A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 255

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

Side Story 1
On an evening when the fragrant breeze of blossoms stirred the air.
Twilight had settled like a blue veil across the sprawling grounds of the Nam Goong Estate.
“Hmm?”
Lady Lee, who oversaw the kitchens of Chang Cheon Pavilion, pursed her thin lips in displeasure.
She was examining the ceramic dishes that had just been returned from Hong Seol’s quarters.
On plates that would normally have been scraped clean as if freshly washed, today nearly half the food remained uneaten.
“What on earth is this about?”
Lady Lee’s brow furrowed as sharply as creased paper.
“Did the Young Master perhaps not dine with Miss Hong Seol today as usual?”
At Lady Lee’s sharp voice, the servant Mae Ran standing beside her startled and replied.
“No, they dined together as always.”
“Then why did he not touch my vegetable dumplings?”
True to Lady Lee’s words, the vegetable dumplings looked untouched.
They were a dish she had prepared for Nam Goong Baek, who had been known since childhood for his finicky palate.
In his youth, he would whine that he wanted nothing to eat, yet he would contentedly chew and swallow only these dumplings with their clean, delicate flavor.
For this reason, the vegetable dumplings were Lady Lee’s pride.
‘For such dumplings to come back untouched!’
Something was clearly amiss.
“Speak—has something befallen the Young Master’s health?”
Lady Lee’s piercing gaze seemed ready to rake across Mae Ran’s scalp.
Mae Ran quickly bowed her head and answered.
“No! It’s just….”
“Just?”
“Miss Hong Seol said she would postpone the wedding by another six months, and I suspect that may be troubling him.”
“Hmm.”
After hearing Mae Ran’s explanation, Lady Lee fell silent for a moment before asking again.
“But the young lady’s decision to postpone the wedding is not something new, is it?”
“That’s true, yes….”
“Then surely the Young Master must have some other concern weighing upon him.”
Sigh.
Lady Lee exhaled deeply and turned to roll up her sleeves.
It seemed she would need to research new dishes to restore Nam Goong Baek’s appetite for some time to come.
* * *
Between branches of fully blooming peach blossoms, a blue robe swayed with dignified grace.
A crimson ribbon, binding half of his lustrous silver hair, fluttered in rivalry with all else.
Nam Goong Baek, the master of all these things, moved with an increasingly troubled heart.
At last he arrived at a pavilion in the Back Garden.
Yet someone already seemed to occupy that place.
“What brings you here, Young Master?”
It was Nam Goong Heuk—a youth with hair as black as the night sky, his playful protruding teeth gleaming with mischief.
He had set out a small table of wine and was savoring a cup, using the fragrance of flowers as his accompaniment.
Nam Goong Baek, without a word, snatched the wine cup from Nam Goong Heuk’s hand and drained it in one gulp.
“Ah.”
Nam Goong Baek rarely touched alcohol. Nam Goong Heuk’s expression shifted to one of surprise at this rare sight.
“Is something troubling you, Elder Brother?”
“Yes, something troubles me.”
“Shall I take a guess? Let me see…”
Nam Goong Heuk, studying his elder brother’s open face, broke into a grin.
“Is it because Hong Seol keeps postponing the wedding?”
Nam Goong Baek’s brow twitched.
Nam Goong Heuk shrugged as if it were inevitable.
“But a year and six months isn’t really a long delay, is it? After all, just inviting guests from distant lands takes considerable time.”
Nam Goong Heuk paused to consider, then added with pride:
“Even utilizing our merchant guild’s information network, I assure you.”
He continued, subtly boasting of the success of the merchant guild he personally cultivated.
“So no matter how impatient you may be, if you could just wait a little longer…”
“My troubles extend beyond that alone.”
Nam Goong Baek spoke flatly, draining another cup of wine.
Nam Goong Heuk, bewildered, could only blink.
“What do you think Seol believes our family to be?”
“What? Of course she thinks we’re… wolves…”
Nam Goong Heuk’s eyes widened as he answered casually.
“Wait—surely Hong Seol doesn’t still think we’re dogs?!”
“She does.”
Nam Goong Baek nodded grimly.
“How is that even possible? When she was young, her mistake was so endearing that we simply let it be!”
“That was the problem.”
That endearment.
All those charmed by her innocence had neglected to tell her the truth—that the Nam Goong Family was a clan of wolves, not dogs.
And so Hong Seol still believed them to be canine-human hybrids.
“Hmm, it’s certainly absurd for her to become the family matriarch without even knowing what kind of family the Nam Goong are.”
