After enduring a morning that felt like a battle, I finished getting ready with the help of a servant.
The maid with purple eyes fastened a red ribbon to my half-tied hair, saying it was the latest trend among noble ladies.
Meanwhile, Ahin had arranged breakfast on the desk in the guest room. The menu, including potato stew and finger sandwiches, seemed thoughtfully selected with me in mind.
As I was about to start eating, I felt a heavy weight on my thigh. I looked down just as I was about to spread cream on my croissant.
Ash, whom Everine had brought over, was resting her head on my thigh, blinking her eyes. Her gaze was as pitiful as a rain-soaked black panther as she stared at the croissant.
The red collar around Ash’s neck made me feel uneasy.
Even though she had caused a commotion the previous day and couldn’t be left unattended, I still felt sorry for her. In the end, I quietly handed her the croissant I had in my hand. Ash gulped it down in one bite.
“Ash has already eaten enough. You should focus on yourself first.”
Ahin, seated across from me, advised with a smile. Dressed in his black uniform, he had been grinning from ear to ear as if something had amused him since earlier.
Seeing him act like that, it seemed like he had fully recovered. As I quietly picked up another croissant, anticipating a cold day ahead due to the morning’s incident, I thought to myself:
‘What now?’
I hadn’t even finished our conversation, and yesterday’s pheromone episode wasn’t the first time something like that had happened.
As I pondered, Ahin pushed various plates in my direction, while leaving only a cup of cocoa in front of himself.
“That’s strange.”
I glanced at him while biting into my croissant in response to his muttering.
“When you were a rabbit, I fattened you up like a ball, but it doesn’t seem to apply when you’re in human form?”
“Who’s a ball—”
I almost got caught in his words but quickly closed my mouth.
“There’s less to eat than I thought.”
Crunch. The soft croissant in my hand crumpled like a sheet of paper. His savage words, which were always difficult to distinguish between a joke and a serious statement, sent a shiver down my spine.
I glared at him, lips trembling. The fear of his fangs, the ones I became well acquainted with at dawn, only added to the anxiety.
“You—”
“A damn predator?”
“…….”
“I thought so last night too, but somehow, that makes my heart flutter.”
Ahin propped his chin on his hand and smiled brightly.
“Say more.”
He was hopeless. After teetering on the edge of life and death all night, it seemed only his body had survived while his soul was left behind. Resigning myself to his absurd behavior, I continued eating in silence.
After watching me eat for a while, Ahin spoke.
“Tell me how you got in here. The Amon chief will ask about Ash causing trouble.”
It had finally come. I carefully chose my words as I set down my spoon.
“It’s nothing much, just… I owed a little debt to Rune.”
At the mention of Rune, Ahin’s brow subtly furrowed. I quickly corrected myself, faster than light.
“I mean, to the lion.”
“Of course.”
He dropped a sugar cube into his cocoa and stirred it nonchalantly.
Despite my cautious approach in mentioning Rune, Ahin didn’t seem particularly upset. Emboldened by this, I continued more easily.
“I got some help from the southern gate of the Boundary Forest. And when I was passing through the mansion…”
“Keep eating while you talk.”
Ahin personally handed me a croissant with cream. Feeling the unspoken pressure, I took a bite and continued.
“Ash entered as Rune’s—no, the lion’s pet, and I hid separately.”
“Where?”
“…In his inside pocket.”
Even though he had asked, Ahin was still focused on stirring the sugar into his cocoa. After a beat, he asked a bit later than expected.
“Mm, go on.”
“When I arrived, it was too late at night, so I planned to stay just for the night and head to you the next day.”
“In the lion’s bedroom?”
I nodded, confirming it, but something about it felt off. I could feel Ahin’s scrutinizing gaze. Feeling embarrassed, I quickly added:
“I was a rabbit at the time.”
“Continue.”
He replied in his usual low voice, still stirring his cocoa.
“Then I caught a whiff of the lion’s pheromones, but I couldn’t understand the signals that he was about to transform into a human, and I just fell asleep…”
“Signals?”
“It was nothing. He just… wiggled his front paws.”
