The Dragon Family’s Beloved Baby Cat - Chapter 1

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 1

In a corner of an old room at the orphanage.

A worn blanket rolled up in a circle bobbed up and down.

Inside that blanket, a young child was gasping for breath.

Her face was bright red, covered in tears and snot from crying so much.

“Huuung, huuuuung. Somiiii.”

In front of the child sat a black cat, curled up in a ball.

The child’s name was Moa Han. The cat’s name was Somi.

Even to young Moa’s eyes, Somi’s condition was clearly not good.

‘Teacher, why can’t we? Somi is sick! We can just go to the hospital…!’

‘Moa, I’m sorry…’

The Headmaster wouldn’t listen to her plea to take Somi, the orphanage’s yard cat, to the animal hospital.

Though she was only five years old, clever Moa knew it was all because of money.

She had heard the adults say money was the problem whenever something went wrong.

‘Just this once, please listen to me…’

While it was unavoidable given the need to care for so many children at the orphanage, well-behaved and mature Moa was often overlooked compared to the troublemakers.

‘Moa is a senior at the orphanage.’

When a new child arrived.

‘Moa is kind, so she’ll understand, right?’

Because Moa was understanding.

For various reasons, it was always Somi who stayed by Moa’s side as she sat quietly in a corner of the courtyard, playing alone.

“If Somi disappears, I’ll really be all alone. I don’t want that…”

As soon as she muttered those words, Moa shuddered.

Saying ‘alone’ made it feel even more frightening.

Dark stains formed on the blanket where Moa’s tears had fallen as she cried.

Somi had always been Moa’s friend.

When Moa was found naked at the orphanage gate, it was Somi who sat beside her protectively, sharing her body warmth.

From then on, Somi became the orphanage’s yard cat and Moa’s only friend and another mother.

On nights when Moa had sad dreams about the mother whose face she didn’t know leaving her at the gate.

Somehow knowing, Somi would scratch at the window from outside, then hop in and lick her forehead and cheeks everywhere with her rough tongue.

As if licking and disinfecting the wounds of abandonment.

Somi was everything to Moa.

“I want to stay with Somi. Don’t die, Somi…”

Crying until her throat was hoarse and desperately making her wish, Moa’s exhausted eyes slowly closed.

[Will you really stay with me?]

A clear, melodious voice faintly reached half-asleep Moa’s dream.

Yes.

I don’t want to be anywhere you’re not.

Moa tightly grasped Somi’s soft paw.

[Alright. We’ll be together from now on too.]

***

‘It’s moist.’

Her head and forehead felt cool.

“Hng, stop…”

Moa burst into small laughter with her eyes still closed.

“Hihi, it’s Somi, right? Stop it…”

Still not fully awake, Moa waved her hands around lazily, then suddenly came to her senses and bolted upright.

“Is Somi okay?!”

And then…

Crash!

She tumbled back down as quickly as she had gotten up.

Fortunately, the soft dirt and leaves cushioned her fall so it didn’t hurt, but she was so startled she was dumbfounded.

Something had definitely pulled her backward.

Moa tilted her head in confusion and brought her short, chubby hands behind her bottom.

Then…

“Hieek?”

A fluffy, cloud-like tail was swishing between her buttocks!

Fumbling, rubbing.

Grunting as she grabbed the mini carrot that was tickling her side, Moa finally realized it was a tail attached to her own body-

Startled from her fall, Moa’s eyes went wide as saucers.

“A, a tail!”

Unable to calm her pounding heart, Moa touched the top of her head with trembling hands.

Twitch twitch.

Touching the triangular ears that moved as if they had a mind of their own, Moa froze solid, unable even to scream.

‘Cat ears!’

As startled as the child was, her pale pink tail also puffed up like a ball of fluff.

“But where is this place?”

Moa had definitely fallen asleep in her own blanket at the orphanage.

But what she saw before her eyes now were densely grown trees.

Moa realized this was a forest much higher and deeper than the Orphanage Backhill.

“…Is this a dream?”

Still lying sprawled out, Moa wiped her damp forehead with her hand.

She had thought Somi was licking her with her tongue, but it was dew falling from the trees that had moistened her forehead.

“…Somi, where are you?”

The child looked around, calling for her friend with a voice full of anxiety.

‘Where is this place?’

Realizing she had been dropped alone in an unfamiliar place, Moa’s eyes filled with anxiety.

To the child, being dropped alone in a strange forest was more frightening than suddenly having cat ears and a tail.

‘I have to find Somi.’

Somi had definitely promised. That they would never be separated.

Somi definitely didn’t just die like that. This definitely wasn’t a dream she had alone!

