The gamble that burned my body was successful. Biting down hard, I tucked my flowing white hair behind my ear.
‘This… this didn’t hurt at all…’
By now, for me, waking up naked was no longer something to be surprised about. That was the reason I chose the dressing room in the first place.
Overcoming the pain, I stood up and slid the hangers aside like drawing a curtain.
‘This is…!’
My brow furrowed deeply.
If I spoke honestly, I was as frightened of Ahin’s garments as I was of the act of trying to become human.
Which one would be the cheapest fabric? But if it was being stored in the bedroom’s dressing room, it had already gone well beyond the point of considering cost-effectiveness.
What if I randomly picked something only to find it was as unbearably expensive as Perenium? If I wore it, I would have to fold it up here and there.
As I trembled, I suddenly recalled Meimi’s advice.
‘Rabbit, please go this way in emergencies. Ahin also permitted it.’
At that time, I was busy engaging in a contest of nerves with Quinn, so I only half-listened.
Bang, sprinting over, I flung open the small door attached inside the dressing room. A space large enough that it was too roomy to call a closet appeared.
Once inside, my heart churned, and I pursed my lips inward.
At a glance, there were clothes arranged to fit my stature. Not just one set, but dozens.
Just looking at outfits that considered clumsy movements gave me a clue as to who the owner was.
If only he had told me himself instead of just telling Meimi. Ahin knew perfectly well how to be considerate, yet he was stingy about showing it off.
Steeling my heart, which had started to soften, I took out the garment that fell into my hand. It was a dress that came to just above the ankle, similar in color to my eye hue.
That would do. I was about to run right out when I hastily backpedaled.
‘Whew, that was close.’
Covering my body was not all. I also needed shoes. I had almost made the huge mistake of walking around barefoot.
Having also put on flats and a cloak, I stood in front of the full-length mirror.
Rather than a Nymph, did I not look like a beastfolk rabbit who might collapse any moment?
My cheeks, reddened from the effort of dressing, and my gasping breaths were far from those of a refined Nymph.
By tomorrow, would the rumor about the “Nymph-like rabbit” be corrected to say it was merely a passing beastfolk rabbit?
‘…I don’t particularly mind.’
In truth, I minded a lot. Swallowing the urge to at least wear a mask, I dashed out of the dressing room.
Quinn, who seemed to be searching for my vanished self, pecked at the glass window with his beak.
“Quinn!”
As I approached, the hawk opened his sharp eyes wide. The moment I slid open the window, I snatched Quinn, showing a grim smile.
“It had been a long time.”
Quinn, unable to use his beak or attack with pheromones, struggled with a series of “peep, peep.”
Without delay, I shoved him into the ornamental cage in the bedroom and clicked the latch shut. Bang, Quinn started thrashing about so wildly that feathers flew.
“If you belittle a beastfolk rabbit, this is what will happen.”
At the sound of my dignified voice, Quinn’s body trembled.
Even if he returned to human form and escaped, that would be a humiliation for him as a person, would it not?
“You were only quick to snitch. I have something to do before I meet Ahin, so stay put for a moment. Here.”
Late in the game, I cajoled him, rolling a few strawberries from the fruit basket inside. Even though he was thrashing, Quinn quieted down to avoid squashing the strawberries, and he panted angrily.
Chances were, the moment he got out of the cage, he would peck me with his beak.
“I would let you out when I return.”
Placing the cage on the table, I exchanged a hug with Ash, who came running. Cleverly, Ash had waited until I captured Quinn.
Bara, who watched my affectionate behavior with Ash, snorted without even a greeting. Snorting in turn, I turned my head to the marble door.
‘If I leave, would the knights follow me?’
Most likely, yes. Even if they recognized my face and did not threaten me, they would probably try to detain me until Ahin returned.
By now, evening was approaching, so he might already be at the mansion or return soon. But my goal was to meet Grandfather first.
As I hesitated while looking at the door, Bara, who had been loitering, approached and lowered his body.
‘…What did this mean?’
As I studied the hard back muscles curiously, I quickly stepped back.
“No way, did it mean for me to get on?”
