Became the Step-Mother of the Rabbit Female Lead (Completed Main Story) - Chapter 12
“Agh! Help! Someone save me!”
I nearly smashed my head against the window. Grayan swiftly pulled me into his arms and held me close.
He smelled like walking through a deep forest—intoxicating and enchanting. ……Is this really not pheromones?!
“My hearing, sight, and sense of smell are all in grave danger!”
Once the carriage’s swaying settled, I quickly pulled away from Grayan’s embrace and checked on April.
But surprisingly…… April stood perfectly upright, posture immaculate.
“Kyaaang!”
April cried out proudly. It seemed to mean, ‘I’m fine!’ Wow, impressive! Such a cool rabbit—unlike me, your balance is amazing!
“Shifters generally possess exceptional reflexes, agility, and balance. Rabbit shifters are no exception. Though their physical strength is somewhat lacking…….”
Oh, I see…… I nodded, appreciating Grayan’s helpful explanation—he always fancied himself a walking encyclopedia.
Just then, April suddenly leaped up and swung a front paw at Grayan.
I expected him to dodge or block it, but unexpectedly, Grayan calmly let the paw strike his cheek and grinned.
The rabbit landed on his thigh and huffed discontentedly through its nose.
“……Why did it suddenly hit him?”
Puzzled, I tilted my head—and Grayan, stroking the rabbit’s head, spoke.
“Yes, your strength has indeed increased a bit, April.”
“Kyaang!”
April confidently cried out and flapped its front paws in a boxing-like stance. Grayan clapped his hands.
“Splendid.”
“Kyung!”
This time, April sprang into the air, spun gracefully mid-flight, and kicked out with its hind legs. Grayan clapped again, as expected.
“What a magnificent technique.”
“Kyaaah.”
……What on earth was this sudden performance? I stood with my mouth agape, blinking dumbly. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Jade barely suppressing a laugh.
‘Could Grayan possibly understand April the rabbit shifter?’
“Ungkawoot.”
“I don’t know what that means, but you’re truly amazing, April.”
Hmm…… That probably wasn’t it. I think I understood why April suddenly struck Grayan.
‘April wanted to prove it’s a strong, powerful rabbit!’
Though I wasn’t entirely sure, it seemed Grayan’s earlier remark about rabbit shifters—“though their physical strength is somewhat lacking……”—had offended April’s pride.
‘Since April is a battle rabbit, hearing it called weak would understandably provoke anger.’
True, it’s physically weak! But still, it’s a battle rabbit! Even if it has zero attack power!
Hardly had this thought crossed my mind when April turned slightly toward me. Wiggling its front paws, it stared at me with expectant eyes.
‘……What? Does it want praise?’
Judging by its expression, that seemed likely. So, channeling my inner elementary school teacher, I beamed and clapped loudly.
“You’re truly incredible, April! You must be a genius rabbit!”
“Kkyang.”
April, standing on its hind legs and twisting its body playfully, bounced up happily—it clearly felt good.
After that brief spectacle (?), we stepped outside to check why the carriage had stopped abruptly.
“I’m terribly sorry, Your Grace. There’s someone collapsed by the roadside…….”
The coachman spoke with deep embarrassment. Following his glance, I saw indeed—a person lay slumped at the corner of the road.
‘Is this someone from the village?’
Our destination village was right ahead—walking straight down this path would take less than five minutes.
“Your Grace, we’ll go check on them.”
Bill and Richard, the knights accompanying us, bowed respectfully toward Grayan.
At Grayan’s slight nod, Bill and Richard approached the collapsed figure slowly.
Watching their retreating backs, Grayan murmured softly under his breath.
“It doesn’t smell like a corpse…….”
His words sent an involuntary chill down my spine—probably due to the ominous connotation of the word “corpse.”
Grayan glanced my way, then smiled gently. ……It was a kindness beyond compare, yet somehow, it felt strangely unsettling.
‘Grayan has always been kind to me…… but surely, he still believes I’m the villainess who abused shifters……?’
The thought weighed heavily on my heart. It also frightened me a little—because I couldn’t guess what lay hidden behind Grayan’s kindness.
‘He probably thinks poorly of me deep down…….’
“Yaaah!”
Suddenly, a scream startled me—it came from Bill and Richard’s direction. Not their screams, but from the traveler they’d helped up.
Who pointed straight at me.
“That—that’s Princess Gloria! Yaaaaah!!”
Thus unfolded the traveler’s tale:
“I had no food at home, so I went up the mountain to dig for roots, but I stumbled upon a beast monster……. I fled all the way here and collapsed from exhaustion.”
“Beast monsters” were creatures mutated by ambient mana in nature. Generally categorized as animal-type, insect-type, or plant-type, they were typically aggressive and dangerous.
Only trained humans or shifters could handle them skillfully. Encountering one must have terrified him terribly. And yet……
‘Why does he seem more afraid of me than the beast monster……?’
It didn’t feel like my imagination…… I forced a bitter smile. When our eyes met, the traveler flinched, quickly looked away, and trembled violently.
