TSROTRATBP Chapter 20

...What kind of—Honestly, this beast was beyond all understanding. I let out a hollow breath, but Ahin, as if he genuinely meant to swear some kind of oath, held out his pinky.

"Promise."

Worse still, with maddening cheek, Ahin mouthed the word "Meimi" silently at me. Not in a position to object, I pressed my forepaw to his pinky, feeling grudging and uneasy about it.

"Ah, and."

What now?

"We ought to settle on some signals from now on. So I can understand what you mean."

An unfamiliar, faintly bitter feeling stirred in me. It was something I'd never once considered for myself, let alone hoped for. No one had ever particularly wanted my opinion before, either.

"Let's start with this side."

Unlike me, frozen in place, Ahin reached out without any particular ceremony and set my left forepaw over his index finger.

"Left forepaw means an emergency. Right side,"

He held out his other hand and set my right forepaw over his index finger as well. Both forepaws were held aloft in midair by force. "Hm." A brief moment of thought passed.

"Right for Ahin sounds about right. Raise your right forepaw when you need me. For anything else, express yourself however you like."

His voice carried a teasing edge as he went on. Before long, Ahin lowered my forepaws, wearing that particular smile of his.

"Now, practice. Something dangerous."

...You want me to do it now?

I looked up at him, unimpressed, and he jerked his chin toward me. He gave a small, insistent nod with half-lidded eyes, so I reluctantly raised my left forepaw.

"Calling for me."

Playing along, I gave my right forepaw a careless flick upward, and Ahin nodded, thoroughly satisfied. You're that pleased about it? I narrowed my eyes at him, and he tickled beneath my chin as if in praise.

"Yeah, not bad."

It came out sounding almost as if he'd understood exactly what was in my mind. But there wasn't a trace, in those red eyes, of even the affection one might show a pet. My mind grown strangely muddled, I gazed up at Ahin with a faintly dazed look.

They say a beastman who's weathered fire and flood grows stronger for it. It was now Lady Vivi's turn to prove it.

Having stayed wide awake until deep into the small hours, I carefully crawled out from beneath the blankets.

A dim shadow fell across Ahin's beautiful, sleeping face. I waved a foreleg back and forth in front of him and gave his nose a gentle poke, but there was no sign of movement whatsoever.

Asleep?

An even, steady breathing sound carried through. If he'd been awake, he'd surely have been up already, reciting something about roasted rabbit by now. Just in case, I stared at his eyelashes for a long stretch, but there was no telltale flicker either.

...Good, he's asleep.

Having settled myself in front of his face, I called to mind the wretched situation from a few hours earlier.

A wolf drooling all over the place and a chase where the hunted and hunter traded places. The wolf's appearance had, as always, given me cause to reconsider just how precarious my situation truly was.

Life here had grown comfortable enough that I'd nearly forgotten. Surviving as a baby rabbit in a place crawling with predators was next to impossible. Even sitting at the very bottom of the food chain, I'd somehow managed to stay alive this long—it was practically a miracle.

Worse still, this estate belonged to none other than the Black Panther Sovereign's family. Which was to say, it was nothing short of a gathering point for predators.

Wouldn't achieving humanization as quickly as possible, or else fleeing to some herbivore territory, raise my odds of survival at least a little?

Today, without fail.

Rumpled silver hair against a white pillow filled my view. This was a plan I could only carry out while Ahin slept, and I'd already put it off for several days running.

Looking down at my forepaws, I licked my lips. Ever since the night Ahin had bitten my nape, the fingers I'd seen that dawn wouldn't leave my head.

If those fingers really had been mine, the clue had to be his fangs, or his scent. It had followed a strange sort of pain, after all.

Swallowing hard, I hopped forward, drawing even closer to Ahin's face. As his beautiful features loomed nearer, the tension came flooding back all over again.

Huff, huff. Breathing in intermittent gasps, I reached out a forepaw. It was a movement more cautious than anything.

...Black panther. Please. Don't move.

The trembling tip of my forepaw brushed his lip lightly, then pulled back. Having wanted to run away just from touching his lip that much, I shook my head and steeled my resolve.

He'd already bitten my neck once—surely getting scared off this easily now would leave a stain on Lady Vivi's good name.

Steadying my drifting focus, I reached out my forepaw once more.

I can do this, I can do this. And then—slip—I finally succeeded in sliding my forepaw between Ahin's lips.

Got it!

Now all I had to do was let him bite down lightly, the way he had that other time. Fighting down my fear, I wiggled it carefully, and as my forepaw crept slowly further in, it brushed against a row of even teeth.

...Huh?

My expression, brightening with rising hope, froze solid at a terrifying speed. Why did it feel like there was suddenly pressure behind those lips? Trembling, I turned my head, and my eyes met a pair of half-open red ones.

Mother of—!

A silent scream tore through me as I tried to pull my forepaw free, but his firmly shut lips showed no sign of letting go.

I'm sorry for waking you, please—

I pleaded with him with desperate eyes, and Ahin, as if trying to protest something, worked his lips in a low, muffled mumble. Unable to speak, his fine brow creased faintly with what looked like frustration.

Just let go and talk, use words!

In the end, I shoved hard against his cheek with my hind leg, but Ahin kept his lips pressed firmly shut and refused to release me. He was stubborn beyond belief. Worse, with every movement of his lips, my forepaw was being drawn in, little by little.

Cold sweat broke out, and an instinctive terror surged through me. My forepaw kept sinking in, swallowed bit by bit—then a light touch. Tongue. Fang.

No—!

Horrified by that soft, squishy feeling I never wanted to know, I finally blacked clean out. It was the third time I'd fainted since coming to Black Panther Territory.

