“It's okay. This is nothing.”
“Pii.”
“What’s wrong, Golden Rabbit? Are you mad?”
For some reason, the rabbit seemed a little angry with me.
It kept staring at my wound. It was chattering at me nonstop, and somehow it felt like it was worried about me.
“I should at least stop the bleeding.”
When I took off my jacket, the cold air chilled my body even more.
In a hurry, I tore the sleeve of my shirt and tried to wrap it around my arm.
But it wasn’t easy to do by myself.
“Why is this so hard?”
I bit one end between my teeth and tried to tie and pull the other end tight, but the cloth was too short.
If I tore the shirt any further, I’d lose the entire sleeve.
Just then, the rabbit walked over and suddenly snatched the torn strip of shirt from me with its mouth.
“Hey! That’s not food!”
“Pii!”
The rabbit flared up, then let out a deep sigh.
After that, it slowly walked back and gestured with its chin toward the opposite end of the cloth clenched in its mouth.
“You want me to hold it?”
The rabbit nodded.
“You’re going to bandage me? Can you do that?”
The rabbit gave a scoffing laugh as if to say, Of course I can.
Even in a rabbit’s body, it was that confident. Well, someone destined to possess absolute healing powers really was different.
When I grabbed the other end, the rabbit leapt over my arm in one motion and wrapped the cloth once around my wound.
“Piii.”
“Uh... Golden Rabbit, I think you need to pull it a little higher.”
“Piii?”
“This time it’s too low... I mean, it’s not that you did badly, but I think we need to wrap it again.”
For something it had started so confidently, the rabbit’s bandaging skills weren’t actually very good.
We tried several more times.
The result was the same.
“Piii! Hiss, hiss!”
“Golden Rabbit, calm down. Let’s try again.”
“Hiss, hiss.”
The rabbit looked dejected when things didn’t go the way it wanted.
But when I encouraged it, it seemed to gather its resolve and bit the end of the bandage again.
Golden Rabbit closed its eyes and took a deep breath.
Then it jumped once more.
Its movements were energetic, but the way it pressed against the wound was surprisingly careful.
“Golden Rabbit! You’re doing amazing!”
Once it got the hang of it, the bandaging quickly became expert-level.
Amazingly, the rabbit even tied a knot, perfectly securing the bandage over my wound.
Looking proud of its accomplishment, it sat down beside me.
“Phew... piii, pi. Pi.”
After letting out a long sigh, the rabbit stared at the bandaged wound before raising its head.
It kept saying something to me.
I couldn’t understand the words, but strangely enough, I felt like I knew exactly what it was trying to say.
Maybe it was scolding me for being reckless.
Or frustrated that the wound was still bleeding while I kept insisting I was fine.
That look... where have I seen it before?
The way it looked at me while scolding me felt strangely familiar.
A gaze that said nothing but unpleasant things and nagged endlessly, yet somehow wasn’t unpleasant at all.
Who had looked at me like that before?
Who had made me feel this way?
Smack.
The rabbit barked at me as if asking whether I was even listening.
“I’m listening. You sure talk a lot, Golden Rabbit.”
“Hah. Piii.”
The way it snorted in disbelief at my comment was incredibly human.
Well.
It was actually human.
“Piii.”
The rabbit still looked worried as it stared at my arm.
Its own injuries weren’t fully healed yet, but it kept focusing only on mine.
“It’ll heal soon.”
“Pi.”
“If you’re that worried, why don’t you heal me?”
“...?”
Golden Rabbit shot me a look as if asking what nonsense I was talking about.
It glanced at me once, like I was an ant, and then looked away.
Why does this feel familiar too?
Maybe it was because I’d spent several days with the rabbit already...
Anyway, what I needed right now was treatment.
“Golden Rabbit.”
I picked the rabbit up in my arms.
Then, stroking its forehead, I said again,
“Heal me.”
“Pi.”
“Hm?”
And while you’re at it, could you maybe cure all my other illnesses too?
Your healing powers really need to awaken soon...
The rabbit looked up at me.
Then it sighed and raised one paw.
What’s this?
I had no idea.
But it was adorable.
Laughing, I gave Golden Rabbit a high five.
The rabbit stretched its paw a little farther toward my head.
Then it gently patted me.
“What are you doing?”
“Pibi.”
“Healing me?”
The rabbit nodded.
“What do you mean? This is healing?”
I chuckled.
It seemed its healing powers hadn’t awakened yet, but the thought was still sweet.
“Pik.”
The rabbit pulled its paw back, looking annoyed.
“Alright. Thanks, Golden Rabbit.”
Meanwhile, the storm outside only grew fiercer.
The cold wind blowing through the narrow cave entrance became harsher, and the temperature kept dropping.
I could see the rabbit shivering slightly too.
“Golden Rabbit, are you cold?”
“Pi.”
“I don’t usually hold anyone like this except my little brother.”
I pulled Golden Rabbit tightly against my chest.
“Pi...!”
The rabbit seemed startled for a moment.
But unlike before, it didn’t struggle much and simply settled quietly into my arms.
“How is it? Warm?”
“...”
There was no answer.
Tilting my head, I looked more closely at its face.
The rabbit’s body was so warm that it felt more like I was hugging a heater.
