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Chapter – 04
Bunny neatly lined up all the items she had brought with her, and beside them she placed the supplies Roden had received for her earlier—towels, pajamas, a pillow, toothpaste, and more.
With her small hands, she organized everything one by one. She placed Totto, the Demon King bear, and the elephant plush neatly beside her bed, then let out a “huff” and wiped imaginary sweat from the back of her hand.
Knock knock.
At the sound of the knock, Bunny jumped up.
“Yes!”
On tiptoes, she hopped and opened the door by hanging onto the doorknob.
Standing there was a woman with reddish-orange hair wearing a maid uniform. With a face as expressionless as Roden Heiner, she bowed politely.
“Nice to meet you, Lady Bunny. I am Jessie, your maid starting today. Please take care of me.”
“Hello, Demon…”
Ah—wait. If they find out Bunny is going to be a super big Demon King, she’ll get eaten!
Even the Duke House of Yudia is dangerous!
“I-I am Bunny, age 4, who dreams of becoming a Demon… Mage!”
At Bunny’s loud declaration, Jessie’s cheek twitched slightly.
Jessie quickly fixed her expression and showed what she was holding.
“Yes. I’ve brought the necessary materials. This is your schedule. Lady Bunny will begin in F-Class, the easiest class. From there, depending on your grades, you can move up to A-Class.”
At the rapid-fire explanation, Bunny blinked.
“You may not be used to this, so I will guide you to class for the first week.”
“Yes…”
“This mansion is called the ‘Trial Mansion.’ It is run by the Duke House of Yudia as a boarding institution to select talented individuals and provide them with proper basic education.”
“Yes…”
Bunny nodded blankly, clearly not understanding anything.
Seeing this, Jessie knelt down to match her eye level and continued.
“So, you just need to attend classes every day. Can you read?”
“Yes! Bunny is a genius!”
Bunny proudly lifted her chin.
Seeing her small, rising smile, Jessie couldn’t help but smile faintly as well.
“That’s wonderful. If you can read, you’ll be able to raise your rank quickly. There will also be a summoning ceremony soon. If you summon a good familiar there, your rank will rise significantly.”
“Summoning familiar?”
“Yes. Those with the blood of the Duke House can summon divine beasts or sacred artifacts. The Duke House of Yudia carries the blessing of the gods.”
Clunk.
Bunny’s head turned stiffly.
‘Bunny… doesn’t have god’s blessing…?!’
Ruriel had said it before.
The power of gods and the power of demons are opposites. If weak demons are touched by strong divine power, they turn to ash and break apart.
‘I’m doomed…’
Bunny… turning into ashes in the future?!
“What if I don’t summon anything?”
“Pardon?”
“If I can’t summon anything?”
“There has never been a case of no summoning. Don’t worry. If you are truly of the Duke bloodline, it will definitely work.”
RUMBLE—BOOM!
Once again, thunder and lightning struck—but only around Bunny.
Bunny was in BIG trouble again…
Already the second time!
Because…
‘I… am actually not human…’
Ruriel once said that demons and humans are completely different.
Bunny stood frozen like a statue, unmoving.
Jessie tilted her head slightly, then spoke again.
“I will come back to take you to dinner later. You must be tired, so please rest.”
“Yes…”
Click.
The door closed, and Jessie left.
Bunny immediately ran and flopped onto the bed.
“Ruri… Bunny is completely doomed…”
That was the only phrase she knew for despair, so she said it again.
“As ordered, I have brought Lady Bunny from the orphanage. Your Grace.”
Roden Heiner reported with his head lowered.
The elderly man who had been sorting through a pile of documents slowly raised his head.
Sharp eyes, a firm expression, tightly pressed lips, and silver hair slightly faded with age. Despite being elderly, he looked very strong—too strong to have three grown children.
“Has the identity of the child’s parents been confirmed?”
“No, not yet.”
“When I heard from my partner that there was a bloodline in some unknown orphanage, I wondered what was going on…”
The Duke clicked his tongue in displeasure.
The Duke House of Yudia was a sacred family carrying the blood of gods.
Because of this bloodline, they carefully managed their descendants, since they could summon divine beings.
They did not want their sacred blood to scatter and overflow into the world.
However, over time, the number of branch families had increased so much that most residents in the territory were now distant relatives.
Even worse, those with the bloodline had to undergo a ritual to cut off divine blessing if they wanted to leave the Duke House.
What was originally a small noble house had grown too large due to long-term plans from previous generations.
A plan to create an army made only of Duke bloodline members who could summon familiars.
The current Duke, Ludbride Yudia, had hated the idea since childhood—but in the end, all he could do was inherit the title at the worst possible time.
And this child was already the second escapee.
One had married a beastkin and had a child, and another had even abandoned an illegitimate child.
It had become too difficult to manage, so he intended to end this “Trial Mansion” project in his generation.
If the current children failed to reach standards by age 20, he would cut off their blessings through ritual and instead support their livelihood.
Otherwise, the ever-growing branch families would become impossible to control.
“Since she grew up in an orphanage, what kind of child was she?”
“….”
At the Duke’s question, Roden Heiner recalled Bunny.
Her chubby cheeks, the huge bag on her back, her sparkling smile, and her tiny sausage-like hands.
“She was… a very cute person.”
“…What?”
The Duke looked confused.
He had asked about her personality, not whether she was cute.
But Roden Heiner did not correct himself.
“Yes, then good luck with your first class, Lady Bunny.”
“Yes! Bunny can read! Genius Demon…”
King.
…is a secret!
Trailing off, Bunny struck a proud pose and walked into the classroom with her floppy rabbit backpack.
She sat in the very front seat, as her desk and chair were smaller than the others.
‘Get 100 points and become a duke lady!’
She took out her book and placed it on the desk.
“Alright, today we will start from page 27. Who would like to read first?”
Heh.
At the teacher’s words, Bunny snorted confidently and raised her hand high.
Easy!
“Oh! The new student… ah, Lady Bunny, right? Would you like to read?”
“Yes!”
Bunny stood up proudly and opened the textbook.
“….”
Silence fell.
The book was full of strange, curly writing.
Only then did Bunny realize something.
“Lady Bunny?”
“….”
Bunny… doesn’t understand human language.
“I… I don’t knoow…”
She muttered tearfully.
All Bunny knew was the excellent Demon language she had studied carefully since childhood with Ruriel.
