The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 59

“…Ahin, open up.”

Bang, bang. Bibi relentlessly pounded on the glass door.

*Didn’t I experience a similar situation in the rabbit territory?* Ahin vaguely thought, gasping for intermittent breaths.

He wanted to run away to a place where Bibi couldn’t see him, but he didn’t even have the strength to lift a finger. As if to prove it, his sweat-soaked silver hair clung to his forehead in clumps.

“Open this, open it for me.”

Bibi sobbed and endlessly pounded on the glass door.

“I’m not scared of black panthers anymore. It’s okay if Ahin bites me, I’ll heal him.”

The nonsensical sentence she spat out scattered into the air.

Seeing Bibi crying so loudly for the first time, Ahin blankly stared beyond the glass.

He suddenly understood how Idis felt when she hid whenever she had a seizure. Not because she didn’t want to show a weak side, but because of the pain the other person would receive from seeing such a scene.

Ahin slightly raised the corner of his lips and blinked his heavy eyelids.

Even in the midst of this, he liked Bibi’s red-rimmed eyes, cheeks, and the tip of her nose. He was almost disappointed that he couldn’t urge her to cry more.

‘…I thought I was okay.’

He wasn’t particularly afraid of death, but why was he so afraid now?

In fact, the reason was already clear.

He was afraid of showing an even more unsightly *sight* in front of Bibi. And whether Bibi, who had seen blood again, would shun him.

More than anything, the anxiety that there might not be much time left to spend with Bibi dragged him into a dark pit.

Even for a moment, Ahin felt the urge to escape from this reality.

Barely maintaining his fading consciousness, he quickly covered his mouth. *Ulk*, the surging blood leaked through his fingers.

Bibi’s eyes widened greatly as she discovered the vivid red color. Ahin, with his pale complexion, looked as if he would breathe his last at any moment.

‘What, what can I do….’

Her hand, gripping the glass door, trembled palely.

She couldn’t understand why he was rejecting the healing pheromones so much.

After delivering the healing pheromones, she could just run away if she felt the urge to bite him.

*Tung*, Bibi, who had hung her head low, hit the floor with her fist. In fact, she knew that this was a far-fetched and naive idea.

Even if a dangerous situation arose, she could never run away, leaving Ahin behind. Ahin, anticipating this, must have hidden himself to completely eliminate the danger.

Bibi couldn’t see Ahin properly because of the tears that were constantly welling up. No matter how much she pressed and wiped with the back of her hand, moisture quickly filled her eyes.

Ahin might have been going back and forth between life and death like this in a place she didn’t know. She felt pathetic for being so excited about the signs of humanization.

Also, she hated Idis for giving him the dominant pheromones, and she hated the dominant pheromones that threatened Ahin’s life the most.

Bang, bang. Bibi pounded on the glass door until her fists turned red. Her tearful purple eyes took on a fierce light.

“If you don’t come out, I’ll call Valence.”

Ahin smiled faintly at the ridiculous threat. He knew she didn’t even have the courage to leave him here. As expected, Bibi, unable to even take her eyes off Ahin, sobbed and shed tears like a waterfall.

“What are you smiling about, like you did something right!”

She harshly shouted and looked around for a tool to open the door. Breaking the glass was the best option, but that method might hurt Ahin, who was leaning against the door.

‘What can I use to open the lock….’

Jerking and pulling at the doorknob, Bibi bit her lip until it bled.

What if she broke it clumsily and couldn’t open it at all? It was said that greed has no end, and she was upset that even after becoming human, she didn’t even have the strength to break a doorknob.

Meanwhile, Ahin, feeling that his physical condition was different from usual, pressed down on his stuffy chest.

The hemoptysis [coughing up blood] was also different from the seizures he had experienced so far. It was as if he had fallen into lava; his whole body was hot, and he couldn’t breathe every moment.

He was manipulating his pheromones to return to his true form, but he realized that the surroundings were strangely quiet.

Swiftly turning his head, Ahin saw Bibi collapsed.

“…Bibi?”

There was no response from the limp Bibi.

For a moment, his heart sank. Had she fainted from exhaustion after crying so much? Her curled back and the white hair scattered on the floor stopped his thoughts.