Where in the world did someone ride a black panther that was not even a horse? Moreover, having experienced riding on Ash’s back, if I fell off onto the floor, I could get hurt.
Remaining firmly crouched, Bara glanced back. The single exposed golden eye was not mocking or betraying.
‘Goodness….’
Maybe it would not be so bad to receive help just until leaving the bedroom.
Even if the employees made a fuss, after all that gossip, would they dare to handle the beastfolk rabbit that had appeared in the mansion so recklessly?
After considering this and that, I bent my body.
As soon as I awkwardly clung on, Bara lifted his body with a swoosh. Though appearing sleek and agile, his body was thicker than I imagined.
Creak, as I opened the door, the guard knights’ gazes wandered upward.
“What the…?”
The moment their bewildered eyes lowered,
“Aaaack!”
“R-Rabbit!”
As if acting in perfect unison, Ash and Bara suddenly took off running.
“A-a little slower-!”
My scream, unable to be swallowed, echoed around us. Bara’s direction was precisely toward the indoor greenhouse, a place Grandfather favored.
“Ash?!”
“Kyaaah!”
Shocked employees parted like the miracle of Moses at the two black panthers’ charge. Clinging onto Bara’s neck so tightly my arms turned white, I had no time to tell them to stop.
Help me. Physiological tears scattered sideways in droplets.
The Ash and Bara combination easily repelled the employees’ attempts to approach. Thanks to that, I reached the greenhouse entrance much faster than if I had walked. I tidied my clothes.
In truth, it was more my face, drenched in moisture, that needed tidying rather than my clothes.
‘Never again, not twice.’
The arms I had wrapped around Bara’s neck trembled; my hair was tangled as though I had a story to tell.
Already disheveled in a short time, I brushed down my hair and approached the entrance.
“…….”
The guard knights, dressed in black uniforms, stood upright. These were knights whose faces I’d grown familiar with by passing in and out of the indoor greenhouse.
They looked back and forth between Ash, Bara, me, and each other, repeatedly opening and closing their mouths. Likewise, I glanced around nervously and lowered my head.
“Excuse me….”
Bowing politely, I tried to slip through the entrance like a serpent crossing a wall. Unfortunately, as they came to their senses, the knights hurriedly blocked my way.
“W-well, um,”
Their half-formed words scattered into the air.
Judging by appearances, they guessed my identity, but they still seemed uncertain.
‘…It’d be nice if they’d just step aside.’
I approached and pushed the knights at my sides to open a path. Waves surged in their red eyes like a storm.
“Felton.”
“Yes! I mean, how…?”
“I get sick if I eat carrots, so it’s troublesome if you keep secretly giving them to me.”
Felton’s face turned as pale as a sheet.
“I know you had no bad intentions since you always brought them julienned for easy eating. And Milleon, I’ve been wanting to say this for a while,”
Milleon repeatedly uttered, “Ra-Rab-,” over and over.
“I’d like you to change the nickname ‘Toto.’”
“W-why….”
“Because Felton’s opinion that it’s unbearably lame is correct.”
Milleon clutched his forehead and stumbled, unable to keep his balance. Overwhelmed by mental shock, they no longer blocked my way.
I passed the entrance and stepped into the indoor greenhouse, filled with shades of green. Warm air enveloped my body.
Removing my cloak, I strolled softly over the grassy path. Ash and Bara followed docilely at my sides.
One of the things I learned during lessons was that Grandfather would always be in the indoor greenhouse at this time.
When we once shared tea time here, he had a different look in his eyes than usual.
If this was a place filled with memories, he might be here today as well.
After pushing aside the drooping leaves, I saw Grandfather sitting alone at the tea table. Always revealing his dignity by wearing robes or cloaks, even he wore a simple black uniform today.
Unable to approach hastily, I fiddled with the hem of my lilac dress. I had worn whatever I grabbed, and now I thought maybe I should have chosen black pants or a black dress.
“Dragging along black panthers makes you look like a black panther beastfolk yourself.”
At the gruff voice, I lifted my head from fiddling with my dress hem. He recognized me at once.
“You certainly aren’t a Nymph. No Nymph would go around with such disheveled hair.”
“Ah, this is….”
