The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 23

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 23
The child hung his head, eyes swollen and blotchy red from crying for who knew how long.
He remained at a distance still.
“I’m sorry for running away…”
The sudden apology made Valen Noctis’s eyes widen slightly.
“…….”
“…….”
Valen Noctis blinked slowly.
“Isn’t the distance too great for an apology?”
“……I, I s’pose…….”
He was right.
The gap between them was considerable.
‘But there’s so much darkness. It’s so heavy.’
Even brave little Miel couldn’t help but be afraid.
There was so much of it that it seemed to radiate a black aura from Valen Noctis himself.
‘What on earth is that……?’
Glancing nervously, glancing again.
Miel’s eyes darted about as she wiggled her fingers and took exactly two small steps forward.
She wanted to ask what all those things hanging from him were.
‘But if I say Miel sees Transparent Beings, everyone gets upset.’
They feared her, found her unsettling, said she was cursed.
“What is she? Talking to thin air…….”
“Isn’t she cursed? She’s gone mad.”
“No, Miel’s talking to people here.”
“Mad, what is she even saying? Living near graves like that, she’s definitely got a ghost in her. That much is certain.”
“Kyaah, I’m scared. Don’t we have to drive her out?”
“Enough. The child’s probably just lost her mind from loneliness. Creepy thing. Honestly, I wish she’d never come near the Mansion in the first place. No matter how young she is, that’s just how it is—doesn’t she even realize she’s been abandoned? Not a single direct relative has come looking for her.”
At the sudden memory, Miel gripped her own clothing tightly in both hands.
Miel swallowed hard and lifted her head again.
This time they didn’t approach her sluggishly like before, which made it a little less frightening.
[What is this bizarre human. What exactly is wrong with this family?]
A Dragonian who had appeared without warning clicked its tongue disapprovingly.
Miel looked up at the Dragonian and moved her lips slightly.
She wanted to ask what it meant…….
‘If I speak, Miel will be caught seeing Transparent Beings.’
That would be a problem.
As Miel stood there with only her lips moving, the Dragonian who caught her gaze scoffed and crossed its arms.
[You ignore my voice, but now you need me?]
A pang of guilt.
Miel’s eyes rolled about.
[Resentment.]
Wait, resentment……?
The Dragonian, seeing Miel’s expression, scrunched up its face.
As if it could tell Miel was thinking of something completely off the mark without even trying.
[What I mean is……!]
The Dragonian was about to speak again, clearly frustrated, when a voice cut through.
“Are you planning to stay there?”
At the sudden question, Miel shook her head side to side and began creeping forward quietly. As she drew closer, Valen Noctis turned away.
His steps toward the Reception Room were unhesitating.
“Why are you alone? Little panda. Where is the little fox?”
At Zeros Nordic’s greeting, Miel’s cheeks flushed red again.
“She’s hiding.”
“Hiding? Why?”
“The Honey Candy…….”
Miel peeked at Valen Noctis.
“Grandfather’s scared of it.”
“…….”
The child’s innocent remark made Valen Noctis’s expression darken.
He gazed at the child without speaking, then slowly turned his head away.
“I see.”
“Yes.”
Miel nodded.
“But…….”
“……?”
“Grandfather doesn’t hate Honey Candy, does he?”
Miel blinked, tilting her head with the question.
Speaking as though it were the most obvious thing in the world, her gaze utterly free of doubt, Valen Noctis let out a soft snort and opened the Reception Room door.
“If that were true, then I’d have no reason to fear it.”
Miel scampered after Valen Noctis, chattering away without pause.
“If people don’t talk, you see, they just, like, have their own thoughts, and then they start imagining things, and their minds just go in all these bad directions, and so…… well, um, what I mean is…….”
Miel’s words tumbled out in a hopeless tangle as she tried to articulate what was swirling in her head.
There was so much she wanted to say, but her mind couldn’t quite keep up with itself.
“Anyway…….”
That’s what the Butler had said, at any rate.
