Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 3

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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 Baby Wildcat of the Tiger Clan
Episode 3
Bariya was born into the Hyena Clan.
She lived there for seven years, but not a single fond memory remains.
A hyena lout she didn’t even want to call father had tormented her mother day in and day out.
Her mother endured the abuse for a long time for little Bariya’s sake, but when the lout tried to lay hands on Bariya too, she couldn’t hold back any longer and ran.
But shaking off the relentless hyena pursuers was no easy task.
In the end, to protect Bariya, to keep at least her daughter alive, she had no choice but to choose an eternal parting.
‘Never go back to the Hyena Clan. And be wary of every beastkin. Promise me you’ll never be caught, never die, and that you’ll keep going no matter what.’
Even now, her mother’s last promise lay deeply lodged inside Bariya.
‘So I can’t die. I have to live on and do what I need to do.’
Thankfully, having been born a wildcat like her mother rather than a hyena, she knew how to move silently, without a sound.
Tigers wouldn’t watch her as obsessively as hyenas did, so she should be able to slip away easily.
“Here we go! A special treat the chef prepared just for our little lady!”
Ahh, that smell.
But so much for her firm resolve, Bariya melted right away at the food Tairin had brought.
B-but if I’m going to run away, I’d better have a full stomach.
Just like that lout, they might feed me and then lock me in a cell, so I’d better eat well while I can.
“Nutritious milk, just for our little lady!”
“…”
But her hopes were dashed in an instant.
The warm milk, giving off a rich, creamy scent, looked delicious enough, but…
Bariya was a ten-year-old lady who loved meat, you know.
“Come on, go on and drink it. Milk from the Caliph Territory alone isn’t something just anyone gets to taste. Isn’t it delicious?”
No, forget this. Give me meat I can burn as energy.
Even that jerky from before is fine, so please, anything, as long as it’s meat!
“Is the baby kitty eating?”
“Meow!”
Bariya, who had been glaring at the milk, leapt into the air, startled by the sudden voice.
Sirka was standing behind Tairin, and no one had any idea when she’d arrived.
“Young master, please make some noise when you walk. You’re startling the little lady.”
“Isn’t that asking too much of a tiger?”
“Stomp your shoes down hard.”
Tairin tapped the floor with his foot, tap-tap.
“Raising a baby isn’t easy. But don’t cats walk quietly too?”
Sirka reached a hand out toward Bariya.
Come any closer and I’ll smack you.
She quietly raised a forepaw to convey exactly that, and Sirka clicked her tongue.
“How rude. I rescued you from those hyenas, and you refuse me like this.”
Of course, I’m grateful for that.
But I would have been even more grateful if you’d only killed the hyenas and left her behind.
“Still, you mustn’t drive the little lady away.”
At Tairin’s words, Bariya’s ears shot straight up on their own.
Good! Throw me out! Abandon me right now!
“Wauv! Wauooov! (Abandon me! Please, abandon me!)”
Bariya clutched the hem of Tairin’s clothes with her forepaws and cried out desperately.
At the sight of her desperate face, Tairin’s expression hardened.
“You see? Even the little lady is pleading with us not to abandon her.”
“Wae-ak! (No! Just leave me!)”
“She’s still far too young. She could never survive alone in the wild.”
“Ung-ahk! (I’m ten! I can live on my own!)”
“Crying so bitterly. Are you worried you’ll be kicked out? Goodness, how badly must those idiot hyenas have treated you.”
I agree the hyenas are idiots, but that’s not the point!
How can not a single word get through to them?
“Pfft!”
At Bariya’s dumbfounded expression, Sirka clutched her stomach and collapsed face-first onto the bed.
Irritated by the smug sight, Bariya considered raking her with claws this time instead of a forepaw.
“So a cat’s face can wear such an aggrieved expression. It really is something, I tell you. And Tairin, it was the hyenas who were treated badly, not this little kitty.”
Sirka gently stroked the back of the sulking Bariya.
“Why isn’t the baby eating, though?”
“The young master barged in, so…”
At Tairin’s words, Sirka glanced at the bowl of milk, now going cold.
“Bring a new one.”
“It’s already cold. I’ll warm it up and bring it back.”
“No, forget that one. Bring something with meat in it instead.”
What?
Bariya, who had been sulking, snapped her head up.
M-meat? Really?
