A Baby Hostage spoiled by the Hostile Noble Family _Chapter 2
As memories of my previous life resurfaced, my small body began to tremble uncontrollably. My tail bristled, and a pained whimper escaped my lips.
“Meow…”
To calm myself, I curled up and slowly licked my body. It was something I had done since I was young—a way to comfort myself when I was alone.
Just as I began to settle down, my stomach growled loudly.
Grrr—
I walked toward the tightly locked storage door. If my memory was correct, there should be food there.
As I approached, I saw scraps of food mixed with what looked like garbage, dumped on top of a broken dish. A foul smell rose from it.
It was leftovers from the kitchen—things the servants had tossed aside for me to eat.
This was my only meal of the day.
I picked through the scraps, choosing what little seemed edible, and began to eat. But the amount was pitifully small.
Even after finishing, my stomach still ached with hunger.
‘Looks like I’ll have to eat fleas again, just like before.’
I searched the storage for fleas and swiped at them with my paws.
The fleas tried to escape, darting toward the wooden door.
But I chased them down and caught them skillfully. It was something I had done countless times in my past life.
As I popped them into my mouth, my eyes fell on the familiar scratches all over the wooden door.
Marks I had made in the past—desperately clawing at the door while crying, begging to be let out.
Only then did I notice my front claws—broken, worn down, and fragile.
‘So it hasn’t been long since I was locked in here.’
Later on, I had given up even begging to be let out, living numbly as I was bullied by my family.
I glanced between the scratches on the door and my claws as I chewed the flea in my mouth.
A bitter taste spread across my tongue. My golden eyes hardened with resolve.
If I had truly returned to the past—
‘I won’t live like I did before.’
No matter what it took, I would escape this place.
But how?
I tucked in my four legs and lay curled up, lost in thought. From afar, I must have looked like a small loaf of bread.
I spent several days thinking, but no good plan came to mind.
Even if I managed to escape, what then? I had nowhere to go.
‘At best, I’d end up wandering the streets, stealing to survive.’
And that would only lead me back to the Demon Forest.
Petty theft usually ended with a fine—but powerless, impoverished beastmen in the north who couldn’t pay were ultimately sent to the forest.
In my previous life, I had seen many stray young beastmen thrown into the forest for that very reason.
They were all the same—weak, with no guardians and nowhere to go.
Just like me now.
‘I barely got a second chance. I refuse to end the same way.’
I shook my head, but suddenly flinched as something tickled my body.
The fleas had returned, crawling over me and sucking my blood.
You annoying pests!
“Meow!”
I sprang up and swiped at them fiercely with my paws.
My stomach growled again, and without thinking, I popped another flea into my mouth. As the bitter taste spread, I rolled on the ground in despair.
‘If only I could go somewhere without fleas, where I could eat proper meals every day…’
That was all I wanted.
Just then, the storage door rattled open.
“Hey. Food.”
Tony, the rough-looking tiger beastman chef, tossed a dish inside with his usual arrogant attitude and left. The door was locked again.
More scraps, I assumed.
But unlike usual, a delicious smell reached my nose.
Sniffing, I cautiously approached the dish.
No way!
There was a piece of meat on it. My mouth instantly filled with saliva.
“Meow!”
Letting out a delighted cry, I bit into the meat.
It was cold and tough—mostly tendon—but compared to the usual tasteless scraps, it was a feast.
‘What’s going on? Is there some kind of event at the estate?’
As I wondered, I heard voices growling from beyond the wooden door—Tony and the head butler.
I perked up my ears, chewing the meat as I listened.
“The Drake family head is arriving soon. Tony, the meal preparations are flawless, I trust?”
“Of course, sir. I’ve removed all the tough parts and scraps, using only the best cuts of meat. Dragons are very particular about their food.”
“Good. Our position is already unfavorable—we must not give them any reason to find fault.”
As the butler spoke sternly, Tony growled in frustration.
“Damn it! What kind of hardship is this for days on end? Why did the master even start a territorial war with the south…?”
“Shh! Keep your voice down. What’s done is done.”
My golden eyes widened.
‘The Drake family is visiting today?’
The Drake family ruled the southern continent—the dragon beastmen.
My greedy father, Alec Chigr, had been expanding his power in the north and eventually set his sights on the southern dragon territory—the domain of the continent’s strongest.
