RKDPMC 06

Chapter 6

Before she could even regain her senses, her vision suddenly widened, and she had returned from a rabbit to a human body.

Taking advantage of the moment when Jun Jiuyuan was distracted fighting the assassins, Woon Suk-eum hurriedly wrapped herself in a black robe, climbed through the window, and escaped.

Only after crouching down outside did she finally realize what had happened.

What just happened?

How had she turned back into a human?

Woon Suk-eum carefully retraced everything that had happened moments earlier.

Until then, everything had been normal.

There was nothing strange about the sudden attack by the assassins, and there was no reason to think that the attack itself had caused her transformation. Nothing unusual had happened before the assassins entered, either.

The only thing she could think of was that her lips had touched Jun Jiuyuan’s.

Remembering the moment when their eyes had met and she had panicked, Woon Suk-eum touched her lips.

Could it be… that kiss was what suddenly turned me back into a human?

“Where is the rabbit?”

The cold voice coming from inside the cabin made Woon Suk-eum shudder in fright.

Whatever the reason she had become human again, the most important thing right now was to escape as quickly as possible.

Jun Jiuyuan was unpredictable, and he was cruel as well. Just because he had shown the rabbit a little kindness earlier didn’t mean he would spare an unfamiliar woman whose identity was unknown.

A rabbit was merely a cute little toy whose life and death he could decide at will. But a strange woman who had suddenly jumped onto his boat in the middle of an assassination attempt was an entirely different matter.

If she were caught, there was no guarantee that she would survive.

Woon Suk-eum hurriedly tightened the black robe around herself and ran toward the edge of the boat. She intended to jump into the river.

Although the winter river water would be cold enough to chill her bones, she had no choice but to take the risk if she wanted to survive.

Avoiding the people searching the boat, she quickly ran toward the stern.

Just as she was about to climb over the railing, a scream came from the rear of the boat.

Hadn’t she clearly heard what Jun Jiuyuan had said earlier?

Having never witnessed the brutal tortures of ancient times, she instinctively turned her head toward the sound.

An assassin was hanging from one of the wooden pillars at the stern.

His scalp had been peeled off, and blood was streaming down his face. All the clothes had been stripped from his body.

Someone was slicing pieces of flesh from him one by one with a sharp knife.

“AAAHHH!”

Along with the assassin’s agonized screams, pieces of flesh dropped into the water.

Woon Suk-eum clearly saw the fish beneath the surface opening their mouths and leaping frantically toward the bloodied pieces.

“……”

At the same time, goosebumps spread across her entire body.

She became even more frightened of the man named Jun Jiuyuan.

His cruelty wasn’t merely something he talked about.

If she fell into his hands, she would probably be lucky if he simply killed her cleanly.

Woon Suk-eum withdrew her gaze and tightened the robe around herself, only to notice that it was covered in blood. She tried to wipe it away carelessly, but blood ended up staining her fingers as well.

She was just about to jump over the side when a sudden wave of heat surged through her body.

The familiar dizziness swept over her.

Woon Suk-eum’s strength drained away, and she collapsed onto the deck again. Darkness filled her vision, and her expression changed drastically as a painful sensation of alternating cold and heat spread through her body.

This is…

“Who’s there?!”

A shout came from not far away.

Without having time to think, Woon Suk-eum struggled to support herself and tried to run.

But before she could even take two steps, her body suddenly became light.

Her body rapidly shrank until she toppled straight onto the floor, and the black robe slipped down and covered her head.

Woon Suk-eum looked at her pink paws and furry body and felt like crying.

Damn it! Why did I change again?!

At that moment, someone lifted the black robe.

A snow-white rabbit appeared before his eyes.

The instant he saw the little rabbit, his face lit up with delight, and he quickly picked it up.

“Lord Wan, the rabbit is here!”

Hearing the shout, Wan Jun hurried over.

The moment he confirmed that it was the rabbit, he let out a relieved sigh. He quickly took the rabbit into his hands and held it up.

“Oh my, how did our little master end up all the way over here?”

He glanced at the black robe lying on the floor and felt that it looked vaguely familiar.

Looking more closely, he realized it was the clothing His Highness usually wore, and his thoughts immediately became complicated.

This rabbit was far too young to have traveled this far on its own.

Could someone have tried to harm His Highness during the chaos earlier? Perhaps that person had stolen the clothing and accidentally taken the rabbit along with it.

But what could anyone possibly want with His Highness’s clothes?

Countless thoughts flashed through Wan Jun’s mind in an instant, and none of them were pleasant.

His expression gradually turned cold.

“There may still be a group of assassins hiding somewhere on this boat. Search every corner thoroughly. Do not miss a single place!”

“Yes, my lord.”

Wan Jun glanced around once before carrying the rabbit back toward the cabin.

By then, the inside of the cabin had already been cleaned up completely.

There wasn’t a trace of blood on the floor, and incense had been lit, filling the room with a faint fragrance of pine.

Jun Jiuyuan was sitting in a round-backed chair, already changed into fresh clothes.

The oppressive aura surrounding his body, wrapped in black robes, was extremely heavy.

