TSROTRATBP Chapter 24

That cunning black panther? No matter how he thought about it, it made no sense. Even if Ahin didn't know she was a beastman, why mark her with pheromones?

Furthermore, beastmen who'd undergone humanization could maintain their original form for half a day at most.

Therefore, a rabbit capable of human form remaining in animal shape for extended periods was also peculiar. It might be faster to list what wasn't suspicious.

'What are they hiding?'

The wolf clan's activities had intensified, negotiations with the lion clan were underway, and the rabbit's appearance coincided with all of it. Everything was riddled with questions.

Rune thrust his hands into his pockets and lightly licked his lower lip.

Despite the small commotion, the ball concluded safely. However, unable to find stability, I swallowed dry saliva in the heavy atmosphere.

The moment Ahin returned to the bedroom, he'd flopped face-down onto the sofa without even changing out of his tailcoat. He looked almost as if he were sobbing.

Not only that, but Iverin, who'd followed him in, was directing reproachful glances at me.

I was barely maintaining my sanity as it was—what exactly were they trying to accomplish? These black panthers' behavior was utterly unpredictable.

As I continued sending suspicious looks, Ahin whined like a petulant child.

"Iverin, tell Vivi something for me."

"With pleasure."

You don't need to relay anything—I can hear everything. I wiggled my mouth, newly reminded of when I'd answered Rune directly. Of course, no unfamiliar voice emerged this time like it had then.

"I'm disappointed, Vivi."

'What's that supposed to mean?'

My nose twitched as I finally remembered I'd run like mad from the ballroom. From Ahin's perspective, he'd graciously accommodated my request only to have me attempt escape. While my conscience pricked slightly, thinking back now, leaving the ballroom had been the best choice, hadn't it?

"Tell her I'm disappointed."

"Miss Rabbit, Master Ahin says he despises you."

Iverin's solemn voice rang out as he executed the instruction. Iverin, if you're going to relay messages, do it properly.

"How could you try to elope with a lion when you already had a partner?"

"Did you prefer the lion over the black panther?"

He wasn't relaying the messages even one percent correctly. Ahin, who'd been sprawled on the sofa, lifted his head to stare at Iverin.

"Say it properly."

"Miss Rabbit, speak properly. Is it the lion or the black panther?"

"Iverin, I was talking to you."

"My apologies."

Iverin, whose expression looked entirely unapologetic, took one step back. Of course, his posture remained perfectly respectful. I was newly curious how someone like this kept his head attached while serving under Ahin.

"Get out."

Eventually, when Ahin reached for the sword sheath beside the sofa, Iverin vanished as quickly as if he'd teleported.

I stared blankly at his silently fleeing back before my body stiffened.

Though we spent every night together, being left alone with Ahin always brought a strange rush of tension. Moreover, today I'd created a new secret from him.

'Human...'

In this question-filled situation, if I had to guess at one thing, it would be pheromones.

It had been the same with Ahin, and the same with the fox beastman. The moment I'd inhaled another's pheromones at close range, my form had changed along with distinct pain.

"Vivi."

I looked up at the call to find Ahin, sprawled diagonally on the sofa, watching me.

"Where'd your crown decoration go? You were wearing it earlier."

I made a rueful face, belatedly realizing the weight atop my head had disappeared. When such a commotion as transforming into a human occurred, there was no way the crown would remain intact. The faces of Ulpes and Meimi, who'd been applauding enthusiastically, flashed distantly before me.

"Well, no matter."

He smiled vividly and reached down from the sofa to scoop me up. Though his recent habit of rudely grabbing my scruff had lessened, his touch still compelled wariness.

Moreover, since he'd lifted me with both hands while lying down, my downward view filled entirely with Ahin. His disheveled silver hair and loose cravat looked strangely dizzying, making me avert my gaze for no particular reason.

"The lion's curiosity isn't unreasonable. I marked you with my pheromone scent, after all."

Flinch. My body trembled as I looked back down at Ahin. A pure white rabbit reflected in his red eyes.

'Your black panther pheromones are overwhelming from where I'm sitting.'

It was the same claim Rune had made.

'But when?'

When had he marked me with pheromones? If the hypothesis was correct, I might transform into a human the moment I inhaled pheromones at close range.

However, aside from when Ahin had bitten my neck, I'd never felt any particular scent. Did it need to be more explicit pheromones than simply marking with a general scent?

Wanting a detailed explanation, I waved my right front paw, urging him on.

