It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 73

Come to think of it, Ethan was always conscious of Cleed. He was probably subtly curious about Cleed’s news.

‘Though, with him being such a prickly wolf, there’s a higher chance he’s not interested.’

Following Vaniel’s advice, I added in small letters that Cleed would be staying in the next room.

I waited for the ink to dry before sealing the letter, and it felt strange. *Will Ethan even see my letter and reply?*

I stared at the letter for a while and then said,

“Send this to the training grounds.”

“Yes, Miss.”

Since I had the ink and stationery out, I also wrote several letters inviting the leaders of each race to visit the New Year’s festival and have a good time.

These were to be sent to the leaders of each race, including the bear chieftain. I don’t know if they’ll accept my letters, but it’s better to send a polite invitation first.

Of course, there was nothing to send to the leopard and cat leaders.

‘Sending Jerian an invitation that says *come if you dare* is already more than he deserves. And I’d rather the leopards didn’t come at all.’

I felt a little down that I couldn’t send invitations to the friends in the cat territory whose faces I barely remembered.

I could find out their addresses somehow, but Jerian would definitely monitor and pressure any cat who received my invitation.

He might even hand them a small dagger and order them to stab me. I’d rather not greet a friend I haven’t seen in a while like that.

‘Can’t I go back to the cat territory until I get revenge on Jerian?’

I felt bitter at the thought. I lost so much because of Jerian. The desire to get it back before it was too late boiled inside me.

I sealed the invitations, asked Lena to send them, and headed to the balcony. I planned to clear my head by getting some fresh air.

“Oh, you’re finally out here.”

I heard a familiar voice from the side. It was Cleed, who seemed to have finished moving in. His ears and nose were reddish, so he must have been on the balcony for a while.

My room was designed to fit a fully grown wolf, so it was quite spacious. Even though it was the next room, there were about five steps between Cleed’s balcony and mine.

Unless you used magic to enhance your legs, it was definitely not a distance you could just jump over.

“Cleed, a patient should rest in a warm place.”

“If you wanted that, you should have come out sooner, Miss.”

I narrowed my eyes, scolding him that his condition would worsen if he kept this up. The distance between the balconies was considerable, so I could see him at a glance.

Cleed, leaning one arm on the railing, looked more like a popular actor than the head of a family because of his height. Several buttons on his thin shirt were undone, so he definitely didn’t look like a patient.

“Cleed, go inside quickly. What if you catch a cold when you’re already not feeling well?”

“It’s okay. I put a warming spell on the balcony.”

Cleed grinned slyly. His red eyes curved languidly. Knowing he wouldn’t listen even if I nagged, I decided to ask something else.

“How’s the room?”

“It’s cozy and comfortable. And the balcony sometimes offers a view of my favorite thing in the mansion.”

I smiled brightly at Cleed’s very satisfied answer.

“Cleed likes birds too!”

Birds sometimes perched on the balcony of my room. My heart fluttered whenever I saw the small birds fluttering away with their dainty bodies.

I love birds!

“Wolves don’t seem to be very impressed by such cute birds, do they?”

I briefly explained about the birds that often visited my balcony. He chuckled when I mentioned that when I was young, I secretly brought a few kernels of corn from mealtime and left them on the balcony.

“They are cute, after all.”

“Right. It’s lovely how they peck at the corn with their beaks.”

As I smiled, Cleed silently turned his head away, avoiding my gaze. He said he wasn’t cold, but his ears seemed to be even redder for some reason.

“Cleed, go inside quickly. Your cheeks are all red.”

“…….”

Cleed stubbornly stayed in place while hiding his face. After a moment, he opened his mouth as if he had suddenly remembered something.

“Lady Caris investigated all the rabbits in the wolf territory. Apparently, some white-furred rabbits showed strange symptoms at night, like Toby.”

“Only white-furred rabbits?”

“Yes. I heard that Sir Jackal will go to the leader of the white-furred rabbits to confirm their identities.”

The information I had heard from Vaniel before came to mind. The white-furred rabbits tried to protect their territory until the end but gave up for some reason.

‘What on earth happened to them in the rabbit territory?’

My heart felt heavier because they were small and weak animals like cats. I wish there was something I could do to help.

If it’s related to Blue Moon, I might be especially helpful.

“I should ask Sir Jackal if I can go with him.”

“The leader of the white-furred rabbits is in the wolf territory anyway, so it’s not dangerous, but…”

Cleed said in a tone that suggested it would be better to wait at the mansion since it was cold. I leaned against the railing like Cleed and looked into the distance.

“I want to get back what I lost as soon as possible.”

My gaze was directed towards the cat territory. I couldn’t see it because of the hills and cloudy weather, but I would never forget the place where I buried my mother.

Feeling like a gloomy mood would rush in like dark clouds, I swept back my hair and smiled.

“You too, right?”

“…….”

“So I’ll do my best too. Pressuring Jerian is also pressuring the leopards.”

Cleed, who had been silently looking at me for a while, nodded with a strange expression. He looked both relieved and nervous.

“I’m glad our goals are similar, aren’t they?”

