Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 2

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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 2
* * *
Bariya Bell.
A great and dashing Beastkin wildcat, now ten years old.
She had never bowed her head to anyone, holding her chin high her whole life, but in the face of hunger, there was nothing for it.
For three long years, the Hyenas had chased her without rest, and she had not eaten a proper meal in all that time.
In the end, blinded by a strip of dried meat, she had let herself be caught by Sirka and dragged into a sprawling mansion.
And there, in a study, she came face to face with a man of enormous build.
“So the little cat was fighting a Hyena?”
Hair of gold so bright it stung the eyes, and irises of a clear, lovely amber.
Where Sirka’s features were fine and pretty, this man’s were bold and chiseled, the face of a handsome brute.
Baiden, Chieftain of all the Beastkin tigers and Clan Head of the Khalif Family.
He regarded Bariya, the creature his son Sirka had brought home, with open curiosity.
“She’s certainly no ordinary cat, is she.”
He couldn’t tell a bobcat from a common house cat, either, but Bariya had no spare breath to scoff at him.
‘Just what kind of Beastkin family is this?’
Sirka had a presence of his own, but Baiden, with those unusually piercing eyes, was dreadful just to look at.
Even Bariya, a seasoned wildcat who had weathered plenty of hardship, could not bring herself to lunge at him recklessly; the pheromones he gave off were far too ominous.
‘And I’m a cat even Hyenas look down on!’
Somehow, her pride was badly wounded.
“That’s why I brought her here, Father.”
At the word “Father,” Bariya’s ears pricked up.
Sirka had silver hair and blue eyes, while Baiden was golden-haired with amber eyes, so she’d never have guessed they were father and son.
Could they be of different species?
When the parents belong to different races, the child follows the bloodline of only one of them.
Like me.
“Judging by how well she understands speech, she’s most likely a Beastkin.”
Bariya eyed the two men warily and flailed her forepaws with all her might.
If you so much as lay a finger on me, I won’t forgive you!
“Any other creature would have wet itself under the weight of our presence. You’re quite the spirited one.”
At Baiden’s words, Bariya let out a snort.
Who did he take her for, some infant who couldn’t even manage her own bladder?
A great wildcat never cowers, not even in hardship like this.
“But you brought her here for such a trivial reason? That isn’t like you.”
At the man’s words, Bariya nodded vigorously.
Why on earth had they dragged her here?
I’m grateful they didn’t kill me, but I’d have been even more grateful if they’d just left me where I was.
“I was curious. The Hyenas wouldn’t cross the Khalif’s territory just to catch one scrap of a cat that nobody would miss. Could there be something special about this one?”
Gasp, Bariya nearly swallowed her own breath.
‘This is exactly why I can’t stand sharp-witted types.’
Bariya flailed her paws irritably, batting at the air.
“I heard this little one slapped you with both her fore and hind paws. Isn’t that the reason?”
Across Sirka’s cheek, the marks of Bariya’s paws still stood out proudly.
“Hmph.”
Bariya gazed at her badge of honor and grinned, quite pleased with herself.
“Look at that. Even the little kitten is laughing at you.”
Seeing Bariya’s grin, Sirka smirked, and a sharp fang flashed at the corner of her mouth.
“I’ll make sure she’s well looked after.”
Only then did Bariya grasp why she’d been dragged here.
‘He’s going to eat me, the one who slapped his face!’
“Let’s get along, you and I.”
Get along, my foot. I was lured here by a strip of dried meat. Otherwise I’d have run for it long ago.
I could escape a mansion like this in a heartbeat!
* * *
I’d resolved that if they dragged me to the kitchen, I’d find some way to escape no matter what.
Contrary to my expectations, Sirka brought Bariya to a bedroom.
I’d never seen anything so gaudy and glittering. Not even the Hyena Clan had a room this fine.
“Now, stay put.”
As she looked around the bedroom, the moment Bariya landed on the bed, she was struck from her head to her tail as though by lightning.
“Meow. (What is this?)”
This fluffy thing is a bed?
Beds are supposed to be hard, aren’t they? I always slept on hard beds with Mom!
“Mrrow.”
Every step sank her paws in deliciously, and it felt wonderful.
Bariya flopped onto the bed entirely and started rubbing her whole body against it.
“You like the bed?”
Just then, her eyes met Sirka’s, who had been watching her.
“Hmph.”
Bariya got up, looking sheepish, and licked her fur smooth as if nothing had happened.
