The Tyrant's Pet

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace...

"Hey," Conan observed the little girl eating to her heart's content in the dining hall. After calling him handsome, Conan happily opened the door for her. However, while the little girl was leaving, she called him handsome again and asked him for food.

It was a shallow reason to fulfill the little girl's request, but they were harmless requests. So Conan brought her into one of the private dining halls where the servants served breakfast for the little girl and Conan. But he hadn't touched his food, while the little girl was already on her second.

Sunny swallowed a big gulp and turned to Conan. She blinked adorably, waiting for Conan to speak about what he wanted to say.

"How did you get into my office?" Conan inquired cautiously.

"Grandpa locked me in."

His brows furrowed. "Your Grandpa lock you there? You've been there all night?" he gasped in disbelief when she nodded.

"What — wow... your grandfather is crazy, isn't he? How can he lock a child in that place all night?" he scoffed, shaking his head. "Surely, this world is a crazy and scary place."

"Mhm. Scary." Sunny nodded and then continued eating happily.

Seeing her lack of urgency or fear of getting locked in all night, Conan shook his head. However, he blamed it on this child's innocence. In his head, he assumed she didn't know the real gravity of being left in a room full of documents all night.

"Your grandfather should be punished. This is child abuse." He let out a deep breath, eyes still on Sunny, who was gulping the stew straight from the bowl as if she was starved for a decade. "You have a monstrous appetite — I mean, tell me your grandfather's name. Even if he is an official, I won't let him get away from doing this to a child. Does he have any idea how dangerous it was to leave a child in such a cold room?"

Sunny looked back at him once more, but instead of answering his question, she raised an inquiry. "Handsome Uncle, do you hate being a vampire?"

"No. Why would I?" he shook his head before his eyes dilated as he gasped. "What? How did you --"

"Then why aren't you using your vampire senses?" she threw a follow-up question before he could even finish his sentence. Sunny looked at Conan with genuine wonder in her eyes, blinking almost innocently.

"What — how did..." Conan was lost for words, looking at the little girl in disbelief. A normal vampire would know Conan's disposition with just his aura alone, but only a few people — and by a few, he meant Abel, Dexter, Isaiah, Morro, and Gustav — who knew about his adamant refusal to use his abilities.

So, how did this little girl know? It wasn't like it was a secret, but no one talked about it since it was his personal matter.

"But Handsome Uncle is strong, so it's fine if he doesn't use it." Sunny grinned and stacked up the empty plate over the already used one, only to grab a new one to eat.

Conan watched the little girl eat her third plate today, but he didn't dwell on her monstrous appetite. Instead, he remained silent, observing.

"Hey, how did you know?" he asked after a minute of prolonged silence, watching her cast him an innocent look. "How did you know about that?"

"You won't ask Sunny if you do." Her answer was vague, making the lines in between his forehead deepen. "Grandpa likes Handsome Uncle because Handsome Uncle is very kind. He is feeding Sunny."

A deep exhale slipped past Conan's nostrils. "Hey, kid. Do you eat everything people give you? Have you ever heard of poison? Also, wow... you eat a lot. Are you sure you're just locked inside the first chancery last night and not for a year?"

"Mhm. Grandpa tossed me inside and told me to fix everything so the Handsome Uncle won't cry so much."

"Huh?" Conan cocked his head to the side with multiple question marks in his speech bubble. "Who's your grandfather?"

Sunny hummed a long tune, looking up as if that would help her recall her grandfather's name. When she looked back at Conan, her lips stretched from ear to ear until her little teeth were showing and her eyes were squinting.

"Handsome and tall Grandpa." Conan's face contorted at her answer. He watched her spread her little arms as she continued, "Grandpa is so tall he's like a giant!"

"Morro?" Conan guessed and then shook his head. That was impossible. Morro didn't have such worldly desire. It was even possible for Morro to turn into a white raven than him indulging in such activity.

"How can you even forget your grandfather's name?" he mumbled in disbelief, studying the innocent little girl. "Don't worry, I'll look for your grandfather and give him a good scolding."

Sunny clapped as her eyes sparkled. "Handsome Uncle sounds reliable!"

"Hehe. Of course. If you hadn't known yet, even the emperor fears me." He gloated, rubbing his finger under his nose. "Your grandfather should tremble in fear — hey! where are you going?"

Conan gasped as the little girl suddenly jumped out of her seat while he was bragging. Sunny looked back at him while rubbing her bloated tummy.

"Sunny is finished." She burped and then blinked. "Sunny is sleepy."

"What...?" Conan gasped, moving his gaze at the table. His jaw dropped as he looked at his plate, and it was also empty! He just looked away for a second, and the food on the table was already gone! If Morro was here, even the plates and cutleries would also disappear without a trace.

"Wow... is she Morro's granddaughter? But wait, I never heard him having a child." He turned to where Sunny was and sprung up in a panic when even the child's shadow disappeared. "What? Where did she go?"

Conan hurriedly marched to where Sunny left. However, when he was in the hallway, the little girl was nowhere to be found. Even when he searched for her in the area, he didn't find her. It was as if she disappeared, just like that.