Chapter 5
Chomp.
Opening her little triangular mouth wide, Nabom bit down on the leaf Ferdi held out to her.
Crunch, crunch, crunch.
With a cheerful sound, the dandelion leaf disappeared into her tiny mouth in an instant.
Having a proper meal for the first time in a long while, Nabom’s face trembled with delight.
‘It’s so delicious!’
With eyes completely ruled by hunger, she searched for her next target and promptly swallowed a dandelion, flower and all, straight from the soil.
The two brothers watched with fascinated expressions as Nabom buried her face in the dirt patch and munched away on the plants.
Every time the rabbit moved her mouth, the fur covering her face fluttered, and her upright ears twitched as well.
“If you eat like that, you’ll get your face dirty.”
Carefully brushing dirt from her cheeks and nose with his fingertips, Ferdi muttered as though making an excuse.
“Hey, that’s unfair! You’re the only one getting to do it!”
Louis reached out as well, but Nabom was so engrossed in eating that she didn’t even look his way.
Anxiously glancing around, Louis pulled a dandelion out of the soil, roots and all.
“Rabbit! Snow Rabbit!”
Approaching with two or three dandelions in hand, he finally got Nabom’s attention.
She sniffed the flowers on his palm with her tiny nose, then—
Chomp.
She took one of them into her mouth.
Munch, munch, munch. Crunch, crunch, crunch.
Completely focused on chewing the leaves in her mouth, Nabom showed no reaction even when Louis and Ferdi stroked her chin and cheeks, or scratched the fluffy fur on her ears and belly.
“She really eats well, Snowflake.”
“I told you she’s not Snowflake, Brother. She’s Snow Rabbit.”
“Right. Snow Rabbit.”
“Anyway, you need to eat lots.”
Still chattering with Ferdi, Louis offered her another dandelion and added brightly,
“Because right now, you’re not even a single bite for His Grace!”
For a moment, Nabom’s chewing stopped.
But the savory scent held right in front of her nose was irresistible.
Her mouth opened once again.
Chomp. Munch, munch, munch.
The green leaves vanished into her tiny mouth.
***
The dogsled sped across the snow.
Rattle!
Even as the sled shook violently, the two people riding it maintained their balance with ease.
Theodore Grizzly and his aide, Demirun.
“As expected, the ride quality still needs improvement.”
Muttering as he straightened his disheveled hair, Demirun suddenly frowned.
“What if we added a roof?”
The blizzard struck their faces mercilessly. Without shielding his eyes with a hand, it was impossible even to keep them open.
Yet his lord, who seemed completely unaffected by either the rough ride or the raging snowstorm, simply stared straight ahead in silence.
Not even a single frown crossed his face.
“Truly, Your Grace’s bravery is—”
Fweeeet!
Screeech.
At Theodore’s whistle, the sled came to an immediate stop.
“—remarkable.”
Grabbing the railing just in time to avoid falling over, Demirun barely kept his balance.
Theodore casually stepped off the sled and reached toward the dogs’ heads.
All four dogs eagerly pushed their heads beneath his hand as though competing for attention.
Though his palm barely brushed their fur, each dog stuck out its tongue and panted happily.
The Grizzly family’s loyal hounds seemed to be in excellent spirits today as well.
“I’ll be back shortly.”
Whether they understood him or not, the dogs’ eyes remained fixed on Theodore’s retreating back.
“Did you bring me along to help gather food?”
Demirun asked as he hurried after him.
It was late November.
Only about a month remained before hibernation began.
The more food they could stockpile, the better.
“Come to think of it, we still haven’t done our favorite activity.”
But Demirun never finished the sentence.
Theodore suddenly changed direction in a way he had never expected.
“Your Grace? This is Arctic Wolf territory.”
When Demirun spoke, Theodore nodded expressionlessly.
“No, you can’t just calmly nod like that…”
Demirun stopped walking, looking troubled.
The Arctic Wolves.
The White Wolves.
The territory of the Blashin family.
There was a subtle tension between the Arctic region and the North, so people from either side rarely entered the other’s territory.
And if someone happened to encounter them—
If they happened to recognize the ruler of the North—
“Run.”
At that moment, Theodore looked back and spoke a single word.
Demirun immediately resumed walking with a salute.
Soon, the two arrived at a clearing in the forest.
Or rather, a place that had become a clearing.
“This is…”
Even beneath the snow, deep gouges were visible everywhere.
Several fir trees that had once formed a grove lay toppled over with their inner wood exposed.
One of them even bore a clear imprint resembling the shape of an animal’s back.
“No way. Did you fight a White Wolf here?”
Demirun turned toward his lord, his face pale.
Theodore’s expression remained unchanged.
After silently surveying the area, he seemed to notice something and strode forward.
Following his gaze, Demirun’s mouth fell open.
“Did you do this, Your Grace?”
The ground had been dug out to an incredible depth.
Calling it a hole was an understatement—it was practically a pit.
Large enough to trap a dozen wolves with ease.
Like a giant snare.
Yet Theodore quietly shook his head.
Demirun narrowed his eyes.
“Don’t lie to me. If it wasn’t you, then who could’ve made a trap like this?”
Ignoring him, Theodore turned away from the pit and approached one of the fir trees.