Turning his body, which had been leaning against the glass door, towards the wall, Ahin hurriedly reached for the doorknob. Coughing and wiping away the blood that had risen up his throat, he unlocked the lock.

*Click, squeak*. The firmly closed door opened.

Barely reaching the fainted Bibi, Ahin grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. Her neatly closed eyelashes didn’t move.

“Bi,”

…Bi. Before he could even call her name, she opened her eyes wide and revived. Almost as soon as he thought he had been tricked, Bibi quickly rolled her body and stood up.

It didn’t even take a few seconds for Bibi to push Ahin down and climb on top of him. Her clear purple eyes were reminiscent of a beast hunting for prey in the bushes.

Unable to grasp the reality, he spoke in a stuttering voice.

“-Get off.”

*Tuk, tuduk*, Ahin frowned at the water droplets falling on his face.

Looking up, Bibi was shedding tears like *chicken droppings* with an even more painful expression. The walnut shape that had formed on her chin as she tried to hold back her sobs caught his eye.

“Ahin.”

Soon, Bibi’s tightly closed lips opened.

“…I like you.”

A voice that could not be heard unless one strained their ears. However, Ahin, who heard it clearly, widened his eyes.

“So don’t try to distance yourself from me because of seizures or anything. I don’t like that.”

As her cloudy red eyes became clearer, a familiar warmth touched his lips.

Healing pheromones flooded in like a wave through his parted lips. With each breath they exchanged, healing pheromones were added on top of the swirling dominant pheromones.

The feeling of nausea subsided, and Ahin felt a sense of relief as if he had plunged from a fiery pit into a cold lake.

Barely holding on to his fading reason, he grabbed Bibi’s shoulder to push her away. *Tak*, she instantly grabbed Ahin’s wrist and slammed it down on the floor. As if punishing his small resistance, an even more vast amount of healing pheromones spread out.

A sensation as if his dying body was coming back to life. In the end, Ahin had no choice but to helplessly accept the healing pheromones.

Ecstasy. Craving. Joy. Greed. Delight.

Naked desires surfaced in his bright red eyes.

Bibi, who faced it directly in front of her, simply closed her eyes tightly.

‘Each time, I felt like I was not receiving healing pheromones, but sucking them in.’

‘And I also felt the urge to tear his throat out.’

As the time their lips were touching grew longer, she roughly understood what Ahin had said. She could feel the healing pheromones in her body, which had been full, gradually decreasing.

The strange sensation now was closer to him forcibly absorbing the pheromones, rather than her delivering them.

Even so, she couldn’t stop this act. She could intuitively tell that Ahin’s death was imminent.

How much healing pheromones had she pushed in? Bibi’s arm, which was holding Ahin’s wrist, began to tremble.

‘No more….’

It can’t be. There were no healing pheromones left to deliver. At this point, Bibi also had to conserve her strength and recover her body separately.

Bibi, who was struggling, carefully took her lips off and slightly raised her body. Her gaze, which had passed over her lips that were glistening with saliva, lingered on Ahin’s eyes.

“Ahin…?”

His red eyes, which were about to close, were out of focus.

But he hadn’t fainted. Ahin’s large hand was languidly stroking Bibi’s neck.

Bibi, who suddenly felt a chill, froze and couldn’t move. The touch passing over her neck didn’t tickle, but made her downy hair stand on end.

The primal fear of a herbivore that she had felt when facing Ahin before raised its head.

‘Why.’

Why is her whole body sending signals to run away?

Even though she was faithfully sensing the danger, her frozen feet didn’t move.

Ahin, who was looking up at Bibi with clear eyes, smiled. It was as if he was a different person.

When the corners of his mouth drew a soft arc, she felt as if time had stopped in this space.

*Tick, tock*. Ahin’s hand moved in seconds.

He stroked her neck and slowly pulled Bibi towards him. *Kwak*, it was only a moment for sharp fangs to pierce her delicate neck.

* * *

“Ivelin, may I ask what’s going on?”

“The next leader will be very angry.”

The two guard knights who guarded under the terrace at dawn were making whining noises.

