TSROTRATBP Chapter 1

The place where I opened my eyes was pitch-black darkness. When I perked up my ears, I heard crunch, crunch—the sound of feet treading on soil.

I stretched out my leg and tapped the wall blocking my way. A rough texture like woven straw transmitted through my paw pad.

'Don't tell me I'm inside a basket?'

Judging by how my body swayed even when I stayed still, it seemed to match the basket I'd occasionally been put in before.

Where were they taking me? As if to answer that question, a gruff voice I'd never heard before soon rang out.

"Just a bit further and we'll reach the black panther territory."

"Let's get this over with quickly. But seriously, does it make any sense that she didn't transform into human form even after coming of age?"

"Didn't the priest declare it a curse from the Beast God? ...It does feel unsettling."

Having sharpened my hearing, I quickly realized the subject of their conversation was me.

Right, how strange indeed. I clearly possessed reason as a beastman, so why hadn't I escaped the form of a baby rabbit yet?

Every time Mother saw me, she threw fits with a fury-filled face. Twisting her lovely brow into an ugly knot, she would say:

'Why won't you transform into a human? Your younger brother Kyri already became a proper beastman. Everyone transforms within three years of birth, so why can't you!'

She would shout loud enough to make my ears sting. Occasionally she couldn't contain her anger and would raise the switch, or sometimes I'd receive punishment forbidding me from leaving the bedroom.

Not that I could leave even without punishment. Both Mother and Father were ashamed of me, after all.

To begin with, without a maid, I couldn't even open the door by myself.

The Raebien House.

Our family was the prestigious noble House of Raebien in rabbit territory.

Mother was Eivern Raebien—Father's third wife, that is—and she was distressed that I, the firstborn, hadn't quickly assumed human form.

Fortunately, my younger brother Kyri successfully transformed within three years of birth. At that time I was already five years old, yet still in baby rabbit form.

Beastmen on average achieve human transformation before their third birthday, so why?

Everyone wondered, and I was frustrated not knowing the reason myself.

Maybe I'll change tomorrow, maybe the day after, maybe in a week. Time cruelly flowed on, mocking those empty hopes.

In the end, last month, despite undergoing the coming-of-age ceremony at eighteen, my human transformation didn't progress.

When I went to the temple with Mother wearing an uncomfortable expression, the priest shouted that this was a curse. His voice resonated loudly enough to make my heart pound.

"Say, haven't we gotten too far from the territorial border?"

"We need to leave her this deep to avoid complications later. ...He commanded that she must die by the black panthers' hands."

"Let's pluck some of that grass there to take back as proof. It's a poisonous plant that only grows in black panther territory."

Listening to their conversation, I immediately realized I'd been abandoned. I'd had a feeling this would happen.

After returning from the temple, the way my parents looked at me changed from irritation to contempt. I'd clearly heard their muttering that killing me would be too unsettling as well.

"Look here, we've definitely gone too deep. They say once you cross the border, you're no longer protected by the territory."

Along with the man's anxious urging, thunk—I felt the basket touch the ground.

"Stop fussing, I was just about to set it down here anyway."

Since they'd said this was black panther territory, it must certainly be the border forest between rabbit territory and theirs. A place obviously crawling with black panthers.

No. Please don't leave me in a place like this. I'll try to become a proper beastman.

I scratched helplessly at the straw, but my feet couldn't even reach the lid. My vision blurred as the scene before my eyes turned hazy.

"AHHHHH!"

"Urk!"

Suddenly, a startlingly loud scream rang out. I stopped pawing and reflexively held my breath tight.

Every nerve in my body stood on end. If this really was black panther territory, the beastmen who'd been transporting me might have been hunted by a black panther. Should I play dead?

Rattle—soon the basket began to shake, and the lid opened. When bright light suddenly streamed in, my eyes closed involuntarily.

Before I could perceive anything, my scruff was grabbed and I was lifted into the air.

"A baby rabbit?"

A voice rang out with a strangely slow cadence. It was a pleasant voice—clear yet with an appropriate low-mid tone.

When I cautiously opened my squinted eyes, there was a surprisingly beautiful man.

Silver hair like spilled silver thread right before my nose. Briefly letting down my guard at that brilliance, I started struggling desperately to survive.

'A-a black panther!'

The black panther clan. Though I'd only imagined them, the person before me was unmistakably a black panther.

'Aren't red eyes creepy?'

'They are. I saw someone from the black panther clan in the shopping district last time, and it was weirdly eerie.'

The maids had gossiped that the black panther clan generally possessed red eyes.

The man had vivid red irises, and what glinted between his lips was definitely fangs.

To begin with, since this was black panther territory, the man had a high probability of being from the black panther clan.

'Let go, let me go!'

Desperately flailing my front paws, I suddenly felt a creeping sensation and stopped moving. The man's emotionless expression gave an excessively chilling feeling.

'I might get eaten.'

As he stared intently at me frozen in place, his eyes folded into half-moons as he smiled. Somehow it looked like a smile containing satisfaction.

"Are you crying?"

First time seeing someone cry? I'd definitely been crying since I came to my senses in the basket.

I wanted to act unconcerned, but it felt stuffy, as if something was caught in my throat.

However, at the man's next words, I had no choice but to stop crying.

"Cry more."

Oh my, this guy's crazy!