Baby Lynx of the Tiger Family - Chapter 4

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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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Tiger Clan’s little kitten
Chapter 4
“Keep an eye on the brat so she doesn’t run. The moment she humanizes, tell me right away.”
If she has ties to the Hyenas, there’s all the more reason not to let her go.
Anyone can see she’s on bad terms with the Hyenas, but even if he’s a tiger with no conscience, he wouldn’t drive a child straight into a death trap.
And if we happen to stab the Hyena brats in the back while we’re at it, all the better.
Sirka poked the kitten’s round belly.
“Kyaarung.”
Even in her sleep, the kitten seemed irritated, thumping her tail against the bed.
Her temper is really something. Are baby cats normally this ill-tempered?
I’m curious to see how she grows up.
“Understood. But if she’s being chased by the Hyenas, wouldn’t it be much safer for her to stay here? Do you really think she’ll try to run?”
“Definitely.”
Those eyes say she’ll bolt the second she gets the chance.
Besides, Kalif is a stronger tiger than the Hyenas.
Even if a tiger like that promised not to kill her, she wouldn’t feel relieved. She’d just grow more suspicious.
“…”
Sirka quietly watched the sleeping kitten, then gently poked the sole of her little foot.
Squish.
Softer than a tiger’s paw, even softer than her belly. Her face relaxed on its own.
How had it felt when the kitten stroked her cheek as if to say she was sorry?
‘I wanted to keep burying my face in these tiny little paws.’
That Kalif’s heir should grow weak over a baby cat’s paws.
And that wasn’t all.
‘Her pheromone is quite unusual.’
The distinctive pheromone every Beastkin carries.
A pheromone best reveals a Beastkin’s nature, and at the same time it symbolizes their strength and ability.
Yet Bariya’s pheromone was faint, far from strong, but it was strangely addictive and had a way of stirring other Beastkin.
Of course, only a sensitive Beastkin like Sirka could sense it, but that didn’t change the fact that it was dangerous.
Perhaps that’s exactly why the Hyena brats were trying to catch the little cat.
“Don’t give her a chance to run, but give her just enough time to humanize in secret.”
Beastkin can be more comfortable as animals at times, but since their base form is human, after a while they’re forced back out of beast form and become human again.
It had been five hours since I rescued the little cat from the Hyenas and brought her back.
Her animal form should wear off tonight at the latest.
“She’s very wary, so be careful.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
Sirka smiled cheerfully as he looked at the little cat.
‘My parents have no intention of giving me a little sibling, so I might as well make one myself.’
If this ill-tempered little cat became my younger sibling, I had a feeling many interesting things would happen.
* * *
The moment sunlight poured through the window and filled the room, Bariya’s eyes snapped open.
The sun had already begun to rise.
‘Ah, sunrise.’
This was the first time she had ever watched the sunrise so peacefully.
In the Hyena Clan, she had been kept in a dark place where no light properly reached, and after escaping from there, she had been too busy running to ever stop and look.
But unfortunately, now was not the time to stand around admiring it.
‘The sun’s up, so it’s time to escape!’
Tigers are nocturnal.
With night vision as sharp as a lynx’s, escaping at night would be a bad idea.
With the warm sunlight making drowsiness creep in, now was the perfect time.
Bariya slipped silently off the bed and pricked up her ears.
Beyond the door, she could sense what seemed to be Tairin’s presence.
It seemed she hadn’t noticed that Bariya was awake yet, but the moment she heard the window open, she’d surely come rushing in.
Bariya muffled her footsteps as much as she could and crept toward the door.
Then she released the energy she had been keeping tightly hidden all night.
“Huh? Why is it suddenly so sleepy…?”
Tairin’s bewildered voice came from beyond the door, followed by the sound of a body slumping heavily to the floor.
Good.
Only her steady, drowsy breathing could be heard; there was no sign of anyone approaching.
Certain that no one was nearby, Bariya immediately opened the window and stepped out onto the balcony.
Thankfully, the bedroom was on the second floor. A drop of this height was nothing to a lynx.
Bariya took a quick look around, and when she sensed no one nearby, she jumped down right away.
“Oof.”
It was a fairly steep drop for the second floor, and her legs stung a little, but nothing broke and nothing sprained.
Taking a deep breath, Bariya muffled her footsteps and started to run.
I knew I’d need this, so I took a good look at the route when they dragged me in yesterday!
Fortunately, the Khalif Mansion was thick with trees, grass, and flowers, so her small frame blended in easily.
Up until then, Bariya had been giddy with the thought that she’d escape the mansion in no time.
It didn’t take long to realize how badly she’d miscalculated.
‘That’s strange.’
Cold sweat began to trickle down her back.
‘Why can’t I see the end of this no matter how far I go…?’
Since this was the house of the Tiger Chieftain Family, I’d expected the garden to be every bit as sprawling as the mansion.
I had expected it!
It’s been about three hours since I left the mansion, and I still can’t get out of this cursed garden!
‘Why on earth is it this huge!’
Even if my legs are still short, isn’t this a bit much!
Even the Hyena Clan’s grounds weren’t this big.
