TVCWB Chapter 18

Chapter 18

When Perea and Harun arrived at the carrot fields, they explained to the villagers what needed to be done that day.
The young men, who had been busily harvesting carrots, froze mid-motion — their rabbit ears twitching nervously, just as Harun’s had earlier.

Everyone was shocked.
The huge explosion that had happened in the forest a few days ago wasn’t just an unfortunate accident — it had been planned with malice.
Such a thing was unimaginable in peaceful Timi Village.

“So if we clean it up like this, our village will be safe, right?”

“Unbelievable… this sounds like something out of a novel!”

“A monster bomb? Those things actually exist?”

The young villagers were full of anxious questions.
Harun answered what he could, then clapped his hands sharply to get their attention.

“All right. That’s enough talking. Let’s move. Everyone, grab two sacks each!”

The youths nodded, picked up large burlap sacks, and followed Harun toward the forest.

As they approached the accident site, the closer they got, the more tense their faces became.

“This is terrible…”

“Hey, is that… blood?”

“What if there’s another bomb still here?”

They hesitated at the edge of the site, fear creeping into their voices.

Perea understood their reaction — she had felt the same way yesterday.
But they couldn’t afford to waste time.

“Don’t worry. Sir Ray already took care of all the bombs. I saw it myself.”

To reassure them, she mimicked exactly what Ray had done — recalling how the bright blue aura of his sword had gleamed when he destroyed the bomb.
Just remembering it filled her with awe.

Even so, the rabbit beastmen still looked uneasy.

Finally, Perea led by example — stepping directly into the crater and beginning to pick up shattered pieces of the carriage.
Harun quietly joined her, lifting debris beside her without complaint.

“P-Perea!”

“Come on, we should help too. She’s doing it!”

“Yeah, look — even Perea’s picking up pieces!”

The young men exchanged glances.
To them, Perea — a human — was a smart but fragile creature, someone they usually tried to protect.
Seeing her working fearlessly in the pit made their pride sting.

Ashamed to be outdone by her, they snapped out of their fear and rushed to help, filling their sacks with debris.

Once they started moving, they worked fast.
Years of farm work had trained them well — they bent, lifted, and carried with steady rhythm.

Maybe it was the sense of duty to protect their home, or maybe it was the determination not to be shown up by a human woman, but they didn’t stop until the job was done.

By noon, they had gathered every last piece of the carriage wreckage and even filled in the crater completely.
The forest looked so normal that no one would ever guess a deadly explosion had happened there.

Seeing the forest restored gave everyone a little peace of mind.
They slung the heavy sacks over their shoulders and headed back to the village together.

“All right, load them onto the wagon.”

Harun pointed to the village’s only cargo wagon.
The young men obeyed efficiently, finishing the task in perfect order.

Now, it was up to Perea, Ray, and Prince Theo to finish the plan.

“Who’s going to drive?”

The village chief — holding the wagon key — looked between Ray and Perea.

Perea was about to volunteer, but Ray beat her to it.

“I’ll do it.”

He took the key smoothly from the chief’s hand.
The chief nodded, satisfied with his decision.

Only Perea pouted, lips jutting slightly at being overruled.

Little Theo reached over and gently patted her hand, as if comforting her.

***

Later, on the road…

There was so much wreckage piled in the wagon bed that there was barely any space left.
Because of that, Perea had to hold Theo on her lap for the ride.

The boy looked delighted, grinning ear to ear as he nestled in her arms.
Her knees ached a little from the weight, but she didn’t mind — his warmth and the soft flicking of his round, fluffy ears were worth it.

The problem was, those ears were too cute.
She had to constantly fight the urge to touch them.

“Perea! We’re sleeping outside tonight, right?”

“Yes, that’s right. You remembered?”

“Of course! Theo remembers everything!”

He puffed out his small chest proudly.
Perea laughed and played along, saying,

“Wow, amazing, Your Highness! You’re so clever!”

That morning had been chaos.
The moment Theo woke up, he’d clung to her and started crying again — a continuation of last night’s meltdown.

To calm him down, Perea had to promise at least ten times that she would go with him.
Not just a pinky promise, either — he insisted they lock all ten fingers together until she agreed.

Only after both she and Ray swore they wouldn’t change their minds did Theo finally stop crying and go out to play with the rabbit kids.

If she had hesitated even for a second, he probably would’ve stuck to her side all day.

Being the youngest prince — and a stubborn one — meant Perea’s morning had been utterly exhausting.

Now, during the wagon ride, Theo was recalling what she’d said earlier.

“So, Theo’s sleeping outside tonight. You’re not scared?”

The royal carriage they’d originally traveled in had been a luxurious masterpiece — even the bedding was fit for a king.
That one could have doubled as a traveling palace.

But this wagon? This one was… well, humble would be generous.
It was the same wagon used to carry crops and supplies.
The thought of actually sleeping in it was embarrassing.

Especially since the cargo bed was full of broken carriage parts.

So Perea had brought camping gear from her academy days.
It wasn’t fancy, but it was sturdy enough.

“Hmm? Theo’s not scared at all. Are you scared, Perea?”

“M-me?”

“Don’t worry! Theo will protect you! I’m nice, right?”

“Ah… th-thank you…?”

He wiggled around in her lap, stretching his arm up to pat her head.
His little hand barely reached the top of her hair, but he managed to ruffle it proudly.

Perea froze.
For a moment, she felt less like a caretaker and more like someone’s pet being patted on the head.

Theo smiled up at her, his chubby cheeks lifting as his golden eyes curved like crescents.
Unlike yesterday, he was clearly in a wonderful mood.

Perea couldn’t help but smile back.
Really, who could resist such a sweet, adorable child?

***

As for Ray — his driving was impressive as always.

The ride felt incredibly smooth and steady, yet when Perea looked outside, the scenery was flying by at surprising speed.
He somehow combined speed and comfort perfectly.

It amazed her that such a rough, battle-hardened knight could drive so gently.

By the time they reached the campsite, the sun was dipping low.
Ray had chosen a perfect location — flat ground, safe from monsters or wild animals, and sheltered by trees.

“Have you been here before, Ray?”

“Of course not.”

He shrugged.
From the age of ten, Ray had spent his life moving from battlefield to battlefield.
He had never known a place as calm and quiet as this.

In fact, for the first couple of days in Timi Village, he had half-suspected it might all be a trap — that such peace couldn’t be real.

Finding safe ground like this in a forest was nothing to him.
After all, he’d once survived ambushes in far harsher places.

“Wow! Really? You’ve never been here before, but you found a perfect campsite so quickly? That’s amazing!”

Her honest admiration made him feel strangely proud.
It wasn’t much, but hearing praise from her made it sound like he’d done something great.

Normally, he wouldn’t have cared about compliments.
But when he met her bright green eyes sparkling like sunlight through leaves, he wanted to believe her.

“Well,” he said with a faint smirk, “it’s not something just anyone can do.”

For the first time in his life, Ray bragged.
A childish, harmless kind of pride — one that made Perea quietly laugh.