Chapter 13
“Oh my… Kitty.”
Lady Caris smiled, her eyes crinkling into half-moons. Theo scooped me up and lifted me to her face level.
I closed my eyes tightly and waited. Lady Caris kissed me on both cheeks.
“I really want to take you with me. If only you were a little bigger, I'd put you in a sack and take you with me.” She looked very disappointed as she stroked my head again and then walked away. I felt a little shy, so I wiggled my toes inside my shoes.
Kisses are great!
I grinned and waved my little hand at Lady Caris for a long time as she left.
Soon, the Grid Wolf carriage became a small dot in the distance.
The servants, who had been watching me wave my hand, slowly began to move to their respective places.
Lord Elliot approached Lord Jacal, as if he had been waiting for this moment, and reported.
“Lord Jacal. Where should we move the Bluemoon replica that we secured the other day?”
“Put it in my office. I'll get it soon.”
I overheard their conversation and suddenly remembered something.
I think Jerian used the word 'Bluemoon' too.
Of course, he wasn't talking to me; he was with the cats who manage the jewels.
I folded my arms and thought seriously for a moment, then realized that the servants and my family were watching me.
It would be a disaster if they asked me what I was thinking about.
They said that Jerian was a cat who did a lot of bad things besides killing my mother, and that other beastmen knew about him.
If I told them what I was thinking, they might find out I'm a cat, so I quickly unfolded my arms and smiled.
Everyone looked pleased, but Lord Jacal stared at me with a dry, piercing gaze.
Is he suspicious of me?
As soon as I thought that, a deep voice sounded.
“I'm not suspicious, so you don't have to be scared.”
“Oops...”
Can Lord Jacal read minds? I immediately relaxed my body and thought.
Maybe he wants me to do something?
I must have looked well-behaved, waiting patiently in line for a kiss. Hiding my satisfaction, I carefully asked.
“Um, did you have something to say to me?”
“What's your schedule for today?”
He looked so scary, but he was actually interested in me. I counted on my fingers, recalling what Lena had explained to me this morning.
“Since I ate breakfast, I'm going to have a snack, play a little, get fitted for a dress, play a lot, eat dinner, have dessert, play in the bubble bath, and then go to sleep.”
After I said it, I was embarrassed because it was just playing, eating, and sleeping. I asked Lord Jacal the same question.
“What about you, Lord Jacal?”
“Busy.”
“Aww...”
I didn't even ask him to play with me, but he cut me off so sharply by saying he's busy. Of course, I had a lot of questions I wanted to ask, but I got discouraged and my lips turned down.
Theo chuckled and gently stroked my shoulder.
“Father, if you speak so harshly, Kitty will get scared.”
“Is that so?”
“Kitty, Father is a kind and gentle wolf. If you ask him what he means, he'll explain it to you.”
What could be the hidden meaning behind saying he's busy? I carefully asked again.
“Um, are you very busy...?”
“I'll be in my office all day.”
“...How is that different from being busy?”
“It means you can come visit me in my office anytime, little one.”
Deon explained this time. Lord Jacal nodded as if that was indeed what he meant.
Wolves are so hard to understand. But I felt like I was invited, so I was happy. I quickly cheered up and said I would definitely visit.
Lord Jacal advised me to eat a lot of snacks and then returned to his office. Lena fixed my messy hair and said.
“Young Lady, are you going to have a snack now?”
“No. I'm full, so I'm going to take a walk around.”
The wall I saw when I first came to the mansion remained in my mind. It would be really nice to walk along the wall on a clear and warm day like today.
Hearing my answer, Theo and Deon's eyes sparkled, and they spoke eagerly.
“Kitty, I want to go with you.”
“I'll show you around the mansion, little one.”
“Okay. But you two need to change your clothes.”
They looked down at their pajamas and giggled. I guess they both sleep in much later than I do.
“Now that we have a little sister, we'll have to wake up early tomorrow.”
Theo and Deon said that and quickly changed their clothes. Their shirts and black pants made their handsome looks stand out even more.
Theo had slightly longer hair than Deon, tied back in a low ponytail, and Deon had spiky hair that he had roughly smoothed down with water.
