ITMBWFL 3

“…Pii.”

The rabbit made a half-hearted sound, as if telling me to do whatever I wanted.

Still, it didn’t seem angry enough to protest.

“Then, Golden Rabbit.”

The rabbit let out a sigh, then nodded as if granting permission. Its perky ears folded slightly, like it was saying “fine.”

That made me smile.

Cute things naturally make people smile.

Maybe because I smiled, it seemed to lower its guard a little. Even as I took a step closer, the rabbit stayed still.

The distance between us narrowed to about two hand spans.

The rabbit stared at me from that close distance.

Its round golden eyes shimmered, giving off a mysterious feeling.

Was it observing me?

When I carefully reached out my hand, its gaze followed my fingertips.

My hand slowly moved toward its forehead.

I heard rabbits liked being gently petted like this.

In the original, it liked it when Bryce did this too.

“There, good girl, so pretty. Aww, there there.”

But the moment my hand touched its forehead, the rabbit looked horrified and smacked my hand away.

“Piiiii.”

It frowned and shuddered.

“Oh—sorry. Calm down.”

“Pii—”

It sounded like it was swearing at me.

I thought it liked being petted like that…

Maybe we needed to build more trust first?

Then how do you build trust?

‘How do you get closer…?’

I stared at the rabbit for a moment, then lay down on the bed.

The rabbit, sitting by the window, glanced at me after I went quiet.

Maybe talking would help us get closer.

I should tell it about myself too.

‘Come to think of it, the rabbit doesn’t even know who I am yet.’

Rolling onto my stomach, I met its eyes.

“Did I tell you my name, Golden Rabbit?”

“Pik.”

“Not interested? Or do you already know?”

“Pii, pii.”

“Hm?”

For once, the rabbit made two sounds.

Was that some kind of deliberate response?

Does that mean the second one—so it already knows me?

“Golden Rabbit, try guessing my name. Number one, Bryce Artiela. Number two, Strawberry Jam Artiela. Number three, Beautiful Lize Artiela.”

“……”

“Number four, Lize Artiela.”

“Pii, pii, pii, pii.”

I knew it!

We’re communicating!

And it even knows me!

I jumped up in excitement. Maybe my eyes were shining too much, because the rabbit turned its head away like it felt pressured.

“How did you know? Have you heard about me before, Golden Rabbit?”

“……”

“Come here, rabbit. Let’s talk.”

I patted the bed beside me.

But the rabbit only rolled its eyes, showing no intention of coming closer.

“My bed is pretty big. There’s plenty of space for you.”

It just kept looking at me.

But it wasn’t running away or showing any dislike either…

‘Maybe it’s not that it doesn’t want to come—it just doesn’t want to intrude on someone else’s bed. That’s actually kind of polite.’

Right, Liri Selverdin was kind in the original too.

Convinced by my own reasoning, I got up immediately.

“It’s okay, you can come.”

I walked to the window and lifted the rabbit up. Startled, it let out a small sound and struggled to get down.

“Do you hate me, Golden Rabbit?”

When I made a sad face and appealed emotionally, the rabbit stopped struggling.

‘Hehe, got it.’

But the moment I flopped onto the bed while holding it—

The rabbit suddenly panicked and jumped!

“Hey, what’s wrong, Gol—ugh!”

It kicked me right in the solar plexus.

As I groaned in pain, the rabbit froze in surprise.

It forgot to even get off me and just blinked down at me.

“Pii?”

It sounded like it was asking if I was okay.

“No… I’m not okay, cough…”

It was heavier than it looked, and that kick really hurt.

Still, the way it looked at me in panic was so cute that I ended up smiling.

“Don’t chew on my head, okay?”

“Pii.”

“You’re really cute.”

“Pii?”

“Aww, Golden Rabbit, did you say pii?”

“……”

Sharp teeth were right in front of me.

“…Sorry.”

