It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 69

“Master, didn’t you hear something like a scream from under our feet just now?”

“It seems Sir Jackal and Karis have paid a visit to the detention room.”

“…Is the detention room located below here?”

“Yes. I’m not sure what’s going on. Surely, they wouldn’t kill Anne and Marie, would they? You asked them to lock them up, Miss.”

Sir Elliot spoke with a face that suggested he knew very well what was happening underground.

‘Sir Jackal and Karis must be meeting with Anne and Marie. As the owners of the mansion, they must be pointing out the employees’ mistakes.’

‘They are kind and warm-hearted enough to make wolf fur cloaks for me every year.’

Instead of worrying any further, I followed Sir Elliot. We were moving to the Fox Squad’s quarters within the training grounds.

Since spilling the teapot during tea time, Vaniel had been living here. She came in hoping for a position as a maid, but she might be dissatisfied since she was assigned to the Fox Squad in the training grounds.

Even though Cleed roughly explained my situation when Vaniel first came to the Fox Squad, she might not understand. That was her freedom.

“Will Vaniel welcome me?”

“She seemed very satisfied with living with the fox beastmen. Besides, you’re the one who gave the order, Miss.”

“…! Now that I’ve drawn Gridwolf’s bow, will the employees fear me as much as Sir Jackal?”

I still can’t fly up and strike down at a 45-degree angle, but still!

“Well, that’s not what I meant. Most of the employees cherish you, Miss, so I meant they would welcome you to be on your good side.”

“Ah.”

It wasn’t the answer I was hoping for, but it still meant I could have Vaniel as my maid.

Soon after, Sir Elliot stopped in front of a room and knocked. Vaniel must be staying in this room. I hid my slight nervousness and waited for the door to open.

“Lady Kittia Gridwolf has come to visit.”

At Sir Elliot’s words, the door opened wide. Five female fox beastmen in uniform, with Vaniel among them.

“We greet you, Miss.”

Vaniel’s pink eyes sparkled as she said that. I calmly examined her.

The chocolate-colored curly hair that suited her slightly tanned skin was trimmed neatly. It looked very soft to the touch.

‘Her fur must be fluffy when she’s a rabbit, too, right? I have to make sure to…’

Her complexion was better than the last time I saw her, so I could tell that her life in the Fox Squad was peaceful.

“Vaniel. Greet the Miss.”

At Sir Elliot’s words, Vaniel bent her knees and bowed her head to me.

“Miss, I’m Vaniel. I can’t tell you how happy I am to see you again. I even stayed up all night because you said you’d use me as a maid again.”

Vaniel acted as if the maid position was a great honor. Her eyes were full of sincerity, making the worries I had on the way here fade away.

“Nice to see you again, Vaniel.”

I held out my right hand to Vaniel. It was something I didn’t do to Anne and Marie, who were Jerian’s spies.

Squish—

“Ah…!”

Vaniel’s eyes widened in surprise at my soft palm. Everyone likes my soft hands after all. I didn’t show it, but I felt a little proud.

“I’m sorry, Miss.”

“It’s okay. Then, shall we walk together as a sign of entrusting you with my care?”

“Yes.”

There was a place I had to visit with Vaniel.

Cleed had confirmed several times that Vaniel was not acting under someone’s orders.

Vaniel had been living well with the fox beastmen for a long time, so it was enough to put aside my suspicions now.

‘But there’s a difference between lying and not telling the truth.’

Jerian said that my father died in the bears’ territory. That was true. But he didn’t say he killed him.

‘Bad and unlucky cat.’

So I was going to ask Vaniel if there was anything she hadn’t told me either.

We had already arrived at the detention room near the Fox Squad. The wolves were relentlessly interrogating an old rabbit beastman.

He was the rabbit who received the letters sent by Anne and Marie and sent them to Jerian in the cat territory.

‘He said he was seized by madness as if he were under a spell every time the sun went down. But he becomes normal again in the morning.’

Until the wolf knights properly investigated the rabbit beastman and grasped the aspects of madness, I couldn’t go near him.

Because if I were to drive out the madness, it would disrupt the investigation.

But that didn’t mean I was going to just stare blankly at someone related to Jerian.

No matter what anyone said, he was the enemy of me and my family.

“Vaniel. Do you know that person?”

“That…”

Vaniel trailed off, and Sir Elliot and the wolf knights narrowed their eyes and stared at her. Their eyes were full of suspicion.

“Yes. That person is Toby, the brother-in-law of the youngest nephew of the great-great-grandfather of my father’s second cousin.”

“…?”

Can this be called knowing someone?

I looked at Sir Elliot and the wolf knights in embarrassment, but everyone was just blinking like me.

I knew that rabbits valued their families and meticulously calculated their blood relations, but hearing it in person was just daunting.

“…Is that a close relative by rabbit standards?”

“No, he’s a very distant relative. First of all, he’s a white-haired rabbit, right? I’m a brown rabbit with droopy ears.”

