The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Rabbit and the Black Panther

Between Ahin’s mother, I mean, between Valence and me, an implicit bond has developed recently.

It’s due to the tea time in the rose garden which is always held at the same time. Then, a secret lies between us about which Meimi is not aware. It was the practice of controlling my pheromones.

[ Come to the rose garden every day after lunch. ]

Miss Valence taught me how to learn to grapple the unique pheromones that appear in my body every day.

Yes. The strange energy that I had felt in my body the other day were pheromones. This was theoretically impossible but perhaps, it was my first step towards humanization.

I awakened my fighting spirit and waited for this time every day, and in Valence’s opinion, I was showing significant progress.

Of course, the authenticity of her compliments could not be confirmed. Because she was showing me a strange kindness.

“Baby, breathe slowly. Keep calm and then move.”

As I sat on the table, I constantly breathed and focused on my body according to her instructions. The energy that spread throughout my body felt more stable than yesterday’s practice.

“Bring them back to the red field, almost like you’re trying to hide the pheromones.” (1)

It’s difficult….

I have no idea what it means to hide them. When Valence realized that she had given a very vague explanation, she spoke again while drinking her milk tea.

“Don’t rush. It doesn’t matter if you take your time.”

With a nod, I focused on gathering my energy as she had told me to.

Several minutes later, as the practice went on, I felt exhausted. Dealing with pheromones required quite a bit of stamina, so it was only a matter of time before I felt the need for a nap.

“Great work. I’m going to stop here today.”

Valence, who patted my breathless head, stuck out the book she was holding in her hands. When I looked at her in confusion, her mouth curved up into a gentle smile.

“Maybe it’s a funny question, but do you know how to read and write?”

I stared at her smiling face but then I came back to my senses and nodded.

I’ve never written a continental language myself but fortunately, I had no problem with reading it. My mother never let me lose hope even after I was ten years old and stuffed me with knowledge while I was imprisoned in the mansion.

“I’ll hand this book over to Meimi seperately, so read it when you have time. I’m sure it’ll be of some help to you.”

From the moment she sensed pheromones from me, she hasn’t once treated me like an ordinary rabbit.

Nevertheless, it was fortunate that she hadnt take any actions against me.

It was difficult for me to do anything about a woman who took up the position of the patriarch from the beginning, wasting her time on me.

「The Pheromone Theory」

Feeling strange, I alternately looked at the book and her.

As I returned to the bedroom, I immediately got the thick book fixed in a certain position with the help of Meimi. She placed heavy marbles at both ends of the book to prevent it from falling over.

‘Okay.’

After a long day of serious practice, I stood up with my front paws and pointed at the book. Although it was a bit hard to flip the pages with my paws, I couldn’t really help it due to my rabbit form.

For now, my only hope was to gather information and clues on pheromones.

‘Definition of pheromones.’

Pheromones are innate scents that only belong to shapeshifters, and are manifested by their unique abilities, means of attack or superiority.

In general, the rabbit shapeshifters have developed pheromones that allow them to defend themselves and be agile, but am I the same type? No matter how I think about it, it’s definitely not speed.

While reading the next chapter with many thoughts, I looked around the empty bedroom without reason.

‘The biology of pheromones.’

This is also an education that a lot of shapeshifters recieve in their childhood.

In this continent, there are two coming of age ceremonies. The coming of age ceremony for reaching sexual maturity at 15 and the rules based ceremony for being an adult at 18.

Unlike humans, shapeshifters are usually attracted through pheromones, so young shapeshifters are apt to be swayed by instinct.

Thus, it was made a norm to enable pheromone attraction in relationships with the opposite gender from 15 onwards.

‘Hmm….’

I frowned, and skipped this chapter without even skimming through it. It was something that I already knew well even if I didn’t study it seperately.

At some point, the servants of the Raebian family began to see me as a normal little pet rabbit rather than a shapeshifter. I couldn’t really express myself even if I was able to think rationally.

I think it started around the end of my first coming of age ceremony. It didn’t matter much. Anyway, my life where I’ve always been despised hasn’t changed much.

However, there was one problem which had always made me super uncomfortable. I was provided with a luxurious room since I was still a family member but since I was only a rabbit, I lived on the cushion rather than the bed.

However, sometimes, the servants of the mansion would use my room as a place for their night rendezvous.

In the servants lodgings, it was impossible to meet and no place to move around, so my room, where no-one would come by at night became the perfect spot for the secret meetings.

[ Mister Den, this place is a bit… ]

[ There’s no one here. What do you think? ]

At night, in my room, where no-one would usually come by, you could hear shaking noises.

