ITMBWFL 1

“Bryce, look over there.”

It was a winter afternoon, with white snow piled up softly on the ground.

While walking down the road with my younger brother, I spotted a rabbit.

“A rabbit, sister.”

“Yeah, a rabbit.”

A black rabbit was lying in the grass, trembling.

Drops of red blood were scattered across the white snow, so it looked badly injured.

I made a pitiful face when I saw it, then grabbed the back of my brother’s neck as he tried to walk past like nothing was wrong.

“Bryce, we have to take that rabbit! What are you doing?!”

Caught by the collar, my brother looked at me like I was overreacting.

“Hey! That rabbit is shaking! Aren’t you going to take it? Is that how your sister taught you?!”

I pointed at the rabbit again and shouted at him to hurry and take it, but…

“Why are you telling me? You take it if you want.”

My fourteen-year-old brother—Bryce Artiela, the male lead of the novel I reincarnated into—completely ignored me.

He brushed my arm off and just walked away.

Hey! That’s not just any rabbit!

That’s the female lead!

On the way to the knights’ order.

The rabbit in my arms let out a weak sound.

Its body and ears drooped lifelessly.

“Are you okay, little rabbit?”

I looked at the heavy but cute rabbit with concern.

Bryce… how could he not take such a cute rabbit? He’s my brother, but he really has no eye for things.

‘Still, I finally found her.’

The owner of an incredible healing ability that can even revive the dying.

Someone who could instantly cure my rare disease.

The female lead of the novel “The Little Rabbit Wants to Be Loved”, Liri Selverdin!

“Commander, what is that?”

“A rabbit.”

As soon as I entered the office of the Golden Lion Division of the Erne Knights—the First Imperial Knight Order—all eyes turned to me.

Of course they did. Their commander had brought in a strange black creature.

“Is it a monster, Commander?!”

“I said it’s just a rabbit.”

“Eek, a rabbit?!”

The knights murmured at the sudden appearance of the rabbit.

Holding it in one arm, I walked across the hall.

From the other side, a senior knight, Dezerus, came running toward me with an excited face.

As soon as he reached me, he stretched out his hand to pet the rabbit.

“Are we raising this adorable creature in our order now?! Let me hold it too!”

“No!”

I hugged the rabbit tightly and quickly turned my body away, waving my hand at him.

“Stay back!”

“Commander, why?!”

“It’s my rabbit.”

No way I’m letting the female lead be held by some random man!

Anyway…

“Is the veterinarian in the infirmary?”

“No, probably at the stables.”

I headed to where the veterinarian was, carrying the still-trembling rabbit.

If he can treat horses, he should be able to treat a rabbit too, right?

“Oh dear, the wound is quite deep.”

“Is it hard to treat?”

“No. If I can’t handle something like this, I wouldn’t be the Erne Knights’ veterinarian.”

That’s a relief.

I carefully placed the rabbit on a clean cloth.

As the veterinarian infused divine power, I could see the wound slowly closing.

“It looks strong, so it should recover quickly. But where did you get a rabbit?”

“I picked it up.”

“As expected of you. You’re very kind.”

Well… that’s not exactly why I picked it up.

I took the rabbit back to my office, laid it on the sofa, and covered it with a blanket.

“What should I give it when it wakes up?”

I gently stroked its still slightly trembling body.

It must be hungry. Should I feed it first…?

I’ll leave that to Bryce.

But this rabbit… it’s bigger than I expected.

When I read the novel, I thought it would be smaller.

‘Still, there’s the mark of magic on its ear.’

A red diamond-shaped mark engraved on the pink tip of its ear, visible through the black fur.

That meant this rabbit really was the female lead.

“Take care of me, little rabbit.”

“Haha, Lady Lize. Are you planning to raise this rabbit?”

I smiled and nodded. The rabbit that would save my life looked endlessly lovable.

Little rabbit, let’s hurry and get you close to my brother!

The novel I reincarnated into, “The Little Rabbit Wants to Be Loved.”

As the title suggests, it’s about a small, adorable rabbit—the female lead—being picked up and cared for by the male lead, and love gradually blossoming between them.

The male lead is Bryce Artiela.

‘My younger brother.’

