It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 45

We had a simple lunch together, after which it was decided that my maid interview would proceed as scheduled tomorrow.

Following lunch, Jackal and Karis headed to their respective offices to address the pending matters of the mansion.

I was scheduled to meet with Jackal in the afternoon to learn about the leopards’ scheme. Although I had finished training in the training grounds, I still had some time to fill.

‘If it were a lighthearted matter, he would have told me during lunch.’

I hoped the reason for scheduling the appointment later was simply due to the mansion’s workload, but it seemed the story related to me was serious.

Not cheerful enough to casually discuss while eating.

Recalling Sigma, who had tried to kidnap me with crazed eyes, I could understand Jackal’s cautious approach to some extent.

‘Maybe he’s finally discovered the truth about my dad and brother’s deaths.’

Given that the leopards were attempting to control the beastmen with Blue Moon [a powerful artifact], it wouldn’t be surprising if the story of the two cats immune to Blue Moon surfaced at any moment.

If Jackal tells me about my dad and brother’s deaths, will I be able to hold back my tears?

I’ll never be calm upon hearing about my family’s last moments. The maid interview tomorrow will also proceed with eyes swollen like sausages.

While lost in thought, the sun had already set. I steeled my heart and headed downstairs.

“Jackal, the young lady has arrived.”

The knight guarding the office door announced my arrival. Jackal’s office remained as cool and austere as ever.

Now that I was grown and the wooden baby cradle had been removed, the room was furnished solely with black and white pieces.

“You’ve come.”

Jackal slowly rose from his seat and placed a small basket on the desk—the same basket I used to curl up in for naps as a baby kitten.

“Let’s see if you’ve grown enough to hear the story.”

I don’t know how long I’d been waiting to hear those words since I first entered Jackal’s office.

I immediately transformed into a cat and stood on the desk.

Nestling my paws into the basket and curling up, the same sense of security as before slowly bloomed.

‘Where did you get such a comfortable basket?’

Of course, my size was considerably larger now, so my entire body didn’t fit inside. My reflection in the glass looked like a puffy white muffin.

“Next is height.”

I stretched my upper body as if performing a cat dance. Even standing on the desk, my soft paws nearly touched Jackal’s shoulders.

Then I reverted to human form and approached the wall, where Jackal had recorded the heights of Theo, Deon, and me upon our arrival at Gridwolf [the wolf territory].

There were as many scratches as the years I had spent in Gridwolf. I leaned against the bookshelf as always.

Jackal chuckled and lowered his gaze.

“I was going to have you take off your shoes now.”

“You always say that.”

I puffed out my cheeks slightly and removed my shoes. As I sighed, Jackal made a new scratch with his fingernail.

“You’ve grown so much.”

At those words, I was reminded of the stretching exercises I had done every day for the past 10 years, and the tip of my nose tingled. I returned to human form and leaned back deeply in the chair.

“Of course. I’ll be seventeen soon, you know? I can understand whatever you tell me, Jackal.”

“You’ve already reached that age.”

Jackal instructed a servant to bring some simple refreshments. He didn’t forget to add plenty of milk and sugar to my cup, which eased my tension a little.

I love milk!

Just as I took a sip of the sweet milk tea and began to relax, Jackal began to speak.

“Hogwood has recently learned that Jerian possesses the real Blue Moon.”

“……!”

It was an unexpected start.

For Jerian, a cat much weaker than the leopards, to possess a jewel capable of stealing the reason of the beastmen.

“What about the leopards then?”

“Their interests are a bit complicated. The leopards are driven to madness when they get close to the Blue Moon, so they used Jerian, who is immune, to create and use fakes.”

According to Hogwood’s observation, there was a suspicious tower guarded by leopards somewhere not far from the cat territory.

If they placed the Blue Moon inside the tower and only watched from the outside, the leopards could guard it without succumbing to madness.

“But Jerian is the only one who can enter the tower and touch the real Blue Moon, right?”

“Yes. But recently, Jerian was caught making a high-purity Blue Moon replica and swapping it with the real one inside the tower.”

“Jerian has always been daring.”

He was a cat with no redeeming qualities.

“Yes. He did something daring, as you said. But recently, the leopards seem to have noticed that fact.”

“Then are Jerian and the leopard forces breaking up?”

If there were no leopards, it would be easier to take revenge on Jerian. But the situation didn’t seem to be going the way I wanted.