Thinking that Somi was waiting for her, she could endure being dropped in a strange place.

With that thought, Moa wandered around for a while before following sounds she heard from somewhere.

“…If we wait, they’ll arrive.”

“But brother, is this really okay? Isn’t the Jinryong Clan one of the most powerful families…”

“You fool. No matter how great someone is, what can they do if their carriage falls off a cliff?”

It was a Group of Men saying very suspicious things.

Moa was about to run out and ask for help when she felt her heart sink.

They were the most menacing-looking people the child had ever seen in her life.

Moreover, the murderous atmosphere around them made the air feel cold.

“Hehe, we just need to roll some rocks.”

“So when do we set off?”

“Once they pass the Winding Path. Just in case, we’ll finish them off for sure…”

Then, with a rustling sound, a branch snapped with a crack.

“What’s that, who’s there!”

Sharp gazes poured toward young Moa, who was hiding behind a large tree with just her head peeking out.

“…What’s a little kid doing in these mountains? Looking at that tail, isn’t she a legendary monster?”

“That’s not what’s important! She might have heard our entire conversation. We need to catch her right now and shut her up!”

Receiving those fierce stares, trembling Moa shouted as she had learned at daycare.

“No! I don’t want to! Go away!”

Then she started running away as fast as her little feet could carry her.

“Catch her! We can’t let her get away!”

“Of all directions, she’s heading toward the cliff where the carriage is coming…! If we mess this up, we’ll ruin everything! Catch her quickly!”

The men gritted their teeth and chased after Moa.

Naturally, she should have been caught right away, but…

Surprisingly, Moa put up quite a fight!

Whether her ears and tail really gave her cat-like abilities, she had become incredibly agile!

She nimbly leaped over relatively high tree roots, hopped to avoid dangerous rocks, and scampered away from their threatening grasp.

She even dodged a dagger thrown by the men from behind and landed gracefully.

Moreover, she could clearly remember every single conversation that she would have normally forgotten.

At the very least, she could tell that these bad people were trying to harm someone.

‘I’ll warn the people those men were planning to hurt. Maybe they’ll save me.’

Moa thought of herself as a sturdy and clever child, but she also knew that facing bad adults alone could lead to serious trouble.

In the end, while frantically running away, she came to one conclusion.

‘I need to find other adults and ask for help!’

With that thought, Moa ran frantically toward the direction where the carriage was supposed to come, but failed to notice the cliff and ended up falling straight down.

“Kyaaahhh!”

As she fell and looked down at the ground below, Moa’s eyes shook violently.

The thought of dying like this without even finding Somi felt utterly unfair.

Feeling tears shooting upward past her head as she plummeted, Moa—

“…Huh?”

Instead of hitting the ground, she landed on top of the approaching carriage.

Just like a cat landing after falling from a high place, with perfect grace.

However, her tail, which had been flailing in fear of death, struck the top of the carriage in that instant, sending the entire roof flying off.

It was superhuman strength that emerged without her even realizing it.

“I’m alive…”

Moa, barely calming her startled heart, noticed that the carriage had stopped.

She even realized that she was being held in someone’s arms!

“Who are you? Those ears and tail…?”

“I’m Moa.”

Moa’s eyes widened as she reflexively answered and looked up at the person holding her.

The man in black robes emanated an overwhelming presence as massive as a mountain.

Moa stared intently at the man’s blue eyes.

“Are you Jin, Jin Saheon?”

“Yes. I am Jin Saheon. Why did you attack my carriage?”

“I didn’t attack it…”

Moa felt wronged by the absurd misunderstanding and tried to continue speaking to explain the situation.

‘But will he believe what I say?’

However, she hesitated.

Even the teachers who had raised her since she was a baby would usually brush her off with “later” whenever Moa called for them.

She wasn’t confident that Jin Saheon, whom she was meeting for the first time, would fully believe her words.

“Well, you see…”

Moa fidgeted with her fingers.

But Jin Saheon didn’t act frustrated or say he was busy and would listen later.

‘This man is listening to me without interrupting…?’

“Some bad people are going to kill you. On the Winding Path…”

Encouraged by his calm attitude, Moa told him everything she had seen and heard.

After hearing it all, he took Moa’s hand and brought it to her soft pink ears that were twitching anxiously.

Soon his large hand covered Moa’s small hand and pressed down firmly on her ears.

“Close your eyes for a moment and cover your ears.”

Jin Saheon’s gaze turned toward the broken carriage ceiling above.

Kwarrrrumble–!

The shadow of a massive boulder covering the sky above crashed down on the carriage.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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