# Chapter 41
Chapter 41
Bunny turned his head.
"Dad."
"It's dangerous, so I'll lift you up.
Stay seated."
"Okay."
In the blink of an eye, Bunny was grabbed under the armpits and lifted, dangling for a moment before being seated in a chair.
From below, he hadn't noticed, but there seemed to be a lot of things placed on the chair.
Once seated, Bunny was at about the same height as Kiriel.
"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I told them to prepare a variety.
If there's something you like, just let me know."
"Okay."
At Bunny's reply, the Emperor smiled gently and snapped his fingers.
Soon, maids and attendants appeared and began filling a large round table with food.
"Wow..."
There were meats, desserts, and even beautifully crafted breads, filling the table.
The meals at the Duke's mansion with his dad had been fairly modest, but here, the spread was so grand it seemed the table might break.
There was even a chocolate fountain in one corner.
'Bunny... should I switch dads?'
No, but the human leader was a future enemy of Bunny, after all.
'I guess I have no choice.'
After a moment of thought, Bunny gave up on the idea of having the Emperor as his dad.
"Thank you for saving my son.
I didn’t know how to express my gratitude, so I invited you here."
Bunny suddenly stopped and looked up at the voice that rang out.
The Emperor's golden eyes sparkled warmly like honey, but Bunny blinked slowly and stared back at him.
'A fake smile.'
Bunny gave a subtle expression and nodded.
Bunny could tell the difference between warmth and coldness.
Throughout his time with Luriel, Bunny had seen many humans.
Each one had their own distinct temperature.
'Dad is warm.
The future leader is warm.'
As Bunny slowly shifted his gaze, he looked back at the Emperor.
'The human leader... lukewarm.'
The Emperor seemed to really like Bunny and appeared kind, but Bunny sensed he didn’t like him that much.
"By the way, how did you end up helping my son?
Bunny."
At the Emperor's words, Kiriel's brows subtly narrowed.
He had caught on that the snake-like human was trying to pry into Bunny's past.
"If the big boss dies, the dad big boss and mom big boss will be sad.
It's lonely."
Bunny reached out and, among the food coming up, grabbed a cookie with sweet chocolate chips and spoke.
The Emperor's eyes widened for a moment.
Kiriel smoothly reached out and grabbed the cookie.
"Huh?!"
"Eat your meal before the cookie."
"...Hmph."
Bunny pouted, dissatisfied.
Kiriel firmly set the cookie back down.
"Did you think my son was about to die?"
"If I sleep for ten nights, maybe..."
At Bunny’s words, the Prince, Roel, felt a chill run down his spine.
In truth, he had already felt death's presence on the edge of his life several times.
'If it weren't for that kid...
I'd already be...'
He gulped.
Roel clenched and unclenched his fist.
He had already felt his heart consumed, and the demon was about to eat away his mind.
Once the demon took over, the human could not survive.
Bunny, while watching the food being brought up, was tapping his feet as he thought.
"I see.
I really owe you a big debt."
At the Emperor's words, Bunny’s eyes grew wide.
'Debt!'
If there was a debt, Bunny could chase after the Emperor.
A person with a debt should be chased, after all.
If someone owes, they must give anything they want.
"Hehehe.
Human leader!
Give me the human world, as repayment for my debt!!"
"Ugh.
I can’t.
I can’t give the human world like this!
If it weren’t for this debt...!!"
In Bunny’s imagination, he saw the Emperor kneeling and offering the human world.
Bunny grinned slyly as he imagined it.
"Then please enjoy your meal."
While Bunny was lost in his thoughts, a voice suddenly rang out, and he quickly turned his head.
'Zing.'
Demons are sensitive to malice.
Especially young demons, who are even more attuned to it.
Malice.
It is like sustenance for demons.
To demons, human malice is like sweet food.
Demons used to find humans who were filled with malice, corrupt them, make a contract, and devour their souls.
Even without a contract, humans with malice are easy to exploit, and demons especially enjoy that.
Being sensitive to others' malice means that one can quickly detect something bad.
In an instant, Bunny's eyes slitted horizontally before quickly returning to normal.
It was a very brief moment.
The only person who saw it was the boy sitting across from Bunny, who had not taken his eyes off Bunny since the moment he entered.
"Let’s leave the congratulations for later and eat first.
Enjoy your meal, Bunny."
It was the moment when the Emperor picked up his utensil.
Bunny raised his hand and pointed with his index finger at the utensil the Emperor was holding.
The Emperor, who was about to put the meat in his mouth, paused.
"Dad, that's mine."
"What?"
The Emperor gave a confused look at Bunny's words.
"Beep!"
As if sensing Bunny's will, a red bird suddenly popped out from a yellow chick bag and flapped its wings, flying straight into the fork the Emperor was holding, knocking it out of his hand.
Thud.
The fork fell...
"Ahh, my heungyeom-lyong!!"
After colliding with the Emperor's tightly held fork, the bird fell to the table, and Bunny shrieked, stretching his hands forward in a struggle.
Thud.
A large hand reached forward and picked up the dazed red bird, placing it gently into Bunny's palm.
"Bunny heungyeom-lyong..."
The large hand rested on top of Bunny's head.
Bunny looked up, his eyes wide.
Kiriel’s eyes were glowing a faint blue.
Kiriel’s blue eyes swept across the table.
"The utensil is poisoned."
"Dad, your eyes are blue."
Before Bunny’s words finished, the blue color seemed to fade from Kiriel's eyes, quickly turning back to red.
The Emperor put the utensils down and frowned, snapping his fingers.
"I’ll prepare another one."
The attendants, looking nervous, began clearing away the lavish meal.
Soon after, a terrified voice was heard from outside.
"What?
Poisoning...
What...
No, no!
I’ve been here the whole time!
I’ve never left the kitchen today because I wasn’t feeling well!!"
Bang!
The man in the chef's attire was dragged into the greenhouse, looking pale as a ghost.
At the terrified voice, Bunny shrank back, lightly grabbing the corner of Kiriel's clothes.
"Your Majesty."
"Ah, my apologies.
I got so upset I wasn’t thinking straight.
Bunny, would you like to go somewhere else if you're okay?"
"..."
Bunny, who had firmly held on to Kiriel’s clothes, slowly shook his head.
"I want to stay with Dad..."
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel’s eyes widened slightly.
Kiriel smiled faintly and gently patted the child’s back.
Bunny’s gaze turned to the kneeling cook.
And then, suddenly, Bunny pointed at the cook with his finger and spoke.
"This kid, not just a human."
"Not just a human?
Why do you think that?"
"Doesn’t feel zingy.
Only bad humans feel zingy."
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel looked at the cook with a strange expression.