Tiger, Please Come Out of the Rabbit Hole! - Side Story 3

Side Story 3 

Unlike before, the hands felt small, but he could instinctively recognize it.

“…My companion.”

The other half of his soul that he met in an unstable state was different. His body had grown a lot, despite Eliza, who still maintained her young form.

But it didn’t matter.

She said that she would never give up on him while he was alive. He finally had one too. A partner that others naturally had.

That fact made the lump in his heart disappear.

Lennox didn’t bother to wipe away his flowing tears. He didn’t take his eyes off Eliza.

My one and only. My precious thing. Lennox carefully hugged his first thing. It was a moment when a ray of light seeped into his insignificant life.

Do all people feel this way when they have a companion?

An unfamiliar feeling prickled his chest. She had seemed pretty before, but now he was so in love with her that he thought he was going crazy.

My companion. My imprinted partner.

His life was no longer his alone. I couldn’t just throw it away. It was the same with Eliza. The possessive desire to have even a piece of her heart or a single strand of her hair reared its head.

In order to do that, there was something he had to do first.

He wanted to stay with her like this, but he knew that no one would be happy if he did that.

At least my companion shouldn’t be threatened.

To have Eliza as much as he wanted. So that she could live in a safe world. Lennox decided to change.

Lennox hesitated several times and then carefully lifted Eliza.

The overly light body didn’t seem to be in his arms. He could guess how she had been treated.

After leaving the mountain, he laid her down at a path where people could easily see her. Unlike him, Eliza wasn’t cursed, so there would be someone who would find and protect her.

He put her down, but his feet wouldn’t move. He wanted to see the pitch-black eyes that looked down at her. If he just lifted those eyelids, he could see them. A stubborn thought wouldn’t leave his head.

However, Lennox didn’t have much time. 

I’ll see you when I’m done. He repeated this to himself several times before finally getting up.

The little rabbit that saved his life.

Before he turned his body one last time, he whispered softly to Eliza.

“I’ll take responsibility for you for the rest of your life.”

***

Whack.

Every time his sword moved, a bright red wave rose. His disinterested eyes, like transparent glass beads, captured everything.

“S-save me!”

His sword was about to burst into flames again. It stopped in midair at the sound of his pleading voice.

“Is that all you have to say?”

“Why on earth are you trying to kill me too? I, I didn’t bully you!”

“….Ah.”

Lennox muttered disinterestedly.

“Come to think of it, you didn’t bully me?”

“T-that’s right! We were in the same situation. We were brothers who grew up without any attention from our parents. Right?”

In order to have better children and stronger bloodlines, the lords have many children. It was only natural that among many children, there were those who were ‘more useful’ and those who were ‘useless.’

“I swear. Even if you become the lord, I won’t harm you in any way. It’s clear. I really…….”

The man’s words stopped with red blood. The hardened lips of his supposed brother would never move again.

“I’m sorry. I wanted to take care of everything that might harm Eliza in advance.”

There was not a hint of guilt in his plain voice. Lennox swung his sword and wiped away the blood that had stained it.

“This side is also finished.”

The subordinate who returned after completing his mission reported the situation to him.

“Where else?”

“It’ll probably be back soon.”

It also meant that the processing was imminent. Lennox lifted his head with a short exclamation.

“It was longer than I thought.”

It was really too long.

Even more so when he included the ones that hadn’t been completely processed yet. Lennox furrowed his eyebrows with a dissatisfied expression.

Having dealt with multiple assassins, Lennox realized that he couldn’t do anything alone.

So as soon as he returned, he fell flat on his face. He cried and apologized to his parents who had sent the assassin. He just endured the bullying from his brothers.

During the day, he acted like an idiot, but at night, he viciously gathered his allies. Those who opposed the current lord. Those who did not like the real power. It didn’t matter who they were. He found those who shared his views and brought them to his side. 

When he had secured a certain amount of support, he got up from his crouching position. 

He didn’t have to endure it anymore. The first thing he aimed his sword at was his parents who were trying to kill him at every moment. 

The position of the lord was ultimately a fight between brothers. Isn’t that always the case with successors? They gauge who is stronger and compare each other. Lennox was simply revealing the series of processes without any exaggeration. 

Proof that he was stronger than anyone else. That fact was proven every time he killed his brothers one by one. 

“Where were the rest?” 

“They sensed something and ran out of the territory already.” 

“Tsk, they seem to have hurried quite a bit.” 

He clicked his tongue and took back his sword. It was also a silent sign that his business here was over.