Home/I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family/ch49

Chapter 49

The dog was so black it could easily be mistaken for a shadow.

It was astonishing that she'd spotted it from a distant building.

"...How."

Murmuring, Alexei knelt beside Ber.

Ber cradled the dog's face to check its condition.

Black fur. Drooping ears. Eyes squeezed shut. Looking at it, she felt an inexplicable sense of déjà vu.

Come to think of it, the dog I saw as a child was also this black.

Before Ber was adopted into the Grizzly family—back when she couldn't even humanize properly—there had been a dog collapsed on the snow outside the castle walls.

Lady Pallas had placed a healing spell on it—had it recovered? That dog.

"This dog..."

At that moment, Alexei, who had been examining the dog as well, murmured. Perhaps he'd had the same thought. Startled, Ber turned—and Alexei suddenly stood up.

"Here. There are clothes, young lady."

Alexei searched the bushes beside the tree and picked up a set of clothes and a pair of shoes from beneath them.

A gray jacket with gold epaulets, gray trousers. A white blouse, and black loafers.

An Imperial Academy uniform.

"...Can you hold the clothes and shoes?"

"Pardon?"

Without answering Alexei's question, Ber lifted the black dog into her arms and stood.

"Y-young lady?"

"This child needs to go to the infirmary. It's having trouble breathing."

Ber's determined eyes never left the black dog. Holding it, she felt it more clearly—the dog's erratic heartbeat.

"I'll carry it. It's a big dog—it must be heavy."

"No, it's fine."

She shook her head and gently stroked the dog's black fur.

"It's light. ...Very."

Frighteningly so.

Ber's brow furrowed. Biting her lower lip in impatience, she looked around.

"The main building was that way, right?"

"I believe so."

Alexei nodded, and Ber dashed toward the main building. Alexei followed, carrying the clothes and shoes.

Finding it hard to breathe in the girl's arms, the dog rested its head on Ber's shoulder. Each time its labored breath touched her neck, Ber's arms tightened around it.

Suddenly, she remembered that day.

If Theodor hadn't appeared that day, she would have been sent to the Imperial Court and locked in a dungeon.

Without ever speaking in human form, without ever having a cozy room, without ever feeling the warmth of a loving family.

So I don't want to look away.

She didn't have healing powers, nor was she the head of a house—all she could do was carry this child to the infirmary.

But still, she wanted to do something—anything.

Ber's pace quickened.

She reached the main building entrance. But she didn't know where the infirmary was. As she and Alexei looked around—

"Hey, you little ones."

A teasing voice came. Startled, Ber turned—a student was walking toward her from the main entrance.

"You seem a bit young to be at the Academy. What are you doing here without a guardian?"

"......"

The moment she saw the student's face, Ber's mouth began to fall open.

This face. She'd definitely seen it.

On the cover of What Was Tamed!

The man embracing the heroine on the cover—if a man is holding the heroine on the cover, he's the male lead.

Adrian Renard.

The male lead of What Was Tamed was right before her eyes.

---

The male lead of What Was Tamed. A second-year student at the Imperial Academy. A red fox beast-person—Adrian Renard.

He was from the prestigious Marquis Renard family, but Adrian wasn't the studious type.

His blouse hung out over his trousers, sticking out from under his jacket, and he wasn't even wearing his uniform ribbon. Exactly as described in the story—a delinquent look.

His carelessly brushed back deep crimson hair, his playful teal eyes. Even his lips, set in a default teasing smile.

Truly the archetypal sly male lead.

So his first impression wasn't very likable.

He was finally the real male lead—but you could never tell if he was joking or serious, which was why even Einja didn't trust him at first.

"Hm? Can't you hear me? Little miss."

So this was the look. No wonder she couldn't trust him when he kept talking with that expression!

"Show some respect! Step away from the young lady."

At Alexei stepping protectively in front of her, Ber snapped back to her senses.

Whether he was the male lead or not, that wasn't what mattered now.

"The—the infirmary."

"...Huh?"

"Please take us to the infirmary!"

At Ber's urgent plea, Adrian's bewildered gaze sharpened. After confirming the black dog in Ber's arms and the Imperial Academy uniform in Alexei's hand, he smirked again.

"Follow me, little ones."

---

They arrived at the infirmary.

"Lay it down here."

Following the nurse's guidance, Ber laid the dog on the bed. The nurse immediately began examining it, pressing an ear to its chest to check its heartbeat.

But soon, the nurse looked up with a puzzled expression.

"There doesn't seem to be anything wrong. It's a calm, steady sound—like the heartbeat of someone asleep."

"Pardon...?"

Ber, equally bewildered, examined the dog again.

It was true. The furrowed brow had relaxed, and the tightly shut eyes now looked peaceful. The mouth that had been panting with tongue out was closed, and the dog was breathing comfortably through its nose, fast asleep.

"I... it really did just fall asleep."

Alexei muttered in disbelief. It was surprising—just moments ago, it had seemed on the verge of respiratory failure, and now it was so peaceful.

"Hmm, had it been overexerting itself? Running around too much?"

"I don't know. I just happened to find it under a tree..."

"It was already collapsed when we found it."

"I see."

After confirming the situation, the nurse conducted a few more checks, then smiled at Ber's anxious face.

"It seems there's nothing serious. You don't need to worry."

"...What a relief. Thank you so much."

Ber let out a sigh of relief and patted her chest.

Yes. It was sleeping with such a peaceful expression. Why had she thought it would die within a few years? She must have been overthinking.

"Can you hand me the clothes and shoes? I'll keep an eye on it for now."

Handing over the unconscious child's uniform, the nurse finally looked at Ber and Alexei with wide eyes.

When the nurse expressed surprise at how they'd gotten inside without being students, Ber and Alexei explained everything.

After wrapping up the conversation, the three left the infirmary.

"So you little ones came for the entrance ceremony. Did your older sister or brother enroll?"

At Adrian, who deliberately drawled his words as he addressed the young lady, Alexei replied sourly:

"That doesn't seem like something you need to be curious about."

"Is that so? Well, I wasn't particularly curious anyway."

Alexei frowned. There was something irritating about his attitude and tone. He was grateful for being led to the infirmary—but why did he keep leaning toward the young lady like that?

As Alexei stepped in front of Ber again, Adrian chuckled and folded his arms behind his head.

"Anyway, you should head back to the guardian waiting room. Do you know the way?"

"We came here straight from that waiting room. I've got that much figured out."

He answered curtly and turned to Ber.

"You left without telling the Count—he must be worried. Let's go back quickly, young lady."

But for some reason, Ber didn't answer. Head bowed, she stood silently before the infirmary door.

"Young lady?"

As Alexei reached out to check her condition, Ber swayed.

Then her thin body collapsed to the side.

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