# Chapter 21
Chapter 21
"What...
Are both of you okay?"
Kiriel Judias asked in a tone that wasn't as relaxed as usual, unable to hide her surprise.
Upon Kiriel's sudden appearance, Bunny looked at the guard slowly with trembling eyes.
They were filled with betrayal.
"Liar..."
The guard flinched as Bunny's eyes, full of disbelief, fell on him.
The guard, who was dressed so elegantly that anyone could tell he was a noble, glanced between the betrayed Bunny, the man with a refined face, and Allen, whose eyes were wide with disbelief.
Unable to hide his embarrassment, the guard spoke.
"I'm sorry.
May I ask who you are?"
"My children caused trouble.
It seems they were startled, so it would be best if you speak with my lieutenant about the rest."
Kiriel Judias nodded slightly, and a man dressed in a white uniform behind her stepped forward.
"I am Revon, assistant to Prince Kiriel Judias.
Let’s have a word."
"Y-You mean Yudia... the Duke's family?
Then those kids are..."
The guard's mouth dropped open.
Kiriel Judias?
The child prodigy, chosen by the gods, who went to war against the demons at such a young age and destroyed many of them?
The lazy angel whose face no one had ever seen?
The only one from the Yudia Duke's direct line who never appeared in public, the one even the Duke gave up on because of his laziness?
"First, could you explain the situation?"
Revon, who had taken the seat Bunny had been sitting in, spoke to the guard.
The guard, recalling how he had treated Bunny earlier, sat down with a slightly pale face.
"..."
Inside the Duke's carriage, Bunny and Allen glanced at Kiriel nervously.
Crossing her arms, Kiriel looked at the two and opened her mouth.
"Neither of you are hurt or sick... right?"
"N-No..."
Bunny, with her head down, fidgeted with her fingers and responded in a voice that could barely be heard.
Allen, standing awkwardly, nodded his head.
"P-Prince...
Bunny didn't cheat...
The man promised not to tell... but he lied...
Bunny can pay the fine...
I’m not a slave...
I’ll earn the money again.
I can get an allowance too..."
Bunny cried pitifully as she spoke.
"If you don't have money, you should leave.
Why are you staying?
The world is already dangerous, and I took you in when you had no family or place to go, but you have the nerve to act like this...
Anyway, if you don’t have money, you can’t stay in this house, so get out!"
"I barely have enough for this month.
Please, let it go just this once.
You know how it is.
The rain has been so heavy I couldn’t even do proper business."
"That's your problem.
Hah, I took you in out of pity as a single mother with a child.
This is the last time!
If you can’t pay next month, you're out!"
"Yes, thank you.
I’ll pay what I couldn’t this month too, next time."
"Tsk, you always wear that headscarf, it’s suspicious.
Just know I’m doing you a favor.
You know, they’re rounding up anyone linked to demons around here."
"D-Demons?
No way.
You saw it last time, right?
It’s not horns, it’s just a hideous scar on my head.
I wear it to cover that."
You can only stay if you have money.
If you don’t, you get kicked out.
If I get kicked out, I won’t become the great demon lord, and I’ll never meet Luri again.
"Luri… Are you okay...?"
"Ah, it’s because I didn’t pay.
You need money to stay in this house.
It’s hard enough to hide, but here, it’s all about money, not power."
"Money?
Allowance?"
"Yeah, something like that.
Humans love money.
With money, you can do anything.
Anyway, don’t worry, little one.
Humans are just too greedy."
"Greedy..."
"That’s right!
Humans are greedy.
But it’s okay.
When you grow up and become the Demon King, we’ll be able to live proudly again."
"Bunny, become the big Demon King!"
"Exactly!
The great Demon King!
So, listen carefully to my stories and the fairy tales I tell you.
Even when I’m gone, you have to do well, okay?"
"Mm!
Luri, will your horns come back too?"
"...Of course.
Didn’t I tell you?
Even though we’ll part ways for a while, once you become a great adult, you’ll know where I am."
Bunny clenched her fists and closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again, thinking of Luriel.
'Bunny...
I can’t be kicked out yet.'
She had to grow up safely here to meet Luri again.
"I-I only have this much for this month.
I’ll give you more next month.
Please, just this once..."
Bunny took out what she had offered the guard as a fine earlier and placed it on Kiriel Judias’s lap, clasping her small hands together as she spoke.
Kiriel Judias looked at Bunny with a slightly stiff expression.
Allen, too, was staring with his mouth wide open.
'Is the money too little...?'
Bunny, stiff as a board, picked up a stone and opened her mouth again.
"It’s the highest-grade holy stone...
I spent most of my money on this, so I don’t have much left...
The egg was hungry..."
"...A holy stone?
This?"
Kiriel narrowed her eyes and looked down at the stone, then back at Bunny.
Bunny, tense, nodded her head.
After a long silence, Kiriel slowly opened her mouth.
"Bunny."
"Y-Yes...?"
"This stone might be dangerous, so can I inspect it and return it to you later...?"
There was no hint of anger or annoyance in her voice.
Bunny, who had been watching Kiriel cautiously, rolled her eyes and nodded.
"Y-Yes..."
Allen, who had been watching Bunny, whose eyes were drooping, quietly held her hand tightly.
"Prince...
Are you tired of Bunny now?
Is she annoying...?"
Kiriel Judias, who had been choosing her words, paused again.
Was Kiriel Judias someone who chose her words?
No.
But seeing Bunny, who seemed so dejected that her ears would have drooped if she had any, made her feel like she had to choose her words carefully, so she remained silent.
Not realizing that this would cause a huge misunderstanding.
"My daughter..."
After a long while, Kiriel Judias spoke with a serious expression.
‘I’m going to get kicked out.’
At that moment, Bunny tightly closed her eyes.
Thump, a large hand was placed on her small head.
"You're really cute."
"Huh...?"
Bunny blinked at the unexpected words that weren’t hurtful or scary.
Kiriel Judias, who had been watching Bunny, whose confidence had withered away, knelt on one knee and lowered her head, making eye contact with the little one.
"Whatever you're thinking, don’t worry.
I won’t scold you.
But I’d like you to tell me honestly why my son and daughter were in that place..."
"To... to earn money..."
Kiriel Judias, who had been quietly watching the child fidget with her hands, knelt on the floor of the carriage, bowed her head slightly, and tilted it, locking eyes with Bunny.
"Why?"
"Because Bunny couldn’t summon a black dragon..."
Grown-ups are like special children, right?
Ones that aren’t annoying, that are helpful and quiet.
So...
"You need money to be praised, and with money, you can stay in the house...
Bunny isn’t annoying, Bunny’s a good kid..."
Though she had been studying hard, Bunny was still not very fluent in human language, and being flustered made her pronunciation even more unclear than usual.
She nervously fiddled with her fingers.
"So...
Can’t you not throw me out...?
I didn’t know I needed permission..."