Ivelin turned his gaze to where their fingertips were pointing. Ash, Bara, and Quinn, who had arrived at the bedroom terrace, were huddled together and staring down.

What’s the point of going first? They were just animals with stubby forepaws and wings, so they couldn’t even open the terrace door. Therefore, the gaze they were sending towards Ivelin meant to come up quickly and open the door.

He was dumbfounded and put his hand on his waist, glaring at Quinn. He was a mean-spirited person who would turn back into a human, but he was too lazy to do so, so he was trying to use Ivelin as his hands and feet.

‘This is the result of overlooking my necessity.’

As he squinted with his slender eyes, Quinn, who couldn’t stand it, pretended to spit. He was no different from a thug in this area.

Ivelin, who sighed quietly, eventually took out a small spray bottle from his pocket.

“I will briefly invade the terrace.”

“Ivelin, what are you suddenly talking about,”

“It might be a little painful, so brace yourself.”

“Yes…? *Keuk*!”

*Chik*,

“*Eueoeok*!”

*Chik*. The two knights, who had been hit with an unidentified liquid on their philtrum [the vertical groove between the upper lip and the nose], covered their noses and rolled on the grass.

The unbearable stench tormented their noses like crazy. It was a beast repellent that Ivelin had brought just in case.

He had been careless, but to deal with a relatively trained beast-type beastman with just a stench. He thought the effect was more amazing than he had imagined, and he immediately began to climb the tall tree.

“I couldn’t resist your threats. Do you understand?”

Barely reaching the terrace railing, he emphasized again to the three animals.

“If Ahin holds me responsible, you must defend me…,”

*Growl-* Ash, who let out a roar, tapped the glass.

He already disliked Bibi, who was Ash’s nemesis, and now she was even dragging her feet at this crucial moment. If he didn’t need her to open the door, he would have gotten rid of her long ago.

‘Open the door, now.’ Bara, Ash’s loyal companion, nudged Ivelin’s leg with his snout.

As if that wasn’t enough, Queen landed on his black hair, urging him on. The situation inside, obscured by the blackout curtains, only added to his anxiety.

Unable to resist the pressure, Ivelin swallowed hard and reached for the terrace door.

“If it’s locked, I’m turning back.”

Since it was already late at night, there was a good chance Ahin had locked the door.

“Let’s see, it’s locke- it’s open?”

Ash leaped through the easily opened doorway.

‘Please, let this worry be unfounded.’ Ash, pushing aside the thick curtains, stopped running, the smell of blood assaulting his nose.

*Swish*, the drawn curtain brushed past his black fur. Ash, now fully inside the bedroom, stared blankly ahead.

His gaze shifted from Ahin, who had collapsed at the entrance to the bathroom, to the little rabbit sprawled beside him, soaked in blood. It was a reality worse than any nightmare.

The pervasive stench of blood stung his nose.

Staggering, Ash moved and knelt before the little rabbit. He didn’t even have the courage to lick it, fearing it wouldn’t wake up as it did in his dreams.

‘Wake up.’

*Tap*, he carefully nudged the rabbit with his paw, but it didn’t move.

‘Wake up, Bibi.’

He gently rolled the rabbit over, revealing its face with its eyes closed as if dead.

‘You always get up and surprise me. Stop with the boring pranks and play with me.’

He purred and whined, but only a terrifying silence remained.

‘Please wake up. We promised to go to the garden tomorrow for the first time in a while.’

His trembling eyes lingered on the wound on the rabbit’s neck, where blood dripped. It was too cruel a mark for a fist-sized baby rabbit to endure.

Anger surged, and Ash turned his head towards Ahin, who had collapsed beside him.

‘It’s all your fault. You have such great power, what were you doing while the rabbit was like this?’

“Why is everyone being so pushy today? Ahin, if you hear this resistance, please forgive only me… Ahin?”

Ivelin, who had been pushed into the bedroom by Queen and Bara, stopped speaking abruptly. The horrific scene that Ash had faced unfolded before his eyes.

“Ash, stop!”

Realizing the seriousness of the situation, Ivelin rushed to stop Ash from attacking Ahin.

