CH 137

Sniff.

I patted my protruding nose with my front paw and looked around.

It was a natural behavior since the scent often judges the aura, but a faint scent of yellow joy bloomed from the side. 

‘Why are you laughing!’

I glared at Damon who bit his lips and tried to contain his laughter. He looked down at me for a moment as I slapped his foot with my front paws and then he opened his mouth and burst out laughing. 

“Ah, I’m laughing because it suits you so well.”

‘If possible, you should have turned me into the hunting hounds that Dietrich trained!’ 

Then it would have been easier for me to approach him.

Whether he knew of the complaint I had grumbled inside, he lifted me up, who had become a rabbit sporting light red hair. 

“I turned you into an animal with which you can have the most fun. I didn’t deliberately turn you into a rabbit.” 

Did that mean an animal I could have the most fun with was a rabbit? I had a better sense of smell than others so I thought I would turn into a hunting dog if I changed. 

As I proudly recalled the memory of searching for the pieces of Asmodeus with smell alone, I moved my nose.

‘So Dietrich is in Nature right now!’ 

Maybe it was because I was disguised as a rabbit but it was easier to detect people’s aura than usual. I jumped out of Deus’ arms and leaped out into the hallway.  

His office was one floor above my study so I had to climb the stairs.

‘I’m glad it’s an animal that’s good at running.’

“Oh? It’s a rabbit!”

‘Ack.’

Before the magic was released, I had to hurry up and find out what Dietrich was thinking but I couldn’t even approach the stairs and met an unexpected ambush. 

I smiled brightly and greeted Rose who hugged me. 

“It’s so pretty. The rabbit is light pink!” 

When Rose hugged me, I could smell the fresh scent of freesia. The bottoms of the children’s pants had grass as if they had just come in from the garden. 

“Rabbits are originally white. Is this one dyed wrong? It’s greying.”

‘This kid has a habit of pulling his sister’s ear!’ 

I counterattacked by hitting Riesling’s hands with both my hands when he touched my ear with a dung-like face.  

“Ouch. Rose, put it down. That rabbit is rude.” 

“It’s because you touched it recklessly. It’s quite meek in my arms, you see?” 

Still, among the triplets, Rose, who played the role of the eldest daughter, criticized Riesling like an adult. 

“I originally don’t particularly like people or animal who acts selfishly.” 

“When did I ever act selfishly?!”

“Then, did Marie cry for nothing?”

‘Who’s Marie?’ 

I tilted my head at the unfamiliar name that came out of Rose’s lips. It seemed that the triplets had already grown up a lot and already have their own private lives. 

‘It’s a child they never mentioned to me?’ 

Was she a friend outside the castle? When I wrinkled my nose out of curiosity, Rose gave off a yellow aura and squeezed me in her arms. 

“Aww. So cute! Should I raise it?” 

“Isn’t it a rabbit with an owner? There’s a ribbon on its neck.” 

Maslow calmly looked at me. 

The child shrugged as he flipped the blue string tied around my neck.

“There’s no name written on it.”

“What’s the point of naming a rabbit?”

“That’s the difference between us because you don’t have that kind of delicacy, you idiot.”

“I wanted Marie but you stole her from me!” 

I clapped my front paws at Riesling’s angry and fuming words. 

‘Have they already started having a crush?’

Kids these days were precocious. It felt like yesterday when he had been following only his sister saying he was going to marry Rose. 

‘Well, after winter is over, they would turn thirteen years old.’

“Riesling, Marie isn’t a thing so there’s no way she could be stolen.”

“Why not? Then, what about Dietrich?” 

I raised my ears at the sound of Dietrich’s name being mentioned out of nowhere. 

Hurry up and ask him what he meant! I tapped Rose’s hand to urge her and the girl smiled beautifully and patted my head. 

‘No, don’t touch me and ask him!’ 

Fortunately, Maslow picked up on Riesling’s conversation. 

“What about Dietrich?” 

“He told all the men who tried to ask Anissa for a dance at the ball –”

“To all the men?” 

‘So, what about all the men?!’

However, instead of speaking, Riesling moistened his lips and scratched the back of his fluffy head, and frowned. 

Soon, he just shut his mouth. 

“Ah, if I say this he’d kill me.” 

What the hell did he do to threaten a child like that? 

“Anyway, if Dietrich can do it then why can’t I?”

Rose clicked her tongue and shook her head at Riesling’s discontented question. The child soon slowly passed the hallway and stood in front of the stairs.

“Dietrich can’t either. That’s why he can’t say anything to Anissa.” 

‘Ack. I have to go up!’ 

Rose’s destination seemed to be downstairs. I struggled to get out of her arms and the child bent her head and looked at me with round eyes. 