“Come on, just tell me honestly. Why did you set up a trap like this? Did you have some grudge against the White Wolves—”
Again, Demirun never got to finish.
Theodore suddenly wrapped his arms around the tree bearing the animal-shaped imprint and began exerting force.
Craaack!
Before Demirun could stop him, the tree was uprooted entirely.
And he wasn’t even in beast form.
Demirun stared with his mouth hanging open and shook his head.
Meanwhile, Theodore paid no attention to his aide’s reaction.
Carrying the tree, he walked toward the pit.
BOOM!
Slamming it against the ground with immense force, he split the trunk in half.
He placed one half into the pit, then carefully stacked the other beside it.
Afterward, he pushed snow and dirt into the hole and packed everything down.
Soon a mound resembling a small hill formed.
Theodore repeatedly stomped it flat.
“Your Grace, what exactly are you doing?”
“Run.”
At the look Theodore gave him, Demirun immediately understood.
Letting out a deep sigh, he walked over and began stomping down the snow as well.
“Yes, yes, I understand. I saw nothing. I’ve never been here. And I certainly never helped Your Grace conceal a trap…”
Demirun was still grumbling when Theodore’s eyes suddenly sharpened.
Sensing the same thing, both men instantly leaped behind the surrounding trees.
How much time passed?
Through the swirling blizzard, several shadows emerged.
White wolves.
The White Wolves.
The wolves sniffed around and looked in every direction as though searching for something.
But the pit had been restored perfectly.
Their tracks had been erased during their escape.
And the blizzard prevented them from detecting the scent of other beastkin.
Three large wolves began growling angrily at three others.
The tone suggested blame, but it was impossible to understand exactly what they were saying.
Humans couldn’t understand beastkin speech while the latter were transformed.
At this distance, transforming would have allowed them to eavesdrop.
Demirun glanced at Theodore.
Theodore quietly shook his head.
‘Right. Bears are too large.’
Even in this blizzard, they’d be spotted immediately.
After berating the others for some time, the three wolves finally left.
The remaining wolves followed after them, limping away.
“Your Grace, at this rate we’re going to turn into snowmen. Maybe we should head back—”
“Send a letter to Lord Pallas.”
Theodore’s low voice interrupted him.
“Yes. What should it say?”
“As soon as he reads it…”
For the first time, Theodore turned his gaze away from the clearing and began walking.
“Tell him to come to Grizzly Castle.”
Saluting his lord’s retreating back, Demirun remained where he was for a moment.
Before following, he looked back at the clearing.
His eyes fell upon the tree Theodore had touched.
A small indentation marked the spot where Theodore’s hand had rested.
He had clearly been squeezing it with tremendous force.
While staring at the wolves.
Demirun’s expression darkened.
‘…So that’s what it was.’
That snowflake-like white rabbit must have been threatened by the White Wolves.
Was the Blashin family still clinging to that ancient legend?
A tiny life threatened by predators.
Just like the precious child his lord had once lost.
Demirun thought he finally understood why Theodore had chosen a new emergency food supply.
As they headed back, Theodore suddenly veered off in another direction.
“Your Grace?”
The moment Demirun spoke, Theodore’s body distorted and transformed into a gigantic brown bear.
His shredded clothing dropped onto the snow below.
“You forgot to take your clothes off beforehand again.”
Shaking his head helplessly, Demirun stripped off his own clothes.
“So that really was why you brought me.”
Laughing, he transformed as well.
A large black bear with a white crescent moon on its chest strode after the massive brown bear.
***
Nabom was still blissfully chewing dandelions after being overwhelmed by Ferdi and Louis’s relentless plant-feeding assault.
Suddenly, her ears perked up.
“It’s His Grace’s presence.”
“I think His Grace has returned!”
The two boys immediately dashed out of the greenhouse.
Nabom’s body trembled.
There was no mistake.
It was exactly the same scent as the brown bear she had encountered in the forest.
Carried outside in Anna’s arms, she found herself facing the head of the Grizzly family standing before the greenhouse in his bear form.
Beside him stood a black bear with a white crescent moon on its chest.
The overwhelming scent of predators nearly made Nabom faint.
“Your Grace, welcome back!”
“Thank you for your hard work, Your Grace!”
The boys saluted crisply.
Just as she had suspected.
A family with strict ranks even among relatives.
A household that treated even children like soldiers.
That was the Grizzly family of the North.
‘If only the original novel had described them in a little more detail…’
Maybe she could have found some clue about escaping this place.
As Nabom’s ears drooped in disappointment, the two boys whispered and giggled.
“Playing knight is so fun, right, Brother?”
“Shh. Knights don’t make small talk.”
Unfortunately, Nabom didn’t hear that conversation.
A moment later, both boys exclaimed at once.
“Wow!”
“No way!”
Something was piled high on the sled behind the two bears.
“Salmon!”
“And there’s so much of it!”
Fresh salmon formed a mountain atop the sled.
Louis and Ferdi burst into laughter and shouted excitedly at each other.
“It’s a feast! A feast!”
“Yeah. The special meal we always eat before hibernation.”
At Ferdi’s casual remark, Nabom’s head whipped around.
Wait.
Had he just said…
Hibernation?
