<Episode 18>
‘Huh? Why isn’t he biting me?’
I was worried that the moment Jackal bit me, my cheek would be gouged out like a soft peach, but then I heard a puff of air from above.
When I squinted open my eyes, I saw Jackal slightly turning his head away.
‘So, even though wolves say they want to bite as a sign of affection, they don’t actually bite.’
I thought he might really bite me since he’s an animal with such big, impressive teeth. Maybe he really would bite me in his animal form.
‘If I think of it as an expression of affection between wolves, maybe it would be okay just once.’
My heart fluttered at the thought that Jackal might play with me in his big wolf form someday.
For a while, I imagined sliding on his wolf fur. Just imagining sliding down Jackal's back made me happy.
“You’re smiling all of a sudden.”
“I get happy easily! And I'm happy to be talking with you, Jackal.”
“Is that so.”
Jackal talked with me for a good while after that. I thought he would talk about difficult things, but it was all about what kind of snacks were the best, where in the mansion was the best, and so on.
He was being considerate of me. He really was a wolf with a warmer heart than he looked. My heart felt all warm and fuzzy, and my eyelids started to feel heavy.
“Are you going to take a nap?”
I nodded my head slightly.
Jackal scooped me up and laid me down in the cradle. It wasn’t bad at all since I was already getting sleepy from moving around so much to get my clothes fitted.
Yawn
I patted my mouth and asked what if someone came in, but Jackal said no one would.
“Kittia. You can sleep in your wolf form.”
“Ah.”
If that’s the case, I won’t refuse.
I returned to my animal form and curled up into a ball. Young beastkin who weren’t used to human form were more comfortable in their animal forms.
I hid my claws and neatly gathered my white, soft paws. I was about to close my eyes tightly when something caught my attention.
Jackal had been calling me Kittia this whole time.
“Jackal, I'd be really happy if you called me Kitty. It's the nickname my mom gave me.”
“Okay, I will.”
I closed my eyes with a satisfied smile. Jackal gently rocked the cradle, and I was able to fall asleep quickly.
* * *
Jackal reviewed the last document and put down his pen. Even though he had finished all of today’s work, the baby cat was still in dreamland.
It had only been a few days since she came to the mansion, and she was still thin.
Kitty was curled up asleep in the shape of a freshly baked loaf of bread, and her claws, visible below her docked tail, were all broken.
With each inhale, her skinny body puffed up very slightly, and with each exhale, her fur lightly fluttered and her volume decreased again.
When she twitched slightly in her sleep, the jelly pads on her paws briefly appeared. They were pink, just like her little nose.
Lena had trimmed her fur once, but seeing her damaged fur and broken claws made his heart ache.
‘Just one ear is really perked up like a wolf’s.’
Jackal carefully tucked the blanket around Kitty. The study was an unfamiliar place, but Kitty didn’t seem to be at all wary.
‘…Are cats usually like this?’
Jackal had never seen a cat before.
He had only vaguely heard of Icarus, the brave cat, through legends and rumors.
It was said that the goddess who created this world rode in a carriage pulled by cats.
Because of this, cats that were petted by the goddess were immune to magic, and they passed down the name Icarus through generations so that the goddess, who would reappear in the world, could recognize them.
Jackal's father had reassured Kitty, who was hiding the fact that she was a cat, that it was a common name, but in fact, it was definitely not a common name.
‘I heard the last Icarus died in the bear territory.’
It would be good to secretly start investigating that matter. Jackal watched the small ball of fluff gently inflate and deflate.
‘So small, yet she might be the key to everything.’
If Kittia inherited the blood of Icarus, she could prevent the recurring disasters and massacres.
Beastkin who lose their minds and go crazy when they see the blue moon. A time of massacre where they tear apart other animals solely according to their animal instincts.
It meant that disaster could be prevented.
‘Is it divine providence? Or…’
Jackal stroked Kitty’s head gently, lost in complex thoughts.
For now, the decision would be made after she grew up a little more. Even if Kittia was not affected by magic, handling magic and using it in actual combat was another matter.
Even Theo and Deon, who had been learning for years, were still not good at it.
He didn’t want to put such a heavy burden on this small child’s shoulders yet.
* * *
Jackal's room was perfect for a nap. After sleeping soundly and waking up, I said I would come to play again next time and left the study.
When I returned to my room, hugging the picture book I had received as a gift, Lena was organizing my closet.
“Young lady, did you have fun?”
“Yes! I took a nap in Lord Gridwolf’s study.”
“Oh my. Master used to invite Master Theo and Master Deon to his study often when they were young too.”
“He even gave me a picture book as a gift. He’s very kind.”
I showed Lena the picture book.
