BB | 002

Chapter 2

* * *

“……Father.”

“What is it, my son.”

Jet-black, curly hair.

Ears that rose to sharp points above his head before drooping limply.

Yellow eyes that looked as if amber had been set into them.

“In the books it said bears give off such a sweet honey scent from their bodies that it stings the nose, but all I smell is this unpleasant rank odor.”

The beautiful boy, resting his chin listlessly against the rattling carriage window, murmured in a bored tone.

The fox clan, Noctis.

—Its family head, Zerpheon Noctis, and his heir, Lisar Noctis, had visited the Berneir territory to attend the regular council held by the Berneir clan and were now on their way home after a week.

“Ah……. There are such tales in the old legends.”

The smiling man with long black hair that reached his waist curved his slender black eyes into gentle crescents and answered in a soft, yet indifferent voice.

The gentle tone was affectionate, but that was all.

“Tch. They said a bear that smells sweet brings good fortune and can cure any illness. What a shame.”

“Lisar, don’t stick your face out the window. Your mother will scold you if she finds out. Close it at once.”

Lisar pouted.

“Fine.”

“And that is merely an old story. No better than a baseless rumor.”

“……Tch.”

Just as the boy answered curtly and was about to shut the window—

Sniff-sniff.

A sweet scent drifting from somewhere—

“Whimper, hic.”

A tiny crying sound.

Twitch, twitch.

The boy’s nose wriggled and his limp ears shot upright, twitching.

Lisar thrust his head far out the window.

“Lisar.”

The man’s eyes narrowed slightly at the dangerous behavior of his son.

“……Father.”

“Did I not just tell you to close the win—”

“No, it’s not that. There’s a baby bear stuck in a mud pit over there.”

“A mud pit?”

“Yes, right there.”

Lisar pointed somewhere with his finger.

Zerpheon furrowed his brow and looked outside the window.

“Good heavens.”

“Whimper, whimper.”

Indeed, a single baby bear was sinking into a swamp with a bucket clenched in its mouth.

With every struggle it sank deeper.

The thrashing was growing weaker; if left alone it would soon drown.

“Stop the carriage for a moment.”

Zerpheon halted the carriage and hurriedly climbed down.

Approaching the edge of the swamp, he took two leaves from an inner breast pocket and tossed them into the air.

With a light flick of his fingers the leaves stretched instantly into thick logs.

The logs then moved, plunging into the swamp with a splash, and soon floated back up carrying the limp baby bear.

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“Lisar, fetch some water.”

“Yes.”

The baby bear was so thoroughly covered in swamp mud that its form was barely recognizable.

Lisar scampered off.

“Here.”

The boy received a full bucket of water from the servants following behind and set it down beside his father with a grunt of effort.

“Well done.”

Zerpheon stroked his son’s head once.

Lisar’s upright ears quivered.

Zerpheon gently poured water over the baby bear’s body, washing away the thick swamp mud that clung to it.

The creature that had looked rather plump beneath the caked mud turned out to be quite small and slender once cleaned.

“It’s still breathing.”

“Are we just going to leave it here?”

“……”

Zerpheon’s gaze slowly swept the surroundings.

Staying the night here would mean they had not yet left Berneir territory, and the sky was still broad daylight.

“There is no reason a bear would need to leave Berneir lands.”

Sniff-sniff.

At the soft voice, Lisar rolled his amber eyes and wrinkled his nose.

Unlike the other bears, this one gave off a sweet scent.

‘They said a bear that smells sweet brings good fortune.’

In that case.

‘If we have this one, only good things will happen.’

Perhaps they might discover a field of gold, or solve the strange phenomena occurring in fox territory.

Or maybe Mother would recover.

Eyes sparkling, Lisar pointed with his index finger at the beige baby bear that lay on its side, panting faintly.

Was it because it was still so young?

Compared to the other bears he had seen all week at the Berneir estate, its color was not as deep.

“But it’s far too small and thin to be a bear. Could it have been abused? All the bears I saw this time were so plump they looked like giant balls.”

Lisar insisted.

“……”

When his father remained silent, Lisar, who had been diligently looking around, tipped over the muddy bucket that had been pulled up together with the baby bear.

