“Then, Lady Rize, we’ll see you next time.”
“Yes. I’ll visit after the next fortnight passes.”
“You’re always welcome to come even before then.”
Julius smiled brightly.
Seeing that smile made me feel like my mind was being purified, and I ended up smiling back.
He truly possessed a sacred virtue that always soothed people’s hearts.
“Piiing.”
Meanwhile, the gold rabbit that had slipped into my bag looked completely unpurified, wearing an irritated expression.
“Gold Rabbit, did you fight with Lord Julius?”
“Lady Rize, how could I possibly fight such a cute creature?”
Julius laughed, taking my words as a joke.
Right. Julius didn’t know that the gold rabbit had originally been a human.
To him, it was just a clever little beast.
The gold rabbit snorted and turned its head away without saying a word.
So they did fight.
‘Of course, from the gold rabbit’s perspective, it was probably just one-sided resentment.’
But what reason would the gold rabbit even have to fight Julius?
‘In the original story, Lili even learned how to use holy power from Julius and they got along well. Unless the gold rabbit isn’t Lili…’
No, there I go again.
“Pii.”
The gold rabbit urged me to leave quickly.
“Then, Lord Julius, thank you for today as well.”
“Not at all. Please send a telegram once you return inside.”
“Pii? Ping?”
The gold rabbit glared at Julius, as if asking why on earth he needed a telegram.
It seemed they really had fought.
I quickly calmed the gold rabbit, who looked ready to leap out of my bag and rush at Julius.
“Let’s go back and eat something delicious, Gold Rabbit.”
We left the temple and got into a hired carriage.
If it were just going back to the count’s estate, we could’ve walked since the weather was nice—but there was somewhere else we needed to go.
“…Take me to ___.”
I quietly told the coachman our destination so the gold rabbit wouldn’t hear.
The gold rabbit curled up inside my bag, quietly watching the scenery outside.
But when it noticed we weren’t heading toward the count’s estate, it looked at me.
“Pii?”
“Oh. Well…”
I trailed off without answering.
Eventually, the carriage stopped in front of a gate blooming with yellow roses.
“Ehem.”
I cleared my throat as I looked at the gate and at the gold rabbit staring at it.
‘Do you know where this is, Gold Rabbit?’
I asked silently in my mind.
This was the Selverdin Baron’s mansion.
In other words, Lili’s home.
The gold rabbit blinked several times.
‘Seems like it recognizes it.’
But I didn’t come here to test the gold rabbit.
I came to confirm something.
“I’d like to meet Baron Selverdin.”
After leaving the gold rabbit temporarily with the servants, I waited in the reception room.
Soon, the baron entered.
“Greetings, Knight Artiella.”
“It’s been a while, Baron.”
We weren’t meeting for the first time; we had seen each other at a banquet hosted by the imperial family.
A servant set tea and refreshments on the table.
Baron Selverdin gestured for me to help myself.
He opened his mouth, closed it, then opened it again, repeating this a few times before finally speaking impatiently.
“So, um… may I ask what brings an imperial knight to our humble barony? Or are you here on behalf of the count’s family?”
His eyes flickered with expectation, as if waiting for good news.
At first, it was probably best to meet that expectation.
Going straight to the point would seem suspicious.
“About your recent timber supply business. How would you feel about cooperating with House Artiella?”
My uncle wasn’t exactly good at managing business affairs.
So if I framed it this way, even if Selverdin Baron contacted us later, he would probably think he had been the one to propose it.
At my words, the baron’s face brightened.
“Of course, that would be wonderful!”
“Please discuss the details with the count next time. You may contact us through House Artiella’s representative.”
“Yes!”
The baron nodded repeatedly.
And as soon as his guard loosened, I casually brought up what I actually wanted to ask.
“I heard you have a daughter. I didn’t see her while walking through the estate— is she out?”
Now that I thought about it, Lili might not have become a rabbit yet.
So I wanted to confirm whether she was currently missing.
“Ah, well…”
The baron sighed and shook his head.
