The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 58

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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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Episode 58
“…You.”
Crack.
His fist clenched tight.
He hadn’t realized he’d been deceived all this time.
He swallowed hard, eyes narrowing with intensity.
He’d thought the Title had been handed over—but it wasn’t a proper transfer at all. It was merely… a lie.
“It wasn’t deception. I simply thought the timing wasn’t right. It would’ve been too much for you to bear back then. I planned to tell you once the unusual weather was resolved.”
Valen Noctis broke his silence with an explanation—a rarity for him.
A pause.
Jerpeon’s eyelid twitched once, and he turned away from Valen Noctis with a low click of his tongue.
It wasn’t entirely wrong, from a rational standpoint.
“The Noctis Family Head alone inherits the Map and the Forbidden Library. I’ll hand them over to you.”
“There’s a place in my own residence that I don’t know about?”
“Did you think you knew every corner of it?”
“Ah, come on! You two are at it again!”
At Zeros Nordic’s remark, Valen Noctis glanced at him with displeasure.
“Go back to your own house.”
“I don’t wanna~ Anyway, so I just go to the Bernier and ask around about all this stuff, right? But honestly, no matter how I think about it, I don’t like the idea of our little one shouldering such a heavy burden.”
“What you like or dislike doesn’t change anything. And frankly, I doubt they’ll just let her go once they hear the whole story.”
At Valen Noctis’s words, Zeros Nordic laughed mischievously.
“Then we’ll just slip away with it. I’m pretty good at that sort of thing. Sneaking past those dull-witted fools is nothing.”
The man in his thirties wore a roguish grin utterly devoid of dignity.
Valen Noctis shook his head.
Trivial banter stretched through the night.
It was the day before Miel and Zeros Nordic were to leave.
* * *
Six days.
After six days of relentless travel, stopping only to eat and sleep, the two finally reached the edge of the western territory—the outskirts of the town governed by the Bernier.
Coldwen, the half-moon bear town, appeared before them.
“Is this it?”
……
A shudder.
But Miel’s fluffy fur bristled on end.
The place she had pointed to as the town was filled with pitch-black things.
[Sa, saal, lyeo-eo, jyeo-eo…….]
[Aaahhh!! Aaahhh!!]
[Idon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantidon’twantletmeoutletmeoutletmeoutletmeoutletmeout.]
And within that darkness, there were people.
Or rather, probably not people anymore. Their bodies bore wounds and bled freely.
“Hic, hic.”
Frozen in horror, Miel squeezed her eyes shut.
The pitch-black things clung to the people, transforming them in grotesque ways.
Their skin swelled unnaturally, twisted and warped, dripping with something viscous.
Yet strangely, they could not venture beyond the town’s boundary.
“What’s wrong? Little one?”
Zeros Nordic patted the child’s back gently.
He slowly stroked her trembling back and offered a thin smile.
“It’s frightening, I know. But when miasma takes hold and yin energy accumulates, it always looks like this. There’s nothing there, yet it feels so cold and heavy. As if something lurks within the emptiness.”
Zeros Nordic gazed at the town intently.
The vacant town, devoid of all life, certainly felt desolate and eerie.
With no warmth or sound, it was little wonder the child felt afraid.
“It’s alright. Uncle’s here, and there’s nothing to worry about.”
“…There is.”
“Hm?”
“There is… lots.”
At Miel’s trembling words, Zeros Nordic went utterly rigid.
Gulp.
He lifted his head slowly to look at the town. It was vacant and desolate, but he saw nothing.
“…There’s… nothing.”
Zeros Nordic forced the words out.
But he knew what this small child could see.
“W-what is—”
It was in that very moment he’d drawn taut with tension.
Thump.
Something heavy and damp pressed against his shoulder!
“Ahhhhhhh! Get off me, you wretched thing!!”
Zeros Nordic leaped skyward, hoisting Miel high, and bolted away in a panic.
Indeed, he moved fast.
“…….”
“…….”
“…….”
For a moment, silence fell over the surroundings.
Zeros Nordic’s cry echoed and reverberated through the air.
Yet nothing happened.
He stood there clutching the child to his chest, then slowly opened his eyes and lost his words at the sight before him.
“…….”
“…It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Junior.”
“P-Pola Bernier?”
Heat flooded his face.
Zeros Nordic’s features grew increasingly flushed until they turned a vivid, indescribable crimson.
“……That coward.”
“A coward, you say—”
Zeros Nordic, about to protest that it wasn’t like that, clamped his mouth shut instead.
That had certainly been rather ungraceful.
