ITBFL | Chapter 3

Episode 3

“…Beep.”

The rabbit let out a deflated sound, as if saying, “Do whatever you want.”

At least it didn’t seem upset.

“Alright, Golden Bunny.”

The rabbit sighed once and nodded slightly, as if begrudgingly granting permission. Its pointy ears folded slightly, as if to indicate it understood.

Seeing that made me smile involuntarily.

It’s only natural to smile when something is this adorable.

Perhaps my smile helped ease its wariness, as the rabbit stayed still even when I took a few steps closer.

The distance between us was now just two hand spans.

The rabbit stared at me intently as I closed in.

Its round, golden eyes shone brilliantly, giving it an almost mystical quality.

Was it observing me?

As I cautiously extended my hand, the rabbit’s gaze followed my fingertips.

My hand slowly moved toward the rabbit’s forehead.

I had read that rabbits liked gentle petting like this.

In the original story, Bryce often petted it this way, and it seemed to enjoy it.

“You’re such a good bunny, so pretty. Coochie-coo!”

But the moment my hand touched its forehead, the rabbit’s expression turned horrified, and it swatted my hand away.

“Beeep!”

The rabbit frowned and shuddered in distaste.

“Ah, sorry. Calm down.”

“Beep—”

It almost sounded like it was cursing me.

I thought it would like being petted like this.

Does it mean I need to build more trust?

How do I build trust?

‘Ways to get closer…’

I stared at the rabbit for a while before lying down on the bed.

The rabbit, perched by the window, glanced at me when I went quiet for a long time.

Should I try talking to it to get closer?

Maybe I should tell it more about myself.

‘Now that I think about it, the rabbit probably doesn’t even know who I am yet.’

I rolled over onto my stomach and met the rabbit’s gaze.

“Did I ever tell you my name, Golden Bunny?”

“Pik.”

“Do you not care, or do you already know?”

“Beep, beep.”

“Huh?”

Strangely, the rabbit beeped twice this time.

Was that some kind of verbal response?

Does that mean the second option—that it already knows me—is correct?

“Golden Bunny, guess my name. Is it: 1. Bryce Artiel, 2. Strawberry Jam Artiella, 3. Beautiful Lize Artiel?”

“…”

“4. Lize Artiel.”

“Beep, beep, beep, beep.”

As I thought!

The rabbit is communicating with me!

And it even knows who I am!

I shot up and looked at the rabbit in surprise. My eyes must have been too bright because the rabbit turned its head, looking uncomfortable.

“How did you know? Have you heard about me before, Golden Bunny?”

“…”

“Come here, Bunny. Let’s talk.”

I patted the bed beside me to invite it over.

But the rabbit only rolled its eyes and showed no intention of coming closer.

“My bed is pretty spacious. There’s enough room for someone your size.”

The rabbit kept staring at me, but it neither ran away nor showed any sign of displeasure.

‘Maybe it’s not that it doesn’t want to come over; maybe it’s just too polite to intrude on someone else’s bed.’

Yes, in the original story, Liri Selberdin was a kind and considerate character.

Convinced by my reasoning, I got up immediately.

“It’s okay. You can come here.”

I approached the window, scooped up the rabbit, and held it snugly in my arms. The rabbit made a startled snuffling sound and wriggled to escape.

“Do you not like me, Golden Bunny?”

When I pouted and tried to appeal to its emotions, the rabbit stopped struggling.

‘Hehe, gotcha.’

But the moment I flopped onto the bed with the rabbit in my arms, it panicked and leapt away.

“What’s wrong, Gold—ugh!”

The rabbit’s hind legs kicked me squarely in the solar plexus, leaving me gasping for air. Startled, the rabbit froze, seemingly unsure of what to do.

It blinked down at me from atop my chest, as if asking, “Beep?”

Was that its way of asking if I was okay?

“No, I’m not okay. Cough, cough.”

The rabbit was surprisingly heavy, and being kicked in the chest hurt quite a bit.

Still, its wide-eyed, concerned expression was so cute that I couldn’t help but smile.

“Please don’t nibble on my head.”

“Beep.”

“You’re really adorable, you know that?”

“Beep?”

“Oh, my sweet Golden Bunny. Did you just go ‘beep’?”

“…”

A pair of sharp little teeth appeared right in front of me.

“I apologize.”

It felt like I was taming the rabbit, or perhaps the rabbit was taming me.

Our eyes met again.

Strangely enough, every time I looked into the rabbit’s slightly cynical golden eyes, one particular person came to mind.

Cassium Ruden Balteire.

The haughty son of the Balteire Dukedom, infuriatingly skilled in swordsmanship.

