The interval between the dominance-type pheromone seizures was becoming shorter and shorter.
Ahin, who had been forcibly reverted to his true form in an uninhabited room, had just returned to the bedroom after struggling through another seizure.
In the deep dawn, Ahin, who had naturally reverted back to human over time, blinked his heavy eyelids.
He touched his throbbing forehead and sat up. Srrrk, the blanket slid down, revealing his well-toned upper body.
Turning his head, Ahin instinctively searched for the frisky bunny.
Thanks to her not being a cotton puff, Vivi, sprawled across the bed, quickly came into view.
She had shown a dance she didn’t even know she knew to a lion, lacking in both skill and self-awareness.
As he wondered what to do, the moment he caught the scent of Vivi’s pheromones, his head spun. Just like when he had taken in healing-type pheromones during a seizure, it was a disturbing sensation of consciousness slipping away.
His gaze slowly moved and lingered on the nape of Vivi’s neck, exposed above her negligee. Over his unfocused red eyes, a faint desire to feed surged.
Ahin couldn’t tear his gaze away from her neck. The sweet scent of the healing-type pheromones gently wafted and tickled his nose.
Thump, thump, thump.
His blood vessels throbbed as if they had turned into hearts.
He was so thirsty, he wanted to bite into that soft neck.
Just like when he had felt as if he was absorbing the healing pheromones. It was a moment of precariousness, as if he could black out at any second.
Crunch, he bit his lip hard enough to draw blood. The sharp pain helped to clear the fog in his mind, if only slightly.
The red pupils peeking through the tangled silver hair gradually regained focus.
Ahin, having suppressed a desire even he couldn’t understand, licked his lips. Bright red blood smeared the back of his hand. After wiping the blood from his lips, he stared at the sleeping Vivi, completely unaware of what had happened.
Vivi, who had been frowning deeply in her sleep, suddenly kicked her feet. It seemed she was being chased by a beast even in her dreams.
Even if just for a moment, he had almost bitten her neck. Against his will.
Ahin, chilled to the core, didn’t even realize that his own hands were trembling.
“Vivi.”
He gently tickled the white foot before him with his index finger. Thump-thump, her feet kicked again, and the liveliness eased Ahin’s anxious heart, if only a little.
After Edith’s death, Ahin had always known that death’s shadow followed him, so he hadn’t feared much.
But at some point, he began to fear Vivi.
That the little puffball might die while his eyes were averted for a moment. Or that she might escape the moment she succeeded in becoming human.
That she might fall for a leisurely lion, given her flirtatious nature. Or that a seizure might cause him to send Vivi away on his own.
Whenever it involved Vivi, Ahin was overwhelmed by an unfamiliar fear.
It was a dangerous emotion.
Even today, every time he recalled Vivi’s flushed face, heated because of him, his stomach tightened endlessly.
And her persistent questioning about the pheromone seizures left him flustered, yet oddly satisfied.
As long as the shackle of seizures existed, the gentle bunny would stay by Ahin’s side, even if it wasn’t out of love.
Sympathy wasn’t so bad. Ahin suddenly thought that maybe, if he could possess all of Vivi’s emotions, this unease might be soothed.
As if entranced, Ahin picked up Vivi’s foot and placed a kiss on the top. A short moment passed.
Carefully laying her foot down again so as not to wake her, he looked down at himself. Having returned from black panther form, he was practically naked.
If Vivi were to see him like this, she’d probably like it, but…
‘…No, I can’t.’
He had teased her a little because she questioned his transformation into a black panther, and he hadn’t expected her to confess about having a fling with a lion.
Ahin’s lips pressed into a straight line. Visual stimulation worked best on the flirtatious bunny, so he needed to save it for the right time.
After putting on pants in the dressing room and loosely throwing on a shirt, he approached the terrace.
“Come out.”
There was movement beyond the heavy curtain. Quinn, who had been hiding behind it, appeared with quick, small steps.
“Did I order you to be on the terrace today?”
“…….”
“Why are you doing things I never told you to?”
Ahin, buttoning his sleeve, looked down at Quinn with cold eyes.
“Didn’t you say with your own mouth that you wouldn’t yield to the bunny like Everine did?”
This time, Quinn had no words to counter and covered his face with his wings.
The truth was, he had wandered onto the terrace because Everine’s words about character had gotten to him. His face burned with embarrassment.
Meanwhile, facing Quinn who was trying to communicate with his wings, Ahin was dumbfounded.
Perhaps because he had been assigned to watch over the bunny from the beginning, he had naturally picked up Vivi’s paw-waving antics. And he wasn’t even aware he was doing it.
“As punishment for acting on your own, no strawberries for a week.”
“Don’t even think about sneaking into the kitchen,” Ahin added coldly. Quinn, struck by a bolt from the blue, staggered in shock.
In the meantime, Ahin quickly wrote a short letter and tied it to Quinn’s leg.
“This is a message to be sent to Rune Manionts.”
Quinn nodded and, with a heavy heart, climbed onto the terrace railing.
“…Still, it wasn’t bad that you kept watch over the terrace on your own today. From now on, stay on watch like this once you return from the Manionts house.”
Watching the hawk’s back, Ahin spoke quietly.
“Don’t watch Vivi. Watch me.”
Quinn, who had stopped mid-flap, gave Ahin a sharp look.
Counting today, this was the second time. Quinn now understood that Ahin reverting to his true form wasn’t just a stunt to tease the bunny.
