It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 59

It had been so long since someone had offered me sincere comfort that I couldn’t react properly. Cleed simply took a moment to compose himself.

He, who was to become the leader of a race, shouldn’t be disarmed by a mere three-syllable word from the young lady.

Even as his mind told him this, he couldn’t help the hazy warmth that bloomed deep within his heart.

‘When you say things like that, it makes me want to stay close to you.’

Perhaps that was why he increasingly disliked seeing her with other guys.

“Cleed?”

“Ah…….”

Cleed realized his silence had stretched too long and finally looked down at his hands. Kitty had placed something in them.

Kitty’s eyes sparkled, anticipating his reaction to the gift. However, Cleed couldn’t quite make out what Kitty had knitted.

“Uh… a cute golden mane. Is it a carrot?”

Kitty quickly became dejected as she looked at her creation.

“It’s Cleed’s tail…….”

“Ah, I see. Now that I look at it, it looks exactly like my tail. When did you make this, Miss?”

Kitty pointed to a ball of golden yarn in the basket.

“I’ve been getting a lot of help with Anne and Marie’s situation, so I wanted to make something for you while I was making gifts for my brothers.”

Cleed looked at the small, cone-shaped object once more.

After hearing that Kitty had made it for him, it inexplicably felt endearing.

“I don’t know if I deserve to receive something like this from you. The help I gave wasn’t that difficult.”

“But even if it wasn’t hard for Cleed, it was a big help to me.”

“Am I just too outstanding?”

“Yes. Oh, and knitting this was really hard, by the way. I hope you appreciate how much my soft hands suffered.”

“……?”

Kitty gave a ‘good cat smile,’ trying to make a good impression on the future leader of the Fox Clan. The corners of her lips curved gently.

‘If I want to expand my business into the Fox territory later, I need to make a good impression now.’

Cleed, realizing that the plump yarn tail was a bribe, gave a light smile.

“I will never forget the kind words and gift you gave me today.”

Cleed expressed his feelings without difficulty. Kitty thought this was the biggest difference between Eden and Cleed.

‘No, why am I thinking about Teacher at a time like this?’

The old saying, ‘You can know a thousand fathoms of water, but not an inch of a cat’s heart,’ was perfectly fitting.

“Then, I’ll be going.”

Cleed said. Kitty, worried that someone might see her through the open door, quickly climbed onto the bed.

She needed to give the impression that using magic would leave her bedridden for days.

“But Miss, how long are you going to keep those two maids around?”

“I’ll keep them for this letter since it contains important information, but let me know when they try to send the next letter to Jerian. I’ll join forces with Sir Elliot to lock them up.”

She didn’t know when Anne and Marie would write the next letter, but the spy maid incident, which had been bothering her like a persistent toothache, seemed to be coming to an end.

In the meantime, Cleed and Elliot had thoroughly investigated Baniel’s actions and background, but nothing had come up.

‘Finally, I can bring in a maid I can become attached to after Lena.’

Kitty already seemed relieved. Cleed replied smoothly and left the room.

“As you command, Miss.”

* * *

I spent my days as before, taking Marie and Anne with me in turns. It was secretly fun to fool them into thinking I was still weak.

‘They probably think they’re the ones fooling me.’

I didn’t particularly enjoy deceiving others, but it was different if they were my enemies.

As I repeated my training for revenge, spending one year, then another, I sometimes thought.

If the Gridwolf hadn’t taken me in, I would have grown up and easily trusted anyone, even my enemies.

‘I would have just smiled and said it was okay even if Anne and Marie approached me with bad intentions.’

The reason I grew up without blindly seeking the attention of others was because I had my wolf family, who cherished and watched over me.

If that hadn’t been the case, I wouldn’t have been able to have such a strong heart now.

‘Anyone who is lonely wants to be held in a warm embrace.’

I got up from my seat with a renewed sense of gratitude. It was the right time, so I decided to receive instruction from Eden for the first time in a while.

“Anne, please clean the room. And bring me some snacks when the lesson is over.”

“Yes, Miss.”

I deliberately acted weak as I entered the study. Okay, I need to make sure it doesn’t become awkward like last time…….

“Kitty. Why aren’t you coming in?”

“Ah, I’m coming in now!”

I took a deep breath and pushed open the door to the study. Eden was reading a book so thick it was hard to hold with one hand.

When I entered, he closed the book and took out a map needed for the lesson.

“I’m not writing a book today, so come and sit here.”

Eden pointed to the seat across from him. It would be easier to sit next to him to look at the map.

‘I guess it doesn’t matter if he sees it upside down.’

Eden would be capable of that. I quickly agreed and sat down. Eden pointed to the northern territory where the bears lived.

“Explain what you learned last time.”

“Um, so…… the bears in the north have sealed off their territory because of the damage they suffered when the leopards first obtained the Blue Moon [a powerful artifact]. They are still closed off to this day.”

