A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 20

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 20
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A mouse named Seo Han Eol.
There was one thing that set him apart from ordinary mice—he suffered from an acute fear of cats.
While all mice naturally feared felines, his terror ran far deeper than most.
The mere sight of cat droppings sent his legs trembling, and catching even a glimpse of a cat’s tail rounding a corner would leave his entire body rigid with dread.
His bolder companions would sometimes wager on plucking whiskers from a sleeping cat, but such feats belonged to another world entirely for him.
‘It all traces back to my childhood.’
When he was but a fluffy young mouse, a mischievous cat had sunk its fangs into him.
By all rights, he should have perished.
Yet fortune favored him that day.
A swipe from the cat’s paw sent him flying over a wall, and he managed to escape with his life.
From that moment forward, his singular goal crystallized.
‘I will spend my entire life in a place without cats!’
Such a place would be paradise itself, a realm of eternal bliss.
Thus, upon reaching adulthood and marrying a like-minded companion, he set out to find a haven free from felines.
That sanctuary was the Nam Goong Family Estate.
Once he settled into the Chang Cheon Pavilion, true peace finally graced his existence.
The servants’ brooms posed no real threat.
He was swift enough to evade human hands with ease.
Moreover, befitting a great family, food here was abundantly plentiful!
Especially of late, a cute young girl had arrived, and whether because of her or not, delicious dishes had noticeably increased.
‘Tonight I must fetch that red bean cake from atop the table.’
The thought of his pregnant wife savoring such a treat made him dance with joy.
So when deep night fell, he scurried swiftly atop the table.
There, he found himself staring into eyes as brilliant and blue as a cat’s jewels.
‘Could this child possibly be… a cat-human?’
In that instant, he bid farewell to this mortal realm.
‘Forgive me, my dear. Please raise our child well, even without a father.’
How much time had passed since then?
As he lay unconscious, tears and mucus streaming freely down his face, a sweet aroma brushed against his nose.
‘Is that… the scent of red bean paste?’
Oh dear.
So the afterlife had red bean cakes too.
What of his wife, who instead of enjoying the cake he meant to bring, now wept with her heavy body wracked with sorrow?
He despised himself for being so pathetic—dying from fear of a cat.
Then a strange voice reached his ears.
“Mister.”
Huh?
Since when did the messengers of the afterlife speak in the voice of a young girl?
“Uncle Squeaky, please wake up.”
Even as I kept my eyes tightly shut, suspicious of the situation.
This time, a voice I could not refuse reached my ears.
“Squeak (Darling, open your eyes).”
It was none other than my wife’s voice.
‘Could it be that even my pregnant wife followed me in death?’
Seo Han Eol’s eyes snapped wide open.
* * *
Seo Han Eol was utterly dumbfounded.
A child’s dark eyes, brimming with concern, sparkled mere inches from his nose.
“Are you alright, Uncle Squeaky?”
A bright face with rosy cheeks just beginning to fill out with youth. The delicate features unmistakably belonged to the mistress of this dwelling.
‘That means… a c-cat!’
To think I was close enough to touch noses with a cat!
Seo Han Eol gasped sharply.
Just as he nearly fainted again upon waking, his wife spoke to him.
“Squeak (Well, the cat lady has been caring for you so tenderly while you were unconscious).”
“Squeak (Me)?”
Now that I thought about it, I was lying on an embroidered pillow as my bed.
A silk handkerchief was draped over me like a blanket, reaching up to my neck.
“Squeak (And when I came running in alarm, she even gave me red bean cakes to eat, saying I should have some).”
True to her words, a plate held a neat pile of finely sliced red bean cakes. My wife’s account was not false.
“Squeak (Cat lady, why on earth would you do this for me)?”
Remarkably, Hong Seol could understand the mouse’s speech.
As Seo Han Eol rolled his eyes in bewilderment, Hong Seol spoke carefully.
“Grandfather Nam Goong Ho taught me. He said this is what you do for someone who’s been frightened.”
She was speaking of the day I descended from Dae Chuk Mountain.
Though she was a cat-human, Hong Seol had never actually seen a mouse before.
Before turning five, back when Hong Seol was still beloved, she had only seen them in picture books and heard stories about them. The protagonist of that book happened to be named “Squeaky.”
So somehow, Hong Seol did not dislike Seo Han Eol and found him familiar.
‘Uncle Squeaky was probably startled because I’m a cat, wasn’t he?’
She recalled how Grandfather had once brought her when she collapsed, covered her with warm blankets, and fed her delicious food. Having received such kindness, she felt obligated to do the same.
So she had merely confirmed that the collapsed mouse’s pulse was beating steadily and cared for him.
“Squeak (Cat lady)!”
