A Baby Cat Who Commands the Dog Clan - Chapter 9

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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 9
* * *
At first glance, the whites of his eyes were visibly bloodshot.
Moreover, he seemed to be suffering from a headache, occasionally pressing his fingertips against his temples.
‘He clearly didn’t sleep properly last night.’
I observed Nam Goong Ho’s face, my brow furrowed with concern.
“Why are you staring so intently?”
At his gruff voice, I quickly averted my gaze to my rice bowl.
Munch.
The bamboo shoot stir-fry I hastily shoved into my mouth to feign eating was quite crispy.
“You mustn’t be distracted while eating.”
“Yes, yes.”
With my cheeks puffed out from the bamboo shoot stir-fry, I nodded and pretended to focus on my chopsticks. But my mind continued racing.
‘If only I could obtain Sunrise Grass, I could cure his insomnia.’
I recalled the Sunrise Grass fragrance pellets that maidservant Chung Ok had made.
‘She said to crush the leaves and dry them. I think I could manage that much.’
The problem was finding where to obtain Sunrise Grass.
The advantage of this baby-palm-shaped green herb was that it thrived wherever sunlight reached. Therefore, it could be easily found in the corners of pavilions or the edges of the Back Garden.
‘Surely Sunrise Grass must be growing somewhere in the Nam Goong Family Estate’s gardens.’
But venturing out alone to gather Sunrise Grass terrified me.
After all, this place was the Nam Goong Family Estate, teeming with dog-like martial artists!
‘What if I go alone and unfamiliar Nam Goong Family members attack me?’
The mere thought made my heart plummet.
Just as I was shaking my head, unable to muster the courage,
an unfamiliar maidservant entered carrying fresh tea water. Nam Goong Ho then rose from his seat.
“I have matters to attend to and must visit the Patriarch’s Residence for a while. Let’s save the Chinese yam stir-fry for this evening.”
I replied obediently.
“Yes.”
“Yi Hwa will remain by your side while I’m away.”
“Yes….”
I nodded worriedly while observing the unfamiliar maidservant’s face.
‘I would have felt more at ease with Mae Ran…. But there’s nothing to be done.’
Once Nam Goong Ho departed, maidservant Yi Hwa cleared the empty bowls.
After finishing the tidying, Yi Hwa brought out a plate of candied fruit for palate cleansing. My eyes widened at the sight.
“Oh, what’s this?”
Maidservant Yi Hwa peered at where my finger had stopped.
“It’s candied loquat. Do you perhaps dislike it?”
“No, it’s not that. That herb….”
My gaze was fixed on the decorative herb layered beneath the candied fruit.
Broad green leaves spread like a baby’s palm.
It was mugwort.
“Oh, this is merely decorative. In some regions, they do use it for culinary purposes, but here at the Nam Goong Family Estate, not really… The Patriarch simply dislikes the pungent aroma of this plant.”
Oh no, that wouldn’t do.
My face fell.
What good would it be to prepare a fragrance that cured insomnia if Nam Goong Ho refused it?
‘But didn’t he always say that anything good for the body tastes bitter?’
Nam Goong Ho himself had fed me bitter slivers of fo-ti root without hesitation.
So if he wanted to regain his health, he would simply have to accept the pungent aroma of mugwort.
Having settled the matter in my small mind, I spoke.
“Can I take this plant?”
“Miss? This is mugwort, young lady. If you touch it, your hands will become sticky.”
Yi Hwa shook her head firmly.
“But—”
“If you’d like something for pretend play, I’ll bring you something else instead. Please don’t touch this.”
A whimper escaped me.
Living here as a dependent, I couldn’t press an unfamiliar maidservant further.
Dejected, I picked up a piece of pickled loquat with my chopsticks and ate it.
Frustratingly, it was quite sweet.
* * *
In the pitch-black depths of night.
“I can do this, I can do this….”
My trembling voice echoed through the inner chamber.
I’d been at this for half a shichen—roughly two hours.
I’d chosen a time when no one would be about and prepared to venture outside.
Yet my feet refused to carry me forward.
‘B-but outside is terrifying!’
With wide, round eyes, I gripped the door frame tightly with my small hands.
In the distance, I could see the Back Garden buried in impenetrable darkness.
It was the place Mae Ran had mentioned last night while tucking me in.
Asking Mae Ran was easier than approaching the unfamiliar Yi Hwa.
“Say, Mae Ran. Where do all the vegetables that appear on the evening table come from?”
“The vegetables used in the Chang Cheon Pavilion kitchens? Usually, the kitchen staff go to the market every morning to purchase them.”
“What about vegetables that aren’t used often?”
“Ah, those sorts of plants are grown directly in the Vegetable Garden at the far end of the Back Garden. It’s only about the size of a palm, but quite a variety of interesting plants grow there. Mugwort, mint….”
My eyes sparkled.
Then the Vegetable Garden surely had mugwort as well.
I could have asked the maidservant Mae Ran to fetch it for me. But a child accustomed to rejection hadn’t thought that far ahead.
