The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 12

‘Where is this…?’

When I opened my eyes, it was dark outside. I must have fallen asleep in the carriage on the way back. I stirred in the white bedding and rubbed my eyes.

My eyelids felt heavy and dim, probably because I had been crying so much while sitting on the temple floor.

‘I feel tired even though I think I got a good sleep.’

As I looked around the cozy bedroom, so different from the cold air of the temple, I quickly pretended to be asleep.

It was a quiet night, but there was one problem: Ahin was staring at me with his chin propped up, wearing only a gown.

‘Could it be….’

His expression looked stern, and I was sure he was going to reprimand me for running away from the temple. I was so scared that I involuntarily squeezed my eyes shut.

Moreover, although I face him every night, his firm upper body revealed through the gown was quite… distracting.

It’s already difficult to face his beautiful face, but adapting to such a disheveled appearance was still too much for me.

Even though he is a sturdy adult who has undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. The defenseless black panther didn’t seem to know the danger of this Bibi.

“Hey.”

I heard him call, but I had no intention of opening my tightly closed eyes. It would be a big mistake if he thought I would fall for that level of provocation.

“Crybaby.”

Ah, geez. Annoyed, I quickly got up and threw a front paw punch at Ahin’s hand.

He easily blocked my pathetic blow and suddenly pressed down on my head. I felt like my neck would break if I wasn’t careful. Stop it, you reckless beast.

‘Oops!’

While glaring, I made eye contact with the black panther’s unique red eyes and hurriedly pretended to be asleep again. I heard a sound of air escaping, as if he was dumbfounded.

“You know.”

After a moment of silence, a chilling shiver ran down my spine. It was because Ahin’s fingers were slowly stroking my back. It was a gesture that didn’t contain any threat, but for some reason, I felt a strange chill.

“They say beasts have a strong possessive nature, no matter what it is.”

His fingers repeatedly brushed against my back. It was slow but at a constant speed. He often stroked my back like this, but today it felt particularly ominous.

“Sometimes, if that desire goes too far, they break it.”

Even though he was a beast himself, he spoke so nonchalantly as if he were talking about someone else.

On the other hand, I felt a chill so strong that I wanted to jump up. The words Ahin was saying were definitely not about someone else.

‘Oh my god.’

I hoped he wasn’t going to pretend to put me in his mouth again. Fortunately, unlike my worries, nothing special happened.

However, I didn’t let my guard down and pricked up my ears.

“I picked you up. That’s why you were able to live.”

After a few seconds of silence, I heard a monotonous voice again.

“So, you’re my property. Right?”

I felt my mouth dry up at the question that followed as if to confirm.

It was a subtle warning that he might break me rather than let me run away. For some reason, I had a feeling that I should get out of this mansion as soon as possible, but was it just my imagination?

* * *

Ahin’s mother, Valence, and I have recently formed a tacit bond.

The tea time in the rose garden, which is always held at a similar time. After Mayme [the head maid] steps down, a secret event takes place there: the practice of controlling pheromones.

‘Come to the rose garden around lunchtime every day.’

Valence suggested that I learn how to control my unique pheromones, which were appearing more and more as the days went by.

That’s right. The strange energy I felt in my body before was pheromones. It was theoretically impossible, but perhaps it was the first step towards humanization.

Burning with fighting spirit, I waited for this time every day, and according to Valence, I was showing rapid acquisition and improving day by day.

Of course, I couldn’t confirm whether the praise was genuine. She was showing me an unusual amount of favor.

“Baby, take a slow breath. Calmly, that’s right.”

Sitting on the table, I followed her instructions, breathing regularly and focusing on the energy in my body. The energy spread throughout my body felt more stable than yesterday’s practice.

“Around that point, try gathering the pheromones back to your solar plexus as if you were hiding them.”

Difficult…. I don’t understand the meaning of hiding at all. When I looked at her, feeling puzzled by the ambiguous explanation, she said quietly while drinking her milk tea.

“Don’t rush. You can take your time.”

I nodded and focused on gathering energy as she told me.

After ten minutes, fatigue inevitably set in as the practice continued. Dealing with pheromones required quite a bit of stamina, to the point where I needed a nap.

“Good job. Let’s stop here today.”

Valence, who gently stroked my head as I gasped for breath, handed me a book she was holding in her arms. As I stared at her, bewildered, her lips curled gently.

“It might be a funny question for a rabbit like you, but do you know how to read?”

As I stared at the smile as if possessed, I regained my senses and nodded.