*Growl-* Bara, recognizing the dire situation, blocked Ash, who was struggling.

‘What is all this…’

Bending down, Ivelin brought his hand to the noses of the unconscious Ahin and Bibi. He felt faint breaths that seemed about to stop at any moment.

Ahin’s unprecedented state of unconsciousness was a problem, but Bibi’s bleeding seemed even more severe.

The blood on Ahin’s lips and the wound on the baby rabbit’s neck. Ivelin’s red eyes trembled violently as he looked back and forth.

‘Could it be…’

There was no time to analyze the situation or wait for a physician.

“Queen.”

Hiding his trembling hands, Ivelin urgently turned to Queen.

“…It’s possible it’s a pheromone surge, so bring the Lord [ruler of the territory] and the head physician here. I’ll take the rabbit to the medical room immediately.”

This time, Queen obediently nodded and left the bedroom.

Ivelin brought a rabbit-only cushion and carefully lifted Bibi onto it. The white sheet was quickly stained red with blood. The panting breaths sounded like they would stop at any moment.

Hugging the cushion, which felt weightless, he quickly burst out of the bedroom. The guard knights guarding the entrance shouted something, but he didn’t hear them.

*Thump, thump*, Ash and Bara followed behind Ivelin as he ran.

“Rabbit, we’ll be at the medical room soon.”

He had said it himself at the beginning. A fragile baby rabbit couldn’t survive in a black panther’s territory.

Even in the midst of late regrets, all his attention was focused on the small creature in the cushion.

“…Please, hold on.”

Please. Ivelin, who hated running the most, ran and ran down the hallway that felt particularly long.

* * *

*Whoosh-* Queen, crossing the night sky, awakened Valence and Lillian from their sweet dreams, followed by the head physician.

Valence, summoned to Ahin’s bedroom in the middle of the night without knowing why, tried to suppress her troubled mind. Veins naturally bulged on the hand draped with a shawl.

Despite her efforts, Lillian, restless, kept pacing around.

“Father.”

Valence gave a low warning. Unnecessary distraction might interfere with the head physician’s examination.

Lillian, standing as still as a stone statue, stared at Ahin, who was lying on the bed as if dead. Her heart was burning with worry, seeing her grandson, who was already a sore spot, in such a state.

“Haa….”

After a long examination, the head physician, wiping away cold sweat, flinched and fidgeted.

It was because he met the gaze of Queen, who was watching him with burning eyes from the bedside.

Forcing himself to look away, he politely rose. The head physician, looking quite nervous, hesitated to speak easily.

As Valence and Lillian’s urging gazes reached him, he struggled to begin the conversation.

“I have… something important to tell you both.”

“Speak immediately.”

Valence, who had been inwardly anxious, immediately granted permission to speak. The head physician took a deep breath and bowed deeply.

“In fact, Ahin has been suffering from pheromone surges since he was fifteen.”

“What, what did you say? Say it again!”

Lillian, unable to hide her excitement, screamed.

The head physician, visibly shrinking, moved his lips, overwhelmed by the force.

“Ahin has had surges since his, his first coming-of-age ceremony…”

“You wretch, why are you only saying such an important fact now!”

“I’ll tell you everything, so please calm down. Your blood pressure…”

“Your blood pressure is not the problem now!”

Lillian, with a devilish face, pressed the already shrunken head physician. Valence, unable to watch any longer, stopped her with a graceful gesture.

“Don’t stop me, that man is…!”

“Father.”

As she spoke in a low voice, Lillian, who was particularly weak to Valence, suppressed her anger with a hiss.

“He’s Ahin’s personal physician. He was probably threatened with his life, safety, or job if he didn’t remain silent.”

“…All three are included.”

The head physician quietly confessed his past grievances. Valence, nodding as if she expected it, lightly gestured with her chin.

“I won’t punish you right now, so speak quickly.”

“Yes, yes.”

He repeatedly bowed his head and rolled his eyes.

“In most beasts, pheromones are evenly distributed along the blood vessels. Ahin was the same as ordinary beasts until just before the surge, but after the surge, he showed a strange phenomenon where pheromones seemed to be partially blocked.”

“It must have been like my husband.”

