It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 49

Soon, Flora returned with a thick baguette, a donut with a hole in the middle, and a generous dollop of whipped cream.

Kitty, feeling a bit peckish, couldn’t tear her eyes away from the suddenly appearing bread. They were all her favorites.

“I guess we’re having a snack while we learn!” Caris announced.

Kitty wagged her tail, hoping Flora would bring milk or milk tea.

However, Caris continued her explanation of love instead of cutting the bread or offering it to Kitty.

Despite the ongoing theoretical lesson, Kitty couldn’t quite grasp the concept and tilted her head in confusion.

Caris picked up the donut and baguette to illustrate her point.

“To put it simply, love is shared like this.”

“……?!”

Kitty’s eyes widened as if she had witnessed something shocking.

Several hours later.

Caris, having thoroughly educated Kitty on the intricacies of adult love, cut the bread with a refreshed expression.

“Kitty, would you like some?”

“…….”

However, Kitty, still reeling from the information overload, couldn’t bring herself to eat the baguette, donut, and whipped cream she usually loved so much.

Thanks to Caris’s kind and detailed education, she now knew how babies were made, but the shock was considerable.

‘So babies aren’t made when you wrap your tail around someone twice and fall asleep hugging…….’ she thought, aghast.

She felt like she had been thrust into the adult world in an instant, and her head was spinning. Kitty closed her notebook with trembling hands and put away her writing utensils.

Caris took a piece of baguette, dipped it in whipped cream, and looked at Kitty. Her pale complexion clearly indicated the shock she was experiencing.

“Baby, are you alright?”

“Yes. It was something I had to learn someday,” Kitty replied, forcing a smile. She was amazed that wolves, unlike cats, seemed to naturally understand such shocking things.

She finally understood why the word ‘wolf-like’ was used to describe beastmen who were skilled in love and affection.

‘Still, it’s a relief. I learned important things before it was too late, right?’

It was much better to be informed than to be ignorant and floundering in love. Moreover, learning about the love of wolves would allow her to sense any special attention directed at her.

‘Revenge is the top priority, so I should avoid love if possible.’

According to Caris, affection between opposite genders always came with obsession.

‘Whenever I asked hesitantly, everyone said they weren’t obsessed with me.’

It seemed that no one of the opposite gender was interested in her yet.

Well, they were all friends who had been playing and hanging out together, so it would be strange to think of them as potential partners.

‘That’s a relief. As long as I’m careful like this until I leave the mansion, love won’t ruin my revenge.’

Caris tilted her head, watching Kitty’s relieved expression.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up early, finished getting ready, and called Lena. The newly hired maids were starting their apprenticeship today, so I wanted to reconfirm the plan.

Since I couldn’t fully entrust my daily life to them, as they were highly likely to be Jerian’s henchmen, I needed the help of reliable employees like Lena.

Fortunately, Lena understood my thoughts as if she had read my mind.

“Of course. I’ll make sure those suspicious maids don’t touch our cute young lady’s meals or tea.”

“Thank you, Lena. Please bear with me a little longer, and I’ll hire new maids when things settle down.”

“You can take your time. I’m happy to have more time to stay close to the young lady’s side.”

Lena stroked me with her wrinkled hands. I gently leaned into her familiar touch.

“By the way, young lady. What are you going to do with the rabbit beastman?”

“Well, I think I need to watch her a little longer.”

Baniel’s future would depend on how the two spies acted. If Anne and Marie moved as I expected, I might be able to test Baniel’s feelings as well.

‘I’m not a child anymore, so I shouldn’t trust everyone.’

There was even a clerk who tried to sell me fake jewelry when I was young. Jerian killed my dad and brothers and shamelessly offered his condolences.

I didn’t let my guard down and waited for the maids’ first day of work.

Knock, knock—

Soon, Anne, Marie, and Baniel, dressed in Gridwolf employee uniforms, entered. They looked determined, as expected on their first day.

Lena, as I had asked, put on a stern expression and greeted them.

“I trust you have learned well from the head maid about the precautions to take when serving Miss Kittia.”

“Yes, Mrs. Gray.”

Lena explained my morning schedule to the maids. The schedule consisted only of drinking tea in the glass greenhouse.

Sir Elliot was away on business today, so there was no martial arts training.

So, I had made an appointment to have tea with Cleed and Ethan.

‘Why does Sir Elliot tell me not to meet Ethan or Cleed alone?’

I wouldn’t have questioned the reason in the past, but after learning about love from Caris yesterday, I had many thoughts.

If Cleed or Ethan heard this, they would probably frown and ask what kind of delusions I was having.

“Shall we go then?”

I headed to the glass greenhouse. But there was already a group of maids, including Flora, there.

“Flora?”

“Sir Jackal heard about the young lady’s schedule today and sent me.”

Was Sir Jackal worried about the maids’ surprise actions because he knew everything about my plan, or…….

‘What am I even thinking!’

It seemed like I was overly conscious of the world since I had only learned about love between opposite genders recently.

Ethan or Cleed would probably chuckle if they knew.

I shook my head inwardly to get rid of the distracting thoughts and sat down. Right now, I had to focus on how to manage the spies I had deliberately brought in.

“Here come the young masters,” Flora said. I got up slightly from my seat and waved at them with my soft paw.

