It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 51

‘Klide Foxstein must really have it in for the wolves.’

Mari, completely unaware that Klide was deceiving her, spent a long time gathering the false information he provided.

Klide helped Mari wipe down the items she was supposed to be cleaning with a dry towel, continuing his feigned lament.

Meanwhile, Kitty’s training session came to an end.

“Master, you’ve worked so hard!”

As soon as Kitty’s energetic voice rang out, Klide pushed himself off the wall he had been leaning against.

“Mari, I’ll see you at the next training session. I need to attend to the young lady. Finish your work quickly before she comes out.”

“Yes, Klide.”

The fox beastmen, who had briefly given Klide space, gathered around Mari again. However, Mari, having collected the information she needed, paid them little attention.

Klide, after a quick glance at the scene, entered the arena with a light step. Kitty was looking at him, as if she had been waiting.

Klide reported to Elliot and Kitty in a low voice.

“I’ve leaked enough false information. Something along the lines of the young lady’s abilities being too weak to be used effectively in combat.”

“They accepted it without suspicion?”

“It seemed they couldn’t think too deeply, as they were focused on keeping up with the young lady’s orders.”

Klide added that Mari’s eyes sparkled the most when talking about Kitty’s abilities.

As expected, Kitty was only slightly bothered, not surprised.

“What about the magic collection?”

“As requested, I collected magic by shaking hands.”

Klide showed his right hand, the one he had held with Mari. Magic had unique vibrations, like fingerprints. Now that he knew Mari’s magic’s signature, he could identify items she had touched.

“Mari and Anne might try to steal letters at any time, so keep a close watch, Klide.”

“Okay. Let’s go, I’ll walk you out.”

Kitty wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief and left the arena. Mari, who had barely finished the work Kitty had assigned, smiled brightly.

“I’ve finished everything you asked me to do, young lady.”

“Really? Mari is quick.”

Kitty added, smiling as slyly as possible.

“You’ll be able to handle even more next time, right?”

“…Yes, of course.”

Mari, needing to gain Kitty’s trust, had no choice.

Kitty sighed inwardly and left the training grounds, heading towards the mansion. She made sure to arrange things so that Mari wouldn’t encounter Anne.

“Mari, the training grounds are dusty, so go to your room and wash up. I don’t want the carpets getting dirty.”

“Yes, young lady.”

Mari went back to her room, thinking that Kitty was an extremely picky cat.

With a slight difference in timing, Anne appeared from the opposite hallway. Because they had different accommodations than Mari, the two couldn’t meet, even for a moment.

“Young lady, I’m Anne, here to attend to you this afternoon.”

“Nice to meet you, Anne. This is my guard, Klide.”

As Kitty introduced them, Klide naturally reached out his hand to shake Anne’s. He gave her a playful smile.

“Nice to meet you, Anne.”

“N-Nice to meet you.”

Anne didn’t realize that Klide was asking for a handshake to read her magic vibrations and blankly took his hand.

Her cheeks turned slightly reddish. Kitty didn’t miss that.

‘Come to think of it, quite a few employees have had this expression when they saw Klide’s face.’

She used to think they were just shy about holding hands, but after receiving Caris’s secret teachings, she had other ideas.

Certainly, Klide was a flamboyant and handsome man who could easily gain favor with his appearance alone.

Kitty knew very well that wolves particularly valued a sturdy physique, a high nose bridge, and tall height.

‘Besides, Klide is also kind.’

Perhaps because he was a fox, he smiled much more than the wolves. He was already sly as a child, but after gaining magic as he grew up, he had even more composure and was always smooth.

So, it was no wonder that Anne and other employees blushed whenever they saw Klide.

‘What would it feel like to have your heart stolen by someone’s appearance?’

Anne, who was secretly acting as a spy, just seemed ordinary now. Kitty was a little curious about the feelings Anne was experiencing.

“What are you thinking so hard about, young lady?”

“Ah.”

Kitty belatedly realized that she had been staring intently at Klide’s face.

“It’s nothing. See you tomorrow, Klide.”

“Okay. Tell me in advance tomorrow before you stare, young lady.”

Because I need to prepare myself.

Klide swallowed the rest of his words and left the mansion.

* * *

In the afternoon, Anne, not Mari, was scheduled to attend to me. I returned to my room to wash away the dirt and sweat from the training grounds. While I was taking a bath, Lena watched Anne and intimidated her.

“The young lady’s fur is light and soft, so you have to comb it carefully, strand by strand. It flies around, so you must clean the room again after styling her hair.”

“Ah…”

Anne recalled my abundant fur and made a dazed sound, as if she was overwhelmed. She seemed a little less thorough than Mari.

