Chapter 9
Asher greeted the rabbit who seemed to be coming to its senses, blinking its eyes. But the rabbit stood up warily and quickly hid in a corner.
“Hello?”
Though he greeted it knowing it could understand his words, all he received in return was a gaze full of wariness.
“I’m not trying to hurt you. I just want to take care of you until your wounds heal.”
Asher took a step back and slowly raised his hands toward the rabbit, as if to show he had no ulterior motives. Then, realizing the rabbit had just woken up, he picked up a water bottle and poured water into a cup.
“You must be thirsty after just waking up. Would you like a glass of water?”
Asher gently extended the water glass toward the rabbit. But the rabbit jumped out, kicked the glass with its hind legs, and hid back in the corner. As a result, the glass toppled over onto the rug, spilling water and soaking it thoroughly.
“Sorry. Did I startle you? I should have asked for your consent first.”
It seemed the rabbit misunderstood, thinking he might have poisoned the water. Asher, showing no signs of being upset, picked up a new glass and poured water. Then he slowly drank it and smiled at the rabbit.
“See? I drank it too. So you can relax now.”
Asher quickly poured water into another cup and offered it to the rabbit again. True to its cautious nature, the rabbit didn’t drink the water for a long time. It just hid behind the wardrobe with only its ears sticking out.
By dawn, the rabbit, seemingly tired of being vigilant, poked its head out. Having just recovered from a fever, it appeared extremely thirsty. Finally, unable to resist, the rabbit leaped out, grabbed the water cup with its front paws, and gulped down the water. Just seeing this behavior, one could tell this rabbit was different from ordinary animals.
After emptying the cup, the rabbit quickly put it down and hid behind the flower pot on the windowsill. With its ears still perked up, it was hiding only its face. Seeing this, Asher smiled faintly and said:
“My name is Asher. You were collapsed in front of our house… and my brother found you and brought you in.”
“…”
“I don’t know how you got injured, but I think it would have been serious if we had found you any later.”
The rabbit moved its ears attentively with each of Asher’s words. Its fluffy tail, which couldn’t be hidden, was so adorable that Asher had to forcibly suppress a laugh as he continued speaking.
“If you’re okay with it, you can stay here for the time being. No one here will harm or bother you.”
“…”
“So I promise. As long as you’re here, I’ll protect you no matter what happens. I hope you can rest comfortably here with peace of mind.”
Though he couldn’t tell what the rabbit was thinking since even its face was hidden, Asher felt troubled at the thought of the injured rabbit suffering in this weather. As if his feelings reached the rabbit, it peeked out its head and blinked.
Earlier, Asher hadn’t noticed in detail, but the rabbit’s eyes had a mystical feel to them. Unlike regular rabbits, its eyes had a purple tint, which made Asher unconsciously murmur:
“Wow… beautiful.”
Though it was almost a whisper to himself, the rabbit flinched as if it had heard. At this sight, Asher chuckled and offered cookies that he had placed on the table.
“Aren’t you hungry? Would you like to eat?”
At Asher’s words, the rabbit tilted its head slightly, as if pondering. Despite knowing that when humanized, it would be a fully grown adult, Asher couldn’t hide his fondness for the rabbit’s cuteness. Asher approached the slightly less wary rabbit and offered the cookie in his hand.
“Here, eat.”
After hesitating for a while, the rabbit looked back and forth between the cookie and Asher, then jumped down from the windowsill. Cautiously extending its face toward the cookie, it sniffed and took it with its front paws. Seemingly very hungry, the rabbit devoured the cookie at once with its front teeth.
“Eat this too.”
Pleased, Asher picked up a basket of cookies and offered it to the rabbit. But the still wary rabbit only stared at the basket while licking the cookie crumbs off its front paws.
“It’s okay. I brought these for you.”
At Asher’s positive response, the rabbit began taking cookies from the basket and eating them, as if it had been waiting for this. Is this how parents feel? Feeling full just by watching, Asher filled a glass with water and placed it in front of the rabbit.
After the rabbit had finished all the cookies and emptied the water, Asher brought a blanket. Without hesitation, he headed to the sofa and told the rabbit:
“I’ll sleep here. So you sleep on the bed.”
It was to prevent the rabbit from being startled by Jan’s visit while sleeping. Whether or not it understood his intention, the rabbit shook its head to express its refusal.
