A tacit bond has recently been formed between Ahin’s mother, Madam Valence, and I.
The tea time in the rose garden was always held at the same time. After Meimi left, secret things were done, which was a practice to control pheromones.
“Come to the rose garden after lunch every day.”
Madam Valence suggested that I had to learn how to control it as the unique pheromones appeared day by day.
Yes. The strange energy I felt in my body the other day was pheromones. It was theoretically impossible, but it might be the first step toward humanization.
I burned with fighting spirit and waited for this time every day, and according to Madam Valence’s opinion, I was quick to learn and said that I was on a roll.
Of course, the compliment’s authenticity couldn’t be confirmed because she showed a strange kind of favor to me.
“Baby, take your time to breathe. Calm down. That’s right.”
Sitting on the table, I breathed steadily according to the instructions and focused on the energy in my body. The energy spread throughout the body felt more stable than yesterday’s practice.
“At that point, gather the pheromones back to [tnote keyword=”the energy center”]단전 (Danjeon) or Dantian in Chinese translated as “elixir field”, “sea of qi”, or simply “energy center”. It describes what’s believed by some to be the seat of life force energy in the body.[/tnote] as if you were hiding them.”
It’s difficult …. I had absolutely no idea what it meant to hide it. It was a vague explanation, so I looked at the woman who was drinking her milk tea, then she spoke softly.
“Don’t rush. It doesn’t matter if you take your time slowly.”
I nodded then focused on gathering energy as I had been told.
Ten minutes later, as the practice continued, fatigue poured in. It took quite a bit of stamina to handle the pheromone, so it was almost like I might even take a nap.
“Great job. Let’s stop here today.”
Madam Valence stroked my head gently, then she held out the book she was holding in her arms. Her lips curled up softly as I looked at her with bewilderment.
“This may be a funny question, but do you know how to read this?”
I stared at her smile as if I was possessed, then nodded when I came to my senses.
I’ve never tried to write the continental language myself, but fortunately, I had no problem reading it. My mother did not lose hope even after I was 10 years old and made me learn knowledge as a shapeshifter with my eyes and ears.
“I’ll leave this book to Maimi, so read it when you have time. It might be quite helpful.”
Madam Valence hasn’t treated me as an ordinary rabbit from the moment she sensed my pheromones.
Nevertheless, I was glad that she didn’t take any action.
In the first place , it was difficult to understand the fact that a person who had the highest position in this mansion was wasting her time on me.
「The Theory of Pheromones」
With a strange feeling, I alternated my gaze between the book and her.
Returning to the bedroom, I immediately fixed the thick book with Maimi’s help. She placed heavy marble at both ends of the book to prevent it from falling over.
‘Okay.’
After a long day of serious practice, I stood with my front feet and pointed at the books. It couldn’t be helped, but it was a bit difficult to flip the pages with my front paws due to my appearance as a baby rabbit. For now, finding clues about pheromones was my only hope.
‘Definition of Pheromones.’
Pheromones are innate scents and energy that only shapeshifters have, and it appears as a unique ability, attack method, or superiority relationship.
It was said that rabbit shapeshifters usually develop pheromones such as agility, so was I the same type? No matter how much I thought about it, I didn’t think my ability was speed.
While reading the next chapter with many thoughts, I looked around the empty bedroom without reason.
‘Pheromones and Sex.’
This was also an education that shapeshifters were taught from an early age.
There were two coming-of-age ceremonies for shapeshifters in this continent. The coming-of-age ceremony for reaching sexual maturity at the age of 15, and coming-of-age ceremony in accordance to the norms at 18 years old.
Unlike humans, shapeshifters could be charmed by pheromones, so young shapeshifters tend to get caught up in their instincts. Therefore, it was specified as a norm so that pheromones could be used in relationships with the opposite gender from 15 onwards.
‘Hmm ….’
I frowned and passed this chapter without even skimming through it. I already knew it well so I didn’t have to study it.
At some point, the Levian family’s servants began to regard me as a pet rabbit, not a shapeshifter. Just because I couldn’t express myself even if I was able to think rationally
It seemed that it was around the time when my 15th coming-of-age ceremony had passed. It didn’t really matter. Since my life where I have been despised hasn’t changed anyway.
However, there was one annoying problem. As a child of an aristocratic family, I was provided with a luxurious bedroom. But because I was a rabbit, I lived on a cushion instead of a bed.
