The Obsessive Male Lead Is Jealous Of My Doll - Chapter 59

Chapter 30.1

[ Lady Karentina, please help! There’s a bear near Princess Stella! ]

‘What…?’

Karentina couldn’t believe her ears when she heard Leah’s voice, and she instinctively took a step back.

Feeling the blood run cold in her veins, she rushed back to the tent. But when she got there, both Leah and Stella were gone. The food on the table was a mess, and small footprints on the carpet made her heart sink. Without hesitation, she searched for Leah’s presence and ran toward the forest.

[ Master! ]

Even though she could hear Zion frantically calling her name, her mind was too clouded with worry to think rationally.

‘This is my fault. I should’ve stayed with Stella and taken better care of her! I should’ve told Ignis about the bear, too!’

The guilt weighed heavy on her chest. If Stella were to get hurt…

“Aah!”

She suddenly stumbled and fell hard to the ground with a thud. It seemed she had tripped over a tree root hidden from her sight. Sharp rocks littered the area, and pain shot through her hands, knees, and face as scratches began to form.

“Huuhk… It hurts…”

Karentina bit her lip tightly, trying to pull herself together.

It wasn’t the pain that scared her the most, but the thought of something happening to Stella. Her stomach churned with dread as though the ground were collapsing beneath her.

Worried that the bear might pick up the scent of blood, Karentina wiped it away with a handkerchief and hurried in the direction where she sensed Leah’s presence. Sweat trickled down her back with each step, and she clenched her shaking hands tightly.

Just when it felt like her heart might stop from anxiety, she spotted a small girl with jet-black hair, transformed by magic, standing among the low trees.

“Stella!”

Stella quickly lifted her head at the sound of her voice. The child’s eyes were brimming with tears, and she was on the verge of crying. Leah, with her soft body soaked, was sitting helplessly on the ground, unable to move.

“I-I’m sorry. I…”

Karentina gently wrapped her arms around Stella, who was clearly shaken, trying to soothe her.

“Shh. It’s alright. Calm down.”

Stella burst into tears in her arms.

As she felt the child’s soft, warm breaths against her, Karentina’s heart, which had been on the verge of melting away, finally settled back into place.

‘Is Leah alright?’

[ I’m fine. It’s just that my body is soaked from the snow, so I can’t move. ]

As Stella’s breathing gradually calmed, Karentina lifted her head to assess the situation.

“…!”

Her heart seemed to stop for a second.

‘…W-What is this?’

In front of her was a massive polar bear, bleeding and on the verge of death. Next to it lay the lifeless body of some kind of insect-like creature that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere.

It looked like a giant mantis, about the size of a cat. Its grotesque body had dozens of eyes, and its front legs were curved like scythes—sharp and menacing. It had two pairs of wings like a dragonfly, and its body was charred in spots as though it had been burned.

[ It looks like the beast was trying to eat the bear cubs. That creature seems like it just recently hatched. ]

Leah’s words sent a shiver down Karentina’s spine.

The blood on Stella’s dress seemed to belong to the mother bear. Meanwhile, the two bear cubs circled their mother, whining and licking her motionless body.

‘Leah, just to be safe, can you check if Stella has any injuries?’

Karentina gently lowered Leah, who was too soaked to move easily, out of Stella’s sight. Immediately, divine power began to flow from Leah’s body.

Leah carefully examined the child and then looked up at Karentina with a worried expression.

[ Princess Stella is safe. Maybe it’s because of that perfume that repels bears, but she’s completely unharmed. Your wounds, though, Lady Karentina, seem much worse. ]

‘I’ll worry about myself later.’

Karentina quickly lifted both Stella and Leah into her arms. As she was about to return to the tent, she couldn’t help but feel a pang in her heart when she saw the bear cubs whimpering beside their dying mother.

Unable to walk away, Karentina quietly asked Leah.

‘Leah, do you think you could heal the mother bear with your divine power?’

Leah was visibly startled and shook her heavy, cotton-like body. She couldn’t raise her hand high because the soaked cotton weighed her down with the snow.

[ No, it’s too dangerous! ]

‘Zion is already on his way. We’ve sprayed the bear-repelling perfume, and if anything goes wrong, we have pepper spray. Without their mother, those cubs won’t survive.’

It seemed the mother bear had gotten hurt while trying to protect her cubs.

Leah, sensing Karentina’s emotions, reluctantly nodded. The next moment, Karentina gently set Stella down under a safe tree, far from the bears.

“Please wait here for a bit. If you’re scared, you can close your eyes. I’ll be back soon.”

“Ung, I’ll do as Karen says.”