Episode 6
‘This isn’t right.’
After Bryce left, the rabbit, having finished its meal, hopped onto the sofa with a spring.
Its fur seemed shinier than ever, and its face was full of a happy smile.
“I should have given it to you sooner.”
“Beep.”
The rabbit, now content and in a generous mood after its hearty meal, replied as if to say it was fine.
The rabbit strolled around the room for a bit, looking pleased, before returning to the sofa to drift into a nap.
I watched the rabbit quietly for a moment, then tiptoed closer.
‘When are you going to get along with Bryce, little rabbit?’
The softly sleeping rabbit curled up even tighter.
I gently sat beside it and stroked its forehead.
Even though things weren’t going the way I wanted, there was something strangely comforting about watching the peacefully sleeping rabbit.
It felt like being next to someone I’d known for a long time.
“Golden Bunny, there isn’t another rabbit as lucky as you in this world.”
I rested my head briefly on the sofa where the rabbit was sleeping.
A gentle evening breeze blew in through the window.
‘I need to close the curtains properly before sleeping.’
It was a full moon tonight.
But leaning against the sofa, forehead pressed against the rabbit’s, I unknowingly drifted off to sleep.
***
“Ugh…”
A faint groan caught the rabbit’s attention. It was coming from close by.
The groan, filled with pain, was fragmented and didn’t form properly.
It was a voice the rabbit recognized—Lize’s.
The rabbit’s eyes snapped open.
Lize, someone from the same swordsmanship class and knight squad, had been through countless battles together with it.
But it had never heard her make such agonized sounds before.
“Beep.”
It called her name. Lize was leaning against the window frame, her trembling arms struggling to grasp the curtain.
Moonlight shimmered over her sweat-drenched, flushed face.
Her expression was contorted with pain, as if the moonlight itself were a sharp blade.
Was she trying to pull the curtain aside? The rabbit hurried to the window.
It tried to help by grabbing the curtain with its mouth to pull it aside.
“Don’t!”
At that moment, Lize shouted at the rabbit.
Her tone was more like a desperate plea than a reprimand.
She kept gripping the curtain tightly.
Only then did the rabbit understand—she wasn’t trying to pull the curtain aside, but to close it.
The rabbit pulled the curtain in the opposite direction, covering more of the window.
The moonlight that had been shining on Lize’s face disappeared.
“…”
Only then did Lize let go of the curtain and collapse to the floor as if her strength had given out.
Her labored breaths filled the air.
“Beep.”
The rabbit called her name and placed its paw on her shoulder. Lize was trembling all over.
Seeing her like this, as if she could die any moment, the rabbit’s mind went blank for a moment.
‘The medicine…’
An overturned pill bottle lay nearby, with pills scattered messily around, proof that she had urgently taken her medication.
‘I have to save her.’
Though it didn’t know why, the only thought that filled its mind was that it absolutely had to save her. But a wave of helplessness quickly followed.
What should it do? Was there anything it could do in this state?
“…”
As the rabbit lingered near her, Lize opened her eyes with difficulty. Her gaze landed on the rabbit.
“…I’m fine.”
Her voice sounded anything but fine.
“For now… But if it gets worse, you’ll save me, won’t you…?”
She continued to mumble, her face looking as though she was on the verge of losing consciousness.
It seemed like she didn’t even realize what she was saying.
The dark room held only her and the rabbit, and it had no idea where to call for help.
From wandering around the annex several times, it had learned that there weren’t any proper servants here.
The only people staying in the same building were a steward named Malon and the boy, Bryce.
If it had known this would happen, it would have at least found out where the boy’s room was.
“…Don’t go. Stay with me.”
As the rabbit was about to leave the room, Lize, in her dazed state, clung to it, saying uncharacteristic words.
Her fevered hands wrapped around its body tightly.
The rabbit felt its mind go even blanker for a moment before it managed to slip free from her grasp.
At least it knew where the bathroom in this room was.
The rabbit wet a blanket and dragged it over, using it to wipe away the sweat beading on Lize’s face.
Why was she in such pain?
It was clear this wasn’t a simple fever.
Her behavior suggested it was a long-standing illness.
Despite always acting like she had to be the strongest person in the world, when had she been suffering like this?
Without realizing, the rabbit’s expression hardened as it wiped Lize’s sweat. Then it heard her faint, breathy voice near its ears.
“Thank you.”
Lize’s breathing began to steady.
The trembling in her body gradually subsided.
Perhaps the clouds had passed, for moonlight seeped through the gap in the curtains.
Thinking that Lize had been trying to block out that very moonlight, the rabbit completely covered the small opening in the curtains.
Then it sat beside the now-sleeping Lize.
Until Lize was fully and deeply asleep, the rabbit’s gaze, the only light in the darkness, never left her face.
***
“……!!!”
The rabbit’s eyes snapped open.
“Beep…”
From somewhere near my head, I heard a faint, strained sound. To be precise, it seemed to be coming from below my head…
“Beep…”
“Huh? Golden Bunny!”
I had been using the rabbit as a pillow while sleeping.
Startled, I quickly sat up, and the Golden Bunny, looking indifferent, brushed off the spot where I had been lying.
“Did I really fall asleep like that? Just lying on the floor like this?”
Wait a minute, last night was a full moon.
Suddenly, the memories of the previous night flooded my mind.
