TBF 04

Chapter 4

Not knowing what might happen if she shook her head, Nabom simply lowered her eyes and pretended not to understand.

Anna didn’t ask any more questions.

She gently washed Nabom, carefully brushed her wet fur, and dried it until it was perfectly fluffy.

Afterward, she carried Nabom back to Theodor’s bedroom.

“It’s cold, so stay here.”

Only after placing a blanket beside the fireplace did Anna leave the room.

“…”

What in the world is going on?

Why are they treating their emergency food so carefully?

Anyway, I need to escape as soon as possible.

Countless thoughts swirled through Nabom’s mind, but she couldn’t think straight for long.

She hadn’t slept properly beside the brown bear, and the warm bath had been incredibly relaxing. Her fur was completely dry, making her even sleepier.

Most of all…

The spot Anna had chosen for her was perfect.

It’s so warm…

Curling into a little ball, Nabom buried her face in the blanket.

Bang!

The bedroom door burst open.

“Your Excellency!”

“Your Excellency! Are you in here?”

Laughing cheerfully, two children ran into Theodor’s bedroom.

Both boys had brown hair and golden eyes.

Anyone could tell they carried the blood of the brown bear clan.

“Young Masters!”

An elderly man’s booming voice echoed from the doorway.

“How many times must I tell you not to enter the master’s bedroom without permission? Have you even finished your homework?”

“I did. I left it on your desk, Heinz.”

“Young Master Ferdi is fine. But Young Master Louis, where is yours—”

“You already know I’m bad at studying. People say everyone has their own talents these days. I’m the second son anyway. Learning swordsmanship is way more useful.”

“What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that…?!”

“Huh? What’s wrong with fishermen?”

Thinking Louis had heard something strange, the old tutor trembled with frustration before finally turning away.

“Why is a little bear so good at talking back? Whoever said baby bears are cute was lying. I’m quitting. I swear I am!”

Ignoring the grumbling tutor completely, the two boys happily wandered around Theodor’s bedroom.

Now that their tutor, Heinz, was gone…

The room belonged to them.

“Huh?”

Louis, who had been bouncing around on Theodor’s bed, suddenly spotted something and jumped down.

“Brother!”

“What?”

“Snow!”

Pointing toward the fireplace, Louis looked at the young heir of House Grizzly, Ferdinand, whom everyone called Ferdi.

“Look! Isn’t that snow?”

“…It is.”

Muttering to himself, Ferdi stared at the white lump lying on the blanket beside the fireplace.

His neatly shaped eyebrows slowly furrowed.

It was a strange sight.

There was a pile of snow sitting on top of a blanket.

Well…

Actually, it was bigger than an ordinary snowball.

The strangest part was—

“That’s weird. Why isn’t it melting even though it’s right next to the fire?”

Louis had voiced the exact question Ferdi was wondering.

By the time Ferdi quietly murmured, “You’re right…”

Louis had already reached out.

“Huh? Wow! It’s so soft.”

“Louis, Heinz said not to touch strange things.”

“It’s not strange! This is amazing!”

Ferdi tried to slap Louis’s hand away.

He missed.

Instead…

His own hand landed on the white lump.

His eyes immediately widened.

“You’re right.”

“It’s soft.”

“I told you!”

“And…”

“…It’s warm.”

The two brothers looked at each other.

Curiosity sparkled in their identical golden eyes.

Together, they began poking and petting the mysterious white ball.

After a while…

Ferdi quietly muttered,

“I don’t think this is snow after all.”

At that moment—

Twitch.

The snowball moved.

Then—

Pop!

Two long little ears covered in fluffy white fur sprang up.

The startled brothers immediately pulled back their hands.

The snowball suddenly lifted its head.

Round black eyes blinked as it looked up at the two boys.

“Brother…”

“…That’s not snow.”

“No.”

Ferdi stared blankly before finally realizing what it was.

“It’s a rabbit.”

The brothers silently looked at each other again.

Then Louis leaned his face close to the rabbit.

Drip.

Drip…

Something fell from above.

Nabom flinched.

Looking up…

She saw Louis drooling.

“Brother…”

“I’m hungry.”

“Hey. Heinz said you’re not supposed to eat strange things.”

“It’s not strange.”

“It’s a snowflake.”

“It looks delicious.”

“It’s not a snowflake.”

“It’s a rabbit.”

“Yeah.”

“A snow rabbit.”

“…Right.”

Even while trying to stop his younger brother, Ferdi looked down at the rabbit again.

Gulp.

The sound of someone swallowing their saliva echoed clearly in Nabom’s ears.

The little snow rabbit jumped straight into the air.

Who are these kids now?!

She didn’t know who they were.

But she knew one thing for certain.

The hungry stares.

