TBF 01

Chapter 1

I had fallen into a world of nothing but white.

White snow covered the rooftops. Tall piles of snow stretched everywhere. Tiny white snowflakes danced in the wind.

Snow, snow, snow.

There was nothing but snow.

Even my own body had become completely white.

My chest was covered in fluffy fur. Thick white fur wrapped around my paws. Soft fur brushed against my nose as it swayed in the cold wind.

Fur, fur, fur.

There was nothing but fur.

I definitely died.

Yoon Nabom. Female. Died at the age of fifteen.

After my short life came to an end, I opened my eyes…

…and found myself reborn as an Arctic rabbit.

It was an unbelievable situation, but Nabom accepted her new life much more easily than she expected.

Being able to move around without someone pushing my wheelchair from behind…

Ahh!

The feeling of walking on two healthy legs for the first time…

Even now, remembering it made her heart race.

What Nabom loved most was stepping through the thick snow outside.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

Crunch.

She was happily enjoying the addictive sound and feeling beneath her paws when she overheard a conversation.

“The next sacrifice will probably be the family next door, right?”

“Most likely. Their daughter Lina is already six years old, and she’s the only one who still can’t transform into a human.”

“It scares me to death. Why do they have to live right next to us? It’s creepy.”

That was when Nabom realized where she was.

This was the world inside a novel.

More specifically, it was the romance fantasy novel The One I Tamed Was a Fox.

At first, Nabom thought she had simply become the pet rabbit of a young married couple.

Although…

It had always seemed strange that they constantly called her “my daughter, my daughter.”

And whenever she reacted as though she understood their words, they would smile and whisper,

“Our daughter really is smart. She’ll transform soon.”

…Those people were actually my parents.

She had reincarnated as one of the pitiful extra rabbits who didn’t even have a name in the novel.

How did she know about such a nameless extra?

The explanation was simple.

In the Albero Empire, where The One I Tamed Was a Fox took place, there was an ancient myth.

The Myth of Eostre, the Goddess of Spring.

Long ago, an incarnation of Eostre appeared, possessing overwhelming healing power. She cured the illnesses of the people and healed the wounds of soldiers.

Thanks to her blessing, the Empire defeated every invading nation and eventually became the greatest power on the continent.

It was the Empire’s founding legend.

The ones who believed that myth more than anyone were the Arctic wolf beastmen—the Baekrang Clan.

Rabbits had always symbolized life and rebirth.

And an Arctic rabbit, a small creature capable of surviving even the harsh northern cold, was believed to have an even greater chance of inheriting the power of spring.

The Baekrang believed the next incarnation of Eostre would be born as an Arctic rabbit.

And to absorb Eostre’s divine power…

They ate Arctic rabbits.

Specifically, young female rabbits who had failed to transform into humans.

The only reason the Arctic rabbit tribe had survived until now was because they offered sacrifices.

Whenever a girl reached the age of eight without transforming, she was handed over to the Baekrang.

Nabom never succeeded in transforming.

Which meant…

She had officially become the next sacrifice.

She was nothing more than one of the countless rabbits sacrificed in The One I Tamed Was a Fox.

But her desire to live was stronger than anyone could imagine.

Locked inside a small wooden cage, Nabom stared out the window and clenched her tiny paw.

It’s okay.

I checked it just a week ago. Everything was fine.

The plan will definitely work.

“Stop thinking useless thoughts and stay quiet.”

A cold voice came from beside her.

“You were born defective. The least you can do is repay us for raising and feeding you all this time. Isn’t that right?”

Nabom pretended not to hear her mother’s mocking words.

The unspoken requirement for becoming a sacrifice was simple.

A rabbit that couldn’t transform into a human.

A normal rabbit without a soul.

Only then would everyone let their guard down.

Both the rabbits…

And the wolves.

The tribe didn’t know it, but Nabom could understand human speech.

For a while, that had given her mother hope.

But she still couldn’t transform.

Because she had given birth to a “failure,” her parents had been shunned by the rest of the tribe ever since.

How ridiculous.

If the tribe had survived all these years because of sacrifices…

Shouldn’t they have treated those sacrifices with the greatest respect?

…It’s the same as my previous life.

Her shoulders slowly drooped.

Back then…

And now…

I was nothing but a burden to my family.

But tomorrow…

It would all be over.

Before dawn the next morning.

The wolves and rabbits met in the neutral zone between their territories, all in human form.

“We present this sacrifice.”

Her mother knelt in the snow, placed the wooden cage containing Nabom on the ground, and lowered her head.

“May the blood of this young life protect our people.”

There wasn’t the slightest tremble in her voice as she recited the ritual words.

After bowing once more to the wolves, her mother turned around without hesitation.

Crunch.

