“Why is it bothering you, Golden Bunny?”
I was the one who received the marriage proposal, so why was the Golden Bunny the one looking troubled?
I gently stroked its soft fur.
Its round eyes still held a worried expression as it looked at me.
Just as I tried to read the emotions hidden in those golden eyes—
The bunny suddenly jumped onto my desk.
“Golden Bunny?”
Then it opened a book that was lying there.
Seeing that it had apparently mastered not only writing but reading as well, I almost clapped in surprise.
“You want to read? Shall we read together? That’s the middle, so let’s start from the first page—”
As I tried to flip back to the beginning, the bunny raised its front paw to stop me.
Then it pointed to a spot on the open page.
“…?”
When I hesitated, it tapped that spot again.
“You want me to read this part?”
“Squeak.”
“I can’t read if you keep your paw there, Golden Bunny.”
“Squeak.”
I read the character where its paw had been.
“‘Hate’?”
As soon as I read it, the bunny quickly pointed to two more letters at the same time.
When I read them together—
“‘Hate it?’ You’re asking if I hate it?”
The bunny nodded.
What do I hate?
I recalled the conversation we had just been having.
We were talking about the marriage with Cassium.
Then what the bunny was asking was…
I blinked a few times and turned away from it.
The moment I realized what it meant, strangely enough, I felt like I could hear Cassium’s voice in my head.
“Do you hate it?”
That question seemed to echo.
A strange feeling swept through me, and I clenched my fist.
This is weird…
Everything felt strange—the feeling itself, the marriage proposal with Cassium… all of it.
When it asks if I hate it… does that mean I don’t want this marriage?
The people of Artiela would surely want this marriage very much.
There was a lot to gain from marrying into a ducal house.
From a family standpoint, this marriage would definitely not be a loss for Artiela.
So logically, there was no reason to refuse it.
But…
I didn’t want to marry Cassium for that reason.
It wasn’t simply because I disliked him.
I just didn’t like the feeling of losing something, and I didn’t want this kind of problem—this awkward complication—to come between us.
“Squeak.”
I heard the bunny behind me.
It was still waiting for my answer.
I opened my mouth to reply, but the answer kept changing inside.
The bunny watching me somehow looked tense.
Maybe it was really curious, since I was taking so long.
“I… don’t know yet.”
That was the answer I finally gave.
“I don’t know!”
I brushed it off and hugged the heavy bunny tightly.
“Squeak…”
It asked again, as if urging me to answer properly, but I pretended not to notice.
“Golden Bunny, you should definitely fall in love and have a wonderful marriage. Or… would an arranged one be faster? But you and Bryce weren’t arranged, so…”
“Squeak?”
Still holding the bunny, I flopped onto the bed.
“Marriage, huh…”
Lost in thought, I spent the entire afternoon like that, even forgetting that I had suggested going out.
“Golden Bunny, wait a bit. I’m going to training.”
The next day, at the Erne Knights’ headquarters.
Rize waved as she stepped out. Cassium flicked his ear once as he watched her.
Curled up on the sofa, Cassium lay there recalling her expression from yesterday.
That look—quietly thinking about something, without answering whether she hated it.
The moment he learned that the proposal sent from Balteir was meant for Rize, countless emotions had surged within him.
Many possible futures flashed through his mind in an instant.
But after all those thoughts, when he looked at Rize in front of him—
Her face was filled with worry. It wasn’t the expression of someone who was happy.
Of course.
Rize didn’t like him, so why would she be happy?
Even so, the meaning that proposal held for him didn’t change.
If anything, he felt grateful to Hedel for failing to stop it.
Cassium buried his face in his paws.
Just then, tap, tap—a sound came from the window.
“Squeak.”
He lifted his head.
Rize’s office was on the second floor, and a tree branch was tapping against the window.
He slid the window open and looked outside.
“Squad leader… no, rabbit. It’s me.”
Hedel was below, gesturing up at him.
Cassium folded one ear and then leaped out the window.
“Rabbit!”
Hedel scrambled to catch him, but Cassium landed neatly beside him.
Looking around, Hedel crouched down in the bushes.
“Um… so…”
He lowered his voice.
“I couldn’t stop it…”
“Squeak!”
Hedel looked into Cassium’s golden eyes.
There was no sign of blame in his gaze—if anything, he seemed pleased.
Well, Cassium wasn’t the type to scold his subordinates often, even if he could be cold and intimidating.
Still, at this rate… he would end up marrying Commander Artiela…
At that moment, Cassium patted Hedel’s foot with his paw, as if to say good work.
Then he wrote on the ground:
‘Thank you.’
His eyes were filled with genuine gratitude.
Even though the marriage hadn’t been stopped, he was still thanking him.
Hedel’s lips trembled with emotion.
“But do you know who the other person is?”
“Squeak.”
The rabbit folded its ears.
“Ah…”
So he already knew it was Commander Artiela—the person he got along with the worst.
Maybe that’s why he pretended not to know before.
That must be why he wanted me to stop it so badly…
Still, knowing all that and yet showing gratitude… Hedel felt he had a lot to learn.
“But something confuses me, Rabbit.”
“Squeak?”
“Does Commander Artiela not know? That this cute rabbit is actually you?”
If she knew, she would have also known that Cassium couldn’t come with the proposal.
But yesterday… she was clearly looking for him.
As if she didn’t know he couldn’t come.
Hedel looked at Cassium, waiting for an answer.
“Squeak.”
Cassium shook his head.
So she didn’t know the rabbit’s identity.
As expected…
“But then why are you staying with Commander Artiela?”
That meant it wasn’t because he was being blackmailed. Then why?
Cassium moved his mouth.
“Squeak.”
“…What?”
“Squeaak.”
“…What?”
What did that mean?
Was he investigating something?
Or was there a way to turn back into a human at her place?
Hedel’s guesses ran wild, but he had no way to understand rabbit language.
“Write it on the ground—no, please write it.”
“Squeak.”
But Cassium simply tapped Hedel’s foot again, as if he had already answered.
Then he jumped back onto the windowsill.
“R-Rabbit!”
Hedel called out, but there was no reply.
Wait—then what about the marriage with Commander Artiela?
If I failed and this leads to him actually marrying her…!
Hedel was left in complete confusion.
At the small forest training ground connected to the Erne Knights’ headquarters,
Knights gathered one by one and formed ranks.
The Erne Knights, wearing white jackets with gold trim.
The Bisel Knights, in purple uniforms.
At the front stood Denver, commander of Erne, and Junik, commander of Bisel.
“As you all know, today’s joint training will—”
As Denver began speaking and all attention turned to him—
He’s not here again.
I was searching for someone.
All the Black Panther unit knights were present—except their captain.
What kind of secret mission is taking this long?
Without realizing it, I bit my lip and turned my gaze forward again.
“As announced: five sparring matches, one team battle, and one horseback event are today’s tasks.”
Erne regularly held joint training sessions like this with private knight orders.
The purpose was to prevent stagnation and allow knights to learn different swordsmanship and tactics.
Unaware of what was about to happen,
I focused once more on Commander Denver’s words.