"Since you're a beastman, you occasionally leak pheromones. So I kindly concealed them with mine."

Having graciously explained, Ahin gently shook me from side to side in midair. Right, even now I was a proper beastman who could feel the pheromones inside my body. Bobbing along in agreement, I froze with a horrified expression and clamped my mouth shut.

'Wh-what did you just say?'

You knew I was a beastman? I felt like screaming. Ahin's lips curved cleanly upward as he looked up at me, my mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

"I also know you haven't undergone humanization."

A gentle breeze scattered both white fur and worries. I looked up at the unusually high sky and released a heavy sigh.

'Some rabbit beastmen crossed the border to investigate your survival. Ah, but I killed them, so I didn't hear anything more.'

Last night's events floated through my mind. How could he speak such chilling words with such an innocent face?

'I thought all rabbits would be like Vivi, but they had surprisingly abundant whiskers.'

I couldn't even begin to guess whose face he was describing. In any case, given his temperament, it was hard to believe at face value that he'd "heard nothing more." At least he definitely knew about my being a beastman and my failure to undergo humanization.

'Did he hear about my family too?'

Generally, nobility had many children, so offspring who became disgraces were easily discarded. Ahin, an only child, was the unusual case.

'The rabbit beastmen who crossed the border... must be those my parents sent.'

When those killed by Ahin in black panther territory didn't return, they might have sent subordinates to confirm my survival.

Reaching this point in my thoughts left a bitter taste. If Ahin learned the detailed circumstances of my abandonment, what reaction would he show?

'I like that Vivi is a rabbit.'

The words that had followed made my chest ache momentarily, despite their brevity. For me, despised as a half-beastman, hearing that being a rabbit was acceptable was such an unfamiliar expression.

However, setting all this aside, the biggest problem was Ahin's humor-free murmur.

'If you were human, that would actually be troublesome.'

I'd looked up in shock, and Ahin had immediately put on an angelic smile as if it were nothing.

Normally, I would've dismissed it as the black panther's nonsense, but now the situation was different. I'd transformed into a human and back just yesterday.

Whether there was a reason it would be troublesome if I were human, or if he had attachment specifically to rabbits—whatever the reason, it was a truly vexing statement.

'Does he not welcome my becoming human...?'

If only I could enter Ahin's head for just a moment. Moreover, Rune Maniuntz, whom I'd encountered in human form, was another source of anxiety.

"Little one."

Valens's quiet call reached my ears as I dug a burrow in gloom.

"Your pheromones are quite scattered."

She chuckled softly and sipped her tea. Finally regaining my senses, I hurriedly checked inside my body.

Lost in thought, I'd carelessly allowed my pheromones to become disorganized. When I hastily reorganized them, Lady Valens stroked my head as if I were praiseworthy.

"Being around your scent improves my mood."

'Scent?'

Based on her words, this might be why we had such frequent tea times.

'What kind of scent is it?'

Unfortunately, even bringing my front paw to my nose made smelling my own pheromones impossible.

"You have very good pheromones."

Were they really good pheromones? As I kept sniffing my front paws, I suddenly froze.

Pheromones. A word connected to everything that had happened to me recently.

"Miss Rabbit, please be careful not to trip on rocks."

Meimi's concerned shout came from behind. When I turned my head, considerable distance had opened between us.

'Hurry, hurry!'

Come on, Meimi! I gestured with my paws to mean "catch up quickly" and turned to dash off again.

Meimi had her own principles. Walks in the garden area, reading in the library, exercise in the training ground, and so on.

Therefore, my feet accelerated as I currently raced toward the training ground.

'Being around your scent improves my mood.'

I couldn't dismiss Lady Valens's words lightly. As the sovereign of black panther territory, she must have reached unimaginable heights.

'Master Ahin has been sleeping longer recently.'

'Being with Vivi makes me reluctant to get up somehow.'

'Don't you only oversleep on days with particularly heavy morning duties?'

'Did I?'

I'd listened carefully to conversations between Ahin and Iverin too. Thinking about it, Ahin had shown peculiar attachment to sleeping with me from the start. That might be connected to pheromones.

'Some argue that when innate pheromone abilities are too powerful, humanization is delayed.'

A passage I'd read in Pheromone Theory. If, perhaps,

'I fall under that case.'

Since I'd become human just yesterday—something I'd considered an illusion—it wasn't an entirely impossible hypothesis.

Soon the training ground closest to the tea time location appeared. Screech. I stopped and kicked my hind legs toward Meimi.

'Meimi, wait there.'