The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 52

The cycle of Dominance pheromone flare-ups was getting shorter.

In a deserted room, Ahin, who had been forced into his true form, returned to the bedroom after struggling with the flare-up for a while.

Deep in the early morning, as time passed and he naturally reverted to human form, Ahin blinked his heavy eyelids.

He sat up, touching his throbbing forehead. With a rustle, the blanket slipped down, revealing his well-toned upper body.

Turning his head, Ahin habitually looked for the rabbit with a wandering spirit.

Thanks to not being a cotton ball, Bibi, who was lying across the bed, quickly came into view.

Lacking skills, she even showed a dance to a lion that he hadn’t seen.

As he pondered what to do about this, he caught Bibi’s pheromone scent, and his head spun momentarily. It was an ominous sensation of losing consciousness, like when he had accepted the Healing pheromone during the flare-up.

His gaze slowly shifted and lingered on Bibi’s neck, exposed above her negligee. A faint desire for consumption flickered in his unfocused red eyes.

Ahin couldn’t take his eyes off Bibi’s neck. The sweet scent of Healing pheromone that wafted out continued to tickle the tip of his nose.

Thump, thump, thump.

The blood vessels throughout his body pulsed as if they had turned into hearts.

He was so thirsty that he wanted to bite into her soft neck.

Just like that time when he felt like he was absorbing Healing pheromones. It was a precarious feeling, as if he would lose consciousness at any moment.

Gnashing his teeth, he deliberately bit his lip until it bled. A stinging pain came, and the fog in his head cleared slightly.

The red eyes that had been revealed between his disheveled silver hair gradually regained focus.

Ahin, who had suppressed a desire he couldn’t understand himself, ran his tongue over his lips. Bright red blood was smeared on the back of his hand. Wiping the blood from his mouth, he stared at Bibi, who was lost in sleep, completely unaware of the situation.

Bibi, who had been frowning deeply, suddenly kicked her feet. It seemed she was being chased by a beast even in her dreams.

Only for a moment, but he had almost torn Bibi’s neck. In a state beyond his control.

Ahin, chilled to the bone, didn’t even realize that his hands were trembling.

“Bibi.”

He gently tickled the white foot in front of him with his index finger. The liveliness of her kicking feet again slightly calmed Ahin’s anxious heart.

After Edith’s death, Ahin knew that the shadow of death always followed him, so there was nothing to fear.

But from some point on, he became afraid of Bibi.

What if the little cotton ball died while he took his eyes off her for a moment? Or what if she left this place as soon as she succeeded in humanizing?

Given her flirtatious nature, what if she liked a carefree lion? Or what if he had to let Bibi go on his own due to the flare-up?

Whenever Bibi was involved, Ahin was covered in unfamiliar fear.

It was a dangerous emotion.

Even today, every time he thought of Bibi’s face flushed red because of him, his stomach clenched incessantly.

And he was both embarrassed and satisfied with her persistent questioning about the pheromone flare-up.

As long as there was the shackle of the flare-up, the kind rabbit would stay by Ahin’s side, even if it wasn’t love.

Isn’t pity quite good too? Ahin suddenly thought that if he had all of Bibi’s emotions, this anxiety might be resolved.

As if possessed, Ahin gently picked up Bibi’s foot and lowered his lips to her instep. A short time passed.

Carefully putting her foot down so as not to wake her, he looked down at his own body. Because he had returned from a black panther to a human, he was practically naked.

If Bibi were to see this scene, she would probably like it, but….

‘…That won’t do.’

He had teased her a little because he found it funny that she was questioning him about turning into a black panther, but he never imagined that she would confess to having an affair with a lion.

Ahin’s lips hardened into a straight line. Visual stimulation was the most effective method for a flirtatious rabbit, so it had to be saved [preserved for later use].

After putting on pants in the dressing room and throwing on a shirt, he approached the terrace.

“Come out.”

Movement stirred beyond the thick curtains. Quinn, who had been hiding behind the curtains, appeared with hurried steps.

“Did I order you to be on the terrace today?”

“…….”

