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Chapter – 18
“Welcome.”
The woman Solitaria had seen that day stood up from her seat and greeted her. Unlike her commanding presence back then, she was now polite and composed.
Perhaps it was because she was as small as Solitaria. To Heinrich, she had seemed so tall.
“Please, have a seat.”
The woman kindly pulled out a chair for her, then stood in front of her and smiled brightly as she introduced herself.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Lienna. As you heard the other day, I’m a sloth beastkin. Ah! I don’t have a family name. My family doesn’t exist.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Solitaria.”
Startled by Lienna’s sudden approach, Solitaria flinched and stepped back slightly.
“Oh, was I too close for comfort? Sorry about that. My eyesight is really poor, so I have to get close to distinguish things clearly.”
“Could you step back a little?”
“Oh! Okay, sure.”
Lienna raised her hands to show she wouldn’t cause any trouble and took two or three steps back. Solitaria, curious, asked her a question.
“…But why do you smell… fishy?”
“Fishy… smell?”
“Is something wrong?”
As Solitaria covered her nose and asked, Raon hurriedly came closer to Lienna.
“No… no, it’s nothing. It’s just… a fishy smell…”
“Fishy smell? What’s that?”
Raon sniffed, apparently unable to detect anything, and scratched his head.
Then Lienna smiled and answered.
“I stopped by the seaside for a bit before coming here. Maybe the smell stuck to me.”
“No, even if that’s true, you’ve been in Hirups for over a week… how is that possible…”
“Oh, I was handling some research materials from that area, so I guess the smell didn’t come off. Some land-dwelling beastkin are sensitive to it. I guess you’re one of them. I’ll be more careful when I come to see you next time.”
Her playful tone made Solitaria frown. No matter how she looked at her, her instincts as a rabbit were screaming suspicion.
Noticing Solitaria’s gaze, perhaps, Lienna clapped her hands to lighten the mood.
“Anyway, I’ve prepared a curriculum focused on what you want to learn. Within a year, you’ll become the most perfect lady on land. Of course… it’ll be tough.”
“…”
Solitaria thought about saying it would be enough to avoid being scammed outside, but decided against it. Sharing personal information with someone she didn’t fully trust felt foolish.
Seeing Solitaria stay silent, Lienna smiled faintly.
“You don’t like talking about yourself, do you?”
“Can we just focus on the lessons? Three hours isn’t that long.”
“Oh my, yes, three hours. But don’t worry. If you turn all three hours into homework, you can achieve it in a year.”
The conversation seemed to skip over something important.
Lienna’s eyes were captivating, stealing anyone’s gaze. They seemed like a common brown at times, yet at other times they resembled Solitaria’s.
When Solitaria tried to stare more intently, Lienna mysteriously stepped back.
“Today I planned to start with some basic walking techniques, but with this smell, it might be difficult. Most lessons involve being close to me. Let’s end here for now.”
Looking at the clock, less than 30 minutes had passed.
Before Solitaria and Raon could react, Lienna packed her things and left.
“From tomorrow, there won’t be such free time, so enjoy it while you can today.”
As the door closed, the strange, unpleasant smell vanished too. Only then did Solitaria breathe a sigh of relief and asked Raon if this was allowed.
According to Raon, as long as there was no harm done and Solitaria’s wishes were respected, it was fine.
“She’s hard to read. Makes you feel uneasy too.”
Solitaria looked at her hands. They were soaked with sweat from nervousness. Raon handed her a handkerchief, silently agreeing. Even he didn’t have a good feeling about her.
But even after shaking out all the wolves of her family, Lienna appeared impeccably clean, not allowing even a speck of flaw.
Perhaps that was what made Solitaria feel so unsettled.
“Raon?”
Raon shook off his thoughts and smiled at Solitaria. He didn’t want to unsettle her further.
“There won’t be anything dangerous. I’ll always be by your side.”
Hearing this, Solitaria smiled faintly, turning her earlier unease into a pleasant feeling.
“If I don’t tell Master about this unexpected free time, I think I might like you even more, Raon.”
Solitaria spoke mischievously, smiling. Raon rubbed his forehead.
He remembered Heinrich’s instructions:
‘Make sure our lovely rabbit doesn’t run off.’
Even with that in mind, Raon quickly dismissed it.
“Of course. I’m on your side, after all.”
Raon teased lightly. Solitaria smiled and said she would return to her room.
Raon was puzzled, but she didn’t explain. She only asked him to bring her some fruit.
“Thanks, I’ll be going now.”
“I have to stay right here anyway.”
“You’d better go to Master quickly, though.”
Only when she gave him that sly smile did Raon realize something was wrong.
Clang! The sound of the door locking echoed before him. Of course, Raon or Heinrich could have forced it open, but she hadn’t left that option.
In that brief moment, her cleverness in thinking of a way to separate from Heinrich and her meticulousness in bringing fruit made Raon laugh bitterly.
Heinrich had been right.
The woman who locked the door was indeed a cunning rabbit.
Heinrich looked at the closed door and laughed ruefully. When Raon arrived, he scolded him for being there, but the news Raon brought was unexpectedly cute: the disruption in his schedule was because of Lienna.
Of course, what displeased him most was…
“Sol, open the door.”
“……”
Solitaria pretended not to know him.
He heard the sound of her eating something, but the moment she heard his voice, she faked sleep.
“I know you’re not asleep.”
“Hmph, hmph. I’m skipping dinner today.”
Thinking she was trying to pretend to be sick, he listened carefully. Solitaria’s footsteps ran quickly toward the door, then paused. Heinrich thought, Of course. I’m not like Raon. She’ll open the door for me.
“What does skipping dinner have to do with locking the door?”
Clang, clang. Not only had she locked the door, but she had wrapped something around it, and the sound of metal clashing came from within.
“I already ate dinner. Raon packed the fruit really nicely.”
“Alright, I get it. Skipping dinner is fine, but the door…”
“Oh, the teacher said I won’t get free time like this again, so I should relax and do what I want.”
Solitaria replied cheerfully, humming along with the sounds of her tinkering. Heinrich sighed, realizing she had no intention of opening the door today.
“Alright, do as you wish. Just handle the consequences yourself.”
Solitaria tilted her head in confusion.
That wolf isn’t one to give up easily. A chill ran down her spine.
Beyond the door, Heinrich smirked as if he knew exactly what Solitaria was thinking.
“I mean it. I won’t bother you today. Do what you want.”
“Are you feeling unwell?”
“Don’t you understand my sincerity? Rest now, see you tomorrow.”
Solitaria pictured Heinrich’s smiling face.
After hesitating at the door for a while, she stomped her feet and plopped back onto the bed.
“I won’t be fooled this time, really.”
Heinrich was gone. The hallway was silent. Solitaria soon let go of thoughts of him and lay down, blinking her eyes.
She wondered if he had really left. Nothing happened outside, and it was quiet. Suddenly, being alone made her heart flutter.
When she had been with Heinrich, the room had felt small, but now it felt…
“So big!”
