The bear’s snout, wide open, was filled with fine wrinkles. Its round and black nose felt moist as if it were alive, but the eyes embedded in the flesh were nothing more than glass beads.
As one approached, a strong smell of chemical substances, applied to prevent decay, wafted from the bear. The indescribable musty odor of aged leather also pricked the nose.
“A wolf cub?”
A hand adorned with a ring gently stroked the bear’s snout. The composed doctor lowered his head with each word, examining the fingers laden with abundant oil. Golden hair flowed smoothly down.
“It was undoubtedly a silver wolf, Your Lordship. It seems it hasn’t even shed its baby teeth yet.”
“Hmm.”
The viscount buried his hefty frame in the sofa. The wooden legs of the sofa creaked with effort. The doctor approached a step closer, clasping both hands together.
“Not long ago, you mentioned wanting to add a wolf to your collection, did you not? I can assist with the taxidermy this time as well.”
“Very good. Very well. However, I’d like to see it alive at least once. If it’s that young, I might be able to tame it.”
Chubby fingers kneaded the triple-layered chin. The viscount aimed his finger gun at the bear mount. Bang! It seemed as if a shot had been fired, and he shook his hand, revealing the ruse with a laugh.
“Think it’s possible, Doctor?”
***
Leon gently placed the fluffy bundle of fur on the forest floor, a bit away from where the puppy was initially found. He judged it safer to do so, considering that the creature that attacked the puppy might reappear.
“All right. Listen, you furry one.”
Kneeling with one knee, aligning himself with the puppy’s eye level, Leon tried to focus, but the puppy, with deep black eyes, anxiously wandered around, unable to concentrate. The fur around its mouth was whitened, a result of a generous milk lunch.
“We can’t raise you. Grandma’s not well, and I… I don’t know how long I can stay here. So, you have to live in this forest.”
The puppy seemed to understand Leon’s words entirely. It stared at Leon with round eyes like acorns, then whimpered while extending its small front paw as if asking to be picked up.
However, Leon, determined, ignored the pitiful whimpering and pretended not to notice the pathetic, unknown creature pawing at his knee.
“You’ll survive well, eating fruits. I’ll come occasionally to take care of you. Still, animals are happiest living in the wild. It’s in their nature.”
Woof!
As if rejecting Leon’s words, the puppy barked again, then clung to Leon’s knee. It hopped around desperately, seeming to plead to be embraced.
Don’t leave me. Don’t abandon me here. I want to live with you.
We’re sorry for MTLers or people who like using reading mode, but our translations keep getting stolen by aggregators so we’re going to bring back the copy protection. If you need to MTL please retype the gibberish parts.
Despite the clear emotions expressed in the puppy’s facial expressions and actions, Leon closed his eyes tightly and shook his head.
When he stood up completely, the puppy’s front paws slipped, barely touching the ground. Even so, with just that, the puppy gave Leon a fierce look with its yet-to-be-fully blackened pink paw.
“Grandma and I have sent back many other animals we saved to the forest. Some were reluctant at first, but eventually, they adapted and lived well. You can do it too. Even if you don’t like it now, going back to the homeland is for your own good…”
Whine.
The puppy raised its head and quickly stood on its hind legs, attempting to catch Leon with its still pinkish paw.
“Live well. Goodbye.”
Leon was a forest person who knew well the fact that one must part ways with wild animals. He turned away from the snugly shining broad nose, round bean-like eyes embedded in white rice cakes and the whimpering cries, leaving behind the rustling leaves beneath his feet without a backward glance.
Almost as if running, he returned to the cabin, where Grandma was in the yard. She was stooped, filling in the shallow pit the puppy had dug while playing.
Leon approached and took the shovel away. “I’ll do it, Grandma. Your back isn’t good; why didn’t you ask me?”
“Did you take the puppy back properly?”
“…Yeah.”
Grandma peered down at the pit like it could be a letter the puppy left behind. The pit was just the right size for a small puppy to enter and rest. It seemed to capture the image of a pink tongue stretched out, yawning, basking in the afternoon sun.
“Ah, tsk. From now on, don’t bring things with fur.”
Grandma, patting her back, went into the house. Leon, watching her retreating figure, lifted the shovel but paused.
A silver tuft of fur clung to the grass. When he picked it up with his thumb and forefinger, a smooth texture transmitted through.
The memory of the puppy, whimpering as if saying not to throw it away, kept coming back. He felt a slight regret for not even once patting its head.
“….”
Soon, he discarded the tuft of fur in his hand, gripped the shovel, and began to fill the pit, wiping the sweat from his forehead as he swept the scattered dirt around.
***
That day, Grandma was also unusually quiet. She bowed her head as if trying to forget troubling matters, concentrating on her sewing.
Leon was wiping the dishes used for lunch when he suddenly stopped scrubbing. Grandma, still focused on her needlework, asked without looking up.
“What?”
“I think I hear something.”
“Something like what?”
Thud, thud, thud. In response to Grandma’s words, there was a scratching sound on the door. The wrinkled corners of Grandma’s mouth twitched, and Leon walked towards the front door.
