Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 15

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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 Wildcat of the Tiger Clan
Chapter 15
“Hmm, it’s a bit… off.”
But Sirka’s hopes were dashed in an instant.
“…Still, wouldn’t your mind change if you tried it on?”
Sabrina, who had been pretending to have no interest, slipped in with a sidelong glance.
Disappointed, Sirka gathered her courage once more.
“Mother’s right. Clothes are different when you look at them versus when you actually wear them.”
“Quite so, miss. Clothes exist to be worn, after all. So why not try on just this one?”
Madame Renoir, ever quick to read the room, came to their aid as well.
“No. This looks like it’s for much younger children.”
But Bariya’s taste was firm.
The dress, with its fussy frills and cutesy oversized bow, a bright yellow, looked far too childish.
‘To think they’d recommend a dress like that to a Beastkin who’s already ten years old, a beast of prey.’
Did they really see her as a baby?
A sigh escaped Sirka at her own disappointing eye for fashion.
“Would you like to look around yourself, then? If nothing catches your eye, we can certainly make something to order.”
Leaving the crushed Sirka behind, Madame Renoir handed the choice directly over to Bariya.
“Made-to-order is fine. I’m only buying one anyway.”
While Bariya flitted through the boutique, the adults exchanged glances behind her.
‘Only one?’
Madame Renoir shot Sirka a look.
‘No way. Whatever dresses the child eyes get sent to the mansion. Without her knowing.’
Sirka denied it at once.
If it were only one piece, Sirka wouldn’t have bothered bringing her all the way here.
But if Sirka suggested she needed more than one outfit, Bariya, who saw no need for multiple clothes, would surely give her an earful.
That was why they were buying ready-made instead of tailored.
“Wow, this! I really like this one!”
Just then, Bariya cried out in a voice brimming with excitement.
Sabrina and Sirka’s eyes lit up as they whipped their heads around.
“….”
“….”
Before long, they were crushed.
“This is it. This is exactly the kind of dress I wanted!”
Her face, flushed with unusual excitement, was adorable, but the two tigers simply couldn’t bring themselves to share her enthusiasm.
A huge collar stiffly rising up to the crown of her head, shoulders padded far too heavily, and a skirt puffed out so wide that four adults could comfortably hide inside it.
On top of that, the dress was a dark crimson, and its impact was so overwhelming that it would haunt their dreams.
“Why is this here? Surely someone wears this…?”
Isn’t this a design that was fashionable several hundred years ago?
“W-we only made it as a test, that’s all.”
Madame Renoir was no less flustered.
She had made it out of curiosity about past designs and put it on display as a keepsake, nothing more.
She never imagined that someone would choose it, least of all a young lady under the patronage of a Kalif, a mere ten years old.
“Dear, do you really like that dress…?”
Sirka asked desperately, but Bariya, oblivious to her anguish, nodded vigorously.
“Yeah! It looks really strong. If I wear that, nobody will ever look down on me!”
The child’s eyes sparkled brightly.
They hadn’t shone like that even on the carriage ride over.
Sirka’s head began to spin.
‘Those bastard Hyenas!’
How badly must those bastards have locked her away to make her think like this!
Sirka’s rage toward the Hyenas flared higher than it ever had before.
Sabrina felt the same.
‘No, we can’t let this stand.’
Madame Renoir, quickly catching the stark contrast in their reactions, stepped in at once.
“Miss, I’m so sorry. This isn’t for sale, and even if we were to make one to order, it would be very difficult to fit to your size.”
Since the dress was her doing, the cleanup fell to her as well.
“Oh…? Is that so?”
“Yes. This high collar and the voluminous skirt are very heavy, and they put a great deal of strain on the neck and waist. Especially!”
“Especially?”
Without realizing it, Bariya had gotten absorbed, and Madame leaned in with a grave expression.
“That’s not good for children still growing. You could end up stunted.”
“……!”
Bariya, who couldn’t hide her disappointment, gasped at Madame’s next words.
“That’s a definite no. I’ll pick something else.”
Growing taller mattered more than anything to Bariya, so she gave up on the spot.
Sirka, Sabrina, and Madame Renoir all breathed a deep sigh of relief.
Sirka silently vowed to tip Madame generously.
* * *
The outfit Bariya chose was a pale lavender dress with lace trim.
It was loose enough not to restrict movement and light enough not to strain her growth, so she liked it.
Getting there hadn’t been easy, though.
She had picked only one outfit, but Madame kept pressing five more on her.
“I don’t have any money, you know.”
Flustered, she looked up, and Madame smiled brightly.
