The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 20

The Symbiotic Relationship Between a Rabbit and a Black Panther (20/75)

The rabbit clan’s distinctive light purple eyes and the same white hair as my mother made it hard to deny who I was.

Moreover, as if to prove I hadn’t cut it in years, my hair flowed down, threatening to sweep the floor. I bit my lip, looking down at the white strands long enough to wrap around my legs.

‘What happened?’

Beastkins typically take on a human form at birth, but within a few days, they transform into their animal form.

Full humanization only occurs after going through a period of beastkin fever again. The purer the noble’s lineage, the faster the humanization and the shorter the beastkin fever period.

Therefore, as someone whose humanization was extremely delayed and who hadn’t even experienced beastkin fever, I couldn’t explain this situation.

Ah… I kept touching my cheeks and realized I wasn’t wearing a single thread.

Not only that, but unlike when I was a rabbit, my body, exposed to the cold air, was shivering. Ashamed, I hugged myself.

‘That’s it.’

My eyes, wandering around the room, landed on the table next to the mirror. I crawled over and immediately pulled down the tablecloth-like cloth covering it. Wrapping myself in the large cloth brought a slight sense of security.

Moving again, I calmly crawled under the table. Crouched there, it felt like the sound of my heartbeat, thump, thump, was audible outside.

‘Calm down. I need to stay calm.’

*Bibi, you’re not such a weak beastkin.* I repeated to myself, but I couldn’t calm down easily, and I ran my hand down my cheek.

Humanization was what I had hoped for, but I didn’t expect it to come so suddenly. Rather than the joy of becoming human, I worried about the problems that would arise afterward.

‘…What if Ahin sees this?’

I knew he didn’t see me as an ordinary rabbit, but I didn’t know what kind of being he thought I was. Wouldn’t he immediately accuse me of deceiving him and start a bloodbath? The eerily smiling faces of Ahin and Ivelyn naturally flashed through my mind.

‘Ahin, how about rabbit beastkin stew?’

‘Not bad. I’ll have it for breakfast tomorrow.’

‘I’ll give the chef instructions right away.’

‘No way—!’

I slammed the ground with my fist, seized by a terrible thought. Because it was a marble floor, a tingling pain shot through me. It was a ridiculous imagination, but it was a statement that the ruthless black panthers could very well make.

‘From the beginning… Yes, let’s think from the beginning.’

I shook my head and bit my lip anxiously.

This proved that the finger I saw last dawn was not an illusion. But when I opened my eyes, I was back in rabbit form.

‘Then, could it be that I’m only temporarily human now?’

‘Why? How?’

‘Why?’

Questions I couldn’t answer, no matter how logically I tried to derive them, filled my head.

In the first place, I hadn’t even gone through beastkin fever and only felt inexplicable pain, so explaining the circumstances of becoming human itself was difficult.

Lost in thought, I suddenly widened my eyes at the presence I felt outside. I was so flustered that I even forgot to close the door.

‘What if it’s Ahin?’

Would he recognize me? What should I do? What should I do? The hand wrapped around the cloth tightened. I felt so anxious that my vision went white.

“Come out.”

Soon, the sound of the door closing and footsteps followed.

“I know you’re in here.”

The voice echoing through the quiet room made my mouth dry. It wasn’t Ahin. It wasn’t familiar, but it was a voice I had heard somewhere.

“They’re making a fuss outside looking for you.”

Rune Maniontz, the lion beastkin who was at odds with Ahin—it was definitely him. I couldn’t see his face because it was hidden by the edge of the table, but I could feel his footsteps getting closer. I held my breath and strained my ears, making no sound.

“Let’s talk a little… crazy, what!”

Rune suddenly screamed as if surprised, and I was so startled that I covered my mouth.

“Who, no, why are you under the table…?”

Rune, bending over, froze. Our eyes met. He stared blankly, then his ears turned red, and he stepped back.

“What’s with the clothes…”

Wary, I noticed his reaction was due to the clumsily wrapped cloth and cowered. A sense of crisis surged as I was alone with a lion in a confined space. Escaping was impossible because I wasn’t used to walking.

‘Should I crawl?’

Or should I push the lion and roll away? No matter what I imagined, I felt like I would be caught before I could even take two steps.

Soon, Rune’s feet, which had been walking as if floundering in the empty space, stopped.

He approached the table again and immediately bent down to face me. His outstretched hand grabbed a handful of long white hair.

He brought it to his nose, and after a moment, he raised his half-lowered eyes. My still unfamiliar appearance was reflected in his calm golden eyes.

A few seconds of silence passed, feeling like tens of minutes. Rune smiled mockingly and seemed convinced.

“So you weren’t just a rabbit, but a beastkin.”

To be able to make such a judgment with just one sense of smell… A chilling shiver ran down my spine.

Instinctively, I shook my head, afraid of being caught, but then stopped abruptly. Come to think of it, I can speak human language now, can’t I?

‘…But how?’

I couldn’t say anything, so I just kept moving my lips. As I repeated the sound of *ah, ah,* to make a sound, Rune’s golden eyes deepened.

“You can’t talk?”

*I’ve never done it before.*

Were you able to speak as soon as you underwent humanization? *You beast.* Unable to refute, I focused on making a voice. After rolling my tongue for a while, I felt like I could make a decent sound. Surprisingly, Rune was waiting patiently for me to answer. I swallowed hard after reciting a few words as if practicing.

