180 - I Got Engaged to a Blind Duke
“Rabbit, I’m here.”
Marin, carrying a basket full of meat, headed towards the cabin, and BaniBani excitedly approached her.
Behind Gerald, who was watching his beloved woman and a Monster, a Shadow Egg quietly appeared.
“Reporting. Two children discovered BaniBani today.”
“Didn’t we block access to the cabin for the villagers?”
“Yes. But it seems we couldn’t control the children.”
“Increase the perimeter security.”
“Yes.”
After the Egg disappeared discreetly, Marin’s gaze, as she handed meat to BaniBani, reached Gerald.
“Did you encounter children?”
“So I’ve heard.”
Marin looked at BaniBani, who was diligently eating the meat, with a dark expression.
She hadn’t locked the cabin door, just in case BaniBani wanted to return to where he originally lived. Even the Shadows would only guard the vicinity if BaniBani tried to go somewhere, without stopping him.
He was a pet to her, but how scary would he be to young children?
She trusted BaniBani, but what if the children approached and got hurt?
Just imagining it was heartbreaking and terrible.
“We should send him away, right?”
Marin whispered softly in a sad voice.
Gerald, considerate of her feelings, simply nodded slightly in agreement.
An empty wind blew through her heart.
No matter how precious Rabbit was, she couldn’t put people in danger.
As if to comfort her saddened heart, Gerald wrapped his arm around her shoulder.
BaniBani, who had been tearing at the meat, seemed to sense that the atmosphere was strange and looked at her cautiously.
Marin forced a smile and stroked Rabbit’s head.
“Is it delicious?”
BaniBani nodded as if he understood.
She could feel the Monster's symbolic silver eyes carefully examining her face.
Even when she raised him in the past, Rabbit quickly noticed her gloomy mood.
BaniBani put down the grilled meat and brought his round head to her chest.
“Rabbit……”
Marin was overwhelmed and couldn’t continue speaking.
In the past, whenever she cried or felt depressed, he would come to her like this and bring his round head to her chest.
As if he knew that stroking him would make her gloomy feelings disappear.
He had grown too big to fit entirely in her arms now, but Marin stroked BaniBani’s fur as she had done in the old days.
“You remember? But I’m okay, Sister is not sad.”
Gerald, who had been tense when Rabbit brought his head to Marin’s chest, relaxed at her words. And he was surprised once again.
He was doing the same things he did when he was Rabbit in the past.
“Lord Gerald, I’m sorry. Just a little longer, let me be with him just a little longer.”
Marin looked back at Gerald and said earnestly.
“Alright.”
Marin gently pulled BaniBani away from her chest and picked up the meat, offering it directly to him.
“Eat a lot. Sister will bring you more grilled meat.”
BaniBani’s eyes sparkled as he took the meat into his mouth. The silver eyes that held Marin in them shone as if he was happy.
The village children gathered in a circle in the clearing, heads together.
As the children’s gazes focused on him, Ronnie said confidently.
“I went to the mountain, and there were no wolves.”
“My mom definitely said there were.”
Joseph drooped his eyebrows and retorted.
In response, Ronnie looked around once and then whispered a secret he had been hiding for days.
“There’s a Rabbit instead of a wolf. I saw it.”
“Rabbit?”
“Yeah. But it’s incredibly big! That’s why the adults tell us not to go up the mountain.”
“Because of a Rabbit?”
Joseph’s eyes widened as if he was dumbfounded.
“Rabbit, five fingers!”
Mini, who was squatting in the center of the circle of children, stretched out both arms wide.
Ronnie folded Mini’s arms back in and continued speaking.
“I’m telling you. It’s not a normal Rabbit, that’s why. That’s why the adults tell us not to go.”
“Then can we go play in the mountain?”
Joseph asked back with hopeful eyes.
He was already bored to death because he couldn’t go to the mountain. If their parents saw them, they would make them do chores, which was tiring and annoying. They needed a place to escape their parents’ eyes.
