The Baby Bear of the Black Fox Mansion - Chapter 64

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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 64
* * *
Blink. Blink.
Miel opened her eyes very slowly.
“Mm…ehhhh……”
Patter-patter.
Unable to contain the rush of emotion flooding through her, Miel burst into tears, fat droplets rolling down her cheeks.
“Your name is Nemo. How do you like it? It’s an old word meaning ‘nothing at all.'”
“Whimper?”
“What, you don’t like it? Silly thing. Think about it. Being nothing means you can become anything, doesn’t it?”
Miel pressed her palms against her eyes.
[Wait, hold on! You just woke up and had a good sleep—why are you crying? Hm? Miel. My little bear.]
Sensing Miel’s turbulent emotions, Drill suddenly popped out of the tattoo on her arm and began waving his small hands frantically in front of her face.
He’d finally managed to emerge into the world, and the very first feeling he sensed was Miel’s sadness.
[Don’t cry. Why are you crying? Hm?]
Drill, helpless and bewildered, stroked Miel’s hair and hovered nervously in the air, pacing back and forth beside her.
[Damn it! Where are those blasted guardians?!]
It was the next moment when Drill, at his wit’s end, gave voice to his anger.
Click.
The door opened.
“……Huh?”
“……Hiccup. Sniff.”
Zeros Nordic froze mid-step as he entered the room.
Large tears falling in steady drops.
A face wet with sorrow.
An expression of profound sadness.
Unable to make sense of the situation at first glance, he reflexively scanned the room.
There was no one else inside.
“Hhh, hhhh……. Hwaaaaang!!”
And then, at last.
Having spotted her guardian, Miel let out a great wail.
“Ahhhhhh! Why is my boss crying? Hm? Why is my baby Half-moon Bear crying?”
“Ahjussi……”
“You woke up and no one was here, is that it? I’m the one who’s lost my mind! I’m sorry, kiddo. Someone called for me and I had to step out to talk for a bit—that’s why I’m late. From now on, I’m not going anywhere, no matter who calls. You hear me?”
Zeros Nordic wrapped the sobbing child in his arms and gently patted her back, trying to soothe her.
“Nemo is so saddddd……”
“Ne… Nemo? Who is Nemo? Uh……”
Zeros Nordic bounced the child gently while offering an awkward laugh.
He had no idea who or what Nemo was.
‘Ne… Nemo… what is that?’
Was she referring to something square-shaped?
He didn’t want to guess wrong and disappoint her by mentioning the wrong thing.
“Bow-wowwww……”
“Bow-wow? A dog? Ah, so Nemo is a dog with that name……”
Suddenly, out of nowhere, a dog…?
The peculiar logic of a small child’s mind was completely beyond his grasp.
Yet he had no desire to blame her, so Zeros Nordic managed a faint smile.
“My little Half-moon Bear boss must have had a terrible nightmare.”
“A dream……”
It had been an awful, dreadful dream.
Miel nodded repeatedly.
With her heart beating steadily, rhythmically strong against her cheek, and wrapped in this warm embrace, she felt her spirits beginning to lift.
Burying her face against his chest, Miel trembled with soft hiccups, her shoulders shaking.
“Where are we, Ahjussi……”
“……Mm.”
Zeros Nordic’s eyes shifted subtly, and as though he’d made some grave error, he averted his gaze before speaking.
“……Bernier?”
“……!”
Miel’s mouth fell open.
* * *
“Little Half-moon Bear, boss. I’m so sorry.”
Zeros Nordic knelt before Miel, who sat on the bed and whipped her head away with a sharp turn, and pressed his palms together.
Clap.
Zeros Nordic squeezed his eyes shut, hands still pressed together, and begged with all the desperation he could muster.
“The little Half-moon Bear collapsed all of a sudden and won’t open her eyes. I was worried too, you know. This was the only place nearby where I could find a decent doctor.”
“……Miel hated Bernier.”
“Right, right. Now that your eyes are open, why don’t we grab some food and leave? Or should we just stay somewhere else?”
Miel glanced sideways at Zeros Nordic.
Then she nodded faintly.
“Miel doesn’t like people Miel doesn’t like.”
