ITBFL | Chapter 25

Episode 25

Huh?

Did he mistake me for being the one attacked by the knights?

“I’m over here, Sir Hedel!”

“Ah! Yeah, watch out, Rabbit!”

It seemed that Hedel was just as desperate as I was.

“Hedel!”

For some reason, Hedel seemed mentally shaken when the Golden Bunny was attacked.

However, he quickly regained his composure and thrust his sword toward the treasure.

In the meantime—

“Golden Bunny!”

“Beep!”

—I rescued the Golden Bunny.

The Bunny darted between the two knights, leaping into my arms.

Simultaneously, I heard the sound of Hedel’s sword slicing through the treasure behind me.

In the next moment, a whistle echoed from afar.

The match was over.

“…Phew.”

Only then did I release the breath I had been holding.

It’s over.

Thank goodness.

Honestly, when I fell into the water, I thought not only the match but everything else had ended too…

“Golden Bunny, it’s all thanks to you.”

Because the Golden Bunny had saved me.

And the one who saved me in that dream was…

I hugged the Golden Bunny tightly, rubbing my cheek against its fur.

“Beep, beep…!”

The Golden Bunny hurriedly wriggled out of my arms and stood at a distance.

“Beep.”

At that moment, Hedel rushed toward the Golden Bunny.

“R-Rabbit!”

The sight of him anxiously checking if the rabbit was safe felt strangely out of place.

Anyone could find the bunny adorable or worry about it, but something about this was unusual.

Didn’t he seem to dislike it when we first met?

When I first brought the Golden Bunny to Erne’s knights’ quarters and introduced it to Hedel and Milia, Hedel had been extremely wary and seemed to dislike it.

“Beep.”

The Golden Bunny folded its ears slightly and responded to Hedel in some way.

Hedel nodded toward the bunny with a face full of trust.

The Golden Bunny trotted back toward me, its light steps stopping just in front of me.

“Beep?”

I stood still, looking down at the Golden Bunny.

Strange. Really… strange.

Why…

Why does Cassium overlap with my cute bunny?

Lize!

Was it because I heard his voice when I fell into the water earlier?

Or because I mistook the outstretched hand as Cassium’s at that moment?

“…”

“Beep?”

The Golden Bunny called to me again.

Only then did I realize I had been narrowing my eyes, staring down at the bunny.

“Ah…!”

What am I thinking?

“Beep.”

“Sir Hedel, great job.”

I quickly approached Hedel and the Visel knights, exchanging greetings as we wrapped up the match.

The Visel knights, who had already stepped outside the tent, stood blankly, gazing toward where the whistle had sounded.

Saying that winning or losing didn’t matter in a friendly match was a lie. Victory mattered to knights.

It was a chance for them to demonstrate their skills, which was why they fought so fiercely.

But that was true for Erne as well as Visel.

“Thank you all for your hard work.”

“Lady Artiel…!”

I shook hands with the knights.

“It was an honor for us to cross swords with the imperial knights.”

“Sir Jude has quite the powerful fist. And Sir Liv, your speed is impressive. I learned a lot.”

“We’re humbled by your words… Is your shoulder okay after being grazed by that punch?”

“I’m perfectly fine.”

Though it might have sounded sarcastic, our exchange was filled with sincerity.

This is why events like this are held every year—to inspire knights and learn from one another.

Well, except for that one knight.

My gaze shifted to the knight who had just woken up after fainting—he was the one who had pulled out the real sword from between the rocks.

His name was Polus, right?

I suddenly recalled Mars boasting about joining Visel and mentioning his mentor’s name—it had been Polus too.

Now I see what Mars learned.

Perhaps noticing my gaze, one of the other Visel knights spoke up first.

“We sincerely apologize for what happened earlier. Our comrade was simply too eager to win.”

“You should apologize to Sir Hedel rather than me.”

I gestured toward Hedel, who stood behind me, listening. He nodded as if to say it was fine.

“Um, Lady Artiel, about that rabbit…”

“It’s my rabbit. It seems to have followed me here. I apologize for the confusion.”

“No, we’re the ones who almost harmed it without knowing.”

“By the way, did you trip because of the rabbit earlier? If so, I sincerely apologize.”

That incident had bothered me a bit.

Although Hedel was already about to cut the treasure, meaning the match was nearly decided, it still wasn’t without any effect.

And if the Golden Bunny had injured someone, it would have been my responsibility.

The Golden Bunny had always prioritized me, so if it had acted intentionally…

That would still be my fault.

I was a bit surprised to realize that I naturally thought this way.

I had simply assumed that the Golden Bunny would act for my sake.

I didn’t know when I’d started thinking like that.

“No, actually…”

Sir Live hesitated before speaking.

“Actually, I didn’t trip because of the rabbit. I tripped over a rock next to it.”

“Beep.”

The Golden Bunny, who had been silent until then, finally made a sound.

“Is that true?”

“I was just looking for something to blame… I apologize.”

A bit of relief appeared on my face.

So the Golden Bunny really did nothing wrong!

I knelt down and gently spoke to the rabbit.

“Golden Bunny, Sir Live is apologizing. Is it okay?”

“Beep.”

The Golden Bunny coolly folded its ears and nodded.

Watching that, I found myself lost in thought for a moment.

It’s similar…

That indifferent, cool response was strangely reminiscent of someone…

“Beep?”

“Huh? Golden Bunny? Oh, right.”

Shaking off my thoughts, I stood up abruptly.

“Let’s head back.”

Hedel glanced at me and Gold Bunny while matching his pace to follow us.

“Sir Hedel, you’ve worked hard.”

“No, it’s thanks to you, Vice Commander, for coming at the moment I felt my inadequacy.”

Hedel responded immediately like that.

Honestly, I was worried at first whether a knight of the Black Leopard could match well with me.

But as I experienced it, his humility wasn’t bad for a Black Leopard knight.

His skills were decent, and he was humble and reliable…

“What a waste.”

It would have been better if he were with our Golden Lion.

“Pardon?”

“Anyway, you worked hard. The victory is all thanks to you.”

“No, not at all. By the way, did something happen in the middle?”

Hedel’s gaze turned to my knight uniform, which was covered in dirt.

Mud had made a mess, mixed with water, and left my uniform in terrible condition.

“There was a bit of an incident.”

That incident was when Mars pushed me off a cliff, but it felt a bit risky to say it outright.

For now, I carried the name of Artiel, which I valued as a legacy from my parents.

What Mars did was more than enough to tarnish the name of Artiel.

But to confirm one more thing…

I looked back.

The gazes of Visel’s knights, walking behind us, turned toward me.

“By any chance, in today’s match… did Visel have a strategy where the offensive and defensive teams joined forces?”

I had to decide whether Mars’s actions were discussed with Visel or if they were truly his independent actions.

“Pardon? The offensive and defensive teams? What do you mean…?”

“Ah, never mind. You all worked hard.”

Of course.

I turned back around and began walking again.

The next morning.

“What! Don’t lie to me! Are you kidding right now?”

Mars’s sharp screams echoed throughout the mansion.

Lize, who had been covering her ears expressionlessly, only removed her hands after his shouting stopped.

“I’m not joking. I can’t write it.”

“You’re going back on your word?!”

Mars shouted as he began throwing everything he could grab.

He had clearly promised to write a recommendation letter for the Imperial Knights Order. But now, on the day before the submission deadline, he was saying he couldn’t write it.

How despicable could one get?

“Don’t you know how dishonorable that is as a knight?!”

“Chivalry?”

At that moment, Lize’s eyes changed.

Her gaze, now colder than ever, made Mars involuntarily flinch and tremble.