ITBFL | Chapter 20

Episode 20

“What’s wrong, Golden Bunny?”

I had received the marriage proposal, so why did Golden Bunny seem so troubled?

I gently stroked its fluffy fur.

Golden Bunny’s round eyes still held a look of unease as it stared at me.

As I tried to read the emotions behind its golden gaze, Golden Bunny suddenly leaped toward my desk.

“Golden Bunny?”

It opened a book that had been sitting on the desk.

I almost clapped at the sight of Golden Bunny, who seemed to have mastered reading after learning to write.

“Are you planning to read? Shall we read it together? That’s the middle of the book, though, so let’s start from the first page…”

As I reached to turn back to the first page, Golden Bunny raised its paw to stop me.

It then pointed to a specific part on the open page.

“…?”

When I looked at it in confusion, Golden Bunny tapped the same section again.

“You want me to read this part?”

“Beep.”

“Move your paw so I can read it, Golden Bunny.”

“Beep.”

Golden Bunny removed its paw, revealing the text in the middle of the page.

“‘No’?”

As soon as I read the word aloud, Golden Bunny quickly pointed to two more letters with both paws.

When I read those letters together…

“‘Don’t want?’ Are you asking if I don’t want this?”

Golden Bunny nodded.

What was it asking if I didn’t want?

I recalled the conversation we had earlier.

‘We were definitely talking about Cassium and the marriage proposal.’

If that was the case, Golden Bunny’s question must be about…

I blinked a few times, then turned away from Golden Bunny.

The moment I realized what Golden Bunny was asking, I oddly felt as though I could hear Cassium’s voice in my head.

“Don’t want it?” That’s what the voice seemed to say.

Overwhelmed by a strange emotion sweeping through my mind, I clenched my fists tightly.

‘This is weird…’

The feeling itself was strange, as was the marriage proposal involving Cassium… Everything about it was just strange.

‘Is it asking if I don’t want to go through with this marriage?’

The people of Artiel would likely be thrilled about this marriage.

A union with a ducal family would bring significant benefits.

From a practical perspective, this marriage clearly wouldn’t harm Artiel.

So, logically speaking, there was no reason to refuse.

‘But…’

I didn’t want to marry Cassium for those kinds of reasons.

It wasn’t simply because I disliked him or anything like that.

I just hated the idea of feeling like I was losing something or allowing a complicated issue—something that might even be called awkward—to come between him and me.

“Beep.”

Golden Bunny’s voice called out from behind me.

Golden Bunny was still waiting for my answer.

I opened my mouth to respond, but the words kept changing in my head before I could speak.

Golden Bunny’s face looked tense, as if it was anxious to hear my reply.

It seemed to be genuinely curious after I hesitated for so long.

“I’m not sure yet.”

That was the answer I finally gave.

“I don’t know!”

I dodged the question and lifted the heavy little bunny into my arms, hugging it tightly.

“Beeep…”

Golden Bunny pressed me for an answer again, but I pretended not to notice.

“Goldie, make sure you fall in love and have a beautiful wedding someday. Or maybe an arranged marriage would be faster? But Bryce and you weren’t originally an arranged match…”

“Beep?”

Still hugging Golden Bunny, I flopped onto the bed.

“Marriage, huh…”

Lost in thought, I spent the entire afternoon daydreaming, completely forgetting about the outing I had planned.

The next day, at the Erne Knights’ headquarters.

Lize waved as she stepped out the door. Cassium, watching her, flicked one ear.

Curled up on the sofa, Cassium recalled Lize’s expression from the day before.

The look on her face as she contemplated the question without answering: Don’t you want it?

The moment Cassium realized the marriage proposal sent by Balteire was meant for Lize, a whirlwind of emotions had surged within him.

Countless futures flashed through his mind in an instant.

But when he saw Lize’s expression in the present, he noticed something.

Her face was full of hesitation—not the expression of someone purely happy about the situation.

‘Of course.’

There was no reason for her to be happy—she didn’t even like him.

Still, the meaning of the marriage proposal remained the same for Cassium.

He was just grateful that Hedel hadn’t stopped the proposal from reaching her.

Cassium buried his face in his paws.

At that moment, a tapping sound came from the window.

“Beep.”

He looked up.

Lize’s office was on the second floor, but a tree branch was knocking against the window.

