The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 27

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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 27
“……!”
As Valen Noctis tilted his Wine Glass and glanced at Lisarr, the child flinched, shoulders tensing as his neck drew inward.
“That’s not a Species Name a child should know. Where did you hear it?”
Thump!
Miel’s entire body trembled.
“…Ah. That, that is…….”
Caught off guard by the sudden question, Lisarr’s eyes darted.
He couldn’t very well say he’d heard it from the ghost Miel claimed to see.
“I just happened to see it in a book.”
Lisarr managed the answer with difficulty.
“I see.”
Valen Noctis, who had replied without inflection, set down his Wine Glass and looked at Miel.
“Would you do me a favor, little one?”
“Yes!”
Miel, fork still in his mouth, tilted his head curiously but answered readily enough.
“Would you come with me somewhere soon?”
“Huh?”
“If you do that for me, I’ll take you to the Panda Clan on the way back.”
“Father!”
The Panda Clan!
Bright light flooded through.
Miel’s face lit up.
“Yes, yes, yes!”
Jerpheon raised his voice in protest, but Miel had already answered quickly.
* * *
“What exactly are you doing?”
“A child from Bernaire. You didn’t intend to keep another species’ child indefinitely, did you?”
Inside the restaurant, after the children had been sent out.
Zeros Nordic, caught between them in an atmosphere colder than thin ice, swallowed back a sigh.
“This is not your concern. You should know that already.”
“Why would I not concern myself with my own clan’s affairs?”
“This clan is mine now. You……!”
Jerpheon’s hands clenched into fists.
“When Lisarr was born and my wife fell ill…… from the moment you handed me your rank and left the clan, this clan became mine.”
“…….”
Valen Noctis regarded Jerpheon in silence for a moment, then rose from his seat.
“I made the request and the child gave permission. You have no reason to interfere.”
“I’m protecting that child, so I need to give my consent.”
“When did the child from Bernaire decide you were his guardian?”
“Protecting a young child is an adult’s duty. More so when caring for a child who has been neglected — it’s only natural.”
At Jerpheon’s words, Valen Noctis turned his body away.
The intention not to continue the conversation was palpable. Jerpheon’s face hardened into stone.
“Are you running away again?”
“I saw no value in pointless talk.”
“I……!”
“In a week’s time, there’s the Fox Tribe council. You’ll need to explain well the cause of this climate change and how it was suddenly resolved.”
“Who……!”
As Jerpheon’s voice rose, he seemed displeased even at the fact that he’d grown emotional, and he pressed his lips shut, then slowly dragged his hand across his face.
“I’ve explained it to you, so handle it as you see fit. They’re the stragglers you brought in — take them with you when you go.”
“If you don’t want the child from Bernaire to be dragged into this, you’ll need to offer a reason different from the one you gave me.”
“……!”
At Valen Noctis’s words — spoken as though he had nothing to lose — Jerpheon’s eyes widened sharply.
“I’ll choose a day soon and take the child out with me.”
“Where exactly are you planning to go? That child is only five years old.”
“That’s not your concern.”
He spoke with finality.
“By the way, you’re oddly fond of another’s child — one that the outside world calls a Failure from Bernaire. Do what’s appropriate and send him back. He belongs in Bernaire.”
At Valen Noctis’s words, Jerpheon’s brow furrowed.
“Even if he’s not treated well there, and is living in loneliness?”
“Everyone has their place in this world.”
Jerpheon’s fist clenched tight.
“You don’t know what loneliness is, do you? You, who’ve walked such a straight and spotless path your whole life—what could you possibly understand about someone like me, blemished through and through?”
Valen Noctis stopped in his tracks.
“And you’re content to let a child who isn’t from the Panda Clan go on believing she is?”
“Failures have their own way of living, their own life. Unlike you, we…….”
Jerpheon’s voice trailed away.
“At least that child is a far better creature than you, that much is certain.”
“The child cannot be involved in this.”
“She’s already given her consent.”
Valen Noctis stepped out of the restaurant and closed the door behind him, then froze in place.
“…….”
“…….”
A child was standing there.
Miel leaned against the doorframe, clutching three Cookies in both hands.
When their eyes met, Miel forced a smile.
But Valen Noctis’s brow narrowed as he caught sight of her lips trembling uncontrollably, barely concealed beneath that smile.
“What brings you here?”
“Everyone looked so gloomy inside, and I thought eating these might cheer everyone up…….”
“I see.”
Valen Noctis’s voice softened, and he reached out gently to take one of the Cookies from the child’s hand.
Miel’s head hung low.
“Did you hear it?”
“……Miel, who has such good ears for a panda.”
Miel’s eyes glistened as she answered through choked breaths.
Seeing her reddened eyes and the effort it took not to cry, Valen Noctis knelt on one knee before the child.
“Forgive me. I showed you something shameful.”
“…Hic, sniff.”
Valen Noctis gathered the child into his arms and walked slowly down the corridor, letting out a small sigh.
The sticky hands, dusted with crumbs and stained with jam, clung to his clothes, but he said nothing about it.
“Little one, when I said I was a failure…….”
“Miel…….”
Hic, hic.
“A, aren’t you a panda……?”
“…….”
Valen Noctis’s eyes widened slightly, then slowly grew calm.
“……Is that what hurt most of all?”
“B, but…… Miel isn’t a panda…… and gets angry…… Waaaahhh!!”
Carrying the weeping child back to his own chambers, Valen Noctis saw her gripping his clothes tightly as the sobs broke loose.
He gently patted the back of the child who wept so bitterly.
“Miel, your mama and papa… sniff, where did they… gasp… wahhh…….”
“Little one.”
“Waahhh……!”
The sorrowful crying somehow made his own chest ache.
“Why whyyyy! Wahhh”
He’d seen children cry countless times before.
“Why, why aren’t you……? Wahhh! Miel is a panda, I know…….”
“Go see for yourself, and you’ll understand why you’re not a panda.”
He held the child close and spoke softly, patting her back.
Miel buried her face against his chest, her eyes flushed crimson, her cheeks puffed out.
“But whyyyy…….”
“Sometimes seeing it for yourself matters most.”
Valen Noctis patted Miel’s back.
“Then Miel won’t know…….”
“Well.”
“Hic, hic…….”
A small whimper.
Miel’s breath hitched—hic, hic.
Miel wiped her eyes with her sleeve.
‘That’s not it. The protagonist of Naughty Bear also only has one other bear as a companion. They said there were more than just that, so the family expanded to include pandas too.’
Sniffle, sniffle.
It occurred to him that Miel might not belong to the Panda Clan at all, but could just as easily be the offspring of any number of bear clans Valen Noctis had passed through along the way.
Miel, sniffling as she thought, opened her mouth tentatively.
“Um… maybe Miel should go see the other bear clans…? Since there’s none in Bernaire…….”
“……!”
At Miel’s words, Valen Noctis’s eyes widened slightly, and then—quite rarely—a laugh escaped him.
Had Jerpheon, Zeros Nordic, or Lisarr witnessed it, they would have been astounded.
“Yes, if that is what you wish, then that would not be such a bad thing.”
“Mm, Miel isn’t a panda that just fell from the sky anyway…….”
He chuckled softly.
Miel’s eyes grew slightly wider.
Pat.
A small palm touched Valen Noctis’s cheek without hesitation.
“……?”
“Grandpa, you look like the honey cake man.”
“…….”
For a moment, Valen Noctis found himself at a loss for words, his mouth falling silent.

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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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