Episode 9
“It’s fine, it’s just a scratch.”
“Beep.”
“What’s wrong, Golden Bunny? Are you upset?”
The rabbit seemed to be slightly angry with me.
It kept staring at my wound, muttering something in its own way, as if it was worried about me.
“I do need to stop the bleeding.”
Taking off my jacket, the cold air chilled my body even more.
I decided to tear the cuff of my shirt to wrap it around my arm in the meantime.
But doing it alone wasn’t easy.
“Why isn’t this working?”
I tried biting one end with my teeth and tying the other, but the cloth was too short for that.
If I tore off more, I’d lose an entire sleeve…
At that moment, the rabbit came closer and snatched the torn piece of my shirt in its mouth.
“Hey, don’t eat that!”
“Beep!”
The rabbit huffed, then let out a deep sigh.
It slowly came back, motioning with its head toward the other end of the cloth in its mouth.
“You want me to grab it?”
The rabbit nodded.
“You’re trying to bandage me? Can you even do that?”
The rabbit let out a scoff, as if asking if I doubted its capabilities.
Even in its small body, it exuded confidence. I guess it was destined to awaken its healing powers someday.
When I grabbed the other end, the rabbit leaped over my arm and wrapped the cloth around my wound.
“Beep!”
“Wait, Golden Bunny, I think you need to pull it a bit tighter.”
“Beep?”
“It seems like it’s too loose now… I mean, not that you’re bad at this, but I think we need to do it again.”
Despite its confident start, the rabbit’s bandaging skills weren’t great.
We tried a few more times, but the results were the same.
“Beep! Hiss, hiss.”
“Golden Bunny, calm down. Let’s try again.”
“Hiss, hiss.”
The rabbit looked dejected when things didn’t go as planned.
But after some encouragement, it picked up the cloth again with renewed determination.
Golden Bunny took a deep breath, closed its eyes, and leapt again.
Its movements were strong, but it carefully pressed against the wound.
“Golden Bunny! You’re doing amazing!”
Once it got the hang of it, the rabbit completed a perfectly wrapped bandage, even tying a knot. It sat beside me, looking very pleased with itself.
“Whew. Beep, beep. Beep.”
The rabbit sighed deeply, then glanced at the bandaged wound and looked up at me.
It kept chattering, and while I couldn’t understand the words, I somehow got the sense of what it meant.
It seemed like it was scolding me for being reckless.
It was probably frustrated because I kept saying I was fine even though the wound hadn’t stopped bleeding.
‘Those eyes… where have I seen them before?’
The way it scolded me with its gaze felt strangely familiar.
Even though its words seemed bothersome, they didn’t actually feel unpleasant.
Who was it that made me feel this way before?
“Beep.”
The rabbit let out a sharp sound, as if to ask if I was even listening.
“I’m listening. Golden Bunny, you’re quite talkative, aren’t you?”
“Ha. Beep.”
The rabbit let out a scoffing laugh, almost like a human.
Well, it was human, in a way.
“Beep.”
The rabbit was still staring at my injured arm with a worried expression.
Even though its own wounds weren’t fully healed, it kept focusing on mine.
“It’ll heal soon.”
“Beep.”
“If you’re so worried, why don’t you heal me?”
“…?”
Golden Bunny gave me a look as if asking, “What are you talking about?”
It glanced at me like one might glance at an ant, then turned its gaze away.
‘Why does this feel familiar too?’
Maybe it’s because I’ve been with the rabbit for a few days…
Anyway, I needed treatment now.
“Golden Bunny.”
I called out to the rabbit and lifted it into my arms. Stroking its head, I spoke again.
“Please heal me.”
“Beep.”
“Hm?”
While you’re at it, could you heal everything else too?
‘I hope its healing powers awaken soon…’
The rabbit looked up at me, let out a sigh, and raised its front paw.
‘What’s this?’
Whatever it was, it was cute.
I smiled and gave Golden Bunny a high five.
Golden Bunny stretched its paw a bit further toward my head, then gently patted me.
“What are you doing?”
“Beep, beep.”
“Healing?”
The rabbit nodded.
“What? Is this supposed to be healing?”
I chuckled softly.
It didn’t seem to have healing powers yet, but its heart was in the right place.
“Beep.”
The rabbit pulled its paw away, looking a bit frustrated.
“Alright, thank you, Golden Bunny.”
In the meantime, the storm outside had grown stronger. The cold wind entering through the narrow cave entrance was making it even colder.
I noticed the rabbit shivering slightly.
“Golden Bunny, are you cold?”
“Beep.”
“I don’t usually hug anyone but my little brother, you know.”
I pulled Golden Bunny tightly into my arms.
“Beep…!”
The rabbit seemed startled at first, but unlike before, it didn’t squirm much and simply nestled against me.
“How is it? Warm?”
“…”
When I didn’t get a reply, I tilted my head to look closer at the rabbit’s face.
Its body was so warm that it felt like I was holding a heater.
“You really are a treasure of a rabbit. So warm.”
The rabbit seemed like it wanted to say something, opening its mouth slightly before closing it again.
Eventually, it shook its head once and hugged me tightly in return.
