Chapter 40
“Shouldn’t we check on Lilith?”
“His Grace said not to touch her, and she said the same. If something goes wrong because we interfere, it’ll be a huge problem.”
Yeah. Don’t touch me—I’m in a bad mood. Thankfully, they’d put a cover over the cage to shield the world from the prickly, grumpy rabbit who was sulking at everything.
With a moody expression completely unfitting for a cute bunny, she furiously chewed on her innocent hay. The hay tasted especially bitter.
“But what happens to Lilith if His Grace gets married and the Grand Duchess moves into the castle?”
“Maybe they’ll raise her together, or she’ll stay in Lilith’s care like now?”
“I hope so… but what if the Grand Duchess has animal allergies? Or hates rabbits?”
“Oh… I hadn’t thought of that. Then maybe they’ll have to move her to a separate hutch in the garden, or someone else might have to take her in.”
Plop. The rabbit dropped the hay she was chewing. It was as if a one-ton weight had fallen on her head. The rabbit was in shock.
If the person Teia marries hates me, am I going to be abandoned again?
Even if he can be a little mean sometimes, Teia likes to tease me. Would he really throw me away?
I’ve even been taking care of his rutting season for him…
Among both humans and monogamous animals, mating and such were reserved for one’s partner. Even if she wanted to insist, “Rabbits don’t do that kind of thing!”, Teia was human. He was the master, and she was employed. She had no right to object.
When she first signed the contract, she thought she’d live freely once it ended—but by now, Lilith hadn’t even considered the option of being separated from Teia.
At this moment, she didn’t realize it. All she could do was imagine the faceless Grand Duchess appearing and herself being discarded—rolling across the garden like trash.
Hrrrgh…
Now feeling three times worse, the rabbit shoved her face into a cushion and kicked her legs like a tantrum-throwing child.
Lilith’s gloom lingered for several more days.
There was a mountain of paperwork to catch up on after returning from the Kingdom of Asit and preparing for the marriage proposal party. They had to filter through noble families with daughters eligible to be Grand Duchess and send out invitations, then check all the replies.
While the attendants helped with minor chores, Teia personally reviewed everything related to the selection of the Grand Duchess.
He wasn’t particularly invested in the party itself, but it was a major event drawing everyone’s attention, so it couldn’t be handled carelessly.
Because of all this, Teia had no time for Lilith aside from briefly checking on her late at night while she slept. Since she’d gone to bed early, she never realized Teia had come to see her.
And so, Lilith ended up wrongly believing Teia hadn’t so much as cast a shadow near her for days.
Doing nothing and lazing around—this is paradise!
…That thought didn’t even last half a day.
Without anyone to play with, she grew bored and listless. She even began to miss the way Teia used to roughly grab her ears whenever he was in a bad mood.
And now that even the secretive, intimate nights spent snuggled up to Teia had vanished, she had involuntarily turned into a pious little rabbit.
Rabbits are known to go into heat just from a tap on the rear, yet Lilith was enduring a forced vow of celibacy.
If only she’d never known what it was like to be in heat—it might’ve been bearable.
Eventually, she sat there sulking, gnawing at an innocent cushion with her sharp front teeth, until she finally made up her mind:
Forget the rutting season—whatever! I’m going to see Master!
That day, Teia had finished work particularly late. Since it was so late, he’d dismissed all the servants and was soaking alone in the bathtub. His private bath was on the same floor as his bedroom, so there was no one else around—it was completely quiet.
Resting his chin on his folded arms at the edge of the tub, Teia was calculating how many days were left until the party. He had started planning it with the idea of choosing someone who would benefit the Grand Duchy, but now that the date was approaching, it all just felt bothersome and tedious.
If I cancel everything now, it’ll be chaos.
…Though that might be amusing too.
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