Winter Rabbit in Wonderland

Chapter 40

“Heart.”

SoYoon called him again. Only then did he raise his head. The light was not on, so it was dark, but she could see the face of the man in front of her surprisingly well. Even so, she could not read his expression.

When she opened her mouth to speak, he slowly lowered his head. SoYoon instinctively closed her eyes. His lips touched hers.

Through their slightly open lips, she could feel his breath. She could feel the heat returning to Heart’s body, and she swallowed his breath.

Heart removed his lips from hers, but she could no longer talk. She was afraid that whatever she said would have repercussions. She couldn’t even open her eyes. She was afraid she would see something that would make everything horribly wrong. However, her ears, which were focused on Heart, were not something she could control.

“This is the first time in my life that I realized the existence of God.”

His low voice broke through the darkness.

“You said we can’t, but you didn’t hesitate.”

She was anxious that she would sink into this heavy atmosphere.

“Do you know how much...”

SoYoon forced her eyes open, sensing danger. The beautiful man shadowed in darkness was watching over her.

The gaze became tangled like thread. He looked as if he could stare into her very soul, but Heart must have read something in her eyes, because he broke the gaze. The man’s emotions looked to be filled with menace, but she did not turn away from him. A little later, he slowly closed his eyes.

When he opened his eyes, he had pressed down all his emotions. Even his temperature returned to normal as he got up from the bed. SoYoon got up with him.

As she strapped on her sword and mask, Heart asked, “Are you planning to go to Mad Hatter?”

“I promised him.”

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“Oh, that promise. That you’ll stop by tonight.”

Heart recited the words she had said. SoYoon tried to ignore her discomfort. He spoke again.

“Come back to me tonight.”

“...”

It was already late. The time it would take to go to Mad Hatter and return here would mean that “today,” as Heart mentioned, would be over.

SoYoon turned to face him after she quietly got up from the bed and was about to close the door behind her. He was smiling with a strange expression on his face.

“How long are you planning to keep running away?”

She heard these words behind the closed door. She quickly left Heart’s house. She forgot about checking up on Alice.

***

After SoYoon left, Heart sat at the edge of the bed. He swept over the sheets and felt the remnants of her warmth. That this was the only thing this girl had left for him felt like a blunt knife stabbing his heart. If only he could tie her up here right now and bury himself into her body. The storm he had calmed came raging back.

He hit his chest. It is not yet time. Trying to calm his impulses, he got up and headed to Alice’s bedroom, or more exactly to the place where her guard, Peter, was.

Peter was not only the person who brought SoYoon into this mess, but he was the one who caused her to get hurt. Even so, he could not just get rid of him. Peter had only put in a request to Wonderland’s White Rabbit, and SoYoon, as the White Rabbit, had taken him as her client and had gotten hurt in the process. Plus, Peter had worked under him loyally for a long time. Heart scowled in annoyance.

As expected, Peter was sitting next to Alice’s bed. When Heart opened the door and entered, Peter’s face drained of color as he stood up. A bone must have broken because he had on a cast.

“If you got hurt, you should be resting.”

Heart said this in a soft tone. However, Peter felt a chill from him and stood nervously. As Heart approached Alice’s bed, Peter crept backward. Peter hit the pillar of the bed and, unable to look Heart in the eye, dropped his gaze.

Heart glanced at Alice, then grabbed Peter by the collar and lifted him.

“So you do know you did something wrong?”

“Hea—Heart, sir...”

As Peter gagged from strangulation, Alice’s eyes fluttered open and rolled around. Heart slowly smiled.

“All right, tell me. What did you do wrong?”

“Ah...I—I...”

“Ah-ha, sorry! You must not be able to breathe, so I’ll tell you instead. I had specifically instructed you to protect Alice, and you said you were determined to do it well. Is this the result of your determination? If we had been even a little bit late, Alice would be dead!”

Heart threw Peter away from him. Alice moaned softly and started to move. Both men froze and looked at her.

Her golden eyelashes fluttered open to reveal blue eyes that held no remnants of sleep. She blinked a couple of times. Upon finding the two men in front of her, her eyes grew wide.

“Heart? Peter? Why are you in my room? Ah, I—I...”

When Heart grabbed her shoulders, and Alice started to tremble, Peter ran to her. Before his hands touched her, Heart pulled Peter away. Alice flinched at the loud noise. Heart held her hand softly in an attempt to calm her, then turned his head toward Peter.

“You have no right to stay next to Peter.”

“Heart, sir!”

“Starting now, you are no longer Alice’s guard. Go back to your room this very moment and await your punishment.”

Alice looked from one man to the next anxiously. She mouthed to Peter behind Heart’s back, “Go for now.”

Peter slumped his shoulders and left the room. After he left, Heart brought his attention back to Alice. He grabbed her shoulders gently and laid her back down.

“You’ve had a rough day. Sleep more.”

“Okay. Um, Heart. Peter...”

“Don’t you dare talk about him to me.”

Heart became vicious. Even good looking when burning in anger, he entranced Alice for a few seconds. Heart’s hands were on her forehead as he mumbled to himself.

“I thought I’d lost you. I don’t think even killing him will relieve my anger.”

“But Peter did his best.”

“He almost got you killed. Don’t defend someone like him.”

“But...”

“Alice.”

His voice was sweet, but she could hear a warning tone behind it. Alice nodded.

“I would like to stay longer with you, but I have a lot of work to get through. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. I should be thanking you for saving me. Oh! You didn’t get hurt anywhere, did you? You didn’t get lynched, did you?”

“Do I look like someone who would?”

“I heard that Heart was strong, but that man wanted Heart to come by himself. You didn’t really...come by yourself, did you?”

Alice had been unconscious the whole time, so she wanted to know if the story had panned out differently from the original.

Heart ignored her and mumbled, “It wasn’t a dangerous situation.”

Alice smiled, thinking it had gone the way the original story had.

“I’m okay. You didn’t perhaps worry about me, did you?”

“Perhaps! Of course I worried!”

“I see. I’ll be careful from now on.”

Heart petted Alice’s hair for a while then stood up. He smiled.

“Now, it is time to sleep.”

“Sleep well, Heart. Don’t spend all night working. It’s bad for your health.”

The door closed behind Alice’s cute nagging. That exact moment, his smile disappeared.

Jack was planning to make him come—alone. Luckily, there was someone who could tell him the truth. Heart went straight to Jack. And Jack became the victim to endure all the rage and annoyance Heart had for Alice.

As Heart headed for the torture room, Alice was thinking about the name Pawn. She was sure the name never appeared in the original story.

Pawn—if she were to say the name in front of Heart, her lips would pucker cutely. She liked the way it sounded special.

I will get what you couldn’t, she said to the Alice Liddell buried in her subconscious.

Should I ask him to call me by my real name? Alice remembered her old name, which she had not heard for a long time. If Heart could call my name in that sexy voice of his...Just thinking about it sent tingles down her spine.

But these pajamas—who dressed me in them? There is no maid here, so it had to be Heart or Peter. I’ll ask Heart later, pretending to be embarrassed. With that last thought, she fell back asleep.