# Chapter 35
Chapter 35
At the sound of a cute cry, which didn’t fit the situation, both of them turned their heads simultaneously.
“What is that?
A divine beast?”
“It seems to be the child’s divine beast.”
“That fluffy thing?”
“Yes.”
Kiriel answered briefly.
“It’s not a black flame dragon.
You must be disappointed.”
At Ludbride’s words, Kiriel looked at him in disbelief.
“Pii—ik!”
A red finch flapped its small wings as it pushed off from Kiriel’s shoulder with its tiny legs and took flight.
Thud.
Roll.
It fell straight down and landed on Bunny's belly with a thud.
Its flapping wings looked pitiful.
“……”
“……”
“…Piik.”
The red finch, which had rolled once, suddenly stood up as if nothing had happened.
It was a moment of silence.
The red finch abruptly plopped down onto Bunny’s chest.
“That thing hatched from the huge egg?
Can that even be possible?”
“Yes.
My son brought it and told me to give it to Bunny.
And by the way, I heard he kept his mouth shut well.
The child ran to me pale with fear.”
Kiriel’s low, monotone voice, devoid of any emotion, held a faint reprimand as he spoke with an expressionless face.
Ludbride, realizing this, paused for a moment and widened his eyes.
“…Are you blaming me?”
“Who else would I blame for failing to keep quiet?”
“Last time and this time… it’s unusual for you to get angry.”
“……”
At Ludbride’s words, Kiriel narrowed his eyes.
In Ludbride’s memory, Kiriel had always been the youngest son who lived as if he were dead, despite being alive.
Since the death of his eldest brother, he had lost all motivation, barely doing the bare minimum to survive, as if he had turned his back on the world.
Kiriel had always been a child who was poor at expressing emotions.
As if something was broken inside, he rarely spoke of his likes or dislikes and was indifferent to the pain of others.
He didn’t know how to empathize and often made hurtful remarks without care.
Despite that, he had a natural sense for battle, and his intellect was that of a genius.
However, since birth, he gave off the impression of being a machine, as if made in a factory.
He didn’t seem human.
There was one reason that seemed likely.
His black hair.
His red eyes.
Those were the colors of the demon race.
In other words, having those colors as a human was almost proof of being cursed by demons.
Usually, those cursed by demons would have red eyes.
However, Kiriel was somewhat unique.
His mother had been cursed by demons while she was still carrying him, which caused not just his eyes but even his hair to be born pitch black.
His mother, who had barely survived until his birth, died shortly after he was born.
Thus, Kiriel Judias, born on the edge of death, carried the evidence of the demon curse with his black hair and red eyes.
Unlike the direct descendants of the Judias family, he didn’t inherit either the blue eyes or silver hair that were common.
So, in his early days, those who encountered Kiriel all said he was an unsettling, creepy, and unpleasant person.
Fortunately, his brothers, Klein and Salame, seemed to accept that it was just his naturally rude personality and treated him as if he were invisible, casually brushing him off.
Yet, there was one person who took the time to teach Kiriel that pain hurts, that bad things are bad, and that sadness is sad.
It was Dios Judias.
The fact that Kiriel now interacts with people and behaves somewhat like a person is all thanks to Dios’s efforts.
It was an effort even Ludbride Judias had not made.
Dios continually approached Kiriel and eventually made him act human.
Kiriel, who had no interest in war or combat, joined the Holy Demon War only after his eldest brother, Dios Judias, went missing in a fight against the demons.
His sole purpose was to find Dios.
When Kiriel joined, the tide of the Holy Demon War shifted.
Kiriel eventually beheaded the Demon King.
He was the only one who met the Demon King in person and had a conversation with him.
“You… are you really going to play family?
I thought you…”
“I can’t raise a child.”
Before Ludbride could finish, Kiriel spoke in his monotone voice.
Ludbride hesitated.
“Why?
Because I’m the cursed one who killed my mother when I was born?
Or because I’m a monster, cursed by the demons, who doesn’t know emotions?”
“Hah… That’s not it.
I’m just worried because you can’t even take care of yourself…!”
“But you blame me for my mother’s death.
If I hadn’t been born, she might have been saved.”
“Kiriel!
You really…”
Kiriel looked at Ludbride with emotionless eyes.
Ludbride froze.
Those eyes.
The eyes he had seen countless times since childhood.
The eyes of someone who had no interest in others, no interest in himself, and no desire for anything—eyes that didn’t seem human.
“You do blame me.
And deep down, you fear me.
Because I’m a monster who could lose control and become like the demons at any moment.”
“What are you talking about?
I’ve never once…!”
Kiriel Judias met Ludbride’s gaze directly.
Ludbride flinched and opened his eyes wide.
Kiriel’s eyes were filled with silent reproach.
“Let’s stop this conversation here.
Right now, the issue is Bunny.”
At Kiriel’s words, Ludbride lowered his gaze.
Pop!
A strange sound made them both look down.
A large red feather, fluttering like a flame, landed on Bunny’s chest.
It was much bigger than the red finch.
When they turned their heads, they saw that the red finch had somehow rolled off and was now nestled beside Bunny’s face, burying its face between its tiny wings.
“A feather?”
Swoosh.
The feather shimmered once, then slowly disintegrated and began to sink into Bunny’s chest.
“…Wait, that’s!”
Kiriel, uncharacteristically flustered, quickly reached out, but the feather had already fully absorbed into Bunny’s body.
At the same time, Bunny’s labored breathing gradually calmed, and the violent demonic energy within the child slowly faded away.
The three of them opened their eyes wide in surprise as they felt it.
“…The demonic energy.”
Ludbride muttered softly as Kiriel grasped the child’s hand and quickly infused his own divine power again.
“Is Lady Bunny alright, young master?”
Levon approached and asked.
“…Gone.”
“Gone?
What do you mean…?”
“The demonic energy is gradually dissipating.”
He wasn’t sure what that feather was, but it had clearly done something.
“A red feather?”
Kiriel’s eyes widened slightly as he looked at the red finch, now sleeping soundly beside Bunny, its wings curled protectively around itself.
The sudden appearance of the red feather.
And the red finch that had dropped down onto Bunny.
Though the feather was two or three times larger than the bird, its red color suggested a connection.
‘The size of a divine beast doesn’t always correlate with its power.’
It was the first time Kiriel had seen a divine beast so small, though.
As the child’s breathing steadied and her fever gradually subsided, Kiriel gently picked her up in his arms.
“She seems to be alright for now.
I’ll take the child with me.
What does the emperor say?”
“He said we should meet again after Bunny’s situation is resolved.”
“Let me warn you in advance, don’t force anything on her.”
Kiriel replied with an indifferent expression as he slowly turned away.
Levon also bowed politely and followed Kiriel.
“Raising a child isn’t easy.
I’m only saying this out of concern, so think it over carefully.”
At Ludbride’s words, Kiriel left the temple without a reply.
“Levon.”
“Yes.”
“We need to move.”
“…Excuse me??”
Levon asked back, his voice rising in confusion though his expression remained neutral.
“We’ll use the annex.
Make preparations.”
“The annex…”
“The house my mother left me.
Open it.”
At Kiriel’s words, Levon’s eyes widened in surprise for a moment before returning to normal.
He glanced at Bunny in Kiriel’s arms, then bowed slowly.
“I’ll make arrangements right away.”
A brief smile flickered across Levon’s face before vanishing.