“Huh? Did you just answer me?”
Asher blinked his large eyes in surprise. But the rabbit pretended it hadn’t done anything and looked elsewhere. Although Asher had promised himself to let the rabbit go once it was healed, seeing the rabbit act like this made him feel his resolve wavering.
*
After spending a night like that, Asher brought carrots and vegetables through the chef. Fortunately, the rabbit readily ate the vegetables he offered. Just when Asher thought the deep wounds had healed to some extent, he discovered that the rabbit had disappeared from the room. Since the rabbit’s body was still not fully healed, Asher worriedly searched throughout the expansive Duke’s castle.
After searching for a while, Asher noticed knights gathered near the stables. Normally, he would have passed by, but for some reason, with a bad premonition, Asher slowly approached them.
“You idiot. Can’t you do it properly? Do you know how much I bet on you?”
“Then why don’t you try it? Do you think hitting the target is something you can do just because you want to?”
“Ugh, this is frustrating.”
As he got closer to the group, Asher couldn’t hide his shock at the words he heard. They had trapped the rabbit in the stable and were throwing stones at it. They had been doing this for quite some time, evident from the red blood flowing from beneath the rabbit’s forehead. Asher felt anger rise within him at the sight of the rabbit desperately trying to escape.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh, Young Master, you’re here?”
Despite Asher’s tone filled with killing intent, the knight answered cheerfully. As if Asher would join in this game, he grinned and extended the stone in his hand.
“We were playing a game. Seeing who can hit the target more.”
The knight’s behavior, showing not even a hint of guilt, momentarily made Asher’s anger surge. Unable to contain it, he approached and slapped the knight’s cheek.
The sound of the slap dispersed through the air. It was the first time in his life he had slapped someone’s cheek, but he didn’t regret this decision. However, the knight, as if not understanding the current situation, only repeated, “…Young Master?” with a bewildered face.
“Does it hurt? Just from that?”
“What exactly did I do wrong?”
“You still don’t understand? What you all did? Even if it’s an animal that can’t speak, it feels pain just the same. Yet you enjoyed its fear while abusing it. Should I do the same to you all? Would you still laugh then?”
“…But Young Master, animals are meant to be eaten when we’re hungry. Even before, you watched our games and said they were interesting.”
The knight stretched out excuses toward Asher, as if feeling wronged.
Asher, troubled by his past actions that followed him like a tag, pressed his lips firmly and entered the stable to approach the rabbit.
Despite Asher’s appearance, the rabbit still went to the corner with a sensitive demeanor, raising its fur. The rabbit’s eyes seemed as empty as if they had lost their vitality, showing how much pain it had endured. Just when Asher thought he had finally gained the rabbit’s trust, he suppressed the tears that threatened to rise and extended his hand toward the rabbit.
“…I’m sorry.”
“…”
“I’m really… sorry for not protecting you when I said I would.”
Eventually, tears welled up beneath Asher’s eyes. At this sight, the rabbit flinched momentarily and then collapsed weakly. Startled, Asher quickly took the rabbit into his arms.
Worried about its life, he placed his ear close and heard faint breathing sounds. Only then did Asher sigh in relief and, with the rabbit, left the stable to face the knights.
“Go back and wait for your punishment.”
With those words, cold as ice, Asher walked past the knights.
*
Due to the commotion that occurred during the day, Ember and Shaki visited Asher’s room. Asher earnestly requested that the knights be punished and stayed by the rabbit’s side. Around dawn, as if slowly regaining consciousness, the rabbit slowly lifted its eyelids.
Pale purple eyes, seemingly unfocused, gradually revealed themselves and turned toward Asher.
“…Are you conscious? Are you okay?”
Despite Asher’s questions, the rabbit didn’t run away as before. It just stared blankly at Asher’s face, then closed its eyes gently before opening them again.
“I’m sorry. I said I would protect you, but I couldn’t… I’m really sorry.”
Asher’s eyes turned red again, as if recalling the incident. But unable to cry in front of the rabbit, he forcibly swallowed his tears. However, the rabbit tapped Asher’s arm, as if to comfort him.
“…Rabbit?”
Asher opened his eyes wide, then took the rabbit into his arms. Just because he wanted to at that moment, because he felt so sorry, he held the rabbit for a long time.
Author: Hyacinthus B
Hyacinthus
