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Chapter 3
Tony, the head chef of the Chigr estate, was in an exceptionally foul mood.
Preparing the reception for the Drake family had already exhausted him, but to make matters worse, Mia—the brat locked in the basement storage room—had decided to be a nuisance today of all days.
Scratch! Scratch!
Scratch! Scratch!
After being quiet for quite some time, she had suddenly started clawing at the wooden door again.
The noise was so loud it could be heard all the way to the dining hall where the guests would be eating.
Normally, he would have ignored it.
But today was different.
The head butler had given a strict order.
“What is the meaning of this disturbance on such an important day? By any means necessary, silence Mia immediately! It is the lord’s command!”
Tony pulled a massive rolling pin from a cupboard and headed toward the storage room.
“Shut up! Can’t you be quiet?”
BANG!
He slammed the rolling pin against the door.
Usually, that was enough to frighten Mia into silence.
But not today.
Scratch! Scratch!
SCRAAATCH!
The noise only grew louder.
Tony’s face twisted with irritation.
“A stubborn little cat only understands one thing—a beating.”
Tapping the rolling pin threateningly against his thigh, he pulled out the key, unlocked the door, and stormed inside.
He’s here.
I was sitting atop a pile of junk stacked higher than he was tall.
I deliberately swished my tail and cried out so he would notice me.
“Meow!”
“How dare you wag that worthless tail at me! You’re dead today!”
Tony roared and swung the rolling pin at me with all his strength.
But after surviving for years in the Demon Forest, dodging something like this wasn’t difficult.
I leapt away and landed neatly on the storage room floor.
The rolling pin missed me completely and instead struck a bucket precariously balanced behind me.
CLANG!
CRASH!
“AAAAAH! What the hell is this?!”
The bucket overturned.
Something poured directly onto Tony’s face.
A swarm of dozens of fleas.
The very fleas I had painstakingly collected beforehand.
Enjoy getting your blood sucked!
While Tony fought for his life against the flea invasion, I dashed through the open doorway.
Tap! Tap! Tap!
I raced up the stairs and escaped the basement.
The moment I emerged—
Brilliant sunlight struck my face.
“Myaaa…”
The sunlight was so dazzling after all this time that I instinctively cried out.
After rubbing my eyes with my paws, I looked out the window.
Three luxurious carriages stood before the mansion entrance, covered in gemstones.
Dozens of guards carrying banners stood beside them.
The Drake family crest was embroidered on the flags in crimson thread.
My golden eyes widened.
Wait a minute… those jewels on the carriages… aren’t those Aura Stones?
Aura Stones—gems that contained the aura of beastfolk—were incredibly rare and astronomically expensive.
Even Alec, ruler of the North, only possessed a few Aura Stones roughly the size of my paw.
But the stones decorating the Drake family’s carriages were as large as the fists of fully grown white tigers.
They’re using those as carriage decorations…?
It was probably intended to remind Alec and the North of the difference in power.
Still, it was astonishing.
At the same time, I couldn’t understand what had convinced Alec he could invade their territory.
The carriages appeared empty, meaning the Drake family had already entered the mansion.
First, I need to find the dragons.
I had to meet them before Caroline did and convince them I was Alec’s only daughter.
Just then, shouting echoed from ahead.
“Mia escaped the storage room!”
“We need to catch her before the lord finds out!”
No way!
The head butler and several servants were already approaching.
When I looked behind me, I saw Tony coming from the opposite direction, scratching himself furiously while carrying the rolling pin.
I was completely surrounded.
There was nowhere to run.
What do I do?
Then I noticed the pale gray fur carpet covering the hallway floor.
Its color was almost identical to my still-not-completely-clean fur.
FLUMP!
I squeezed my eyes shut and flattened myself against the carpet, stretching out all four limbs.
Then I held my breath.
A little later—
“She isn’t here!”
“Let’s search the west wing!”
After confirming they were gone, I slowly stood up.
Whew… that was close.
I had nearly been captured immediately after escaping.
For once, I was grateful that my fur was still dirty.
But where exactly were the dragons?
Having spent my entire life locked in the basement, I didn’t know the mansion’s layout.
As I pondered, an unfamiliar aura brushed against my nose.
It wasn’t the rough, fierce aura of the white tigers that filled the estate.
It’s much more refined… but far stronger!
It had to be dragon aura.
The trail led toward the mansion’s main building.
I hurried after it.
Inside the luxurious reception room of the Chigr estate’s main hall—
A massive, muscular man with silver-white hair and golden eyes sat nervously before two other men.
It was Alec, ruler of the North and leader of the white tigers.
Despite being more than twice their size, he repeatedly bowed to the two slender men seated before him.
“Honorable dragons, welcome to the North! Please rest here and recover from your journey. The servants will soon bring a hot meal—”
“We did not come here for leisure.”