“Look at that face. This is the little one who was terrified the knights would steal her jerky. Do you really think milk will fill her up?”
Under Bariya’s watery gaze, Tairin felt a pang of guilt, though he hadn’t done anything wrong.
“But the head cook said kittens this small should be fed milk.”
“Small of body, perhaps, but she may not be as young as she looks.”
Huh, is he a ghost? How did he know?
In truth, Bariya was smaller than most.
That was because she hadn’t been fed properly while living with that wretched Hyena Clan.
‘Those rotten hyenas. My dream was to become the biggest wildcat in the world.’
Just you wait. Once I’m grown, I’ll get my revenge.
Bariya clenched her two front paws tight and made her vow.
While Tairin went off to fetch a new meal, she started by lapping up the milk.
Maybe because she was so starved, it really was as good as Tairin had said.
“Little kitty. You’re grateful to me, aren’t you?”
Sirka should have gone out with Tairin too.
Unfortunately, he stuck right beside Bariya the whole time she drank, pestering her with so much talk it was downright irritating.
“What should you do to show your thanks?”
Does he really want to hear a thank-you that badly?
‘Still, I suppose he’s not wrong.’
He’d saved her life, and instead of a word of thanks, she had gone and slapped him.
Torn, Bariya carefully patted the cheek she had slapped on Sirka.
‘Sorry I hit you. I was startled, that’s all. And thanks for saving my life.’
Sirka couldn’t hear it, but she meant it all the same.
“…”
Sirka’s eyes widened at the soft little paw gently stroking her cheek.
“Little one. I’ve brought your new meal.”
Just then, Tairin appeared carrying a bowl that gave off a mouthwatering scent.
Bariya abandoned Sirka at once and dashed over to Tairin.
Tangy yet sweet soup, filled with finely shredded meat.
“Mrrow-nyang.”
Bariya’s eyes sparkled as she gobbled the soup down.
She had never tasted anything this delicious in her life. The meat had been cooked until tender, so it slid down her throat without needing to be chewed.
Back in the Hyena Clan, they only ever gave her dry, tasteless bread.
“Young master? Why are you grinning like a pervert?”
Bariya, who had been burying her nose in the soup until even her whiskers were coated in it, lifted her head at Tairin’s flat, dubious voice.
Her gaze met Sirka’s, who was indeed grinning like a pervert.
“…”
“…”
I’d let my guard down, just a little, after she’d been given something so tasty, and my wariness toward the Tiger Clan had eased.
Seeing that face, though, I realized I had to keep my wits about me.
Being grateful is one thing; the fact that I must stay wary of beastkin hasn’t changed.
So the moment dawn breaks, I have to escape this place for sure!
* * *
“…”
Lying on her side on the bed, Sirka gazed at the little wildcat with curious eyes.
“Gr-rrumph, krr-rrumph.”
The kitten, her belly round and puffed out, lay snoring with her limbs sprawled wide.
Just now she was on guard, and now she’s sleeping like a log.
Anyone would think it was her own home.
“How did the search go?”
In answer to Sirka’s question, Tairin spoke up.
“We found no sign that the Hyena beastkin sent those animals.”
Sirka furrowed her brow.
I’d expected as much. Hyena brats don’t leave tracks easily.
“However, it’s been confirmed that Hyena Chieftain Family beastkin are moving in secret.”
“From Marina?”
The Hyena Chieftain Family of Marina.
Its Clan Head was a master at getting beastkin riled up.
The Khalif Family had been at odds with Marina for a long time.
It was because the hyenas had their eyes set on the Tiger Territory, which was far richer and warmer than their own land.
And that conflict had grown even more vicious in this generation.
That was because Marina’s current Chieftain was a hardliner who expanded her influence aggressively.
There had even been a time when Baiden, having run into her at a Chieftains’ meeting, was so furious he tried to kill her.
But they’d suddenly gone quiet recently, which had been suspicious.
So those bastards were moving again?
“For what?”
“We couldn’t find that out. They’re apparently so wary that it’s hard to get close.”
“Tch. You’ve got to hand it to them, they’re nothing if not short-tempered.”
Sirka clicked her tongue and looked at the little kitten, snoring away with a soft purr.
As the Kalif heir, her keen instincts were telling her something.
That this kitten was connected to the hyenas, and to Marina in particular.
Surely they didn’t intend to make it their prey. So what on earth was the connection?

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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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