<Chapter 36>
They were getting closer to the shopping district. Kitty hummed a tune and pulled her hat down tighter.
It was a thick fur hat, thick enough that even if cat ears popped out while surrounded by wolves, it wouldn't be noticeable.
Four wolves and a fox watched happily as the little cat swayed to some unheard music, gazing out the window.
"Ummm......"
As time passed, Kitty, who had been basking in the sunlight, became drowsy and started to doze off. Her plump, fair cheeks were squished against the windowpane.
The wolves all wanted to let Kitty rest her nodding head on their shoulders.
The three of them reached out almost at the same time, then glared at each other.
"Eden, what do you think you're doing?"
"She's my disciple. That posture's bad for her neck. It'll interfere with her lessons."
"Uh-uh. Big brothers are supposed to do this."
"So I'll do it, Deon. I'm the oldest, right?"
"You were only born thirty seconds earlier!"
Kitty woke up to the sound of the wolves bickering. Kitty asked Cleed, sounding a little dazed.
"Cleed, what's going on?"
"Oh, just some overprotective animals squabbling. Anyway......"
Cleed's eyes crinkled slyly, a mischievous glint in his ruby-red eyes.
"Now that I'm your escort, Miss, you can talk to me informally. All the seven-year-old wolves do."
"Oh, then I will, too!"
Kitty smiled brightly. Naturally, the wolves shot Cleed fierce glares.
"Hey, Cleed. You know your role, right?"
"To stay alert, sense the Blue Moon's magic, and protect you, Miss."
"Even Soft Paw here knows foxes are sneaky, so don't get any funny ideas."
"Yes, yes."
"*Yawn...*"
Kitty leaned on Elliot's shoulder to avoid the noise and closed her eyes for a moment. Elliot calmly ignored the glares directed at him.
"Looks like you prefer the quiet ones, huh, Miss?"
"......"
Theo and Deon sat quietly in their seats and closed their mouths.
A little while later, the carriage stopped at the entrance of the shopping district. Kitty woke up to the sound of people chattering. A startled voice escaped her sleepy lips.
"There are so many wolves......"
"But you're a wolf too, Miss."
"Ah."
Kitty, snapping out of it, quickly sat up straight and nodded. Elliot got out first to clear a path.
Kitty asked, tidying her clothes.
"Do people usually get this curious when a carriage comes?"
"They probably came out to see you today, Miss Gridwolf. The procession is a bit fancy, too."
"Everyone is curious about Soft Paw."
Kitty glanced out the window. A wolf of her age, holding bread and apples, waved at her.
Eden, seeing that Kitty was waving her Soft Paw at a boy, quickly drew the curtain and changed the subject.
"Once Sir Elliot clears the way, we can go shopping. Those two will be following you the whole time."
"Teacher. But how do you shop?"
At Kitty's question, the three wolves blinked. They had never imagined that she wouldn't know how to shop.
Theo asked very carefully.
"Kitty. Have you really never been shopping before?"
"Well... Dad and my big brother were always away on missions, and Mom worked late."
"......"
"But Mom and the neighbor ladies would get clothes and shoes for me!"
They were always hand-me-downs, but she loved getting new clothes. Kitty smiled, remembering when she was little.
The wolves, who had been listening quietly, exchanged glances for a long time, wondering what to say.
Finally, Eden explained it simply.
"Just walk around, and if you see anything you like, tell Sir Elliot. We'll put it on the Gridwolf family tab."
"Put it on the...tab?"
"The family will pay for everything later."
Kitty's eyes lit up, happy to be in the know.
"Oh, so people come to the mansion asking for money! We had lots of people like that come to our house, so I know all about it!"
"......A lot?"
"Yeah. You mean the people who stick red notices on drawers and chairs, right?"
"......"
Kitty couldn't understand why the three young masters were suddenly so quiet.
'Whenever those people came, Mom always gave me a big hug.'
She didn't really remember the loan sharks being scary. Kitty only remembered the moment when she was buried in her warm mother's arms.
The wolves were about to tell her that paying on the family tab wasn't like that, but quietly closed their mouths.
Cleed changed the subject to keep things from getting any more depressing.
"Miss. If you sense the Blue Moon's energy, get down low right away. The wolf knights will take care of the rest."
"Just lower my posture?"
"Count down from 100 in your head. If you just stand there spacing out, you'll get caught up in the Blue Moon's nasty madness. But if you're far away, you must let us know your location by howling."
Of course, even if panthers attacked today, with all these wolves around, you'd be safe, Miss, but still...
Cleed clicked his tongue at the overprotection.
Kitty nodded, but thought to herself.
'Did that jewel only feel as warm as Mom's hugs to me?'
The special power her mother had mentioned at the end must have something to do with the Blue Moon.
'If I can beat the panthers, I'll be able to get Jerian!'
Kitty clenched her Soft Paw tightly.
A little while later. Elliot, having cleared away the crowd, opened the carriage door.
"Alright, Miss, shall we start exploring the shopping district?"
Theo quickly got off and held out his hand to Kitty. Normally, she should have taken Cleed's hand, since he was her escort, but Theo wasn't about to give up that privilege.
