# Chapter 49
Chapter 49
“Il, i, sam, sa-a, o….”
“What are you doing, Master?”
Bunny, who was sitting on the bed with her legs stretched out and counting the coins she had taken from the elephant’s belly, paused when she heard the voice from behind.
She turned and continued counting with her mouth slightly open.
It was Belial.
“I’m counting the money for later to buy chocolate.”
Chocolate costs much more than the Divine Stone.
Of course, Bunny knew this very well.
Who didn’t know that chocolate was more expensive than stones?
Bunny knew that for sure.
“Chocolate?
Ah~ Do you want some chocolate?”
“Mhm.”
“Just say the word, and this Belial will go get it for you…”
“No, I have to buy it myself.”
Bunny shook her head as if Belial should have known that.
Belial stared at Bunny for a moment before smiling brightly.
“I see.
I apologize for my rudeness.”
“Mhm.
But, Berry…”
“Yes, Master’s Berry is right here.”
“Next time, when you come here, you should knock first.”
Bunny mimicked knocking on air with her little hands, and Belial, smiling widely, nodded.
“Ah, of course!
I will never forget to knock from now on!”
Belial clenched his fist and spoke loudly, and Bunny nodded in approval.
‘Berry, you’re noisy.’
Bunny thought to herself as she continued counting.
After stacking the piles of coins she had made by counting in tens, Bunny quickly put them back into the elephant’s belly and jumped up from the bed.
“Where are you going?”
“Aaron.”
Bunny crossed the large mansion, moving with ease, turning right, then left, and then making a wide turn around the corner.
To the top floor of the mansion.
Unlike the wooden floors below, the corridors on this floor were gleaming with marble, and there was no strange smell.
‘Here, the fourth room.’
Bunny stood in front of a door with “Allen” written on it.
Heh.
Bunny had learned to read “Allen” after he had brought the sign and showed it to her, shaking it enthusiastically.
‘The Allen who gave me cookies today was dark.’
It wasn’t “tingling” or “zapping,” but more like “wham!”
Thud thud.
Bunny clenched her fists and knocked powerfully on the door.
Normally, she would have heard an answer by now, but today, there was no reply.
“Aaron!”
Thud thud!
Bunny knocked again with both fists, her knocks echoing loudly.
Still, there was no sound from inside.
Bunny’s lips puffed up in frustration.
Belial’s eyes glowed a deep red for a moment.
“It seems no one is inside, Master.”
Belial, who had checked, added that there was no sign of anyone inside.
Bunny gently turned the doorknob, and the door, which wasn’t locked, smoothly opened.
As she entered, her eyes widened.
‘Allen’s room is way bigger than mine.’
There was no unpleasant smell.
Bunny hopped over to the desk, where rows of books were placed, and scanned the desk.
Clothes were scattered on the floor, and there was a notebook on the desk, open, with some wet marks on it.
As far as Bunny knew, Allen went to sleep at 10 PM.
It was only 9 PM now.
But Allen wasn’t here.
The notebook had what appeared to be Allen’s tear stains.
Bunny’s face, which had been serious, suddenly filled with surprise, and then her eyes narrowed with intensity.
‘Kidnapped!’
Allen was completely kidnapped!
But, sadly, Bunny didn’t have the strength to fight against the kidnapper.
Because the kidnapper was someone who controlled a huge shadow monster and could snatch children into a bag and trap them in a small space in an instant!
‘If I don’t transform, I’m still small and weak.’
Then, the only conclusion Bunny could reach was simple.
With determination, she turned and left the room.
Belial, following her, closed the door behind them.
“Berry, let’s go!”
“Where to?”
“Dad!”
Bunny quickly moved her short legs, running with urgency.
Belial scratched his chin, and then, leisurely, followed her, speaking as he walked.
“Do you like that Allen?”
“Mhm.
Aaron shared chocolate cookies with me.”
“I see.
He might not be a bad pet after all… It would be better to just put a leash on a creature like that.”
“Mhm?”
Belial muttered something to himself, and when Bunny tilted her head, he smiled and shook his head.
“Nothing.
Let’s go.
