Since I became able to transform into a human, this was the first time I chose to return to the form of a baby rabbit of my own will.
It was a choice made to set aside immediate desires. Compared to my human form, I could handle pheromones much more easily as a baby rabbit.
Professor Jisnana once said that Russell naturally underwent humanization around the time he could manipulate pheromones unconsciously.
So by the same logic, if I became proficient in using healing-type pheromones, wouldn’t humanization be right around the corner?
But there was another, more decisive reason behind this choice. Ahin, who had suffered from pheromone seizures since the age of fifteen.
That was much earlier than Lord Edith, who had his first seizure at eighteen.
Maybe Ahin was hiding his pain behind that fake smile of his.
In this situation, the best thing I could do was to master healing-type pheromones as quickly as possible.
The finishing of the Perenium carving would also be done around his birthday, so if needed, I could return to human form then.
Ahin had resisted my abrupt transformation into a baby rabbit without consulting him, but after running away for half a day in Everine’s pocket, I quickly made him submit. He’s the one who told me to figure things out for myself.
*‘First, distinguish between sleep, anesthetic, and healing abilities. Try using the anesthetic ability on the hawk watching you over there.’*
*‘Ah, Everine’s in the hallway. Good. Aim. Yes. How precisely you target a moving subject is important too.’*
Thankfully, training with Grandfather on pheromones was showing smooth progress.
And today, with about five days left until Ahin’s birthday—
I slapped my cheeks for courage and visited Jane’s stable. To be exact, I came to meet Lil.
Ever since Lil became Jane’s dedicated handler, he had naturally taken over as Ahin’s coachman too. Jane apparently threw tantrums in front of the carriage unless it was Lil holding the reins.
“Bunny, your cloak is adorable.”
*‘Answer the question first.’*
Lady Vivi here had a full schedule today. I tapped the prewritten question sheet to redirect his attention. Lil stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Has Lord Ahin shown any strange behavior…? Hmm…”
He looked like he couldn’t quite bring himself to say, “He’s strange every day.”
That alone was an answer. I shook his hand and left the stable.
Lil’s expressions were always easy to read. If Ahin had collapsed or shown any signs of pain outside, his face would’ve definitely betrayed something.
*‘Let’s go.’*
I ran with Meimi, Ash, and Bara, and next on the list was Yuan. Fortunately, Ahin was in a meeting, and Yuan was waiting alone in the corridor.
Suddenly, I realized something I had wondered about early on—why Ahin didn’t keep as many attendants as his status would allow.
Probably because, in the event of an unexpected seizure, the more servants there were, the more troublesome it would become.
*‘That’s… awful.’*
My heart felt endlessly heavy.
Yuan, noticing us, greeted me with a bright, boyish smile and a thumbs up.
“Miss Bunny, I wanted to say this earlier, but your cloak looks great. You look like a proper investigator. Did Lady Meimi dress you?”
I approached him and launched into questioning with all my might. Catching on to my black panther-like gestures, he crouched down to my level.
“…About the day Lord Ahin turned into his true form?”
Exactly. Yuan furrowed his brows after observing my shrugging for a while.
“I don’t know when it started. I was sent on an errand in the evening, and I only escorted him to the bedroom at the very end of the day.”
As I thought, it was suspicious.
Ahin claimed it was to tease me, but if that were true, he could’ve transformed *after* returning to the bedroom.
Resting my chin on my paw, I became certain—he must’ve had a pheromone seizure that day, too.
*‘Yuan.’*
I needed a more detailed explanation, so I backed him up against the wall.
Just then—*click*—the conference room door opened, and several nobles began pouring out. Everine, who had just stepped out, called out hastily toward the inside of the room.
“Lord Ahin, the Bunny is assaulting another pretty boy!”
“Assaulting who?”
In response to Everine’s filthy snitching, it wasn’t Ahin who peeked out between the nobles, but Grandfather.
His uneasy gaze shifted back and forth between the cowering Yuan and me, who was perched on his leg.