There was no way I could admit that I had danced in my panic. I wiggled my hands awkwardly, imitating the motion of his front paws, and quickly continued.
“When I woke up in my current form, Ash must have moved me to an unused room. After that, I met Professor Jisanna.”
“Professor Jisanna…?”
“The physician from Endellus. She said she had ties with the chief of the Rabbit Territory, so she came over,”
I paused briefly and then shot him a sharp question.
“You said you knew her, right?”
Ahin tapped the table with his fingers and nodded slightly.
“Just a passing acquaintance.”
“…Anyway. Thanks to Professor Jisanna and Rune—no, the lion—I was able to get through the banquet entrance. Since Ash couldn’t enter the banquet hall, I temporarily left her in Restin’s guest room.”
“You really do have a knack for getting into unexpected situations.”
Just like Ahin said, there were far more incidents than I had anticipated. I muttered sheepishly, embarrassed by my earlier claims that it wasn’t a big deal.
“Next time, I’ll go by your plan.”
“Is that all?”
Ahin, resting his chin on his hand, smiled innocently.
“All…?”
His smile carried a deeper meaning. Was he asking for more details about my mother? I couldn’t quite figure out what answer he wanted, so I rolled my eyes around nervously.
“Since we met in the garden, you’ve smelled of that lion. It’s faint, but still there.”
‘Rune’s scent?’
“There’s still a little left on you.”
From what I had learned so far, picking up someone else’s scent required physical contact. Even though I had been on high alert, if Rune had used pheromones to leave his scent, there’s no way I wouldn’t have noticed.
‘Wait a minute.’
As I opened and closed my mouth in confusion, I suddenly recalled the moment right before parting with Rune, when he had grabbed my wrist.
‘That’s when it happened.’
It was when I had been tense at the possibility of running into someone from the Rabian family. Now that I thought about it, I had felt oddly calmer after that moment.
‘Could his pheromones have something to do with that?’
As I absentmindedly stared down at my wrist, I realized that it was the same spot Ahin had persistently grabbed all night. The very place where Rune had touched me.
“…….”
Just as I sensed the atmosphere turning tense, Everine entered after receiving permission.
“Lord Ahin, it seems you need to attend an urgent meeting.”
“I’m busy. You attend in my place.”
“It’s a meeting for the high-ranking nobles, so that’s impossible.”
“Then just say I won’t attend. I have something I need to settle with Vivi right now.”
What was he going to settle with me? A sense of foreboding crept over me, wrapping around my entire body.
‘Vivi, if you come back with that lion’s scent on you one more time…’
No…! Ahin’s old warning resurfaced in my mind, as my cursed memory chose this moment to recall it vividly.
“Is this issue more important than the meeting?”
“…Vivi’s been fooling around with the lion again.”
Ahin, his eyes slightly misty, slumped over the table. It was clear he had found an ally in Everine.
“Lady Rabbit.”
Everine’s disappointed gaze fell on me. I, now pale as a ghost, shook my head vehemently.
“Everine, this is a misunderstanding.”
“Look, even her first words sound suspicious.”
Ahin’s voice, muffled as he lay face down, carried a note of dampness.
“It’s true… Drooping eyes do symbolize flirtatiousness.”
Are they crazy? My eyes had always been like this. Suppressing my anger, I lifted my eyebrows, trying to raise my drooping eyes even a little.
“There she goes, glaring again. Always acting so brazen.”
“It’s a common trait of those who are deeply unfaithful. Lord Ahin, brace yourself for the future—this shamelessness is too much to handle.”
Who’s being shameless here? They were accusing me as if it were a matter of fact.
Forget Ahin, Everine was proving to be more consistent and unwavering than I had anticipated.
I had thought that maybe, once I turned into a human, he might falter a little and find me harder to deal with. But my hopes had turned into nothing more than bubbles, as he treated me exactly the same.
However, there was something both of them were overlooking. I, Vivi, was no longer the helpless baby rabbit that could only flail my hind legs in protest.
Having resolved not to hold back today, I rose from my seat with determination. It was time to show them a little bite.
* * *
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