The sound of rustling fabric woke me from sleep.
Rubbing my eyes, I saw Ahin buttoning his vest. His clean-cut back looked nothing like the unruly black panther that used to stick his butt out.
Why was he getting ready alone, without Yuan’s help?
I stared blankly until he finished donning the navy uniform, then buried my face in the pillow.
Mornings were when I felt the least brave, and facing Ahin’s face felt especially embarrassing.
“Why are you pretending to sleep?”
I felt him sit on the edge of the bed.
I hadn’t meant to pretend. But somehow, I froze, and my face stayed pressed against the pillow like a lump of wood.
A moment of silence passed.
“If you’re embarrassed to look at me, then just spank me.”
‘This crazy beast…!’
He had probably never filtered his words in his life. Instantly snapped out of sleep, I peeked out from the pillow and glared at him.
“You’ve got that fierce look in your eyes, but your posture’s still all prim and proper.”
As our eyes met, Ahin threw out another outrageous line. Ignoring him as usual, I got straight to the point.
“…Why did you revert to your true form yesterday?”
“To punish the dancing bunny.”
So that was the reason. Wanting nothing to do with his persistence, I calmly slipped back under the covers.
As I started to prep for my escape, his voice came, lazy and slow.
“Where are you going? I was going to tell you what you were curious about.”
His tone struck the rabbit’s sensitive ears.
“If you don’t want to hear it, that’s better for me.”
Even knowing it was a trap, I couldn’t help but come out from under the blanket. Lowering it just enough to peek out, I saw Ahin looking down at me.
My gaze lingered on the cleanly crinkled corners of his eyes, then dropped to his lower lip, where dried blood was stuck.
“Ahin, what happened to your lip?”
There was no way Ahin had been hit by someone, right—
“You kicked me. In your sleep.”
Apparently, he *was* getting hit.
Even if my sleep habits were bad, how could I kick his face when we’d fallen asleep side by side? As I looked at him suspiciously, Ahin gestured toward my feet.
“Check for yourself.”
Sliding under the blanket, I looked and opened my eyes wide.
There was a faint trace of blood on the top of one foot. I didn’t want to admit it, but there was no clearer evidence than that.
*‘I… should treat him.’*
I slowly sat up and brought my hand toward his lips. There was no real contact, but the tips of my ears heated up regardless.
As I gently released healing-type pheromones, Ahin simultaneously drew up his dominance-type pheromones. When the wound had fully healed, his lips parted slowly.
“Fifteen.”
“Huh?”
“That’s when I had my first pheromone seizure. Right after my first coming-of-age ceremony.”
Caught off guard, I froze in place.
So he’d been enduring that kind of pain for years. I finally gathered my senses to say something, but Ahin beat me to it.
“The rest… figure it out yourself, Vivi.”
“…What?”
“That way you’ll be too busy to have flings. Wasn’t it your plan to interrogate even my grandfather and mother anyway?”
Standing up, Ahin flashed the most annoying grin in the world. It was an infuriatingly smug smile.
Just as I opened my mouth, determined not to let it end like this, someone knocked on the bedroom door.
“Lord Ahin, I apologize, but your schedule is tight.”
It was the voice of Yuan, his personal attendant. At the prompt, Ahin walked to the desk and tucked a pocket watch into his jacket.
I reflexively stood up and followed him. Right if he went right, left if he went left.
As he moved around, getting ready, he turned slightly to glance at me.
“…Vivi?”
“What?”
“Why are you following me?”
“Well, we’ve been leaving together every morning lately. You have to let me in—”
I had been absentmindedly glancing at his pocket when I suddenly shut my mouth. Realizing my mistake, my pupils dilated uncontrollably.
Unfortunately, the sharp-witted beast caught on to exactly what I had misunderstood and gave me an unreadable expression.
“Not now.”
“…I know.”
Barely managing to compose my face, I replied flatly.
“I’m too big now to fit in your pocket.”
“I know, I was just joking too.”
I shrugged and turned around. Even by my standards, that had been an Oscar-worthy performance.
Step by step, I walked confidently back to the bed and glanced at Ahin, who had grown unusually silent. He stood there, forehead resting against the wall.
Soon, he spoke in a low, flat tone.
“There’s a way.”
…What way? Just as unease began to settle in, Ahin went straight to the door and flung it open.
“Yuan.”
“At your command.”
“Bring me something like a sack.”
“Pardon…?”
Surely he wasn’t planning to carry me on his shoulder. Yuan’s voice cracked, clearly not understanding the command.
“Sorry, but… what kind exactly—?”
“Big enough to fit Vivi.”
“Get out!”
Chilled to the bone, I rammed Ahin with my whole body and pushed him out the door. *Click*, I locked the doorknob quickly and caught my breath in shallow gasps.
It was a day to fear the increasingly creative thought process of this beast.
* * *
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