Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 13

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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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Baby Lynx of the Tiger Clan
Chapter 13
‘If that bastard had known, he would have coveted it terribly. Mother never told him the true Authority to the very end.’
Worried about the misuse of Authority, Mother had deliberately claimed that she possessed an Authority capable of soothing a Beastkin’s Pheromone.
Since her Pheromone actually carried such an effect, deceiving him had been easy.
If Darius, who had gone blind with greed for Authority, had learned this truth, he would have beaten the ground in regret.
If only he had kept up the act of being a gentle man, a gentleman to the end, Mother might have eventually told him the truth.
Well, he brought it on himself.
<Even setting Authority aside, Spirit Beasts are special. Born directly of nature, they are the only beings in the Beastkin world who receive nature’s absolute love.
For this reason, Beastkin instinctively feel a deep affection for Spirit Beasts, and some even harbor feelings of reverence.
Especially those Beastkin who inherit the blood of a Spirit Beast and gain Authority feel a stronger affection for Spirit Beasts than anyone, and possess an instinct to protect them.>
“Ah.”
Bariya let out a sigh.
I never understood why the Tiger Beastkin of Kalif were so fond of her, treated her so kindly, and doted on her, when she hadn’t done anything at all.
So that’s it, it was instinct.
Bariya already had a Spirit Beast for a mother, and because Claire passed down every trait of a Spirit Beast to her through the Authority <Transference>, she had become closer to a Spirit Beast than to a Beastkin.
That was also why her Animal Form had no time limit.
Since she was someone who could land a solid blow on the Hyenas, and was nearly a Spirit Beast besides, their affection for her seemed to be surging out of control.
I thought only ordinary animals like Hwaiteu were affected, but it seems Beastkin are no different.
‘Actually, knowing the reason puts my mind at ease.’
All the warm and tender Beastkin of Kalif.
Yet I had never received this kind of affection from anyone but Mother, so it had always nagged at me, like a splinter caught under a fingertip.
Now it seemed I could accept it with a light heart.
‘Wait, all Beastkin feel affection for Spirit Beasts?’
Bariya knitted her brows.
Just in case, she had checked other books describing Spirit Beasts, and they all said roughly the same thing.
That’s what made it so strange.
“Then why did those Hyena bastards do what they did to Mother and me?”
Not just Darius, but every Hyena Beastkin in Mariner had abused Claire and Bariya.
None of them had the slightest hesitation about mistreating Claire, a Spirit Beast.
Is greed for Authority strong enough to kick aside even affection for a Spirit Beast?
It wasn’t in any book, and I couldn’t ask anyone else.
Bariya tilted her head this way and that for a long while.
* * *
Crack, crunch, shhk!
Jake Gillian, Sirka’s right-hand man, watched what was unfolding before him with an expressionless face.
Blood spattered in every direction, soaking not only his shoes but his clothes and cheeks, yet he didn’t dodge it.
A Tiger Beastkin had no reason to shy from blood, and especially not the blood of Hyena Beastkin, of all people.
“Not even enough to warm up.”
Sirka shook the Hyena Beastkin he had just killed by the collar.
The dead said nothing, and soon he lost interest and flung the corpse aside.
In the corner of the dark alley, Hyena Beastkin corpses lay piled high.
“Any left?”
“No. This was the last one.”
“So it seems, Mother.”
Jake and Sirka turned their heads at the same time.
Sabrina, who was even more drenched in blood than Sirka, was taking out her pipe.
“…Ah.”
She was about to light it when her face suddenly twisted. She tossed the embers to the ground and tucked the pipe back into her robes.
“Not smoking?”
Sirka was surprised by the sight.
Sabrina wasn’t much of a smoker, but after killing Hyena Beastkin, whom she loathed, she always lit one up without fail.
Like some kind of ritual.
So why isn’t she doing it today?
“I’m raising a baby now, aren’t I? She’d sense that sharp smell right away. It’s not good for the child.”
Grumbling, Sabrina glanced down at her own body and clicked her tongue.
“Come to think of it, won’t she smell the blood, too?”
“Wouldn’t she actually like it, if it’s Hyena blood?”
“It’s bad for a child’s upbringing. She’s not an adult. There’s no need for her to get a whiff of bloodshed so early.”
Sabrina was exceptionally sensitive about the child’s education and safety.
Sirka, too, had not been allowed to fight a Hyena Beastkin until she came of age at eighteen.
