TSROTRATBP Chapter 12

Approaching hastily, he discovered me caught in Ahin's hands and made a relieved expression. After catching his breath, Iverin soon wore his usual expressionless face and placed his hand on his waist.

"Miss Rabbit, your running skills are quite extraordinary. I never imagined you would attempt to run away from the temple."

Even in this situation, his solemn nonsense didn't fail to appear. Having run so much and even cried, lacking even the strength to glare, I hung limply in Ahin's grasp. Ahin, observing me in that state, turned his gaze toward Iverin.

"She says the temple is abhorrent."

I don't recall using such an extreme expression. Feeling absurd, I glared intensely at Ahin. His exaggeration was truly masterful.

"Oh my, I didn't know. Miss Rabbit appears to be an impious atheist."

"Seems that way. Isn't it strange for a rabbit to have religion in the first place?"

"Don't rabbits sometimes pray?"

"Oh. That's interesting?"

A conversation no one would find interesting continued. Hmm. Iverin, stroking his chin as if contemplating, made a suggestion.

"Then let's return to the estate."

It was that simple? Dumbfounded, I opened my mouth slightly. Ahin, looking down at me in my bewildered state, finally wore his usual inscrutable smile.

"Right, let's head back."

We're going back. Compared to my desperate escape to avoid meeting the priest, it was an absurdly easy yet confusing conclusion.

"Miss Rabbit."

Iverin, utterly oblivious to my baffled feelings, stood close to me as I was held by Ahin. Then he extended his hand and carefully smoothed my disheveled fur.

"This Iverin is a civil official, not a military one. Therefore, I would prefer to decline sudden running exercises."

"Iverin, don't chatter so close."

"I respect even this cold-hearted aspect of Lord Ahin."

"Mouth."

"Yes."

Iverin, finally zipping his lips, took the lead in guiding us. As I alternately watched the two beastmen truly walking toward the carriage, drowsiness suddenly washed over me. The words "let's go back" somehow made my body feel pleasantly weary.

'Where is...?'

When I opened my eyes, pitch-black darkness had fallen outside the window. I must have fallen asleep in the returning carriage after all. Rolling my body over on the white bedding, I rubbed my eyes.

Perhaps because I'd cried so much while sitting on the temple floor, my eyelids felt heavy and dim.

'I feel like I slept deeply, yet I'm tired.'

As I looked around the cozy bedroom—so different from the temple's frigidly cold air—I quickly pretended to be asleep.

Though it was a quiet night, one problem had arisen. Namely, Ahin, dressed in a robe with his chin propped up, staring fixedly at me.

'Don't tell me...'

The expression I'd glimpsed briefly seemed frozen—he must surely intend to scold me for running away from the temple. Fear gripping me, my closed eyes naturally tensed.

Moreover, though I faced him nightly, the firm upper body revealed between the gaps of his robe was quite burdensome.

Facing his beautiful features was already a challenge, and adapting to such a disheveled appearance was still beyond me.

Say what you will, I was a healthy adult who'd undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. That defenseless black panther seemed completely unaware of the danger this Lady Vivi posed.

"Hey."

Though an irritating call reached me, I had no intention of opening my tightly shut eyes. If he thought I'd fall for such simple provocation, he was gravely mistaken.

"Crybaby."

Ah, damn it. Irritation surging, I swiftly sat up and threw a front-paw punch at Ahin's hand.

Having easily blocked my devastating blow, he immediately pressed my head down firmly. If I'm not careful, my neck will break. Stop it, you unreasonable beast.

'Oh no!'

While glaring, the moment I met those distinctive black panther red eyes, I hastily pretended to sleep. An exasperated sound like air escaping reached me.

"You know."

After a brief silence, goosebumps rose eerily on my back and spine. It was because Ahin's fingers slowly stroked my back. Though the gesture contained no threat whatsoever, I somehow felt a chill.

"You know that?"

It was a voice capable of enchanting beastmen like a siren's song. I don't know, I don't know what it is but I want to never know forever. As I continued that thought, a chilling touch reached my back again.

"They say predators have strong possessiveness, over whatever it might be."

Slide. The repetition of fingers grazing my lower back continued. It was a leisurely yet steady pace. Though he'd occasionally stroked my back this way before, today it felt particularly unsettling.

"Sometimes when that desire becomes excessive, they destroy things."

Though he himself was a predator, his tone was as casual as if discussing someone else's affairs.