At the beginning, I didn’t understand anything but later on, I realised everything.

They were well aware. Even if I somehow managed to express my discomfort, there would be no efforts taken by them.

Thanks to the scenes I had to see every night, I didn’t even have to study the biology of pheromones seperately. Most of what I remembered from the Raebian mansion were these terrible memories.

Soon after, I turned my body several times and placed my front foot on the book again. I don’t have time to care about the past.

‘…Huh?’

In the midst of my reading, I sensed something at the back. As I turned my head around, Ahin and Evrin, whose presence I hadn’t felt at all had already entered the bedroom.

Is dinner time over already? As I looked at the terrace, I heard some troubling sounds.

“Ha….”

Ahin, who had covered his eyes with his hands, punched the wall with his fist. Even Evrin, who always had an expressionless face, looked weird today.

‘What’s wrong with him?’

I blankly stared at him but Ahin started laughing. I didn’t know what kind of ridicule it was in his laugh, but I’ve never seen him laugh like that before.

“Together with bunny-nim, I’m seeing all kinds of rare sights in my life.”

Evrin, who had just corrected his expression, spoke.

“A little rabbit is reading a book…! I’d like to make a portrait out of this scene.”

Only then did I understand their reaction and looked down at the book. I couldn’t see myself, but ironically, it was quite funny to imagine a rabbit reading a book with its front legs.

However, from the perspective of the other party, my eyes narrowed because it wasn’t funny at all.

“I think I’m going crazy….”

“Sir Ahin, calm down. If you laugh too much, you will hurt bunny-nim’s feelings.”

However, Evrin’s mouth was twitching again and again. His face looked as if he trying to  hold back his laughter. After seeing their expression, the punching noise on the wall followed again.

After that, I exhaled my breath and looked out of the window with wet eyes. As expected, I really hate those black panthers. Really hate them.

It was an unusual day where the mansion was heavily guarded. The eyes of the knights looked even more ferocious than they normally did and the servants were also much more rigid.

Ahin also left the bed chamber earlier than usual, and Valence informed me that the pheromone practice session will be cancelled today due to her schedule.

Furthermore, Meimi had suggested taking a walk near a small pond behind the mansion rather than the rose garden which was around the main gate. There was nothing wrong with it, so I enjoyed the peaceful breeze on the soft grass.

‘What’s going on?’

The mood is very calm. The expression of the security guard whose eyes had met with mine while I was lost in my thoughts, suddenly froze.

‘…Huh?’

While I continued to stare in confusion, my body suddenly rose into the air. It was done carefully, but with a strange touch that seemed to be avoiding me.

As I turned around to see if it was Meimi who had hugged me, I saw a shapeshifter who was looking down at me.

‘Who is it?’

It was my first time seeing this man since I came to this mansion. For a normal servant, his dark blue outfit and overall appearance looked way too luxurious.

Looking up at his pale pink hair and golden eyes, I wondered if this shapeshifter was a herbivore.

It is said that the ox shapeshifters tend to possess such beautiful golden eyes.

When I thought about it, I felt a sense of familiarity with him.

‘But why?’

Why is there a herbivorous shapehsifter in the mansion of a black panther? Considering that, it was hard to figure out the reason for his presence in this garden.

‘Are you a visitor?’

I smiled with a happy face. In the midst of my growing doubts, the man staring at me suddenly brought his face close to me.

“It smells like a black panther.”

‘My owner is not a herbivore.’

Only then did I come back to my senses and looked around in a hurry.

The knights, who had approached a certain radius, looked perplexed, unable to stop or speak against his actions. He didn’t seem bothered by those men.

‘Why?’

Is he a man of a high social standing in this mansion and it just seems to be that I’ve never encountered him before?

The man’s eyes, however, were golden, not the red eyes that were unique to the black panthers. When I turned to look at Meimi, she was also nervous.

‘Mei-Meimi!’

I alternately looked at the man and Meimi. Just a minute ago, what had shone through his lips was obviously a sharp fang.

‘Who is this, this beast?’

Since we had formed a relationship due to our daily routines, Meimi immediately noticed the silent question in my mind and raised her head.

A wild beast!? When I received her affirmation, my mind went blank.

‘Where did this wild beast come from.’

I automatically stiffened and looked up at the young man. The face, which had looked beautiful a while ago, now looked like it belonged in hell.

PREVIOUS CHAPTER

Glossary

(1) ‘Red field’ – Apparently, it’s the translation for the word ‘단전’, a term commonly used in oriental medicine. It refers to the most energetic area of the human body and where one gathers most of their energy.