The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Rabbit and the Black Panther

It wasn’t until dawn when a strange silence lingered between Ahin and me when he had returned to the bedroom.

To be exact, it felt very unpleasant. Ahin also felt awkward because he kept giving me sharp glances today.

‘It was the chief’s family.’

For someone of his status, Ahin hadn’t really employed that many servants. Ever since I moved to this place, he’s always usually alone and the movement of attendants in his bedroom is kept to a minimum.

Is it because black panthers usually like to live alone?

Still, it was unexpected that his status was so high. If I had still been a part of the Raebian family, I wouldn’t even have had a chance to ever see him.

When I heard the sound of the bathroom door opening, I reacted sensitively and dug a tunnel under the pillow.

A long time must have passed since I hid myself there. As I focused on my hearing, I could feel a clicking noise and movement.

“In the black panther territory, subordinates can be beheaded for violating their orders.”

It was a monotonous voice, but my body trembled when I noticed the meaning behind it.

“The fact that I put Meimi, who is capable of martial arts to monitor and escort you. But she couldn’t carry out her duties.”

Since I was anxious, I lifted my head from under the pillow.

“Do you want Meimi to be punished?”

No way. She had only been away for ten minutes to get my favourite hay. I felt sorry for her.

When I shook my head, Ahin’s mouth curved up.

“But that’s not for Bibi to decide. That’s my authority.”

Then why are you asking me? I pushed in my anxious thoughts and quickly got up, as I held the back of Ahin’s hand.

‘Please have a generous heart.’

My trembling pupils scanned around the sofa and looked straight at the sword. The blade of the sword was covered with red blood.

It wasn’t difficult to get the thought that some killing must have been carried out today. After knowing his identity, such a thing must be a private matter for Ahin.

Beheading wasn’t something new in this country, and Ahin could have just cut off her neck without any trouble.

After imagining Meimi’s neck being cut off, I shook my head which had turned pale.

“…The more I think about you being eaten by that son of a bi***, the more upset I feel.”

Ahin, who soon erased his smile from his face, whispered.

“How long do I have to hold myself back?”

‘W-what are you holding back.’

What should I do if he suddenly attacks me. I couldn’t even pretend to faint, so I simply stared at him with astonished eyes.

“Anyway. Instead of forgiving Meimi as you wish, shouldn’t there be something between us that we should be talking about?

It was no different from recommending a one sided deal with Meimi’s neck as collateral. With a discontented look on my face, I hurriedly turned a deaf ear to his gaze.

As I felt his glance in my side view, the strange silence between us prolonged.

“I forgot to tell you, but you can’t cry anywhere else.”

‘…What do you mean?’

Because of his unexpected demand, I turned my head towards him. Crying is the only way someone can help me.

Come to think of it, when I had jumped off the terrace, Ahin had whispered that I shouldn’t cry. Is there a reason for this or is it something else?

“Cry only when I ask you to.”

.…Of course, what else had I expected. This wild beast had gone beyond the scope of my understanding.

He sighed and brought his little finger close to me.

“Promise me.”

To annoy me even more, Ahin mouthed the word ‘Meimi’.

Not in a position to protest, I tapped my front paw against his little finger unpleasantly.

“Oh, and.”

‘Now what?’

“It would be better to set a signal or such in the future. So that I will be able to understand Bibi’s intentions.”

I felt strange and bitter.

It was a matter that I myself had never thought about or wished for. No-one had ever wanted to understand my intentions.

“Let’s decide from this point.”

Unlike me, Ahin reached out lightly and lifted my left forefoot.

“When the left forefoot is on the right side, it’s an emergency.”

Stretching out his other hand, he lifted my right forefoot this time. Both of my front paws were forcibly floating in the air.

“Hmm.”

A short time of troubled thinking passed.

“Raise your right forefoot whenever you need me, and Ahin will help you. You can express the rest on your own.”

Before long, Ahin lowered my front foot with a unique smile on his face.

“Come on, practice. When you’re in danger.”

‘…Right now?’

When I looked up reluctantly, he immediately looked at me. With some hesitation, I raised my left paw and forced myself to close my eyes.

“And when you have to call me.”

Ahin nodded contentedly and petted my right paw.

Was it that good? As I glared at him with my tiny eyes, he tickled my chin as if to praise me.

“Yeah, that’s good.”

He answered as if he could understand my thoughts. I couldn’t even understand this affection that was meant for pets, but it felt weird and I looked up at Ahin’s red eyes with a slightly blank look.

It is said that a shapeshifter who has experienced hardships becomes stronger. It was time for this Miss Bibi to prove that.

I crawled out of the quilt carefully after waking up at dawn.

A dark shadow was cast over Ahin’s fine sleeping face. I lifted my feet slightly and touched his nose gently, but there was no particular movement.

‘Is he asleep?’

