<23>
Kitty tried to answer as calmly as possible. But this time too, a voice full of fear came out.
"I-I don't know what you're talking about. I'm just a little wolf cub!"
"Do you think I'm stupid?"
Ethan stated matter-of-factly, and Kitty's pupils began to tremble as if an earthquake had struck.
'How did Ethan know I was a cat…?'
Kitty couldn't say anything.
After Ethan returned to his room due to motion sickness, there was an accident where cat ears popped out, but no one found it strange.
If she smelled like a cat, all the wolves there would've noticed.
'Ethan must be a genius, just like my brothers said.'
If he figured out who I really was, when even the wolf pack's leader couldn't, he's gotta be really smart.
Kitty quickly decided to admit that she couldn't deceive Ethan.
Without even realizing it, Kitty's tail, which had popped out from under her dress, drooped down.
However, Ethan didn't feel any particular reason to be considerate of a cat.
"Answer my question. Why did you come to Gridwolf and get temporarily adopted, even faking what kind of animal you are?"
His blue eyes were like daggers. Since he already knew, Kitty stuttered.
"I wanna get revenge for my mom...but I'm too little."
“……”
"I have a goal to avenge my mom and little ones."
"What's a 'little one'?"
"The babies in my mom's tummy. I bet they would've been super cute."
Thinking about when her mom and siblings died made Kitty sad. Her tiny, round shoulders started to slump.
"Wouldn't it be better to just go back to your cat territory and hide?"
"...If I did that, I'd have to hide in the shadows of Meow Forest or Meow Mountain. My mom wouldn't want that."
"How would you know what a dead person wants?"
Kitty silently placed her hand on her chest. She could feel her heart racing a little, now that Ethan knew who she really was.
"Every time I fell asleep, Mom would hug me super tight. So tight I could hear her heartbeat."
Kitty recalled her mother's voice saying, "Squishy-paw. If you're happy, Mommy's happy too."
She could almost feel the gentle heartbeat and warmth from her mom's chest again, just like when she used to rest her head there. It made her heart feel peaceful.
"Isn't it awesome? Remembering someone's heartbeat like it's their voice."
Kitty perked up and said,
"So, I can't go back and hide. If I'm not happy, my family in heaven won't be happy either."
Her droopy tail started wagging again, all lively.
Kitty, forgetting for a second that he knew she was a cat, smiled a sunshine-y smile.
"The Gridwolves even had a funeral for my family, and they said they'd take care of me 'til I'm grown up. So, I wanna grow up here."
“……”
Kitty glanced at Ethan's face. She'd spent so much time watching Jerian back in the cat territory that she was good at guessing what people were thinking just by looking at their faces.
'He's acting a little different now.'
Ethan, who'd wanted to kick her out just a minute ago, seemed a little unsure now. Like he felt a little bad for her.
'Then….'
Kitty decided to try using her Squishy-paw, since everyone loved it. Taking a deep breath, Kitty grabbed Ethan's hand.
Squish—
Ethan, who'd been staring off into space for a second, was surprised and frowned.
"So, um...are you gonna tell the Gridwolves I'm a cat?"
Ethan, finally calming down, stopped looking at her so suspiciously.
He'd thought maybe she was a spy from some other group, but after talking to her, he didn't think so anymore.
Of course, just because he knew she wasn't a spy didn't mean Ethan was gonna be nice to Kitty. He wasn't the type to sweet-talk little kids.
Still, he wondered if he was getting interested in her because of that soft, squishy paw holding his hand so tight.
"I'm not planning on blabbing it to everyone."
He meant he wasn't gonna go out of his way to tell them, since they probably already knew. Kitty stared at Ethan without letting go of her tension.
“……Really?”
"I'm just supposed to teach you some basic manners in exchange for you staying here. Why would I do anything more than that?"
"Well, it's 'cause you don't seem to like me..."
"Like you said, I don't care about weak animals."
“……”
Kitty was a little annoyed, but she wasn't dumb enough to risk losing her safe home by getting mad about being called 'weak'."
So, Kitty changed her plan. She squeezed Ethan's hand tight with her Squishy-paw and gave him the saddest look she could manage.
Twinkle twinkle—
Her eyelashes fluttered, all wet, and her eyes sparkled like glass.