As Nam Goong Heuk stroked his chin thoughtfully, Nam Goong Baek let his head drop.
Even his broad shoulders sagged as if bearing the weight of the world’s every sorrow.
Seeing this, Nam Goong Heuk swallowed a disapproving click of his tongue.
“Will you forgive me if I speak with less formality toward you, Family Head?”
“Yes. Speak freely.”
Permission granted—this was his chance!
Nam Goong Heuk’s lips parted, and between them his bright, protruding teeth gleamed faintly.
He composed himself, then opened his mouth with deliberate calm.
“Brother, are you an idiot?”
Pfft!
Nam Goong Baek sprayed the wine he’d been holding in his mouth. He furrowed his handsome brow and stared at his shameless younger brother.
“What?”
“You need to say something that makes sense.”
Nam Goong Heuk continued, resting his chin on one raised knee.
“Come on, Hong Seol fought the Heavenly Demon in her past life, and now you’re saying she’s afraid of wolves? Just tell her! We’re the wolf clan!”
“It’s not that I’m afraid!”
Nam Goong Baek cried out indignantly.
Uncharacteristically, he avoided his brother’s gaze and added dejectedly.
“…It’s that I don’t want her to dislike me.”
Nam Goong Baek didn’t want Hong Seol to harbor even a shred of hatred toward him.
Hong Seol, who had lived her entire life thinking the Nam Goong Family’s wolf bloodline was a dog bloodline.
Nearly thirty years when counting her past life.
Hong Seol would likely be devastated by the betrayal of having been deceived all this time.
And besides….
Nam Goong Baek murmured quietly, his spirits deflated.
“If it were rabbits or squirrels, at least they’d be cute, but why wolves of all things.”
“What’s wrong with wolves?”
At those words, Nam Goong Baek suddenly lifted his head and looked at his younger brother before him.
Though his face was strikingly handsome, all he could see overlaid upon it was a massive black beast.
Nam Goong Baek shook his head and tossed the wine cup into his mouth with a sharp sound.
“…Never mind.”
Would a small cat ever come to like a fully grown wolf with a dark nature?
“If only I’d remained a cub….”
Then I could have gotten away with it, having been cuter than Xiong Miao back then.
What rotten luck.
Nam Goong Heuk clinked his cup against Nam Goong Baek’s, who appeared lost in thought.
“Just be honest with her, brother. That’s the best way.”
“Yeah, I know.”
Nam Goong Baek brought the cup to his lips and drained it in one gulp.
“….”
But that was all. Nam Goong Baek still showed no sign of moving.
Nam Goong Heuk, arms crossed, pressed him with a look of futility.
“Do it now.”
“…Just one more day.”
“Ugh.”
* * *
That ‘one day’ flew by like an arrow, and it became afternoon the next day.
“Um, Miss?”
Mae Ran stood blinking in confusion at the entrance to Hong Seol’s quarters.
Hong Seol’s chambers looked as though they’d been ransacked by a band of bandits.
Every chest containing valuables lay overturned and scattered, while martial robes and bows were piled high like mountains.
Amid the chaos, Hong Seol—covered in dust—laughed brightly.
“Welcome, Mae Ran!”
Though her face was grimy, her beauty illuminated the entire Nam Goong Estate Manor like a radiant beacon.
“Heavens, what on earth has happened here?”
Only then did Hong Seol glance around at the disorder and flush with embarrassment.
“Ah, well… I’m sorry. I need to pack my belongings.”
“Pack? Surely you’re not planning to run away?”
Mae Ran approached with wide, startled eyes.
“You absolutely cannot run away! You know how the elders of this household react—they jump at the mere mention of the word ‘runaway.'”
Hong Seol stuck out her pink tongue playfully with a small “tsk.”
‘Grandfather and Father still haven’t forgotten when I ran away to Shaolin with Elder Brother Yi Woon back then.’
Of course, Mae Ran, who retained no memories of her past life, knew nothing of this.
“You absolutely cannot run away. You mustn’t, I’m telling you!”
“It’s not running away.”
Mae Ran tilted her head at Hong Seol’s words.
“Actually, a few days ago, a message arrived from the Martial Arts Alliance.”
Hong Seol gazed quietly at the letter resting upon her writing desk.
Mae Ran followed her gaze to the same letter.
Even without understanding the situation, Mae Ran could sense that the letter contained something of great importance.
“Look at this.”
At the bottom of the letter Hong Seol indicated was the unmistakable seal of Je Gal Hyeop, the Martial Arts Alliance’s supreme commander and the “Prince of a Thousand Schemes.”
A promise made long ago.
Je Gal Hyeop was now asking Hong Seol to honor it.

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