A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 33

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

Chapter 33
Before me stood a broad-shouldered boy with a flat, broken nose.
‘I’ve never seen this face before.’
From the sash cinched at his waist to the sword slung across his back.
Everything the boy wore was valuable, yet something about him felt vulgar and coarse.
Perhaps it was the twisted, serpentine way he spoke.
“Goodness, how difficult it is to meet the precious eldest grandson of the Nam Goong Family.”
“Nam Goong Do, brother.”
Nam Goong Baek called his name with a sigh. The weariness in his voice was unmistakable.
‘Nam Goong Do?’
I had heard that name somewhere before. I recalled the servants’ gossip from the kitchen.
“Oh, Young Master! Just a moment ago, Young Master Nam Goong Do from the Branch Family was looking for you.”
Only then did I notice the cloud emblem symbolizing the Nam Goong Family on the hem of Nam Goong Do’s robe. But unlike Nam Goong Baek’s, the emblem was not whole—it was a cloud split in half.
‘So he’s a young master from the Nam Goong Branch Family.’
I had once heard from Mae Ran that Nam Goong On’s younger brother had established his own household nearby.
‘His only son was said to be quite skilled in martial arts.’
I observed Nam Goong Do quietly.
His face was youthful like Nam Goong Baek’s, but he stood a hand’s span taller. One could truly say he was built with impressive stature.
“The arrogant Young Master Nam Goong Baek from the main family doesn’t seem happy to see his cousin after so long? You won’t even show your face at a tea gathering.”
“As you can see, I’m busy, brother.”
Nam Goong Baek replied without a shred of sincerity. Provoked, Nam Goong Do launched another jab.
“What’s that in your arms? I thought perhaps you wore a wool scarf even in spring due to your frail constitution, but is it a kitten?”
At his gaze fixed upon me, I began to feel afraid. In an instant, my tail puffed up like a washboard. Seeing this, Nam Goong Do sneered.
“Look at the beast cower. Nam Goong Baek, when did the great eldest grandson of the Nam Goong Family become a cat’s servant?”
“….”
Whether he served a cat or a foal—what did it matter to anyone else?
Even as fear gripped me, anger began to surge within my chest.
Yet Nam Goong Baek simply kept his mouth shut, as if the man wasn’t worth answering.
“Ah, could it be that Heuk and Jeok don’t treat you as an older brother because you’re dying soon? Is that why you’re raising this cat as a younger sibling instead?”
Dying soon?
At those words, my anger flared so intensely that even my nose turned red.
‘How… how could he say such a thing!’
Where in the world did someone speak of another’s suffering so callously? By the codes of the martial world that I had learned secondhand, such a thing was unthinkable.
‘I knew that brother would die at twenty because of the poison, but….’
I never imagined there existed such a shameless brute who would speak of it so openly.
‘I merely heard that I couldn’t use my inner energy, and I languished in the Storage Room.’
When I thought of the wound that had opened in my heart then….
I couldn’t even imagine what Nam Goong Baek must be feeling now.
Though we couldn’t be called close, at this moment I wished nothing more than to embrace Nam Goong Baek’s frame, which was so much larger than mine, if only I could.
But unlike me, trembling with barely contained fury, Nam Goong Baek merely laughed it off with a faint smile.
“My younger brother, perhaps. Who knows.”
“Then that poor cat—what if my brother dies soon and grows cold and stiff? What will happen to him then?”
It was Hong Seol, not Nam Goong Baek, who fell silent at those words.
Growing cold and stiff.
I had already experienced that once before.
On a snowy day, at Dae Chuk Mountain.
The memory of that day—when I collapsed beneath despair as heavy as a blanket—stirred faintly back to life within me.
‘When I turn twenty, my brother will also….’
Face a lonely death, all alone.
As that reality struck me, a heavy sadness filled my small chest.
‘Is my brother going to be alright?’
I gathered my courage and stole a glance at Nam Goong Baek’s face.
Perhaps it was because he had walked alongside death for so long, knowing it approached.
His expression, which remained unmoved even by Nam Goong Do’s provocation, only made me sadder.
‘It breaks my heart….’
In that moment, I genuinely wished for Nam Goong Baek to escape his fate and find happiness.
Then Nam Goong Do’s arrogant voice rang out sharply.
“You can’t escape a fate of death anyway. So why not give up and hand over the position of provisional family head to me?”
‘What, what did he just say?’
My fur bristled all over my body.
Knowing that the entire family was striving with all their might to save Nam Goong Baek.