At this point, I wasn’t sure if I was taming the rabbit or the rabbit was taming me.

Our eyes met again.

Strangely, every time I looked into its slightly cynical golden eyes, someone came to mind.

Cassium Luden Valteir.

The arrogant young lord of the Valteir duchy, with annoyingly exceptional swordsmanship.

‘Why do I keep thinking of him?’

Cassium and I had never gotten along, ever since our days at the knight academy.

A cynical and arrogant personality that couldn’t understand others. A cold, almost heartless attitude.

Because of that, we clashed more than once at the academy.

‘And that incident…’

I clenched my fist as I recalled something from those days.

That event had made the rift between us even worse.

‘And in the original, he made Bryce’s life miserable!’

Cassium was one of the people who constantly assigned Bryce difficult missions in the Erne Knights, putting him through countless hardships.

One of the reasons I worked so hard to join the knights was to stop Cassium from bullying Bryce.

“Pii.”

The cute, innocent rabbit pulled me back from those dark thoughts.

“Golden Rabbit, I wish that guy was even half as nice as you.”

The rabbit blinked, its mouth slightly closed.

Then it gently pressed my face with its fluffy paw.

Seems like my expression had gotten stiff.

“Pii, piik.”

It placed both soft paws on my cheeks and stretched my face outward.

It felt like some kind of massage.

As I felt that strange sensation, I thought of Cassium again.

“That guy…”

Even I had to admit his skill.

He was one of the few aura users in the empire and constantly took first place in sword tournaments.

More than that, he became a division commander in the First Imperial Knight Order at a very young age.

He reached that position purely through skill in his mid-teens—proof enough of his genius.

Anyway, yes, he’s talented.

But it was unfortunate that I had to see that annoying guy so often in the same knight order.

We each led rival divisions—Golden Lion and Black Panther—known as bitter enemies.

‘Joining the Erne Knights might have been digging my own grave.’

But we clashed so often that even others shook their heads at us.

‘Just a few days ago too.’

A few nights ago, at a victory banquet hosted by Commander Denver.

“Follow me, Cassium.”

The Black Panther division always shamelessly stole missions from the Golden Lion.

That night was no different, and I couldn’t hold back my anger.

“Let’s punch each other once and forget it cleanly!”

“Why do something you’ll regret tomorrow, Lize?”

“Are you scared of getting hit by me?”

Honestly, I was a bit drunk—but I meant it.

I dragged him out.

Some knights thought one of us might die, while others egged us on.

And I think… we each threw a punch.

I say “I think” because the alcohol had completely wiped my memory.

But judging by the marks left behind, it must have been intense.

“Look at this, rabbit.”

I pulled my collar aside to show my shoulder.

Startled, the rabbit made a sound.

It jumped off me and tried to run away.

“Why are you being shy? Look here.”

“Pii.”

After coaxing it, the rabbit finally glanced over.

I pointed to the deep bruise on my shoulder.

“See? Isn’t it bad? That idiot hit me so hard!”

“Pii?!”

The rabbit’s eyes widened.

It blinked like a true rabbit, which was so cute I almost forgot what I was saying.

“We agreed one punch each, but he went all out. It’s still not healed.”

“Pii!”

The rabbit suddenly waved its fluffy paws as if protesting.

“Pii!”

“You think it’s gone? No, it’s still here.”

Was it just me, or did it look wronged?

“Golden Rabbit, look again.”

As I pulled my clothes further aside, the rabbit squeezed its eyes shut.

But after I called it three times, it slowly stepped closer—eyes still tightly closed.

Then it gently reached out and stroked my shoulder.

“Are you worried it hurts? It doesn’t hurt that much anymore.”

Such a kind, cute rabbit.

Completely opposite of that devil-like Cassium.

We were supposed to forget it after one punch each, but now this bruise remains.

I don’t even remember how hard I hit him—but if his bruise disappears faster than mine, I’ll be annoyed.

My thoughts kept circling back to that night…