“The leopards are driven to madness if they go inside the tower, so they have no way of knowing whether what’s inside is real or fake.”

They suspect Jerian based on the circumstances, but they can’t raise their voices because they have no evidence.

Besides, the leopards can’t even use the magic of the Blue Moon unless it’s a fake one made by Jerian.

“The leopards must be very disappointed.”

“Yes. That’s why they’re after you.”

The words that followed were unexpected, and I blinked.

“Because I’m immune to the Blue Moon?”

“At first, they probably started targeting you because they thought you were the weak point of the wolf family. But soon they realized you were immune to the Blue Moon and tried to kidnap you with the intention of using you instead of Jerian. And now…….”

Jackal took out a handkerchief and wiped the milk mustache that had formed from drinking milk tea.

“They’ve judged that the power residing in this small body is stronger than Jerian’s power, and they’re after you.”

Jackal’s words were too significant to accept at once. In my memory, Jerian was the most powerful cat.

Even if I hated and cursed him for personal reasons, that fact remained.

‘My power is greater than Jerian’s?’

Jackal explained slowly, as if he had read my mind.

“Kitty, you can completely restore the fox beastmen who have gone mad with the magic of the Blue Moon.”

“That’s right.”

“Jerian is only immune to the madness of the Blue Moon in his own body. Whose power seems more superior?”

“……My power.”

Anyone would have answered that way if asked. The problem was what special power resided in me that made such a thing possible.

Jackal took out a report from the file and placed it on the desk.

“This is the result of researching the magic you have put into the beads.”

I quickly skimmed through the report. In Gridwolf, they were worried that I would get hurt or be in danger, so they spent a very long time analyzing my magic.

And the result was…….

“The wolves have concluded that what resides in you is not simple magic, but the magic of a goddess.”

“Yes?”

“The Blue Moon is originally a goddess’s object. To be able to use it freely without being adversely affected by it is impossible unless you are the owner.”

The report contained abundant evidence that what resided in me was the magic of a goddess.

The more I read, the more strangely my heart pounded. It wasn’t just because I knew I had great power.

The fact that I had greater power than Jerian, the one who killed my mother, was important. I asked Jackal directly.

“What should I do?”

“First of all, the most important thing is not to be kidnapped. I think both the leopards and Jerian have noticed that what resides in you is the magic of a goddess, so they are moving more actively.”

“…….”

I clenched my hands tightly under the desk. I wondered again if my mom knew this would happen and told me to go to the wolf territory.

Jackal carefully stroked my trembling shoulders and cautiously added.

“And…… Hogwood has found out something about the deaths of cats named Icarus.”

“Is it…… about my family?”

“I haven’t checked the report yet, but it’s highly likely. He said he sent the related data to his son, Ethan, so it should have arrived by now.”

As my dad and brother’s names came out of Jackal’s mouth, my heart pounded violently. As soon as Jackal withdrew his hand, signaling that it was okay to leave now, I quickly got up from my seat.

The look in Jackal’s eyes as he watched me leave seemed to be looking at something pitiful for some reason.

And I was able to understand the reason a little later.

* * *

Ethan read the report with cold eyes again and again. Attached to this report received from Jackal was a letter written by the head of the bear family.

[Our bear beastmen have no intention of participating in the beastmen’s fight. Therefore, if you visit the territory directly, we will consider it an invasion, no matter who it is. However, the two cats named Icarus did not die in an accident.]

The two cats named Icarus.

It was referring to Kitty’s father and brother.

[The two cats were murdered by other cats who followed them.]

It would be Jerian’s subordinates or Jerian himself. The special abilities of the beastmen have the characteristic of being transferred to the person closest to them at the moment of death.

Crack—

Ethan crumpled the report nervously. Anger soared towards Jerian, whom he had never even seen once.

When he thought about the stories of his dead family, Kitty’s eyes, which were filled with subtle memories and shone brightly, made his expression even darker.

He wanted to tear apart Jerian, the one who had taken away something precious from that child, right away.

‘……She’ll be heartbroken.’

He didn’t know whether it was fortunate or unfortunate that his father had sent him the report. It was a good thing in that he could comfort Kitty himself, but it seemed like his heart would ache if he saw her grieving a lot.

Her slender body would tremble, and she would sob. Just the thought of it made Ethan want to kill that cat named Jerian.

“Ethan, you were here first?”

Soon Kitty entered the study.