“You really are a treasure of a rabbit. You’re so warm.”
The rabbit opened and closed its mouth as though it wanted to say something.
But eventually it shook its head once and simply hugged me back tightly.
Some time passed.
Yet the storm showed no signs of stopping.
“I’m getting sleepy, Golden Rabbit.”
“Pipi!”
There was no helping it.
Sitting still like this naturally made me drowsy.
The rabbit smacked my chin repeatedly with its paw.
It seemed worried that I might fall asleep while cold and hungry and end up in danger.
“Pi! Pipi!”
It kept tapping my chin.
“Okay, okay. I won’t sleep. Stop.”
At my words, Golden Rabbit frowned as though asking if I was serious.
“Mhm. I won’t sleep.”
Maybe I should tell a story.
If possible, one that might help Lily’s healing powers awaken sooner.
“Do you have any questions about Bryce?”
“...”
No response.
“Hm. What should I tell you?”
The rabbit wasn’t listening to my words at all.
It simply burrowed deeper into my arms.
Still, familiarity breeds affection, so I kept talking.
“Bryce is... really cute.”
“Piii?”
“He is. You’ll understand soon enough.”
“Bbaeng.”
“As for what he means to me...”
I slowly blinked, searching for the right words.
“I cherish him.”
Yes.
That felt right.
“Bryce is very precious to me. Sometimes he acts like an annoying fourteen-year-old, but even so, I always want him to be happy.”
“Piii.”
My one and only little brother.
My one and only family.
“I want to protect him from every bad thing that might happen to him.”
“Piii.”
“Of course, like everyone says, I know hardships can make people stronger. But...”
People can become good people even without suffering.
“Golden Rabbit, this is what I think. Rather than becoming as hard as iron through endless hardships, it’s better to live a soft, gentle life with as few struggles as possible.”
I remembered the things people had said after my parents died when I was thirteen.
“Oh dear, how pitiful. They lost both parents and their title too, didn’t they? I wonder if the eldest daughter will even be able to marry properly.”
“Who would take her? I heard their family business is already bankrupt. We don’t owe House Artiella any money, do we? Surely they’re not planning to latch onto us?”
Those were the words I heard while walking back after putting Bryce to bed following the funeral.
“At first, I was simply sad that people could say things like that.”
And it really was like that.
I was overwhelmed by the sadness of realizing that all that remained for my brother and me was contempt.
For a long time, I couldn’t escape that feeling.
Even though I remembered the original story on the day my parents died, I couldn’t imagine a new future for myself then.
But after several days had passed, once I’d gathered myself...
“I started thinking differently. I was grateful Bryce hadn’t heard those words. And I realized I needed to become stronger.”
So Bryce would never have to hear things like that.
So I could protect both our bodies and our hearts.
That was when I realized I needed something that would let me live a truly different life from the future written in the original story.
That was why I seriously picked up a sword.
I needed strength.
And that was something I could gain through my own effort.
“There’s no such thing as a necessary hardship. The best thing is not to suffer it at all. Even without hardship, my brother is already a good person, and I know he’ll become an even better one.”
That’s why I hoped you would become close to my brother too.
Not just because of my illness.
I wanted Bryce to have someone precious in his life.
Smiling, I played with the rabbit’s ears.
The rabbit closed its eyes slightly, tickled by the touch.
Then it rubbed its cheek against my arm.
As I held the rabbit, wrapped in its warmth, my mind gradually became drowsy.
I thought I might be developing a fever.
After moving around for so long in a forest overflowing with demonic energy—and after getting injured—it wouldn’t be surprising.
I felt warm breath near my lips.
“Golden Rabbit...”
Sleepiness slowly overtook me.
“Piii.”
The rabbit lifted its head and called to me.
Its tiny paw shook me gently, as though comforting me.
The soft gesture felt so pleasant that my consciousness gradually drifted away.
My thoughts wandered.
Memories of my parents.
The day they died—and the day I first picked up a sword.
The day I entered the Imperial Academy’s Swordsmanship Department.
And then, several months after enrollment...
The day I sparred one-on-one with Casium.
The day I truly started hating Casium.
Even now, I still didn’t understand what happened that day.
During the sparring match, he deliberately broke my wooden sword.
“If a sword can break from something like this, it’s better to break it now.”
No matter how many times I thought about it, I couldn’t just laugh it off.
Why did he have to break my sword?
To a knight, breaking someone’s sword isn’t merely a declaration of challenge.
It’s an attack on their pride.
A deeply humiliating act.
But to Casium Valtier—the cold-blooded son of a duke who cared for neither blood nor tears—someone else’s pride probably meant nothing.
And to make matters worse, despite doing something like that and despite us not getting along, he kept choosing me as his partner whenever we had team assignments.
It was honestly baffling.
At times, I wondered if he’d made it his mission to torment me.
“Golden Rabbit, don’t ever become an obnoxious rabbit, okay? Unlike a certain someone.”
“Piii?”
“Always causing trouble, always making excuses, and if you can’t keep a promise, then don’t make one in the first place!”
As I grumbled, the rabbit stretched out a paw and pressed it against my forehead.
“Piii.”
Its eyes widened.
Then, as if trying to cool down my fever, it began fanning me with its paw.
