Chapter 31
Chapter 31
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 31
Chapter Title: What the Hell is Honey Bun?
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Delphia immediately headed to Duchess Lukella's mansion.
Yet the atmosphere in the mansion was strangely subtle. As she walked down the corridors, the maids greeted her with flushed faces.
‘Why does everyone look so happy?’
The maids in this mansion were veterans who had served Duchess Lukella for over twenty years, more or less.
In other words, they had been attending the duchess even before Delphia left for soldier training and border inspections...
‘They used to maintain cold expressions at the duchess's command, didn’t they?’
Cool rationality, aloof demeanor, refined atmosphere.
It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say those three were the motto of the duchess’s maids.
In the few months she’d been away, the atmosphere in the duchess’s mansion had become seriously weird.
And it wasn’t long before Delphia overheard talk about something called Honey Bun as she walked the corridors.
“Haa... Will Honey Bun-nim come today?”
“We made tarts with fresh fruit today, so I hope he does...!”
“If I could just touch Honey Bun-nim’s chubby cheeks once, that’d be my dream come true.”
Delphia had sharp ears, as befitting an ability user of the Mirmod family.
She could hear the maids constantly chattering about someone named Honey Bun.
‘What the hell is Honey Bun?’
Why had the maids changed so much?
Harboring deep suspicion, Delphia was led to where Duchess Lukella was.
She easily entered the annex room where the duchess was.
The duchess sat at a round table arranging flowers, her posture elegant and dignified.
But Delphia could see it. Those flowers were poison blooms, laden with toxins that could kill those around them.
As expected, she’s eccentric and dangerous.
Treating a woman like that as some backroom old lady was for idiots only. Delphia twitched her eyebrow and sat across from her at the table.
“Did you fare well?”
“More or less.”
“To live in a place crawling with mold... You’ve got strong stomach.”
“Better than killing monsters on the border for a living.”
Duchess Lukella deftly parried Delphia’s sarcasm. She had the skill to brush off youthful cheek with seasoned ease.
Delphia, whose inner strength wasn’t fully depleted yet, muttered lowly as if to herself.
“Haa... Killing monsters is still better than killing time picking mold.”
Duchess Lukella didn’t rise to the petty provocation. Staring piercingly at Delphia’s coarsened silver hair, she said,
“Get to the point.”
“Sien Mirmod.”
Duchess Lukella didn’t reply. Instead, she snapped off a stem from the poison bloom she’d been tending and tossed it toward Delphia.
Catching the poisoned flower on reflex, Delphia made a puzzled face.
“Huh, suddenly? Is this a duel challenge?”
Tossing poisonous herbs was a customary challenge in high society.
Just as knights threw down their swords, ladies threw flowers. But so abruptly?
“Stay away from Sien Mirmod.”
Delphia inwardly questioned the subtly restrained anger on her face.
‘No way. Someone as icy as Duchess Lukella holding back anger?’
As confusion gripped Delphia, the duchess’s words pierced her ears.
“You’re not worthy.”
Her lips pressed firmly, it truly seemed like Sien Mirmod must not be touched.
She, who used to stiffen up just being near children because she hated them.
Once, the terror of every family’s children.
For such a duchess to wear that expression.
...The hypothesis that Sien Mirmod had won her over was gaining weight.
But a kid couldn’t possibly do that. Normally, they’d just wet themselves at the duchess’s glare.
“No... Why?”
In her momentary fluster, Delphia unwittingly minded her manners.
Regardless, the duchess lightly tapped the table and issued her eviction.
“Out.”
Delphia twitched her eyebrow and muttered to herself.
“What, it’s like you’ve given him a pet name because you adore him so much...”
Children of the Mirmod family died easily.
Thus, for a non-family member to give a child a nickname or pet name meant they loved that child more than anyone... and implied they would protect them.
At Delphia’s provocative words, Duchess Lukella tilted her chin and spoke.
“I don’t say things three times. Out.”
Delphia knew one solid fact about Sien Mirmod.
Probably the one fact everyone except the boy himself knew.
She tossed out one last provocative topic at Duchess Lukella.
“That kid might not even be Matthias’s real daughter, you know?”
“...What?”
“Protecting a kid who might not even be the family’s true heir?”
At those words, the poison bloom near Duchess Lukella’s hand withered rapidly. A bitter scent began wafting to Delphia’s nose.
Meeting the terrifying gaze of the duchess, Delphia instinctively realized.
Poison.
The lady had filled this annex room with poisonous fumes.
***
Delphia left the duchess’s chambers coughing harshly.
“Someone of her age, yet with such spirit...”
She’d escaped quickly using her illusion magic, but even a moment later and her life might’ve been in danger.
‘She wasn’t really trying to kill me, but it was a clear warning.’
Her breathing was still ragged.
Delphia frowned and headed to Matthias’s western mansion.
The problem was... this mansion didn’t welcome her either.
“They’ve got it properly defended.”
Holy power was smeared everywhere.
And right as she returned to the mansion, she ran into assassins sent by Matthias Mirmod.
