The warm rabbit's paw didn't feel all that hot against her skin.
Does that mean I'm the one burning up?
"Golden Rabbit, how are you feeling? Are you any better?"
"Pi-pi."
The rabbit looked at her with a serious expression, as if telling her to worry about herself first.
He kept saying something to her.
She couldn't understand the words, but somehow she felt like she could understand the emotions behind them.
She wanted to know what the rabbit was trying to say.
And more than that, she kept wanting to tell him things.
How shaken she had been after the carriage accident, when she woke up and the tiny hope that her parents might still be alive had finally crumbled.
How desperately she had tried to stop her uncle when he decided to send Bryce away to another country—to the place where terrible trials awaited him.
How much her illness had tormented her.
I feel like Golden Rabbit would just quietly pat my head and listen.
This cynical yet warm rabbit really seemed like the type who would.
It was strange.
The fact that she wanted to tell a rabbit these things.
Well, he is technically a person...
Still, she had never opened up like this even to other people.
Anyway...
Rize smiled faintly at the rabbit.
"Rabbit, I'm sleepy."
"Pii."
The rabbit stretched out a paw to stop her head from falling, but her eyes were already closing.
The fever had climbed too high, and exhaustion had long since overtaken her.
There was no way she could fight off the sleep.
"Pii. Pii."
As she listened to the rabbit's voice, which sounded as though it were calling her—
Rize. Rize.
—she drifted into sleep.
"Rize, Ri—"
A low voice echoed through the cave.
The man calling the woman in his arms suddenly stopped speaking.
"..."
Drawing in a breath, he slowly raised a hand before his eyes.
Golden eyes trembled slightly.
The large calloused hand made rough from wielding a sword.
The sun-darkened arm lined with hard muscle.
They were human.
His own.
Cassium Luden Valtier.
Without a doubt, they belonged to him.
I've returned.
After several days, he had finally returned.
From rabbit to human.
Did I transform back because my injuries are healing?
Cassium lifted his clothes and looked at the stab wound on his side.
It was certainly much better than before.
When he first realized he had been given a magical potion, he hadn't thought much of it.
Someone clearly held a grudge against the Valtier family, but he had built up resistance to most poisons and drugs through harsh training since childhood.
Nothing had happened immediately after he drank it.
But on the day he retrieved Lagon's heart, he suffered severe injuries.
At that moment, he felt the potion lying dormant in his body activate.
Even if I were injured, a potion like this shouldn't work on me.
The instant the effect spread through him, he knew.
This wasn't an ordinary potion.
It contained dark magic.
Without even realizing he had transformed into his current form, he somehow dragged himself to a village...
And then—
"Bryce! We have to take that rabbit with us!"
He had run into Rize.
Of all people.
Rize Artiella.
And he had met her in the body of a tiny rabbit.
Of all people...
At first, he had tried to run away.
But his injuries wouldn't allow it.
He thought he'd recover some strength and then search for a way to return to normal.
Yet as the days passed, Cassium found himself growing accustomed to that place.
To the space where Rize was.
To the expressions, tone of voice, and gentle touch she never showed in the Knights.
But now he was back to normal.
He couldn't afford to waste any more time.
He needed to return immediately—to House Valtier and the Order.
As he sorted through his thoughts, his mind abruptly froze.
"Mm..."
The arm wrapped around him tightened.
Because Rize, sleeping beside him, had hugged him more tightly.
Her slender but strong arms rested across his shoulders and back.
Her curly red hair brushed softly against his cheek.
They were that close.
Completely unaware of whom she was holding, Rize remained fast asleep.
And within her embrace, Cassium froze solid.
"..."
Rize Artiella.
From their academy days until now, she had always gotten under his skin.
Everything she did somehow clashed with him.
In other words—
From the very beginning, she had been someone he couldn't stop paying attention to.
And then—
"Cassium... you bastard..."
At the sound of his own name slipping from her lips, Cassium quickly looked down at her face.
Had she woken up?
No.
Her green eyes remained hidden behind closed lids.
She was simply mumbling in her sleep, her lips slightly parted.
Cassium's gaze lingered on her sleeping face.
What kind of dream are you having?
Probably not a pleasant one.
After all, during the days they had spent together, he had learned one thing.
Rize disliked him even more than he had thought.
Was she still holding onto that sparring match from years ago?
And what about what had happened after the recent victory celebration?
Had none of it been sincere?
Rize shivered and curled inward.
At first, she had been holding Cassium.