“Is she younger than I thought?”
No. At ten, she’s already grown.
“You’re a Beastkin, right?”
She was a Beastkin, but she had no intention of answering a fool who couldn’t tell a cat from a wildcat.
“You smell.”
“…Mew?”
Bariya, who had been grooming her fur, was deeply shocked.
‘S-smell? Sure, it’s full of that annoying hyena stench, but still, to say I smell!’
“Hiss!”
Leaping up, Bariya lashed out with her forepaws, but Sirka caught them both in one motion.
Both of them.
“What, you want to play?”
Sirka grabbed her forepaws, one in each hand, and swung them back and forth.
Forced into a dance, Bariya felt a tremendous humiliation.
“For a Beastkin, the scent is faint, but for an ordinary baby cat, it’s strangely strong.”
No way! I bathe regularly, too!
“Especially that scent that stings the nose…”
Sirka scrunched up her face.
Bariya tried a back-kick again.
“Not falling for that a third time.”
Sirka jerked her face back sharply.
“Anyway, just humanize yourself already. Why were hyenas chasing you? And how did something as small as you survive them? There’s more than one suspicious thing about you.”
So what if I’m suspicious?
Bariya snorted.
“If you don’t talk, you won’t leave here. You’ll be living in this place for the rest of your life.”
For life? Yeah, right.
Running away was Bariya’s specialty. She was the Beastkin who had escaped the hyenas, notorious for their relentless pursuit over three years.
“So you want to live here for life? Fine. Understood.”
Pretending she couldn’t hear a thing, Bariya just flicked her tail back and forth, and Sirka wore a nasty little smile.
“Tairin!”
At her call, the brown-haired maid stepped into the bedroom.
“From now on, keep a close eye on this one. Make sure she can’t slip away, not even once. Seems she wants to live in this mansion for the rest of her life, so let her.”
“Yes, young master.”
They seem to be planning to lock me up in a cell. Well, go ahead and try.
I was already used to being treated like that.
Besides, I’d actually escaped from a prison before.
If anything, a prison is easier to escape from, so this was exactly what I wanted.
* * *
But once again, Bariya’s expectations went wide of the mark.
“How about it, Bariya? Doesn’t it feel refreshing now that the dirt is gone?”
Tairin, who had carried in a large basin of water, bathed her thoroughly and with great care.
Her touch was so gentle that Bariya’s wariness melted away on its own.
“Oh my, our little Bariya is such a good bather. How is a cat this well-behaved?”
Of course. Bariya isn’t a cat.
“And such lovely brown fur. I doubt there’s another cat with fur as pretty as Bariya’s.”
Of course. Bariya is a great wildcat.
When she puffed out her damp chest with pride, Tairin nearly swooned with delight.
“Ahh, you’re just too adorable. The Khalif Family are all good people, but none of them were ever this cuddly. Thanks to our little Bariya, I’m getting pampered like this.”
Khalif Family?
Her head snapped up at Tairin’s words.
One of the few Beastkin clans Bariya knew of.
The Khalif Family is the Chieftain Family of the tiger race.
‘I was so busy running that I didn’t realize I’d crossed into Tiger Territory.’
No wonder the Hyena Beastkin had vanished and only the animals were being hunted.
“Since the young master says he’s taken a liking to Bariya, why don’t you settle in here nicely?”
“…”
“Of course, the lady of the house will have to approve it too, but unfortunately she’s traveling at the moment and can’t be seen right away. So do try to make yourself at home here until she returns.”
Well, contrary to Tairin’s expectations, Bariya will probably be gone by then.
After all, they only just met her. There’s no way the tigers could truly have taken a liking to her.
She even kicked the heir, Sirka, across the face several times.
I hate to admit it, but they’re only washing me because I, um, smell. Once I’m clean, they might just kill me.
But there was a bigger problem.
‘What if the hyenas find out why they’re after me?’
Far from protecting a stranger with such a foul temper that she’d kick people without a second thought, they’d most likely send me away on the spot.
Or they might try to lock me up.
I can’t trust any Beastkin, no matter who they are!
‘So I have to escape, no matter what.’
I haven’t been running for over three years just to die like this.
Bariya has to live.
She has things she must do, and she can only do them if she’s alive.
‘Baby, Bariya. You must survive. You can’t be caught… No matter what, never get caught, and keep living until the very end!’
That’s because I made a promise to my mother, who risked her life to smuggle me out of the Hyena Clan.

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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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