A Baby Hostage Spoiled by the Hostile Noble family_ Chapter 03
Tony, the head chef of the Chigr estate, was at the end of his patience.
Not only was he already exhausted from preparing for the Drake family’s visit, but of all days, Mia—locked in the basement storage—had decided to be especially troublesome.
Scratch, scratch! Scratch, scratch!
She had been quiet for a while, but now she was noisily clawing at the wooden door again. The sound 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.
“On a day this important, what is this disturbance? Do whatever it takes to silence Mia immediately—those are the master’s orders!”
Tony grabbed a massive rolling pin from the cupboard and headed toward the storage.
“Shut up! Be quiet, will you?!”
Bang!
He slammed the rolling pin hard against the storage door. Usually, that was enough to scare Mia into silence.
But not today.
Scratch, scratch! SCRATCH, SCRATCH!!
The noise only grew louder, and Tony’s face twisted in irritation.
“For a disobedient little cat, a beating is the best cure.”
He tapped the rolling pin against his thigh threateningly, then pulled out the key, unlocked the door, and barged inside.
He came.
I was sitting atop a pile of junk stacked higher than his height in the corner of the storage. I deliberately wagged 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 full force.
But for someone like me, who had survived years in the Demon Forest, dodging this was nothing.
I swiftly leapt down to the floor.
The rolling pin missed me and struck a nearby bucket instead.
Clang!
Crash—
“Argh! What is this?!”
The bucket overturned, spilling its contents all over Tony’s face.
Dozens of fleas—ones I had caught and stored in advance.
Enjoy your fill!
While Tony struggled against the swarm of fleas, I dashed through the open door.
Tap, tap, tap!
I ran up the stairs, escaping the basement, and sunlight struck my face.
“Meow…”
The brightness made my eyes sting—it had been so long since I’d seen sunlight.
After rubbing my eyes with my paw, I looked outside.
In front of the estate entrance were three luxurious carriages studded with jewels, along with dozens of guards holding flags. The Drake family crest was embroidered in red thread on them.
My golden eyes widened.
‘Wait… those jewels on the carriages… aren’t those all aura stones?’
Aura stones—gems infused with beastmen aura—were incredibly rare and astronomically expensive.
Even Alec, ruler of the north, only had a few pieces the size of my paw.
But the ones embedded in the Drake carriages were as large as the fists of fully grown White Tigers.
‘And they just display them like that on a carriage…’
It was clearly meant to show their overwhelming power to Alec and the north—but still, it was astonishing.
At the same time, I couldn’t understand what Alec had been thinking when he dared to challenge them.
The carriages were empty, meaning the Drake family had already arrived inside.
‘First, I need to find the dragons.’
I had to meet them before Caroline did and make them believe I was Alec’s only daughter.
Just then, I heard commotion from ahead.
“Mia escaped the storage!”
“We have to catch her before the master finds out!”
No way!
The head butler and servants were already coming toward me.
When I turned around, I saw Tony scratching himself, rolling pin in hand, chasing me from the other side.
I was completely surrounded. There was nowhere to run.
What do I do?
Then I noticed the pale gray fur carpet beneath my feet. It was similar in color to my still slightly dirty fur.
Thud!
I shut my eyes tightly and flattened my body against the carpet, stretching out my limbs and holding my breath.
After a moment—
“She’s not here!”
“Let’s check the annex!”
Once they were gone, I slowly lifted my body from the carpet.
‘Phew… I survived.’
I almost got caught right after escaping. Thank goodness my fur wasn’t fully clean yet.
But where should I go to find the dragons?
Having been locked in the storage my whole life, I didn’t know the layout of the estate.
As I hesitated, an unfamiliar trace of aura reached my nose.
It wasn’t the rough, aggressive aura of the White Tigers I was used to.
‘It’s much more refined… but stronger!’
It was definitely a dragon’s aura—and it led toward the main building.
I followed the trail, trotting toward the estate’s main hall.
Inside the luxurious reception room of the Chigr estate—
Alec, the ruler of the north and leader of the White Tigers, stood with a servile expression, nervously watching the two men before him.
Despite his massive, muscular frame, he bowed repeatedly to the slender men, who were barely half his size.
“Honored dragons, welcome to the north! Please rest here and recover from your journey. The servants will soon bring warm—”
“We did not come here to relax.”
One of the men, Max, an aide of the Drake family, cut him off sharply.
