Chapter 24

Chapter 24

Life with Hirpus was so sweet, it could easily be compared to honey. It was an unbroken string of blissful days. Just having him nearby, petting his fluffy fur, brought comfort to my heart. And surprisingly, Hirpus helped me out more than I expected.

First off, whenever Regnator brought over some absurd new kind of baby food, I didn’t have to throw it away anymore because I had a solution.

It was simple.

“Woof-wooo!”

That’s all it took, and the baby food problem was gone. To be honest, ‘Hirpus’ was hard to pronounce. My body might have grown a bit, but my short, underdeveloped tongue hadn’t kept up. Every time I tried to say his name, it just came out as gibberish.

Eventually, I hit the limits of my tongue and settled for calling him ‘woof-woof.’ A compromise… though, of course, only I agreed to it.

Regnator sometimes grumbled about other demons using the phrase ‘damn mutt…’ or something of that sort, so ‘woof-woof’ was apparently a thing in the Demon Realm too. Even after the war with baby food was over, Regnator refused to give up.

Maybe it was some twisted instinct to feed me things that were ‘good for my body’. So, he kept bringing them as snacks. But honestly, they looked absolutely inedible. I sighed and stared at the colorful mush in the bowl.

‘If this were before, I would’ve flung the bowl right into his face…’

And then I’d have to endure a silent, intense power struggle across the table. Regnator always picked up the discarded food with a deadly glare, as if wondering what was so wrong with his masterpieces.

‘Well, I don’t have to deal with that anymore!’

I relaxed the scowl on my face.

“Woof-wooo.”

Hirpus, who had been lying next to my chair, perked up his ears and lifted his head. His usually lifeless, red eyes sparkled with delight. At the same time, Regnator’s eyes that had just handed me the food, flashed with danger.

“This damn—cough.”

At least he tried not to swear in front of me. That was… admirable. But it wasn’t hard to guess what he was going to say next.

“Woo-woo.”

I pushed the bowl toward Hirpus, telling him to eat up. Without hesitation, Hirpus lifted one paw and rested it on the chair before inhaling the food in the bowl.

He ate with such gusto that for a brief moment, I even wondered should I try a bite…?

Just a thought.

I wasn’t actually going to put anything that weird and colorful into my mouth.

‘Sometimes it even wriggled a little…’

No doubt, it was food only demons could eat.

“Arf arf!”

I looked proudly at Hirpus, who had cleaned the bowl spotless, and patted his head. Every time I patted him like this, he’d squint his eyes and quickly turn his head away. I guess we weren’t that emotionally close yet.

According to Regnator, Hirpus had been abandoned the moment he was born and had survived a harsh life since. That would explain his extreme caution around others.

We’d only been together for about two weeks. It was okay if he didn’t wag his tail at the sight of me… yet. Then, gazing solemnly at the now-empty baby food bowl, Regnator sighed deeply.

“Lady Bellatrix, this is cruel. Do you have any idea how precious that baby food was…? And you gave it to that lowly beast.”

I don’t know. If you really want me to eat it, bring something edible next time.

“Look at him! He knows how valuable it is, and yet he gobbles it down without shame. Absolutely clueless, that mutt…”

He had seen me hand over the bowl myself, so he couldn’t get angry at me. Instead, he vented on poor Hirpus. I’d witnessed this exact scene play out for the past two weeks.

And Hirpus? Whether Regnator cursed or muttered under his breath, he didn’t care one bit.

If he’d already adapted to this environment, that was… impressive. Either way, I tapped the table with my hands, signaling my own growing hunger.

“Food!”

It was the second clearest word I could manage these days, next to ‘Papa.’ Even though my tongue was too short to speak clearly, the more I practiced, the better my pronunciation got.

Regnator, about to launch into another rant, twitched at the sound of my word and turned away with a contorted face.

“Sigh… I never should’ve brought that beast here…”

A muttered lament escaped his lips. That, too, was a phrase I heard every day. Understanding what he must be feeling, I couldn’t help but giggle inside.

He’d given me Hirpus as a sort of comfort plushie, hoping I’d smile but never imagined that plushie would become his biggest obstacle in getting me to eat. Regnator’s grumbling had started to seem… cute, actually. I guess I was getting used to him, too. Which was honestly kind of a problem.