The sunset sky had begun to darken. Today, as far as I could gather from Rune and Meimi's earlier conversation, was the day of the ball being held at House Grace. It being an important date, they seemed to be proceeding with it entirely separate from the whole wolf-infiltration incident.

Wow.

Gripping the terrace railing, I let out a small gasp.

Ahin's bedroom happened to sit at an angle where the front gate was clearly visible from the terrace. Watching one lavish carriage after another pass through the iron gates, I could feel, all over again, just what it meant for this to be the Sovereign's own residence.

What's more, every beastman stepping down from the carriages was dressed in dazzling formalwear from head to toe.

Watching the sight unfold, I turned my gaze on impulse toward the glass pane. Staring back was one small baby rabbit—white fur, black eyes, no bigger than a clenched fist, unmistakably.

...There it was again.

I wasn't fond of looking in mirrors, but it didn't particularly sink my mood either. Comparing myself to beastmen who'd gone through their humanization, feeling sick with inadequacy over it—that was already old news.

Even a few years back, I'd still catch myself imagining what I'd look like as a human, but I'd stopped that habit long ago. I'd been too afraid it would end up staying nothing but imagination forever. I'd spend my time forcing myself to think of other things instead, whenever it threatened to surface.

Was there truly no escaping this cycle, ever? Some formless residue of emotion crept slowly up from the tips of my feet.

"Miss Rabbit."

As I stood there blankly, staring at my own reflection in the glass, two sets of footsteps sounded beside me. Not just Meimi, but a beastman I'd never seen before appeared from behind her.

He wasn't one of the servants who usually came and went from the bedroom.

Startled by the arrival of this unfamiliar face, I slipped quietly behind Meimi. Scooping me up with gentle hands, Meimi added an explanation.

"This is Master Ulpes, House Grace's own dedicated dress specialist."

"Finally, a proper greeting, Miss Rabbit. I've been longing to meet you."

Ulpes extended his index finger with the utmost courtesy along with his greeting. My trembling gaze traveled from his offered finger up to his face.

Red eyes, scarlet hair half tied back—a fairly likeable face, all things considered. The one problem was his uniform: an outlandish shade of pink dress coat, the kind you'd struggle to find anywhere else in the world.

Way too much lace, honestly.

Every black panther in this house has such a strong personality, I found myself thinking, and other similar musings, as I reached out a forepaw to answer his handshake. At that, Ulpes's eyes filled with something close to genuine emotion, and he pressed a hand over his mouth.

"Oh—! Good heavens! I'd heard rumors of a brilliant rabbit, but seeing it with my own eyes is truly astonishing. I simply cannot contain my admiration!"

A stream of what amounted to pointless praise disguised as shouting went on for a solid five minutes after that. Meimi, listening to it all without so much as a twitch, murmured quietly.

"Master Ulpes does love conversation."

I'd say the volume of his voice is the bigger issue than the conversation, honestly—my ears are practically stinging from it. Contrary to my hope that he might simply vanish, he settled himself thoroughly into Ahin's bedroom instead.

What's the dress specialist doing here, though?

Ahin had already left the bedroom some time ago, dressed in his black formal coat. As I looked on in confusion, Ulpes opened up a suspicious-looking box he'd been carrying.

"Tonight, Lord Ahin's escort for the ball is you, Miss Rabbit. It was rather short notice, so I couldn't prepare a great deal, but I've brought accessories light enough not to strain your neck."

The claim was so utterly absurd my jaw simply dropped open on its own. What noble in the world brought a rabbit along as their ball partner?

Is he serious?

Taking it for a joke, I turned to look at Meimi, but she gave a small nod of confirmation. Even she seemed to find the words uncomfortable to speak aloud, judging by how many times her lips parted and closed before she managed it.

"The order came this morning. …He said it would be fun."

Let's be honest with each other. You two also think that black panther is out of his mind, don't you? I shot them both a look, seeking agreement, but the two beastmen pointedly looked away.

"We simply follow our master's instructions."

"Lord Ahin was, no doubt, being considerate—ensuring you could witness the ball firsthand, Miss Rabbit. The, the ballroom at House Grace is truly magnificent and grand!"

Meimi and Ulpes answered in turn, sounding almost as if they were making excuses. So subordinates with an unfortunate master have to go through this kind of trouble too. Some strange sympathy welled up for the two of them.

"Ah, dear me, Miss Rabbit's radiant fur is outshining the ribbon entirely."

For nearly an hour now, I'd been sitting on the bed as one accessory after another was held up against my head. Dissatisfied, Ulpes clicked his tongue and tucked the ribbon back into the box.

"Hmm…."

Being fitted with accessories like this was a first for me, so it wasn't unpleasant, exactly. If only it weren't for the booming voice going off right beside me, it would have been rather nice.

"This crown ornament, I think. The finest piece for bringing out Miss Rabbit's dignity. Wouldn't you agree, Miss Meimi?"

Meimi, standing by, offered nothing more than a small round of applause without comment. For someone as reserved as her, that might well count as the highest praise available. Feeling oddly bashful, I scratched at my temple with a forepaw.

"House Grace holds a ball every six months without fail. I always prepare Lord Ahin's formal coat for it, though he never shows the least interest, which leaves me quite sorrowful."

Worse, unlike Meimi, Ulpes's talkative nature meant I was being force-fed an enormous quantity of information. Wiping me down with a cloth carrying a faint floral scent, he went on with his explanation.

"Mostly, guests from the lion clan or the bear clan attend, given our close ties with them."

So this evening's ball was apparently a sizable affair, and it wouldn't be only black panthers attending, but nobles from each territory dropping in from time to time as well.

Come to think of it, didn't he say the lion clan was staying at the estate for the ball too?