“B-But, aren’t you Duke Salisbury, Your Grace?”
“That’s correct.”
Grayan answered calmly to the traveler’s question. The man glanced at me, swallowed hard, then spoke again.
“And that lady over there—isn’t she Princess Gloria of the Einstein Kingdom? How come the two of you are together……?”
Apparently, news of Gloria and Grayan’s marriage hadn’t reached this village yet.
Grayan gave me a brief glance, smiled faintly, and replied in a gentler tone.
“She’s the one I married.”
“Wha—? Married……?”
The traveler gaped in disbelief, staring blankly between me and Grayan.
He then muttered dazedly, “How could that possibly be……?”—so shocked he even forgot to fear me.
The knights stole nervous glances at me, but I remained unfazed. At this point, I was starting to get used to people fearing or hating Gloria…….
“We’ll take you to the village. We happen to have business there ourselves.”
“Wha—? Business? In our village? Wh-What kind of business……?”
The traveler’s eyes widened at Grayan’s words, mouth opening and closing wordlessly.
Richard and Bill helped the traveler to his feet, and Grayan resumed his even tone.
“Don’t worry—we’re here to help.”
And so, shortly after, we arrived in the village with the traveler.
“D-Daddy!”
“Gasp! It’s Princess Gloria!”
“What? Really?”
“Did she come again to torment our village……?!”
“Shh! She’ll hear you!”
I already heard everything. Gloria truly has committed many sins. I gazed emptily into the distance. Ah, I need a drink.
“Daddy!”
“My daughter……!”
The traveler, it seemed, had a child—a little girl who now ran to him.
She appeared about five years old; her mother was nowhere in sight.
When the girl whined about being hungry, the traveler’s face crumpled with sorrow. Seeing that nearly brought tears to my own eyes.
I subtly scanned the surroundings, feeling an ache in my chest. The village’s condition was far worse than I’d imagined—beyond even hollow compliments.
Neglected vegetable patches, likely due to prolonged drought; a bone-dry riverbed and withering trees; gaunt villagers in tattered clothes……
‘This…… is far too severe.’
Seeing such devastation—worse than I’d imagined—made my heart pound, though I hadn’t caused it myself.
All because of Gloria’s atrocities.
“How did this village fall into such a terrible drought?”
“That’s because of Princess Gloria over there—”
“I already know that. My question is about the specific process. Such a drought couldn’t occur naturally.”
Meanwhile, Grayan was speaking with the villagers. I stole glances his way but couldn’t bring myself to lift my head, so I kept my eyes downcast.
April, nestled in my arms, whimpered softly.
“Kkyung…….”
It sounded like, ‘Are you okay?’—comforting me despite everyone condemning me. What a truly kind rabbit.
I gently stroked April’s head and ears, whispering.
“Thank you. You’re really sweet, April.”
“Knyeeng!”
April clutched my sleeve tightly with both front paws. I pulled the rabbit closer, lowered my head, and closed my eyes.
The villagers continued venting to Grayan.
“The drought was caused by the sorcerer Princess Gloria brought.”
“A sorcerer?”
Sorcerers differed from mages—while mages relied on scholarly methods like spell formulas and mana stones, sorcerers operated more on instinct, performing miracles or casting curses like shamans.
Most notably, sorcerers were said to commune with spirits using natural objects like ancient tree branches.
If such a sorcerer caused this drought, only one method came to mind.
‘Cursing the land by summoning an evil spirit.’
This method was in the original story…….
……Was it?
“……?”
Huh? I couldn’t recall if it actually appeared in the original.
It probably did—if not, I wouldn’t remember such details so vividly.
But I just couldn’t remember which episode it was from…….
‘That’s odd.’
“We don’t know much, but after that sorcerer performed some strange ritual, our fields and river began drying up that very day. And it’s worsened until now…….”
“What exactly did the sorcerer do?”
“Well…… as far as I recall…… Ah! He waved something like a pitch-black tree branch and danced oddly. It was truly bizarre.”
Hearing this confirmed it: the drought was caused by an evil spirit’s curse.
Thus, there was only one solution: perform a spirit-pacifying ritual.
{Could it be? Gloria, have you forgotten us already?}
“……?”
I flinched, startled by the sudden voice echoing in my mind.
Then I remembered—I’d made a pact with the World Tree’s butterflies!
{Gloria, you really have a terrible memory…….}
{Gloria, that’s so mean! How could you forget us?}
{Yet you remember the evil spirit’s curse!}
{Yeah~!}
The butterflies were teasing me again. These little rascals seemed to enjoy it…… Is mocking me really that fun?
{Hurry up and summon us to restore this village’s prosperity.}
{Right! That’s what we’re here for!}
The butterflies coaxed me playfully. With so many voices buzzing in my head, I stared blankly into space—until April tilted its head in confusion. Aww, so cute……!
“My lady.”
“……!”
