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Chapter 4
At that moment, a brilliant idea suddenly came to mind.
I’ll show them the majestic dignity of a White Tiger.
The Chigr White Tigers ruled the northern continent.
And although I was only half-blooded, I had inherited the blood and aura of a White Tiger.
If I show them the presence of a White Tiger, they’ll definitely recognize me as Alec’s heir.
Thinking that, I slipped out of Max’s arms and landed lightly on the marble table.
The two dragons looked at me curiously.
I planted all four paws firmly on the table and stood as imposingly as possible.
My fluffy tail stood straight up.
Staring directly at them with my tiny golden eyes, I shouted inwardly:
Awaken! White Tiger blood sleeping within me!
Then I bared my tiny fangs and let out the fiercest roar I could muster.
“MEOOOOW!!!”
How was that?
The savage might of a White Tiger!
“Aww, how adorable!”
Max cried out, looking completely charmed.
Adorable? That’s not right…
While I stood there dumbfounded, Leon turned toward Max with a baffled expression.
“What exactly is this thing doing?”
“I believe it’s trying to entertain us. What an incredibly cute little cry!”
I wasn’t entertaining you!
Max reached out and grabbed me by the scruff again.
“Come on, little cutie. Let’s go see the head butler.”
My eyes widened.
Dangling from his grip, I desperately roared once more.
“MEOOOOW!”
At that instant, Leon’s expression changed.
“Wait, Max. Stop.”
“Why?”
Leon snatched me from Max.
Holding me under the arms, he lifted me up to eye level.
His sharp violet eyes examined me as though they were piercing straight through me.
I instinctively trembled.
Then he spoke quietly.
“This cub is Alec’s daughter.”
“A White Tiger cub.”
Max’s eyes widened.
“Really?”
He stared at me in surprise.
Seeing that, my face brightened.
He recognized my White Tiger aura!
I lifted my chin proudly and looked back at Leon.
Still studying me, he continued:
“Yes. I only glanced at it before, but its eyes are gold. And looking closely, the fur underneath is white. The outer layer is simply stained with dirt.”
Max’s eyes widened even further.
“Oh, you’re right! Now that I look closely, it does resemble a tiger. Then this child really is…?”
Leon nodded.
…It wasn’t exactly how I’d imagined things would go, but the result was good enough.
“Alec looks like a brute, but his cub is surprisingly cute. Though I certainly didn’t expect her to be this young.”
Max still looked utterly smitten.
Then a trace of discomfort appeared on his face.
Leon noticed.
“What is it?”
“She looks like a newborn. Taking her away as a hostage immediately feels… a little cruel.”
“Is there another way?”
A deep look of sympathy filled Max’s eyes as he looked at me.
Meanwhile, I was horrified.
What are you talking about?!
Forget the sympathy and please take me hostage!
I stared at him desperately.
Unfortunately, Max misunderstood completely.
“Look at those pleading eyes. She probably doesn’t want to leave her home.”
That’s not what I mean!
Right.
Leon Drake was famous for being cold and merciless.
Surely he wouldn’t pity me.
I looked toward him hopefully.
Leon stroked his chin thoughtfully.
“Hm. I don’t know about pitiful, but she’s certainly young enough to become a nuisance to take care of.”
“Perhaps we should simply increase the reparations fiftyfold instead.”
My face instantly filled with despair.
I cried out frantically.
“Meow! Meooow! Meow meow meow!”
Please take me hostage!
“What’s wrong with it all of a sudden?”
“No idea.”
The two dragons tilted their heads as they watched me panic.
Then I remembered.
They couldn’t understand my cries.
In that case, I would have to use gestures.
For beastfolk cubs who couldn’t speak, body language was an important method of communication.
I looked at Leon with desperate eyes.
Then I stretched one paw toward him and bent it.
As soon as Leon’s gaze fell on my paw, I began moving it from side to side.
Wave— Wave—
Among northern beastfolk, waving a paw like this meant:
Please! I’m begging you!
Please take me to the South!
I’ll do anything if you take me with you!
The expressions of both dragons instantly froze.
The meaning of gestures differed greatly between northern and southern beastfolk.
The reason was simple.
Body language was only used before a beastfolk learned human transformation.
Usually, that meant while they were cubs living under their parents’ protection.
Later, adults only returned to their beast forms during important life events.
Since interactions with other species rarely occurred during those periods, gesture languages developed separately among each race and region.