"That's right. I'm just a really tiny, weak, and sad little kitty..."
“……?”
"If you kick me out, the leopards will gobble me up real quick... And then you'll have bad dreams..."
"Are you trying to threaten me?"
"Noo!"
Kitty yelped and jumped. Ethan chuckled. He could totally see through her.
"Oh, Ethan. You just..."
"What."
Ethan opened the book he had brought and began to read.
'Did he just smile? Or was I seeing things?'
Kitty tilted her head, wondering about that quick smile she thought she'd seen on Ethan's face.
"Kitty, were you preparing well?"
"Ethan, you didn't come out early and tease my sister, did you?"
Theo and Deon showed up. Ethan ignored their questions. I secretly rubbed my hands together and tried to butter him up to get on Ethan's good side.
"No! Ethan was really nice to me."
Ethan snorted.
'He's making fun of a weak animal's best survival trick!'
I was a little offended, but I didn't show it. Theo and Deon saw how I reacted and narrowed their eyes.
"Ethan was nice? Kitty, is he threatening you?"
I wanted to say, 'Yeah, he knows I'm a cat...' but I couldn't. Theo and Deon still thought I was a wolf.
I peeked at Ethan. He just raised an eyebrow, like he was saying, 'You got yourself into this,' and kept reading.
I had to try really hard to stay on Ethan's good side.
"Of course not! He's my teacher, you know?"
"Squishy-paw, you took a little too long to answer. Are you sure he's not threatening you?"
Dori dori.
I shook my head, but Theo and Deon still looked worried.
"Ethan. Don't you dare do anything weird to our Squishy-paw."
"Weird things?"
"Whatever you're thinking, stop it. She might just be here temporarily, but she's still our little sister!"
My brothers seemed serious again, but Ethan totally ignored them.
Soon, the grown-ups started showing up and sitting down. I pulled my hat down tight and sat down, hoping Ethan wouldn't say anything.
"Would you like me to pour you some tea?"
I said what Theo and Deon had taught me, and the servants looked happy as they poured the tea.
Ethan sipped his tea and kept reading. He didn't seem interested at all in the tea party talk I'd practiced. Theo and Deon, like they'd expected that, stopped paying attention to Ethan.
"Kitty-ah. Can you tell us about the desserts you made?"
"Yeah! This is an egg tart, and it's super yummy if you dip it in milk. And this is a cream puff, and it kinda melts in your mouth if you have it with milk..."
I pointed to each dessert and explained what the servants had taught me.
Theo and Deon looked really happy, so they must've liked the desserts.
Then Ethan, who had been quiet, chuckled.
"You really like milk."
“……!”
I jumped, startled. My cat ears popped out, making the hat I was wearing jump, too.
I grabbed my hat, but it was too late. Everyone was looking at the top of my head.
Right when Ethan smirked, Theo and Deon jumped to my defense.
"Our Kitty's a baby wolf, so of course she likes milk."
"It's not very wolf-like to embarrass a lady, Ethan."
"Who are you calling a lady?"
"Our Squishy-paw, who's been working so hard, is a real lady! Just look at this cute hat!"
"Overworked? Wasn't she just playing around?"
Ethan shot back at everything Theo and Deon said, flipping through his book like he didn't care.
Hmm, I guess it's true that Ethan's a smart wolf.
I munched on a cream puff and looked over at Jackal and Karis. Sparkly eyes were one of a cat's best tricks.
'Please help meee….'
Soon, Jackal got up and walked over to Ethan. His large hand ruffled Ethan's hair haphazardly.
"Ethan. Are you enjoying the tea party our littlest wolf made?"
"Ah, well……"
"She's just a baby wolf, so she might mess up sometimes, but try to enjoy it."
Jackal patted Ethan on the shoulder and then came over to me.
Ethan glared at me. I pretended not to see and turned to high-five my brothers under the table.
"Kitty. Let me introduce you to the adult wolves."
Jackal scooped me up and carried me over to the grown-up wolves' table. I hid my face in his broad shoulder and stuck my tongue out at Ethan.
Blehhh. Bad wolf who picks on cats.
Then Jackal whispered to me,
"Kitty. Ethan can figure out what you're doing just by watching your face."
"Ah……"
I ignored Ethan's scary look and snuggled up to Jackal.