“I,”

A very unfamiliar voice flowed out. Encouraged by the more accurate pronunciation than I had expected, I opened my lips again.

“I’m not a rabbit beastkin.”

I said the first word, but instead of emotion, a sense of self-disgust washed over me.

Ah, why did I say such a thing? The first word I uttered was a denial of my existence.

I bit my lip, feeling like I was about to cry from shame. If there was any consolation, it was that the pronunciation was quite clear, although slow.

“What are you talking about.”

Rune chuckled as if dumbfounded.

“The black panther’s pheromones are vibrating from you.”

It wasn’t a guess, but a confident statement. He tilted his head, and his light pink hair followed.

“I’m not.”

Let’s deny it for now. I had no idea what kind of expression I was making, so I turned my head to block his gaze.

However, Rune, not easily giving up the pursuit, opened his mouth again.

“Then how do you explain your purple eyes?”

“I’m a… hybrid.”

“You’re a rabbit beastkin.”

“I’m not.”

A strange argument broke out. What kind of pheromones are you talking about? I couldn’t smell the scent that Ahin and the beasts were claiming with my sense of smell.

‘…Did Ahin put it on me?’

He said something about erasing the lion’s scent. I secretly brought the back of my hand to my nose, and Rune’s brow furrowed blatantly.

Startled, I gently pulled on a handful of hair still held in his hand. Rune, readily releasing it, was about to open his mouth when a commotion broke out outside.

*Bang,* the door opened, and familiar silver hair rippled in the lamplight.

The light seeping in from the hallway brightly illuminated the inside of the room.

Ahin, frozen holding the doorknob, crossed his arms and leaned against the door diagonally. His gaze suggested he was observing something.

‘Ahin.’

Staring blankly, I suddenly worried about what would happen if Ahin recognized me. As I used Rune as a shield and cowered, Ahin’s lips opened.

“Ivelyn, sword.”

The emotionless voice broke the cold silence. Because he was currently wearing a tailcoat, his usual long sword wasn’t on his waist.

Ivelyn, subtly averting the hand extended to him, shook his head.

“Absolutely not… He is the son of the lion clan’s leader.”

“It’s not too late to cut him down and *then* think about it.”

“It’s too late.”

“I’ll only cut him twice.”

“Not even once.”

*Who is the son of the lion clan’s leader?* Ahin’s sudden request for a sword was a problem, as were Ivelyn’s remarks.

My trembling pupils stayed on Rune’s pink back of the head, facing away from the door.

‘Is it him?’

It was a moment. Without even having time to be surprised, Ahin moved and drew a sword from the waist of the knight next to him.

“Sir Maniontz, do you like fun?”

The gleaming blade was pointed at Rune.

“Sir Grace?”

“Trying to steal my things here.”

The red eyes, curved in a crescent shape, were quite eerie along with the obsessive remarks.

Rune, stunned by the incomprehensible words, looked back at me. At the same time, his golden eyes widened as if they would pop out.

“No, well, wait,”

He stammered several times, flustered. He even waved his hands.

“Kidnapping is a serious crime, even if it’s just an attempt.”

Ahin’s cold voice echoed again. Perhaps to mediate the increasingly fierce atmosphere, Ivelyn entered the room. He pointed to the cloth I was wrapped in.

“Sir Maniontz, I’m sorry, but the Rabbit is not someone who can be easily kidnapped with just one piece of cloth.”

“…What kidnapping.”

Rune, unable to erase his confused expression, immediately picked me up. In an instant, I was caught by the scruff of my neck, and my eyes met his in the air. A familiar cotton ball flickered in my struggling vision.

‘I, I, I’m back!’

When? How? I looked at both front paws in turn, flustered.

No wonder these beasts seemed so huge a while ago.

These are front paws, right? Just in case, I stretched out both paws, and Rune blinked as if dumbfounded. He didn’t seem to notice I had turned into a rabbit until he looked back.

“What is this trickery? Until just now…”

‘Wait, no!’

As the predictable words flowed from Rune’s mouth, I was horrified and used my body’s reaction to kick his mouth. Rune, caught off guard and hit in the lips, groaned painfully.

“What are you doing, umph—”

His words couldn’t continue. I swung my body with all my might, with the single thought of sealing Rune’s mouth.

He dodged the sudden aerial battle and let out a dumbfounded laugh.

‘Be quiet!’

First of all, let’s keep the previous events a secret. I sent such a look and growled threateningly. It was a problem that the identity of the lion was a problem to do this, but if the fact that I had turned into a human was revealed, my life might be in danger right away.

“Bibi, give him one more hit.”

Ahin, who had come close, raised a well-sharpened sword near Rune’s neck. His red eyes curved softly. His smiling face was so terrifying, like a devil, that I stiffened.

“The son of the leader is stealing in another territory.”

Ahin clicked his tongue and snatched me from Rune’s hand as if taking me away. Rune, unable to even make an excuse, opened and closed his mouth and looked up at me being held by him.

“To, to kidnap the Rabbit?”

“How could you do such a thing…!”

As the murmuring noise was heard from outside, I and Rune turned our heads at the same time. The employees who had gathered in the meantime were gossiping and sending contemptuous glances.

Even if Ivelyn was arm-crossed, Mayme was even touching under her apron with a terribly hardened expression. It must have been the place where she hid her dagger.

Rune, branded as an attempted rabbit kidnapper in an instant, was pitiful. I looked at him, constantly washing his face, and quietly chose to look away.

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