Suddenly, Uncle Squeaky prostrated himself flat on the bed.
“Squeak (Thank you for saving my life, cat lady)!”
“Oh, no. I simply did what I was taught.”
“Squeak (From now on, my wife, myself, and all our children to come shall serve you as our lord)!”
“Lord?”
“Squeak (Yes, lord! You possess both the strength of a mighty cat and the compassion to care for the weak—how could we not serve you as our lord)?”
Tears of overwhelming emotion streamed down Seo Han Eol’s face as he lay prostrate.
“I possess no remarkable talents, but I excel at gathering rumors and discreetly procuring small items. Is there anything you wish to know?”
Anything I wish to know?
Truly, I could ask about anything at all?
In that case….
Hong Seol, who had been hesitating, finally opened her mouth.
* * *
The promised two months flew by like an arrow, and the day of the martial competition arrived.
Strangely, the Nam Goong Family Estate had been bustling since morning. And yet today’s match was merely a contest between eight-year-old children.
Regardless, Hong Seol was at the Training Ground with Nam Goong Ui Gyeol.
“Do not relax your strength. For now, simply warm up your body lightly.”
“Yes!”
Hong Seol answered vigorously and began jogging around the Training Ground. Nam Goong Ui Gyeol watched her with a pleased expression.
“Master, an urgent message has arrived.”
At that moment, a warrior from the Changcheon Division approached and handed him a note. After reading it, he spoke to Hong Seol.
“Young lady, I must step away for a moment on urgent business.”
Hong Seol, who had been jogging around the Training Ground, paused briefly and nodded.
“I will return before the competition begins.”
Nam Goong Ui Gyeol bowed respectfully and left.
A short while later.
A child dressed in the finest garments from head to toe burst through the door.
“Is this the direct line’s Training Ground?”
His voice was quite arrogant.
Hong Seol, who had been quietly jogging around the Training Ground, nodded with a slightly fearful expression.
‘Who is this? Are there other direct family members besides White, Black, and Red that I don’t know about?’
“Who are you?”
The child asked.
That was precisely what Hong Seol wanted to ask.
“And who might you be, young master?”
“I am the grandson of Nam Goong Mu Young, an elder of the great Nam Goong Family.”
“So that means…?”
When Hong Seol questioned him further, Nam Goong Jong Woo cleared his throat indignantly, his pride wounded.
“My name is Nam Goong Jong Woo. Remember it well. One day, there will be no one in the martial world who doesn’t know my name.”
“I see.”
I see.
Hong Seol felt little impression from the child’s boastful words.
It seemed I had simply seen too many people with formidable presence recently.
My grandfather, the Sword King Nam Goong Ho, the patriarch of the family; my snake grandfather; the Changcheon Master Nam Goong Ui Gyeol, called the Thousand-Jin Sword Immortal; and my older brother Nam Goong Baek.
‘No matter how much younger this child is than my older brother, his bearing simply cannot compare.’
Coincidentally, the two were of similar age.
Perhaps Nam Goong Jong Woo would spend his entire life in the shadow of Nam Goong Baek.
The thought made his blustering demeanor seem almost pitiable.
“What is your name?”
“I’m Hong Seol.”
“Ah!”
Only then did Nam Goong Jong Woo recognize Hong Seol, his opponent for the day, his eyes gleaming with contempt.
“You dare use the direct line’s Training Ground?”
He carried himself with arrogance as if he were something special, when in fact he had only been granted special access for today as well.
Nam Goong Jong Woo, lounging in a wooden chair tucked in the corner, suddenly extended his right foot.
His black leather shoe traced a long arc through the air before landing at Hong Seol’s feet.
With one hand resting on the armrest and his chin propped in his palm, Nam Goong Jong Woo gestured toward Hong Seol with a jerk of his head.
“What are you doing?”
“Pardon?”
“Pick up my shoe.”
“….”
“You’re a child who has received the Nam Goong Family’s grace, after all.”
He spoke as though imparting some crucial lesson in propriety.
“So it’s only natural that you serve me.”
“I see.”
The boy before me differed greatly in temperament from the young masters of the Nam Goong Family I knew.
‘It’s true that I’ve received the Nam Goong Family’s grace.’
Without even finding it strange, I picked up the shoe from the floor and approached him.
Perhaps thinking he had seized the initiative, Nam Goong Jong Woo’s face twisted into a contemptible smile.
He waited with one bare foot stretched out, ready for me to slip the shoe onto it.
Just as I was about to mindlessly put the shoe on Nam Goong Jong Woo’s foot—
A pale hand shot out and intercepted the shoe from my grasp.
“I shall put on your shoe for you.”
Recognizing the hand’s owner, my eyes widened.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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