I couldn’t recall everything clearly because I had been disoriented, but…
I vividly remembered the Golden Bunny holding a damp blanket larger than itself and staying by my side, watching over me the entire time.
“Golden Bunny, did you… take care of me last night?”
The rabbit responded with a “beep,” as if asking why I was making such a fuss. Its tone was sharp, almost as if it was scolding me—something oddly familiar.
So, it really had taken care of me.
I felt strange. I was grateful for the Golden Bunny’s presence, but it wasn’t just simple gratitude.
‘It felt like leaning on something for support.’
Every time I had been sick, I had always been alone. I’d never even considered the possibility of someone staying by my side.
But in that moment, I realized for the first time how reassuring it was to have someone there.
“Golden Bunny!”
I scooped up the Golden Bunny and pressed my cheek against its soft fur.
“Golden Bunnyyy.”
The rabbit froze, seemingly flustered.
‘At least it’s not pushing me away.’
Before, it would have run off the moment I tried to hug it. But now, it neither fled nor struggled; it just stared at me, observing.
‘Wait, is this my chance?!’
I placed my hand on my forehead, pretending to feel dizzy. The rabbit’s golden eyes immediately fixed on me.
“I have to go to work… but I feel so sick, ugh…”
I exaggerated my pained voice as much as possible.
The rabbit stretched out its fluffy paw, as if trying to check my temperature, patting my face here and there.
I dodged its touch while murmuring dramatically.
“What if I collapse on the way? The road to the station is through the woods; no one would be there to save me…”
“…”
“It would be so comforting to have someone go with me!”
“…”
“Golden Bunny, will you come with me?”
I asked, my eyes gleaming with expectation.
The rabbit looked half-annoyed and half-uncertain, muttering something under its breath.
Then, after a moment, it nodded.
‘Yes!’
Finally, I had an excuse to stay within one meter of the rabbit.
***
On the way to the knight’s station, the rabbit stuck its head out of my bag and stared at me intently.
‘Is it worried because it saw me acting sick?’
Since the symptoms disappeared after the full moon, I was perfectly fine now.
Still, the usually indifferent rabbit was paying attention to me, so I decided to keep up the act a little longer.
‘This is a rare opportunity. I have to make something of this time.’
To maximize efficiency in the shortest amount of time, I needed to ask the Golden Bunny something.
With a pounding heart, I turned to the rabbit.
“Our Golden Bunny, um…”
Clearing my throat twice, I asked the question.
“What’s your ideal type?”
I wondered if I had been too blunt, but I was in a hurry, so I couldn’t help it.
Since the storyline of Bryce and Lily gradually falling for each other wasn’t working out, I was planning to adjust Bryce to match Lily’s ideal type instead.
The rabbit twitched its fluffy nose, as if to say, “Why are you asking me that?” But this was a critical matter to me.
“If you imagine that the people around here are rabbits instead of humans, surely there’s romance in the rabbit kingdom too, right?”
“Beep.”
“What about a rabbit like Bryce?”
“Ugh.”
“Be serious for a moment.”
I hurriedly listed 500 advantages of Bryce to the Golden Bunny.
“Now, tell me, Bunny. Do you prefer a gentle and pure type or a strong and protective type?”
“Beep.”
“Come on, just choose one.”
“Hah, beep, beep.”
“The second one? Then Bryce is perfect! You see, Bryce is—”
Before I could finish my sentence, the rabbit suddenly covered its wound with its paw and let out a faint, pitiful “beep.”
“Golden Bunny! Are you hurt?!”
“Beep…”
In a rush, I sped up my steps.
As soon as we arrived at the Erne Knight Station, I jumped off and checked the rabbit inside the bag.
“Let’s go see a doctor, Bunny!”
However, the rabbit didn’t answer, shaking its paw as if to say no. Its expression had already returned to calm.
Was it faking?
Did it learn that from me? Did it notice my act earlier?
“Wait, Golden Bunny, you should stay in the bag for now—”
Before I could finish, the rabbit jumped out of the bag.
Before I could catch it, its wide eyes froze in surprise.
“Ahhh! Bunny!”
From the other side, the knights were kicking up dust as they ran toward the rabbit.
“Vice-Captain! Isn’t this the cutest rabbit?!”
The rabbit, clearly startled, ran back to me, and I quickly scooped it up.
The Golden Bunny, seemingly forgetting it was in my arms, waved its little paw angrily at the knights.
“Captain, let me hold the bunny too!”
“Me too!”
“Everyone, back off. I need to train with this rabbit one-on-one.”
I brushed off their words and protected the rabbit from their eager hands.
“Then let’s recruit the bunny into the Erne Knights too!”
“Captain, what’s the rabbit’s name?”
“Golden Bunny.”
“Then, Golden Bunny, you must join the Golden Lions.”
“Beep, beep—beep—”
The rabbit snorted and muttered something under its breath, baring its teeth.
“Look, Captain! Even the rabbit is determined to join!”
Though I doubted the rabbit’s actions had anything to do with determination, I nodded along to avoid ruining the knights’ excitement.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
Obrigada pela tradução 👍👍
Literally all she has to do is see if it’s a girl bunny or a boy bunny. I’m sure the animal doctor knows already. 🤦🏻♀️😂
Thanks for the tl ✨
If you notice, the rabbit is defending his honor. 😂😂😂😂😂 The heroine was saying there was something close to the tail and when she tried to look it pushed her away.