In contrast, I felt goosebumps rising enough to make me want to bolt upright. What Ahin was currently saying was absolutely not about someone else.

'Good heavens.'

He's not trying to put me in his mouth again, is he? Contrary to my worries, fortunately nothing particular happened.

However, not releasing my tension, I strained my hearing acutely.

"You're something I picked up. That's why you could live."

After several seconds of silence, that toneless voice came again.

"So you're my possession. Right?"

Hearing the question posed as if seeking confirmation, my mouth went completely dry.

This was a subtle warning—that rather than let me run away, he might destroy me. Somehow I had the premonition that I should escape this estate as soon as possible, but was it just my imagination?

Between Ahin's mother—that is, Lady Valens—and me, a tacit bond had recently formed.

The rose garden tea time held at similar hours each day. Once Meimi withdrew, something secretive would take place there. Namely, practice in controlling pheromones.

'Come to the rose garden every day around lunchtime.'

Lady Valens had proposed that since distinctive pheromones appeared in me more each day, I should learn to manage them.

That's right. The strange energy I'd felt in my body previously was precisely pheromones. Though theoretically impossible, this might perhaps be the first step toward humanization.

Burning with determination, I waited for this time alone each day, and according to Lady Valens's assessment, I was showing rapid acquisition and making remarkable progress.

Of course, I couldn't verify the truth of her praise. After all, she'd been showing me a mysteriously favorable attitude.

"Dear child, steady your breathing slowly. Calmly, that's right."

Sitting on the table, I breathed evenly according to her instructions while concentrating on the energy within my body. The energy spread throughout my entire body felt more stable than yesterday's practice.

"Around there, try gathering it toward your core again with the feeling of concealing your pheromones."

It's difficult... I don't understand what "conceal" means at all. As I looked around uncertainly at the confusing explanation, she, who'd been drinking milk tea, spoke quietly.

"Don't rush. It's fine to take your time slowly."

Nodding, I concentrated on the act of gathering energy as instructed.

Ten-odd minutes later, as practice continued, fatigue inevitably flooded in. Handling pheromones required considerable stamina, to the point where I even needed nap time.

"Well done. Let's stop here for today."

Lady Valens, gently stroking the head of me as I caught my breath, presented a book she'd been holding. As I looked on bewildered, the corners of her mouth curved up gently.

"This may be an absurd question to ask you, being a rabbit, but do you happen to know how to read?"

I, who'd been staring as if entranced by that smile, came to my senses and nodded.

Though I'd never directly written Continental language, fortunately I had absolutely no problem reading it. After I turned ten, Mother hadn't given up hope and had me acquire knowledge as a beastman through my eyes and ears.

"I'll entrust this book separately to Meimi, so read it when you have time. It may prove quite helpful to you."

From the moment she'd perceived my pheromones, Lady Valens hadn't treated me as an ordinary rabbit.

Though I suppose she'd been that way from the start. Even so, I was fortunate she hadn't taken any particular action.

To begin with, it was difficult to understand why someone who'd risen to the position of family head would spend time on me.

「Pheromone Theory」

I felt a strange sensation as I looked alternately between the book and her.

After tea time, returning to the bedroom, I immediately had Meimi's help fixing the thick book in place. She placed heavy marble stones at both ends of the book to prevent the pages from turning over.

'Good.'

Wearing a serious expression, I pressed my front paw on the book. Though turning pages with my front paw was difficult, there was nothing to be done about it in rabbit form. For now, pursuing clues about pheromones was my only hope.

'The definition of pheromones.'

Pheromones are an innate scent and energy possessed only by beastmen, manifesting as distinctive abilities or means of attack, hierarchical relationships, and so forth.

Rabbit beastmen generally develop pheromones like evasion, but would mine be that type as well? No matter how I thought about it, speed didn't seem right.

Along with my musings, as I read the next chapter, I glanced around the empty bedroom for no particular reason.

'Pheromones and Sex.'

Though this too was education beastmen received from childhood, I preferred not to view it together with others.

Two coming-of-age ceremonies existed for the continent's beastmen. Namely, the sexually meaningful coming-of-age at fifteen, and the ceremonial coming-of-age at eighteen according to social norms.

Unlike humans, beastmen could bewitch through pheromones, so young beastmen were prone to being swept up by instinct. Thus, it was specified in the regulations that from age fifteen onward, pheromones could be used in relations with the opposite sex.

'Mm...'

Frowning, I flipped past this chapter without needing to skim it. It was a matter I knew well without studying separately.