It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 28

“Young Master, the tidying is complete. The books you brought for Kitty’s lessons are set aside over there.”

“Good work, Cale.”

At Ethan’s words, the middle-aged wolf beastman bowed his head. He was an attendant assigned by Hogwood to Ethan for his extended stay at Gridwolf.

As Cale retreated, Ethan surveyed the neatly organized room before collapsing onto the plush bed, a clear sign of the special care Gridwolf had taken.

‘Time…’

Ethan pulled out the pocket watch from his vest pocket to check the time.

He had planned to briefly look around the study where the lesson would take place and check on Kitty’s condition before dinner.

There were about thirty minutes left.

Normally, he would have spent the time familiarizing himself with the unfamiliar room, but for some reason, he didn’t feel like it now.

Although he wasn’t particularly attached to his father, leaving the familiar Wibis Mansion to live in Gridwolf was definitely a big change.

He should have been uncomfortable, but surprisingly, the process of entering the mansion was smooth. Perhaps it was because of the voice that tickled his ear like a feather.

“It’s been a while, Ethan! I missed you so, so much! You must be tired from the long carriage ride, right?”

The sight of a cat trying to survive in a wolf family by jumping around and flattering was ridiculously funny. It seemed she didn’t know that such behavior was un-wolf-like.

‘Should I teach her how to act like a wolf?’

It seemed essential to teach her to stop saying things like she had always liked him. It was unbecoming.

If she were a wolf who could distinguish reason from the time she started babbling, she would never say such things through flattery.

‘What on earth did Theo and Deon, who kept mentioning siblings, teach her?’

Now that Gridwolf had accepted the cat as a member, he wanted to teach her enough so that she wouldn’t stand out from the pack.

He had never taught anyone before, but the thought of an animal he taught being left behind was insulting to his pride.

However, he couldn’t tolerate the weak, fluffy cotton ball being taught by someone else.

He would feel upset if she, who came running to him saying she liked him and missed him, went to someone else.

Ethan sighed and got up. His steps were a little lighter than usual as he gathered the books to use as teaching materials and left the room.

* * *

I sat in the dedicated study prepared for lessons with Ethan, resting my chin on my hand. Heavy worries weighed down my head.

‘I guess Ethan doesn’t even like me having feelings for him.’

I had come to the study early to prepare for Ethan, who had also appeared early for the tea party, and I sighed deeply at the bleak future.

To be caught being a cat by the wolf who would become my teacher, of all things…

‘But he seemed to like me saying I missed him. And that I was magnificent.’

Does that mean he doesn’t notice that flattery is a lie to some extent? I clenched my fist, resolving to adjust the intensity of my flattery for the time being.

In any case, I had to learn a lot from Ethan to get revenge on Jerian. I could also think about how to live after leaving Gridwolf as an adult.

I puffed out my cheeks and steeled my resolve.

“You seem to have a lot of complaints even before the lesson starts?”

“……!”

Surprised by the prickly voice, I turned around and saw Ethan looking at me. I smiled brightly and shook my head.

“You’re obvious when you lie.”

“Ah… really?”

“No. I don’t care, so I don’t know.”

“……”

“But judging by your reaction, it seems you really do have complaints about the lesson.”

Ethan was smart, so I felt like I would get caught up if I stayed still. I tried hard not to let my guard down.

“I was just a lil’ surprised that you came so early when I was ‘sleepin’.”

“You’re good with words.”

Ethan placed the books in front of me. Thanks to the hard practice with Theo and Deon, I could read the title on the cover.

“‘Economics’ for Children?”

“Economics. So you did learn to read.”

I opened the book slightly and saw that there were really a lot of words. At my current skill level, it would take me months just to read this book.

Judging by the state of the book, Ethan seemed to read such books without any difficulty… What should I do?

“I don’t expect you to understand everything. But now that I’m teaching you, I intend to make you master the basics of every field.”

“Is this what you consider the basics, Ethan?”

“Yes.”

Mom, it looks like my revenge will be a little delayed…

Whether I was intimidated or not, Ethan continued to speak.

“Let’s say you can read the letters roughly. I’ll ask you something else.”

I nodded obediently. It would be nice if he gave me calculation problems. I could do mental arithmetic up to ten digits with my eyes closed.

But instead of giving me calculation problems, Ethan asked a completely random question.

“You have one piece of salmon jerky. What happens if I give you one more?”

I love salmon jerky!

“I’d be a lil’ bit happier ’cause of you.”

I was so excited that my cat ears and tail popped out. Ethan suddenly turned his head as if he was looking for something.