“So, get to the conclusion quickly…!”

“Father.”

Lillian, who had hastily interrupted, was reprimanded by Valence again. The head physician, subtly turning his body towards her, who held the real power, continued to speak.

“After the surge, Ahin often received pheromone stabilizers to calm the surges. And… even that has become infrequent recently.”

“…It means he has reached a point where the stabilizer no longer works.”

Valence, lowering her eyes, murmured softly. The head physician, whose face also darkened, nodded slightly.

“I dared not ask Ahin, but that is my expectation as well.”

“…….”

Even the pheromone stabilizer doesn’t work. This time, Lillian, unable to even get angry, collapsed to the floor.

Again. Is she going to lose a precious bloodline like this again? The wrinkled back of her hand, placed on the carpet, turned white.

‘Father, please visit Grace Manor, even if it’s just during the academy vacation. Valence might miss my face. Of course, you can’t compare me to Father.’

‘Why do you keep following me and spouting such deathly words? Don’t be ominous and get lost!’

‘You’re so strict. As much as you force Ahin to be the next leader, sometimes play hide-and-seek with him.’

‘Don’t be ridiculous. A leader of a territory should have a noble charm like Valence!’

‘The one who says that got locked in the food storage while playing hide-and-seek.’

‘You wretch!’

Shamelessly. Lillian, unable to stop her eyes from reddening, covered them.

The head physician stared at him crying silently with a somewhat troubled look.

“Um…, still….”

“Is there anything else to say? If you’re going to give a sentence that his life is running out, I don’t need it!”

Lillian, unable to hold back her sobs, slammed the floor. Valence, covering him with a shawl, gestured to the head physician to continue speaking.

The head physician, sensing the situation, hurriedly opened his mouth before things got worse.

“However, Ahin’s body is now showing the same symptoms as an ordinary beast.”

“What does that….”

“…What?”

Lillian and Valence, with surprised eyes, asked at the same time. He wiped the cold sweat from his temples, receiving the gazes of the two.

“I, I don’t know how to explain this phenomenon, but… all the signs related to the pheromone surge have disappeared, and for now, he is just in a deep sleep.”

“…….”

“I checked several times just in case, but I’m sure.”

The two, hearing the unbelievable words, blinked blankly.

Valence, who came to her senses first, hastily grabbed Ahin’s wrist. The flow of dominant pheromones was so calm that the expression ‘stable’ was not enough.

She stared blankly at Ahin and opened her lips after a long time.

“So, are you claiming that the pheromone surge symptoms have disappeared?”

“We need to monitor the progress to be certain, but that’s the only hypothesis I can offer at the moment.”

“Then what about the blood on Ahin’s face? Isn’t that a sign of hematemesis [vomiting blood]?”

“That is…”

Suddenly summoned, the three individuals, completely unaware of the situation, exchanged glances.

A moment of silence lingered.

Just as Valence was about to speak, reminded of Bibi’s absence, the bedroom door burst open without warning.

Evelyn rushed in, forgetting to pay respects, gasping for breath. His uncharacteristically urgent appearance made Valence and Lillian, already anxious, frown.

After catching his breath, Evelyn alternated his gaze between Ahin, who was lying peacefully, Valence, who stood tall, the head physician, and Lillian, who wore a lace shawl over her head.

Having no time to arrange his attire, he cut to the chase.

“You need to come with me for a moment.”

* * *

The physician who came out of the medical room shook his head. Valence, Lillian, and Evelyn, facing his somber expression, held their breath.

“…She won’t come out from under the shelf.”

Having been briefly informed, Bibi was in a life-threatening situation unless hemostasis [stopping blood flow] was performed immediately.

Yet, she was crawling under the shelf and showed no signs of coming out. Neither the physician nor Evelyn’s pleas could persuade her.

The more they reached out, the deeper she hid, leaving them helpless. The fear in her dark eyes was unmistakable.

“What is the reason she’s hiding and refusing to come out?”

“For now, her mind is unstable, and her instincts seem to be overriding her reason.”

“Then how about using pheromones to make her lose consciousness and then bring her out?”

Lillian, who had been pacing back and forth with her hands behind her back, offered an opinion.