He looked quite displeased, for some reason.
*‘Run!’*
“Stop right there! How dare you assault a servant—no, how dare you tear through the mansion like this!”
Choosing flight over fight, I sprinted through the mansion with the black panthers in tow.
Next target: the head of the House of Grace, Madam Valence.
It was my first time visiting her office without an appointment. I swallowed hard in front of the large door. Thankfully, she wasn’t away, and before long, I was granted entrance without hesitation.
“Come in, little one.”
Madam Valence’s office gave off a neat, yet rather austere air. Ash and Bara, overwhelmed by the atmosphere, stood quietly at my sides.
“That cloak suits you very well. Black like this—you look just like a baby black panther.”
She gave a gentle smile and tapped her desk lightly.
Meimi respectfully lifted me and placed me on top of the desk. I caught sight of Madam Valence’s loosely braided silver hair falling over one shoulder.
“I figured you’d come to me eventually. I’m the one who can give you the most suitable answers here.”
She pulled out a handkerchief from a drawer and laid it beneath me. A familiar aide brought out black tea and hay with practiced ease.
“When you first came to speak with me in human form, I imagined there were questions you tried to ask but couldn’t.”
Madam Valence, sipping her peach-scented tea, let her eyes gleam sharply.
“But child, when you want something, there is always a price to pay.”
She truly wasn’t a figurehead. Her presence was so commanding, I forgot to breathe.
She turned her gaze toward the door and gestured.
“Everyone, please step out for a break. Consider this my resting hour. The guards may stay.”
Madam Valence dismissed several aides, including Meimi.
That left only me, Ash, and Bara in the office. Silence fell like a curtain.
She reached out and, with delicate care, untied the ribbon of my cloak. I tensed but allowed it.
*‘…Why?’*
After fully removing the black cloak, Madam Valence rummaged through a drawer and pulled out a generous piece of fabric.
With some awkwardness, she slipped the cloth over my head. The sound of fabric brushing in the silence was all I heard.
“This is quite tricky.”
She wiped the sweat from her brow after lowering a soft band halfway down my body.
*‘Is it done?’*
Standing on two feet, puzzled, I looked down at myself. It was a full, flowing skirt—something a ballerina might wear.
*‘What is this…’*
Filled with dread, I glanced at Madam Valence. She sipped her tea with the serene smile of someone who had just completed a difficult task.
“Ahin said you had a fling with a lion.”
“…….”
So this was the price to pay for answers. And I couldn’t exactly get angry at Madam Valence.
My whiskers trembled. I placed my paws against her twin index fingers as she offered them. It was surrender.
Her fingers began to move in a slow rhythm. I spun with the beat and tapped my hind feet diligently.
“Just as the gossip papers claimed—your dancing is exquisite.”
Her eyes curved beautifully, clearly delighted.
*‘Fine…’*
If this made her happy, then it was worth it. I gave it my all and performed a triple spin.
My fur swirled with the motion, and Madam Valence let out a breath of admiration. I finished with a perfect pose and panted heavily.
“You could perform at a royal ball with that.”
She clapped with genuine praise—my only audience, yet thoroughly appreciative.
Utterly humiliated but having earned Madam Valence’s favor, I collapsed on the desk. Maybe I could die for a few minutes and wake up less embarrassed.
“Thank you. It’s been a while since I laughed this much.”
She smiled in full bloom and smoothed out my disheveled fur from the dance. Her touch tickled.
“Now, it’s time to reward your performance. What you want to ask about is Edith and the pheromone seizures, isn’t it?”
Still gently stroking my fur, she began to speak.
“Ahin told me recently that his seizures began a long time ago. Seems he kept it hidden because there was no solution anyway.”
So he finally told her. I cautiously peeked at her expression as she brushed my cheek. Though her lips curled in a smile, her eyes weren’t laughing.
“It was bound to come out eventually. Even with Grace’s blood, it’s a difficult burden to bear. What do you think the range of a dominance-type pheromone’s effect is?”