Time passed, but the storm outside showed no sign of letting up.
“I’m getting sleepy, Golden Bunny.”
“Beep, beep!”
Sitting still, drowsiness was unavoidable.
The rabbit tapped my chin repeatedly with its front paw.
It seemed worried that if I fell asleep in the cold and hungry, something bad might happen.
“Beep! Beep, beep!”
The rabbit kept tapping my chin.
“Alright, I won’t sleep. Stop it.”
Hearing this, Golden Bunny furrowed its brow as if questioning my sincerity.
“Okay, okay, I won’t sleep.”
Maybe I should say something.
It’d be nice if I could talk about something that might help awaken its healing powers.
“Aren’t you curious about Bryce?”
“…”
No response.
“Hm, what could I tell you?”
Instead of listening, the rabbit snuggled deeper into my embrace.
As familiarity grows, affection tends to develop as well, so I continued speaking.
“Bryce is… really cute.”
“Beep?”
“Yes, cute. You’ll understand soon.”
“Beep.”
“What should I say about him? Well…”
I blinked slowly, carefully selecting the right words.
“He’s someone I cherish.”
Yes, that seemed like the right way to put it.
“Bryce is very dear to me. At times, he feels like a frustrating fourteen-year-old, but I still want him to always be happy.”
“Beep.”
He’s my one and only sibling.
My one and only family.
“I want to shield him from any misfortune that might come his way.”
“Beep.”
“Of course, like everyone else, I know that hardships can make him stronger. But still…”
People can become good without enduring hardships.
“Golden Bunny, that’s what I think. Instead of going through trials and becoming as hard as iron, it’s better to live a soft life on a smooth path.”
I thought back to the things people said after my parents passed away when I was thirteen.
‘Oh dear, how pitiful. Losing both parents and even her title? I wonder if the eldest daughter will even manage to marry properly.’
‘Who would accept her? I heard the business they ran has gone under. Do we owe anything to the Artiel family? Surely they’re not trying to get close to us?’
I heard these remarks after putting Bryce to bed and returning from the funeral.
“At first, I was just sad. Sad that such things were said.”
That’s how it started.
I was just overwhelmed by the grief of knowing that this was the kind of disdain left for my sibling and me. For a while, I couldn’t pull myself out of those feelings of sadness.
Even though I remembered the original storyline the day my parents passed, I couldn’t imagine that I could steer my life in a different direction at the time.
But as days passed and I managed to regain my composure…
‘Eventually, I started to think that it was a relief Bryce didn’t hear those words with me. And I thought I needed to become stronger.’
Strong enough to ensure Bryce would never have to hear such things.
Strong enough to protect both of our bodies and hearts.
That’s when I realized I needed something to create a truly new life, one different from the future laid out in the original story.
That realization is what led me to properly pick up a sword.
I needed strength, and that was something I could achieve through my own effort.
“There’s no such thing as necessary hardships. It’s best to avoid them entirely. My sibling is already a good person and will continue to be one even without going through those kinds of trials.”
And that’s why I hope you’ll grow closer to my sibling soon, Golden Bunny.
Not just because of my illness—I simply wanted Bryce to have someone precious in his life.
I smiled while fiddling with the bunny’s ears.
The bunny seemed tickled, closing its eyes slightly before nuzzling its cheek against my arm.
As I held the bunny close, a drowsy warmth began to spread over me.
It felt as though my body temperature was rising.
Given how long I’d been moving through the demon-infested forest and the injuries I’d sustained, it wasn’t surprising if I was coming down with a fever.
Warm breaths brushed against my face.
“Golden Bunny…”
Sleepiness crept over me.
“Beep.”
The bunny lifted its head and called out to me.
Its small paws gently nudged me, as if to soothe or awaken me.
That soft gesture felt so comforting that my consciousness started to drift further away.
My thoughts began to wander.
Memories of childhood with my parents, the day they passed, the day I first picked up a sword, and the day I was admitted to the Imperial School of Swordsmanship all came to mind.
And perhaps a few months after my admission… the memory of the day I had a one-on-one sparring session with Cassium.
‘The day I started to genuinely dislike Cassium.’
Even now, I can’t understand what happened that day.
During the spar, he deliberately broke my wooden sword.
— If your sword can’t withstand this much, it’s better to break it now.
Even now, I can’t laugh that off. Why did he have to break it?
For a knight, breaking a sword isn’t just a declaration of rivalry.
It’s like shattering their pride—a deeply humiliating act.
But to Cassium Balteire, the cold-blooded son of that arrogant duke, someone else’s pride was clearly irrelevant.
To make matters worse, despite our poor relationship, he kept choosing me as his partner for team projects, which only made things more difficult.
It made me wonder if he was determined to torment me.
“Gold Bunny, you must never become an annoying bunny. Not like a certain someone, understand?”
“Beep?”
“Someone annoying who stands people up multiple times and shouldn’t even bother making promises!”
As I fumed, the bunny stretched out a paw to touch my forehead.
“Beep.”
Its round eyes grew wide.
Then, as if to cool me down, it started fanning me with its paw.
• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •By Esraa• ❁ • ❁ • ❁ •
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