“Why?”

“Because the bears possess a mirror, one of the Goddess’s relics. Only the head of the family would know where it’s kept, though.”

The bears had long prided themselves on possessing the Goddess’s artifact. But when the beastmen went mad because of the Blue Moon, another relic of the same Goddess, they must have been in a difficult position.

“They’re afraid that the power of the Blue Moon will affect the bear territory, but they also cut off contact with the outside world because they were afraid that the bears in the territory would fear the relic.”

The leader of the bears, the Polly family, stood at the top of the bears because they knew the location of the relic. The bears revered the mirror, so they were a kind of religious leader.

If the bears began to question the sanctity of the relic, the ruling system would collapse, so they had no choice but to cut off contact.

‘The cute teddy bears from the fairy tales are so different from reality.’

Perhaps because I answered without missing a single detail, Eden looked satisfied. It was fascinating to see a smile on the face of someone who always maintained a blank expression.

Once my gaze was caught, I couldn’t take my eyes off his handsome face and blue eyes.

Perhaps aware of my gaze, Eden began to fold the unfolded map neatly.

“You learned well.”

I answered as normally as possible.

“Of course. You taught me, Teacher?”

“I suppose so.”

Eden chuckled and put the map back in its original place before saying.

“Today’s lesson is just to confirm what you’ve learned. We’ve already covered all the material in the geography textbook.”

“Then next time…….”

“I think I’ve taught you everything you need.”

Eden was right. For about 10 years, I had learned all sorts of things from the prickly wolf teacher.

I knew better than anyone that there was nothing more to learn, but I couldn’t believe that something that had been going on for so long since I entered the mansion was coming to an end.

“Should we read books and have discussions sometimes?”

“It’ll be hard to see your face.”

Eden said bluntly. My heart sank at those words.

“I can go to the Wibis mansion.”

“I don’t know. I think I’ll be busy with other things.”

I knew Eden would be busy. In a few days, he would become the head of Wibis [a powerful wolf clan] through the head succession ceremony at the central training ground.

Hogwood had always wanted to hand over the position of head to Eden and carry out missions for the wolves.

Even if Eden was there, he would still have to visit the mansion from time to time as the head.

‘……Still, he could at least meet me if I came to visit. Seeing as he hasn’t said anything yet, it seems the wolves of Wibis don’t do long training sessions at the central training ground like the wolves of Gridwolf.’

Eden was prickly until the end. Well, it would have been a little strange if he had been kind just because it was the end.

“Thank you for everything. I don’t know how lucky I am that a smart wolf like Eden taught me.”

“You always have a way with words.”

Anne brought refreshments at the right time. Theo and Deon, who were staying at the mansion, also entered the study, and I felt like I was back in my baby wolf days.

“I still remember when Kitty was high on catnip.”

“You did the cat dance back then, remember?”

“I did?”

I was surprised by my brothers’ words, and Eden nodded as if he remembered too.

It was very enjoyable to reminisce and enjoy refreshments, but the more we talked, the more I felt that the three wolves were hiding something from me.

‘Why isn’t anyone talking about the coronation in a few days?’

* * *

Afternoon, before dinner.

Jackal was guarding the office with a slightly excited heart. Today was the day once a week when Kitty would visit the office and allow him to brush her.

Kitty didn’t seem to know, but Jackal was always looking forward to this time to have a cozy conversation with his youngest daughter. A neatly arranged box with velvet lining and a brush were placed on the clean desk.

Knock, knock, knock—

Soon, Kitty’s unique knock was heard. Jackal opened the door himself. But Kitty looked a little down today.

“Kitty. Is something wrong?”

“Just…….”

Kitty transformed into a cat and trudged into the box. The box was perfect in both height and width, but she didn’t feel comfortable.

Jackal slipped a piece of prepared salmon jerky into Kitty’s mouth and began to brush her.

“Kitty. Your tail and ears are drooping.”

Jackal carefully brushed Kitty’s fur with skilled hands and broached the subject. Kitty, who felt a little better after eating the salmon jerky, began to mumble.

“I think Eden and my brothers are hiding something from me. Whenever I bring up the future, they freeze up…….”

Kitty glanced at Jackal as she spoke. He, too, had frozen up like the three wolves.

‘I don’t know what it is, but Jackal knows about it too……!’

Kitty was about to puff up her cheeks and get angry, but she changed her mind.

Swish—

Plump, adorable soft paws came out of the box one by one. Kitty walked lightly and lay down on Jackal’s hands, which were resting on the desk.

“Jackal niiim…….”

“…….”

“I’m so curious I can’t sleep, okay?”

Kitty acted cute and rubbed her face against Jackal’s thumbs with her soft paws.

Squish—!

“Kitty, your palms are really…….”