TSROTRATBP Chapter 6

The moment morning broke, Ahin flung me at a maid and left.

The maid, like Iverin, addressed me faithfully as Miss Rabbit, and introduced herself as Meimi.

With her red bob and large, striking eyes, she gave off a fresh, vivid impression—but she was so extremely reticent that I could gather almost no information from her.

Even while bathing me or giving me a snack, she carried out her duties in complete silence, without a single word.

What's more, an odd sense of distance hung between Meimi and me. I was the one wary of her.

Predator clans were, from what I'd seen so far, a full head taller in build than any rabbit beastman I'd encountered—and even a maid's sharp fangs caught the light. If she ever bit through my throat, that's an instant kill, no question..

…The hell is that black panther, seriously?

The first time Meimi and I stepped out of the bedchamber, I genuinely couldn't close my gaping mouth.

The bedchamber alone had been lavish enough, but the scale of the corridor stretching out before me was a sight beyond anything I'd encountered even in my imagination.

The marble walls, the ornaments that were obviously expensive at a glance, and the ceiling soaring high enough to make my eyes go wide.

Going by Ahin's screwed-loose temperament, I figured he was just some rich weirdo—but a place this size, even in black panther territory, that's gotta be nobility at least. Even at a glance, it looked twice as grand as the Raebien estate.

What's more, from Meimi's phrase—"By the young master's instruction, I've been assigned to attend to Miss Rabbit"—Ahin held the position of young master within this estate.

Which meant he was the heir apparent to the head of the household. The more I learned, the more surprises kept coming.

I wished Meimi would chatter a bit more, but sadly, she never opened her mouth unless it was strictly necessary.

And now, out on a walk through the garden, with the front gate visible in the distance, I felt myself hesitate.

The iron gate was, in fact, plenty large enough for a baby rabbit's build to slip through easily.

Inside me, the urge to run collided with another theory—that maybe staying put was actually the safer bet.

'Then cry more.'

'I'll eat you day after tomorrow—so put some effort in.'

The second Ahin's creepy smile flashed in my mind, everything went blank white. Glancing back and forth between the front gate and the guards stationed there, I lifted my head slightly.

Just then, Meimi happened to be occupied in conversation with a knight who looked to hold a fairly high rank.

Will another chance this good come along?

Probably not. The bedchamber didn't have so much as a single hole to slip through, and without someone opening the door, I couldn't even leave the room in the first place.

Even just jumping down off the bed was already a whole ordeal.

"Well then, I'll take my leave."

Sensing the conversation was wrapping up, I anxiously turned myself toward the front gate. Better to try and run than do nothing and just end up served up on a dinner table.

Move, move!

Swiftly slipping past the nearby staff, I broke into a full run.

Running fast enough my fur stood up in the wind, a dagger came flying out of nowhere and buried itself in the ground ahead of me—THUNK.

Eek!

Narrowly avoiding a collision with the blade, I skidded and tumbled, rolling across the grass.

The dagger… where did that… come from?

The finely honed blade caught the light and glinted.

As I lay frozen on the ground where I'd fallen, someone lifted me up with a careful, cautious touch. The hand belonged to none other than Meimi.

"Miss Rabbit. Outside the estate is dangerous."

Looking back and forth between the dagger stuck in the ground and her, I opened and closed my mouth again and again, wordlessly.

No, forget "dangerous"—what's with that dagger? Since when does a maid have sword skills like that?

Utterly dumbfounded, I was carried back to the estate, cradled in Meimi's arms.

This is strange. This place is genuinely, really strange.