“Hm? Is it stuffy?”

“Shouldn’t you release it outside?” 

“Should I? I wanted to raise it in my room but should I raise it in the forest connected to the backyard?” 

‘Forest….?’

I shook my head while raising my hair at Rose mumbling to herself. 

‘There are so many natural enemies of the rabbit in there!’

It was a forest where there were hawks controlled by the Lagrange estated and it was also where Dietrich often hunted bears. 

When I shook my head in a hurry, Rose smiled broadly as if she understood what I meant.

“Hm? I see, so you wanted to go outside!” 

‘She didn’t understand!’ 

Instead of finding out what Dietrich’s thinking, I think I’d probably be eaten by a hawk instead. 

As soon as Rose entered the garden, I bit the child’s hand and jumped down. 

Jump. 

Since it was soft grass, it didn’t hurt when I landed. 

“Hey Rabbit!” 

Surprised, Rose stooped to catch me, but I quickly moved my short legs and went out of the garden. 

‘If I go here, there should be another door, right?’ 

The rabbit’s body was faster than I thought so without the children being able to catch me, I arrived at the back door of Nature. 

As soon as I was about to step inside with confidence, someone grabbed me by the back of my neck.

Sniff. 

It’s a familiar smell. I wiggled my nose at the cool scent of mint. 

‘Dietrich!’

Thanks to the afternoon’s sunlight, Dietrich's eyes glowed red. 

“It’s been a while.”

‘What’s been a while?’

When I twitched my hind legs in a gesture of welcome, he sharply smirked. His aura turned yellow with joy. 

It was surprising to see that my head automatically tilted to the side. 

‘Did he like small animals like rabbits?’ 

“Rabbit meat.” 

"!"

It was only then that I remembered that Dietrich had filled his stomach with hunting when he was young that I flapped like a fish sticking out of the water to get away from him.

‘No!’

No! I’m not edible!

I got goosebumps all over my body that I wanted the magic to be released right away but since I wasn’t a wizard, I didn’t know the way. 

‘I should have asked Damon!’ 

Although he insisted that we had no money – not that I believe him anymore – Dietrich was no longer in a position where he had to hunt wild animals because he had nothing to eat. 

‘No, if you just go in and say a word, a skilled chef would bring you delicious food, so why!’ 

He held me in his arms, to put it correctly, he clasped me between his armpits so that I couldn’t escape, and I pounded on Dietrich’s chest as he headed towards the forest. 

But of course, he didn’t even budge. 

I tried to let out my claws, however, there was no such weapon on my front paws which were like balls of cotton. 

‘I should have asked him to disguise me as a hound!’ 

I came to regret it too late but it was all useless now. 

I thought we’d been walking for a long time, and it turned out that Dietrich had brought me to the forest of withered roses. 

I thought no one would come in and out anymore, but the vacant lot was quite well organized as if he had often visited.

‘It’s been a long time.’ 

Nature was rebuilt but the old Dahlia remained the same. Dietrich flopped down on the crumbling marble fountain.

“Stay still.” 

Then, he pressed down on my struggling head and stroked it. 

‘If you were me, would stay still when someone caught you and say they’d eat you?’ 

There was no snare to keep the animals tied, and there was no reason not to escape when an opportunity strikes. 

He tapped my nose which was trembling in tension. 

“.......You look a bit alike.” 

"?"

Who did he think of when he saw me who had become a rabbit? I wondered if there was a rabbit he had in the forest of withered roses, but I only remembered eating it together. 

‘I shouldn’t have eaten it….’

A late regret came to find me. Should I have taught him firmly that rabbits weren’t animals to be eaten? 

‘When can I escape?’ 

No, if I run away, I would lose the opportunity to know what he was thinking. 

‘I have to buy time somehow.’ 

He must have been really hiding his feelings in front of me because I could feel his aura much clearer than usual. 

I was amazed to see his gray aura shine bright in different colors that I opened my rabbit eyes wide. Despite everything, I was thinking of scrubbing my front paw in my face when he evaluated me in a small voice. 

“You look alike.”

".........."

“Is that why I don’t want to eat it?”

‘That’s great. That’s good thinking right there.’ 

Were you going to become a Grand Duke who would eat a wild rabbit just because there’s nothing to eat? 

I nodded eagerly at Dietrich’s soliloquy. As if he had changed his mind, he put me down beside him and stood up from his seat. 

‘Is he going?’

I still didn’t find out what he was thinking. 

‘You have to take me with you!’

I stretched out my front paws in panic, but Dietrich began to look around him instead of watching my actions. 

Wasn’t he gathering twigs from trees in a very familiar posture? 

"..............."

He’s not looking to kindle a fire, was he? I strained my ears and kicked up my hind legs.