‘This isn’t right.’
After Bryce left, the rabbit, having finished all the meat, hopped up onto the sofa and gave a little bounce.
Its fur seemed even glossier than before, and its face was filled with a happy smile.
“I should’ve given it to you earlier.”
“Squeak.”
The rabbit, now feeling generous as if its insides had been well-oiled, replied as though it didn’t mind.
After wandering around the room for a bit, the rabbit returned to the sofa with a satisfied expression and soon fell into a nap.
I watched it quietly, then slowly crept closer.
When will you become close with Bryce, little rabbit?
The softly sleeping rabbit curled itself up even more.
I quietly sat beside it and gently stroked its forehead.
Things weren’t going the way I wanted, and it was frustrating, but somehow, just watching the rabbit sleep peacefully made me feel at ease.
It felt like having someone I’d known for a long time by my side.
“Golden Rabbit. There probably isn’t another rabbit in the world as carefree as you.”
I rested my head briefly on the sofa where the rabbit slept.
A soft evening breeze drifted in through the window.
I should close the curtains tightly before sleeping.
After all, it was the night of the full moon.
But leaning against the sofa, with my forehead touching the rabbit’s, I unknowingly fell asleep.
“Ugh…”
At the strained groan, the rabbit’s ears perked up. The sound was coming from very nearby.
The pained groan didn’t even continue properly.
It was a voice he knew. It was Lize’s.
The rabbit’s eyes snapped open.
They had been in the same swordsmanship department and the same knight order, fighting together through countless battles.
But he had never heard her sound this pained before.
“Squeak.”
He called her name. Lize. She was gripping the curtain with trembling arms, one arm propped against the window frame.
Moonlight shimmered faintly across her flushed face, damp with cold sweat.
Her expression was twisted in agony, as if the moonlight itself were a blade.
Was she trying to open the curtain? The rabbit hurried up to the window.
It tried to help by grabbing the curtain with its mouth.
“Don’t!”
At that moment, Lize shouted at the rabbit.
But it sounded less like scolding and more like a desperate plea.
She kept clutching the curtain.
Only then did he realize—she wasn’t trying to open it, she was trying to close it.
The rabbit pulled the curtain the other way, covering the window as much as it could.
The moonlight shining on her face disappeared.
“……”
Only then did Lize release the curtain and collapse to the floor.
Her ragged breathing scattered into the air.
“Squeak.”
The rabbit called her and placed a paw on her shoulder. Her entire body was trembling.
Seeing her as if she might die at any moment made his mind go blank.
That medicine…
Spilled pills lay scattered from an overturned bottle, proof she had taken it in a hurry.
I have to save her.
For some reason, that thought came first. But immediately after, a sense of helplessness surged.
What should he do? What could he do in this form?
“……”
As he hovered beside her, she slowly opened her eyes and looked at him.
“…It’s okay.”
That voice didn’t sound okay at all.
“For now… but if it gets worse, you’ll save me… right…?”
She kept muttering, looking like she might lose consciousness at any moment.
It seemed she didn’t even realize what she was saying.
In the dark room, there was only her and him. He didn’t even know where to find help.
After wandering around the annex before, he had learned there weren’t even proper servants here.
Only a servant named Marlon and a kid named Bryce stayed in the same building.
If he had known this would happen, he would’ve at least figured out where that kid’s room was.
“…Don’t go. Stay with me.”
Just as he was about to leave the room, Lize, in a dazed state, said something unlike her usual self and pulled him close.
Her burning hands wrapped around him.
His mind went even blanker for a moment, but he soon slipped out of her arms.
At least he knew where the bathroom in this room was.
The rabbit dragged back a damp blanket and wiped the cold sweat from Lize’s face.
Why was she in so much pain?
It wasn’t just a simple illness.
Judging by how familiar she seemed with it, it must have been something long-standing.
She always acted like she had to be the strongest in the world—so since when had she been suffering like this?
Unknowingly, with a hardened expression, he kept wiping her sweat when a faint voice mixed with breath reached his ears.
“Thank you.”
Lize’s breathing gradually steadied.
The trembling of her body slowly subsided.
Perhaps clouds had passed, because moonlight slipped through a gap in the curtains.
Thinking that was what she had tried to block, the rabbit completely sealed even that small gap.
Then he sat beside her as she fell asleep.
Until she was fully asleep, the only gaze shining in the darkness never left her face.
“…!!!”
I opened my eyes.
“Squeak…”
A strained sound came from near my head—no, from beneath it.
“Squeak…”
“Gasp—Golden Rabbit!”
I had been using the rabbit as a pillow.
Startled, I jumped up. The Golden Rabbit calmly brushed off the spot where I had been lying.