From inside he managed to extract a single piece of clothing thoroughly soaked in mud.

“Look. There’s clothing and belongings here too. It was clearly in the middle of leaving home.”

“Lisar.”

Zerpheon pressed his forehead.

“They say a bear that smells sweet brings good luck. This one smells incredibly sweet.”

“Taking a member of another race out of their territory without permission is illegal.”

“Then we can just ask it when it wakes up.”

Faced with his son’s stubbornness, Zerpheon furrowed his brow.

Kneeling on one knee, the man slowly examined the baby bear. A jewel was embedded in its forehead.

‘A jewel on the forehead…….’

Of all things, a direct-line Berneir.

“Hm?”

No—was it not a jewel?

It was far cruder and completely lacking in luster compared to a jewel…….

‘A stone?’

His lips tightened slightly.

“Ah……”

He had heard the rumors.

That a child who carried a pebble instead of a jewel had appeared in the Berneir clan.

The one called ‘Berneir’s failure’…….

Zerpheon’s eyes narrowed.

The Berneir clan had for generations specialized in barrier arts.

They had been charged with maintaining, managing, and repairing the barriers and protective shields that surrounded every part of the empire, and were one of the four great races representing the empire.

The source of those barrier arts was the guardian stone granted only to the Berneir clan.

Members of the Berneir direct line were born with various jewels set in their foreheads.

And the grade of that jewel determined the strength of their barrier arts—an unusual race.

To have been born carrying a stone within that lineage…….

“……”

He had thought his son was merely being willful…….

‘I cannot say it is entirely impossible.’

“Kyung.”

Just then.

With a small cry, the baby bear opened its eyes.

* * *

Tremble.

Blink. Blink.

The moment Miel opened her eyes, the memory of sinking into the soft ground flooded back and she flailed her limbs wildly.

“Kyuing!”

“Hush, little one. Calm yourself.”

Pat.

At the gentle hand stroking her back and the soft voice, Miel froze.

Twitch-twitch.

Her small, round ears quivered.

Cautiously lifting her head, Miel realized she was no longer sinking into the swamp and sprang up onto all fours.

Sway-sway.

A single jet-black tail swayed before her eyes.

When Miel raised her head she saw an adult with jet-black hair and a child whose black, pointed ears were twitching.

Shake-shake-!

Standing on all fours, Miel vigorously shook her body to fling off the water.

‘They saved me!’

Kind people!

Miel bowed her head deeply in gratitude—

Tumble.

She lost her balance and rolled over once.

“Kkuung?”

“Can you not transform into human form yet?”

At the gentle voice Miel thought, Oops! and rapidly shook her head from side to side.

Miel squeezed her eyes shut.

Poof!

Her body grew larger.

After vigorously rubbing and tucking away the upright ears with both hands, Miel beamed at Lisar.

Their eyes met.

Snow-white, fair skin.

A small frame.

Round eyes.

Chubby baby fat that had not yet fully melted away.

“Thank you for saving me!”

A bright, polite voice.

When she smiled widely, her honey-colored eyes sparkled.

Whoosh.

In that instant—pop!—something seemed to burst, and Lisar’s neck all the way to the tips of his ears turned bright red.

While Lisar’s lips moved soundlessly, Zerpheon spoke first.

“This forest area has many such swamps, so it is best to be careful, little bear cub.”

“Yes!”

“Where were you going all alone at this hour?”

“To the panda clan!”

At Miel’s words Zerpheon paused.

The panda clan?

They were an extremely small minority race that lived hidden in the south, rarely leaving Berneir territory.

Lacking both combat ability and special powers, and being an endangered species, they were highly reclusive and never left their own lands unless summoned by the Berneir family head…….

Zerpheon rubbed his chin.

His slender eyes, curved into gentle crescents, studied Miel.

“Why are you going there?”

At Zerpheon’s question, Miel looked left and right before sidling right up to him.

When he crouched down at the child’s gesture to meet her gaze, Miel whispered her secret in a very tiny voice.

“Actually…… Miel is not a child of the Berneir clan.”

“……”

No—anyone could see that she was.