He launched a bold territorial war… and was utterly defeated.
Afterward, the Drake family demanded reparations and proposed a non-aggression pact.
They were coming today to finalize the compensation and the treaty.
Since the Chigr family had invaded first—and lost—they had no choice but to prepare everything perfectly for this visit.
If they offended the dragons even slightly, the compensation would skyrocket, and the treaty terms would become humiliating.
Of course, none of that had anything to do with me in my previous life. Locked in this storage, I hadn’t even known they came.
But this time was different.
My eyes gleamed in the darkness.
‘This might be my chance to escape!’
A memory flashed through my mind.
On the day of the agreement, the Drake family had made one additional demand.
They wanted Alec’s only legitimate daughter—my half-sister, Caroline—to be sent to the south as a hostage for 20 years.
And in my previous life, she was.
I hadn’t known about the visit back then, but I remembered this clearly.
Right before leaving, Caroline, unwilling to go, came to this basement and took out her anger on me—tormenting me brutally.
But this time, that wouldn’t happen.
My golden eyes sparkled as I pressed my ear against the door.
‘What if I go as the hostage instead of Caroline?’
The dragons didn’t even know I existed.
If I appeared before them first—with white fur and golden eyes like Alec’s—they would naturally assume I was his daughter.
‘After all, I do resemble a White Tiger cub at a glance.’
And from Alec’s perspective, it would be far better to send an illegitimate child like me than his precious daughter.
For me, it was a chance to escape this hell—and avoid being cast into the Demon Forest years later.
Even as a hostage, I would at least be guaranteed basic treatment and safety as a noble hostage representing friendly relations.
‘Of course… if I anger the dragons, I might end up dead like Caroline.’
In my previous life, Caroline had been killed in the south after repeatedly causing trouble trying to escape.
She even secretly hired northern leopard mercenaries to attack the Drake estate.
It failed, of course.
Furious, the dragons treated it as a breach of trust and executed her, sending her head back to Alec.
It happened just before I was exiled to the forest.
‘If I just behave and keep them satisfied, I’ll be fine.’
And the fact that even a mercenary attack couldn’t shake the Drake estate meant one thing—it was incredibly secure.
Living there quietly as a hostage for 20 years and planning my future was far better than staying here and being thrown into the Demon Forest.
So what I needed to do first was obvious.
‘I need to clean myself!’
Right now, my fur was filthy, stained a dirty gray.
If I wanted the dragons to believe I was Alec’s child, I needed to at least look white.
Lick, lick—
I carefully cleaned every part of my dirty body with my pink tongue, rubbing my face with my paws.
Thankfully, the grime slowly came off.
As I continued grooming, a concern suddenly crossed my mind.
‘Wait… I can’t speak. Will I be okay in the south?’
Since I couldn’t transform, I could only make kitten sounds—just like before.
But in the north, people had at least vaguely understood my cries.
Dragons were still beastmen—surely they’d understand to some extent? And if not… I could use body language.
‘More importantly, what if they find out I’m illegitimate?’
Dragons were the most ruthless race on the continent.
Especially Leon Drake—the head of the family, infamous for his cold, merciless nature.
If they found out the truth, I might be killed on the spot.
My fur stood on end—but I firmly licked my paw.
That hasn’t happened yet.
I’ll deal with it when the time comes. For now, I’ll do what I can.
It was the same mindset I had used to survive day by day in the Demon Forest.
Besides, if I stayed here, I’d only suffer worse and eventually die anyway.
I recalled the cruel torment I had endured from Caroline and the servants.
“Mia, let’s play swimming today! Watching you struggle in the water is so fun! Hahaha!”
“They say cats land well from high places, right? Should we test that from the rooftop?”
“Your whiskers are dirty—let’s cut them all off! Hahaha!”
And my so-called father had either ignored it—or blamed me and sided with them.
‘So the only thing that matters now is becoming the hostage and escaping this place.’
After thoroughly grooming myself, my fur had turned a pale gray.
Just then—
Bwooo—
A deep horn sounded from outside.
It was only blown when distinguished guests arrived.
My ears perked up, and I sprang to my feet.
The Drake family had arrived.
‘Then the first thing I need to do is…’
Escape this cursed storage room.
