“Greedy?”
He had hardly ever wanted anything for himself before.
The thought made him feel selfish.
And, if he was being honest, he was a little afraid of getting used to being this close to her.
Because he knew perfectly well that this warmth was meant for the Golden Rabbit—not for him, Cassium.
“I will send a marriage proposal. It will be someone perfectly suited for you.”
His father's words suddenly surfaced in his mind.
He should have argued harder back then.
He should have done something—anything—to stop that proposal from being sent.
“Pii.”
“Yes, Golden Rabbit?”
At that moment, a basket caught Cassium’s eye.
It was the one Lize had carried in when she entered the room.
“Oh, that? It's just some greens and vegetables.”
“Pii.”
“Don't worry, I'm not giving them to you. I'm making a salad for myself.”
“Pii?”
“Hm? Who gave them to me?”
By now, Lize had become surprisingly fluent in rabbit language.
“It was Mars, my cousin. He said he felt bad about how he treated you. I don't know if he's sincere, but maybe he's at least trying to get along on the surface.”
She shrugged.
Still nestled in her arms, Cassium stared at the basket.
Something felt wrong.
He slipped free from her embrace and hopped over to it.
Something's strange.
The tips of several vegetables had an odd discoloration.
At first glance, it looked like simple oxidation from exposure to air.
But there was a faint, unpleasant feeling about it—something familiar.
Cassium lowered his head and sniffed one of the vegetables.
“Golden Rabbit?”
...
Just as he thought.
“Pii.”
Poison.
If Lize had eaten this...
A humorless smile curled at the corner of Cassium’s mouth.
His eyes turned icy.
I've been letting things slide...
But this?
This won't do.
“Mars? What are you grinning about?”
Mars belonged to the private Vissel Knight Order.
While training, he had been chuckling to himself, drawing a puzzled look from his fellow knight, Gale.
“Oh, nothing.”
Mars twirled his wooden practice sword and mimicked striking someone.
“What exactly are you doing?”
“Just remembering how I landed a nice hit.”
“On who?”
“Those losers.”
“The Erne Knights? Surely you didn't do something to Sir Artiella? Or that younger sibling?”
“Watch your mouth. Don't throw Artiella's name around carelessly.”
Mars frowned.
“And how did you know who I was talking about?”
Gale stared at him as though he were the strange one.
“Because that's all you ever talk about. ‘Those losers this, those losers that.’”
He sighed.
“Since we're on the subject, as a fellow knight, perhaps you should stop calling them that.”
“What do you mean, Gale?”
“A lot of people would find it inappropriate. You have a reputation to maintain. Calling members of your own family—”
“It seems you are the one who should be careful with your words, Gale.”
Mars fixed him with a cold stare.
“I can clearly detect malicious intent to damage Artiella's reputation.”
“Me?”
“Indeed.”
Mars swung the wooden sword once more.
“If you keep this up...”
Gale instinctively stepped back.
“I won't remain silent about it.”
“R-Right. Of course.”
Unsure how to respond, Gale quickly retreated.
Watching him leave, Mars smirked.
He didn't belong in a mediocre knight order like this.
This was merely a temporary stop.
His true place was among the glorious Imperial Knights.
Of that, he had never doubted.
“Just wait. With swordsmanship like mine, Aura is only a matter of—”
“MARS ARTIELLA!”
His superior's shout interrupted him.
Startled, Mars jumped and immediately snapped to attention.
“You're the one assigned to deliver the Knight Commander's water today, aren't you?”
“Yes, sir! I personally selected only the finest mountain spring water—”
“Skip the extra commentary and get over here. The ceremony is about to start. What are you still doing?”
“I was merely refining my body beforehand in order to provide superior—”
“You should've done that refining earlier! Just hurry up already.”
The superior rubbed his forehead.
“You prepared the water properly, right?”
“Of course!”
Beaming with confidence, Mars hurried over.
Perched on a windowsill, a rabbit gazed toward the distant capital plaza.
The Vissel Knight Order headquarters should be somewhere over there.
Earlier that dawn, he had quietly explored the main mansion.
‘Ceremonial water bottles?’
Several bottles bearing the Vissel Knight Commander's crest had caught his attention.