Just then, someone knocked politely and brought a letter. The envelope was sealed with the Gridwolf crest.
Lena, who could read, read the words written on the outer envelope for me.
“To my daughter, Kittia Gridwolf. From Caris. Lena Gray is permitted to read this letter for my daughter, the baby wolf.”
“Did Lady Caris send me a letter?”
“Yes, it seems so. Lady Caris has permitted it, so if you permit it, young lady, I can read the contents of the letter to you.”
I quickly nodded my head and sat on Lena’s lap. Lena held the letter at my eye level so that I could see the contents of the letter as well.
“My name is written all over it!”
“Lady Caris must be thinking of you very much, young lady. She only wrote letters to Master Theo and Master Deon when she was away from the mansion for more than a week.”
Lady Caris’s handwriting was very neat. Lena cleared her throat and slowly read the letter aloud.
[To my daughter, Kittia Gridwolf. Hello, Kitty? I wonder how you are doing.]
I took out my cat ears and concentrated so as not to miss a single word. Lady Caris asked about my well-being and the mansion’s well-being in turn, and then got to the main point.
[Kitty. Every moment I told the wolf family members staying in the conference hall that you had become our family, I was very happy.]
Kitty is happy too that Lady Caris was happy.
[Everyone is eager to see you. So, I was thinking of holding a small tea party to introduce you. If it’s okay with you, I would like you to make the tea party invitations.]
Below that, the names of the people to be invited to the tea party were written in slightly larger letters.
Lena explained that they were all wolves who maintained very close relationships with Gridwolf.
[It’s okay if the letters are crooked since you haven’t started studying in earnest yet. You don’t have to use difficult words. But I would like you to write ‘You are invited’ carefully.]
Lady Caris finished the letter by saying that she would arrive in a few days, so to think about the tea party.
On the remaining letter papers, letters and words were written in large print so that I could practice writing by tracing them.
“I’m so happy. Lady Caris made a textbook for me!”
I took the letter practice pages attached to the letter from Lena and ran to Theo and Deon’s room.
Knock knock knock When I knocked, Deon opened the door a little faster.
“Soft paws, did you miss your older brother?”
“I want to study, can I study with you?”
“Of course. My room is a bit messy, but come on in.”
“Kitty, I’ll join too.”
Theo, who opened the door a little later, also followed me into Deon’s room. It was a room that was messier than Theo’s room beyond comparison.
Hmm, I guess wolves are canids after all. The room is a mess.
“So Kitty, what are you going to study?”
“Lady Caris sent me a letter. I’m going to practice writing letters hard and make invitations.”
I explained the contents of Lady Caris’s letter to the two who were tilting their heads in confusion.
Then Deon scooped me up and sat me on a chair, and brought me a pencil and paper.
“Soft paws. First, why don’t you write down the basic letters?”
“Yes!”
I frowned with all my might and started tracing the letters that Lady Caris had written. By the time I wrote from the first letter to the last letter, sweat was beading on my forehead.
“Whew, studying letters is really hard. I think my tail is cramping.”
“…Tail?”
“How about the hand holding the pencil?”
“Soft paws are fine.”
“Let me see.”
After repeatedly confirming that both of my hands were fine, the older brothers took turns looking at the letters I had copied and exchanged opinions.
Theo stroked my head, saying it was amazing for the first time.
“I have a letter textbook in my room. I’ll go get it right away.”
“Thank you, Brother Theo.”
While Theo disappeared for a moment, Deon stared at me intently, then asked with a suspicious smile.
“Hmm, Kitty is good at copying. Can you copy more difficult letters too?”
“Of course. If I practice a lot, I’ll be able to write more beautifully. Someday, I plan to develop to the point where I can write letters to my older brothers.”
“Okay, okay. Then try copying these letters.”
Deon quickly wrote a short sentence with the pencil I was holding. There weren’t any particularly difficult letters, so I was able to copy the sentence while groaning.
I was concentrating, twirling my tail around and around as I followed the pencil, when suddenly I became curious.
“But Brother, what does this sentence mean?”
“Well, is it too difficult for you to write?”
“No way. I learn quickly.”
I copied all the letters and held them out to Deon. Deon, with a very proud face, was about to put the paper in his arms when Theo, who had returned with the textbook, caught him.
“Deon, what did you make Kitty do? Give it here.”
“No way.”
Theo checked the original letters that Deon had written, which were still left on the desk, and glared at him.
“Look at this guy. ‘Brother Deon is the best?’”
“……”
“……”
Deon scratched his head awkwardly.
Theo stared blankly at my handwriting that Deon had put in his arms, then picked up a pencil and started writing letters.
“Kitty. I think ‘Brother Theo is the best’ is also a good sentence for practicing letters.”
Hey, older brothers?
