The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 52

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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 52
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Thud, crack! Thud!
Jerfeon watched the rather savage spectacle unfold before him—having entrusted Miel to the hands of Yao Linden and Lisar Noctis so she wouldn’t have to witness what was about to happen, he took in the scene with quiet clarity.
‘How vulgar.’
Who would call this a direct descendant of the Nordic Family?
The man now pummeling his fist like a sandbag, gripping Gareth Bernier by the collar and holding him upright so he couldn’t fall—this was the person in question.
“How dare you… Ugh! Aagh!”
“Stop! I’ll file a formal complaint with the Nordic Family… Hack, I’ll lodge a protest… Argh!”
“Stop, stop! Please… Ow!”
“Please! I’m sorry! Aaaah! No! Help!”
First he’d raged, then threatened, then gestured in surrender, and finally began pleading.
When he finally started weeping, only then did Zeros Nordic finally open his fist and release him.
“Tsk.”
He brushed his soiled hand lightly and drew a handkerchief from his pocket to clean it.
“Hey.”
“Huff, huff, sniff……”
A fully grown middle-aged man with a puffy, tear-streaked face was quite a pathetic sight.
“Why… why are you doing this to me……?!”
“Why am I?”
“……sir.”
Startled by Zeros Nordic’s retort, Gareth Bernier hastily appended a term of respect to his words.
At that grain-of-millet cowardice, he let out a hollow laugh.
“There’s never been such an idiot among the direct descendants of Bernier.”
As he sighed and spoke, Gareth Bernier’s eyes narrowed—as if struck at an exposed nerve.
“Why am I doing this? Because……”
Zeros Nordic rolled his eyes slowly.
Why, indeed?
Because of that small bear cub?
Well, that’s rather strange to admit.
There was truly no connection whatsoever between Miel and him.
‘But why does this infuriate me so?’
Seeing that peculiar girl so downhearted made his stomach turn.
“Just……”
“What… what is it?”
“I’ve always hated watching weaklings get bullied. You’re old enough to have lived your years—doesn’t it seem wrong to abuse a child who’s barely counted on one hand? Doesn’t it, even to you?”
At Zeros Nordic’s words, Gareth Bernier’s face went rigid.
His expression twisted violently.
“Abuse? Who said I abused anyone! The problem is that half-bloods were born in the first place, gnawing away at Bernier’s honor! Born half-bloods just like their mother, demanding the same treatment as us—that shameless audacity is the real issue!”
His face contorted as he raised his voice.
Zeros Nordic’s eyebrows shot up sharply.
“That half-blood’s mother was exactly the same! Born without Gems, a complete failure, yet she demanded more attention. Instead of being grateful for our protection, she was just an ungrateful wreck full of complaints. And she dared to act knowledgeable about everything……!”
It had always been that way.
She’d read a few books at home and then act superior, constantly offering unsolicited advice, never grateful to him.
A useless, worthless woman—that was his sister.
She saw protection as confinement, thought it suffocating.
“She said it was suffocating. That just because I’m frail doesn’t mean I’ll die—why do you have to lock me away like this? You’re lucky, brother, so free.”
“Lucky?”
“Yes, you can go where you want. I want to be free too.”
“I work hard for Bernier’s sake. Unlike you, I’m busy with my duties—not living freely or idling about.”
“Pfft, sure, sure. I understand.”
“Why are you laughing?”
“Hm? Just… listening to you, our youngest brother seems the busiest. Though the ones we actually see most rarely are the eldest and second-eldest. You seem to be the one whose mouth works hardest, brother.”
“……And what exactly do you do in this house? Eat, sleep, defecate, and complain! If you hadn’t been born a failure, we wouldn’t have to hide you like this! Father and your brothers hide you because you shame them!”
That’s what infuriated him.
That she did nothing, yet somehow made him feel as though she was dismissing him.
No—she had been dismissing him.
Lien Bernier always laughed when he looked at her, despite being nothing herself.