Nowadays they ran around together making bets on who could take down the most of them first, but until not long ago, she had been raised gently under the iron-clad protection of Baiden and Sabrina.
‘It’s all because of those Hyena brats.’
Her temper flared again, and Sirka kicked one of the corpses sprawled across the floor.
“Knowing I’m at the mansion, they still sent this many of their underlings. Little Ah-ga must really be important.”
“Do you think the Marina Clan Head sent them?”
“No.”
Shaking her head, Sabrina pried open the mouth of a dead Beastkin.
“The Shadow Corps, which only the Marina Clan Head and his heir can command, has a seal carved onto their tongues. But these ones are all clean. Not that they’d send nobodies against us, either.”
Sirka and Sabrina stepped in and finished it quickly, but the Hyena Beastkin who crossed into Caliph Territory were undeniably above average in skill.
“Only a handful within Marina could keep sending men like these.”
“Direct family with the Clan Head’s blood. He’s scattered so many seeds that I can’t even begin to guess who it is.”
Sabrina clicked her tongue and casually shoved aside the head of the Beastkin she was still holding.
Unlike the Kalif, who rarely produce more than one or two children per generation, and never more than four, the Marina have always had large families.
In fact, the current Clan Head has sired as many as six children.
“So does this mean we’ve pretty much cleaned house?”
At Sabrina’s question, Jake nodded at once.
“Yes, these are all the Hyena Beastkin confirmed to have entered Caliph Territory. They’ll have taken a heavy blow, so they likely won’t come again for a while.”
“Good. Then tomorrow, I’m going out.”
“You’re going on another trip?”
Sirka tilted her head.
Normally, Sabrina spent 360 of the 365 days in a year outside the mansion.
Yet this time she had stuck around for a full week, which alone was nothing short of a miracle.
“No, I’ll be staying at the mansion for a while.”
“Really? Does Father know?”
And now she’s saying she’ll stay even longer?
“I’m staying in my own mansion. Why would I report every little thing to anyone?”
‘Well, if Father found out, he’d cry tears of joy.’
Baiden, who loved Sabrina so much yet could never hold her back, since she hated being cooped up, spent every long night in tears.
Sirka resolved to make sure Father learned of this, lest he waste away from loneliness.
“I’ll be going out with Ah-ga tomorrow.”
Now that’s even more surprising.
The woman who hated any kind of fuss and always went out alone was going to take Bariya with her, no less.
“A ten-year-old who does nothing but shut herself up in the library whenever she gets the chance. Loving books is one thing, but this is going too far.”
Sabrina scrunched up her face in a deep frown.
If she asked whether Sabrina was jealous that Bariya spent more time with Baiden in the library than with her, she’d be dead, right?
Sirka wisely steered the conversation elsewhere.
“That’s true. Apart from when I brought her back, she’s never once been outside, so she’ll be happy to see the city.”
“Raising a child now is going to be a real struggle!”
Grumbling, Sabrina slipped out of the alley reeking of blood.
Jake, who had been biting his lip hard to keep from laughing, finally spoke with difficulty.
“The Lady of the house really does adore the young lady.”
“Right. I didn’t expect her to be this way, either.”
All he had ever hoped was that she wouldn’t find Bariya irritating.
Not only she, but Father too had come to adore Bariya.
Both of them had changed a great deal since spending time with her.
For the better.
Father smiling even when Mother wasn’t around, and Mother staying at the mansion for long stretches.
These were sights he had never seen in his entire life.
“That kid really is a blessing, I swear.”
What would have happened if they’d simply left Bariya abandoned in the bushes?
Bringing the child home might well have been the best choice of his whole life.
* * *
“Whoaaa.”
The next day.
As planned, Sabrina set out with Bariya, and she couldn’t take her eyes off the child for even a moment.
Pressed against the carriage window until her cheeks squashed like steamed buns, the girl didn’t mind in the least, too busy gawking at the outside world, her brown eyes sparkling.
“…We haven’t even reached the city yet, and you’re this happy?”
She asked brusquely, at odds with what she truly felt.
Still, the child answered with a bright, carefree smile, her eyes shining like gold in the bright sunlight.
“Yes! This is the first time I’ve gotten to look around outside like this. Just seeing the trees and grass makes me so happy. Though I’m sure it’ll be even more fun once we get to the city.”
The child giggled and stretched her hand out the carriage window.
Bariya looked genuinely delighted, feeling the wind against her skin.
It made me feel almost guilty for having brought her out so late.

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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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