Just as I was growing frantic, sure the tigers would notice and give chase, I heard it.
‘A carriage!’
A carriage was rolling toward her from the direction opposite the mansion.
It was an enormous carriage, and fearing the Kalif Clan Head might be riding in it, Bariya flattened herself as low as she could.
Please just pass by, just pass by…
Screech.
But, as if to mock her hopes, the carriage came to a halt.
Right beside the spot where Bariya was hiding.
“How odd.”
The moment a languid voice drifted through the air, every hair on her body stood on end.
She could tell from the voice alone.
It wasn’t the Kalif Clan Head. It was a woman.
But she was a far more dangerous presence than the Clan Head.
“There’s a strange smell coming from my mansion.”
Bariya, holding her breath, nearly leapt out of her hiding place.
First Sirka, and now that mysterious beastkin too. Why does everyone keep saying I smell?
And I even bathed yesterday!
Clack.
“Hwaiteu.”
With the sound of footsteps, something heavy touched down on the ground.
“Find it.”
Growl.
Bariya saw it.
A snow-white tiger, the size of a house, charging straight toward where she was!
Dodging the tiger as it hurtled toward her, Bariya scrambled out of the tall grass in a panic.
“Yeeep!”
But she was in such a hurry that her foot caught on a tree root, and she tumbled head over heels.
Pretending nothing had happened, Bariya landed neatly on all four paws.
“…”
“…”
Then she brazenly stared at the woman and the snow-white tiger, both wearing expressions of pure disbelief.
“…A cat?”
The woman standing before the carriage wore a dazzlingly ornate red gown.
Silver hair that gleamed like silk, a beauty so striking it left one staring, and an aura that seemed to forbid any approach.
Sapphire-blue eyes that seemed somehow familiar, as if she’d seen them somewhere before.
Growl.
Bariya, momentarily dazed by the stunning beauty, snapped back to her senses when the white tiger bared its teeth at her.
Oh, really? A mere animal, not even a beastkin, and dares to bare its teeth at me?
“Hssss!”
Bariya hissed fiercely and slammed her tail against the ground.
Krrr, krrng.
Completely cowed by Bariya’s fury, the tiger snapped its mouth shut at once and backed away, whimpering.
Hmph, you’re getting cocky.
“Is this little kitten actually threatening my Hwaiteu?”
But even Bariya, who can best a tiger, can’t take on that woman with ease.
Maybe once I’ve grown up, but right now there’s no way I’d win.
Bariya read the situation in an instant and spun around, bolting for the exit.
She could tell from the scent clinging to the carriage.
The way out was almost within reach!
“Hwaiteu, bring her back. If you let her get away, you’ll be in trouble.”
Grrrr!
Clearly even a tiger is more afraid of a woman than of anything else, because the moment she spoke, the beast tucked its tail away as if it had never been down and came charging after her.
As the White Tiger drew closer, Bariya’s nerves started to fray.
‘I am magnificent, but my short legs are not!’
In the end, before Bariya could even manage twenty steps, the tiger’s enormous fangs clamped down on the scruff of her neck.
“Kyaong! Kyaong-kyaong! (Let me go! If you don’t let me go, I won’t let this slide!)”
Mmph.
Flustered by Bariya’s furious struggling, the tiger whined and fussed, but it didn’t let go.
Bariya was at last dragged in front of the woman, and she glared at the tiger fiercely.
‘I’m really not letting this go!’
“How strange. Hwaiteu, who fears no one but me, has been cowed like this.”
The woman watched Bariya and the tiger, its tail tucked between its legs, with curious eyes.
“We’ll hear the details once we’re back home.”
In the end, Bariya was forced into the carriage.
The distance she had struggled for three hours to cover was undone in a single stretch, and Bariya let out a spray of tears.
Those tigers! I won’t let them off the hook!
* * *
Being dragged into this wretched mansion twice in a row.
Bariya stepped into the mansion, her face puffy and swollen.
“Madam, Sabrina!”
Baiden, the Clan Head of the Kalif household, came rushing over with a startled look on his face.
“What brings you back so quickly this time?”
Sabrina Kalif.
The daughter of the noble White Tiger clan and mistress of the Kalif household, she spent far more days roaming outside than she ever spent at the mansion.
It was simply her nature; she could never bear to sit still in one place.
That was why everyone knew her husband Baiden was always parched with longing for Sabrina.
“Not that I mind, of course. I’m just so glad… Welcome home, Sabrina.”
Once she left, Sabrina never came back for at least three months, yet here she was, a full month early.
Baiden couldn’t hide his joy and smiled shyly.
Bariya watched the shy smile of a man who was not exactly fierce-looking, but was nonetheless frighteningly large, and her expression turned thoroughly sour.
“Something came up. But first, explain why this thing is wandering around in my garden.”
“Hm?”
At Sabrina’s words, Baiden turned his head in puzzlement.
Then his eyes met Bariya’s, who dangled limply from the White Tiger Hwaiteu’s jaws by the scruff of her neck.
“Little one, why are you there?”
That was precisely what Bariya wanted to ask.

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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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