Sliding the window open, he peeked outside.

“Commander… I mean, rabbit. It’s me.”

Hedel was below, waving at him.

Cassium flicked an ear and jumped out the window with a powerful leap.

“Rabbit!”

Hedel scrambled to catch him, but Cassium landed gracefully beside him.

Looking around nervously, Hedel led him toward the bushes and crouched down.

“So, um…”

Facing Cassium at eye level, Hedel whispered.

“I couldn’t stop it…”

“Beep!”

Cassium’s golden eyes looked at him.

There was no sign of reprimand in his gaze; if anything, he seemed pleased.

Of course, Commander Cassium could be cold and intimidating at times, but he wasn’t one to scold his subordinates often.

Still, at this rate… there was no avoiding it—Commander Cassium and the Artiel leader were bound to…

Just then, Cassium patted Hedel’s foot lightly with his paw, as if to say, “Good job.”

Then, he wrote on the ground.

Thank you.

The sincerity in Cassium’s eyes was unmistakable.

Even though the proposal hadn’t been stopped, he was expressing his gratitude for Hedel’s efforts.

Hedel’s lips trembled with emotion.

“But do you already know who the other party is?”

“Beep.”

Cassium flicked his ear.

“Ah…”

So, he already knew it was the Artiel commander, the person he clashed with the most.

Perhaps he had pretended not to know before because it was too awkward to address directly.

‘Maybe that’s why he had asked me to stop it…’

Even so, his willingness to express gratitude despite knowing all that… Hedel felt he had much to learn from Cassium’s composure.

“But there’s one thing I’m curious about, rabbit.”

“Biiip?”

“Does the Artiel commander know who you really are, now that you’re such an adorable rabbit?”

If she had known, she would have naturally realized that Commander Cassium would not accompany the delivery of the marriage proposal.

‘But yesterday, the Artiel commander… she seemed to be looking for Commander Cassium with her eyes.’

As if she were unaware that Commander Cassium couldn’t come.

Hedel looked at Cassium, waiting for an answer.

“Beep Beep.”

Cassium shook his head.

It meant the Artiel commander didn’t know the rabbit’s true identity.

‘As expected…’

But then, it made even less sense.

“Then why are you with the commander of the Golden Lions?”

This indicated it wasn’t because of some leverage being held against him. Then why?

Cassium, having been asked the question, opened his mouth slightly.

“Beep.”

“What?”

“Beep Beep.”

“Pardon?”

What does he mean?

Was he implying that he was investigating something?

Or that there was a way to turn back into a person in the Artiel commander’s home?

Hedel’s guesses flew in every direction, but he lacked the ability to understand rabbit language.

“Please write it down here on the ground… I mean, just write it down.”

“Beep.”

However, Cassium tapped Hedel’s foot again with his paw, as if to say he had already answered.

Then, with a leap, he jumped back onto the window frame.

“R-Rabbit!”

Hedel, left in confusion, called out softly to Cassium, but there was no reply.

Wait a second—then what about the issue of marrying the Artiella commander…?

‘If my failure leads to Commander Cassium actually marrying the Artiel commander…!’

Hedel, faced with his unfulfilled mission, was thrown into complete disarray.

The training ground, connected to the small forest near the Erne Knights’ headquarters.

The knights, gathering one by one, stood in formation.

The Erne Knights, in their white jackets adorned with gold trim.

And the Visel Knights, in their purple uniforms.

Standing in front of both groups were Denver, the captain of the Erne Knights, and Junique, the captain of the Vissel Knights.

“As you all know, today’s schedule includes joint training…”

Denver began to speak, drawing the attention of all the knights.

‘He’s not here again.’

I scanned the area with my eyes, searching for someone.

All the knights of the Black Panther Division were present, except for their commander.

‘What kind of secret mission could be taking this long?’

Unconsciously biting my lip, I refocused my gaze on the front.

“As announced, today’s tasks will include five sparring matches, one team competition, and one equestrian match.”

The Erne Knights regularly held joint training sessions like this with private knight orders.

The goal was to promote mutual exchange, preventing knights from falling into a routine.

Additionally, it was an opportunity for knights to learn the swordsmanship and strategies of other orders.

Unaware of what was about to unfold, I turned my attention back to Captain Denver’s words.