After dealing with all the assassins, Delphia furrowed her brow.
Whether Duchess Lukella or Matthias Mirmod, they were all eager to protect Sien.
Which meant Sien Mirmod had become their weakness...
‘Matthias makes sense, but how’d he win over Duchess Lukella?’
Delphia slightly narrowed her brow, then lifted the corner of her mouth.
The little brat named Sien Mirmod was starting to grow on her.
She’d never liked kids before in her life.
But seeing him pull all these people into his arms, he clearly had something special.
Was it because she’d met an intriguing opponent after so long? Her heart pounded wildly. She tended to act manic whenever something exciting stimulated her...
“This is getting me hyped after so long?”
Her excitement made her ability hard to control. Her snow-white hair whipped around in an instant, and a faint smile bloomed on Delphia’s red lips.
She glanced at the maid who’d come running breathlessly to her side and said,
“Sien Mirmod doesn’t seem to be in the family mansion. Where is he?”
At first, she’d only thought of using him as Matthias’s weakness.
But the more she learned about Sien Mirmod bit by bit, the more he stuck in her mind.
Was the focus shifting a bit?
But whatever, it was fun, so who cared.
She even wanted to mess with him properly.
She said to the maid once more,
“Answer me. Where’d he go?”
“W-well. From what I’ve heard, it’s the Happiness Class at Meloang Toddler Academy... but I’m not certain. The trail’s been erased.”
“Then let’s go.”
Delphia smirked.
“To see something fun.”
The ‘something fun’ was obviously Sien Mirmod.
She didn’t know what kind of kid Sien Mirmod was, but she knew he was clever enough. Now it was time to check him out in person.
***
In the end, I was dragged by Dad’s hand to Meloang Academy, barely having rubbed the sleep from my eyes.
‘Sien, wanna go eat pork cutlet with Dad?’
‘Yeah! Love pork cutlet!’
He’d definitely said we were going for pork cutlet.
I had no idea why we’d ended up at this academy full of sunlight and cute animals.
‘Damn it, what the hell is this!’
I pouted my lips in full dissatisfaction and looked around the academy grounds.
I was in the tea room.
It was a serene space where tidy adults and children gathered in clusters, enjoying tea time.
People smiled warmly at me as I blinked in confusion. Dad smiled tenderly too.
Thus began the time for purifying the mind through meditation.
“Every human is beautiful.”
“Here, learn to love people.”
I sighed deeply inwardly.
‘I’ll let it go in one ear and out the other. Humans are evil! I’m the strongest!’
...I absolutely wouldn’t be tainted by goodness.
But sadly, there was a fatal obstacle:
“Looks like everyone in the world really is beautiful, right?”
Dad, meditating beside me and speaking to me so kindly.
Even his eyes were incredibly warm and gentle.
My already kind Dad was getting even kinder.
“The teacher said to reach out to struggling neighbors.”
“......”
“Sien?”
“Yeah... Sure.”
“Meet friends, share what’s yours, care for the hurt, love them. Warmly.”
Dad had become the heir to the villainous Mirmod family.
So he needed to be steeped in evil, reigning over villains, not viewing the world in naive happiness.
But Dad’s current state was excessively kind. It was deeply troubling in every way.
‘Even trying to make me good again...’
I sighed repeatedly as I looked at Dad.
“Phew...”
“Our Sien will grow up so kindly, right? Dad’s happy.”
Dad smiled with soft eyes.
Seeing that, all that came out of my mouth were sighs.
“Absolutely not.”
I shook my head vigorously, then looked ahead again.
The silver lining was that I’d stubbornly insisted on Acid and Leonhardt coming, so they were by my side.
Of course... their presence was barely there.
I glanced at them, heads bowed and dozing off, then clenched my tiny teeth.
No matter how I looked, Acid and Leonhardt were half-dead.
To the point where I wondered what they’d been up to last night.
‘Did those two do something yesterday?’
I let out a long sigh and clasped my hands like Dad in prayer.
Fine, whatever with them. That wasn’t the issue.
‘If Sunny Dad turns into an even sunnier character, I’m in trouble.’
It was time for drastic measures.
***
Oblivious to Sien’s thoughts, Acid dozed off with his head bobbing. He kept recalling what Leonhardt had said during dessert the night before.
That night over dessert, Leonhardt had arrogantly lifted his chin and declared,
‘You’re too weak.’
“...T-that’s.”
It was true, so he couldn’t retort. Leonhardt smirked at Acid.
‘Only I can protect Night Fluff.’
He couldn’t argue with that either.
‘I’m way too weak compared to ‘that one’ too. But I plan to gain strength soon.’
‘That one?’
‘Like I said earlier, Matthias Mirmod-nim. Seems like he’s after Night Fluff—no, Sien’s life.’
Hearing Leonhardt’s arrogant yet dry voice, Acid despaired.
As he said, he was just a slum kid.
Saved by Sien-nim’s grace, otherwise still begging to survive... just a little kid.
The faint noise of people meditating reached his ears.
But he barely registered it. Lost in his thoughts, Acid’s small fists clenched.