“Oh, by the way. Morus will be arriving here soon.”

“Oh?”

“I’ve mentioned Morus before, do you remember?”

Of course I did.

‘Morus’ was a name that often came out of Regnator’s mouth. And how could I forget? He was the one who delivered the shocking ‘he’s married’ revelation. Truly unforgettable.

“She turned out to be better at controlling her strength than expected. Took me months to get there, but… ahem! I’ll be getting busy with other things, so Morus will be taking care of you in the meantime.”

Regnator, who usually ditched all responsibilities just to take care of me, was suddenly stepping back? He even had an unsettling amount of pride in his role as my nanny. So obsessive it was scary.

‘Something serious must’ve come up…’

There’s no way he’d give up his one and only position otherwise.

“It’s just for a while. Just temporary,” he quickly added, as if afraid I’d think Morus was replacing him.

His face turned gloomy, worried that if he disappeared for even a short time, I’d forget about him.

“Human babies tend to erase people from their memories if they don’t see them for a while,” he said.

That was news to me.

“Everyone knows human memory is poor. And you, Lady Bellatrix, haven’t even fully developed yet… oh! I’m not saying you’re forgetful!”

What the heck? That felt like a jab.

“But just in case. Just imagine the possibility. You carry the blood of that… uh, ‘blessed by the gods’ wretch, and have absorbed the aura of the great Lord Lucifer himself…”

It was the first time Regnator had mentioned my biological father, the Hero. And judging from how much he grimaced while saying it (and even coughed), he hated doing so.

‘Now that I think about it… demons do believe in gods, but they seem to really hate them. Why is that?’

I’d have to look into it later.

“Lady Bellatrix… please don’t forget me. Hmm, should I cut off some of my hair and turn it into an accessory for you?”

No thanks. Why your hair?

“Is it the red color? Then perhaps my bone powder in a vial…”

That’s even worse. I gave him a look of pure exasperation while sighing. He really said those things with zero hesitation. Babies don’t forget people unless they’re gone for a really long time. Judging by his current panic, Regnator would probably lurk around the hallway every hour. Thus, how could I forget him?

It was an unnecessary worry.

Still… seeing him so desperate, I gave in.

“Nyuh-muh.”

“… Gasp.”

“Ah-woo.”

Go, it’s okay. You’re too unforgettable anyway. That’s what I meant. Whether he understood it correctly was anyone’s guess, he was the type to interpret anything however he pleased.

Still, since he had something important enough to pull him away from me, I even gave him the honor of calling him ‘nanny.’ He had once begged on his knees for me to call him that just once. Consider this your reward.

If I could, I would’ve told him to take his time, and without him I am fine. But that would’ve been too generous.

His lips parted silently at my words. Soon his eyes welled up, lips trembling, and yep, his eyes turned red and glassy.

‘Don’t tell me… is he actually crying?’

Nah. That’s ridiculous. But I leaned in closer, just in case. Sure enough, he bowed his head low and his shoulders trembled.

‘He’s really crying?’

I couldn’t even react. My jaw just dropped. Then he actually started sniffling, so loudly, at top of that. 

Sniff, sniff.

The sound was so distinct it made my ears burn with secondhand embarrassment. My eyes darted everywhere, unsure where to look. I had only mumbled something barely coherent, but he looked so overwhelmed with joy that he started crying.

I mean… I was grateful. Really, I was.

But it was also so embarrassing. Why? Why are you this happy about it?

“You lunatic.”

A voice cut in suddenly. I turned toward it and saw a woman standing there, staring at us like she’d seen enough ridiculousness to last a lifetime. Hirpus, who had been ignoring everything like it wasn’t his business, lifted his head at the unfamiliar voice.

Then, ever so subtly, he inched in front of me.

As if to protect me. He looked… heroic, even.

Honestly, compared to Regnator crying over being called ‘nanny,’ Hirpus had way more emotional impact. Sorry, Regnator.

“What the hell…”

Regnator, completely unaware that he’d just been upstaged by a dog, not even a demon beast, turned to face the new arrival.