As a result, the exact same movement could mean completely different things.
Most beastfolk knew only the gestures of their own people.
Furthermore, these instinctive gestures became permanently engraved into a beastfolk’s mind during childhood.
Even after gaining human form, they never forgot them.
But gestures from other races felt meaningless and unnatural.
Fortunately, most communication between adults happened in spoken language, so misunderstandings were rare.
Unfortunately for Mia, who couldn’t transform into a human, gestures were her only option.
And since she had never left the North in either life, she naturally assumed all beastfolk shared the same body language.
She had absolutely no idea what waving her paw meant to dragons.
“L-Lord Leon… I didn’t see that wrong, did I?”
Max whispered shakily.
“This cub… just waved her paw at you, didn’t she?”
Even Leon’s violet eyes trembled.
Neither of them knew the true northern meaning.
They only knew what it meant among dragons.
“Is she… asking you for a kiss?”
That’s right.
Among southern dragons, waving a paw at someone meant:
Please kiss me.
Leon and Max stared silently at Mia, who was enthusiastically waving her paw.
Why do they look like that?
I blinked at their frozen faces.
The two had said something just now, but I hadn’t been paying attention.
I was too busy waving.
Then Max quietly whispered to Leon.
“…Should we grant her request?”
Does that mean they’ll take me hostage?
My eyes sparkled with hope.
Leon immediately frowned.
“What kind of nonsense are you talking about?”
“Have you lost your mind?”
His cold voice made my heart sink.
He still doesn’t want to take me…
What should I do?
If that was the case, there was only one thing left to try.
I waved my paw even harder than before.
Wave! Wave! Wave!
Please take me to the South!
“Gasp!”
Max’s face stiffened even further.
Leon frowned deeply.
Then suddenly my paw stopped moving.
I couldn’t move it.
Squeeze.
Leon was pressing his fingers against the inside of my tiny arm.
“Stay still.”
His voice was calm.
But the overwhelming pressure behind it made my entire body freeze.
“M-Meow…”
His violet eyes glowed ominously.
Dragon aura flooded the room.
Scary!
My body instantly became as rigid as ice.
It felt as though the slightest movement would result in him eliminating me without hesitation.
Once I became completely obedient, Leon set me down on the floor.
“…Tsk.”
I curled up fearfully and watched him.
He was still looking down at me coldly.
I guess I overdid it…
Thinking about it, I was the cub of a defeated enemy nation.
Instead of showing proper respect, I had practically thrown a tantrum demanding to be taken south.
Leon probably thought I was insolent.
What should I do now?
Perhaps it would be better to stop making demands and focus on pleasing him first.
Gathering my courage, I slowly uncurled and approached him again.
Meanwhile, Leon stared down at the now-silent Mia.
She’s finally calmed down.
Her earlier behavior had been utterly absurd.
The only daughter of a defeated enemy nation had suddenly demanded a kiss from him.
What kind of ridiculous situation was this?
Even if she was an ignorant cub…
“Could she have mistaken you for one of her parents?”
Max asked cautiously.
“Of course not.”
Leon answered sharply.
“Our auras are completely different.”
Every beastfolk race was born with its own distinct aura.
Even before awakening their aura, cubs instinctively recognized the aura of their own species.
From birth, they identified those with matching auras as their parents.
Likewise, parents instinctively felt a strong sense of attachment and responsibility toward cubs carrying a similar aura.
It was simply part of beastfolk nature.
“That’s true. No one could mistake the crude aura of a White Tiger for that of a dragon.”
“Especially since White Tiger aura is unpleasant enough to be felt from hundreds of meters away.”
Instead of replying, Leon studied Mia closely.
Something felt strange.
Oddly enough, he could barely sense any White Tiger aura from her.
Even newborn cubs should have possessed some trace of it.
Yet she felt almost completely blank.
So blank that he hadn’t even noticed her presence.
How is that possible?
And yet her white fur and golden eyes were undeniable evidence of Alec’s bloodline.
“Lord Leon, then why is she behaving like this?”
At Max’s question, Leon pushed aside his doubts and replied,
“I don’t know.”
“At any rate, I’ve already warned her with my aura. She shouldn’t dare behave so rudely again.”
Just then, Mia slowly unfolded herself.
Then she began toddling toward him.
What now?
Leon watched carefully.
Mia approached and rose onto her hind legs.
Then she wrapped her tiny paws around one of his legs.
Grab!
“…?”
To be continued.
