The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 48

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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 48
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After finishing her meal, Miel lay on the soft bed of the room she’d been shown to, unable to hide her disappointment.
Her protruding lower lip betrayed every bit of the child’s discontent.
“But why, why not……? Huff. I’m supposed to be a panda…….”
“Go see for yourself. Then you’ll understand why you’re not a panda.”
“But why…….”
“Sometimes seeing with your own eyes matters most.”
Grandfather had been right about everything.
Miel, who had been lying face-down in the pillow with a sullen expression, suddenly bolted upright.
She scrambled up onto the nearby vanity and stood before the mirror.
Miel recalled the pandas she’d seen in Panda Village today.
They all had half-white, half-black fur, their eyes were smudged slightly dark underneath, and their ears—glimpsed whenever visible—were black.
‘I don’t have a single thing in common with them.’
Miel reached up and squeezed her beige ears, which stuck out with a soft pop.
The white fur she had was only a little bit on her chest from when she transformed into a baby bear, and she had no black fur at all.
‘Maybe my mom and dad weren’t pandas?’
Thump.
Miel plunked down onto the vanity chair and let out a small, weary sigh.
She scrambled down from the chair, gathered up the bag that Zeroths Nordic had neatly placed to one side, and tossed it onto the bed.
Then she climbed back up onto the bed with effort, stretched her legs out straight, and sat down with a thud.
She pulled out the crumpled, worn copy of The Ugly Bear Cub from inside and opened it to read again.
Though she could only see the pictures, Miel observed the many bears that the main character, Mr. Panda, encountered.
‘A bear that looks like me…….’
She decided to search for a bear among them that resembled her.
Come to think of it, Mr. Panda in The Ugly Bear Cub didn’t look quite like Miel either.
‘How didn’t I notice?’
He looked completely different from her too.
Of course, Miel had never suspected she wasn’t a panda in the first place, so she’d never even thought to compare appearances.
Flip-flip.
Her lips pressed together and her eyes serious, Miel turned the pages of the picture book eagerly with her small hands.
And finally, she found them.
Two bears that resembled Miel.
“This one and…… this one looks like me.”
One bear had brown fur with white patches mixed in on its face like Miel’s, and the other had black fur but, like Miel, had a white marking on its chest.
It was sad, but Miel didn’t cry.
The panda boy in The Ugly Bear Cub hadn’t cried either.
There were no pandas in this village either.
But Mr. Panda didn’t lose hope and smiled as he set off toward the next village.
Everyone he had helped saw him off.
Miel turned a page.
The sentence that the kind Cleaner Mister, who used to greet her whenever she wandered around before, had read to her was the only part Miel knew by heart.
Though she never saw the kind Cleaner Mister again after that.
‘Mr. Panda was disappointed too, but he still traveled cheerfully to the next village every day.’
And so he traveled boldly in search of his family.
Along the way, he helped animals in need, dealt with wicked villains who stole fruit or ruined water sources, and finally arrived at Panda Village where he found his family at last.
The spirited Mr. Panda, who never cried no matter what happened, wept for the first time when he met his mother and father.
‘I’ll cry too when I meet my mom and dad.’
I’ll cry and cry and get patted and comforted.
Of course, Miel couldn’t help but cry when she was sad……. But at least she wouldn’t cry because she couldn’t find her mom and dad.
Her eyes, which had grown uncomfortably warm, Miel pressed firmly with her small palms.
‘I’m not a panda…….’
Sigh.
Another sigh, ill-fitting in her small mouth, escaped.
Knock-knock.
Startled by the knocking, Miel clutched the picture book and looked up.
……
“Baby panda, can I come in?”
“Oh!”
Miel nodded her head.
“Yes!”
Click.
The door opened.
He let out a soft chuckle at the sight of the small creature cradling a large storybook, peering up at him with round, gleaming eyes.
“The baby panda doesn’t whine and keeps herself company just fine. Usually little ones cry if you leave them alone.”
Zeroths Nordic closed the door and stepped inside with long strides.
“Miel’s been alone since she was tiny, so she’s real good at taking care of herself.”
He paused.
The child’s words—uttered with such obvious pride—made him hesitate for only a moment before he moved toward Miel’s side as though he’d never stopped at all.
“Is that so? That’s impressive.”
Zeroths Nordic lightly stroked Miel’s hair.
“What were you doing?”
He glanced at the storybook in Miel’s arms and asked casually.
At that, Miel’s lips pouted out.
“That’s not fair—Miel’s not a panda.”
“Mm.”
He didn’t particularly deny it.
In truth, everyone but Miel probably already knew.
But no one had the heart to shatter the child’s pure belief.
“Well, that could be. Are you disappointed?”
“…….”
She nodded.
Miel’s small head bobbed up and down once.
“…….”
Zeroths Nordic scratched the back of his head.
He had no idea how to console a child who was so openly disappointed.
He’d never been a particularly delicate person to begin with.
“Mm.”
He rummaged through his pocket. He should have brought something to eat if he’d known.
Watching the small, downturned head sagging with such obvious disappointment didn’t sit well with him either.
‘What am I supposed to do?’
The child had been eating her rice quietly enough, but when she went to her room, she’d been so silent that he’d grown worried and come to check on her…….
“Even if you’re not a panda…….”
He’d opened his mouth, thinking to offer some stock reassurance, when suddenly his gaze met Miel’s.
“……!”
His eyes widened slightly.
The child wasn’t crying, wasn’t sad. The moment their eyes met, he understood that.
“So that’s why Miel wanted to change it?”
“……Huh? Oh, yeah.”
The child was quite spirited.
She set the storybook on the bed and even began flipping through it eagerly.
“Mister.”
“Mm?”
“What are the names of this bear and that bear?”
He looked at the page Miel was pointing to.
One had a black-furred body with a crescent-moon-shaped white patch, while the other had brown fur with white markings on its face.
He quickly read the text above the drawings and identified both bears.
“This one is an Asian Black Bear.”
He pointed to the black-furred bear.
“And this one is an Ark Bear.”
Miel’s eyes sparkled.
They glowed so brightly it was almost daunting to meet her gaze.
Yet he couldn’t look away. She was so caught up in innocent joy.
The child soon crossed her small arms and adopted a serious expression.
“So then, mister.”
“Mm, yes…….”
“Which of these bears is Miel more like?”
“……What?”
At Miel’s question, Zeroths Nordic blinked blankly.
Bang!
Miel became a baby bear.
She even spread her tiny, stubby front paws wide to the sides as if asking him to look.
“Kyaaung.”
The baby bear sat like a stuffed toy.
‘…….’
“…….”
Zeroths Nordic found his hand reaching out before he could stop himself, stroking that plump, fluffy fur with abandon.
“Krring?!”
The baby bear’s eyes went wide.
‘How am I supposed to stand this.’
Why was she so impossibly cute?
Lost in the thought, he continued lavishing attention on the baby bear’s head and body.
“Kyiing…….”
Poof!
Miel tumbled back and forth on the bed with a whimper before rolling herself upright again.
Ah.
Only then did Zeroths Nordic come to his senses.
“Ahem.”
“You’re mean.”
Miel puffed out her lips and opened her eyes in an accusatory pout.
“……I was just checking which bear species had similar fur texture.”
A rather flimsy excuse tumbled from Zeroths Nordic’s lips.
“Oh, I see.”
The naive baby bear didn’t suspect a thing.

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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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