chapter 106
Kitty’s lips were slightly moist. Ethan wanted to devour those plump, jelly-like lips immediately.
But Kitty’s reaction was far too innocent.
Her tightly closed eyes, trembling eyelashes, and stiff body reminded him of the little girl she used to be.
“E-Ethan… if it helps you calm down, you can bite me as much as you want.”
“……”
“A-Anywhere you like!”
Ethan didn’t want to recklessly throw away the permission she had given him.
At the same time, he couldn’t simply do nothing when this little cat was provoking him by saying a kiss would be fine.
Suppressing the urge to claim her lips, Ethan gently kissed her cheek instead.
Kitty, who had been expecting something closer to an adult’s affection, was deeply disappointed. It felt as though all the air had escaped from her body.
Then Ethan lightly grazed his teeth against her peach-colored cheek and gave it a small bite.
Nibble.
“…!”
A strange sensation ran through Kitty’s entire body. Her fur practically stood on end. Her cat ears and tail popped out and stiffened in surprise.
It felt completely different from when Theo and Deon, in their wolf forms, used to carry her by gently biting the scruff of her neck when she was little.
For a moment, she thought Ethan might actually devour her whole.
It was a little scary, but she didn’t want to pull away.
In fact, she wanted to experience that thrilling sensation one more time.
Her hands, which had been clasped tightly against her chest, trembled as she shyly offered him her other cheek.
Seeing her face flushed even redder than before, Ethan swallowed hard.
His gaze darkened.
“……”
He wanted to push her trembling shoulders back against the tree behind her and slowly make every inch of her his, starting with the cheek she had offered.
If he left enough red marks on her, no one else would dare touch her.
“Ahem. Ahem.”
Just as Ethan was looking at Kitty with burning desire, someone cleared their throat.
Startled, Kitty opened her eyes.
There stood Ethan’s subordinates, led by Catherine.
“Lord Ethan, if you don’t stop there, Sir Jackal is going to tear all of us apart.”
“……”
Ethan slowly released his grip on Kitty’s shoulders. If Catherine hadn’t interrupted, things might have become dangerous.
When he lowered his head, he saw Kitty’s face, red as a boiled octopus.
This innocent little kitten had become stiff as a statue simply because someone had seen them sharing a kiss.
The sight made Ethan chuckle.
To help her calm down, he gently smoothed her hair.
He used to do the same thing whenever little Kitty cried crystal-like tears as a child.
Perhaps because she remembered that touch, the redness in her cheeks gradually faded.
Watching the intimate scene, Catherine couldn’t help smiling.
Now she understood why Ethan was so hopelessly devoted to the cat girl.
Deciding to properly greet the future lady of the Wybis family, she stepped forward.
“Miss Kitty, I apologize for causing a misunderstanding. I’m Catherine Wybis. Lord Hogwood is my uncle.”
“Ah.”
Seeing Catherine’s warm smile, Kitty suddenly felt guilty.
For a moment, she had mistakenly thought Catherine shared a special relationship with Ethan and had secretly disliked her.
Even though she had believed they could become good friends, seeing her with Ethan had made her jealous.
“Catherine, I’m sorry for misunderstanding.”
Kitty apologized sadly.
Her cat ears drooped along with her mood.
Catherine wanted to stomp her feet from sheer cuteness, but she knew Ethan would never allow it.
“It’s alright, Miss.”
Instead, she simply extended a hand.
Kitty grasped it firmly, and they exchanged a handshake.
Soft.
Catherine liked Kitty even more instantly.
The nickname “Soft Hands” suited her perfectly.
“It was my fault. Lord Ethan asked me to look into gifts for your friends, but my investigation took longer than expected, so I could only report to him tonight.”
“Lord Ethan, did you bribe my friends?”
Kitty turned and looked at him.
Ethan quietly avoided her gaze.
“…I wanted to make a good impression on you.”
“……”
The atmosphere immediately softened again.
The clouds parted, allowing moonlight to illuminate Ethan’s slightly flushed cheeks.
A blushing Ethan.
The moment she saw that expression, Kitty realized that she truly occupied a place in his heart.
“Well then, I’ll be going now, Kitty.”
As the clouds covered the moon once more, Ethan spoke.
Kitty understood that he could not delay any longer.
“You must come back safely, Ethan.”
“You stay healthy too.”
It was a simple farewell, very much like Ethan.
After saying goodbye to Catherine as well, Kitty waved her soft little hand at the black wolves as they departed.
About a minute passed.
Ethan, who had been walking away without once looking back, suddenly returned.