My tangled white hair showed no sign of yielding to my fingers. As I wrestled with my hair, he spoke quietly.
“Come and sit here.”
He behaved as nonchalantly as when I was a rabbit. Following Grandfather’s gesture, I hesitantly moved and took a seat next to him. In contrast, he got up and stood behind me.
“Is there a hairstyle you wanted?”
Did he intend to style my hair? Since he was a high-ranking nobleman, would he not have lived his whole life without ever touching his own hair?
He must have read the multiple thoughts in my gaze, for he snorted softly.
“When I first met you, did you not groom my hair? I intended to return the favor for the pigtails. Believe it or not, I always braid my own hair.”
Having my misdeed exposed, I fixed my gaze straight ahead, mechanically.
Still, back then, Grandfather was too much. How could he show up with a basket? I could not complain aloud, so I instead threw out a difficult request.
“…Please make it like a Nymph.”
“I very much like your spirit of challenge. Come to think of it, you did your assignment properly, did you not? Who was the scholar who advocated the precedent theory of pheromone transfer?”
“Dr. Philips Iris.”
Certainly, Madam Valence said I would learn basic etiquette, yet Grandfather was not merely ignoring etiquette but teaching content that academy students would learn.
“It was a phrase at the end of the last chapter, so it seemed you finished it in one sitting.”
Despite his rough hands, the way he swept through my hair felt gentle.
Aing, tsk, Grandfather complained about how my hair got so tangled no matter what I did.
I could not say I rode on Bara’s back. Smiling instead, I focused on the touch of his hands in my hair.
“Why are you laughing so foolishly? Judging by your gait, it seems I must increase your etiquette classes.”
‘Foolishly?’
Foolish? As expected, I could never grow fond of Grandfather. Wearing a stern look, I secretly rolled my eyes upward.
“At first, I thought you were a rabbit under some curse,”
With a delay, he began speaking while pulling the side hair back.
“Yet you looked so innocent. How could you be living together with someone like Ahin?”
“…….”
“If it became truly difficult, speak up. I would help you at least once.”
Perhaps it was his way of apologizing for our first meeting. For some reason, it felt like some of the resentment I had built up slightly subsided.
Seeing this, I realized I, too, was too soft. My lips curled into a small smile as I turned my head to face Grandfather.
“In exchange, please reduce the assignments a bit.”
“That silly grin led you to make such an impertinent request. Tomorrow, I shall double your assignments.”
What a terrible person. Frowning again, I pouted as I looked straight ahead.
“Gran…, Lord Lilion.”
“Just call me Grandfather. The grandson I have calls me an old man so rudely.”
The green leaves visible in my sight gradually turned crimson. The evening glow fell over the indoor greenhouse with its glass ceiling.
“Grandfather.”
“Yes.”
“The truth is, I came because there was something I wanted to ask.”
His hand, which had been braiding a strand of my hair, momentarily paused.
“Surely, you, too, had something you were curious about regarding me, which is why you took on teaching me.”
“…Amusing. Yes, that is correct. May I ask first?”
“No, you cannot.”
“W-what…?”
“What if you pretend not to know after hearing only my answer?”
“Goodness, who in the world taught you such a manner of speaking? Clearly that brat Ahin, that little mutt.”
If Ahin, who belonged to the feline family, heard this, his eyes would have turned over at the insult. As I laughed quietly, Grandfather clicked his tongue and spoke first.
“When you arrived at the Grace estate, I had a burn on my wrist that was oozing fluid. It clung to delicate skin, so even with treatment, it lasted quite a while.”
After finishing with my hair, Grandfather rolled up his sleeve to show his wrist.
“Yet after confronting you in the study, it was completely healed. Now only this faint trace remains.”
I looked down at the subtle mark that did not seem like a burn.
“It was a pheromone I had never encountered before, so thanks to you, I had reason to revisit the study after a long time and do some research. The nature of this ability must be healing-type pheromones.”
Nodding along to his calm voice, I agreed.
“It is such a rare pheromone that you probably cannot control it yourself. I suspect that all your suspicious points stem from it. Am I mistaken?”
“…No, it’s all true.”
