Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 1

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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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The Little Wildcat of the Tiger Clan
Chapter 1
Prologue
Ten-year-old Beastkin Bariya, a Bobcat, hugged the spotted tiger cub tight to her chest and stole nervous glances around the room.
Seated across from her were three tiger Beastkin with fierce expressions, their eyes burning a fiery blue.
The Khalif Family, the Chieftain Family that commanded all the tiger Beastkin.
Before her sat the Clan Head, Baiden, his wife Sabrina, and their heir, Sirka.
It was hard to believe they were glaring at a girl barely ten, yet the three of them radiated a bone-chilling menace.
Grrrr.
Sensing the tension in the air, the little tiger cub in Bariya’s arms bared its teeth.
But the three Beastkin didn’t spare the cub a glance. Their sharp eyes were fixed solely on Bariya.
“You.”
The first to speak was Sabrina Khalif, a striking beauty with a dazzling presence.
“You dare wreck my estate and then run off?”
At the chilling tone, Bariya’s eyes rolled wildly.
She had done wrong, but her whole demeanor said she had no intention of repenting.
Sabrina clenched her fist tight.
“You wretched runaway Beastkin. I simply cannot forgive you!”
“You’re right, dear.”
“I agree with Mother.”
Her husband Baiden and their son Sirka nodded in agreement with Sabrina’s fury.
“Then let’s get straight to the point.”
Sabrina slapped a single sheet of paper down on the table with a thud.
“You! Be adopted by us!”
It was a document to take Bariya in as a daughter of the Khalif Family.
“…Huh?”
Bariya’s eyes went wide at the utterly shocking proposal.
“Are you all sick? I think you must have hit your heads… Wait, gasp, is this because of me?”
“We are perfectly sane!”
Sabrina snapped at Bariya’s worried question.
“But if you refuse, our hearts will break, you know.”
Baiden nodded at Sirka’s words.
“So become our daughter.”
“Or you can be my younger sibling instead.”
Bariya was baffled by Sirka’s words.
“Being the Clan Head’s daughter or Sirka’s little sibling, what’s the difference?”
Sirka was Baiden and Sabrina’s son, after all.
“If you don’t want to call the two of them Mother and Father, then you’ll just be my younger sibling.”
“Nonsense. Being my daughter is far better than being your little sibling.”
Sabrina cut in, irritated.
To Bariya, the two options were exactly the same, yet the pair began bickering as though there were a world of difference between them.
“Come now, Bariya. Which one will you choose?”
Pick one, pick one.
Even though the options were already set, the three Beastkin surrounded Bariya and pressured her to choose.
It was the very first moment a Bobcat Beastkin was entered into a tiger clan’s Family Registration.
* * *
Chapter 1
A deep forest where there was nothing but grass and trees.
With not a soul to help her, Bariya caught her breath and glared fiercely around her.
Six or seven hyenas, drooling, surrounded her.
The situation was on a knife’s edge, yet Bariya didn’t panic in the slightest and calmly took in her surroundings.
It had already been three years since the hyenas began chasing her.
They say even an academy dog can write a thesis in three years, and running away had become Bariya’s specialty.
Besides, a few months ago, after she wandered onto land that might belong to some Beastkin’s Territory, the pursuit had slackened.
Ever since then, only ordinary animals had been chasing her, which made driving them off much easier.
After all, Beastkin far outmatch animals.
That held true even for Bariya, who was still only ten.
“Hiss-yaaah!”
Bariya hissed fiercely and slammed her tail against the ground.
Cowed by the fierce bearing of a bobcat no bigger than a fist, the hyenas trembled and flinched back.
Grrrr.
But they had been given an order, so they refused to back down no matter what.
Still, they crept closer despite the wary glances, and Bariya bared her claws.
‘Come on, you idiots. I’ll show you the greatness of Bari!’
Just as Bariya was about to rake her claws across the nearest hyena’s eye—
Thwack!
Yelp!
With a crunch of bone, one hyena went flying, shrieking as it hit the ground.
The hyena pack and Bariya both jerked their heads around in shock.
“Why are these annoying hyena brats swarming around like this?”
A youth with silver hair fluttering in the wind kicked a hyena in the ribs and sent it sprawling.
Honestly, he didn’t look violent at all.
No, watching him send that obnoxious hyena flying with such a clean kick was incredibly satisfying.
But Bariya couldn’t react properly.
‘H-how can someone look like that?’
The young man, with silver hair and skin like white jade, not a single blemish on it, was shockingly beautiful.
It was the first time Bariya had realized a man could be beautiful, and she was gazing at him dumbly when—
…!
The young man turned to look at her.
The moment her eyes met his sky-blue ones, bluer than the sky itself, every hair on Bariya’s body stood on end.
This was no time to be dazzled by appearances.
She knew it instinctively.
‘That’s no ordinary beastkin. If he catches me, I’m dead!’
He was a predator, more dangerous than any hyena!
“A kitten?”
Her wariness flared, but only for a moment.
His words sent Bariya’s irritation spiking.
I’m a wildcat, you beast!
Sure, she hadn’t grown properly and was rather small and cute, but still!