“A baby rabbit’s body is not like a beast’s. If we use pheromones carelessly…”

The physician, unable to bring himself to utter the worst-case scenario, repeatedly shook his head.

“Administering anesthesia is the best option, but she won’t even think about coming out… Forcibly dragging her out could cause serious harm. If this continues…”

The end would be death. Startled, Lillian quickly grabbed the doorknob.

“I will persuade her, as I have a bond with her as a teacher and disciple.”

“Father.”

“Absolutely not.”

Valence and Evelyn each grabbed Lillian’s shoulder.

Forcibly pulling him away from the door, this time Ash, who had been pacing in the hallway, groaned and leaned against the medical room door.

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s going to work for you either right now.”

Valence gently stroked Ash’s head and held out her hand to the physician.

“Give me the anesthetic. I’m the closest thing to a beast that the child has shown favor to here. And Evelyn, just in case, summon a herbivore beastman who has bonded with the rabbit. I believe he works in the stables.”

“You mean Sir Lil. I understand.”

Puzzled, Lillian intervened between Valence and Evelyn.

“Isn’t he a gorilla beastman? Gorillas are not herbivores.”

“Sir Lil is not a gorilla beastman but a horse beastman.”

“……?”

“His true form is a white horse.”

Leaving Lillian, who was in a state of shock, behind, Evelyn conveyed the message to Quinn, who was standing by the window.

Meanwhile, Valence, having received the anesthetic, entered the medical room. Her hushed footsteps stopped in front of the shelf the physician had mentioned.

“Baby, are you there?”

Valence, for the first time in her life, lay down on the marble floor. Unconcerned, she put her cheek to the floor, and a baby rabbit huddled in the darkness came into view.

Valence, frowning at Bibi’s obviously critical condition, consciously relaxed her expression. Showing even a hint of intimidation would only delay things.

“-Baby.”

Hiding the anesthetic behind her, she spoke in a gentle voice.

Bibi, panting and breathing roughly, scooted further away. Bloodstains dripped along the path the baby rabbit moved. Fear of the beast had surpassed her physical crisis.

“Please, won’t you come out? It might be dangerous if you hold on any longer.”

Valence, unusually unable to hide her impatience, pleaded earnestly.

Time had already been delayed as much as possible. In the worst-case scenario, she might have to risk knocking her out with pheromones.

‘All signs related to the pheromone surge have disappeared…’

Valence could sense it intuitively.

That Bibi was related to the improvement in Ahin’s condition, as the head physician had said. And even that Ahin was the one who had put Bibi in this state.

Perhaps Valence had vaguely foreseen that Bibi might be in danger while helping Ahin. Moreover, far from stopping it, she had even encouraged her to help.

“Baby, give me…,”

How should she repay the sin and grace caused by selfishness? She wanted to repay her by mobilizing everything she could.

“Give me a chance to apologize and express my gratitude to you.”

She reached out with earnestness, but Bibi, startled, hid deeper and deeper into the darkness.

To make matters worse, she coughed, repeatedly coughing up blood.

“Oh no…!”

Valence’s hand trembled slightly due to the increasingly strong smell of blood. She felt the fragility of the fist-sized baby rabbit with her whole body.

“I’ll listen to any resentment, so please, just this once, come into my hands. You might really die if you keep doing this…,”

“E, excuse me.”

Valence, who had been pleading, turned her head towards the presence behind her. It was Lil, who had rushed over in his pajamas as soon as he received Quinn’s call.

Valence handed him the anesthetic and left the medical room.

The gazes of Lillian, Evelyn, and the physician, who had been pacing in the hallway, were focused on her.

“…She won’t come out.”

At Valence’s words, shaking her head with a sigh, their shoulders, which had held a faint hope, drooped simultaneously.

Minutes, like an eternity, passed as anxiety gripped their hearts.

Finally, a commotion arose from inside, and the medical room door burst open.

“Fortunately, she seemed to have quickly lowered her guard because he is the same herbivore beastman.”

Lil carefully extended his hand, which was as big as a pot lid [a large, flat lid].