“If you go to the other side, away from where the Rabbit is, you can play in the mountain.”
“Let’s go! Let’s go!”
“Still, I’m not going. My mom said she’ll scold me if I go.”
“I can’t go either. Sorry.”
Some dropped out, and the remaining children’s eyes lit up.
And so, Ronnie, Mini, Joseph, and chubby Brie headed to the mountain.
Brie, who was lagging behind the group on the uphill path, panted.
“Guys, let’s go a little slower.”
“Brie. You usually don’t want to go to the mountain, why did you come today?”
Joseph asked with an annoyed expression, and Brie scratched his head and laughed.
“Hehe. Since the other kids aren’t going, I can go this time.”
The truth was, he didn’t avoid the mountain because he disliked it, but because the other children didn’t include him.
Because he was slow due to his chubby build.
“Joseph, coward.”
Mini stepped forward, thinking that Joseph was bullying Brie.
“You little thing. Who’s the coward!”
As Joseph got angry at Mini, Ronnie blocked his younger sister and frowned.
“Hey! Why are you picking on Mini?”
“Mini called me a coward.”
Ronnie looked troubled as he saw Mini, who had learned the word coward.
She didn’t even know what it meant, but she kept calling her mom and dad cowards for the past few days because she found the word funny. Each time, he had to put his bread in Mini’s mouth.
“She’s still young.”
As Ronnie calmly reasoned, Joseph looked at Ronnie with a dumbfounded expression.
“We’re young too.”
“I’ve rested enough, shall we go now?”
Brie, who had been following from behind, chimed in with good timing.
“Yeah. Let’s go, let’s go.”
Ronnie took Mini’s hand and led the way.
Joseph grumbled but pushed Brie’s back, who was lagging behind.
Soon, they arrived at the clearing where they often played.
It was a place where lumberjacks often rested, with several cut tree stumps.
It was perfect for playing by climbing over the large tree stumps, and the deep cave that a fox had dug and left was perfect as the children’s secret hideout.
“Wow, is this your secret cave?”
“Brie hasn’t seen it before, right? Do you want to go inside?”
Ronnie introduced the cave as if he was the leader.
“Can I even fit in there?”
Brie hesitated as he wiped the sweat he had shed from coming here.
“The entrance is just a bit small, but the inside is wide and deep.”
Mini quickly went into the cave first.
“Brie. Come in. Let’s play house.”
“Mini, I told you to call him Brie Oppa.”
As Mini waved from inside, Brie took a deep breath and curled his body into a ball, squeezing himself into the cave.
The cave entrance was definitely narrow.
As Joseph and Ronnie pushed from behind, Brie popped into the cave.
“Wow. The inside is wide. There’s even a wooden sword here?”
Brie, who had entered the cave, looked around at this and that as if he was amazed.
“Uh, uh, be careful with that. Those are our treasures.”
As Joseph entered, Mini said another word to Joseph.
“Joseph, coward.”
“Hey, are you going to keep doing that?”
Mini, who had giggled, came out of the cave as if running away and clung to Ronnie.
Ronnie sighed and looked down at Mini.
“Mini. Coward is not a good word. Stop it.”
“Okay.”
Mini nodded innocently.
She answered well. She would definitely say it again soon.
“Ronnie, you come in too. Let’s pick wooden swords and have a sword fight.”
Joseph glared at Mini once and then called Ronnie.
“Okay.”
Just as Ronnie was about to enter the cave, Mini poked his side.
“Oppa……”
“Why?”
Mini pointed to one place with a trembling finger. Ronnie turned his gaze, following the small finger.
Under the blue leaves, a large gray rock was crouching.
Ronnie’s eyes widened.
It wasn’t a gray rock. A gray wolf as big as a large rock was drooling and glaring at them.
“Kuaaaaaak!”
At the thunderous roar that shook the mountain, the leaves trembled.
“Kyaaaaaa!”
A scream erupted from Mini’s small mouth, her eyes as wide as they could be.