But their attire was a bit noticeable. Usually, they would wear a shirt and vest, or at most a jacket, in the warm greenhouse, but today they were wearing cuff jackets and even ties.

Since the two of them were dressed up like that for a gathering of three, I felt a bit awkward in my casual clothes.

‘Did they think today’s tea time was a formal occasion?’

If not, there was no reason for them to dress up like that as if they had made an appointment. Their hairstyles were also slightly different from usual when I looked closely.

Both of them had their hair neatly swept back, making me feel like I was at a ballroom. Their sculpted faces revealed their presence without exaggeration.

“Sir Jackal’s judgment was right after all,” one of the maids Flora brought muttered quietly. I didn’t know what it meant, but it seemed Sir Jackal had anticipated this situation.

Unlike their chandelier-like bright appearances, they bickered as usual until the moment they sat down.

“Cleed, why are you going to the greenhouse?”

“Because I was invited by the young lady. Did you dress up like that thinking it was a meeting for just the two of you, young master?”

“Before you criticize my attire, take off your sparkling tie pin.”

“This is the point [a subtle jab or witty remark].”

Their gazes met in the air with a sizzle. I felt like I would get indigestion from drinking tea in this atmosphere, so I quickly stepped between them.

As expected, in this kind of tense atmosphere……!

“Kyaa—! What handsome suits!”

They pondered my words for a moment and asked almost simultaneously.

“Who are you talking to?”

Um, ding-dong, failure.

The teacups seemed like they would break in the frozen atmosphere. I curled up the corners of my lips and offered them seats.

“You both look so, so handsome. Enough to make anyone fall in love. Shall we sit down and have tea?”

“…….”

They seemed somewhat satisfied with my flattery and sat down. Flora and Lena prepared the tea with elegant manners.

Pour, pour—

Steaming black tea was poured into our cups. Only after Lena poured plenty of milk into my cup did the conversation begin.

“I should have dressed up more too. It would have created a better atmosphere if I had.”

The conversation started with a light topic. But throughout the unremarkable story, my attention was focused on Anne, Marie, and Baniel.

This place was nothing more than a stage to figure out how the maids would move.

‘Jerian always used to test his henchmen in this way.’

I never thought there would be a situation where I would be picking out Jerian’s spies using the method Jerian used to use. I guess that’s why they say you never know what will happen with cats.

While Ethan and Cleed were both on edge, something finally happened.

Clang—!

A sound of something breaking came from behind me. It was the auxiliary teapot that contained hot water in preparation for brewing more tea.

“Kitty!”

“Young lady, are you alright?”

I was instantly surrounded by people. Other than slightly biting my tongue in surprise at the sound, I wasn’t seriously injured.

The one who broke the teapot was my maid, Baniel, who was on her first day of work.

Anne and Marie pretended to be worried but subtly blamed and cornered her.

“Baniel…… I’m glad the young lady wasn’t hurt. It was almost dangerous.”

“It must have been a little heavy since it was full of hot water, right?”

Baniel looked at the broken teapot and me alternately with startled rabbit eyes. Flora, the head maid, cleared up the situation with a stern voice.

“Baniel. Did you break the teapot?”

“I’m sorry, Flora. But the handle…….”

As soon as Baniel retorted, Anne and Marie opened their mouths as if to say something.

Before they could speak, I quickly spoke like a noble young lady.

“I almost got hurt, so I can’t just let it go.”

After taking a deep breath, I spoke in the sternest voice I could muster.

“Flora. Take Baniel away immediately.”

“……!”

Baniel looked up at me with wide eyes. Her lilac eyes were filled with injustice.

But I had no intention of going back on my word.

“Cleed, please.”

“Yes, young lady.”

Cleed answered politely for once and directly restrained Baniel. Cuffs made of magic bound Baniel’s hands.

I looked at Baniel as she moved further away and then averted my gaze.

* * *

In the end, the tea party ended awkwardly. Anne and Marie, who were given a tour of the mansion by Flora, were assigned to tidy up Kitty’s bedding.

“Then I’ll come back in an hour. Oh, you need to infuse the room with the young lady’s favorite scent, so don’t turn off the scented candles.”

Lena said that and left, leaving only the two of them in the room. After tidying up the bedding to some extent, they began to talk in small voices.

“I can’t believe she would immediately tell them to take her away for making one mistake…….”

“I know. We were just trying to give the impression that the rabbit was incompetent.”

“She’s only temporarily adopted, but does she think she’s a real daughter or something?”

Anne and Marie laughed in low voices. Thanks to the foolish cat young lady’s actions, things were going smoothly.

Without Baniel, they could use the dormitory alone. It would be much easier to share information.

“It was worth it to suggest that the rabbit apply slippery oil to her hands.”

“The one Jerian gave us to apply to the stairs?”

“Yeah. There are too many eyes watching during the apprenticeship period, so we can’t apply it to the stairs, but…….”

The two shrugged as if they knew the plan without having to say it.

Above the closet where their gazes couldn’t reach.

‘I guess they can’t smell me because of the scented candles.’

Kitty, who was perking up her ears inside a large box, wore a strange smile.

It was because things had become easier thanks to Anne and Marie, who had acted exactly as expected.