I could only hear the constant sound of his breath. If he wasn’t in deep sleep, he would have probably woken up right away and would have called me a roasted rabbit or something.

Just in case, I  started at his eyelashes for a long time to sense any light movement.

‘…All right, he’s asleep.’

As I sat there, I recalled the terrible situation that had just occurred a few hours ago.

It was the chase of the drooling wolf. The appearance of that wolf had served as an opportunity to look back at my life threatening situations.

I had always lived a rather comfortable life, so I never thought something like this could happen. It’s almost impossible for a little rabbit to live in a place where wild beasts are always lurking.

Considering how low we are in the food chain, I’ve luckily managed to survive somehow. Furthermore, this mansion belongs to the chief. In other words, it’s no less than a gathering place for all kinds of wild beasts.

So, wouldn’t my chances of survival increase more if I achieve humanization as soon as possible or shift to a herbivore’s territory?

‘It’s today.’

I looked at the silver hair while sitting on the pillow. This plan of mine that had already been implemented before while Ahin was asleep had been put off for several days.

Looking down at my front feet, I lost my appetite. Not long ago, when Ahin had bitten my neck, the five fingers that I had seen that dawn had not left my mind yet.

If those fingers were really mine, the trigger must have been his fangs or pheromones. That’s the scene I had seen after experiencing strange pain.

I gulped and jumped closer to Ahin’s face. As his handsome face got closer, my nervousness came back again.

I stretched out my paw to confirm his breathing. It was a cautious move.

‘…Black panther, please don’t move.’ (1)

My trembling toes touched Ahin’s mouth and fell back. I shook my head and made up my mind as I finally touched his lips.

I’ve already been bitten once in my neck and if I don’t do this now because of my fear, this Miss Bibi might really start crying.

Holding on to the distant hope, I stretched my forefoot out. You can do it, you can do it.

Soon after, I finally succeeded in sticking my forefoot through Ahin’s lips.

‘I did it!’

Now you just need to bite me lightly like you did back then. As I controlled my fear, the teeth slowly touched my paw.

‘…Huh?’

My face, which had turned bright with hope, suddenly hardened. Why do I feel like his lips have suddenly tightened?

As I turned my head while trembling, my eyes met his half-open red eyes.

‘Mom!’

Silently screaming inside, I tried to remove my forefoot from his mouth, but his closed lips showed no sign of letting go.

‘I’m sorry I woke you up, so please….’

With desperate eyes, I tapped Ahin’s mouth as if to protest. I felt frustrated yet again because I couldn’t speak and his beautiful eyes became contorted.

‘You can let go of me and then talk!’

Eventually, I pushed his cheek vigorously with my hind feet but the effort was futile as Ahin didn’t let go. How stubborn. I tried dragging my forefoot outside little by little.

I felt cold sweat on my back and instinctive fear soared inside me. His fangs continued to touch my paw.

‘No way–!’

Frightened by the unfamiliar touch that I didn’t even want to predict, I fell into deep confusion. It was my third most frightening experience after coming to the black panther territory.

The sunset dimmed the sky. Today was the day of the ball being held at the Grace mansion, which I had inferred from the conversation between Rune and Meimi the other day.

As it was quite an important event, it seemed to be proceeding independently from the wolf’s infiltration disturbance.

‘Wow.’

When I looked out from the bedroom’s terrace, I sighed in relief. Ahin’s bedroom is located in a place where the front gate is clearly visible from the terrace. 

The fact that this mansion belongs to the chief became even more obvious as I looked at the splendid carriages that passed through the gate one after the other.

Furthermore, all the men who got off the carriages were dressed up in fancy tailcoats while the women were decorated from head to toe. Looking at the sight, I suddenly faced the balcony window.

It was a little rabbit with white fur and black eyes, that looked as tiny as a fist.

‘…Nothing new.’

I didn’t prefer to look at the mirror but I didn’t particularly feel down at the moment. It wasn’t a long time ago when I had felt ashamed and developed low self-esteem while comparing myself to other shapeshifters who had already been humanized.

Until a few years ago, I used to imagine myself as a human being but it was a long time ago. I was really afraid that it would always remain as an imagination. I would then try to spend my time thinking about other things.

Will I forever remain confined in this form? The remnants of emotions that couldn’t be described rose inside of me.

“Bunny-nim.”

I could hear two pairs of footsteps and then, two figures were reflected behind in the glass window. Behind me, not only Meimi, but there was another shapeshifter, who I was seeing for the first time that appeared in the room.

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Translator’s Corner

Some people had missed the discord link in the previous chapter as it had expired. Here’s the new link. Reminder – please don’t share anywhere!

(The link will expire in 3 days)

Discord link – https://discord.gg/5SR4vJa

Glossary

(1) ‘Black panther, please don’t move’ – Just want to note that she called him very informally here.