ITMBWFL 4

Chapter 4

The next day after that incident, Cassium came to find me and asked to meet briefly in the evening.

He gave some ridiculous excuse about needing a hangover cure after drinking too much.

“What are you even talking about? Who cures a hangover in the evening? And with you, of all people?”

“Just come out, Lize.”

And then—he didn’t even show up!

It really felt like he made up that nonsense just to mess with me. And then who knows where he disappeared to!

“Cassium! You jerk!!”

I suddenly shouted in anger. The rabbit flinched at my voice.

“Pii… pii…”

It trembled, looking shocked.

“Sorry, I wasn’t yelling at you.”

I looked at the rabbit, then picked it up.

‘It’s not avoiding me!’

Holding its soft, warm, fluffy body made me feel calmer.

“Pii.”

The Golden Rabbit, still looking a bit dazed, slowly pulled out its little paw and placed it gently on the back of my hand.

Then it softly patted me a couple of times with its squishy paw pads.

“Are you comforting me?”

“Piiii.”

“You’re such a good rabbit.”

Right. It’s rare for a novel’s protagonist to have a bad personality. And this one—this rabbit—is destined to fall in love with my younger sibling someday.

It just so happened that I picked up this rabbit on a day when my frustration with Cassium was boiling over.

For some reason, it felt like a treasure that came to me.

Even if it wasn’t that friendly to me yet.

And technically, it came for Bryce, not me…

“Golden Rabbit.”

I pulled it closer and gently stroked its forehead.

This time, it didn’t avoid my hand. After glancing around, it quietly closed its eyes, looking peaceful.

“Should we go see Bryce?”

“Pik?”

The rabbit let out a sharp sound.

“Bryce is my younger sibling. Just as cute as you.”

“Bbaeng.”

“…What does that even mean?”

I stood up with the rabbit in my arms.

“Anyway, let’s go to Bryce. He’ll take care of you better than I can.”

The rabbit, looking dissatisfied, suddenly jumped down.

“Golden Rabbit! No, don’t! Be good—you can’t just go anywhere!”

I shouted in panic.

Bryce and I stayed only in the annex. If the rabbit wandered into the main building and met our uncle…

‘What is this creature doing in my estate?’

…he’d probably get rid of it immediately.

But the rabbit, unaware of my worries, leapt again.

It covered an incredible distance in just one jump.

I reached out to grab it, but it wasn’t easy.

As expected of a “high-grade rabbit,” it pushed the slightly open door fully open with its head and dashed out into the hallway.

‘Why is it so fast?!’

I mean, I’ve heard about strong legs in things like The Tortoise and the Hare, but still!

“Stop right there!”

And just like that, a chase began in the annex hallway.

“Still no sign of Captain Cassium?”

“…No, not yet.”

Inside the Black Panther division of the Erne Knights—

A brown-haired man lightly bumped his head against the wall, worry written all over his face.

The short-haired knight in front of him, with ash-gray hair, looked just as troubled.

They were Hedell and Millia, adjutants to Division Captain Cassium Valteir.

“Where could he have gone? He was injured too.”

“If we knew, we would’ve found him already.”

“I’m just frustrated. What if something really happened to him…”

At Hedell’s words, Millia shook her head firmly.

“That’s impossible. This is Captain Cassium we’re talking about. Even if he was attacked by enemies, there’s no way he’d be kidnapped, captured, or worse.”

“…Right. You’re right.”

“We’ll find him. He’s probably somewhere recovering, waiting for the right moment to return.”

“I think so too.”

They reassured each other.

Cassium—the captain of the Black Panther division—had gone missing after being ambushed a few days ago.

They suspected it was the work of an enemy nation.

Not long ago, Cassium had reclaimed occupied territory, earning their resentment.

A few days prior, the three of them had been returning from the forest with the heart of a Grade-1 monster, Lagon.

But they were ambushed. The heart was stolen—and in the chaos, Cassium disappeared.

They searched for hours, but found nothing.

If word got out that a division captain had gone missing, it could boost enemy morale and weaken their own.

Worse, they hadn’t even captured the one who stole the Lagon’s heart.

So they decided to keep Cassium’s disappearance a secret for now.

Outside the window, the cold winter forest stretched endlessly.

Clenching their fists, the knights set out once more to find him.

“Haah… haah…”

This is harder than knight training…

After running around for a while, the rabbit ended up back in my room.

At least it didn’t get spotted by my uncle.

But staying only in my room was a problem.

‘If it stays here, it’ll never get close to Bryce!’

In the original, it was curious—going from room to room, liking new places.

So why is it refusing to leave my room now?

But since the rabbit stubbornly refused to go, there was only one option.

Bring Bryce here.

“Sis, what is it—whoa! The rabbit woke up?!”

“Bryce, come here.”

“Why did you call me?”

“Feed the rabbit.”

“Why me?!”

Despite protesting, Bryce slowly walked over.

“You like rabbits, Bryce.”

“I do NOT!”

…But I’ve believed that for so long…

Wasn’t that part of the original premise?

“Anyway, feed it.”

“Where’s the food?”

“Here.”

I handed him a bowl full of greens.

“Seriously… haah.”

He sighed and reluctantly held out the greens.

“Eat.”

The rabbit snorted.

“…Sis? It just laughed at me.”

“It’s good if a rabbit laughs.”

“No, it mocked me!”

“…That’s fine.”

Still grumbling, Bryce tried again—this time a bit more sincerely.

I remembered a line from the original:

[When Bryce first offered grass, it felt like he was sharing more than food—something deeper.]

Yes! Share your heart!

“…Sis, it’s not eating.”

“What?”

“It’s refusing.”

Sure enough, the rabbit turned its head away.

Even tried nibbling his clothes instead.

“Does this rabbit even eat grass?!”

“…It should?!”

Bryce squinted.

“With those muscles? That’s not a grass-only body.”

“…Hmm.”

I took the grass and offered it myself.

“Golden Rabbit.”

It glanced at me, frowning slightly.

“It must be hungry…”

I crouched down and made eye contact.

Then I put some grass in my own mouth.

“See? It’s good.”

“Pii?”

Bryce looked horrified.

“It’s edible! You had it this morning too!”

Then suddenly—

The grass in my hand was tugged.

The rabbit was chewing it.

“See! It’s eating!”

“…Reluctantly.”

“Still counts!”

Bryce hesitated, then offered some again.

“Here… eat.”

There was a hint of expectation in his eyes.

“Bbaek.”

The rabbit snorted and turned away.

“Hey—!”

“Bryce, calm down.”

“It won’t eat mine!”

“Try harder.”

“How?!”

“Like this.”

I smiled gently and offered the grass.

The rabbit immediately took it.

Bryce stared, annoyed.

He tried one more time, forcing a smile.

“Here, rabbit… eat.”