“I fell asleep like this? Just lying on the floor?”
Wait… yesterday was the full moon.
Fragments of last night rushed through my mind.
I couldn’t remember everything clearly since I had been delirious…
But the sight of the Golden Rabbit dragging a wet blanket bigger than itself around me and watching over me was vivid.
“Golden Rabbit… did you take care of me last night?”
The rabbit let out a squeak as if asking what was such a big deal. The tone felt oddly familiar, like a light scolding.
So it really did take care of me.
It felt strange. I was grateful, but it wasn’t just gratitude.
It felt like I had someone to rely on.
Whenever I was sick, I had always been alone. I had never even imagined someone staying by my side.
But in that moment, I realized how reassuring it was to have someone there.
“Golden Rabbit!”
I scooped it up in one motion and rubbed my cheek against its fluffy fur.
“Goooolden Rabbit.”
The rabbit froze in surprise.
Still… it’s not pushing me away.
Before, it would hate being held and run off immediately.
Now it wasn’t running—it just stared at me, observing.
Wait… is this my chance?!
I placed a hand on my forehead as if in pain. The rabbit’s golden eyes immediately turned toward it.
“I have to go to work… but I feel so sick, ugh…”
I did my best to act ill.
The rabbit stretched its soft paws all over my face, as if trying to check my temperature.
I wobbled my body to avoid it and muttered,
“What if I collapse on the way? It’s a forest path—there won’t be anyone to help…”
“……”
“It’d be so reassuring if someone came with me!”
“……”
“Golden Rabbit, want to come with me?”
I asked with sparkling eyes.
The rabbit muttered something, its face showing equal parts annoyance and worry.
Then it nodded.
Got it!
Finally, I could stay within one meter of the rabbit for an extended time.
On the way to the knights’ headquarters, the rabbit kept peeking out of the bag and staring at me.
Is it worried because it saw me sick?
Since the full moon had passed, my symptoms were gone, so I was actually fine.
Still, since the usually cold rabbit was showing concern, I decided to keep acting sick a little longer.
This is a rare opportunity. I need to achieve something in this time.
To get maximum results in minimum time, there was something I needed to ask.
With a pounding heart, I looked at the Golden Rabbit.
“Our Golden Rabbit…”
Ahem. After clearing my throat twice, I asked:
“What’s your ideal type?”
It might’ve been too direct, but I was in a hurry.
I had given up on slowly building a relationship between Bryce and Lili—I planned to match Bryce to Lili’s ideal type instead.
The rabbit twitched its fluffy nose.
It clearly looked like it was thinking, Why are you asking a rabbit that?—but this was important to me.
“If you imagine everyone here as rabbits instead of humans… rabbits fall in love too, right?”
“Peh.”
“What about a rabbit like Bryce?”
“Eck.”
“Listen seriously.”
I quickly listed 500 of Bryce’s strengths.
“Now pick, little rabbit. A delicate, pure type? Or a strong type that can protect you? Which do you like more?”
“Pak.”
“Come on, just pick one.”
“Sigh, squeak, squeak.”
“The second? Then that’s perfect for our Bryce! You see, our Bryce—”
As I was about to continue, the rabbit suddenly clutched its wound with its front paw and let out a weak squeak.
“Golden Rabbit! Are you hurt?!”
“Squeak…”
Panicking, I hurried my words.
As soon as we arrived at the Erne Knights’ headquarters, I set down the bag and looked inside.
“Let’s go to the doctor, Rabbit!”
But the rabbit shook its paws as if to say no. Its expression had already returned to calm.
Was it pretending to be hurt?
Did it… learn that from me? Did it notice I was faking earlier?
“Wait, Golden Rabbit, it’s better if you stay in the bag for now—”
Before I could stop it, the rabbit jumped out.
Before I could finish speaking, its eyes widened again.
“Whoa! A rabbit!”
Members were rushing toward it, kicking up dust.
“Captain! Isn’t that a cute rabbit?!”
Startled, the rabbit ran back to me, and I quickly picked it up.
It waved its paws at the members, as if it had forgotten it was in my arms.
“Rabbit! Captain Lize! I want to hold it too!”
“Me too!”
“No, everyone back off. I need to do some one-on-one training with this rabbit.”
I brushed them off casually, protecting the rabbit from their rough hands.
“Then let’s recruit this rabbit into the Erne Knights!”
“Captain, what’s the rabbit’s name?”
“Golden Rabbit.”
“Alright, Kim Togi, you must join the Golden Lions!”
“Squeak, squeak—squeak—”
The rabbit snorted and bared its teeth, muttering something.
“Captain, look! The rabbit is steeling its resolve!”
Whether it was truly resolve was questionable, but I just nodded along, not wanting to ruin their excitement.
