It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 130

“My lady, are you sure you don’t need any other clothes?”

“Yeah. I’m going to deal with leopards, not have fun, so I don’t need cumbersome skirts.”

I said.

Barniel nodded and packed the combat uniforms I had chosen into the travel bag. I didn’t know how long I would be in the leopards’ territory, but I had to keep the luggage to a minimum.

“My lady, then I need to close the travel bag, so please come out from under the lid.”

“Ah.”

I, who had been sitting in the square travel bag in cat form, walked out lightly and transformed into human form.

What a cozy travel bag.

“Barniel, keep it a secret from others that I was sitting on one side of the bag.”

“But no one will blame a cat beastkin [a person with animal features] for liking boxes.”

“Still, it’s too childish.”

At those words, Barniel, who had been silently packing the travel bag, looked at me with suspicious eyes.

“By the way, my lady. Did anything happen with Ethan in the bear territory?”

Her eyes were sharper than when she lent me various romance novels.

“No, nothing happened with Ethan.”

“Oh my, you’re calling Duke Weebis by his first name? You used to treat him with such respect.”

“…….”

“My lady, could it be……!”

Barniel’s eyes sparkled with anticipation. I felt my cheeks burning and got up from my seat.

“Thank you for helping me pack, Barniel.”

“I can also listen to your love-related concerns, so please feel free to tell me anything!”

Barniel smiled, wiggling her long rabbit ears.

Love. It was a word that made my cheeks burn just hearing it. I subtly avoided her gaze.

“By the way, Barniel, I have another favor to ask.”

“Yes, please tell me.”

I whispered something in her ear, causing them to droop down, unlike other rabbits. Barniel promised to get me the things I asked for before I left.

“My lady, are you preparing well?”

Soon, Lena came to my room. Lena was the one who always came to check on me when I left the mansion for a long time.

“Barniel, can you get us some tea?”

“Yes, my lady.”

I offered Lena a seat. Lena didn’t sit down right away but took my hand and stroked it gently.

“Lena, are you feeling okay these days?”

“Of course. You’re worrying about me like this.”

Lena gave me a kind smile and continued to stroke my hand, as if treating her most precious thing.

“My lady, have I ever told you that I had a husband and children?”

“…….”

It was difficult to answer.

When Lena first taught me the stretching exercises, she told me that her children also did these exercises and grew up big.

But I had never seen Lena’s husband and children while staying in Gridwolf.

That fact meant only one thing.

“……You never told me, but I guessed they had passed away.”

Lena looked at me with a bitter face. Her eyes were filled with worry.

“My husband and children all lost their lives to leopards. Karis was the one who reached out to me when I was on the verge of losing my mind.”

“……Lena, I will definitely avenge the leopards for you.”

“My lady.”

Lena shook her head slightly.

“I am really grateful for your heart to avenge the leopards for me and the other wolves. But you must not overdo it to achieve that goal.”

“Lena…….”

“My lady is as precious as my family. Please promise me you will never do that.”

Softly—

I nodded, holding Lena’s hand tightly. Only then did the worry that had been faintly on Lena’s face disappear.

“I wanted to say this to you before you left.”

Just in time, Barniel brought tea and simple refreshments. I grabbed Lena, who was about to get up, and gestured to Barniel as well.

“Shall we eat together for the first time in a while?”

The departure was three days later.

By now, my brothers would be receiving their diplomas at the central training hall, so I had enough time to have tea with my precious people.

Lena poured tea into my cup and urged me once again.

“My lady, you must not come back hurt.”

“Yes, Lena. I will definitely come back healthy.”

This time, it wasn’t a fight where the leopards and I had to fight one-on-one and win.

It’s not like the wolves are all rushing in and having a head-on match with the leopards.

Gridwolf currently had a special weapon called Sigma that had been captured alive, and Clyde and Hogwood were constantly disrupting the leopards.

Leaving aside a simple melee, the situation was entirely in our favor.

“I won’t be careless.”

Because I don’t want my precious people to get hurt either.

I smiled and promised them both.

* * *

“Clyde, it looks like the group that left Gridwolf will arrive soon.”

Ben reported to Clyde, who couldn’t leave the mirror. The master couldn’t hide his smile as he took turns trying on almost identical uniforms.

“It feels like it’s been a long time since I’ve seen my lady. Does this look good?”

“But we are in battle.”

“That’s why I’m worried about the plain ones. This one? Was the one I wore earlier better?”