I’ll accompany you.”
Bunny shot a quick glance at Belial before running toward the mansion.
She stopped when she made eye contact with the guards at the entrance.
“Miss Bunny?”
“Yes!
Annyeonghaseyo.
Is Dad inside?”
“He hasn’t gone out today, so he should be inside the mansion.”
“Neeng.”
Bunny nodded and entered the mansion, while Belial gave a slight bow, pretending to be a guard.
Bunny dashed to the familiar door of Kiriel’s room and knocked loudly with both hands.
“Dad!”
“Bunny…?”
A surprised voice came from inside, followed by the door opening wide.
Kiriel, who had just gotten out of the bath and was dripping water, looked at Bunny and spoke.
“What brings you here at this hour?
Are you looking for me…?”
“Dad, Allen is gone.”
“…Ah.”
Kiriel froze for a moment, his expression neutral, then he turned his gaze to the distant mountains beyond the window.
‘So it’s him.’
He had been silent for a moment, and then turned back to face Bunny.
“It looks like Allen was kidnapped.”
“Kidnapped?”
That couldn’t be.
Such a thing couldn’t happen in the Udia Dukedom.
Especially not within the Duke’s mansion.
Causing trouble here meant getting caught immediately.
‘I haven’t heard anything about it.’
Kiriel thought as he turned his head, just in time to see the full moon rising into the sky.
He paused for a moment, staring at the moon.
“Ah.”
The day of the full moon is when the power of beastmen is at its peak.
And Allen, being half beastman, was probably affected by it.
“Today, he’s probably staying somewhere else.”
“Why?”
“Because on a night like tonight, when the full moon is round and bright, Allen’s not in his human form.
He probably doesn’t want us to see him like that.”
Bunny blinked, confused.
“If he doesn’t want us to see, why not just turn into a human?”
“I’m not sure.
Maybe…”
Bunny thought of Allen.
She remembered how, whenever people whispered about him being a monster or a beast, Allen would shrink and bow his head, embarrassed.
Everyone hated that side of him, so he probably wanted to hide it.
‘When I lived with Ruriel, I was sad, too.
I was called an orphan, a demon child, and I wanted to hide.’
Ruriel had taught her to embrace her true self, but at first, Bunny would hide her horns under a scarf.
So, she wandered from place to place, unable to stay anywhere.
But…
“What if Allen thinks we both see him as a beast and that he doesn’t want to be around us?”
“….”
Kiriel’s eyes widened slightly at Bunny’s words.
“Or… do you think Allen doesn’t like us because we’re not human?”
“No.
He doesn’t dislike us.”
Kiriel answered firmly.
If he had been repulsed by beastmen, he wouldn’t have accepted Allen as his son.
Kiriel thought that, except for demons, everyone else was just like humans.
Although he hated demons and wished to root them out completely.
“Then… we should tell Allen that we don’t care if he’s not human.
He’s still beautiful and strong.
We should make him feel better so he doesn’t cry alone.”
Bunny spoke with a droopy, sad face.
Kiriel stared at her for a moment, still slightly stiff from her unexpected perspective.
He had always thought it was best to let Allen hide his true nature if he wanted to.
But Bunny was right.
If they kept avoiding him every time the full moon rose, and if they didn’t show him care, Allen would always think he was a monster and that no one wanted to be near him.
That he was a monster, so no one would approach him on full moon nights.
“…I see.”
Kiriel muttered quietly.
“Don’t go near the youngest son of the Udia Duke’s family.
He’s been cursed by demons and is sick.
No one knows when he’ll die.”
“Kiriel!
My little brother!
So cute today.”
Suddenly, the voice of someone from Bunny’s past overlapped with her father’s.
‘Was that really a memory from back then?’
Kiriel slowly opened his mouth.
“Do you want to see Allen?”
“Yes.”
“Then, shall we go look for him together?”
At Kiriel’s words, Bunny’s face brightened immediately.
She nodded eagerly.
“Yes!”
With her enthusiastic answer, Kiriel patted Bunny’s head and lifted her up into his arms.
Then, after ordering Belial to stay behind, he carried the child out of the mansion.