As soon as Bibi saw Lil, who had no fangs, she fainted, so he had removed the shelf and barely managed to take her out.

The body of the cotton ball, which looked particularly small, was rising and falling rapidly. Valence, Lillian, and Evelyn, anxious about her precarious state, urged the physician with their eyes.

“I am sorry, but the three of you must stay outside while I perform the surgery. You, help me.”

The physician led Lil into the medical room quickly. Once again, it was a long time of waiting.

* * *

It was a dark night, three days after his birthday. Outside the window, heavy rain indicated that winter was just around the corner.

Ahin’s eyelids, which had been closed for a long time, fluttered open. After blinking his dim eyes a few times, he suddenly felt a sensation of suffocation.

Soon, Ahin, realizing that something heavy was pressing down on his neck, turned his gaze to the side.

Snoring- Right next to him, Lillian, who had fallen asleep with her arms around his neck, was visible.

He straightened his head, recognizing the proximity to the point where their noses might touch. Ahin, removing her arm with his fingertips, sat up with a heavy body. The blanket slipped down, revealing his firm upper body.

‘Bedroom…?’

He clutched his head, which felt like it was about to break, and looked around the spacious bedroom.

Yuan, who had been wiping Ahin’s body with a wet towel, had fallen asleep on the bed. Lillian, who had been staying up for several nights, had finally passed out.

His blurry red eyes continued to search for something. Bibi was nowhere to be seen.

As soon as he recognized him, fragments of memories crashed over Ahin like waves.

Pheromone surge. Hematemesis. Bathroom. Bibi.

At the time of the surge, Ahin had not been in his right mind since leaving the bathroom. Due to Bibi, who had rushed at him, he had forcibly accepted healing pheromones, and at some point, his reason had completely flown away.

As Ahin stared blankly at his hand, several scenes flashed before his eyes.

He was captivated by Bibi’s sweet scent that seemed to numb his nose, and his gaze lingered on her defenselessly exposed neck. Before he could even recognize it, it was a moment to sink his teeth into it.

The anesthetic ability contained in the absorbed healing pheromones covered even the minimum of reason.

As the pungent smell of blood spread, Bibi’s limp body triggered a defense mechanism. A bright light flashed, and the weight on Ahin’s arm gradually decreased.

When the white-haired baby rabbit, stained red, fell to the floor with a thud, Ahin’s body, which had finally recovered its twisted insides, collapsed along with it. And then it was blackout.

Ahin’s fingertips trembled palely. Unlike his body condition, which had not yet recovered, the dominant pheromones in his body showed the most stable flow since birth.

Was it because he absorbed the healing pheromones? Bloodshot appeared in his unfocused red eyes, and a clear fear was overlaid on top of it.

The small body that was fading away in his arms without even screaming came to mind.

The voice that muttered to save him, that he really felt like he was going to die. The tears that soaked his hair. The faint strength that patted his shoulder.

Plop, plop, the droplets falling from his red eyes wet Ahin’s hand.

All the sensations of the herbivore, bitten by fangs, struggling to survive, made Ahin unbearable.

He immediately stopped reaching out to Yuan, who was lying face down. The terrible hypothesis of Bibi’s death confused his thoughts.

‘No.’

Ahin, trying to be calm, staggered out of bed. If such a tragedy had occurred, the mansion could not have been so quiet, no matter how late it was.

He roughly put on a white shirt as he grabbed it. The two security guards, who had widened their eyes, soon took a salute. Ahin, fastening the buttons that he had not yet fastened, opened his lips slightly.

“…-Where is Bibi.”

A cracked bass voice flowed out. The two security guards carefully exchanged glances.

“In the head’s chamber…,”

Whirr, Ahin, who turned away without hearing the rest of the answer, walked to the landing. Usually, he would have jumped over the window, but right now, even moving his steps was difficult.

As he left the middle gate, which was a shortcut to Valence’s bedroom, the falling raindrops soaked Ahin’s whole body.

He stopped briefly in the rain without thinking of avoiding it. It was fortunate that his reddened eyes were covered by the moisture.

The way to Bibi always made him smile without realizing it. Now it was as dark and gloomy as the night sky where nothing could be seen.

* * *