Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 29

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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 Tiger Clan’s little kitten
Chapter 29
“Ah, thank goodness.”
Still, just in case, Sirka dampened a towel, wiped her feet clean, and then checked them over once more, more carefully this time.
Only after confirming there wasn’t a single wound did she finally let out a breath of relief.
“How do you feel?”
He wasn’t simply asking whether she was hurt anywhere.
Sabrina’s pheromones, which even Bariya found rather hard to endure unless she wrapped her own pheromones around herself.
He wanted to know whether she was all right after taking them head-on.
Admitting as much would be no different from admitting that she possessed Authority, and a considerable amount of it at that.
And he knew that perfectly well.
“I’m fine.”
The answer came out so effortlessly that it surprised even her.
Like her, Kalif already possessed Authority.
They shared the same wound of having lost their family to the Marina.
They were a pair who could lend each other a hand.
All of it had mingled together, and that was why her trust in Kalif had grown considerably deeper.
“I’m perfectly fine.”
Bariya repeated herself, as if to press the point.
Sirka had likely caught a glimpse of what she truly meant.
“…I see. I’m really relieved. But, sweetheart, today you were terribly reckless. I was truly worried.”
Sirka let out a sigh and firmly clasped both of Bariya’s small hands.
When those tiny hands had reached toward Sabrina, who had lost her reason, Sirka’s heart had nearly dropped to the floor.
The thought that the young benefactor who had saved her from the Hyena attacker’s poison might be harmed by Sabrina of all people had frightened her beyond measure.
Sabrina herself, especially once she had regained her senses, must have found it the hardest to bear.
It might even have created a problem worse than her Madness.
Just imagining it is horrifying.
“I was confident nothing would happen.”
Unlike Sirka, whose heart was still pounding away, Bariya remained wonderfully composed.
‘Because I could push back Sabrina-nim’s pheromones with my own.’
Believing that was enough to calm her down, she had approached Sabrina, who was about to attack her, without the slightest hesitation.
“And right now, there’s something else you should be saying.”
When Bariya shot him a playful glare, Sirka let out a sigh.
“…Thank you so much for helping me, Bariya.”
Only then did a broad smile spread across Bariya’s face.
Whenever Mother’s Madness flared up, many people used to get hurt.
Since Sirka had put a stop to it, very few had been injured, though it had never been completely zero.
She, too, had been torn and battered in more than one place.
But today, thanks to Bariya, it had ended far too quickly and easily.
“It’s all thanks to you. Thank you, sweetheart.”
“Even though we have a contract, I always feel bad that I only ever take from Kalif.”
A place to sleep, food to eat, even clothes to wear, Kalif had given Bariya nothing but the finest.
Yet Bariya had nothing to give in return except the promise of crushing the Hyenas together someday in the distant future, so she had always carried a sense of debt.
“But I’m glad I got to help.”
When she had neutralized the poison the attacker had thrown, she had been there too, so it was hard to say she had saved Sirka’s life.
Of course Kalif had been grateful for that alone, but Bariya had thought there was no need for her to feel that way.
But today is different.
Today she had truly helped Kalif.
“I never expected you to be thinking something like that.”
“I’m a Beastkin who knows what’s right, you know.”
Not like that Marina scum!
Click.
Just then the door opened, and Hwaiteu came inside.
Hwaiteu, who had been drooping, spotted Bariya sitting on the bed, dashed over at once, shoved Sirka aside, and pressed his face into the child’s lap.
Grrrk, rrrumble-rumble.
Sirka was dumbfounded.
She had never once seen Hwaiteu produce such a cheerful, purring rumble.
“Oh, I left you behind, didn’t I? Are you all right?”
When Bariya stroked Hwaiteu’s head, that rumbling growl sounded again.
“Looks like you’re still feeling a bit unwell. Come on, hop up. Let’s sleep together.”
Once she tapped the bed, Hwaiteu hopped right up as if he’d been waiting for the invitation.
“Do you like sleeping with Hwaiteu?”
“Mm, he’s warm and fluffy.”
“If he’s ever a nuisance, just tell me. I’ll toss him out.”
Pfft.
At Sirka’s words, Hwaiteu let out a derisive snort.
Honestly, that brat is so cocky.
“Little one, you must be tired too, so sleep well. Don’t think about anything, and don’t worry about anything.”
Sirka pulled the blanket over Bariya, who was lying beside Hwaiteu.