But gradually she burrowed deeper into him until now he was the one holding her.
Listening to her soft breathing, Cassium remained motionless.
It was impossible to pull away.
She had nestled far too deeply into his arms.
The warm breath brushing his neck made it impossible to organize his thoughts.
"...Rize."
After a long hesitation, he called her name.
"Rize."
He called again.
But she remained asleep.
If she learned that the rabbit had been him all along, he had no idea how she would react.
Instead of answering, she merely breathed softly against him.
He touched her forehead.
Still burning hot.
The fever hadn't gone down at all.
"..."
Fortunately, he was wearing the same clothes he had been wearing before the transformation.
Cassium removed his jacket and carefully draped it over her.
Then he stepped outside the cave.
The sound of his footsteps through wet grass blended with the fading rain.
Drawing a dagger, he cut several medicinal herbs growing nearby.
He also gathered herbs that carried a cooling property before returning.
Rize was still asleep.
Sitting beside her, Cassium gently laid her head on his lap.
Her breathing had become even rougher.
He needed to treat her and get her out of this forest as quickly as possible.
"This is nothing for you, Rize."
He muttered softly.
If she knew he was the one sitting before her, she would probably force herself to act perfectly fine.
She had only lowered her guard because she thought he was just a small rabbit.
That was the kind of person Rize Artiella was.
Too proud to show weakness.
Weak before the weak.
But endlessly strong before the strong.
Especially when it came to him.
Cassium removed the bandages from her arm and applied the herbs.
"Ah..."
A faint groan escaped her lips.
His hands paused.
Then he finished wrapping the bandage neatly and placed a cooling herb on her forehead.
As he carefully set it down, her eyelids fluttered.
The next moment—
"Haa..."
Rize exhaled a warm breath and opened her eyes.
In the flickering firelight casting shadows through the cave—
Their eyes met.
"..."
Half-open green eyes stared directly at him.
She watched him silently for a long moment.
Cassium had expected her to shout the instant she saw him.
Instead, she simply blinked.
I'm right here, Rize.
Not the rabbit you adored.
Cassium Valtier.
Yet she only stared.
Then—
"Cassium."
She smiled.
"..."
It was the smile she always wore whenever she defeated him in a competition.
Seeing her smile like that while saying his name left him genuinely stunned.
"Rize. If you're awake—"
"Where have you been? I couldn't find you anywhere."
Her feverish voice reached him.
Her eyes began drooping shut again.
"But I already killed Luxka. I won the bet."
With those words, she closed her eyes.
Still caught somewhere between dreams and reality.
Maybe that was for the best.
Only after she drifted back to sleep did Cassium realize he had been holding his breath.
Why was I holding my breath?
He rubbed a hand across his face.
He couldn't stay here any longer.
"Cassium?!"
When she opened her eyes, the familiar ceiling of her bedroom filled her vision.
What?
She could have sworn she'd seen Cassium.
Had it been a dream?
Wait. I went to hunt Luxka, didn't I?
How had she gotten home?
"Miss Rize, it's Malone."
"Malone! Come in!"
"Miss Rize...?! You're awake!"
Malone rushed inside.
Before he could burst into tears of joy, she grabbed him.
"How did I get here?"
"You were found collapsed in front of the estate."
"Were there any other people with me?"
"Other people? When I found you, you were alone."
He shook his head.
"I see. That's good."
Then seeing Cassium really had been a dream.
In her feverish state, she had smiled instinctively when she saw him.
Maybe she had simply been glad to see a familiar face after several days.
No.
More likely she had just been relieved to see a living human being while she was practically dying.
So she had somehow made it home on her own.
My homing instinct is honestly impressive.
Then again, something similar had happened before.
Back when she was still a cadet at the Academy.
During training, she had gotten lost in a monster-infested forest that was like a giant maze.
She fought monsters for hours.
Her consciousness grew hazy.
And after that, she remembered almost nothing.
The next thing she knew, she had woken up in front of the camp.
She had spent ages wondering how she'd gotten back.
Maybe it had really been instinct.
Then suddenly—
Wait.
"THE GOLDEN RABBIT!!"
"M-Miss! Please don't get up! Your injuries are serious!"
"Malone, have you seen the rabbit?"
"The rabbit? That rabbit?"
"You saw him?"
"No. You were alone when I found you."
Rize's eyes widened.
Her lips trembled.
Oh no.
I left the rabbit in the mountains!
My rabbit is a house rabbit!
