With an utterly unexpected person right before his eyes, the rabbit almost reflexively screamed, but barely managed to cover his mouth with both front paws. His heart pounded so hard it felt like it would burst out of his throat, enough to completely chase away the pleasant drowsiness that had been stretching through him.
Why on earth were the Demon King and himself lying in the same bed?
Beni found it difficult to readily accept this entire situation. He tried to hastily recall what had happened last night, but his head was a jumbled mess.
In any case, escaping came first. Fortunately, the Demon King still had his eyes closed as if he were still sleeping, so at the very least, he had to get out of this bed before he woke up. It was the moment when the rabbit was slowly backing away without being able to take his eyes off the Demon King.
Squeak! Suddenly an arm wrapped around his body and Beni ended up letting out the scream he’d been holding back. Had the Demon King already been awake!?
His white body trembled violently, but unexpectedly, the Demon King still kept his eyes closed as he pulled the rabbit into his embrace.
“Sorry, did I startle you?”
The softly whispered question was affectionate. Unable to tell if he was talking to him, the rabbit just kept his mouth firmly shut and only raised his gaze upward to stare at his face. Enclosed within the Demon King’s arms as if surrounded, Beni could neither do this nor that.
‘Wh-what do I do…!’
Ruan gently stroked the rabbit with his other hand as its large eyes just rolled around. The affectionate touch swept from the small head down to the rump in less than a second.
“Ben, did you sleep well?”
Flinch—for a moment, he thought the Demon King had called his name. But listening carefully, he’d said “Ben,” not “Beni.”
“Little rabbit, why aren’t you answering me today?”
Only then did Beni realize what the Demon King currently thought he was. The Demon King had said he kept a rabbit. He was definitely mistaking him for that rabbit right now!
Even while fondling his entire body like this, the fact that he kept his eyes closed without a single doubt meant that rabbit must have an appearance very similar to his own. It was an odd coincidence that even the name was this similar.
Even now, Ruan was playing with the rabbit’s plump front paws and patting his rump.
Then where had the Demon King’s real rabbit gone? Once the rabbit learned that the Demon King was mistaking him for his pet, Beni’s movements became less cautious than before. It was the moment when Beni squirmed and poked his head out beyond the arm.
“That’s strange.”
His voice dropped much lower than before. Since becoming an animal made his animal instincts even stronger, the rabbit stopped moving right there.
“Ben always licks my cheek when I call him.”
Could it not be my rabbit? The instant the Demon King’s eyelids began to slowly lift, the rabbit startled and pounced toward the Demon King’s face.
Lick lick lick—Beni diligently flicked out his pink tongue and began licking the Demon King’s right cheek. Then fortunately, the Demon King’s eyes closed again. His lips curved in an arc as if satisfied.
“It is my rabbit after all.”
The rabbit very devotedly licked from his cheek to his chin, worried he might open his eyes again with suspicion. He’d never worked this hard even when grooming his own body. Ruan let out a low laugh as if the small, moist tongue tickled.
“Do you like me that much, Ben?”
‘Ben, I’m sorry. I’ve temporarily stolen the love you should be receiving.’
Beni apologized to the Demon King’s rabbit and licked in affirmation of Ruan’s question. Only after licking until his tongue was stiff did Ruan say that was enough and gently stroked the rabbit’s head. Even with his eyes closed, his touch had no hesitation.
That must mean he stroked his rabbit this often.
“Let’s sleep more, Ben. Come further into my embrace.”
When the Demon King lifted the inside of the blanket, Beni wriggled and burrowed inside. Perhaps because it was inside the blanket, it was toasty warm inside like entering a brazier.
Did the Demon King’s rabbit always… sleep in such a warm and cozy place? Beni momentarily wanted to insist intensely and powerfully that the Demon King raise him too. The Demon King’s chest was firm yet soft, and the scent wafting from him was somehow sweet.
The more comfortable this embrace became, the more Beni felt both envy and guilt toward the Demon King’s rabbit simultaneously blooming. Because he was currently pretending to be Ben, the real Ben couldn’t be in this comfortable embrace.
