Chapter 29 - His Bet

Chapter 29 – His Bet

The Bonfire Accidentally Extinguished

The bear was too big to be Pur.

Kiehl was a little startled, but he slowly reached for the dagger at his waist.

Then Pur suddenly appeared behind the bear.

“Wow! Are you here to help me?”

“Pur?”

“It just became my friend… the name is…”

The big bear’s arms were full of firewood.

“The name….”

In front of Pur, who was still considering names, Kiehl picked up some firewood and said,

“Hey, do you want to stop?”

“Yes! Let’s go, friend!”

“Will the bear come with you?”

“Yes! I should introduce everyone to my new friend!”

Kiehl licked his dry lips, watching Pur’s back as he excitedly headed toward the tent with the bear.

‘I think Bella will not like it…’

Meanwhile, Bella ignored all the nagging and stared anxiously at Kiehl’s empty seat.

‘Am I too worried?’

The more she listened to Jenkins, the closer Bella got to her feelings.

‘Certainly, if it was a kid like Bwen, I wouldn’t have worried.’

The guy who didn’t even come to the swordsmanship class would have lost a fight with Kiehl.

‘It’s not that Kiehl is unreliable, but why am I worried?’

Just then, a loud noise from Pur could be heard in the distance.

‘… What about Kiehl?”

Not a single sound from Kiehl could be heard, so Bella hurriedly turned around, fearing that he might not have returned.

“I brought firewood!”

‘Ah…. What a relief.’

Kiehl just walked wordlessly. With an unidentified bear.

A string of curses rose to Bella’s throat, but she exhaled calmly because she was in front of Kiehl.

“You bastards who called me overprotective earlier, get into the water*!”

“Yes.”

Without another word, Jenkins and Zanbar dove into the lake.

And Bella quietly cut the head of the bear standing tall with a single gesture.

As the bear’s head fell next to her, Pur looked at it and then looked at Bella again.

“It was my… friend.”

“…..”

“I thought we’d play together…”

“Do you think this is a zoo?”

And Bella went straight to Kiehl and examined him for his safety.

“Kiehl, where are you hurt?”

“I’m okay.”

“Am I worrying too much about you?”

Kiehl looked at Iwer for a moment. Because she was the only one who noticed his heart. But when Iwer shook her head, he hugged Bella tightly and said.

“I like Bella who cares for me.”

Bella hugged Kiehl tighter.

“Aww, you’re cute, my cub.”

“I don’t like being cute…”

“Aww, you’re pretty.”

Kiehl hated the word “cute” even more.

To express his dissatisfaction, he puffed his cheek out full of air, but Bella said.

“Shall we cook and eat the bear that our Pur caught?”

“Miss, how can you tell me to eat my kind!”

“Then you don’t eat.”

They gathered in front of the bonfire and ate roasted bear meat while basking in the warm fire.

“After all, Iwer is really good at cooking.”

“I tell you again and again, the secret to being loved is this dish!”

However, Pur did not eat the meat until the end and cried.

“Pur, eat some!”

“How do you eat your own kind…”

“Hey, it’s not your kind.”

“Ah! That’s right!”

Is she simple or is she stupid? Pur was excited and began to devour the bear meat.

‘In the Demon Realm, you’re also eating well… ‘

Darkness fell as they finished eating and the moonlight shimmered on the water of the lake.

“If you turn off the lights, you can see the stars better.”

Bella raised her hand, and everyone looked at her with startled widened eyes.

“How are you going to turn the light back on?”

“You can light it with magic!”

“I am against it.”

At this moment, everyone was of one mind and one will.

Even Kiehl, who trusted her, carefully grabbed Bella’s hem and stopped her.

But she had already poured the sand over the bonfire.

Her impatient personality never seemed to change no matter how much time passed. Instantly, pitch-black darkness approached to the point where they couldn’t see, and then their eyes gradually became brighter in the moonlight.

“….ha.”

Jenkins sighed, but Bella said, pointing her hand to the sky.

“Well, how about it? Can you see the Milky Way instead?”

Kiehl followed Bella’s fingertips and looked up.

Even on the first day they met, the sky was full of spring constellations.

At that time he tried to hold on until he returned to the Imperial Palace.

From that point forward, it gradually seeped in, and the whole sky was filled with Bella’s constellation.

“Guys, take a look! It’s rare to see it in the animal kingdom, so it’s beautiful.”

As Bella said, Zanbar was the first to complain about whether the scenery had any sensibility to appreciate.

“The moon is much bigger in the animal kingdom.”

There is no rule that says that big is beautiful.

To Zanbar’s statement, the other demons also added one word at a time.

“I want to see my friends.”

“Me too! Miss, when are we going back?”

When Pur asked, Bella felt a cold wind over the tip of her nose.

The dreamy starlight shining on the lake looked like shattered pieces of glass as if from a dream.

***

She had been putting it off, but the day was approaching her nose.

“I think this is enough.”

Kiehl had already learned what he needed to know, and he also learned how to play with commoners.

In addition, she gave him a taste of the basic education he would receive as a prince, so it was a pretty satisfactory result.