“These are gifts for customers visiting our shop for the first time. It’s our way of hoping you’ll come back to us again and again.”
“A gift……?”
“Yes, so there’s no need to pay at all!”
Is that really a rule at this shop?
Bariya glanced sideways at Sabrina and Sirka, bewildered.
“That’s right, we got the same thing.”
“So don’t worry about it and just take them.”
The two nodded as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Uh, well then, I’ll accept them with thanks.”
Since they insisted, Bariya accepted.
If they were free, then she wasn’t indebted to the Kalif in any way, so there was no reason to feel burdened.
“Please come visit us again!”
And so Bariya left the shop, clutching a box of clothes.
She had no idea that Sabrina, Sirka, and Madame Renoir were exchanging meaningful smiles behind her.
The next stop was a restaurant.
As befitted a place Sabrina had picked out with her notoriously picky tastes, Bariya practically melted the moment she tasted the steak.
“It’s so good.”
Sirka, who had cut the steak for her by hand, smiled warmly at the child’s blissful face.
“If you want more, just say so.”
“No, this is enough. Besides, I feel like I’ve been eating meat too often.”
Not just today, but yesterday, the day before, and the day before that, too.
Come to think of it, ever since arriving at the Kalif, she’d had meat with every single meal.
“I’d be fine with once a week. That’s what we agreed on, too.”
It was nice to eat so often, but since they had a contractual relationship, it made her uneasy.
Food, clothes, a place to sleep, she was receiving everything and giving the Kalif nothing in return at the moment.
“We’re doing exactly what the contract says, you know?”
But Sirka only shrugged, her face perfectly calm.
“The condition you set, Little Cat, was ‘provide meat at least once a week.’ We’ve met that, haven’t we?”
“That doesn’t mean you have to give me meat all week long, though?”
“Either way, it’s not a breach of contract.”
“Well, I guess that’s true.”
“Then that settles it. Don’t worry. We’ll absolutely keep the contract. It’s even been notarized.”
In fact, just a few days ago, Baiden had shown Bariya a contract bearing the seal of the Aldros, the ibis-beastkin clan whose authority was widely trusted.
If either side broke the contract, not even a Chieftain Family could escape punishment from the Kalif.
That was the true Authority of the Aldros Clan.
“So eat up now. The meat’s getting cold.”
Sirka popped a piece of meat right into Bariya’s mouth.
She chewed on instinct, but something about it felt off.
Sirka wasn’t wrong about a single thing, so why did she feel like she was being played?
Was it just her imagination?
“If you want to grow up strong enough to punch a Hyena in the face, you’d better eat well.”
But the moment Sabrina added that one remark, the uneasy feeling vanished in an instant.
She had a point.
For now, she was only taking from the Kalif, but once she grew up and took down a Hyena, the Kalif would be delighted that their investment had paid off.
All the care they poured into her was for that day, so instead of feeling guilty, she should just eat well and enjoy it.
“Then I shouldn’t accept any more clothes, at least.”
Food and sleep are essential for growing, but clothes aren’t.
Just two or three outfits that fit as she grows taller are more than enough.
“Thank you for buying me clothes today.”
Even so, Bariya didn’t forget to bow her thanks.
“Today was the first time I ever picked out clothes with my own hands.”
In the Mariner Family, she had survived on the one or two outfits the Hyenas tossed her way.
After she ran away, she had no money to buy clothes, so she wore patched-up rags, stitching them together again and again.
And now the Kalif is fretting over not being able to give her something better.
‘To be honest, that yellow dress wasn’t just childish.’
The dress Sirka had picked out for her at first.
I’d rejected it, calling it too childish, but really I’d turned it down because its fancy trimmings made it look expensive at a glance.
And that’s not all.
Every outfit in the dressmaker’s shop was flashy, so I’d struggled hard just to find something plain in design.
“I really like them. I’ll take good care of them. Thank you.”
Even so, these were the finest clothes Bariya had ever owned.
“…Good.”
“I’m glad you like them.”
Having expressed her gratitude, Bariya went back to her meal, her heart noticeably lighter.
So she didn’t notice Sabrina and Sirka exchanging glances.
‘We’ve bought more than fifteen outfits at the dressmaker’s today.’
‘Figures you didn’t notice. I managed to pass off five of them as a free gift with the Madame’s help, but how are we going to persuade her to wear the other ten?’
As if a dressmaker would give away five outfits for free.
Naturally, the three of them had been in on the scheme together.
That left ten outfits.
Just thinking about how to get her to wear them was already giving them a headache.

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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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