That day too, her words delivered with that smile had felt like she was mocking him for overstepping.
So he’d struck her.
“……Is that so?”
“Yes! Someone like you isn’t needed by anyone. A half-blood without a single gem to your name.”
“I see…….”
It wasn’t even a fight, really.
The moment I ran out of rebuttals, he tucked his tail between his legs and disappeared.
Just like that, he was gone.
“That girl is exactly the same—born just to drive people up the wall. Stupid, pathetic…… and a half-blood on top of it all!”
“…….”
Zeros Nordic, who had been listening silently until then, drew in a deep breath. The tension that had swollen in his chest gradually subsided.
As if the man was no longer worth engaging with, he rose from his seat.
He thrust his hand into his pocket and opened his mouth with an arrogantly cold expression.
“Gareth Bernier. What makes you think you’re anything special?”
he asked.
“What? I’m of the Bernier—!”
“You’re Bernier’s bonus. A gift. A worthless wretch whose presence or absence changes nothing about the product’s quality.”
“……!”
Gareth Bernier’s face went pale as death, then flushed a deep crimson with shame.
Zeros Nordic let out a dry, scornful laugh.
“You’re no help whatsoever. You haven’t earned your own keep in all this time. You trail behind your brothers picking up whatever scraps fall, sniveling like a pathetic wretch. That alone is bad enough—and on top of it all, you’re abusing your own niece.”
He let out a hollow laugh as if the whole thing was beyond comprehension.
“Isn’t that right, Jery?”
Jerfeon, who would normally have objected to being called by that name, simply glanced at him without a word, his coat draped over his shoulder, and nodded.
“Certainly.”
The corner of Jerfeon’s normally composed mouth twisted into a smirk.
“I’ve heard the Head of the Bernier house rarely entrusts you with independent work. Though you’re supposedly of direct descent, your abilities fall short and your mind is lacking—every venture you undertake either breaks even at best, or ends in disaster.”
“……You bastards!”
He approached slowly and lowered his posture.
“What right do you have to judge anyone’s usefulness? You’re either incompetent from the start, or competent but still a worthless wretch for no reason. Which is actually more trash—I don’t think I even need to spell it out for you.”
“Do you really think I’ll let this slide……!”
Ha.
Jerfeon laughed coldly.
“Really…….”
He slowly swept his hair back, then seized Gareth Bernier’s jaw and wrenched it upward roughly.
“……!”
Gareth Bernier’s head was lifted helplessly.
Gareth Bernier held his breath involuntarily, unable to believe the force that emanated from such a slender frame.
‘My jaw won’t move.’
It was immobilized as if locked in place by force. The jaw clamped in that grip felt as though it might shatter.
“What could a mere gift like you possibly do?”
“……Ugh!”
“Does the Bernier house know you do such stupid things? If they do, I’d very much like to have a conversation with them myself, so by all means lodge your complaint through proper channels.”
Thud.
Jerfeon released his hand roughly, then stood up straight as if nothing had happened and wiped his hand clean with a handkerchief.
“And that child…….”
Zeros Nordic, who had opened his mouth to speak, furrowed his brow and closed it again.
‘A Bernier with a peculiar power…….’
He had been about to mention it, but honestly, what was the point of telling this idiot anything?
It would only give him an excuse to interfere.
“Tell the Head of Bernier that we’re protecting the child and have no intention of returning her.”
“……You’ll regret this, both of you.”
“So, are you going to beat it, or vanish?”
Zeros Nordic, standing behind Jerfeon, extended his fist in demonstration.
“I won’t let this slide, so remember that!”
Gareth Bernier, having shouted those words, scrambled to his feet with an anxious expression.
Nearly stumbling several times, he finally got up and bolted hastily toward the entrance of the village.
“……What a mess.”
Even third-rate villains have made more progress than this these days.
Zeros Nordic, clicking his tongue in disapproval, turned and headed straight toward where Miel was.
It was such a natural motion that he wasn’t even aware of it.

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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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