How could he say such a thing!
The anger was so intense that instead, my mind turned cold.
I clamped my fluffy mouth shut.
Nam Goong Baek had probably heard such words repeatedly, all because of family.
‘My brother must have endured them in silence all this time….’
Familiarity doesn’t mean wounds don’t form.
‘I’m in cat form right now.’
If I punished that wretched creature, it might simply be dismissed as something a beast couldn’t help doing.
‘I’m scared. I am scared, but….’
Gritting my teeth, I extended my right front paw fully.
‘Alright.’
I had sharp claws honed to a fine point, after all.
Nam Goong Baek’s arm had grown noticeably more relaxed since Nam Goong Do appeared.
‘I’m going to teach that wretched young master a lesson.’
A single fang protruding from the corner of my mouth seemed to reflect my firm resolve.
As the fang glinted in the sunlight, catching the light.
“Meow!”
Before Nam Goong Baek could even grab me, I lunged courageously at Nam Goong Do.
It was a movement that no one would have expected from the usually timid Hong Seol.
The distance between myself and Nam Goong Baek seemed utterly insignificant in that moment.
“Hong Seol!”
Nam Goong Baek’s urgent voice rang out. But it was already too late.
Hong Seol had closed the distance to Nam Goong Do’s broad face in an instant.
“Kyaah!”
The startled Nam Goong Do flailed his arms wildly in front of him.
Whoosh.
His crude fist, as clumsy as a lumpy dumpling, barely grazed Hong Seol’s cheek.
‘I won’t let you get away with this!’
Though trembling with fear, Hong Seol refused to retreat, clinging to Nam Goong Do’s face and extending her nails.
Everything unfolded exactly as planned.
‘This is the price for tormenting my poor brother, you wretched creature!’
Scratch, scratch, scratch!
In moments, thin red lines appeared across Nam Goong Do’s face.
“Aaaaaaaagh!”
Nam Goong Do was prone to dramatics. He thrashed his head and wailed loudly, and in doing so, Hong Seol—who had been dangling from his hair with one hand—went flying through the air.
Whoosh.
She was on the verge of crashing to the ground.
At that moment, Nam Goong Baek swiftly caught Hong Seol and held her tightly against him.
“That’s enough!”
“Hiss!”
Still seething with rage, Hong Seol continued to hiss and snap at Nam Goong Do even from within Nam Goong Baek’s embrace.
Meanwhile, Nam Goong Do noticed blood trickling from his face, and his eyes gleamed dangerously.
“You crazy little wildcat! You’re dead today!”
Nam Goong Do drew a glinting blade from his back and pointed it forward.
“Let me show you the taste of the Vast Heaven Sword Technique I’ve recently mastered to the third stage.”
The Vast Heaven Sword Technique to the third stage?
Hearing this, Hong Seol flinched in surprise.
Changcheon Master Nam Goong Ui Gyeol’s Vast Heaven Sword Technique was at the eighth stage.
The third stage was undoubtedly a remarkable achievement among his peers, and that was precisely why Nam Goong Do carried such arrogance.
“Actually, I was saving this to show you during our martial match later, but I suppose I should test it on this little wildcat first.”
The tip of his blade pointed directly at Hong Seol’s throat. Seeing this, Nam Goong Baek’s expression froze instantly.
“How dare you draw a blade carelessly within the Inner Hall of the Nam Goong Family. What are you doing, Nam Goong Do?”
“So now your true nature shows through your tone. What, are you afraid your precious little beast’s neck will be severed?”
“Don’t you dare lay a finger on her. I warned you clearly.”
“What can you do without a blade? This isn’t an official match, Nam Goong Baek.”
In other words, he had no intention of showing mercy even if Nam Goong Baek tried to stop him bare-handed.
Nam Goong Do, glaring at Nam Goong Baek with malice, finally spat out a curse.
“You’re nothing but a corpse awaiting your death, yet you dare interfere.”
“Hisss!”
At those words, Hong Seol lurched forward once more before catching herself.
‘Something feels off.’
Nam Goong Baek, who held me in his grasp, remained far too composed.
“Meow…?”
In that instant, he suddenly set me down on the ground.
“Step back for a moment.”
His tone was so grave that I couldn’t bring myself to defy him.
Nam Goong Baek straightened his posture and fixed his gaze upon Nam Goong Do.
“You said I’m nothing but a walking corpse without a blade—let me show you what I can accomplish regardless.”
Nam Goong Baek’s lips curved into a confident smirk.
He planted his feet firmly against the ground and began drawing his inner energy upward, concentrating it into his right fist.
A shimmering haze—barely visible to the eye—continued to gather and coalesce within Nam Goong Baek’s hand.

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