“Why are you doing things I didn’t tell you to do?”

Ahin, who had fastened his cuff buttons, looked down at Quinn with cold eyes.

“You were confident, weren’t you? That you wouldn’t be pushed around by the rabbit like Yverin.”

Quinn had no words to refute this time and hid her face with her wings.

It was true that she had been pacing around the terrace because of Yverin, who had mentioned character. She felt ashamed.

Meanwhile, Ahin was dumbfounded to see Quinn communicating with her wings.

Perhaps it was because he had entrusted her with monitoring the rabbit from the beginning, but she had naturally been infected by Bibi, who waved her paws. Even Quinn wasn’t aware that she was doing that.

“As punishment for acting on your own, you won’t get any strawberries for a week.”

Don’t even think about sneaking into the kitchen, Ahin added coldly. Quinn, who had been struck by lightning out of the blue, staggered in shock.

Meanwhile, Ahin wrote a short letter and tied it to Quinn’s leg.

“This is a letter to Roun Manients.”

Quinn nodded and stood on the terrace railing with a heavy heart.

“…But it wasn’t bad that you guarded the terrace on your own today. After visiting the Manients, stay on the terrace.”

Ahin, who was watching the hawk’s back, parted his lips quietly.

“Not Bibi, monitor me.”

Quinn, who had stopped flapping her wings, scanned Ahin with her glaring eyes.

Including today, twice. Quinn knew that Ahin had returned to his true form not for a trick to tease the rabbit.

He didn’t ask anything and flew high.

* * *

Manients House

Roun, who had just received Ahin Grace’s letter, jumped off the schoolyard. [Here, ‘schoolyard’ likely refers to the training grounds of the Manients House.]

Since when had they been enemies? Standing in the middle of the garden, he recalled his distant childhood.

When he was six years old, the Manients House was in the midst of selecting the next successor. Since Roun’s sister, Leona Manients, was already the publicly declared nominee, the procedure was not complicated.

However, the head of the Lion territory, fearing the threat from the supporters pushing his sister, entrusted Roun to the Grace House during the selection period, which was the root of the problem.

That’s when he first met six-year-old Ahin Grace, who was a lawless person.

Unlike Roun, who only knew how to give up, he knew the world was his, arrogant, relaxed, and greedy.

Roun seemed to envy Ahin, who could be as greedy as he wanted in his young heart.

Was that why? He vented his resentment, which had been eating humble pie in someone else’s territory, for no reason.

‘Still sleeping with a crappy doll even when you’re all grown up! Are you even the next leader of the Black Panther territory?’

‘You don’t even know the charm of rabbits, so don’t talk nonsense.’

Young Ahin proudly held out the rabbit doll he was holding in his arms. Roun, who was faced with a slightly stained cotton doll that he had been holding every day, waved his hand.

‘Get rid of that ugly rabbit!’

‘Say that again.’

Enraged, Ahin swung the rabbit doll mercilessly. “Ack!” Roun, who had fallen over, burst into tears, and Yverin, who had been watching the game, stepped forward to fulfill his mission as a new assistant.

‘Calm down, Roun, Ahin. You have to fight in secret. The adults will scold you.’

Ahin narrowed his eyes and asked.

‘Yverin, why did you call the lion’s name first? Whose side are you on?’

Yverin, who had been seriously considering it, answered honestly.

‘I’m on the side of the winner.’

‘Incompetent guy.’

‘In, incompetent… Ah!’

The rabbit doll, which powerfully crossed the air, hit Yverin’s face. Yverin, who became the second victim, shed tears like chicken droppings.

Lilian, who belatedly ran over, hurriedly hugged the two crying children.

‘Roun is right, Ahin. Aren’t you the one who will lead the Black Panther territory later? You’re too old to sleep with a doll.’

‘Why does the old man only tell me not to do things every day?’

And that day, Edith passed away.

From him, at some point, Ahin could no longer be seen holding a stained rabbit doll.

His greed to have everything was still there, but he was also quick to throw things away. Sometimes he acted like someone who could die at any moment.

Roun, who looked back on his distant childhood, recited the contents of the letter once again.