Jenkins called Bella overprotective, but in fact, she was evaluating Kiehl more objectively than anyone else.

Of course, if the evaluation was also an act of overprotectiveness, there was nothing to say.

It had been dark when she first brought Kiehl.

When it was time to let him go, she was somehow saddened.

‘Come to think of it, he will soon be 14 years old.’

When did so much time pass?

– “Sometimes the Miss is too overprotective. The Young Master says he likes to do things alone.”

She hated hearing Jenkins’ nagging, but he was right.

‘Looking that way, I was the same.’

In her previous life, her parents died early, and her significantly older sister gave up her own studies and took on the responsibility of making a living for her.

– “Hong, don’t fill yourself with something like ramen. Make sure you eat properly.”

Even after Bella was independent and became a police officer, her older sister still saw her only as the fifteen-year-old younger sister.

It would have been the same if her sister had become a grandmother.

Bella slowly closed her eyes and savored the laughter causing tears.

‘I miss Older Sister and Siyoon after all this time.’

Are they all doing well?

‘Siyoon will really like it when he comes here.’

Her three-year-old nephew loved animals so much.

‘There is a talking bear and leopard….’

Bella’s nephew who said, ‘Don’t die, Auntie’ and came running to Bella when she pretended to die.

-“What should I do, Auntie is upset when you grow up? Can’t you stay three years old forever?”

She then died without even saying goodbye, but she is now possessed in this novel and she is having unexpectedly good days.

‘Because I have time to say goodbye.’

In the first place, she was destined to wait for the day she would die in the Demon Realm.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a knock on her study door.

“Bella, let’s train.”

The Milky Way that stood, discovered by a bonfire that had been accidentally extinguished.

“Yeah. Shall we?”

She wondered if the days were getting warmer, but it was a hot summer that was difficult to get through without ice.

“I didn’t know that the Miss’ magic could help in times like this.”

The other day, Bella tried to make ice and turned the parlor into an ice room, but the family members came to this parlor to cool off whenever they had time.

“It’s too hot. I want to shave all my hair!”

“This summer’s too hot…”

“You say you’re hot even though you’re taking off your clothes. When the Princess sees it… you’re finished.”

Looking at Zanbar, Iwer shook her head.

“Even the young master doesn’t say anything, but Sir Zanbar why!”

Sitting opposite him, Kiehl glanced at Iwer, then lightly clicked his tongue and read the book again.

“I think the Young Master just gave up.”

Kiehl nodded his head.

He was already immune to the actions of the animal kingdom’s people.

Sometimes, it’s strange that the animal kingdom beings don’t change even with nagging like that and sometimes it’s exhausting, but Bella gives off anger every time she sees it, which is also surprising.

“When the Miss comes, I can wear clothes!”

As soon as she finished speaking, Bella slammed the door open.

“Haa, why is it so hot?”

Everyone looked at Iwer in anticipation of Bella’s scolding. To their surprise, she was getting dressed quickly enough like in a magic show.

“What are you all doing here? Are you all done with work?”

Jenkins had a hunch that the scolding towards Iwer would hit them like a tidal wave and tried to divert Bella’s attention.

“Are we going to the summer festival again? Shall we rent a carriage in advance?”

“Ah… a carriage. Shall we just buy a carriage?”

“It’s not really a problem but who will manage the horses?”

“…..you?”

Since Kiehl started training with Bella, Jenkins had quite a bit of free time. He didn’t want to spend his spare time caring for a horse, so he hurriedly offered it to Bella.

“This time, the Duke of Croel said that they were spending a lot of money on Daisy to make the festival bigger.”

“Oh really?”

The fireworks display was disappointing last time and hopes were high that it will be more spectacular this time.

Just as Bella was about to speak with a broad smile, Kiehl said as he closed the book.

“I’ve been there, how about going somewhere else?”

“Why? I think the fireworks display will be huge. I think it will be different from last year.”

But the more Bella spoke, the more excited she seemed.

Kiehl clenched his jaw without losing his smile. During last year, he was worried that she might go to Croel.

‘I think he’s interested in Bella.’

He was worried that she might run into Juan Croel if they went to Daisy.

Of course, since it was a while ago, Juan might have forgotten Bella. Kiehl remembered him as he had dated quite a few women.

“Kiehl, we went last year, so this year, wouldn’t it be more fun?”

Before long, Bella sat next to him and poked him with her finger.

Her eyes were wide open, as if a cat begging for a snack.

More than Iwer’s naked body, these eyes make people nervous and compelled to follow her as if possessed.

His intuition said she shouldn’t be allowed to meet Juan Croel.

“That….”

Eventually, just before Kiehl says ‘yes’, Jenkins snapped his fingers and saved him.

“Ah! Miss, Mary from the swordsmanship class said something interesting!”

*) I don’t know if I’m overthinking the details, but this was actually the punishment for military trainees(?) [입수] getting into the water, because they’re training with full gear and either the water can be too cold or their whole clothes will be stiff because of water and dirt. I watched too many Korean shows XD