“Don’t you know how these young girls these days are? I thought it was someone else, but it turned out to be my own child. She ran away from home.”
Clicking his tongue, the baron frowned.
“Ran away?” I repeated.
“Yes. She didn’t understand how fortunate she was to live off her family’s support.”
And whose fault was that?
In the original story, Lili had always wanted to leave home and often poured those feelings into her diary.
It seemed that after Lili disappeared, the baron had read it.
Even so, to speak so carelessly in front of a stranger about his missing daughter…
“But still… aren’t you worried?” I asked.
“Worried? She’ll learn the value of what she had after suffering outside for a while.”
The baron gritted his teeth.
His expression was so harsh that even the gold rabbit would’ve been startled.
“You have a young nobleman of similar age in House Artiella, don’t you? Ah, of course, I’m sure he’s different.”
He wasn’t worried at all— only angry.
It was a relief the gold rabbit wasn’t here to see this, if it really was Lili.
‘So she really is missing right now.’
I stood up.
“Then have a peaceful evening, Baron.”
“Oh, you’re leaving already?”
The baron quickly stood as well, seeing me off with a strangely cheerful expression.
This was the kind of cheerful farewell I had once wished for from the gold rabbit—but instead, I was receiving it from Baron Selverdin.
“Gold Rabbit, let’s go.”
After retrieving the gold rabbit from the servants, I headed back to the carriage.
“Pii.”
What was the gold rabbit thinking back there?
“Gold Rabbit… do you perhaps want to live somewhere other than our house? Somewhere like this place? It’s better than the annex of the count’s estate. How about living here?”
“Ping?”
The gold rabbit looked at me as if I was talking nonsense.
“Just kidding.”
Good. That’s probably for the best.
During the ride back, the gold rabbit stayed curled up right next to me, as if afraid I might leave it behind.
‘Gold Rabbit…’
Inside the rocking carriage, I looked at it and thought.
‘You really are Lili, aren’t you?’
“Pii.”
I was lying face down on my bed in my room, staring at the gold rabbit.
‘There’s no way… right? There’s no way the gold rabbit could be Cassium.’
I slapped my cheek.
I had just confirmed that Lili was gone! So why was I still thinking this?!
“Pii?”
“Ah, Gold Rabbit.”
Even while thinking that, I ended up smiling foolishly and petting it.
‘Let’s sort this out. Reasons why the gold rabbit could be Cassium, and reasons why it couldn’t.’
First, why it could be Cassium.
‘If Cassium really disappeared, he might have transformed into something else.’
Not necessarily a rabbit— maybe something else entirely, or not fully transformed.
Second.
‘The eyes are similar. Golden eyes.’
Cassium also had golden eyes.
Of course, even if he turned into a rabbit, physical traits might not carry over, but still—it was a similarity.
Third.
‘There’s something about the gold rabbit that reminds me of Cassium. Like the occasional indifferent expression.’
Maybe that was why I kept thinking of Cassium whenever I looked at it.
“Don’t do this! Captain!”
Hedell’s voice shouting while looking at the gold rabbit flashed through my mind.
Was that why Hedell reacted like that too?
Because he thought the gold rabbit resembled Cassium?
“Hmm…”
I buried my face in the pillow, then lifted it again and stared at the gold rabbit.
Alright, then reasons why it isn’t Cassium.
‘First, Lili is gone. She probably became a rabbit. Then the gold rabbit is most likely Lili.’
I didn’t think the world would unfold exactly like the original story.
But the original story still represented a certain tendency of the world.
Events that were likely to happen unless something interfered.
That sense of “narrative inevitability” manifested similarly in reality.
‘So the gold rabbit is likely Lili.’
And the second reason it isn’t Cassium is…
“Pii?”
The gold rabbit stretched out a paw and placed it on the back of my hand.
Then it patted me gently.
It probably thought I was worrying too much.
‘How cute.’
That was the second reason.
The gold rabbit was just too cute.
There’s no way Cassium could be this cute.
“Pii?”
The gold rabbit tilted its head adorably.