I touched my lips and quietly reflected on the past.
Ahin’s pheromones didn’t just suppress healing-type ones—it felt like he even used them in combat. And yet, it always seemed like he was barely using them, only at the lightest level.
“There’s no known limit,” Madam Valence said. “But personally, I suspect that if pushed to the extreme, he could control a person’s mind.”
That couldn’t be. I involuntarily parted my lips in disbelief. She gently pressed my jaw with her index finger to close it again and continued.
“Edith—my husband—never used his dominance-type pheromones intentionally. The power was too vast for him to control. But Ahin, thanks to the Grace bloodline, was able to handle them with ease even as a child.”
Madam Valence paused for a moment, gazing out the window.
“I ordered him to limit his use of pheromones, but after he was named successor, that became impossible. I think that’s why his seizures started earlier than Edith’s.”
Though her voice remained soft as ever, sorrow lingered in every word.
“At some point, even pheromone stabilizers stopped working for Edith. Whenever he had a seizure, he’d hide away, avoiding us. He wouldn’t stay in the bedroom like I asked—he was stubborn like that.”
I offered her the handkerchief she had placed under me earlier, just in case. “Thank you,” she said, taking it, and gently stroked my head.
“And in the end, he died during one of those seizures. It was Ahin who found him, while looking for his father. I suppose their old habit of hide-and-seek led to that moment.”
“…….”
“I don’t know why you’re the one crying.”
Madam Valence was composed as she spoke, and yet here I was, crying like a fool. I swallowed a lump in my throat and pressed a paw to my eye.
She let out a breathy chuckle and dabbed my eyes with the handkerchief.
“I think Ahin prepared himself back then—for a future where this could happen to him, too. He was always quick to pick up on things, even as a boy. You can’t hide something like this from him.”
Madam Valence slowly leaned forward, resting her upper body against the desk. I had never seen her look so unguarded.
“When Ahin came of age at fifteen, he asked me about remarriage. It was no different than telling me to have another heir while he was still alive.”
Clearly, he had said it with the assumption that he wouldn’t live long.
“We fought for the first time that day. Raised our voices. And now I know—it was because his seizures had started.”
Meeting her gaze up close, I placed my paw at the corner of her eye. There was a faint trace of moisture.
“I was naïve. I thought that because Ahin inherited a stronger body than Edith, his seizures would come much later. Maybe… I just wanted to believe that.”
Don’t cry. There was nothing else I could say. I reached up again and gently wiped her eyes.
“Your fur’s soaked.”
She stroked my thoroughly wet fur like I’d fallen into a pond.
Her soft, distant voice—like she was talking about someone else—tugged strangely at my tear ducts.
“And honestly, Ahin isn’t wrong. As the head of the black panther territory, if the only heir is in danger, it’s only right to secure another. Whether through remarriage or adopting a relative with Grace blood.”
Then she sat up straight again and wiped my face with the handkerchief. Her touch was clumsy and unsure.
“But doing that felt like I was losing Ahin, just like I lost Edith. And that I couldn’t bear. I love them both more than I ever realized.”
“What a pathetic leader—swayed by emotion,” she added with a half-laugh. I shook my head firmly, rejecting the notion.
“Your grandfather told me—you possess healing-type pheromones.”
Once my fur was fully dried, she lifted me with both hands. Her face had returned to its usual composure, and she let out a soft sigh.
“With the pheromones you carry… you may be able to solve this overwhelming problem. There’s even a scholar’s theory that healing-type pheromones can suppress seizures.”
“…….”
“Whatever you ask, I’ll give it. Title, power, gold, land.”
She began listing out rewards—estates, a mansion, a noble title—but stopped herself with a hollow smile. She must’ve realized that none of it mattered to someone chasing humanization.
With a slight movement of her lips, she spoke words that weren’t a command or a proposal, but a simple request.
“Please… help him.”
* * *
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