, loving him was precisely what I was meant to do.
Kiriel, sensing Bunny’s gaze, lowered his head. When their eyes met, Bunny blinked, then suddenly thrust her thumb upward toward him.
“Don’t worry, Bunny’s got your back.”
Heh.
Bunny laughed cynically and clenched her fist with confidence.
Kiriel, who had been staring intently, opened his mouth.
“…But Bunny is female, so it would be a woman of integrity.”
Though I still wasn’t entirely certain what context had spawned that meaning.
‘A woman with integrity, perhaps?’
Even as I pondered this, I simply lifted Bunny up and set her upon the sofa, then took my place beside her.

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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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