A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 7

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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 7
* * *
By the time I realized it, the sun had already set.
Torches illuminated the darkness throughout the Nam Goong Family Estate.
The guest chamber attached to Chang Cheon Pavilion glowed warmly with lamplight.
Hong Seol sat in a wooden tub filled with hot water, hugging her knees. Her small frame occupied barely a third of the tub’s capacity.
Splash, splash.
The chamber was quiet.
The only sound was diligent Mae Ran pouring warm water over my small body and scrubbing it clean.
“Now then, let me rinse your back.”
“N-no, I’ll do it myself!”
At the child’s sudden outburst, the ladle in Mae Ran’s hands froze mid-air. Mae Ran blinked, bewildered.
“Miss, have I done something to make you uncomfortable?”
“No, it’s not that…”
“If that’s the case, then please leave it to me. Even though I look like this, I have two younger sisters, so I’m quite skilled at this sort of care. I’ll make you the most soft-skinned and lovely young lady in all of Hefei—no, in all of An Hui Province!”
“B-but…”
“Yes?”
“I’m making Mae Ran work so hard. I’m not even a member of this household.”
Mae Ran’s busy hands came to a stop. The child hung her head low, staring at her own feet as she continued.
“And I’m using hot water so carelessly like this. It’s not even New Year’s Day.”
Could it be that this small girl had only bathed in hot water on New Year’s Day until now?
Mae Ran’s heart grew heavy with sorrow.
“Miss.”
“Yes?”
“Speak more casually to me. Just Mae Ran.”
“Mae Ran…”
“Yes, you said it perfectly.”
Mae Ran smiled brightly.
“You are an honored guest of the Nam Goong Estate Patriarch. So you may ask me to do anything without hesitation.”
“An honored guest? Me?”
“Yes, it’s truly rare for a guest of the Nam Goong Family to stay in Chang Cheon Pavilion rather than the general guest quarters. So you must surely be an honored guest.”
And you’re so adorable, too.
Mae Ran had been restraining herself since earlier from poking the soft bridge of Hong Seol’s nose. She couldn’t risk word spreading that a maidservant had taken liberties with the Patriarch’s honored guest without permission.
“So please put your mind at ease, and just sit still for a moment longer. We’re almost done.”
“All right. Or rather, all right…”
Hong Seol found Mae Ran to her liking. She was quick with her hands and gentle in her manner.
She was nothing like Chung Ok, the maidservant at Myo Ga Jang, who would sometimes beat me when no one was watching.
With her heart somewhat eased, Hong Seol sank deeper into the warm water. It felt wonderful to bathe after so long.
“Now then, shall we do your right arm?”
Mae Ran scrubbed my outstretched arm with a soft cloth dampened in water. Then she paused, gazing intently at my arm for a long moment.
“Miss, you have two red snowflake-shaped moles on your arm. How lovely.”
What?
Startled, I examined my own arm.
I had long known about the red snowflake-shaped moles on my arm. After all, my name—Hong Seol—had been given to me because of those very marks.
But that wasn’t why I was startled.
‘Two? She said two?’
As far as I knew, there were definitely three snowflake-shaped moles on my arm.
‘How could one of them have disappeared?’
While I was lost in thought, the diligent Mae Ran swiftly wrapped me in an enormous bolt of fabric. I had barely poked my eyes, nose, and mouth through the soft pile of cloth when my eyelashes fluttered.
“Now then, choose whichever dress pleases you!”
My eyes widened like apricot pits at the sight of what Mae Ran had brought.
It seemed as though every silk garment I had ever seen in my life was gathered here.
There were lustrous white silks embroidered with vibrant crimson flowers, garments scattered with delicate yellow patterns, and layered flowing lavender fabrics that drifted like clouds—the variety was astounding.
“I selected dresses that should fit your frame. Do they please you?”
I nodded eagerly without thinking.
There was no reason to dislike them. Every silk dress here was of finer quality than anything my younger sister Ga Ryung wore when receiving guests. Moreover, judging by the complete absence of wrinkles, they were pristine—never worn before.
‘These couldn’t possibly have been made for me. Who is the true owner of these clothes?’
If she discovered I had tried them on first, that girl might feel upset. Troubled by the thought, I asked carefully.
“Mae Ran, does the Patriarch have a granddaughter? Or rather, does he?”
Noticing Mae Ran’s lips stiffen with displeasure, I quickly corrected myself. Hearing my revision, Mae Ran broke into a bright smile.
“No, Miss. The current direct line of the Nam Goong Family consists entirely of grandsons.”
“Then whose clothes are these?”
“Ah, well, you see….”
Mae Ran’s expression, which had worn a gentle smile throughout, suddenly grew troubled.
“Miss, I apologize, but this is rather difficult for me to explain. A mere servant cannot speak carelessly of the affairs of those above me.”
Mae Ran’s eyebrows drew together in a concerned arch, and she smiled sheepishly. Though curious, I asked no further questions. I had no wish to burden the kind-hearted Mae Ran with worry.