Without asking anything, he took off high into the sky.
* * *
House of Manionts
Rune had just received Ahin Grace’s letter when he leapt down from the tree.
Since when had they been rivals? Standing in the middle of the garden, he recalled his distant childhood.
When he was six years old, the Manionts family was in the midst of selecting the next successor. Since Rune’s sister, Leona Manionts, was already the obvious candidate, the process wasn’t complicated.
However, the trouble began when the lion territory’s head, wary of threats from those backing Leona, placed Rune in the Grace household for the duration of the selection.
That was when he first met Ahin Grace, also six at the time, who was a complete rogue.
Unlike Rune, who had only learned how to give up, Ahin acted like the world belonged to him — arrogant, relaxed, and full of greed.
Rune had likely envied Ahin, who could be greedy without restraint.
Maybe that was why. The bottled-up resentment from being a guest in someone else’s land burst out in misplaced anger.
‘Still sleeping with that grimy doll even as you grow up! And you think you’re going to lead the black panther territory?’
‘You dare speak like that, not even knowing the charm of a bunny.’
Young Ahin proudly thrust out the rabbit doll he was holding. Rune, faced with the slightly dirty plush he’d cuddled every night, waved his hand dismissively.
‘Get that ugly bunny away!’
‘Say that again.’
Furious, Ahin swung the bunny doll with all his might. “Ack!” Rune, toppled over, burst into tears, and Everine, who had been watching, stepped up to fulfill his role as a budding aide.
‘Please calm down, Lord Rune, Lord Ahin. If you’re going to fight, do it in secret. The adults will scold you.’
Ahin narrowed his eyes and asked.
‘Everine, why did you say the lion’s name first? Whose side are you on?’
After a serious moment of thought, Everine answered honestly.
‘I’m on the side of whoever wins.’
‘Useless fool.’
‘U- useless… ah!’
The flying bunny doll hit Everine square in the face. He became the second casualty, shedding tears like raindrops.
Lilion, who arrived late, hurriedly scooped up the two crying children.
‘Rune was right, Ahin. You’re the one who will lead the black panther territory someday. You’re too old to sleep with a doll.’
‘Why do you always just tell me what not to do, old man?’
And that day, Edith passed away.
From that moment on, Ahin was never seen holding the dirtied bunny doll again.
His greed to possess anything remained unchanged, but he became just as quick to discard. At times, he acted like someone who could die at any moment.
Recalling those distant days, Rune reread the message.
「If you come on my birthday, I’ll really kill you this time.」
It was probably about the bunny. Receiving a letter from Ahin for the first time in his life, he let out a laugh of disbelief. It was amusing to see that reckless man finally taking caution.
“He said not to come, so let’s not, Lord Rune. It’s an event that could be entrusted to your other siblings.”
Restin, peeking over Rune’s shoulder, fiddled with his monocle.
“Is it okay to be reading the master’s letter so freely?”
“I’m serious. I’ve thought about it, and I believe the black panther territory where Sir Everine lives is a cursed land. Especially now that you were featured in the gossip papers—if you attend Ahin’s birthday, you’ll definitely be the center of attention.”
“You’re not just afraid of meeting the nymph?”
“Why would a lion like me be afraid of a bunny?”
As they discussed whether to attend, a sinister shadow crept behind them.
Soon, without warning, the two were grabbed by the scruff and lifted halfway off the ground. Restin, pale-faced, placed his hand respectfully over his chest.
“…Greetings to the future successor.”
Leona, Rune’s sister, with her curly pink hair and brilliant golden eyes, looked up at the stunned Rune and Restin.
“Don’t argue. It’s better if you attend. It’s part of the alliance. And I’m the one who delegated alliance representation to you both.”
“Sis, do you really have to start by grabbing us by the collar?”
“This way, if I need to beat you later, I won’t have to go through the trouble of chasing you down.”
Restin, who had just been trying to talk his way out of going, nodded eagerly in agreement. Pleased with that answer, she turned her gaze to Rune.
“Your answer?”
“I don’t know.”
“…Because of the gossip nymph?”
His shoulders visibly stiffened at the direct hit.
Noticing focus returning to Rune’s previously dull eyes, Leona’s expression turned intrigued. It had been a while since she’d seen a real reaction from her lazy, indifferent little brother.
With a smack, she released their collars and held out the invitation from the House of Grace.
“Go and steal her. If you bring her back, I’ll do my best to keep the madman at bay.”
The “madman” referred to Ahin Grace.
Avoiding Leona’s unusually proactive gaze, Rune stretched.
“Isn’t it obvious I got dumped, coming back alone from the Manionts house?”
“What?!”
Restin, who had remained quiet until now, widened his eyes.
“D-dumped? When did you get dumped? Why were you dumped? Was it in the rabbit territory?”
“Restin, how many times are you going to say ‘dumped.’”
“Why didn’t you ask me for advice? Lord Rune definitely must’ve muttered something soft and pathetic—…!”
Frustrated and upset, Restin stomped his feet.
Leona looked between the two hopeless lions and clicked her tongue in irritation.
“What’s the point of that handsome face then? If all else fails, go back to your true form and perform a courtship dance.”
Shouting at them to go pack, she gave each a solid kick to the backside.
Rune, who figured there’d definitely be a bruise this time, rolled across the grass.
Should he really go back to being a lion and try that courtship dance? With a faint smile, he recalled the triple spin of a ballerina from a distant memory.
* * *
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