“We will finalize the treaty after reviewing its clauses. Could you step out while we do so?”
His tone was polite—but it was essentially an order to leave immediately.
‘Damn it, this is my house!’
Alec cursed internally but obediently backed out of the room.
If he angered them and the treaty turned unfavorable, he would only lose more.
“U-understood… please take your time.”
As soon as Alec left, Max glanced at the door and said,
“Much more pleasant now that that brutish tiger’s aura is gone.”
He opened his bag, pulled out a thick document, and handed it to the man beside him, who was calmly drinking tea.
“Master, please review it one last time. First, the compensation has been set at one billion gold—”
“Wait.”
Leon Drake, a handsome man with black hair and vivid purple eyes, lowered his teacup and interrupted.
“What is it?”
“This teacup… it’s of the highest quality.”
The golden cup’s handle was studded with jewels.
Max let out a small chuckle.
“Not just the teacup. The tea is premium, and all the furniture here is brand new and top-grade. Alec must have gone all out to impress us and reduce the compensation.”
Leon smiled faintly.
“His effort is admirable. Then let’s revise the amount.”
Max blinked in surprise.
“Pardon? Are you serious?”
“Yes. With this much wealth, taking only one billion gold would be absurd.”
Of course.
Max picked up his pen, thinking, That’s my master.
“Then shall we double it?”
“Tenfold.”
Ten billion gold—equal to several years’ budget of the north.
Yet Leon gave the order without hesitation.
“That way, the beasts of the north will never again dare challenge the south. Revise it immediately.”
His purple eyes gleamed coldly.
Swallowing nervously, Max quickly adjusted the amount.
“Next, the guarantor of the non-aggression pact. We will take Alec’s child as a hostage for 20 years. Hmm… Alec only has one child, correct?”
Leon picked up his teacup again.
“Yes. He has a young daughter—”
His voice trailed off.
“Master? What is it?”
“Max, there’s something under the table.”
“…What?”
They both looked down beneath the marble table.
There, curled up quietly, was a small beast cub with pale gray fur, pointy ears, and tiny limbs.
A creature that did not exist in the south.
Max and Leon stared at it.
Then Mia looked up at them and cried out—
“Meow!”
‘They’re real dragons!’
After confirming Alec had left, I had slipped into the reception room—and now, seeing them up close, I couldn’t move.
It was fascinating.
‘They’re so long and slender!’
Having only ever seen large, bulky White Tiger beastmen, their balanced, lean physiques felt completely different.
Yet the aura emanating from them was far more overwhelming than that of the White Tigers.
Especially the man holding the teacup—his presence was terrifyingly powerful.
Instinctively, I curled up and stared at him.
Black hair, pale skin, sharp nose, thick brows—
And those amethyst-like purple eyes.
‘I heard dragon beastmen were handsome, but this…’
I stared at him in a daze, mouth slightly open, when the man beside him spoke brightly.
“A northern beast cub! Seeing one in person, it’s quite cute! Don’t you think so, my lord?”
Then that black-haired man must be Leon Drake—the infamous head of the family?
As I processed this, Leon’s purple eyes scanned me coldly.
His gaze was so sharp that my fur stood on end.
Then he spoke flatly,
“Not cute at all. Just looks like a furball.”
A furball?!
His blunt evaluation stung a little.
“More importantly, when did it get in here? I didn’t sense any aura at all.”
Max replied,
“It looks like a newborn. Its aura must be too weak to notice.”
“Hm…”
Max bent down and asked gently,
“Hey there, little one. Are you lost? Where are your parents?”
Huh? Why don’t they recognize me as Alec’s child?
Glancing down, I realized my fur was still dull gray.
“Meow! Meow! Meow!”
I cried out desperately, opening my golden eyes wide.
My father is Alec! I’m his child!
“What is it saying?”
“I have no idea.”
No way!
Unlike the northern beastmen, the southern ones couldn’t understand me at all.
Then Max grabbed me by the scruff and lifted me up.
“Meow?!”
As I flailed helplessly in the air, Max stood up.
“It must be a servant’s lost cub. We should hand it over to the butler.”
Leon nodded.
“That would be best.”
No!
If the butler got me, I’d be thrown back into the storage.
‘I worked so hard to escape and get here!’
I struggled desperately, but Max was already carrying me out of the room.
How could I make them realize I was Alec’s heir?
If they knew, their attitude would surely change.
I racked my brain in desperation.