「Birthday, if you come, I swear I’ll really kill you this time.」

It’s probably because of the rabbit. He, who had received Ahin’s letter for the first time, let out an absurd laugh. It was quite refreshing that a crazy person who lived without distinguishing between the front and back was being careful.

“If he tells you not to come, let’s not go, Roun. It’s a schedule that can be left to other brothers.”

Restin, who poked his head over Roun’s shoulder, fiddled with his monocle.

“Is it okay to steal the owner’s letter like this at will?”

“I’m not kidding. I’ve been thinking about it, but the Black Panther territory where Yverin lives is an ominous land. Furthermore, you’ve been featured in gossip magazines this time, so if you attend Ahin’s birthday, you’ll definitely be the center of attention.”

“You’re not afraid of meeting the nymph [a beautiful and alluring woman], are you?”

“Why would a lion be afraid of a rabbit?”

Behind them, who were talking about whether to attend or not, a gloomy shadow was cast.

Soon, the two people who were grabbed by the scruff of the neck without notice had their toes half lifted off the ground. Restin, who had turned pale, politely put his hand on his chest.

“…I greet the next leader.”

Roun’s sister, Leona, with pink curly hair and bright golden eyes, looked up at Roun and Restin, who had a disgusted look on their faces.

“You better attend without complaining, because it’s part of the alliance. And you’re the ones I entrusted with the alliance proxy.”

“Sister, do you have to grab me by the scruff of the neck first?”

“This way, when there’s a case where I have to beat you, I don’t have to go to the trouble of catching you.”

Restin, who had been talking about not going, repeatedly nodded that he would definitely attend. She got a satisfactory answer and stared at Roun.

“What’s your answer?”

“I don’t know.”

“…Because of the nymph in the gossip magazine?”

His shoulders visibly stiffened as he was hit on the mark.

Leona, who witnessed the phenomenon of the dull eyes returning to focus, wore an interesting expression. It was a reaction she had seen in her lazy and unmotivated brother for the first time in a long time.

Thud, she let go of the two people’s collars and handed over the Grace House’s invitation.

“Go and steal it. Once you steal it, this crazy sister will try to stop the crazy guy as much as possible.”

The crazy guy was referring to Ahin Grace.

Roun, who avoided Leona’s gaze, who was unusually stepping forward, stretched.

“Can’t you tell by the fact that I came back to the Manients House alone? I was dumped by the nymph.”

“What?!”

Restin, who had been silently silent, widened his eyes.

“Du, dumped? When did you get dumped? Why did you get dumped? Did you get dumped in the Rabbit territory?”

“Restin, how many times are you going to say you got dumped?”

“Why didn’t you ask me for advice? If it was Roun, he would have definitely said something mushy-…!”

Restin, who was endlessly frustrated and upset, stomped his feet.

Leona, who looked at the two pathetic lions alternately, clicked her tongue in annoyance.

“What are you going to do with your good-looking face? If you can’t, go back to your true form and dance a courtship dance.”

She told them to go pack their bags and kicked both of them in the butt fairly.

Roun, who thought he would have bruises on his butt this time, rolled around on the grass.

Should I really go back to being a lion and dance a courtship dance? He faintly recalled the ballerina’s triple pirouette and smiled faintly.

* * *

The sound of clothes rustling woke me up from my sweet sleep.

When I rubbed my eyes, I saw Ahin, who was putting on a vest in my hazy vision. His neat back was so different from the frivolous black panther who used to stick out his butt.

Why is he getting ready alone without Yuan’s help?

I buried my face in the pillow, staring blankly until he was fully dressed in his navy blue uniform.

Morning is the time when I lack the most courage, so I was even more shy to see Ahin’s face.

“Why are you pretending to sleep?”

I felt him sit on the bed.

I didn’t even intend to pretend to sleep. Somehow, I couldn’t react and fixed my face on the pillow like a stone.

A moment of silence passed.

“If you’re too shy to see my face, please hit my butt.”

‘This crazy beast…!’

He definitely never bothered to choose his words in his life. I glared at him, who had instantly woken me up, with a slight lift of my head.