She must have used her Authority again today, just like when she removed the poison before, so she’s probably exhausted.
“Sirka, you should treat your wounds too.”
At Bariya’s words, Sirka looked down at her own body.
Her clothes were torn in several places from holding back Sabrina, and she had plenty of cuts.
They’d probably heal on their own if she left them alone, given how minor they were.
“Fine, I understand.”
She nodded, afraid that Bariya would stay awake nagging her.
For a little one, she really does nag an awful lot.
“Sleep well, little one.”
“Sleep well, Sirka.”
Sirka gently brushed back Bariya’s bangs, then left the room after bidding her goodnight.
Just like when she removed the poison before, Sirka had thought she would lie awake tonight with excitement and joy.
Contrary to his worry, Bariya fell into a deep sleep in no time.
Her peaceful snoring, dorong-dorong, filled the room.
* * *
Sunlight poured in through the window and bathed the bed.
“Mmm.”
Awakened, Sabrina squinted.
Then she turned her head at the heavy weight she felt in her hand.
“…Baiden?”
Her husband was dozing against the bed, still gripping her hand tightly.
“What is this?”
Sabrina was taken aback.
By rights, the two of them kept separate bedrooms.
Sabrina would barge into Baiden’s room whenever she pleased, but Baiden had always entered only after receiving her permission.
Why was he with me today?
‘And if he was going to sleep here, why not sleep comfortably in the bed? Why sit so awkwardly?’
It wasn’t as if we were some shy newlyweds, not after seeing everything there was to see of each other.
Though, admittedly, it had been quite a while since we last shared a bed.
“Baiden, wake up.”
Sabrina shook their joined hands.
Even in that uncomfortable position, he hadn’t let go, and his palm was slick with sweat.
“…Ah, Sabrina?”
Baiden finally stirred awake.
But he was so exhausted that he couldn’t even open his eyes properly.
“Hmm, are you all right?”
“It’s you who doesn’t look all right. Why didn’t you sleep in bed?”
“I was watching over you…”
“Over me? Why?”
“You don’t remember?”
As his mind seemed to clear, Baiden looked up at Sabrina with a sharper gaze.
“Yesterday, you lost consciousness.”
Baiden didn’t use the word madness.
Still, Sabrina understood at once.
“…I remember. Right, I went mad yesterday.”
Why hadn’t it come back to me until now?
It had been late at night, not yet time for sleep, but I felt strangely drained, so I called a maid to bring me some tea.
Before I could even sip it, my head suddenly spun, and the madness that had been quiet for a while came roaring back.
The teacup shattered, the maid was hurt, and the voices of people calling for Sirka and Baiden came back to me little by little.
“Damn it, not again.”
Sabrina scowled deeply.
Madness is, for her, as good as a fatal weakness that broadcasts her feeble mental strength to the whole world.
Shame washed over her whole body that she had caught such a sickness because of those hyena brats.
She had no way of controlling the madness at will.
“Do you remember anything else?”
“Nothing much, just that I seemed angrier than usual.”
Sabrina calmly organized her thoughts.
She had been unnaturally furious, a rage surging up that demanded she go out right then and kill every hyena she could find.
Somehow, she kept catching the scent of hyenas from somewhere nearby, and that only fanned the fury higher.
Even though she had swept them all away not long ago, and there were no hyenas left in the Caliph Territory.
“…Was Sirka badly hurt?”
If I was that angry, then of course Sirka, the one who tried to hold me back, must have been hurt far worse.
Sabrina bit her lip.
“No, only scratches.”
But Baiden’s answer, so different from what she expected, made her lift her head with a jolt.
“Why?”
“…It was the little one.”
At his hesitant reply, Sabrina’s eyes went wide.
“Ah.”
The memories that came after surfaced once more.
Just as her reason was about to be completely swallowed by the hyena illusions flickering before her eyes.
From somewhere, a bitter yet pleasant scent of grass rushed in.
At once the nightmare vanished, the rage subsided, and the peace she had longed for so badly came over her.
“Did the little one put me to sleep?”
Grass Scent pheromone.
The moment she first met the small kitten hiding in the garden.
That scent, which had brushed her nose for only an instant before vanishing.
The pheromone she had caught so strongly when the child was suffering from Authority Fever.
“Ha.”
That little thing, with such a tiny body.
She had actually helped me.

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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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