# Chapter 86
Kiriel raised his hand and gently stroked the child's small back.
At the affectionate touch, Bunny whimpered and burrowed into Kiriel’s chest.
“Daughter, where do you think you’re going?”
“……”
“I’m not sending you anywhere.
I won’t abandon you, and I won’t hate you.
You don’t have to do anything.
It’s okay if you’re useless, and you don’t have to tell me any information.
You don’t even have to learn Ancient Elvish if you don’t want to.
If you don’t want to, then don’t.
Daddy will go to the imperial palace and turn everything upside down in front of the Emperor.”
As always, his voice was calm and steady, yet soft and gentle.
Bunny’s eyes widened.
“You can throw tantrums, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to, and you can be as spoiled as you like.
You don’t have to do everything on your own.”
“……”
“You’re still a baby.
Rely on Daddy a little more.
I just… want you to grow up happily like a child should.”
“But… if I do that, I won’t become a great adult, and what if I can’t become a grand archmage?”
At Bunny’s words, Kiriel let out a soft chuckle and patted her head.
Bunny’s cheeks flushed with happiness.
“Then you’ll just be Daddy’s daughter, a little less great.
And if you can’t, Daddy will make sure you can.”
Bunny blinked twice, then suddenly burst into a giggle like a child before wrapping her arms around Kiriel’s neck.
“Daddy, I like you!!”
“Me too.”
As Kiriel patted Bunny’s back, his gaze lowered to his notebook with a cold glint in his eyes, and he spoke.
“I like my daughter too.
“Bunny!
Come here.”
“Huh?
Noel?
Are you healthy?”
“It’s not Noel, it’s Roel.
Thanks to you, I’ve gotten better.
I’m healthy.
Father said you were coming today, so I came to greet you.”
The crown prince, Roel, smiled brightly and quickly approached Bunny, spreading his arms wide in welcome.
“Mhm.
Huwwo— I mean, hello.”
Seeing Roel running toward her, Bunny only gave a slight nod, looking indifferent.
Then, she clung to Kiriel’s leg and dangled like a sloth.
“Ah!
Let’s hold hands and go together.
I’ll guide you, Bunny.”
“Bunny feels like a monkey today.”
“A monkey?
Is that why you’re hanging on?
Hmm, well, I can’t exactly hang on to ‘Father-in-law’s’ leg…”
Father-in-law?
Kiriel’s expression turned slightly baffled as he lowered his gaze to look at the crown prince.
Noticing Kiriel’s stare, Roel grinned brightly and politely bowed.
To think the crown prince was greeting the son of a mere duke with no title.
‘As expected of the Emperor’s bloodline—he’s as sly as a fox.’
In the past, this boy would only give a slight nod as the bare minimum of courtesy.
But now, it was as if someone else had taken over his body—he was acting overly polite.
His daughter might be cute, but Kiriel had no intention of engaging in a battle of wits with a child who was chasing after her.
So, he simply nodded indifferently in response.
The attendants who had followed the crown prince silently gulped.
“The Crown Prince…”
“He smiled?!”
“And he smiled that widely…?”
The prince they remembered was the embodiment of arrogance.
Of course, it was natural for a royal to be like that, so no one had complaints.
However, he had always seemed unnaturally stiff and serious for his age.
But look at him now.
His cheeks were flushed, and even with his arms wide open, he was completely ignored.
Even so, he still trotted beside Kiriel, following him closely while Bunny clung to his leg.
It felt as if they were seeing a completely different person.
“And Kiriel Yudia…”
“Kiriel Yudia is walking with a child clinging to his leg…”
“So he really did adopt a daughter…”
How many times had they been shocked today?
The attendants struggled to keep their mouths shut as they swallowed their astonishment.
Kyrie raised his hand and slowly stroked the child's small back.
At the gentle touch, Bunny whimpered and burrowed into Kyrie's chest.
"Daughter, where do you think you're going?"
"……."
"I'm not sending you anywhere.
I won't abandon you, and I won't hate you.
You don't have to do anything.
You don't need to be useful, and you don't have to teach me any information.
You don't have to learn Ancient Elvish if you don’t want to.
If needed, I'll go to the imperial palace and overturn everything in front of the emperor."
As always, his voice was lazy and without highs or lows, but still, it was soft and kind.
Bunny’s eyes widened.
"You can be stubborn, you can refuse to do things, and you can act spoiled as much as you want.
You don’t have to do everything alone."
"……."
"You're still a baby.
Rely on me a little more.
I… just want you to grow up happily like a child."
"But… then what if I don't become a great adult and I can't become a big grand mage?"
At Bunny's words, Kyrie chuckled softly and stroked the child's head.
Bunny's cheeks turned red with happiness.
"Then you'll just be a slightly less great daughter of mine.
If you can't do it, I'll make sure you can."
Bunny blinked a few times, then giggled like a little child and suddenly wrapped her arms around Kyrie’s neck.
"Daddy, I like you!!"
"I like you too."
As Kyrie patted Bunny’s back, he glanced down at his notebook with his usual cool gaze and spoke.
"I like my daughter too."
"Bunny!
Come here!"
"Huh?
Noelle?
Are you healthy?"
"It's not Noelle, it's Roel.
Thanks to you, I got better.
I'm healthy.
Father said you were coming today, so I came to greet you."
The crown prince, Roel, smiled brightly and quickly approached Bunny, spreading his arms wide in welcome.
"Mm.
Hi—no, I mean, hello."
Seeing Roel running toward her, Bunny nodded without much interest and greeted him lightly.
Then, she clung to Kyrie’s leg and dangled like a sloth.
"Ah!
Let’s hold hands and go together.
I'll guide you, Bunny."
"Bunny feels like a monkey today."
"A monkey?
Is that why you're hanging on?
Hmm, but I can't hang onto my 'father-in-law’s' leg…."
Father-in-law?
Kyrie looked down at the crown prince with a slightly baffled expression.
Noticing Kyrie’s gaze, the crown prince smiled brightly and bowed deeply.
To think the crown prince was bowing to a duke’s son with no noble title.
'As expected of the emperor's bloodline, he’s like a sly fox.'
In the past, the boy had only given a small nod as the bare minimum of courtesy.
But now, he was acting like a completely different person, showing perfect manners.
Kyrie thought his daughter was cute, but he had no intention of engaging in a battle of nerves with a child who was fawning over her.
So, he simply nodded indifferently in acknowledgment.
The attendants who had followed the crown prince discreetly swallowed their breaths.
'His Highness the Crown Prince…'
'Smiled?!'
'And so brightly, at that…'
The crown prince they remembered had been the very embodiment of arrogance.
As a royal, it was expected, so no one had ever complained, but fundamentally, he had always felt too solemn and stiff for his age.
But look at him now.
His cheeks were flushed, his arms were wide open, and yet he was completely ignored.
And yet, he still followed beside Kyrie, who was walking indifferently with Bunny clinging to his leg.
It was as if they were looking at a completely different person.
'And on top of that, it's Kyrie Yudia…'
'Kyrie Yudia is walking with a child clinging to his leg…'
'So the rumor about him adopting a daughter was true after all.'
How many times had they been shocked just today?
The attendants struggled to keep their mouths shut as they swallowed down their astonishment.