"Thank you, Older Brother."
Kitty's small hand landed in his.
As Kitty got off, the wolves around them started chattering.
"Oh my, she's so tiny, she's like a fairy."
"She seems to have gotten close to the young masters already. And isn't that Master Eden from the Weavers family?"
"Still, to call her a wolf......"
Someone muttered without thinking, and the people around them gasped.
It was because they remembered the night Kitty was adopted, when Jackal and Karis, the heads of the clan, howled fiercely.
Besides, the Gridwolf's youngest daughter was practically radiating the scents of both Gridwolf and Weavers. It was obvious the heads of the wolf families had deliberately marked her with their scents to warn everyone off.
Wolves, with their strict hierarchy, had no choice but to obey their superiors.
"She's a little wolf, anyone can see that."
"Look at her confident walk."
"Hello, Miss Gridwolf!"
Kitty entered the store, receiving everyone's attention. Elliot and Cleed followed behind her, on high alert.
"Everyone's welcoming the new little wolf."
Kitty felt proud and straightened her shoulders even more. She had been worried about what would happen if people recognized her as a cat.
'Everyone seems to be kind.'
Her emerald eyes crinkled with a happy smile. Kitty felt relieved and began to look around.
The first store they stopped at was, as expected, a knitting supplies store. Kitty gasped softly at the sight of the colorful balls of yarn.
"Wow......"
Her big eyes sparkled like crazy. Theo and Deon steadied Kitty so she wouldn't fall backwards while staring at the yarns hung high up.
"What do you think, Kitty? Pretty, right?"
"Soft Paw, do you like everything here?"
"Yes. It's so hard to choose just one."
Kitty chirped happily. Her ears twitched excitedly inside her thick hat.
Theo and Deon quietly went to Elliot and said.
"Sir Elliot, we should buy one of every yarn here."
"Because our Soft Paw likes them so much."
Elliot, well aware of the Gridwolf family's wealth, made the request to the owner without hesitation.
Kitty, completely unaware that she'd just acquired a mountain of yarn, picked out a ball of red yarn.
"I'll take this one!"
"It's pretty. Don't you need anything else?"
"For now. I want to look around other stores too!"
Kitty was thrilled with her first shopping trip.
* * *
A group hidden in black robes, pulled down low, watched Kitty's birthday shopping spree from a second-floor window.
Their gazes followed Kitty's every move as she walked lightly and smiled brightly, but their eyes were blank, as if they were under a spell.
Behind them, a haughty panther beastkin stood with arms crossed, staring at Kitty, their target, with clouded eyes.
Her tightly bound, deep blue hair swayed at her chest. Beneath her glasses, sharp gray eyes gleamed.
It was Sigma, the woman who had recently risen to become the second-in-command of the panther forces.
"I wondered why our king released me from the dungeon on the day of his imprisonment, but this one is certainly a unique research subject."
A sinister light flickered in Sigma's eyes.
"This is quite different from when I was dissecting panthers."
"......"
"And the sight of all those wolf knights swarming around to protect that adorable little thing...isn't it just precious?"
As she drawled, the beastkins by the window turned their heads. Blonde hair, typical of fox beastkins, peeked out from under their robes.
When Sigma squeezed the fake Blue Moon she held, the fox beastkins grimaced in pain.
But with their minds already enslaved, they couldn't resist.
"You lot, get close to that adorable cat, quickly."
"......"
"If she's an ordinary cat, she'll be more sensitive to madness than wolves, so narrow the distance until it's about three steps away. Closer is even better."
It was impossible to break through such protection. But Sigma couldn't care less about the foxes' predicament.
The panther mansion's basement was overflowing with fox beastkins, tamed by madness and ready to be used as she pleased.
She'd never had any ethics to begin with, going so far as to dissect and experiment on various beastkins, even her own kind, the panthers.
"When you, who are exposed to the madness of the Blue Moon, approach, the cat will frown, right?"
If so, it would mean that madness also affects cats. But if not......
"If the cat shows no signs of pain, it means she's immune to madness, so kidnap her."
"......"
Completely dominated by madness, unable to even respond.
Sigma's red lips twisted into a cruel smile. She hoped that the foxes would quickly sacrifice their lives for her amusement.
"If you have to, you can even threaten the Gridwolf girl."
The fox beastkins moved with blank, clouded eyes. Only Sigma's voice echoed in their minds.
Approach the cat.
If she frowns, retreat.
If she doesn't suffer from madness...... kidnap her.
The fox beastkins used their sharp, unique magic to disguise themselves as wolves.
It was easy to blend into the crowd that had gathered to catch a glimpse of the Gridwolf girl.
The fox beastkins, each from a different direction, gradually closed in. Their clouded eyes were all fixed on Kitty's face.
Finally, they reached the range of the madness Sigma had described.
"Kyaaa! I suddenly feel amazing!"
"......?"
The foxes were momentarily confused by the cat's unexpected reaction.
'She's happy?'
'Not affected by madness?'
Sigma, watching from afar, frowned deeply as well.
'What the heck is that?’