“If you’re curious about the Vegetable Garden, shall we visit it tomorrow? There’s also the Training Ground nearby, which the young masters use.”
“Oh, no!”
Recalling Mae Ran’s words, I swallowed hard with a solemn expression.
‘The young masters of the Nam Goong Family Estate, no less. They’ll surely torment me if they catch sight of me.’
Being dog-like beastkin, they might even charge at me with fangs bared, aiming for my throat.
The thought made my courage waver once more. I steadied myself with effort.
“Come now, it’s nothing. Just the Back Garden. No one will be about at this hour of the night.”
But who knew when those beastkin might come prowling through!
“Hup!”
I shook my head vigorously, trying to dispel the dark thoughts rising within me.
Through the crack in the door that swung open, I could see Nam Goong Ho’s quarters across the way. Amber light flickered through the gap in his window curtains.
‘He’s not sleeping again tonight, it seems….’
I truly must help him.
Gathering my resolve, I picked up the lantern I’d set at my feet.
Warmth radiated through the oil-soaked paper.
Yes, this feeling.
It was a sensation I knew all too well.
‘It’s as warm as the hand that once closed my eyes….’
That day when blue martial robes filled my vision.
‘He pitied me. He gave me food and clothing, and a place to sleep.’
For his sake, piercing through the darkness to gather Sunrise Grass was nothing at all.
As I recalled that day, my resolve finally crystallized—I would venture into the darkness.
Creak.
With courage mustered, I stepped through the door, which today emitted an unusually eerie sound.
* * *
“Phew, what a relief!”
I quickened my pace toward the Back Garden.
The guards of Chang Cheon Pavilion, who normally stood watch before the Main Gate, were absent this evening.
Thanks to their absence, I reached the far end of the Back Garden without hindrance.
The Vegetable Garden, which the Chang Cheon Pavilion’s kitchen staff had cultivated themselves, was lush with verdant growth.
“Where could the Sunrise Grass be?”
I held the lantern high and ventured inside.
Black soil seeped between my silk slippers, but I paid it no mind.
“Not this one, nor this one….”
Leaves clustered in circles, thorns sharp as needles, fronds curled at the tips.
No matter how I searched, I found no grass with leaves shaped like a baby’s palm.
“The Sunrise Grass isn’t here. What should I do?”
My face fell in disappointment.
Then it happened.
A rustling sound came from somewhere nearby.
“Oh!”
Startled, I buried my head among the leaves. Before I knew it, I’d dropped the lantern and was hugging both sides of my head, trembling violently.
But for a long while, there came no further sound.
I barely managed to lift my head.
“It… it must have been the wind.”
The dark soil of the Vegetable Garden without a single light looked desolate. I glanced around searching for the lantern.
The extinguished lantern had rolled away and lay crumpled against the base of a tree.
One side appeared to be dented.
‘Could it be broken?’
This isn’t even my possession.
Fear seized me and I scrambled to my feet.
Desperate to retrieve it, I rushed toward the lantern but caught my foot on a stone and tumbled forward.
“Oof!”
A strange sound echoed in that moment, but I didn’t notice it.
Because there, in the spot where I had fallen, I discovered what I had been searching for so desperately.
“Here it is—the sunrise herb!”
Covered entirely in dirt and with scraped knees, I didn’t care.
I rose with vigor and plucked the sunrise herb.
“Hehe.”
I had barely picked for a moment, yet my arms were already full of it.
Delighted, I returned to Chang Cheon Pavilion with light steps.
The shadow that had been watching from a distance moved to where I had been harvesting the herb.
“What on earth was she planning to use this for?”
He plucked a remaining leaf of the sunrise herb and brought it to his nose.
“Ugh. This scent is utterly disagreeable.”
His face twisted in distaste, he tossed the leaf away and turned to leave.
* * *
The afternoon grew quiet as shadows lengthened.
Nam Goong Ho sat before a table in the Tea Room of Chang Cheon Pavilion, pressing his temples.
The headache that had plagued him daily was particularly severe today. He had barely slept in days.
Because of this, he had ordered that no one be allowed inside the Tea Room.
And yet…
“Tsk. What is it now?”
Two faint, insignificant auras registered in his perception from a distance, approaching the Tea Room where he resided.
Along with them came an acrid herbal scent he found disagreeable.
“Who is it?”
Nam Goong Ho asked with irritation. A hesitant reply came back.
“It is… Mae Ran. Hong Seol has something she wishes to tell you.”
Wrinkles of confusion formed on Nam Goong Ho’s brow.
What could Hong Seol be doing away from her quarters?
“Enter.”
As the maidservant Mae Ran opened the door, Hong Seol stepped in hesitantly, her hands hidden behind her back.
“So it is Hong Seol. What brings you here?”
Nam Goong Ho made a conscious effort to soften his expression, concerned that the child might be startled by the sight of his face.
“Well, you see, I have a gift I’d like to give you, sir.”
A gift?
Before Nam Goong Ho could fully comprehend Hong Seol’s words, she extended both hands forward.
“This is….”

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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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