Just then, Grayan—who’d finished speaking with the villagers—called out and slowly approached me. As always, his gait resembled a predator narrowing the distance, unhurried yet deliberate.
Though I’d done nothing wrong, I felt oddly uneasy and subtly avoided his gaze.
I was curious what expression or look he had while watching me—but I deliberately refused to meet his eyes.
If I met his cold stare, even I might feel a little hurt……
“My lady, I have a question. May I ask it?”
Stopping beside me, Grayan spoke as gently and courteously as ever.
Expecting a cold or indifferent tone, I was flustered by his kindness.
To treat me so kindly even now—Grayan must truly be a good person.
Still avoiding his eyes, I tilted my head slightly and replied.
“Yes, go ahead.”
“Thank you. It’s about the sorcerer…….”
Was it Grayan’s voice—still so captivating even in this situation? Or something else? My heart beat erratically.
“Where did you bring that sorcerer from? And if you know anything else about them, please tell me.”
“Th-That’s…….”
This was bad.
How could I possibly remember some sorcerer Gloria used to drag around!
I desperately tried to recall details from the “original plot,” my only cheat.
But no matter how hard I tried, nothing came to mind!
‘Ugh! What do I say now?’
After agonizing, I finally chose to confess the truth—
well, not the whole truth.
“I…… don’t remember.”
Thus, I committed to the “amnesia” persona!
Yeah, it’s convenient. Whenever anyone asks something, just say you don’t remember……
The problem? ‘Villainess Gloria’ doing this would seem shamelessly irresponsible!
‘Sob sob, is this really the best option? Seriously? Ugh, I’m going crazy!’
“You don’t…… remember?”
“Yes…….”
I answered softly to Grayan’s incredulous question, then added an explanation.
“Actually, since the wedding day…… my memories have been patchy, like fragments missing. Some things are clear, others just won’t come back…….”
It was partly true—I just omitted the fact that I was a transmigrator.
Nervously glancing at Grayan, I saw exactly what I’d feared: a look of utter bewilderment.
Yeah…… it must seem bizarre. Suddenly not remembering anything! But it’s too late now—I’ll stick with this act to the end.
“I’m not sure, but it might be some kind of illness. Partial amnesia, maybe…….”
“Ah…….”
Grayan let out a short breath, then nodded. “I see.” He didn’t seem fully convinced.
Damn…… I probably made him even more suspicious!
‘But I had to start this act eventually…….’
To hide the fact that I’m a transmigrator, “amnesia” was my only excuse.
Even if Grayan grows more suspicious or finds me strange…… there’s nothing I can do.
My heart doesn’t hurt at all! Really!
Then why do I feel like crying? I tightened my eyes against the stinging sensation.
“Alright…… I understand. We’ll discuss your condition in detail later.”
“Yes, okay…….”
Discuss in detail? No thanks. What more is there to discuss here? From now on, I’ll desperately avoid Grayan.
“Then, we should figure out how to save this village—”
“Oh, about that.”
I stepped forward cautiously and placed April the rabbit into Grayan’s arms.
Even clingy April, sensing the unusual atmosphere, stayed uncharacteristically quiet.
And Jade—my potential son-in-law—stood farther off with the knights, watching us with his ever-penetrating gaze.
I closed my eyes briefly and let out a small sigh.
I’d intended to keep the World Tree’s butterflies a secret as much as possible…… but there’s no helping it now.
How could I possibly walk past a village suffering such a dire drought?
Taking a deep breath, I summoned the butterflies inwardly.
‘Ready. Come out.’
Instantly, hundreds of butterflies filled the air, shimmering with radiant opalescent light.
Male lead fell into her trap — and shattered when she walked away
This is also on my reread list!
This one is a slow burn, but when it burns, it burns hard.
Definitely worth a read, y’all!
The story follows a thousand-year-old seductive spirit who, on a bet, sets out to charm the male lead—a once-promising but unfortunate cultivator.
But just when she succeeds in making him fall for her, she heartlessly leaves, driving him to madness.
Determined to find her at all costs, he captures her, keeping her by his side no matter what, even if she hates him.
I love this kind of trope—I enjoy watching the male lead suffer in agony.
The ending drags a bit with unnecessary filler, but that’s fine.
As long as I enjoy the beginning, I’m good.
Intro
As an enchantress, Su Heng possesses captivating eyes and charming beauty, easily manipulating the joys and sorrows of living beings at her fingertips.
But to enchant a god, making him taste the bitterness of love’s separation, long-lasting resentment, unattainable desires, and inability to let go…
Do you dare?
Su Heng assists a divine lord in his cultivation, aiming to make him experience all the sufferings of love, so that he can attain the Great Dao.
Only after being chased down from the heavens by the divine lord, confined and completely possessed by him, does she realize how successful she has been.
The once gentle and polite youth has transformed into someone she no longer recognizes.
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This thought is hillarious 🤣🤣
“Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic” – Arthur C. Clarke.
It kills me that she is using important spirits to grow strawberrys 🤣🤣🤣