I had never written in the continental language myself, but fortunately, I had no problem reading it. My mother had not given up hope even after I turned ten and had me learn knowledge as a beast through my eyes and ears.

“I’ll leave this book with Mayme separately, so read it when you have time. It might be helpful to you.”

Valence had not treated me like an ordinary rabbit since the moment she recognized the pheromones.

I guess she had been like that from the beginning. Nevertheless, I was glad that she didn’t take any special action.

From the beginning, it was difficult to understand why the person who took the position of head of the family was spending time on me.

「Pheromone Theory」

I looked back and forth between the book and her, feeling strange.

After tea time, I returned to my bedroom and immediately secured the thick book with Mayme’s help. She placed heavy marbles on both ends of the book to prevent the pages from turning.

‘Okay.’

With a serious face, I placed my front paw on the book. It was difficult to turn the pages with my front paw, but there was no other way in the form of a rabbit. For now, chasing clues about pheromones was my only hope.

‘Definition of pheromones.’

Pheromones are innate scents and energies that only beasts possess, and they appear as unique abilities, means of attack, or dominance.

Rabbit beasts generally have pheromones that are developed for evasion, so is that the kind I have? No matter how I think about it, I don’t think it’s speed.

As I read the next chapter with such thoughts, I looked around the empty bedroom for no reason.

‘Pheromones and Sex.’

This was also education that beasts received from a young age, but I didn’t want to watch it with others.

In the continent, beasts have two coming-of-age ceremonies: the coming-of-age ceremony with sexual meaning at the age of fifteen, and the coming-of-age ceremony according to norms at the age of eighteen.

Unlike humans, beasts could be charmed by pheromones, so young beasts were likely to be swept away by instinct. Therefore, it was stipulated by norms that pheromones could be used in relationships with the opposite sex from the age of fifteen.

‘Hmm….’

I frowned and skipped this chapter without even needing to skim through it. It was a matter I knew well without studying it separately.

At some point, the employees of the Rabian family began to regard me as just a pet rabbit, not a beast, because of the one reason that I could not express myself even though I was capable of rational thought.

It seems that it was around the time of the coming-of-age ceremony at the age of fifteen that they revealed it openly. It didn’t matter much. After all, the despised life didn’t change.

However, there was one ominous problem. I was provided with a luxurious bedroom as a member of the family, but because of my rabbit appearance, I lived on a cushion instead of a bed.

However, sometimes the employees used that point to use my room for sexual affairs. Sexual affairs were not possible in the employee-only dormitory, and there was a possibility of germs spreading in the stables or other places.

‘Den, I don’t think we can do this here….’

‘What does it matter if no one is here?’

My room, which no one visited at night, sometimes echoed with rustling noises. In the beginning, they were conscious of me because I could understand them, but later they openly made their next appointment.

They knew very well. Even if I somehow expressed my unfairness, there would be no sanctions.

Thanks to the pheromones that flowed out between them every time, I didn’t even need to study pheromones related to sex separately. Most of the things that happened in the Rabian family were bitter memories like this.

Soon, I shook my body several times and placed my front paw on the book again. There was no time to look back on the past.

‘…Huh?’

While I was engrossed in reading, I heard rustling sounds from behind. When I turned my head, Ahin and Ivelin, who I didn’t know when they came, were in the bedroom.

Was it already late in the evening? I looked back at the terrace and turned my gaze back to them when I heard a strange sound.

“Ah….”

Ahin, who covered his eyes with his hand, pounded the wall with his fist. Not only that, but even Ivelin, who always maintained a poker face, blatantly twitched his lips.

‘Why are they like that?’

I stared blankly, not knowing what was going on, but Ahin was out of his mind with laughter. I had never seen him laugh so hard, although I had seen him sneer.

“Being with the rabbit-nim [term of respect], I see the most precious sight in my life.”

Ivelin, who barely managed to fix his expression, opened his mouth.

“A baby rabbit reading a book…! I want to capture this scene in a portrait.”

Only then did I understand their reaction and looked down at the book. I couldn’t see myself, but when I imagined a rabbit seriously placing its front paw on the book, it was quite ironic.

However, as the person involved, it was not something to laugh about, so my eyes naturally turned into daggers.

“I’m going crazy….”

“Ahin-nim, please calm down. Won’t the rabbit-nim be upset if you laugh too much?”

Ivelin’s lips were also twitching. Anyone could see that he was holding back his laughter, so his face was distorted. Ahin, who saw that expression, continued to make noise by hitting the wall again.

I took a low breath and looked out the window with melancholic eyes.

I really hate those frivolous black panthers. Really.

* * *