“You haven’t changed, just a docile posture with fierce eyes.”

Ahin, who had met my gaze, spouted nonsense again. I ignored it familiarly and brought up the main point first.

“…Why did you go back to your true form yesterday?”

“To punish the dancing rabbit.”

That was the reason. I didn’t want to deal with that tenacity, so I calmly went into the blanket.

As I was starting the engine for escape [preparing to leave], he said in a slow voice.

“Where are you going? I was going to tell you what you’re curious about.”

It was a voice that stimulated the rabbit’s sensitive hearing.

“I’m happy if you don’t want to.”

Even though I knew it was bait, I couldn’t help but go out of the blanket. When I lowered the blanket to just below my eyes while being wary, I saw Ahin looking down at me.

My gaze, which had been looking at the clear crease of his eyes, stopped at his lower lip, which was stained with blood.

“Ahin, what’s wrong with your lips?”

Surely Ahin wouldn’t be getting beaten up by someone,

“You kicked me, in your sleep.”

It seemed like he was getting beaten up. No matter how bad my sleeping habits are, how can I kick his face when we’re sleeping side by side? Ahin, who had met my suspicious gaze, gestured towards my feet.

“Check it out.”

I slipped into the blanket and checked my feet, then widened my eyes.

There was a faint trace of blood on one of my insteps. I didn’t want to admit it, but wasn’t it the clearest evidence of all?

‘I have to… heal him.’

I carefully sat up and brought my hand to his mouth. There was no significant contact, but my ears turned hot for no reason.

As I subtly used Healing pheromones, Ahin also drew up Dominance pheromones at the same time. When the wound was completely healed, Ahin’s lips slowly opened.

“Fifteen.”

“Huh?”

“That’s when the pheromone flare-up first happened. Right after the first coming-of-age ceremony.”

I was stunned by the sudden words.

So that means he’s been suffering from that pain for several years already. I belatedly came to my senses and tried to answer, but Ahin was one step faster.

“Bibi can figure out the rest.”

“…What did you say?”

“Then you’ll be too busy to even think about running off to dance. Weren’t you planning to grill even Grandpa and Mom anyway?”

Ahin, who had risen from his seat, wore the most annoying smile in the world. It was an utterly charming smile.

Just as I thought I couldn’t let this go and was about to open my mouth, someone knocked on the bedroom door.

“Lord Ahin, I apologize, but the schedule is tight.”

It was Yuan, his exclusive attendant. At his urging, Ahin moved towards the desk and tucked his pocket watch into his pocket.

Reflexively, I pushed off the floor and followed him. If he went right, I went right; if he went left, I went left.

As he moved around, getting ready, he turned his body slightly and looked down at me.

“…Bibi?”

“What?”

“Why are you following me?”

“Well, we’ve been going to work together every morning. You have to put me in—”

I was absentmindedly looking at my pocket as I spoke, but I quickly clamped my mouth shut. As soon as I realized my mistake, my pupils dilated uncontrollably.

Unfortunately, the quick-witted beast noticed what I was mistaken about and wore a subtle expression.

“Not now.”

“…I know.”

I barely managed to control my crumbling face and answered nonchalantly.

“You’ve gotten too big to fit in my pocket.”

“I know, I was just joking.”

I shrugged and turned around. Even I had to admit that my acting skills were unparalleled this time.

Softly, softly, I walked to the bed with composure, and then I subtly checked on Ahin, who was unusually quiet. He was just standing there with his forehead against the wall.

Soon, Ahin’s monotonous voice was heard.

“There is a way.”

…What way? Just as my anxiety deepened, Ahin went straight to the entrance and immediately threw the door open.

“Yuan.”

“Yes, sir?”

“Bring me something like a sack.”

“Yes…?”

Surely he wasn’t planning to carry me around on his shoulder. Yuan’s voice cracked, as he obviously didn’t understand the order.

“I apologize, but what kind of…?”

“A size that Bibi can fit into—”

“Get out!”

My spine chilled, I slammed my whole body into Ahin’s back and chased him out the door. Click, I quickly locked the doorknob and took a ragged breath.