Sometimes the servants took advantage of that and used my room to share an affair. It was impossible to do that in the employee lodgings and there was no room to move around, it was also impossible to do that in stables or other places.
“Mr. Den, I think this is a little ….”
“There’s no one here. What’s wrong?”
At night, where no one would stop by my room, sometimes I could hear a rattling noise.
In the beginning I didn’t understand anything, but I came to understand later on.
They were well aware of the fact that even if I somehow managed to express my grievance, there wouldn’t be sanctions.
Thanks to the pheromones that flowed between them every time, there was no need to study the sex pheromone separately. What I remembered from the Levian family were mainly terrible memories
After turning my body several times, I put my front foot on the book again. There was no time to look back on the past.
‘ … Huh?’
In the midst of reading, I sensed something behind me. I didn’t know when they came, but when I turned my head, Ahin and Evelyn had already entered the bedroom.
Was it already late in the evening? I looked around the terrace, then turned my gaze to them again when I heard a strange noise.
‘Oh—’
Ahin covered his eyes with one hand and punched the wall with his fist. In addition, even Evelyn who had always maintained an expressionless expression, was glancing outright.
‘What’s wrong with him?’
I didn’t know what to say as I stared blankly at Ahin who was laughing. I’d never seen him laugh like that.
“Being with Ms. Rabbit, I’m seeing all the rarest sights of my life.”
Evelyn, who barely succeeded in managing his facial expression, spoke up.
“A bunny reading a book … ! I want to capture this scene in a portrait.”
Only then did I understand his reaction, so I looked down at the book. I couldn’t see myself, but it was ironic to imagine a rabbit standing seriously and putting its front paws above the book.
However, from the perspective of the person concerned, it was not something to laugh about.
“I think I’m going crazy—”
“Lord Ahin, please calm down. If you laugh too much, Ms. Rabbit will be heartbroken.”
Evelyn’s mouth was also twitching when he said that. His face was distorted as if he was holding back his laughter. After seeing that expression, the noise of Ahin knocking on the wall again followed.
After that, I took a deep breath and looked out the window, I looked out the window with teary eyes. I hate those rude black panthers. Truly hate them.
***
It was an unusual day when the mansion’s security seemed to have been exceptionally strengthened. The eyes of the knights looked even more fierce, and the employees looked more rigid than usual.
Ahin left the bedroom earlier than usual, and Madam Valence also notified that pheromone practice was impossible today due to her schedule.
She had suggested taking a walk near the small pond. There was nothing wrong with it, so I was sweeping the air as much as I could across the lawn.
‘What’s going on?’
The atmosphere was peaceful. As soon as I thought of that, the knight guard’s expression around me froze when we made eye contact.
‘ … Huh?’
I looked puzzled, then my body suddenly floated into the air. It was a strange touch, cautious but somehow seemed to be avoiding me. I wondered if it was Maimi, ao I turned around and saw a stranger looking down at me.
‘Who is it?’
It was my first time seeing this man since I came to this mansion. For a servant, his dark blue clothing and appearance were too luxurious.
Looking up at his pale pink hair and golden eyes, I wondered if he might be a herbivore.
It was said that ox shapeshifters tend to have such beautiful golden eyes.
When I thought about it I felt a sense of familiarity.
‘But why?’
Why was there a herbivore shapeshifter in the black panther’s mansion? However, with that said, it was difficult to explain my existence in this garden.
‘Are you a visitor?’
I snooped around with a friendly face. In the midst of all kinds of questions, the man who was staring at me suddenly covered his nose.
“… reeked of black panther.”
‘You’re not a herbivore shapeshifter.’
Only then did I get a hold of myself, so I hurriedly looked around.
The knights, who had already approached for a certain radius, looked bewildered, unable to stop or belittle his actions. It looked like they couldn’t punish this man recklessly.
‘Why?’
Perhaps he was a person who has a high status in this mansion that I’ve never encountered before. However, the man’s eyes were golden, not black panthers typical red eyes. When I turned my head again and looked at Maimi, she was also slightly frowned.
‘Ma-Maimi!’
After contemplating, I alternated my gaze between the man and Maimi. Just now, it was clearly sharp fangs that had just shone through his lips.
‘Who is he? Is he a wild beast?’
Since we had a relationship where we shared our daily lives, Maimi immediately noticed the unspoken question and nodded.
A wild beast.
Faced with her affirmation, my mind went blank.
‘Where else did this beast come from?’
I looked up at him with a frightening look. The face that used to be so beautiful now looked like a demon.
Comments (0)