* * *
In the dead of night, before dawn had broken.
I awoke suddenly, my eyes snapping open. I lay swaddled in quilts that Mae Ran had tucked carefully up to my neck.
‘Gasp—where am I?’
My heart shrank to the size of a bean as I frantically looked around. It only calmed when I spotted the soft silk sleeves of the garment I was wearing.
‘Right, I’ve been allowed to stay at the Nam Goong Family Estate….’
The fact still felt dreamlike and unreal. Only then did I relax somewhat and carefully stretch.
‘My entire body feels refreshed.’
Was it from eating my fill and bathing in hot water before lying on this comfortable bed? Or was it thanks to the “Eternal Polygonum” that the Patriarch had given me to drink?
It seemed I had slept deeply without dreaming for the first time in ages.
Now fully awake, I peered toward the dark window.
“I’ve slept enough, it seems…. Has the sun not risen yet?”
Yesterday I had eaten, bathed, and fallen asleep in a daze.
Now that I had a moment to breathe, it suddenly struck me as real—I was truly here at the Nam Goong Family Estate, a place I had only heard spoken of.
‘Is the Nam Goong Family Estate’s main residence truly as vast as a palace, as the rumors claim?’
I had spent my entire life within the walls of Myo Ga Jang, sheltered from the world, and naturally I was consumed with curiosity about this place I now inhabited.
‘Yesterday, the Eunuch clearly said I could wander freely near Chang Cheon Pavilion.’
Besides, at this early hour, most people would still be asleep.
Yet stepping outside alone still terrified me.
‘Surely there’s no harm in simply peering outside through the window for just a moment?’
Unable to resist my curiosity, I threw off my blanket and slipped out of bed.
Swish.
Rising onto my toes, I drew back the hanging curtains, and the rear garden attached to Chang Cheon Pavilion came into view.
Even in the darkness, stone lanterns glowed throughout, and rare plants and flowering trees captivated my gaze.
“What is that…?”
I narrowed my eyes.
In the distance, a pale yet massive silhouette stood out distinctly.
At first, I thought I had mistaken a decorative stone statue, but that was not the case.
‘It’s moving slowly, as if taking a leisurely stroll.’
The figure’s hands held nothing.
If it were guards on patrol, they would carry torches and weapons; if it were servants running errands, they would carry lanterns.
No one would wander through the rear garden at this hour with empty hands.
Then…?
‘A g-g-ghost?’
“Mother!”
Terrified of meeting the ghost’s gaze.
Seized with fear, I scrambled back to bed.
With only my nose poking out from beneath the thick blanket, I trembled until dawn broke.
* * *
“Miss, you’re awake?”
The person who came to wake me was Mae Ran, a maidservant. Seeing a familiar face, I rushed over and clung tightly to her leg.
“Miss?”
Mae Ran, holding hot water for tea, looked bewildered.
Unlike yesterday, I was clinging to her without hesitation, and my behavior was clearly strange to her.
“Did something happen last night?”
I was so frightened that my lips would not open easily. Only after Mae Ran had comforted me several times did I finally manage to speak.
“I-I-I saw a ghost.”
“Pardon?”
At my absurd words, Mae Ran’s face looked ready to burst into laughter.
She likely thought I was no different from any other child who feared sleeping alone.
I felt a bit wronged.
“I’m serious. It was definitely a ghost!”
Then Mae Ran, bending forward, reassured me in a gentle voice.
“There are no ghosts in the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
“Why?”
“Well, the Nam Goong Estate Patriarch is far more terrifying than any ghost, you see?”
Mae Ran’s voice carried a hint of amusement, but Hong Seol’s complexion grew even paler.
‘Oh no… did I act too disrespectfully toward Grandfather yesterday? What if he thinks me ill-mannered and casts me out?’
Seized by fear, Hong Seol pressed her small lips firmly shut.
“Why, the Nam Goong Estate Patriarch need only channel his inner strength and bellow once, and ghosts would flee ten leagues distant. Therefore, there cannot possibly be any ghosts in the Nam Goong Family Estate.”
When Mae Ran refused to believe her words, Hong Seol’s expression crumpled on the verge of tears.
“But Mae Ran, I truly did see a ghost.”
“Where?”
“Outside that window there. In the dead of night, dressed in white, drifting about.”
Mae Ran gazed in the direction Hong Seol pointed, her expression darkening with concern.
“What was the spirit’s aura like?”
“Aura?”
At Mae Ran’s question, Hong Seol recalled the memory from dawn.
Now that she thought about it, the drifting figure had seemed somewhat forlorn.
“It looked a bit lonely… though it was merely an impression.”
Hong Seol finished speaking and looked up at Mae Ran, whose eyes held a pitying gleam.
“Then it was not a ghost, but the Nam Goong Estate Patriarch himself.”
“What? Grandfather?”
“Yes, he has suffered from insomnia these past years and cannot sleep at all. On such nights, he often wanders the rear garden alone.”
“Insomnia?”

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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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