# Chapter 44
Chapter 44
“…Mom?”
The emperor’s eyes widened in disbelief, clearly hearing something he didn’t expect.
Kiriel shared the same confused look.
“Wait, Bunny.
That’s enough, you don’t have to say any more…”
“Yup!
Daddy is a man who couldn’t be chosen.
That’s why he doesn’t have a mommy.
But Daddy needs a mommy to be happy!”
“Ugh…”
The emperor slightly turned his body and began shaking his shoulders in a fit of suppressed laughter.
He couldn’t laugh out loud in front of the child, so he turned his body and stifled his laughter as best he could.
‘Being a man who wasn't chosen... must be a sad thing to cry about.’
Bunny looked at Kiriel with pity.
Seeing Kiriel’s eyes also trembling, it was clear that she had been deeply shocked by the fact that she hadn’t been chosen.
‘Bunny will make sure to find a mommy for Daddy, no matter what.’
Bunny clenched her tiny fists.
After all, Bunny had done a great job finding a candidate for a guardian, then softened and made him her daddy!
‘Bunny... failed at summoning the Black Dragon, so no one stood behind her.’
But Bunny didn’t give up.
With her allowance in hand, she went up to a daddy candidate she liked and offered herself as a "toy" for sale.
‘Daddy won’t give up either.’
She then used her cuteness strategy and made him her daddy.
‘But, Daddy stays in his room too much.’
She had to show Daddy’s greatness to the world...
‘Hmm.’
But what exactly is Daddy so great at?
He has incredibly strong black hair and dazzling red eyes.
He’s a royal rich man who can buy mountains of clothes with seven zeros attached.
And he’s even more handsome than the human emperor.
Though, the human emperor is a bit more dazzling.
“Phew...
So, Bunny wants a pretty mommy like a doll?”
“Yup!
I’ll give her to Daddy!”
“Right, right...
You should.
Udia’s son has two children now, so it’s time for him to get married and start a family.
I’ll, I’ll look into it.
Phew.”
“Okay!
Thank you!”
Bunny bowed her head, still in Kiriel’s arms.
Heh.
Bunny, with her nose held high, looked up at Kiriel with a proud smile.
How’s that?
Wasn’t it good?
Kiriel silently closed his mouth, as if answering the question Bunny was asking with her expression.
No matter how bizarre things were, Bunny always exceeded Kiriel’s expectations.
“Let’s go now.”
“Okay.”
“Bunny, soon I’ll send some mommy candidates to your daddy.”
“Not necessary…”
“Yep!”
Kiriel was about to scold the emperor, who spoke with a sly smile, but upon hearing Bunny’s energetic response, he quietly shut his mouth.
When Kiriel did, the emperor’s expression became somewhat complicated.
He rubbed his chin and watched Bunny shake her hands with Roel.
“Bunny!
See you soon!”
“Mm.
Bye!”
As Bunny, still in Kiriel’s arms, saw Roel wave, she waved back at him with a bright smile.
Once Bunny disappeared from Kiriel’s sight, Roel’s bright smile faded.
The emperor quietly rubbed his chin, then spoke.
“Son.”
“Yes, Father.”
“Don’t you want a little sister?”
“Mother should be the one to convince Father.
I have a class to attend, so I’ll take my leave now.”
“Son, you’re not cute at all.”
The emperor shrugged his shoulders, then chuckled softly as he watched the crown prince walk away.
After a long time of illness, the child had lost much of his cuteness that he once had.
His time in bed must have worn him down.
It was only natural.
‘…I never expected him to get better.’
As the child weakened each day due to the curse, even the empress, who had been known for her sensitivity and cruelty, started to wither away.
The woman who used to quarrel with him at every turn, behaving aggressively, had disappeared.
She stopped interacting with others, living in silence, breathing as if just getting by.
Where had her venom gone?
Every time he saw her lifeless face, it twisted his insides...
But on the day he heard the news that the child had regained his health, she smiled brightly for the first time in years.
‘Strange.’
The marriage to the marquis’s daughter had been merely political, born out of mutual benefit.
After producing an heir, they had never slept in the same bed.
Luckily, the child had come quickly after their marriage, or he would have had to endure many uncomfortable nights with her.
As an empress, she lacked generosity.
Instead, she was arrogant, haughty, and cunning to the point of being labeled a villain by the people.
There was nothing he liked about her, yet on that day, when she smiled so brightly... she seemed different somehow.
‘...A daughter.’
If Bunny, small as she was, clung to Daddy, Daddy, it would definitely be cute.
The problem, however, was that just clapping alone wouldn’t produce a child.
‘Should I try to arrange a meeting with the empress and Bunny?’
Even if he mentioned it, the empress would surely have to see the good qualities of the daughter.
Thinking this, the emperor leisurely rubbed the back of his neck.
“But that’s not the important thing right now.”
Poison.
Who, with what purpose, dared to target him?
“Demons...
Are their remnants still around?”
The emperor clicked his tongue.
“I must find them again and root them out completely.
It would be troublesome otherwise.”
He muttered quietly to himself as he slowly left the drawing room.
***
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“By the way, did the chef get scolded?”
Kiriel, walking out of the palace toward the carriage with Bunny in his arms, stopped in his tracks at Bunny’s question and slowly shook his head.
“No.
He wasn’t scolded.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, really.
As you said, the chef wasn’t bad, but he was just possessed by something bad.
You can’t blame him for that.”
“What’s ‘Holy-holy’?”
Holy-holy?
Kiriel paused, wondering how her words got so mixed up, but quickly gave up.
Bunny often misunderstood things in strange ways.
“It means he got all dizzy and out of control.”
“Dizzy-dizzy!”
“Yeah.”
However, that chef wouldn’t be working at the palace anymore.
By allowing the demons to take advantage, it meant he had been dissatisfied with his position in the palace.
The demons had used him, but he had also given them the chance to exploit him.
Demons exploiting others was evil.
They could take a small complaint, something that might have been overlooked, and twist it into an act of malice that they would have the courage to carry out.
Of course, this time it seemed more likely the demons had manipulated him, but...
Kiriel didn’t feel the need to explain this to Bunny.
“So what’s the bad thing?”
“The demons.”
Bunny flinched.
‘Demons!’
Bunny’s shoulders trembled.
‘Bunny didn’t get possessed by the chef, right?!’
“The bad demons got away when we were tracking them.”
“Ah.”
So it wasn’t Bunny.
That’s a relief.
Bunny moved her fingers nervously, then carefully spoke.
“Daddy.”
“What?”
“Do you hate demons?”
At Bunny’s question, Kiriel blinked once and then nodded slowly.
“I do.”
“How much?”
“I’d like to get rid of all of them, if I could.”
At Kiriel’s cold response, Bunny’s eyes widened in surprise, but she soon nodded her head, a bit deflated.
‘...Daddy’s words were a little sharp.’
“Don’t worry.
The dukedom you’re staying in is safe.”
Thinking Bunny might be scared, Kiriel tightened his hold on her and gently patted her back.