The sticky drool falling onto her head.

Even though they were just children…

They were definitely predators.

As Nabom frantically backed away, the boys instinctively reached toward her.

Thinking they were about to catch and eat her, she hurried backward even faster.

Just then—

Someone picked her up.

“Anna?”

“You mustn’t do that, Young Masters.”

Anna quickly hugged Nabom tightly against her chest, shielding her from the boys.

Looking up at Anna with tear-filled eyes, Nabom nearly cried.

This big sister definitely isn’t a predator!

But the moment their eyes met…

Her tears disappeared.

“Emergency Food, you mustn’t go near the fire either! You could get hurt!”

Nabom immediately flattened her ears.

…That presence.

Even if she’s not a predator, she’s definitely some powerful animal.

Then again…

What animal could possibly be weaker than a rabbit?

“W-We weren’t trying to eat it…”

“Yeah. We just didn’t want the snow rabbit getting too close to the fire…”

“…because it’d melt.”

“You can make excuses after you’ve wiped your drool.”

Gulp.

At Anna’s sharp remark, both boys hurriedly wiped their mouths.

“This is Count Grizzly’s new Emergency Food.”

“You mustn’t treat it carelessly. Understood?”

“Oh!”

“So it’s His Excellency’s emergency food.”

“Then we’d better not touch it.”

The two boys giggled darkly while nodding over and over.

Watching them, Nabom tilted her head.

Wait…

Anna called them ‘Young Masters.’

Doesn’t that mean…

Aren’t they Theodor’s children?

Then why do they call him ‘Your Excellency’ instead of ‘Father’?

The original novel barely mentioned House Grizzly, so it was hard to know.

Instead, Nabom remembered something common in romance fantasy novels she had read in her hospital room.

Strict fathers who kept even their own families at a distance.

…That would make sense.

If your father is a bloodthirsty killer…

I’d be scared too.

Just as Nabom convinced herself of that…

She felt someone staring at her.

Looking down…

She found both boys standing on tiptoe, gazing up at her in Anna’s arms.

Their eyes slowly swept over her body.

Nabom’s heart tightened.

She could almost feel her paw pads becoming damp with nervous sweat.

“She’s tiny.”

“Yeah.”

“Isn’t she way too skinny to be His Excellency’s emergency food?”

“You’re right!”

“We need to feed her more.”

The boys looked back and forth between Anna and Nabom as they spoke.

Anna rubbed her chin thoughtfully.

“Come to think of it…”

“Emergency Food hasn’t eaten yet.”

“Really?”

“That’s great, right, Brother?”

“Oh!”

“I know exactly what you’re thinking.”

After exchanging only a few words, Louis and Ferdi slapped their hands together as if they completely understood each other.

“Go ahead!”

“Eat as much as you want!”

The moment Anna set her down on the floor, Louis and Ferdi shouted beside each of her ears at the same time.

Their loud childish voices left her ears ringing.

But that wasn’t why Nabom was frozen.

She stared blankly at the sight before her.

Dandelions.

Romaine lettuce.

Carrots.

Raspberries.

Parsley.

Sage.

Rosemary.

Thyme.

And countless other green plants.

It felt as though she had stepped from a world of endless white snow…

Into a lush tropical forest.

A rich green paradise enclosed within walls of glass.

It was a greenhouse.

“You can eat all of it.”

A gentle voice came from behind.

Nabom turned around.

Ferdi, with neatly cut brown hair and kind-looking eyes, quietly smiled at her.

“It’s true.”

“Mother won’t scold us anymore.”

As if reassuring her, Ferdi looked deeper into the greenhouse.

Was it her imagination?

His golden eyes seemed filled with sadness.

“Anna.”

“Can snow rabbits eat anything?”

“I’ve heard rabbits like dandelions and carrot leaves the most.”

“Dandelions and carrots!”

Louis’s long hair fluttered as he dashed off.

Ferdi nodded toward Nabom.

The rabbit quietly looked at the boy who was already walking ahead, as if inviting her to follow.

“Come on!”

Feeling someone gently nudging her from behind, Nabom walked forward in a daze.

When they reached a patch of dandelions, Ferdi crouched down.

He picked a fresh leaf…

And held it out.

“Here.”

Although hesitant, Nabom leaned forward and sniffed it.

Sniff.

Sniff.

The leaf smelled wonderful.

Grass can smell this good?!

This has to taste better than dry hay!

She had spent her entire life eating nothing but dry, withered hay.

The fresh green scent instantly awakened her empty stomach.

That’s right.

She had been reborn as an animal.

This was simply instinct.

She wasn’t opening her heart to predators because of food—

Grrrrrrr…

A loud growl erupted from deep inside her stomach.

At that point…

Nabom couldn’t think about anything else.