A Baby Hostage Spoiled by the Hostile Noble family_Chapter 07
I curled up as he held me by the scruff of my neck.
So he’s saying he won’t give me a cookie, so I should stop?
That’s just too much. I even threw away my pride and surrendered.
Is it because I’m a hostage from an enemy nation?
As my ears drooped and I shrank into myself, he set me down and glared at me sharply.
Clutching my empty stomach, I crawled into the corner of the seat. When I stayed perfectly still like a frozen statue, Leon went back to reading his book.
I’m hungry…
That’s when I spotted the cookie crumbs Leon had dropped earlier.
It should be okay if I eat those… right?
I carefully watched him, then quietly jumped down to the floor.
Trying not to make a sound, I crept toward the fallen cookie and secretly licked the crumbs.
Lick, lick—
It’s delicious!
As I quietly licked the crumbs, I suddenly felt a strange gaze from behind.
When I turned my head, Leon was staring straight at me.
“Meow!”
Startled, I let out a sharp cry, curled up, and squeezed my eyes shut.
I only ate what fell on the floor, so please don’t kill me!
But Leon muttered in a low voice,
“At least when you stay quiet, you’re somewhat tolerable.”
Huh?
I slowly opened my eyes.
In front of me was a box filled with almond cookies. A sweet, nutty aroma drifted into my nose.
“You want this?”
“Meow…”
“Then stay quiet like you are now. If you act up like before, you won’t get even a crumb.”
I tilted my head at him.
He said he wouldn’t give me any earlier… so why now?
As I hesitated, Leon pulled the box back slightly and said coldly,
“If you’re not going to eat it, forget it.”
“Meow!”
Drooling, I hurriedly grabbed the box with my paw. Only then did Leon set it down.
“Take it out yourself and eat.”
With that, he turned his attention back to his book.
I peered inside the box. It was filled deep with cookies.
How am I supposed to get one out?
I approached the box and shoved my upper body inside. Only then could my mouth barely reach the edge of a cookie.
I bit onto the edge and started pulling it out.
But the cookie was much bigger than my face, and it wasn’t easy. My face trembled, and my small body began to sweat.
Almost… got it!
Just as I struggled to pull it almost all the way out—
Slip!
“Meow!”
The cookie slipped from my mouth and dropped right back into the box. A despairing cry escaped me.
No way! After all that effort!
I looked back into the box in frustration. The cookie had sunk deep inside again.
I tried to bite it again, but I’d already used up all my strength—this time, it wouldn’t budge at all.
To have something so delicious right in front of me and still not be able to eat it…
As I stood there with my paws on the box, staring longingly at the cookies—
A large, pale hand reached into the box.
It took out a big cookie and placed it beside me.
“Eat.”
Leon looked down at me and ordered.
Did he… take it out for me?
I looked at him with moved eyes, but he snapped coldly,
“You’re being noisy and interrupting my reading.”
Then he turned back to his book.
Carefully watching him, I began eating the almond cookie.
It was so delicious I felt like I might cry.
I ate every last crumb, and by the time my stomach was full, the scenery outside the carriage had changed.
Unlike the north, there was lush greenery everywhere. Along the road, trees bloomed with colorful flowers.
We had crossed into the southern border.
Normally, it would take over two weeks by carriage to travel from the north to the southern border.
But thanks to the aura stone embedded in the carriage, we arrived in just half a day.
I stood up and placed my paws on the window, looking outside.
Wow… it’s beautiful.
Having only ever seen the barren landscapes of the north in both my past and present life, this was completely unfamiliar. My eyes widened, and my mouth fell open.
After a while, I saw a massive castle atop a distant hill.
Wow!
Its snow-white walls were topped with sharp navy spires that seemed to pierce the sky. Flags bearing the Drake family’s dragon crest fluttered atop them.
Around the estate stretched a vast, clear, green forest.
I thought the Chigr estate was luxurious, but compared to this place, it looked like nothing more than a hut.
As the carriage entered the estate, it stopped, and the door opened.
Startled, I quickly hid behind the seat.