It was another day of fearing the beast’s increasingly innovative thought process.

* * *

After it became possible to transform into a human, I voluntarily took on the appearance of a baby rabbit for the first time.

It was a choice that shook off immediate greed. Because it was much easier to handle pheromones as a baby rabbit compared to a human.

Professor Jinna told me that Russell naturally underwent humanization around the time he became able to handle pheromones unconsciously.

So, according to a similar principle, wouldn’t that mean that the height of humanization was within reach if I became proficient in healing pheromones?

And there was another decisive reason for making this choice. It was because of Ahin, who had been experiencing pheromone flare-ups since he was fifteen years old.

Isn’t that extremely early compared to Lady Edith, who first had a flare-up at eighteen?

Perhaps Ahin was hiding his pain behind that artificial smile.

In this situation, the best thing I could do was to learn healing pheromones as soon as possible.

The Perenium’s craftsmanship will be finished around his birthday, so I can turn back into a human if necessary.

Ahin protested about me suddenly turning back into a baby rabbit without consulting him, but after running away to Ivelyn’s pocket for half a day, I was able to quickly subdue him. Who was the one who told me to find out about him myself?

‘First, you must distinguish between sleep, anesthesia, and healing abilities. Use your anesthetic ability on that hawk watching you over there.’

‘Ivelyn happens to be in that hallway over there. Aim, that’s right. It’s also important to aim accurately at moving targets.’

Fortunately, the pheromone practice with Grandpa was showing smooth progress.

And today, with about five days left until his birthday.

I slapped my cheeks to cheer myself up and went to Jane’s stable. To be exact, to meet Reel.

Since Reel became Jane’s exclusive attendant, he naturally took over Ahin’s coachman duties as well. Jane throws all sorts of tantrums in front of the carriage unless he’s the coachman.

“Rabbit, that cape is cute.”

‘Answer my question first.’

This Bibi is a busy person with a full schedule today. I tapped the question paper I had prepared in advance to draw his attention, and Reel stroked his chin and pondered.

“Lord Ahin has shown any strange behavior… Well…”

He couldn’t bring himself to say that he was strange every day.

That alone was an answer, so I shook hands and left the stable.

Reel’s emotions are also revealed on his face, so if Ahin had collapsed or been sick outside, his expression would have wavered even a little.

‘Let’s go.’

I found Yuan next, following Mayme, Ash, and Bara. Fortunately, Ahin was in a meeting, so he was waiting alone in the hallway.

I suddenly found the answer to why Ahin didn’t use as many attendants as his status would suggest, which I had thought about in the beginning.

If a flare-up were to occur unexpectedly, it would be troublesome in many ways if there were too many attendants.

‘What is that….’

My heart was endlessly troubled.

Yuan, who found us, gave a pure, boyish smile and raised his thumb.

“Rabbit, I wanted to tell you this morning, but the cape suits you well. You look like an investigator. Did Mayme dress you up?”

I approached Yuan and asked with all my might. He somehow recognized all the gestures I was making like a roaring black panther, and he crouched down.

“…You mean the day Lord Ahin turned into his true form?”

That’s right. Yuan shrugged his shoulders for a long time, then frowned.

“I don’t know when it started. He sent me on an errand around evening, so I was only in charge of guiding him to the bedroom at the end of the day.”

It was strange after all.

Ahin made excuses, saying it was to tease me, but if that was the case, he could have transformed after returning to the bedroom.

I put my chin on my hand and was convinced. He must have had a pheromone flare-up that day as well.

‘Yuan.’

I needed a more detailed explanation, so I pushed Yuan against the wall.

Then, click, the meeting room door opened, and several beastmen poured out in turn. Ivelyn, who was just about to leave the door, hurriedly said to the inside of the meeting room.

“Lord Ahin, the rabbit is attacking a handsome man again.”

“Attacking what?”

It wasn’t Ahin, but Grandpa who pushed through the nobles and poked his head out at Ivelyn’s ugly tattling.