“That was why I volunteered to be your teacher. I intended to teach you how to handle your pheromones more easily.”
It felt too focused on academics for that, though. As I narrowed my gaze, Grandfather cleared his throat and added.
“-I planned to teach you gradually.”
“Yes.”
“There was no way that Valence or my grandson would teach you properly. As you know, those two were monsters who instinctively handled pheromones, so they would not even understand the concept of learning how to use pheromones.”
I immediately understood what he meant. How had Madam Valence been when she first taught me how to control pheromones? Telling me to hold my breath and press on my blood vessels was essentially telling me to die.
“And,”
After pausing for a moment, Grandfather took a deep breath.
“It was not out of goodwill that I wanted to help you control your pheromones.”
“…I knew that. What I wanted to ask was related to that matter, after all.”
I stood up from my seat and faced Grandfather.
“It probably had something to do with what you said, that I would be needed by Ahin every moment.”
I wondered if it was related to the way my healing-type pheromones had calmed Ahin’s pheromone attacks.
A brief silence lingered. Grandfather, who was looking down at me, rubbed his temple.
“What kind of relationship do you have with that grandson of mine?”
“……!”
What a sudden question.
Officially, we were predator and prey, but I, harboring secret feelings, gazed off into the distance.
“There is no need to answer. I have been thinking since earlier, but you had a knack for speaking with your expressions. At the very least, keep your mouth closed if it is going to hang open like that.”
Even as a human, I had no human rights.
“You know that Ahin has dominant-type pheromones, right? It was a secret that was bound to be revealed anyway. Do you know what day it was today?”
“It was Lord Edith’s death anniversary… Ahin’s father.”
“Yes, he was also my son. Even though our Feyant family is a high-ranking noble line, that fellow Edith was far too inadequate to become the consort of a family head. Yet, by chance, with just a pretty face, he managed to become Madam Valence’ lover and ended up as her consort.”
There was no way one could become the head’s lover just by having a pretty face. As I gave him a skeptical look, Grandfather added.
“He probably had a more handsome face than that grandson of mine. He even had blond hair that was rare among the black panther clan, and he was cunning enough to know very well how pretty he was. In any case, Madam Valence must have chosen a suitable partner before any power struggles arose.”
A face more handsome than Ahin’s. I had no choice but to accept that and covered my mouth.
“Edith was a weakling. He had pheromones unsuited to his own stature, so he often collapsed.”
“Don’t tell me….”
“Yes, it was the same dominant-type pheromones as that Ahin fellow. It was as rare an ability as healing-type pheromones.”
“…….”
“It is fortunate that Ahin inherited the strong bloodline of Madam Valence. If not, he too would have collapsed quite often.”
Growing anxious, I clasped my hands together tightly. The overlapped hands became damp with sweat.
“Edith was not frail from the start. The problem began around the time he started having pheromone attacks after becoming the consort of the family head. Was it around when he was eighteen…?”
After letting out a faint sigh, Grandfather looked up at the ceiling.
It was only a few seconds of silence, but it felt like an eternity. Lowering his gaze from the ceiling, Grandfather smiled bitterly.
“Since there were hardly any precedents, we assumed that his body, which had barely managed to endure, eventually gave out.”
“Why were there no precedents….”
“Because such pheromones appeared only in the head’s lineage, it was kept strictly secret. Hah, the more I think about it, the funnier it gets. For our Feyant family to have such absurd pheromones.”
The twilight darkened his smile.
“And that unfilial son of mine died when Ahin was six years old. To the world, it was known as a chronic illness, but in reality, it was due to attacks related to those dominant-type pheromones.”
I felt as if all the blood had drained from my body. Seeing my pale face, Grandfather patted my shoulder.
“Do not worry too much. Since Ahin inherited the superior bloodline of Madam Valence, he was perfectly fine. …However, we cannot be certain that he will never have an attack in his lifetime.”
Why did ominous premonitions always come true? Clenching my fist, I resisted the urge to collapse. My fingernails dug into my tender flesh.
‘So Grandfather… still did not know.’
Ahin’s image, soaked in sweat and breathing roughly, dominated my mind.
* * *
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