A woman with long black hair and a sword at her waist bowed respectfully. She wore knee-high red boots and carried herself with authority.
She seemed to be the captain of the guard protecting the Drake estate.
“Lord, have you returned safely?”
Leon gave a slight nod and asked,
“Phoebe, nothing unusual happened while Max and I were away, correct?”
“Nothing at all.”
I peeked out from behind the seat to look at her. Phoebe had gentle-looking red eyes—a dragon.
Then she noticed me.
Her eyes widened.
“Lord, what is this cute creature?”
Without even waiting for Leon to answer, she approached me with sparkling eyes and spoke gently.
“Hey there, want to come here?”
Unlike Leon’s cold presence, she seemed kind.
So there are kind dragons too…
Moved, I trotted toward her and cried brightly,
“Meow!”
“Oh my, what a cute sound!”
“Lady Phoebe, please stop making such a fuss.”
Max had gotten off the carriage and said that, though even he kept sneaking glances at me with shining eyes.
Ignoring him completely, Phoebe picked me up, cuddling and stroking me as she asked Leon,
“Lord, is this adorable child a gift for the young masters?”
“No. It’s a hostage brought from the north.”
In that instant—
Her gaze turned sharp.
Thud!
She dropped me to the carriage floor as if throwing me away. I tumbled across the ground.
I scrambled back up and looked at her in confusion.
“Meow…”
A frightened cry slipped out.
She looked at me with an even colder expression than Leon’s, then turned her head away mercilessly.
What was with that sudden change?
As I stood there stunned, she asked Leon stiffly,
“That thing… is it the child of the northern tiger who invaded our south?”
Leon nodded.
Phoebe glared at me once more before coldly leaving the carriage.
Leon then grabbed me by the scruff again and stepped out. Phoebe still looked at me as if she wanted me dead.
Outside, rows of slender, black-haired dragons stood perfectly aligned.
Their eyes, like Phoebe’s, held clear hostility and wariness toward me.
Under the overwhelming pressure of their combined aura, my small body trembled, and I curled up into a ball.
I could feel, deep in my bones, what the north meant in this place.
Then Leon gave the order:
“Take it to its quarters.”
After sending Mia to her quarters, Leon held a meeting with the dragons in the estate’s conference room.
He explained Mia’s behavior in the carriage and his suspicions about Alex’s scheme.
The dragons reacted with shock.
“Using his child to appeal to emotions to reduce punishment wasn’t enough—now he’s trying to use a hostage to build familial affection and take over the south? Those northern tigers have truly lost their minds!”
“But if it’s Alex, it’s entirely possible. Look at how he started this war without thinking. Asking to be hugged, kissed, to play… it’s too obvious.”
“They’ve been completely crushed this time. They’re desperate.”
All the dragons agreed with Leon.
“So, Lord, what will you do?”
Without hesitation, Leon answered:
“I’ll crush Alex’s insane plan before it even begins. From now on, everyone in the estate is to ignore that furball, no matter how much it tries to act cute and cling like a child. Understood?”
“Yes, sir.”
They all responded respectfully.
“Then who will be assigned as the child’s personal attendant?”
Leon turned toward Phoebe, who sat in the corner.
“Phoebe, you’ll do it.”
“Me?”
“Yes. It’s a role that requires both care and strict surveillance. As captain of the guard, you’re the most suitable.”
Phoebe replied firmly,
“I refuse. I won’t take care of some northern brat.”
Leon looked at her silently.
But instead of backing down, Phoebe’s gaze only grew fiercer.
The room grew tense, and the other dragons quickly tried to intervene.
“Lord, please exclude Captain Phoebe from this matter. Taking care of a northern hostage is too harsh.”
“Exactly. You know she hates the north because of… that incident.”
Leon let out a shallow sigh before speaking again.
“Fine. Then assign personnel from the guard to monitor and care for it thoroughly. But if that thing does anything suspicious…”
He fixed Phoebe with a cold stare.
“…you’ll be held responsible.”
At his sharp gaze, the dragons swallowed nervously.
Only then did Phoebe bow her head and respond,
“Understood. There won’t be any such incident, so you need not worry.”