I guess he really doesn’t like seeing my cat form. I was a little upset, but I bravely waited for the next question.

“You had two pieces of salmon jerky, and I ate one. Then?”

This was also a question I didn’t know the meaning of, but it wasn’t difficult to answer.

“You must have been very hungry, Ethan. I’m glad I have two pieces of salmon jerky.”

“……?”

“I often went hungry before coming to the mansion, so it’s okay! I’ll gladly share them with you.”

A bright smile spread across my face as I imagined becoming friends with Ethan and munching on salmon jerky together.

“……Look out the window for a moment.”

I shifted my gaze to the window as Ethan instructed. Judging by the breeze blowing next to me, it seemed like Ethan was cooling his face.

‘Was my answer so bad that he got angry?’

But Ethan didn’t seem like he would teach me the model answer.

After some time, Ethan neatly arranged the books and handed them to me.

“Besides this, I will teach you to grow up like a wolf.”

“Ah… really?”

“It’s frustrating to watch you act like a cat.”

“I never acted like a cat, though? My ears and tail look just like a wolf’s.”

Ethan looked at me as if I was being ridiculous. I felt like my whole body was freezing in his blue eyes.

“You said you liked me earlier.”

Nod, nod.

“Wolves don’t express affection carelessly. You shouldn’t lie about liking someone, even if it’s something else.”

“B-but I really do like Ethan…”

“I just taught you that, and you already forgot?”

“……”

I hate grumpy wolves!

I barely managed to resist the urge to pout like a goldfish.

“Then what about wanting to bite someone?”

“That’s a common expression.”

“Do wolves really bite?”

“If they’re really cute.”

I smiled and said cheerfully.

“If you ever want to bite me while I’m overworked, you can do it anytime.”

“……”

Ethan turned his head away from me. I guessed from the cold atmosphere, but it seemed like I wasn’t cute in Ethan’s eyes.

I was scared that Ethan would get angry, so I cautiously grabbed his hands.

“Um, Ethan…”

Soft—

“I left something behind. Read the book.”

Ethan left me with the difficult book and quickly got up from his seat. I felt upset that I had tried to get close to him and ended up only being hated.

As Ethan opened the door to the study, Theo and Deon came into the study.

“Oh, Ethan, you… Do you have a fever? Your face is red.”

“It’s from the long carriage ride.”

“But why are you so limp?”

Bang—

Ethan closed the door and left. The two older brothers stared at the door silently for a while before rushing towards me as if they had realized something.

“Kitty, what did you talk about with Ethan?”

“He just told me what he’s gonna teach me.”

“It’s a relief if that’s all you talked about. It’s not too late yet.”

Theo put a cream cookie from a small box into my mouth and said.

“You’re still a baby wolf, so you might not know, but wolves are originally a bit obsessive.”

“That’s right. You shouldn’t give Ethan any room to think you have a special relationship. Got it? Otherwise, he might become obsessed with you.”

Obsessed? It was a difficult word like registration [a formal process of recording or enrolling].

“Um, what’s ‘obsessed’?”

“Well, obsession is… It’s not a bad thing, but it can be a bit annoying for the person experiencing it.”

Deon put another cookie in my mouth and continued.

“It’s like when I like someone, I want them to like only me. I want to do everything for them, and I want them to look at only me all day long. And I get upset if that doesn’t happen. That’s obsession.”

It was hard to relate to because it was said to be a characteristic of wolves.

“Is Theo and Deon giving me cookies obsession?”

Theo and Deon smiled gently and shook their heads. It was the same action as if they had rehearsed it.

“Kitty, are you uncomfortable with your brothers giving you cookies?”

“No.”

Even if I was uncomfortable, my brothers would be more uncomfortable. When I shook my head, the two wolves’ eyes curved softly.

“Then it’s not obsession. The reason we give Kitty cookies is because we’re worried that something sticky will get on your cute, soft hands. And we also don’t want that Ethan to feed you snacks…”

“So you shouldn’t call Ethan ‘brother,’ okay? Our relationship is different from his, right? Answer your brothers quickly.”

Certainly, temporary family and teachers are different. I readily nodded my head.

The two wolves were very satisfied with my answer and fed me more cookies.

“Obsession seems really difficult.”

“Actually, we’re still young, so we don’t really know what obsession is.”

“But since Soft Paw and we are wolves, won’t we find out someday?”

“Okay! Someday, I’ll definitely find out what obsession is and become a great wolf.”

Theo and Deon, with meaningful smiles, gently stroked me as I made my resolution.