# Chapter 2
Chapter 2
“Wow…”
Bunny tried to jump off the carriage, but Roden Heiner held her up, letting her safely touch the ground, her mouth wide open in awe.
‘So white, fancy, and shiny!’
It was a grand mansion with a large house towering high into the sky and a striking blend of white and shiny gold.
Anyway, for Bunny, it was the first time she had ever seen such a big mansion.
A white mansion!
“This way, please.”
With her eyes wide open, Bunny followed Roden Heiner, walking along.
Inside the large white mansion, there were a lot of people dressed in white clothes.
Many people were carrying thick books, and there were also many people wearing shiny silver armor.
“Gasp.”
As Bunny closely watched them, she took a deep breath.
“Little one, little one.
You must never go near the people in white clothes.
They might hurt you.
Do you understand?”
It reminded her of Luriel’s seventh piece of advice.
‘White clothes, bad people!
White things, bad things!’
As Bunny was walking along, she met the eyes of someone in a fluttering white outfit holding a book, and she immediately jumped on the spot.
Thump, thump, thump—
Feeling very nervous, Bunny pulled her head down like a turtle and quickly moved closer to the knight’s side.
She glanced at Roden Heiner’s outfit and nodded with a satisfied expression.
‘The knight is wearing black clothes!
So, it’s safe!’
Seeing Roden Heiner dressed in a black robe that covered his whole body, Bunny sighed in relief and pretended to wipe sweat with her sleeve.
Hearing that deep sigh, which sounded too worried for a child, Roden Heiner, who was walking in step with her, looked at the child with a puzzled expression.
The child, who was walking briskly with her short arms and legs, had a black bunny bag on her back, with its limp limbs occasionally swinging with each step.
Whatever she had stuffed inside, the bunny, which should have been slim, was now oddly bulging and even looked lumpy in places.
‘It looks like a muscular bunny.’
The thought made Roden Heiner chuckle slightly, then he stopped himself.
Was being around a child making his brain childish too?
Was it just because she was particularly young?
For some reason, he couldn’t help but notice her.
Although he hadn’t told Bunny, only children over the age of ten were supposed to enter this “Mansion of Trials,” but considering her special circumstances of having no guardian, they decided to bring her directly.
“Miss, do you have any questions?”
“Questions?”
“Yes.
I will explain everything when we arrive, but you can ask first if you’d like.”
At Roden Heiner’s words, Bunny showed a moment of hesitation, then quickly raised her right hand.
The orphanage director had said that when you ask a question, you should raise your right hand high.
‘That’s the rule of humans.’
Of course, since Bunny was going to be a great demon king, she didn’t need to follow such rules, but human adults supposedly liked good kids who listened well.
“Is there a reason why the white people are so mean?”
“Ah.
The people in white clothes are from the temple.”
“Temple…?”
“Yes.
The temple purifies monsters and exterminates demons to protect the peace of the people.”
Roden Heiner knelt on one knee and calmly explained at eye level so that the child could easily understand.
Boom!
At the same time, Bunny saw an illusion as if a huge rock was falling onto her head.
Bunny’s mouth fell wide open.
“Little one, among those people in white clothes, there are some who are extremely dangerous.”
“Dangerous people?”
“Yes, the people from the temple.
So, you must not go near the temple.
Especially, the ones you should never get close to are the holy knights dressed in pure white uniforms from head to toe.
They have no mercy, and they might gobble up a small child like you in an instant.”
Remembering Luriel’s words, Bunny widened her eyes and looked up.
Now that she thought about it, she could see a glimpse of white fabric inside Roden Heiner’s robe, who had leaned down slightly to explain.
Temple?
Knight…?
Roden, a holy knight?!
‘Bunny… in big danger…?’
If they find out that Bunny is destined to become the Great Demon King, will they eat her up?
Bunny, trembling, slowly backed away, keeping exactly three steps away from Roden Heiner.
Of course, to Roden Heiner, this wasn’t even one step.
“Miss?”
“Roden, are you a temple knight?”
Roden?
Roden Heiner’s cheeks twitched as he barely maintained his composure and spoke.
“No, I am a knight belonging to the Duchy of Eudia.”
‘Ah, what a relief.’
If he’s not from the temple, it’s safe.
Bunny is totally safe!
Feeling satisfied after hearing his answer, Bunny smiled widely and moved closer to Roden Heiner's leg again.
‘There are too many people in white clothes elsewhere!’
Roden Heiner’s expression filled with confusion as he couldn’t understand Bunny’s behavior of moving closer and farther away repeatedly.
‘Could it be that her leg is hurting?’
Roden Heiner, who was worried, crouched down again and asked cautiously.
“Are you alright?
Should I carry you if your leg hurts?”
“No!”
Bunny jumped up and down, showing she was strong, and smiled brightly.
Roden Heiner hesitated for a moment, then cleared his throat and spoke softly.
“In any case, the Duchy of Eudia is a sacred family that has produced high priests, commanders of holy knights, and saints for generations.
It is also the only family allowed to possess the Knights of the Divine, who surpass even the holy knights, boasting unparalleled meritocracy.”
Huh?
As difficult words poured out, Bunny’s eyes spun in circles.
That was because Bunny, despite being a genius who perfectly learned human language in just one year at the orphanage —though her pronunciation was clumsy and her grammar was a mess— still didn’t know many difficult words since she was just a young adult.
Anyway, after chewing over the words for a long time, Bunny managed to pull out a few words and carefully opened her mouth.
“A-a divine competent family?”
“No, a sacred family that prioritizes merit.”
“Hmm.”
Anyway, that means they’re amazing, right?
Since it’s a ducal family, there must be a super strong demon dad here too, right?
Bunny, who only knew one ducal family from the story Luriel had told her, smiled brightly and roughly nodded.
Then Roden Heiner spoke again, with a somewhat proud expression.
“And a few years ago, it was the direct lineage of the Duchy of Eudia that led the war against the demons to victory.”
Boom—!
Flash!
Thunder and lightning struck above Bunny's head.
—At least, that’s what happened in Bunny’s imagination.—
‘The Duke… exterminated the demons?!’
The scary Duchy of Eudia!
“Little one, if you ever get close to the people from the temple, you must never let them know that you are the successor of the Great Demon King.
Got it?
Even in a tiger’s den, if you keep your wits about you, you can survive!
Just do that, and it’s completely safe!
Understand?”
“Safe!
Secure!”
“Yes, because our little one is special.
If you just hide it, there will be almost no one who can tell.
It will be a perfect crime!”
Yes, even in a tiger’s den, if I keep my wits about me, it’s completely safe!
‘Bunny should become a great tiger too.’