His trembling gaze alternated between the cowering Yuan and me, who was standing on his legs. He seemed quite displeased for some reason.

‘Run!’

“Can’t you stand still! Attacking attendants, no, rampaging through the mansion!”

I chose to flee for now and led the black panthers to dash through the mansion.

The next target was Lord Valence, the owner of the Grace family.

It was the first time I had visited his office without an appointment, and I swallowed hard in front of the large door. Fortunately, he wasn’t absent, and permission to enter was readily granted after a short while.

“Come in.”

Lord Valence’s office was neat but somewhat bleak. Ash and Bara, overwhelmed by the unique atmosphere, stood quietly on either side of me.

“The cape suits you very well. The black one looks just like a baby black panther.”

She smiled softly and tapped lightly on her desk.

Mayme politely picked me up and placed me on the desk. Lord Valence’s silver hair, loosely braided to one side, came into view.

“I thought you might come to me around this time. I can give you the most appropriate answer you want here.”

She took out a handkerchief from the drawer and laid it under my butt. The aide, whom I had met several times, familiarly brought tea and hay.

“When I first had a conversation with you in human form, there must have been a question you wanted to ask several times but couldn’t.”

Lord Valence, sipping peach-scented tea, sharpened her eyes.

“Baby, but when you get what you want, you need to pay a price worthy of it.”

Indeed, she was not a leader who ruled a territory in name only. Overwhelmed by the oppressive feeling that made my legs go numb, I forgot to breathe.

She turned her gaze and nodded towards the door.

“Everyone, go out. Think of it as a break time. The guards there can stay.”

Lord Valence sent out several aides, including Mayme.

As I was left alone with Ash and Bara, the office was enveloped in silence.

She reached out and carefully untied the ribbon of my cape. I swallowed my tension and obediently entrusted myself to her.

‘…Why?’

Lord Valence, who had completely removed the black cape, rummaged through the drawer and took out a voluminous cloth.

She clumsily put the cloth over my head. Only the sound of the cloth rustling in the silence was heard.

“It’s quite difficult.”

Soon, Lord Valence, who lowered the soft elastic band to the middle of my body, wiped the sweat from her forehead.

‘Is it over?’

I stood on my two feet in bewilderment and looked down at my body. It was a voluminous skirt that dancers would wear.

‘What is this.’

I glanced at Lord Valence, seized by an ominous feeling. She smiled like someone who had finished a hard job and found peace, and sipped her tea.

“Ahin told me. That you had a dance with a lion.”

“…….”

This was the price to pay for getting what I wanted. I couldn’t dare to get angry at Lord Valence.

My whiskers trembled, and I matched my front paws to her two index fingers, which had already come forward. It was resignation.

The index fingers moved in a slow rhythm. I spun around in a whirl according to the beat and kicked my hind legs hard.

“Your skills are excellent, just like the gossip magazines described.”

Perhaps she was very pleased, Lord Valence’s eyes curved beautifully.

‘Okay….’

Thinking that it would be enough if this person was happy, I did my best to show off a triple spin.

She exclaimed at the dance that spun and spun so much that my fur fluttered. I caught my breath as I showed off a perfect finishing pose.

“It wouldn’t be lacking even if you showed it off at a banquet.”

The only audience sent applause along with praise.

Having gained both shame and Lord Valence’s favor at the same time, I slumped on the desk. I thought it would be less embarrassing if I fainted and woke up.

“Thank you, I laughed a lot for the first time in a long time.”

She gave a blooming smile and tidied up the fur that had been ruffled by the dance. It was a ticklish touch.

“It’s my turn to repay you for the dance. What you want to ask is about Edith or pheromone flare-ups.”

Lord Valence, who had been stroking my fur like kneading dough for a long time, opened her mouth.

“Ahin told me recently that he’s actually had pheromone flare-ups for quite some time. He must have hidden it until now because there’s no way to fix it anyway.”

He finally told her. I, whose cheeks were being rubbed, carefully examined her expression. Lord Valence’s lips were curled up, but her eyes were not smiling.