“……I guess so. Looks like I can go with you, Miss.”

Cleed raised his eyebrows. His face was full of satisfaction.

* * *

Meanwhile, the central training grounds of the wolves were in full swing with New Year’s fitness training.

“As expected, exercising with a fresh mind in the new year is the best. Everyone, do your best!”

The wolves gritted their teeth at Commander Forward’s ruthlessness, circling the training grounds again and again.

Then, bare-handed combat training continued for a long time. The wolves dragged their exhausted bodies to the training hall and had to sweat profusely.

“Theo, I’m seeing stars.”

“Let’s just hold on until we see the Salmon constellation, Deon.”

“Right. They said we’ll have free rest for a day after this time…”

Theo and Deon grabbed their dizzy heads and leaned against the wall. The already exhausted wolves had returned to their animal forms and were sprawled out like carpets.

Even in the midst of this, there was a man standing guard in the center of the training hall without the slightest disarray. It was Ethan Weebs.

“Deon, we’re normal, and he’s the one who’s not, right?”

“Ethan, who’s fighting his twenty-fifth opponent right now, is the abnormal one.”

“I guess so.”

“Besides, Ethan is trying to finish the training grounds in a year, so he’s taking fourteen hours of classes a day.”

“How can a wolf be so harsh?”

The two, like many wolves around them, became one with the wall and watched Ethan.

Ethan’s dark black hair and training clothes were soaked with sweat. The strands of hair clinging to his face and his glistening skin were strangely sensual.

Whenever Ethan reached out his hand to his sparring partner, who had collapsed on the floor, panting, the wolves around him sent out howls of cheers.

Ethan only drank a little water for hours and focused on training, exuding a nobility as if he were living alone in the world.

When he crossed his hands and took off his sweat-soaked top, the wolves’ howling reached its peak.

Theo and Deon felt a sense of defeat for some reason.

“He seems to have become even more handsome since becoming the head of the family…”

“It’s okay, bro. He doesn’t have Kitty. We won.”

“I guess so, that’s true.”

The two smiled contentedly, thinking of the soft paws that shed particularly long fur in winter. What if they couldn’t hear compliments that they were handsome? They had a lovely younger sister.

“Then we’ll end today’s training here.”

As someone spoke, the wolves lined up and left.

Ethan took off his top and casually threw a coat over it. His aide, Kyle, was respectfully holding his sweat-soaked shirt.

The Weebs family head, who was higher in rank than Commander Forward, could do this in the central training grounds.

Moreover, instead of a hard bed and similar meals, Ethan stayed in a luxurious mansion within the training grounds and ate what he wanted.

‘It’s good to be the head of the family.’

‘Ethan, you lucky bastard.’

Ethan was ranked first in the training grounds, and Commander Forward was ranked second. The two young masters had no choice but to follow Commander Forward’s orders.

The two headed to a small post office in the training grounds instead of the cafeteria.

“Kitty’s letter should be arriving soon.”

“I bet she put a soft paw print on it again, right?”

If they had Kitty’s cute letter, even the hard dormitory bed would feel cozy and soft. The two hummed and moved with light steps.

As expected, a letter from Kitty had arrived. The two carefully opened the envelope, which was stamped with the Gridwolf crest and an adorable soft paw.

But this time, there were three letters inside.

[To Mr. Ethan.]

“…….”

“…….”

Theo and Deon exchanged glances for a moment. They had expected Kitty to write a letter to Ethan to some extent.

But why does the image of delicious food and a comfortable armchair in front of a cozy fireplace come to mind now?

The two left the post office and looked at Ethan in the distance.

Ethan had been spending his days in classes, exams, and training, without interacting with anyone. Besides, he was a bit prickly by nature.

Until now, they hadn’t been able to say, ‘Ethan, do you want to go to your house and rest!’ to protect their last bit of pride, but now the situation was different.

“Oh, Soft Paws sent three letters?”

“I really don’t know who the other one is for?”

The brothers spoke loudly as if they had planned it in advance. The twins were perfectly in sync at times like this.

“Since we don’t know who it’s for, should we burn it?”

“Let’s do it. It’s cold because there’s no fireplace.”

The two continued the conversation shamelessly. Before long, as expected, Ethan’s gaze flew over and landed on them. He strode over to Theo and Deon with his long legs and quietly suggested.

“……It’s a holiday, do you want to come to my mansion and rest?”

Wolves were so weak to the affairs of those they cared about.

Theo and Deon, seeing Ethan giving in much more easily than expected, continued to act shamelessly.

“No. We’re more used to resting on hard beds.”

“I recently brought in a soft rug to put in front of the fireplace.”

“No, we should eat salmon salad.”

“I’ll grill a big tuna for dinner.”

The Gridwolf brothers smiled and patted Ethan on the shoulders.

“Yeah. What are friends for?”

“Thanks, Ethan. You’re a great guy.”

Ethan silently reached out his hand. Deon asked one more thing as if to tease him.

“Oh, Ethan. Does hot water come out?”

“……There’s also a bathtub with bubbles.”

Theo and Deon smiled wickedly and placed the letter envelope on Ethan’s hand.