A boy with beautiful red hair and green eyes, destined to become the greatest knight in the empire.

And although not perfect… still quite a cute younger brother.

In the original story, he goes through every kind of misfortune in his childhood.

After our parents die in a carriage accident, his uncle—who inherits the title of count under imperial law—becomes his guardian.

The uncle wants to eliminate Bryce, whose talent threatens his position.

‘Not only did he threaten his life, he even bribed people around him to betray him.’

After going through all that, Bryce becomes completely dark.

Then he picks up a cute little rabbit.

That rabbit is the female lead, and they fall in love—that’s the story.

And I am Bryce’s older sister, Lize Artiela.

‘In the original, I lived weakly and died before even reaching twenty-three, pushing Bryce deeper into darkness.’

Originally, I lived just like that too.

Until the day, at thirteen, I realized this world was the novel I read in my previous life.

Unfortunately, that realization came on the very day our family suffered the carriage accident, and I couldn’t save our parents.

But I could change my own path.

‘I won’t live like the original.’

Instead of being weak, trembling under abuse from our uncle’s family and only apologizing to Bryce for being helpless, I decided to gain strength to physically protect both of us.

I chose a path completely opposite from my original life.

I picked up a sword and, through relentless effort, rose to the position of division commander in the First Imperial Knight Order, Erne.

But the problem is…

“…Ugh.”

No matter how healthy my body becomes, there’s a certain illness that never leaves me.

‘It feels like my whole body is being crushed…!’

An unknown disease that causes unbearable pain, like being cut all over, whenever I’m exposed to moonlight on a full moon night.

‘Did I die like this in the original too? Will it happen again?’

The pain was so severe that I often had such thoughts.

I endured by taking painkillers every time, but the pain kept getting worse.

‘I might die young again… just like the original.’

On nights when the pain made me nearly lose consciousness, I couldn’t help thinking that.

As my twenty-third birthday—the age I was supposed to die—approached, those thoughts grew stronger.

‘What should I do…?’

Then, I found this rabbit—the female lead, Liri Selverdin.

‘If it’s Liri’s healing ability, she can save me.’

A cheat-like power only the female lead would have: absolute healing.

It can cure any disease, but it only awakens when she meets someone she truly loves.

In the original, Liri used that power to save Bryce’s dying comrades.

‘If Liri falls in love with Bryce and that power blooms…’

Then she could save me too!

It’s not like I hadn’t tried to find her before.

But in the original, Liri lived in her mother’s hometown until she turned fourteen, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t remember where that place was.

Anyway, from the moment I found this rabbit today, everything was supposed to fall into place—Bryce’s happy ending and my survival.

‘That was the plan.’

But my brother didn’t take the female lead…

So I had no choice but to bring her myself.

“Bryce!”

Artiela Count’s residence.

In the corridor of the old annex.

I waved energetically at Bryce, who was trudging toward his room.

He only quickened his pace after I called his name again.

My not-yet-fifteen-year-old brother has recently stopped listening to me.

He used to follow me around like a sweet, cute kid…

Your sister is about to cry, Bryce.

No… he’s just preparing to become independent as the male lead…

“Bryce, let’s live together forever.”

“…What’s wrong with you, sister?”

The words came out differently from what I intended, and Bryce frowned.

“What is it? Did you call me just to say that?”

“No.”

I held out the basket in my arms to him.

Bryce pulled back the cover and looked inside suspiciously.

“Ahh! What is this, sister?!”

“It’s a rabbit!”

“I know that! Why do you have it?!”

Startled by the sleeping rabbit, Bryce stepped back.

He almost knocked the basket over, so I quickly tightened my grip.

“Bryce, be careful! What if you hurt it?!”

“No, I’m asking why there’s a rabbit!”

“You’re raising it!”

Bryce looked completely dumbfounded.

“Is this the rabbit from earlier?! Why did you bring it?!”

Because it’s the female lead!

Your future bride!

But I couldn’t say that.

“This rabbit is special.”

“What do you mean?”

Can’t you tell?

“It’s cute.”

“This? This muscular rabbit?!”

Now that I look at it… it really is kind of muscular.

And a bit big.

Its muscles are quite developed under that black fur.

Rather than cute… it feels more sturdy…