“Communication is important, you know. Communication. People often miss each other because they don’t talk. They misunderstand because they don’t speak, they fight because they don’t apologize, and so they drift apart. When people don’t talk, they just imagine things and think whatever they want. That’s why many people come to regret things later, after they finally understand.”
Miel’s eyes went wide and round.
“Communication is really important.”
“Sharp little thing, aren’t you.”
Valen Noctis settled into the sofa as he spoke.
Miel, who had followed at his heels, naturally found her place across from him.
The black things were still writhing all around, but since they didn’t draw closer, she’d grown accustomed to them and felt no fear.
Regarding his bright, unwavering gaze trained so intently upon him, Valen Noctis’s brow furrowed slightly.
“Why did you follow me here?”
“Oh, just…….”
There was no particular reason.
She was a bit curious about what those squirming black things were, and she’d harbored a vague notion of keeping watch in case he tried anything with Honey Candy.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
A heavy, uncomfortable silence descended upon them.
The Butler, who had only now noticed the pair, quickly brought out refreshments, and soon a faint aroma drifted through the room.
“How did you end up staying here?”
“Me? Oh! Well, I’m…….”
Miel broke into a broad smile.
“My cousin said that I’m not actually a child of Berneuer. When I found out—when I realized that huge secret, that I’m not a Berneuer child?—”
“……?”
“So I left home because I wanted to go to the Panda Clan. I packed my bag and became a baby panda and started an adventure to the Panda Clan, but then I stepped on the ground, and it just suddenly caved in beneath me.”
“……??”
“The ground kept sinking and sinking, so I was all flailing and scared, but Honey Candy—the Honey Candy man—he rescued me, so I lived, and he said I could reach the Panda Clan, so I followed him here.”
“…….”
Zeros Nordic’s face darkened considerably.
He couldn’t understand a single thing—he’d need comprehension before he could even begin to respond.
He’d gathered that much about her running away, at least.
“There are certainly swamps aplenty between Berneuer and the Southern Territory.”
At Valen Noctis’s remark, Miel nodded enthusiastically.
“Wow. Sir, you actually understood that?”
“Why did you want to go to the Panda Clan in the first place?”
Valen Noctis glanced sideways at Zeros Nordic, then dismissed him and turned his full attention back to Miel.
“A book!”
“A book?”
“I like reading books, you see.”
Or rather, looking at pictures in them.
“There’s this mean bear cub in it, and in the story, I thought the protagonist was a bear, but it turned out to be a panda instead, so I thought maybe that’s what I am too.”
“Why?”
Valen Noctis’s brow furrowed as he listened to her stream of words.
“Because, unlike the other children, I’m not very good at Hunting either…….”
“That’s only because you’re still a baby panda and small.”
Zeros Nordic frowned as he spoke.
“But all the others dislike me. My cousin says I must have been picked up from somewhere. I even smell strange to them…… And, well, this too. My cousin is pretty and has shiny jewels, but I only have this dull stone mark on my forehead…….”
Miel fidgeted with her fingers, reaching up to touch her forehead absently.
“Miel doesn’t have a mommy and daddy.”
“…….”
“If Miel is a panda, then mommy and daddy must be in the Panda Clan too, right? If mommy and daddy forgot that Miel was born, I’ll go find them myself and tell them Miel is right here.”
At the child’s words, Zeros Nordic’s face hardened.
How on earth had the Berneuer Family managed their children so poorly that a mere five-year-old could harbor such thoughts?
“I see.”
“Yes!”
Miel nodded solemnly.
“You’ve embarked on quite a difficult journey. I hope you find your family.”
“……!”
Miel’s eyes went wide.
Then the child broke into a brilliant smile.
“……!”
Valen Noctis’s eyes widened slightly.
It was a face so luminously innocent that it was hard to believe the child had been terrified just moments before.
“Miel is a brave panda, so it’s possible!”
Bang!
At the same moment Miel spoke, the door swung violently open.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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