Even so, not being able to tell a great wildcat from a house cat—the sheer stupidity made her sigh on its own.
‘But this isn’t the time to worry about that.’
Any beastkin is dangerous.
Let alone a predatory beastkin stronger than a hyena.
If she didn’t want to die, she had to run, no matter what.
Gritting her teeth, Bariya twisted her body and tried to flee.
But.
“Kyak! (What is this?!)”
Before she could take a single step, her body was suddenly lifted into the air.
The sharp-eyed youth, who had been far away a moment ago, had somehow appeared out of nowhere and now held her by the scruff of her neck.
“She really is a cat. Oh my, after being trapped among those hyenas, she must be terrified.”
Another predatory beastkin approached the young man’s side.
Bariya struggled wildly.
“Krwang! Kreeeah! (Let me go! Let me go!)”
“…She has a truly foul temper.”
“Yeah. She doesn’t seem like an ordinary cat.”
The sky-blue-eyed beastkin, who had been watching Bariya thrash about, suddenly buried his nose in the nape of her neck.
…!
A shiver ran down her spine.
An image of her throat being torn open flashed before her eyes.
“Kyaaaak!”
Startled, Bariya lashed out with a paw, clawing frantically at the young man’s cheek.
“Good heavens!”
Seeing him take five slaps across the face in an instant, another beastkin gaped.
“No one has ever dared such a thing, and this—this precious little kitten did it!”
Gazing at the paw prints etched across his pale cheek, he began to clap.
“We’ll have to take her to the mansion.”
The young man, rubbing his cheek, wore a sinister smile.
Bariya, glaring at him warily, flinched.
“You’re not going to eat her, are you? She’s just an innocent little kitten.”
“That’s not a bad idea.”
The young man left behind his cryptic words and turned away.
“Returning.”
Only then did Bariya notice that all the hyenas had already been killed.
It must have been done by the Beastkin who looked to be the young man’s kin.
“Alright, keep her under control until we get back to the mansion.”
While Bariya was inspecting the dead hyenas, the young man handed her off to the man standing beside him.
It was only a brief moment, but now that she was free, Bariya’s eyes gleamed.
‘That insolent beast, did it dare to look down on me?’
Even if I have to run away, I’ll make sure to pay him back for this!
“Wh-whoa?”
“Huh?!”
Bariya shook off the man’s hand, leapt into the air, and executed a dazzling twist.
Then, with a valiant kick of her hind legs, she struck straight at the face of the young man, whose eyes had gone wide.
Thwack!
The young man’s head snapped sideways from the hind-leg blow, and everyone who had been watching gaped in shock.
Sirka Khalif.
For the heir of the Tiger Clan’s Chieftain Family, it was a moment unlike any other in his life.
* * *
Khalif, the Chieftain Family that rules over all the Tiger Beastkin.
The reason Sirka, the heir and Young Family Head, had come near the border of Tiger Territory was none other than the recent surge in hyenas.
They were ordinary animals rather than Beastkin, but the growing number of hyenas, who were on poor terms with his kind, weighed on his mind, so he had led his knights out to see for himself.
‘I never expected to find something like this out here.’
I wondered what was going on when those annoying hyenas were crowding together so unpleasantly.
What they had been surrounding was a tiny, tiny kitten.
Honestly, I didn’t even realize it was there at first.
“Oh my, little kitten. If you want to stay alive, you really shouldn’t do things like that. You nearly got yourself killed just now.”
Jake, Sirka’s right-hand man, let out a series of heavy sighs as he quickly wrapped the kitten he had finally subdued tightly in a cloth.
“Why is Sir Jake using honorifics with a kitten?”
Another knight asked him, bewildered by the sight.
“Because she’s the one who slapped the Young Family Head’s cheek, a benefactor worth treating with respect. You lot should treat her with the same care.”
“Ah, if that’s the case…”
At Jake’s answer, the knights nodded earnestly.
Sirka was dumbfounded.
“Kraaah! (Let me go!)”
Even so, Bariya kept thrashing about without a moment’s rest.
Her truly impressive temper drew gasps of admiration from everyone.
“She can’t calm down at all. Ah, should we try giving her something to eat?”
She’s about to be dragged off, and she’s hungry?
“Here, eat up.”
“Mrr!”
The moment she bared her teeth, something was abruptly shoved into Bariya’s mouth.
A savory aroma, a salty seasoning just right, the taste of meat spreading through her entire mouth!
Drawn in by the rich, nourishing flavor of the dried meat, Bariya’s frantic struggling came to a halt.
It was because this was real food, the kind she hadn’t tasted in such a long time.
“Nyaang, nyaang.”
“Oh, she’s eating well.”
“Guess she really was hungry.”
The knights gathered in small clusters, their heads pressed together as they watched her.
‘Are they going to snatch it back?’
Clutching the dried meat firmly in her forepaws and tearing at it, Bariya twisted her body sharply and hid inside the wrap.
“Hnk.”
“Hup.”
“Hnnng… sob…”
Watching her wiggle her rump as she gobbled up the dried meat inside the blanket, the knights clutched at their hearts.
The fearsome creature who had thrashed so wildly was a sight everyone had already forgotten.

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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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