Kneeing. Kng, kng!
Whether responding to footsteps or agitatedly barking, the sound intensified. The scratching of claws, not fully grown, on the door immediately followed. It seemed as though the firmly closed door would magically open if they continued.
“Don’t open it. It’ll go away soon. We don’t take in creatures we can’t be responsible for till the end.”
“…I know.”
Leon bit his lip and returned to the dishes. The faint whimpering was now drowned out by the rhythmic sound of scrubbing.
Nevertheless, one cannot do the dishes forever. Once the clattering of dishes ceased, the presence of the puppy became more distinct.
Grandma stubbornly concentrated on the nearly finished fabric, as if there were some rule that she must only look at the sewing.
Leon, moving more briskly than usual, swept and cleaned the house, which he had already tidied up in the morning. Usually, Grandma would have scolded him to open the doors and windows to let the dust out, but this time she remained silent.
The crying outside grew louder. The soft and gentle claws seemed to scratch not at the door but at the heart.
“It won’t keep it up until night, will it?”
“It’ll leave soon.”
Even Grandma’s voice lacked certainty.
True to Leon’s concern, the puppy didn’t leave the doorstep until the day darkened, and later, it circled the entire cabin, crying sadly. Leon could hardly eat dinner and kept peering out of the window.
“Leon.”
Grandma pulled out what she had been sewing all along. It was a fully completed gray dress.
“Tomorrow is market day, so you should be able to sell it. I sewed it meticulously and added some gathers on the sleeves, so you should get at least 50 aels for it.”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s call it a night.”
“But it’s not even dark yet?”
Grandma stood up, placing her hand on her knee.
“The light inside is on, so it’ll keep coming. If we turn off the light, it’ll give up and leave.”
Grumbling to herself, Grandma went to her bedroom.
“Sigh, not knowing that, foolish creatures will die in the forest if we domesticate them and then abandon them.”
Grandma, once again, clicked her tongue and closed the bedroom door. Leon, who was standing still with the dress Grandma had made in his hands, blew out a breath and extinguished the candle on the table.
Although it was an early hour, the last rays of sunlight cast a golden ribbon across the table. Grandma was right. It would be best to go to bed early today.
After a quick wash, he lay down on the worn-out bed. Unconsciously, Leon swept his hand over the spot where the puppy had crouched to sleep yesterday. Naturally, the warmth was no longer there.
Awoo-.
The puppy started a feeble howl. Howling was an act of informing the pack of its presence. Knowing this fact, Leon closed his eyes tightly in anguish.
The howling, which seemed like it would stop or continue at any moment, completely ceased after about ten minutes. The last howl was a broken and exhausted whimper. Quietly getting up from the bed and looking out the window, Leon saw the puppy in the front yard.
The puppy, with its tiny front paws, dug the ground vigorously, creating a pit, then wagged its tail before settling into it. After circling around several times, attempting to find the right spot, the puppy finally plopped down, burying its nose in its front paws.
“Ah….”
Leon collapsed onto the bed and let out a sigh. He desperately recalled reasons why he shouldn’t keep the puppy.
Grandma was old, and he, too, was frail. The probability of not being able to take responsibility for a life until the end was too high. Bringing the puppy into the house was not a wise choice; if it lost its wildness, it wouldn’t be able to return to the forest. Cutting ties now was the right thing to do.
After crying for a while, he wondered if he had fallen asleep from exhaustion, but the puppy started howling again before long.
Whimper, whine, yelp!
Leon covered his ears. Don’t listen. It’ll only hurt for a moment. He had rescued a fallen baby bird and an orphaned baby squirrel before, but they eventually returned to the forest. The puppy would also go back to where it lived, and in a few days, this cabin would be completely forgotten.
Taking a deep breath and steeling his resolve, he removed his hands from his ears.
Did the puppy sense Leon’s resolve? It was quiet outside. After being tormented by the sounds of scratching and crying all afternoon, the current silence felt deeper and heavier. Lying quietly in bed, listening only to the sounds of insects, Leon couldn’t suppress his emotions and went towards the window.
‘Gone.’
In the yard, only the freshly dug pit remained. Instead of a silver tuft of fur, the moonlight filled the pit, giving it a somehow lonely appearance.
“I’m glad it’s gone before tomorrow.”
Perhaps, someday in the forest, they might exchange greetings. It would become a noble and magnificent dog. Its fur, bathed in moonlight, would undoubtedly be as beautiful as a stream. Leon flicked the hand that had touched the window sill. Returning to bed and pulling the blanket over himself, a long sigh escaped him. He tried to think that everything had been resolved, but… It wasn’t entirely relieving.
Haven’t finished reading yet but: I KNEW SOMETHING WAS UP WITH THAT DOCTOR
Alright, finished reading now ajsjjsjs
Ay, the pitiful cries sound so heartbreaking, I don’t think I would be able to resist 🤧 I wonder how Leon will find out that the wolf cub has been abducted? 🤔
Thank you for the translation 💖