Ben, who had a straightforward and upright personality, was not the type to just watch his master’s pretentious appearance.

‘But the Duke has been overdoing it for days.’

Since receiving the letter from Kitty, Clyde had been working hard, putting off sleep and meals.

He reorganized the wolf barracks in the leopard territory so that she could come and stay safely and reinforced the defense magic in multiple layers.

The work of leaking the truth to the captured leopards was also carried out very carefully.

Clyde deliberately loosened the security so that they could secretly meet their visiting families.

Ben was able to eavesdrop on the conversation between the leopards who risked sneaking in to see the face of a captured friend.

“What? Leofidga betrayed his own kind?”

“That’s right. He manipulated the incident so that Jerian could safely evacuate the cats and seize power.”

“……That can’t be. You know how many leopards died at that time.”

“That’s why he’s crazy. The wolf territory and the cat territory are in chaos because of that.”

“The leopard territory is so quiet…….”

“You idiot, Delta is blocking it! You guys should go back quickly and figure out how to save your lives. Don’t just wait for Leofidga’s instructions!”

The leopards left the wolf barracks with bad complexions.

They had no idea that Clyde Foxtein’s calculation, who had received Kitty’s request, was the reason they were able to infiltrate the barracks safely.

“Leopards are good because they are cunning.”

Beastkins had something like an innate disposition for each race.

Leopards were strong and flexible. It wasn’t about physical characteristics. They knew how to change quickly for survival.

The reason why they were forming a large group centered on Leofidga, including Delta, was because they judged that doing so was advantageous for survival in the beastkin world.

The more Bluemoon revealed himself to the world and the more other beastkins feared the leopard, the more united they became.

‘But if the situation changes and they conclude that Delta’s rule is not satisfactory, how will the leopards change?’

Then I have to tear Delta apart first.

Clyde finally put on the jacket he had chosen and went outside the barracks. The smell of wolves was slowly blowing over the horizon.

Clyde, who concentrated his sense of smell, frowned as if he had chewed on something after a while.

“Ben, are the Weebis knights coming too?”

“That’s right. Hogwood is here, and everyone has the same desire to end Leofidga this time.”

Clyde turned his body, pretending not to see the black-haired wolves. Then, on the opposite horizon, he saw white, voluminous pigtails bobbing up and down.

His face, which had been horribly crumpled by the smell of Ethan, brightened in an instant.

“My lady!”

Clyde went straight in the direction Kitty was coming from. Kitty, who had found a friend she hadn’t seen in a while, also sparkled her eyes and got off the wolf she was riding.

“Clyde!”

Kitty ran lightly and flew into Clyde’s arms.

Pow!

Clyde hugged Kitty even tighter. Her hair was twice as puffy as usual because it was exposed to the wind.

“You’re still fluffy, my lady.”

“It’s still winter fur! It’ll be okay when summer fur comes out soon.”

“Before that, the winter fur will have to fall out, so you’ll be a dandelion again soon.”

Kitty chuckled and let go of Clyde.

“Oh. I think it’s already started.”

Kitty’s cat ears drooped sadly at the thought that she had ruined her friend’s clothes as soon as they met, with Kitty’s cat hair piled up on Clyde’s black jacket that he had carefully chosen.

“Clyde, I’m sorry…….”

“No. I’ll greet the Gridwolf group and then change into a white jacket.”

Because Kitty ran as soon as she found Clyde, the Gridwolf group was still passing through the checkpoint.

“Then, shall we have a cup of tea?”

At that moment, when Clyde was giving off a seductive smile, a low voice cut between them.

“Let’s do that, Clyde Foxtein.”

“…….”

It was Ethan who had run at full speed after seeing Kitty hugging Clyde in his arms.

“You’re still alive, Duke Weebis?”

“The fox’s life is tougher than I thought.”

The two exchanged rough and simple greetings.

‘Those two, really…….’

Kitty shrugged and looked at Ethan. He said quietly without changing his expression.

“I want a hug too.”

His blue eyes were blazing with jealousy.

‘What should I do? Ethan’s clothes will definitely be covered in fur too.’

Just as Kitty was worrying while looking at Ethan’s black jacket and Clyde’s ruined jacket.

“Ethan, do you want a hug?”

“How about my hug instead of our soft paw hug?”

“I’ll welcome you as Duke to Duke.”

Theo, Deon, and Jackal, who had approached at some point, blocked Kitty, who was in trouble, and spread their arms wide.