‘Why does that guy keep coming to mind?’

Cassium and I had been like water and oil since our knight academy days.

His cynical, arrogant demeanor and excessively cold attitude made it impossible for him to understand others.

We clashed more times than I could count back in the academy.

‘And that incident…’

As I recalled a certain event from our academy days, my hands clenched into fists.

That incident had driven an even deeper wedge between us.

‘And let’s not forget how much torment he gave poor Bryce in the original story!’

Cassium was one of the people who made Bryce’s life miserable by assigning him harsh missions after he joined the Erne Knights.

It was partly why I had worked so hard to get into the Erne Knights myself—to stop Cassium from bullying Bryce!

“Beep.”

The rabbit, cute and gentle, pulled me back to the present, away from my dark thoughts.

“Golden Bunny, if only that guy Cassium could be half as sweet as you.”

The bunny, who had somehow closed its tiny mouth adorably, blinked at me. Then, it extended one of its paw-like little hands and pressed it gently against my face.

It seemed my expression had been scrunched up.

“Beep, beep!”

The rabbit placed its two fluffy paws on my cheeks and pulled my face into a stretched smile.

It felt like getting a gua sha massage…

With that strange sensation, I found myself thinking of Cassium again.

“That bastard…”

Even I, who didn’t get along with him, had to admit his skill.

Setting aside the fact that he was one of the few aura users in the empire and consistently won first place in swordsmanship tournaments, he had achieved something remarkable.

He became the youngest squad leader in the Imperial First Knight Order, the Erne Knights.

Reaching that position purely through skill at barely his mid-teens left no need for any other proof of the “genius” label that always accompanied him.

Fine, he was impressive.

But having to frequently clash with someone as infuriating as Cassium in the same knight order was nothing short of ironic.

Within the order, he and I were the squad leaders of two rival factions: the “Golden Lions” and the “Black Panthers,” notoriously at odds with each other.

‘I guess I dug my own grave by joining the Erne Knights.’

But our conflicting actions were so extreme that even those around us would click their tongues in exasperation.

‘It was the same just a few days ago.’

A few evenings ago, under Captain Denver’s supervision, the Erne Knights had an informal yet mandatory victory celebration.

●●●●●●●

“Follow me, Cassium.”

The Black Panthers always slyly snatched away work meant for the Golden Lions.

That celebration night was no exception, and I couldn’t hold back my anger as I shouted at Cassium.

“Let’s each take a swing and settle this cleanly!”

“Why do something you’ll regret tomorrow, Lize?”

“Are you scared of being hit by me?”

Admittedly, I was a little drunk, but I meant it when I grabbed him and said that.

Some of the knights joked that one of us might not come out alive, while others egged us on, saying to finish the job.

And I think we exchanged punches, one each, in the spirit of fairness.

I say “think” because the alcohol that night lulled my hippocampus into a deep sleep.

But given the clear marks left behind, it must’ve been a pretty intense brawl.

●●●●●●●

“Look at this, Bunny.”

I pulled the collar near my shoulder aside. The rabbit let out a startled “Beeng” sound.

The bunny, who had been sitting calmly on me, jumped up and tried to scurry away.

“Why are you being shy with me, Golden Bunny? Look at my shoulder.”

“Beep.”

After I managed to catch the bunny and soothe it a few times, it finally glanced sideways in my direction.

I pointed at the dark bruise on my shoulder.

“See this? Isn’t it bad? How hard did that jerk Cassium hit me for it to look like this!”

“Beep?”

The rabbit widened its eyes.

Its blinking, rabbit-like gaze was so adorable that I almost forgot what I was talking about.

“We agreed to exchange punches and move on. But how seriously did he hit me for the bruise to still be there?”

“Beep!”

Suddenly, the rabbit raised its soft little paws and waved them frantically.

“Beep!”

“Are you saying the bruise is gone? No, it’s still there.”

Was it just my imagination, or did the bunny look like it felt wronged?

“Golden Bunny, look again.”

As I pulled my clothes aside further, the rabbit squeezed its eyes shut.

But after I called it three more times, it cautiously took a step closer, eyes still tightly closed.

Then, it gently reached out with its paw and carefully patted my shoulder.

“Are you worried it might hurt? It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

What a sweet bunny.

The complete opposite of that demon-like Cassium, who wasn’t even a bit cute!

Even though we agreed to settle it and forget, this mark was still here. It was pointless.

I wasn’t sure how hard I had hit Cassium, but if his bruise was smaller or healed faster than mine, I’d definitely be upset.

My mind replayed the events of that day over and over again.