Vaniel is a brown rabbit with droopy ears.

I recorded the important details in my head and then asked her.

“Did you hear why Anne and Marie were kicked out?”

“I was only told that they did something they shouldn’t have done to you, Miss.”

“The leader of the cats, Jerian, received reports on my condition through him. He leaked information.”

“Ah…”

“So, if there’s anything you know about him, tell me everything now.”

It meant not to disappoint me behind my back like Anne and Marie.

Vaniel didn’t seem to have any intention of refusing my request and calmly began to recall her memories.

“A few years ago, the territory of rabbits was temporarily staying in the wolf territory because panthers seized by madness invaded.”

“That’s right. Sir Jackal and Karis allowed it.”

I heard that the damage was enormous because the panthers did their best against the rabbits.

Eden told me that story and wondered why the panthers did something unprofitable. Perhaps Vaniel knows the reason.

“The panthers who were rummaging through the rabbit territory said they were harassing weak rabbits for fun.”

“Ah…”

“They thought that if they were seized by the madness of the Blue Moon [a state of heightened aggression and instinct], their hunting instincts would be strengthened, but if they touched strong animals such as wolves or bears, they would have difficulty dealing with the aftermath.”

“But the panthers use the imitation Blue Moon that Jerian made, right? There’s no way they’ll be seized by madness.”

“Sometimes they use the imitation Blue Moon to conduct secret experiments. If something goes wrong, the panthers get seized by madness.”

“Experiment failure, huh.”

A beastman seized by madness loses human reason and becomes agitated by animal instincts.

As Vaniel said, it meant that ruining the lives of rabbits could have been just something done for fun.

Perhaps a long time ago, when I was young, destroying the cat territory was also…

‘It’s too much for weak animals.’

I clenched my fist tightly. Weak animals were literally powerless, so they had no choice but to suffer from the panthers’ venting. Vaniel continued with a dark expression like me.

“Our brown rabbit family moved to the wolf territory as soon as Sir Jackal’s permission to move was granted.”

“About how many people are in the family?”

“About three thousand rabbit beastmen? It would be four thousand by now.”

…As expected, rabbits had an extraordinary rate of increasing their family size.

“To be honest, I was afraid that the panthers would harm me. The fact that it’s a safe workplace is a big reason why I applied for a position as Gridwolf’s employee.”

Vaniel added, ‘But I also fell in love with the Miss’s cloud-like hair.’

Listening to her words, there was a question.

“Did that person also move to the Gridwolf territory together?”

“No. I heard that Mr. Toby’s family decided to protect the rabbit territory until the end.”

Until Vaniel left the territory, Mr. Toby’s family did not budge from the rabbit territory.

Rumors began to spread after the brown rabbits finished moving to the wolf territory.

“I heard rumors that white-haired rabbits remaining in the rabbit territory were being kidnapped one by one.”

“…Kidnapped?”

Sir Elliot, who was listening to the story, narrowed his eyes. The wolf knights were already focused on Vaniel’s story.

“Yes. From young children to frail old people, they suddenly disappear one day. Shortly after that rumor spread, white-haired rabbits also began to move to the wolf territory. I wonder if Mr. Toby came over at that time?”

If it was just a baseless rumor, the white-haired rabbit beastmen, who had tried to protect the territory even during the panthers’ attack, would not have moved to the wolf territory.

‘They moved as if they were running away. There must be a reason.’

It may have been related to the fact that Mr. Toby was unknowingly cooperating with Jerian.

“Sir Elliot. Please report Vaniel’s story to Sir Jackal and Karis. Please also use the knights to find out what happened in the rabbit territory.”

“I understand. I should send knights to investigate the white rabbits in the wolf territory as well.”

I looked at Mr. Toby, who was locked in a cage and faithfully answering the wolf knights.

“How am I, who doesn’t even know who Jerian is, a letter carrier…?”

It would be beneficial to everyone to quickly resolve the question, as he himself would be frustrated and feel wronged.

“Thank you for telling me the story, Vaniel.”

“No, thank you for listening to the rabbits’ story. To be honest… I thought the wolves wouldn’t be that different from the panthers.”

Vaniel’s eyes became moist. I smiled and could proudly say.

“The wolves of Gridwolf are kind. When I first came to the mansion, everyone greeted me kindly.”

Old memories came to mind, and I glanced at Sir Elliot. He shrugged his eyebrows and pointed out that the cause and effect were wrong.

“I think the wolves are being kind to small animals because you’re here, Miss.”

“But Master was warm from the beginning, right?”

“You were a cute fluff that I couldn’t get angry at, Miss.”

“…Fluff.”

At least call me a cotton ball.

Just as I was about to leave while having a light conversation with Sir Elliot, someone approached from afar.

The owner of the urgent footsteps was Cleed’s adjutant Ben and several fox beastmen.

“Ben?”

“Miss, Sir Elliot. I need a moment…”.

“What’s wrong?”

“Sir Cleed has had a seizure.”

Ben’s face was pale as he said that.