He had heard that in private knight orders, ordinary knights were sometimes tasked with preparing their commander's drinking water during official events.
So...
He had added a little dirt to the bottles.
Well.
Not exactly a little.
More like half a bottle.
To be fair, he didn't expect it to cause any serious trouble.
No one delivering something to their superior would fail to inspect it first.
At worst, Mars would be delayed while preparing fresh water.
Nothing more.
Compared to poisoning Lize, it was less than a grain of sand in a vast desert.
“Golden Rabbit, shall we go?”
Lize approached and picked him up.
“Once the knights see you're coming too, they're going to be thrilled.”
“Pii.”
“Oh, look at you answering me so well!”
She laughed.
“If only everyone in the world were as sweet and lovable as you.”
The rabbit responded with an innocent pii before slipping neatly into her bag.
“Millia... what exactly are you thinking about...?”
“Certainly not wondering whether the Black Panther Division is weakening because we can't find Division Commander Cassium...”
Millia spoke at machine-gun speed.
“Or whether we'll spend years searching for him and end up abandoned like ducklings without a mother...”
“Millia.”
“Or whether I'll resign from the Erne Knights and become a lonely wandering knight searching for my superior forever...”
“Millia.”
“Or move south and become a farmer near my great-grandmother's village—”
“Enough.”
“...I definitely wasn't thinking about any of those things.”
She finally clamped her mouth shut.
“Why didn't anyone tell me sooner that the Division Commander disappeared?”
Nervan, one of Cassium's three adjutants, pouted.
“If I'd known earlier, I wouldn't have been spending my time leisurely enjoying dates!”
“Really, Nervan? Then you'll stop dating and focus entirely on searching for the commander?”
“That's not what I meant! I meant I wouldn't have been doing it leisurely!”
He buried his face in his hands.
“Commander...”
Both Nervan and Millia stared into the sunlight, trying to dry the tears threatening to form.
Nearby, Hedel rubbed his temple and glanced outside.
Then he froze.
A rabbit was peeking around a pillar in the corridor.
Peeking.
...Peeking?
His eyes widened.
That rabbit!
It was the same rabbit he had seen with Artiella.
Had the Division Commander brought it again?
Then why was it lingering near the Black Panther Division instead of the Golden Lion Division?
Hedel looked away for a moment and then turned back.
The rabbit had vanished.
Was it my imagination?
Why would he hallucinate a rabbit?
Could it be because he thought the rabbit somehow resembled Commander Cassium?
At that moment—
A fluffy black paw slowly emerged from behind the pillar.
The rabbit's foot twitched once.
A clear signal.
Hedel sprang to his feet.
“Where are you going?”
“I have no idea!”
“What?”
Leaving Millia and Nervan behind, Hedel rushed toward the rabbit.
"Golden Rabbit, stay put for a little while. Feel free to explore the knight headquarters."
Lize had gone on an inspection tour with several knights.
Unfortunately, the moment she left, the remaining Golden Lion knights surrounded Cassium.
“Pii.”
Finally alone, he yanked off the absurdly cute ribbon tied around his neck.
He had come here to see how things were running, but...
There's only so much I can learn staying around the Golden Lion Division.
Maybe he should tell the Black Panther knights about his condition.
Lize doesn't seem to know anything, so my disappearance probably hasn't been made public yet.
Even his own family seemed to think he'd simply been absent for a few days.
The knight order was clearly trying to keep things quiet.
His adjutants and Commander Denver—the ones who had accompanied him when retrieving Ragon's heart—probably knew the truth.
And after all this time, his adjutants were undoubtedly worried sick.
The expressions on Millia and Hedel's faces had said enough.
How long would it take to return to normal?
Probably not too long.
But he couldn't be certain.
Just in case, perhaps he should confide in one trustworthy person.
If he had to choose...
“R-Rabbit...”
“Pii.”
Hedel came running down the corridor and spotted him.
Immediately, Cassium grabbed him and dragged him into a shaded corner.
The rabbit's front paws were tiny.
But his muscles were anything but.
Hedel was pulled along without resistance.
This definitely isn't a normal rabbit...!
And in the next moment—
Hedel's eyes widened so much he forgot how to close his mouth.