There was an icy chill hidden within his narrow, elongated eyes, as though he might devour anyone standing before him at any moment.

Only after Wan Jun brought the rabbit over and placed the little white bundle into his arms did the cold atmosphere around him ease slightly.

Jun Jiuyuan’s fingers touched the rabbit’s body.

After gently stroking its back for a moment, his fingers stopped near its neck and slowly tightened.

“Did even you try to abandon this prince and run away?”

He whispered in a low voice as he rubbed the scruff of the rabbit’s neck with his fingers.

His eyes were filled with an overwhelming desire to destroy something.

Woon Suk-eum instantly felt a chill at the back of her neck, almost as though she could hear the sound of her bones cracking.

She hurriedly leaned obediently against Jun Jiuyuan’s body.

Pretending not to understand his words, she lowered her head and gently licked his finger.

Then she looked up at him with clear eyes and desperately tried to act cute.

Jun Jiuyuan looked down at his wet fingertip.

The tiny ball of fluff was small enough for him to crush to death at any moment, yet it stared back at him with frightened, watery eyes.

Jun Jiuyuan stared at it indifferently for a moment before withdrawing his finger.

“If you run away on your own again, this prince will skin you, dry your hide, put it in a frame, and hang you on the wall of the royal residence like a painting.”

Woon Suk-eum shuddered.

You perverted bastard!

Even so, she desperately raised her little rabbit head and rubbed it against his palm.

Fine, I understand. I won’t run away. You’re the master here, so do whatever you want…

Woon Suk-eum finally managed to use her charms to convince Jun Jiuyuan that she had no intention of escaping.

Later, while Jun Jiuyuan and Wan Jun discussed the assassins, she was carried away in a maid’s arms to take a bath.

Only then did she finally feel as though she had escaped death.

Woon Suk-eum curled up on a soft cushion and watched the maid adjust the temperature of the water.

At last, she had time to think about what had just happened.

Everything had happened too suddenly.

She had suddenly returned to a human body, only to turn back into a rabbit again.

She suspected that her return to human form had something to do with kissing Jun Jiuyuan, but then how had she turned into a rabbit again?

Woon Suk-eum lay down on the cushion and carefully recalled the strange signs that had appeared during both transformations.

The first time had been in that shack.

After being dragged outside and nearly suffering a terrible fate, she had killed the three men. Immediately afterward, something strange had happened.

But this time, she hadn’t killed anyone.

Moreover, after escaping the cabin, she hadn’t encountered anyone else, nor had anything particularly unusual happened.

Woon Suk-eum repeatedly compared everything that had happened immediately before her body developed those strange symptoms and turned into a rabbit, but she couldn’t find a common factor.

It was simply unbelievable.

If she had turned into a rabbit only once, it could have been a coincidence.

But something that had happened twice in a row could not possibly be a coincidence.

Furthermore, she had also been able to turn back from a rabbit into a human.

There had to be some kind of rule governing it.

There must be a connection between the two incidents, and she was obviously overlooking something.

Woon Suk-eum had always been an extremely meticulous person, even back when she was in the military.

She once again went over every suspicious detail carefully, making sure she didn’t overlook anything.

After a long while, her expression suddenly hardened.

Wait.

Was the only similarity between the two times she had transformed into a rabbit… that she had encountered blood?

The first time, she had killed people, and shortly after getting blood on her body, her entire body suddenly grew hot. Her bones began to itch, and then she transformed into a rabbit.

And the second time, she had been perfectly fine after leaving the cabin.

But later, she came into contact with bloodstains on her clothing. Then she saw a man at the rear of the boat bleeding profusely while being executed.

After that, she suddenly turned into a rabbit.

Could my transformation into a rabbit be related to blood?

It probably wasn’t simply seeing blood.

If that were the case, she would have transformed into a rabbit much earlier when she secretly watched Jun Jiuyuan behead the assassin and blood splatter everywhere.

She wouldn’t even have had the chance to escape.

If it wasn’t seeing blood, then did turning into a rabbit have something to do with blood touching her body?

Woon Suk-eum suddenly became excited.

If I’m really right, then when I return to human form, perhaps I can remain human as long as I make sure not to get any blood on myself.

Woon Suk-eum suddenly wanted to test whether she could figure out the rule governing the transformation between human and rabbit.

If she could do that, then once they arrived in the capital, she might be able to escape safely from Jun Jiuyuan’s side.

She wouldn’t have to constantly worry about when this crazy man might turn her into a stuffed specimen.

The maid beside her finished adjusting the water temperature and turned around.

She saw the little rabbit sitting with its ears perked up, looking delighted.

“This little fellow, do you like taking baths that much?”

The maid burst into laughter.

As far as she remembered, the dogs and cats she had seen before were all terrified of water.

Woon Suk-eum opened her mouth and let out a tiny cry.

Truthfully, she didn’t want to let someone else wash her body.

Unfortunately, Jun Jiuyuan was an extremely fastidious man with a severe obsession with cleanliness.

If she wanted to test whether her earlier guess was correct, she first had to get close to him.

If she wasn’t washed thoroughly, there was no chance of getting another kiss.

He would probably throw her away before she could even get close to him.