“Right. That’s true. I wasn’t thinking straight. Let’s get out of here right now.”
“Yes.”
Miel nodded readily, though her lips were still pouted.
Zeros Nordic brought her clothes.
“Let’s change and go.”
“Yes.”
Miel peeled off her fluffy nightgown.
Zeros Nordic deliberately suppressed his flustered expression and clumsily dressed the child.
“Does this go here? Or not?”
“It’s fine.”
“Oh, you really are sharp. Our little Half-moon Bear.”
“Mmph.”
At his praise, Miel’s chin lifted with pride, and she nodded with a small shrug.
Once Zeros Nordic finished dressing the child, he lifted her into his arms and stood.
“Will we eat on the way out?”
“Yes.”
“…All right.”
He nodded.
Drill perched on top of Miel’s head.
They were striding down the hallway when a voice stopped them.
“Huh? Hey, you!”
“Wow, you stone-head! Where have you been? You’re still here? I thought you’d left home!”
Miel’s Cousin, her shine slightly dulled since before, blocked Zeros Nordic’s path.
“Who is this runt?”
“Ugh, what? This smelly brute? You can’t even afford servants, so how did you manage to get one? Or did you beg someone? You’re good at that sort of thing.”
That girl really did have a sharp tongue.
Zeros Nordic blinked slowly—it had been far too long since he’d encountered a child prattling away so fearlessly before him.
In one sense, her nerve was impressive. In another, her perception was abominably poor.
“Move aside, little one.”
“…Don’t you know who I am?”
“Do you know who I am?”
“Ha! If you’re the stone-head’s servant, it’s obvious without looking. Are you some stray cat-human rolling around the streets?”
Sigh.
Too small to hit, this girl.
He furrowed his brow slightly and simply sidestepped past Miel’s Cousin.
“Huh? Hey! I wasn’t finished talking, where are you going! You rude……!”
“Hey. You’re Gareth Bernier’s daughter, aren’t you?”
“……! How do you know our father?”
“No reason. It’s just that your thoughtlessness and bad manners—they remind me exactly of your father back in the day. He at least could tell the difference between who deserved a hit and who didn’t.”
He clicked his tongue disapprovingly.
“You just wait! I’m telling Father everything!”
“Go ahead. I’m curious what your father will say when he hears it.”
Zeros Nordic felt a slight wave of reality wash over him at the fact that he was actually bickering with a child. He waved his hand dismissively and continued walking at a leisurely pace.
Unable to bear it, Miel’s Cousin hurried after him and pulled something from her pocket.
“Hey! Stone-head!”
Miel glanced at her Cousin.
“Want these? They’re brand-new Honey Sweets. They have chestnut honey inside. They’re so hard to find these days—Father had to search for them specially for me. If you ask nicely, I’ll give you some.”
At her Cousin’s words, Miel turned her head away with a sniff.
“You weren’t going to give them anyway, right? Miel won’t be fooled anymore.”
“Oh, I said I’d give them! Why won’t you take them? If you just ask me properly, I’ll give them to you.”
Miel let out a soft laugh.
“Silly. Miel isn’t the type to know places with precious honey.”
[Oh, Seokchung! I mean Seokchung — that place I showed you before, remember? The honey there is exquisite, I’m telling you.]
“I know where Sunchung is too.”
“Sunchung? Surely you don’t mean Seokchung?! You’re lying.”
“I’m not.”
Nestled in Zeros Nordic’s arms, Miel spoke with quiet pride.
But that wasn’t all.
Though she’d left it in Zerpeon’s hands, Miel was a proper owner.
“And a honey shop proprietor too.”
“What are you talking about? How could you possibly manage something like that?!”
“He helped, so Miel got a bank as a gift. Miel is the owner of the honey-making place.”
“Stop lying! What bank?!”
“My cousin handles most of it. Miel doesn’t do most of it.”
She’d promised Honey Sweets and never actually delivered them once.
“You, a mere stone, dare to—!”
Miel’s cousin jerked her head up sharply, then froze.
A glimmer.
She’d caught sight of something luminous on Miel’s forehead.
“…Hey, your forehead….”

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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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