I dried my hair thoroughly and changed into indoor clothes. It was the day of my lesson with Eden, so I had to prepare.

I hesitated for a moment about whether to take Anne to the study, but I decided against it because high-level information was often exchanged during conversations with Eden.

“Anne, please prepare snacks around the time the lesson ends.”

I told her the time the lesson would end today and got up from my seat. Lena chuckled, saying she would take this opportunity to teach her about the young lady’s tastes.

‘It seems like other people are more excited than me.’

Today’s lesson was also scheduled to take place in the study. When I arrived at the study, gathered my writing utensils, and tried to sit down, I felt strange.

Perhaps because the study was the place where I had previously received secret education from Caris, various thoughts began to arise.

‘Crazy, Kittia!’

I slapped my cheeks with my soft hands. Because my palms were soft, it wasn’t much different from gently pressing down.

I quickly erased the thoughts from my head, sat down, and reviewed what I had learned from Eden last time. Because I had been taking lessons for a long time, I had now mastered everything about the Wolf family.

I had also learned a wealth of common knowledge about the world of beastmen, enough to settle down in any territory.

‘He was a bit prickly at first, but he’s a good teacher once you get to know him.’

He would become the head of Wibis soon, so we wouldn’t be able to meet as often as we do now. It suddenly dawned on me that I had stayed at the mansion for a long time.

Creak—

The door soon opened and Eden entered. Perhaps because I was thinking about the first time I met him, his appearance as a dignified adult felt unfamiliar.

“What were you thinking about?”

“I was thinking about when I first met you, teacher.”

“Thinking about me?”

Eden asked back as if he liked my answer. I nodded slightly and then opened the section we would study today.

Eden brought a large map, spread it out on the desk, and sat next to me. This made it easier to study while pointing out the terrain.

“Now, we only have to study the northern terrain, and then we’re done.”

Eden, who had said that indifferently, began to teach in detail about the northern land, which was the territory of the bears.

The bears had maintained a closed-door policy since the leopards first started rampaging, so there was little exchange with the outside world.

Therefore, there was no way to learn about the bear beastmen and their culture unless we learned in this way.

“The northern land is covered with ice.”

“If I walked around in cat form, my jelly paws [cat’s paw pads] would stick to the ground.”

Eden chuckled and agreed.

The bears’ territory was fantastic the more I heard about it. The aurora like ribbons fluttering in the night sky, and a land where huge salmon were caught in abundance…

“I definitely want to go there someday.”

“If the Blue Moon issue is resolved, you might be able to go.”

Eden said that and pushed a blank sheet of paper in front of me. It was meant to summarize what we had learned today on one sheet.

As I moved the pen diligently with my tail that had popped out before I knew it, I was able to fill a sheet quickly.

“I’m done…”

I raised my head slightly and lowered my voice. It was because Eden, who was sitting next to me, was resting his chin on his hand with his eyes closed.

Although we had been taking lessons for a long time, it was the first time I had seen Eden doze off.

I had heard that he was working day and night to become the head of Wibis, and it seemed that it was true.

‘He must be very tired since he’s been taking care of my lessons even with his busy schedule.’

I decided not to wake Eden and leaned my head on the desk with a thud. Long silver hair flowed down the edge of the desk.

I looked at Eden’s face one by one while lying on the desk. There would be no more opportunities to see his unguarded face this close.

‘Eden always made sure that I understood what I was learning, maintaining a perfect appearance.’

Under his flowing dark hair, I could see his eyebrows that looked like they were drawn with a brush, and below that, his straight nose.

With his eyes closed, Eden gave a stronger impression of being gentle and intellectual rather than cold-hearted. At the same time, he exuded a noble atmosphere, making me feel like I was looking at a handsome sculpture.

When I slightly rolled my eyes, I could see his sharp jawline and protruding Adam’s apple. The lines of his body, visible between the one or two unbuttoned shirt buttons, were also much thicker than mine.

“…”

As I quietly stared at the sleeping Eden, my lips felt parched for some reason. Just as I was about to stick out my tongue slightly to moisten my lips, a low voice flowed out.

“How long are you going to keep looking?”

“…!”

I was so surprised that I jumped up while sitting. My tongue, which I had accidentally bitten, was tingling.

Eden supported my body slightly so that I wouldn’t fall off the chair. It was a relaxed movement that didn’t seem like someone who had been closing his eyes until just now.

The face that was already close became even closer. My face, reflected in Eden’s blue eyes, was reddish like a ripe peach.

“Did you do everything I asked you to do?”

The moment his low, subdued voice reached my ear, time seemed to stop for a moment.