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Chapter 07
Inside the house, Pera had just finished tending to the last of the wounds and was now cleaning up the clinic.
Ray, beside her, was buttoning up his shirt.
His original clothes had been torn beyond repair, so he was wearing one of Harun’s spares. But the size difference between the two was so great that the sight was almost uncomfortable to look at. Strangely enough, the man himself showed no sign of dissatisfaction.
In silence, each went about their tasks. Then—
Tap, tap, tap.
Tiny footsteps echoed, and the boy proudly stomped his way up to Ray. His long golden tail swayed back and forth like a curious antenna, testing the air around him.
“Ray!”
“Hm?”
The instant Ray answered, Theo threw both arms up and began to chatter away. His small mouth moved endlessly, as if he had been holding back a flood of words.
“Rayyy, outside the rabbit smell sooo tasty! My mouth is watering!”
!”
“Is that so?”
Ray responded as though it were nothing and wiped the boy’s mouth. Indeed, Theo’s cherry-red lips were drenched, as if he’d been drooling buckets. Even as Ray dabbed at him, the boy’s tiny tongue flicked out, licking away what remained.
“W-wait a second!”
Pera burst out in shock.
He just casually accepts that the crown prince is drooling over the smell of rabbit beastfolk?!
Her protest made Theo beam even brighter, his still-wet lips stretched in a broad grin.
“Pera, how many rabbits live here?”
“Y-Your—no, Theo? Why do you want to know that…?”
She forced a smile, though her lips twitched awkwardly. Theo leaned in, covering his mouth with both hands as if whispering a secret.
“Because I’m gonna sneak and eat one.”
“Absolutely not!!”
Pera shrieked so loudly that even Ray let out a hiss of air—no, not air. A laugh.
He laughed?! The prince just said he’d eat a villager, and he laughs?!
Her face burned with fury, and she glared daggers at the snow leopard man. Predator or not, knight or not—if he wanted a fight, she would see it through to the end.
At last, Ray sobered, mouth pressed into a thin line.
“Theo, stealing a rabbit’s carrots isn’t allowed.”
“Mm? But I was gonna snatch them secretly!”
“Secretly taking them is worse. You should ask for them honestly.”
“Ah! That makes sense!”
With great enlightenment, the boy clapped his hands together.
Pera, who had been ready to throw her body in front of the prince, stared at them blankly.
“…Carrots?”
“Mm. He likes carrots.”
“Carrots! Carrots!”
Theo pressed his small hands to his head like rabbit ears and began to hop about. Adorable, yes, but Pera had no strength left to coo over him—not after the shock of hearing he had drooled over rabbit folk.
Again, Ray’s low laugh escaped him.
“When he was little, he fell in love with a picture book about a rabbit hero with a carrot sword.”
“Yeah! Teo loves carrots, and Teo loves rabbits too!”
His golden eyes curved into a smile so sweet it was impossible to resist.
“Then why did you yank Harun’s ears like that? I thought you liked rabbits.”
“Mm… I dunno. My hand just moved.”
The instinct of a tiger cub upon waking to find a herbivore before him—that was the truth of it.
The world of beastfolk was… more complicated, and more headache-inducing, than Pera could ever have imagined. She rubbed at her temple.
At least it wasn’t the rabbits themselves that made him drool, but their carrots. And there were plenty of carrots in storage. She decided she’d use this chance to cook them all up.
Unfortunately, her plan lasted all of ten seconds.
“But I like meat better.”
Ray’s words cut it down mercilessly. He went on to mention that protein was necessary for a fast recovery, his tone carrying just enough weight to press on her nerves.
Pera had been on the verge of running to the neighboring village for a little ham, but with him phrasing it like that, she almost wanted to refuse out of spite.
Of course, she couldn’t. She was just a human commoner. He was a predator knight guarding a crown prince. One wrong word, and her clinic would be shut down by nightfall.
Suppressing a sigh, she pushed open the clinic door with a bright smile.
“Shall we go buy some meat from the next village, then?”
“Yayyy!!”
“…Hmph.”
The prince’s sparkling eyes and the knight’s weary grunt made it impossible to tell who was the real master here.
Knock, knock.
The village headman, Hadan, hurried outside, two children clinging to his waist—thirteen-year- and fifteen-year-old Hami.
Their round eyes sparkled with curiosity as they peered up at the strangers.
“Your tail is so long!”
“Your ears are round!”
“And yellow!”
It was the same reaction the other young rabbits in the yard had shown moments ago.
Theo puffed up and let out a growl.
“Rawr!”
Cute, but sharp enough to make Hanun, Hami, and even the headman flinch. Pera quickly stepped between them.
Last night, she and Harun had agreed to introduce the boy as a leopard beastman, not a tiger. Still, with the headman’s keen eyes, there was no guarantee the ruse would hold.
“Ray? Could you take Theo outside for a bit? I need a word with the headman.”
Ray gave a short nod and led the boy out to the yard. Hanun and Hami scampered after them, despite their father’s repeated warnings not to make trouble.
Only then did Hadan turn back to Pera, lowering his voice.
“So… those two were the ones in the accident yesterday?”
“Yes. Theo and Ray.”
“They’re nobles, aren’t they?”
He went straight to the point. Pera hesitated, then slowly nodded.
Her confirmation made the headman groan aloud.
“Great heavens… Not only predators, but nobles as well?! What will such great people ever find satisfying in a small place like ours?”
He trembled, fear gnawing at him. Nearby villages had once angered the nobility and been scattered to the winds. Was Timi destined to share that fate?
Especially that towering snow leopard with the cold blue eyes—Hadan could already imagine the man drawing a blade.
“Still… we can’t exactly throw them out, can we? I’ll take full responsibility for caring for them.”
Smiling as though she had never once urged them to leave, Pera reassured him.
The headman, himself a rabbit beastman, could not hope to bear such a burden. His expression shifted between guilt and relief before he finally thanked her.
“By the way, could I borrow the wagon? Our guest says he wants meat.”
“…Meat?!”
The headman’s face twisted as if she had spoken of barbarism itself. His eyes flicked toward the tall man standing near the fence.
The stranger was two heads taller than Hadan’s eldest son Harun. And though gravely injured yesterday, today he walked with ease, the picture of health.
So that’s it… such monstrous recovery must come from eating meat.
His mind accepted it, but his expression remained sour. To a rabbit beastman who had lived on vegetables his whole life, predator appetites were another world entirely.
Seeing his discomfort, Pera realized it would be best to avoid contact with the other adults.
“At least since we’re going… would you like me to bring anything back for the village?”
“Mm… perhaps some cabbage seedlings. It’s time the little ones learned.”
“Yes, of course!”
Her cheery answer made the headman smile faintly. He soon hurried off to fetch the wagon.
It was old and worn, but it had been the village’s only means of travel for over a decade.
Handing Pera the reins, Hadan couldn’t resist giving one last round of fatherly nagging, as he always did.