Like he had done on the balcony before, he wrapped her in his coat and pulled her into an embrace.
His scent surrounded her completely.
Holding her tightly as if she might break, he whispered:
“The next time we meet, call me Ethan.”
“……”
Kitty had to spend several moments calming her wildly pounding heart as she watched him disappear beyond the horizon.
Glancing to the side, she saw the bouquet of dandelions, its seeds scattered away, leaving only the stems behind.
Though there was no grave marker, this was undoubtedly where she had buried her mother and younger siblings with her own hands.
After making sure no one was nearby, Kitty crouched beside the spot.
Thinking that her mother and siblings might be watching her from heaven made her face grow hot again.
As she pulled weeds from the grave, she spoke in a tiny voice, as though sharing a secret.
“The wolf who just left is Ethan Wybis. He’s prickly, but kind. Until just now, he was my teacher.”
Of course, no answer came.
But deep within her heart, a question arose.
“From now on, he’ll probably be my…”
“Kitty.”
“Eek!”
She spun around toward the voice.
Jackal stood there, his face dark and frightening.
Though he had clearly just woken up, his gaze was terrifying.
His eyes were fixed in the direction Ethan had disappeared, as if he were ready to launch a pursuit and turn him into a rug.
“Kitty. Were you with Ethan?”
“……”
If I tell him Ethan bit my cheek, Sir Jackal will immediately turn into a wolf and chase after him.
Determined to save Ethan and Catherine, Kitty transformed into her animal form.
Poof!
As a fluffy cat appeared, Jackal’s anger softened somewhat.
Kitty perched on top of his shoe.
“Yawn… Sir Jackal, I’m sleepy.”
“Kitty, Ethan didn’t do anything strange to you, did he?”
“No! Lord Ethan only brought flowers to my mother’s and siblings’ graves. Then we talked about the watch he gave me before, and he left.”
Jackal lifted her into his arms.
At the mention of the watch, his expression darkened again.
“A watch? Surely you don’t mean the pocket watch bearing the Wybis crest?”
“Ah.”
Kitty blinked.
Unable to lie convincingly, she instantly gave herself away.
Jackal looked even more stunned.
He knew exactly what that watch was because he had witnessed Hogwood preparing a proposal before.
A watch passed down only to the ladies of the Wybis family… and he gave it to my daughter?
And flowers at the grave, too.
Jackal had planned to visit the grave himself tomorrow with chrysanthemums.
Yet Ethan had remembered the location from only a few brief conversations and had come in the middle of the night to pay his respects.
And the flowers he chose were dandelions—flowers that resembled Kitty herself.
As a fellow male wolf, Jackal knew perfectly well what Ethan’s intentions were.
His expression grew darker and darker.
Left with no choice, Kitty resorted to the ultimate survival strategy of small animals.
“Yawn… Sir Jackal is such a kind and strong wolf. I’m sure he’ll carry me somewhere warm and safe.”
“You’re mistaken. Toward any male who dares touch my daughter, I—”
“Dad.”
“……”
Soft.
Kitty pressed her little paws against his firm arm.
Each squish of her pink jelly-like paw pads reduced Jackal’s anger by another ten percent.
“Would you brush my fur? Jerian has been hiding lots of cat brushes he hasn’t even used.”
“Oh. Alright.”
Kitty curled herself into an even tighter ball and purred contentedly.
The Next Morning
The moment I woke up, I stretched twice.
“…Seriously. When are you finally going to grow up?”
I planned to grow as quickly as possible so Ethan would never ask that question again.
After letting me sleep comfortably in his wolf form, Sir Jackal watched me stretching and transformed back into a human.
Then he tapped my pink nose.
“Kitty. Why are you working so hard?”
“Hmm… because I want to look dignified today.”
If I admitted that I wanted to see how Ethan would react once I became an adult, Sir Jackal would probably storm straight to the central training grounds.
When I winked, he laughed.
“Kitty. We’ll finish our business in the cat territory this afternoon and leave.”
I already knew the schedule, but thinking about parting from my reunited friends—and my relative Nero—felt a little strange.
Still, Lady Caris was all alone at the Gridwolf estate.
With Theo and Deon gone, she must be feeling lonely.
I should hurry back and tell Lady Caris that I can see the arrows now.
Just imagining her praising me made my shoulders straighten proudly.
I quickly returned to my human form.
There was somewhere I wanted to visit before leaving the cat territory.
“Sir Jackal, may I stop by the house where I used to live?”
There might still be something hidden there—something my mother had carefully concealed.