“It was bound to happen someday. Even if he inherited the Grace family’s bloodline, it’s a pheromone that’s hard to handle. What do you think is the range of the dominant pheromone’s ability?”

I put my hand on my mouth and pondered the past.

Ahin’s pheromones not only suppressed healing pheromones, but were also used effectively in combat. Moreover, he felt like he was using pheromones at an extremely light level.

“The limit is unknown. My personal guess is that if you pull it up dramatically, you might be able to control people’s minds.”

That can’t be. I, who was listening, opened my mouth slightly without realizing it. She supported my lower jaw with her index finger and closed my mouth, and continued to speak.

“Edith, that is, my husband, did not consciously use dominant pheromones. It was difficult for him to control the vast power himself. However, Ahin inherited the Grace family’s bloodline, so he was able to handle dominant pheromones easily from a young age.”

Lord Valence paused for a moment and looked out the window.

“I ordered him to minimize the use of pheromones, but it was inevitable as he took the position of the next leader. Perhaps that’s why the flare-up came earlier than Edith’s.”

It was a gentle voice as usual, but I could feel a somber feeling.

“Edith’s flare-ups didn’t even respond to pheromone stabilizers at some point. So when he had a flare-up, he would hide somewhere to avoid our eyes. I told him to stay in the bedroom, but he wouldn’t listen, he was stubborn.”

Just in case, I handed Lord Valence the handkerchief that she had given me to support my butt. Thank you, she took the handkerchief and gently stroked my head.

“Then he eventually closed his eyes during a flare-up. Ahin, who was looking for his father, was the one who saw his last moments. I think it was because he used to play hide-and-seek so often.”

“…….”

“I don’t know why you’re crying.”

It was ridiculous for me to cry when Lord Valence, who was speaking, was also composed. I, who had swallowed the main, pressed my eyes with my front paws.

She burst into a windy laugh and dabbed her eyes with a handkerchief.

“From then on, Ahin must have been prepared to some extent. That it was a future that could come to him too. He was quick-witted since he was young, so I couldn’t hide it even if I tried to hide it.”

Lord Valence slowly bent down and leaned diagonally on the desk. It was the first time I had seen her so relaxed since I met her.

“When Ahin went through his coming-of-age ceremony at the age of fifteen, he brought up the story of remarriage to me. It was no different from telling me to create another successor while he was still alive and well.”

He was clearly talking with his death in mind.

“We fought loudly for the first time that day. But I didn’t know it was because a pheromone flare-up had occurred.”

I faced her face up close and pointed my front paw at her eyes. It was a little wet.

“I was naive. I thought that he was born with a stronger body than Edith, so the pheromone flare-up would naturally appear later than him. Maybe I wanted to believe that.”

Don’t cry. I couldn’t do anything else, so I wiped her eyes again with my front paw.

“I think your fur is the priority.”

Lord Valence stroked my fur, which was soaked as if it had fallen into the water.

The gentle voice that spoke as if it were someone else’s business strangely stimulated my tear glands.

“In fact, Ahin’s words are not wrong. As the leader of the Black Panther territory, if the only successor is in danger, it is right to create another successor. At least adopt a relative with the Grace family’s bloodline.”

She sat up straight and wiped my face with a handkerchief. It was a very clumsy touch.

“But if I did that, I couldn’t bear the feeling of losing Ahin as if I had lost Edith. I love Edith and Ahin more than I thought.”

What a pathetic leader who is obsessed with affection, I shook my head, saying no to the added words.

“I heard from my father that you have healing pheromones.”

Lord Valence, who had completely wiped the moisture from my fur, lifted me up with both hands. She had already returned to her usual face and sighed.

“With the pheromones you have, you might be able to solve that distant problem. There is also a scholar’s hypothesis that healing pheromones can calm flare-ups.”

“…….”

“I’ll listen to anything. Honor, power, money, and land.”

Lord Valence, who listed several conditions such as titles and mansions, stopped talking with a hollow smile. She seemed to have noticed that I, who was blinded by humanization, was not interested in such things right now.

A request, not an order or a suggestion, flowed from her lips as she opened and closed them.

“Please help me.”

* * *