The rabbit obediently stayed in his embrace to wait for the Demon King to fall asleep again. Pat pat—with the hand regularly and gently tapping his side, the rabbit deliberately widened his eyes, worried he himself might fall asleep instead.
‘I should at least rack my brain…!’
How did he end up in this bedroom? Beni traced back through his poorly surfacing memories of last night.
He’d woken up from the cold at dawn, left his nest, and secretly wandered around Orte Palace. Then he stopped on the third floor and found a very pretty yellow brooch… and then!
He was chased and bitten by a huge green snake. And then, as if someone had dug out the memory, nothing came to mind—just a complete blank. However, the image of the snake rushing at him with sharp teeth bared and the terrible pain of fangs digging into his flesh were still vivid.
The only problem was that his bitten left thigh was far too fine. He felt no pain whatsoever, and rather, the muscles that had always been tense and stiff seemed to have loosened. Beni subtly lowered his gaze inside the blanket to look down.
‘…Cloth?’
White cloth was wrapped around his thigh. This was definitely a trace of treatment.
Ah…! Had the Demon King perhaps mistaken him and treated him because he couldn’t see well in the night? But if he’d kept the rabbit in his bedroom, shouldn’t the original rabbit have been inside the bedroom and he would’ve been caught right away? Had Ben happened to be away?
Beni made various hypotheses with a puzzled feeling, but nothing fit perfectly. After pondering like this for a while, Ruan’s hand stopped and the regular rising and falling of his chest was transmitted. This was thanks to the rabbit having his cheek completely pressed against Ruan’s chest.
Thud—his arm dropped onto the bed. The rabbit briefly watched for an opening before poking his head out from under the blanket. Properly examining the Demon King’s face, he seemed completely asleep. Though it was quite regretful to leave this warm and cozy embrace, it had never been his place to begin with.
Beni put his regret behind him and moved very carefully to distance himself from Ruan. Unable to even hop for fear the bed would vibrate, he tiptoed on all fours and looked down from the bed.
‘…It’s too high!’
The bed was higher than he thought. No matter that he was a demon race hybrid, he was just a rabbit’s body at best. If he jumped down recklessly from this height, he might get hurt. As Beni was worrying about what to do, he heard a rustling sound behind him.
The rabbit with both ears perked straight up turned around.
The Demon King must have moved, as his body that had been lying on its side was now facing forward. It didn’t seem like he’d woken up, so just as Beni was feeling relieved, his gaze caught on something. It was the blanket flowing down below the bed.
It must have gotten disheveled and slid down when the Demon King moved! What luck!
Beni immediately approached that spot, bit the blanket in his mouth, and lowered his body down. Then he put strength into his claws and stabbed down into the blanket. Thanks to being a carnivorous rabbit, Beni had sharper claws than other rabbits, allowing him to safely hang onto the blanket and descend below the bed.
‘Phew…’
Though it was merely getting down from the bed, for the small-bodied rabbit, it felt almost like descending a three-story building on a blanket. After catching his breath, Beni looked around. Perhaps because it was the Demon King’s bedroom, it was so enormously large that he couldn’t take it all in at once.
By his perception, it seemed about 100 times the size of the room he’d lived in at the estate. Where would the exit door be? Beni looked around while circling the bed. At the same time, he was looking in every nook and cranny, wanting to see the Demon King’s rabbit too.
Knock knock knock.
The sound of knocking was heard. Thanks to that, the rabbit could find the door, but that wasn’t the problem. The rabbit nimbly slipped under the bed. Almost simultaneously with Beni hiding his body, the door swung open. Clack clack—feet wearing shoes gradually approached the bed. A somehow familiar scent…
The rabbit sniffed with his pink nose.
“Your Majesty, it’s time to rise.”
Upon hearing the voice, he could know for certain. It was Marcel, the Captain of the Royal Guard who had visited his room. Of all people, to wake the Demon King…!
The anxious Beni’s eyes caught sight of the open doorway. This was thanks to Marcel not closing the door when he entered. Marcel happened to be preoccupied with waking the Demon King and also had his back to the corridor. The rabbit rolled his eyes around before carefully hop hop hopping and running toward the exit.