Crunch.

The footsteps of her mother and the villagers gradually faded into the distance.

Nabom had promised herself she wouldn’t look back.

Yet her head turned on its own.

…

Just as she expected.

Her mother never looked back.

Not even once.

At that moment, one of the wolf beastmen picked up the cage.

Her body instinctively shrank as she trembled.

The pair of golden-yellow eyes staring through the bars made her heart sink.

No… it’s okay.

The One I Tamed Was a Fox had been one of Nabom’s favorite romance fantasy novels.

She already knew the wolves wouldn’t eat her here.

Even so…

She couldn’t stop being afraid.

It was pure instinct.

“Is the rabbit alright?”

“Yes, Captain!”

“Let’s move.”

The wolves began walking.

They crossed the neutral zone.

Now they had entered Baekrang territory.

Soon, a place Nabom knew all too well appeared before her.

Her heart pounded again.

But for a completely different reason.

Mom.

The sacrifice has already been delivered.

The wolves have returned to their own territory.

The Baekrang can’t hold you responsible for anything that happens inside their land.

I’ve repaid the debt of raising me.

The moment the last wolf crossed the border Nabom had memorized…

CRAAACK!

The ground shook violently.

An instant later, it collapsed beneath them.

“AAAH!”

“W-What’s happening?!”

It was the trap Nabom had spent two entire years preparing after realizing she had been reincarnated.

Very few beasts or beastmen ever entered the territory ruled by the Baekrang.

Even the wolves themselves only used this path once in a while when collecting sacrifices.

Nabom had dug a huge pit beneath this route.

She covered it with layers of hay.

Then buried everything beneath fresh snow.

She had tested it herself.

After a tiny rabbit hopped across it for about five minutes…

The ground finally gave way.

Which meant…

Anyone could walk in safely.

But walking back out…

That was another story.

“Ah!”

Snow poured down from above, causing one of the wolves to drop the cage.

Nabom didn’t miss the opportunity.

She slammed both hind paws into the section with the lock.

Crash!

The weakened bars broke apart, and the cage door flew open.

For weeks she had secretly chewed at the bars around the lock, pretending to be nothing more than an ordinary rabbit.

“Stay still—Agh!”

Hyaaah!

She stomped hard on the man’s face—right across his eyes—and leaped away.

“The rabbit’s escaping!”

“Catch it, you idiots!”

Arms reached toward her from every direction.

Using her tiny body, Nabom dashed from arm to shoulder, from shoulder to head, racing over them one after another.

Realizing this wouldn’t work, the beastmen began transforming into wolves.

Their human bodies twisted and shrank.

Faster!

I have to hurry!

The moment they all finished transforming…

She’d be torn apart.

Nabom jumped one last time, using the head of a half-transformed wolf as a stepping stone.

The instant her front paws landed outside the trap—

“You damn rabbit!”

A furious shout rang out.

Something heavy slammed into her right hind leg.

Squeee!

Pain exploded through her body, nearly turning her vision black.

But gritting her teeth, she grabbed onto a bundle of hay sticking out from the edge of the pit and dragged herself forward.

Her paws scrambled desperately until she finally crawled out.

Only then…

My leg won’t move.

She collapsed onto the snow.

Blood dripped steadily from her right hind leg.

…My foot.

Tears quickly welled up in her dark eyes.

Even if she was a rabbit…

At least she had been able to run.

She shook her head hard.

I’m not hurting.

Not at all.

Really.

She tried to hypnotize herself as she pushed against the snow with her front paws.

Her legs trembled violently.

Heavy snow continued to fall, piling onto her fluffy body until it became unbearably heavy.

I… can’t move…!

Maybe it was because she hadn’t been fed properly during the week she spent locked inside the cage.

Her shaking legs finally gave out.

Flop.

She collapsed helplessly into the snow.

As if mocking her…

She heard laughter.

“Hehehe…”

“Put her back in the cage.”

The wolf holding the cage hesitated despite the captain’s order.

“Captain… hehe… you know…”

He licked his sharp teeth with his long tongue, saliva dripping from his mouth.

“How about… we just eat her ourselves? There’s barely any meat on her, but she looks so delicious.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Put her back in the cage. If we don’t deliver her by tomorrow, we’ll…”

The captain suddenly froze mid-sentence.

…?

The surroundings suddenly grew dark.

Nabom slowly looked up.

It wasn’t her imagination.

A massive shadow had fallen over her.

“Damn it! When did it get here?!”

“Shit…”

The wolves growled uneasily.

Something far more terrifying than a wolf had appeared.

A gigantic beast covered from head to toe in thick brown fur.

A brown bear.

The enormous bear quietly stood in front of Nabom…

And silently looked into the eyes of the tiny rabbit.