One of the men, Max, an aide to the Drake family, cut him off sharply.
“We will conduct one final review of the treaty before signing it. Would you kindly excuse us while we do so?”
His tone was polite.
But the meaning was clear.
Get out.
Damn it. This is my house!
Alec cursed inwardly but retreated from the room with a submissive smile.
Provoking them now could only result in a worse treaty.
“V-Very well… Please review it comfortably.”
As soon as Alec left, Max glanced toward the door.
“Now that that boorish tiger’s aura is gone, the room is much more pleasant.”
Opening a bag, he pulled out a thick treaty document and handed it to the man beside him.
“Lord Leon, shall we conduct the final review? First, the reparations have been set at one billion gold—”
“Wait.”
The handsome man with black hair and vivid violet eyes lowered his teacup.
“Is something wrong, my lord?”
“This teacup is quite luxurious.”
The handle of the golden teacup was studded with gemstones.
Max snorted.
“Not just the cup. The tea is top quality, and every piece of furniture in this room is brand new and expensive. Alec must have gone to great lengths trying to reduce the reparations through hospitality.”
Leon smiled faintly.
“The effort is admirable. In that case, revise the amount.”
Max blinked.
“Pardon?”
“Yes. A man with this much money shouldn’t only be paying one billion gold.”
There it is.
Max picked up his pen.
“Should I double it?”
“Tenfold.”
One hundred billion gold.
Several years’ worth of the North’s entire budget.
Yet Leon didn’t even blink.
“That way the beasts of the North will never again dare to crawl into the South. Make the change immediately.”
His violet eyes gleamed dangerously.
Max swallowed unconsciously and quickly revised the figure.
“Next, the guarantor for the non-aggression treaty. One of Alec’s children will be taken south for twenty years. Hmm… Alec only has one child, correct?”
Leon picked up his teacup again.
“Yes. He has a young daughter—”
His words trailed off.
“My lord?”
“Max. There’s something under the table.”
“What?”
The two men lowered their heads.
Beneath the marble table sat a tiny beastfolk cub.
A small body covered in pale gray fur.
Pointed ears.
Tiny legs.
A little tail.
A creature that didn’t exist in the South.
Max and Leon stared silently.
Then Mia looked up at them.
“Meow!”
They’re real dragons!
After confirming Alec had left, I had sneaked into the reception room.
Now, seeing the dragons up close, I couldn’t move.
They were fascinating.
They’re so long and slender!
I had spent my entire life surrounded by huge, muscular white tiger beastfolk.
Compared to them, the dragons’ lean and balanced physiques looked completely different.
Yet the aura radiating from their bodies was several times more overwhelming than that of the tigers.
Especially the man holding the teacup.
The pressure he emitted was terrifying.
I instinctively curled up and stared at him.
Black hair.
Pale skin.
A sharp nose that looked as though it could cut glass.
Deep eyebrows.
And mysterious violet eyes like amethysts.
I’d heard dragon beastfolk were handsome, but not this handsome.
As I stared at him in a daze, mouth slightly open, the man beside him looked at me with sparkling eyes.
“A northern beastfolk cub! Seeing one in person, it’s actually quite adorable. Don’t you think so, my lord?”
Then that black-haired man must be Leon Drake himself.
The infamous Leon Drake.
While I was still processing this, Leon’s violet eyes swept over me from head to toe.
The intensity of his gaze made all my fur stand on end.
Then he said coldly,
“Not adorable at all. It looks like a furball.”
A furball?!
His first impression of me left me mildly offended.
“More importantly, when did it get in here? I didn’t sense its aura at all.”
Max answered,
“Isn’t it a newborn cub? Its aura is probably too weak to notice.”
“Hm.”
Max bent down and spoke gently.
“Little one, are you lost? Where are your parents?”
Huh?
Why doesn’t he recognize that I’m Alec’s child?
I glanced down.
Only then did I notice that my fur was still dirty gray.
“Meow! Meooow! Meow!”
I cried out desperately.
I even widened my golden eyes as much as possible.
My father is Alec! I’m Alec’s child!
“What is it trying to say?”
“No idea.”
This can’t be happening!
Unlike the beastfolk of the North, the Southerners couldn’t understand my cries at all.
Then Max grabbed me by the scruff of my neck.
“Meooow?!”
As my legs flailed helplessly in the air, Max stood up.
“I think it’s a servant’s lost pet. We’d better hand it over to the head butler.”
Leon nodded.
“That would be best.”
No!
If the butler got hold of me, I’d be thrown right back into the storage room.
I worked so hard to escape and get here!
I struggled wildly.
But Max simply tucked me into his arms and began walking out of the reception room.
How can I make them realize I’m Alec’s heir?
If they knew that, everything would change.
Desperately, I racked my brain for an answer.