But they had the same golden eyes. I complimented them on how handsome they looked, and then took the small bag of cookies that Lena had brought.
“Have a safe trip, Young Lady. Please remember to have lunch and get fitted for your clothes.”
“Yes!”
I waved to Lena and followed my brothers, who were walking ahead. They were as excited as if they were going on a picnic.
If I go for a walk with my brothers, I won't be able to walk along the wall, but I'll learn more about the mansion than if I went alone, right?
“Kitty, first I'll show you the buildings attached to the mansion. This way.”
The Grid Wolf mansion was a structure connecting several huge buildings. The mansion occupied a vast area, like a small town.
They said that the Grid Wolf mansion's garden stretched from that high mountain to the plains below, so it seemed impossible to see it all in one day.
Before we knew it, we entered the building used for parties. Theo shouted excitedly.
“Ta-da! This is the banquet hall. It's bigger than the dining room, right? When people come to the Grid Wolf mansion, they all share food here.”
“It's incredibly luxurious!”
There were colorful paintings on the ceiling, and even though there was no banquet going on, the vases were full of bright flowers.
Deon explained the next place we came to after walking for a while.
“Next, this is the party hall. That place over there is called the dance floor. It's where you'll dance with me later, little one.”
“Deon, I'm the older brother, so I should dance with her first.”
“But you have two left feet?”
“You two, don't fight!”
I squeezed between the two of them, who were growling softly. They each took one of my hands and muttered, 'Dancing like this wouldn't be so bad either.'
“Kitty, when your feet are all better, I'll teach you how to dance.”
“Okay. I'll have to grow up quickly to be both of your partners, won't I?”
“You'll have to eat lots and lots of snacks.”
Seeing the other party-related places made me even more excited for a lavish party. Imagine all these wolves filling up these huge spaces.
“When is the party?”
“The big party where we invite people is during the harvest festival. We dance and sing for several days. It's in the fall, but we already had it recently this year. If we had known Kitty was coming, we would have waited a little longer.”
Theo said that and told me to look forward to the many parties we have with just the family.
It would be wonderful to eat butter-grilled salmon and grape juice under the shimmering lights. I imagined myself wearing a party dress and continued walking.
After looking at the smaller places for an hour, it was time for the part I was most looking forward to.
I love the large garden!
...I thought, but the Grid Wolf garden was as vast as all the cat territories combined.
Seeing me pat my knees with my fists, Theo and Deon agreed to only look at the nearby east garden today.
“What's in the east garden?”
“Roses, sunflowers, and a large fruit field. It's a place that the Grid Wolf chefs and patissiers love very much.”
It was just as Theo described. Every area of the garden was managed by magic tools, so even a single blade of grass was vibrant.
But more than the rose garden, arranged by color, or the bright sunflower garden, what captured my heart was the field full of strawberries.
A garden where you can grow strawberries and tomatoes at the same time. I wrinkled my nose and inhaled the sweet strawberry scent deeply.
“Little one, instead of just smelling it, why don't you try eating a strawberry?”
“Oh, can I?”
“Of course.”
Deon picked a few ripe red strawberries and washed them in a nearby stream. I bit into a strawberry that was as big as my fist.
The rich juice spread throughout my mouth, and I couldn't help but smile. Because of that, one strawberry became two, and two became five.
“Is it okay to eat this many?”
“It's okay. As long as the gardener, Phillip, doesn't catch you... Uh oh.”
A large shadow fell on Deon's face. It was a dog beastman gardener with tanned skin and a nice straw hat.
That's right, his name was Phillip. I hid the strawberries I was holding in each hand behind my back and smiled. My lips were sweetly sticky from the strawberry juice.
“Greetings, young masters and young lady. Young lady, did you eat some strawberries?”
“…….”
I shook my head. Phillip smiled mischievously and asked me again.
“The strawberries don't taste very good, do they?”
“No! They were very sweet and tangy!”
When I answered, Phillip's eyes narrowed.
“You did eat them, didn't you?”
“Oops...”
I was in trouble, so I glanced at Theo and Deon, asking for help.