As Zeros Nordic released a small sigh, Miel, still cradled in his arms, poked her head out to examine the newcomer.
Crisp, snow-white hair.
Eyes the color of azure.
The corners of those fresh eyes curved in a gentle, graceful arc.
Their gazes met.
‘I’ve seen this person somewhere before.’
Miel tilted her head. But the memory wouldn’t come to her.
Sensing her gaze, the man looked at Miel in turn.
“……Are you the second branch’s niece?”
Tilt.
The child inclined her head quizzically.
“No, wait—yes. Miel Bernier?”
He retrieved a name buried deep in his memory, placing it on his tongue with an expression somewhat unfamiliar to it.
“……That’s not it.”
After blinking once, Miel shook her head.
“It’s not?”
“Nope. Miel’s not a Bernier.”
“……What?”
Pola Bernier blinked at the unexpected words.
He fell silent for a moment, then glanced sidelong at Zeros Nordic.
Zeros Nordic, now certain the other was no ghost, lifted his eyebrows with a triumphant expression.
“What are you looking at?”
Zeros Nordic spoke while drawing the child a little tighter into his arms.
At what looked like the protective stance of a beast guarding its own, Pola Bernier’s mouth twisted wryly.
“The one everyone said was kidnapped—why is she with you? Did you kidnap her, junior?”
“Kidnap? Hardly—”
Zeros Nordic let out a scoff.
“Our little one was resourceful enough to walk out on her own two feet, and I’ve simply been looking after her properly.”
Noctis, of course.
But he saw no need to elaborate.
“So what brings you here anyway?”
“Why? The Bernier commissioned the Coldwen matter, so naturally I, the person in charge, had to come.”
“Ah, that’s right.”
Come to think of it, it was usually Pola Bernier who traveled about like he did.
The eldest, Griszel Bernier, was the heir, so there would be much work at home assisting the Family Head.
“But… who says she was kidnapped?”
“Our house’s idiot.”
“Gareth Bernier, that bastard?”
“Even so, isn’t it a bit harsh to call our family’s fool an idiot? Though technically you’re not wrong.”
Pola Bernier spoke.
“A couple days ago, he came back beaten half to death and started crying about how Noctis kidnapped our second nephew.”
But now there’s nothing in the Noctis Territory, and instead the child’s in this Nordic fellow’s arms.
Pola Bernier’s eyes narrowed.
He knew Gareth Bernier was skilled at lying, adept at cowardly schemes, and obsessed with spouting empty boasts—but this caught him off guard.
‘Back then, the child was definitely clinging only to Gareth Bernier.’
So he’d assumed the child’s affection for Gareth Bernier was genuine.
‘I can’t figure out where the truth ends and the problem begins.’
At least there was no immediate crisis at the moment.
Only….
“This is bad. Our brother heard about it from that idiot and immediately went to Noctis.”
Should he call him back?
Pola Bernier was momentarily deliberating.
“Either way, this is the more pressing matter.”
Zeros Nordic gestured carelessly with his chin toward the town.
“True enough.”
Reluctantly, Pola Bernier stepped back.
“Little one.”
Zeros Nordic set the child down on the ground and met her eyes.
“Little bear cub manager.”
“Yes, little bear cub manager.”
“Yes!”
“This gentleman and that gentleman over there are going to purify that place. But it’s dangerous inside, all right?”
Miel nodded vigorously. Even without being told, she could sense the danger from that place.
“So you see those gentlemen who came with this man over there?”
Miel looked behind Pola Bernier.
She could see a few people in armor and one man wearing round spectacles.
“Yes.”
“Can you stay with those people for a little while?”
“…….”
Miel blinked.
Her lips trembling slightly, Miel gently tugged at the hem of Zeros Nordic’s garment.
“…Are you abandoning Miel?”
“What? Why would I abandon you? I’m not abandoning you. It’s dangerous, so I’ll be back quick. I won’t be long.”
“Miel, you’re not going back to Bernier, right?”
“I’m not going. I’ll finish up quick and go to the fox’s place.”
“Promise?”
“Promise.”
Zeros Nordic hooked his pinky with hers and shook it lightly.
“When you link your fingers like this, it means you’re making a solemn promise.”
“Yes…!”
Miel’s face brightened.
He rubbed her cheeks a couple of times with his rough, callused hand as she giggled, then stood and hoisted the child up effortlessly.
Then he approached the escort knights directly and held the child out to them, raising his eyebrows with a casual expression.
“Watch our girl well, yeah? If she gets even a scratch, you’re all dead.”

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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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