Chapter 229: Chapter : 229 : Warmth That Was Not Bought!

The curtains were half-drawn, letting pale afternoon light slip into the room in thin golden lines. Dust floated lazily in the air, glowing faintly where the sunlight touched it.

On the wide bed, several figures sat close together.

The cat girl sat near the edge.Her posture was careful but not stiff or defensive.

But cautious—like a small animal that had learned the world could hurt without warning.

Her hands rested on her lap, fingers intertwined. Her black tail curled slightly beside her, moving only when she thought no one was watching.

Around her sat four girls.

Leona was sprawled on her stomach, legs kicking lightly in the air, wings half-open as if she had forgotten to fold them properly.

Liri sat cross-legged beside her, back straight, hands resting neatly on her knees.

Noir sat quietly near Liri.

Ivy sat on the other side of the bed, legs dangling over the edge, with a tiny creature perched proudly on her shoulder.

Fluffynuggets.

The small fluffy beast blinked slowly, tail flicking like a proud guardian of Ivy’s territory.

The cat girl watched them silently.

They weren’t judging her. Telling her what to do. And that scared her more than pain ever had.

Leona rolled onto her side, propping her chin on her hands.

She looked at the cat girl with bright curiosity, not suspicion.

“Um,” Leona said lightly, tilting her head. “Do you feel better now?”

The cat girl blinked.

Her ears twitched faintly.

“…I think so,” she answered quietly.

Her voice was soft. Like she was afraid that speaking too loudly might break something.

Liri smiled gently.

“That’s good,” she said. “You slept for a long time.”

The cat girl looked down.

“…Sorry.”

Noir shook her head immediately.

“You don’t need to apologize,” she said quietly.

Silence stretch between them before the cat girl broke it. “C-can you ah… Tell me… I mean… About him.”

Ivy leaned forward slightly, eyes shining.

“About Onii-Chan,” she said brightly.

The cat girl stiffened slightly. Her fingers tightened. Then she nodded shyly.

Ivy glanced at the others. Leona blinked. Liri looked thoughtful. Noir looked away slightly.

Then Ivy smiled.

The cat girl’s ears twitched again.

“Onii… Chan?”

Ivy nodded enthusiastically.

“That’s what I call him!” she said proudly. “He’s my big brother.”

Leona puffed her cheeks.

“Daddy,” she corrected.

Liri smiled faintly.

“Daddy,” she repeated.

Noir nodded once.

“…Daddy,” she said quietly.

The cat girl looked between them.

The words felt strange.

Brother.

Father.

Family.

They sounded unreal.

Ivy clasped her hands together, eyes sparkling as if she had been waiting for this moment.

“Onii-Chan is the most amazing person in the world,” she said without hesitation.

The cat girl looked at her silently.

Ivy continued, her voice softer now.

“He saved me,” she said.

Liri’s smile faded slightly.

Noir lowered her gaze.

Ivy looked at Fluffynuggets for a moment, then back at the cat girl.

“There was a time when I didn’t have anyone,” Ivy said quietly. “I was scared. Alone. There was this orc who wanted to hurt me.”

The cat girl’s fingers trembled slightly.

“I thought I was going to disappear,” Ivy continued.

Her voice wasn’t dramatic.

It was simple.

Honest.

“Then Onii-Chan came,” she said.

Her lips curved into a small smile.

“He didn’t hesitate,” Ivy said. “He didn’t ask if I was worth saving. He didn’t ask if I was useful. He just… stood in front of me.”

Fluffynuggets chirped softly.

“He defeated that orc,” Ivy said. “And after that, he didn’t leave me behind.”

The cat girl listened carefully.

“He took me with him,” Ivy continued. “He told me I could stay. He told me I could call him my brother.”

Ivy hugged her arms lightly.

“For the first time,” she said softly, “I felt like I had a place.”

Her eyes shone slightly.

“And now,” she said with a bright smile, “I have a family.”

The cat girl looked at Ivy. Her chest felt strange.

Warm.

Heavy.

Noir spoke next. Her voice was quieter than Ivy’s.

“I haven’t been here long,” she said.

The cat girl turned toward her.

Noir’s hands rested on her lap.

“…Before this,” Noir said slowly, “I belonged to someone else.”

Her voice didn’t tremble. But her eyes darkened slightly.

“He used to beat me,” she said.

The cat girl’s ears flattened slightly.

“He treated me like an object,” Noir continued. “Not a person. Not a child. Not anything that mattered.”

Noir paused. Then she looked up.

“Daddy found me,” she said quietly.

The cat girl felt her heart tighten.

“He didn’t like what he saw,” Noir said.

Her lips curved faintly.

“He bought me,” she said. “He told that man I wasn’t something he could touch anymore,” Noir said.

Her fingers curled slightly.

“And then,” she added, “he told me I could stay with him.”

Noir looked at the cat girl. Her eyes were calm but deep.

“I don’t know how to say it properly,” she said quietly.

Then she bowed her head slightly.

“…I am forever grateful to him.”

The cat girl swallowed. Her tail curled slowly.

Liri spoke next. Her voice was gentle.

Warm.

“My real father died,” Liri said softly.

Leona turned her head toward her.

Noir listened silently.

Liri looked down at her hands.

“…After that,” she said, “Mamma was very sad.”

Her fingers trembled slightly.

“She stopped smiling,” Liri said.

The cat girl listened.

“I thought our house would stay like that forever,” Liri said quietly. “Quiet. Cold.”

Liri lifted her head. Then her lips curved into a soft smile.

“Then Mamma met Daddy,” she said.

Her eyes shone faintly.

“And everything changed,” she said.

The cat girl watched her.

“He didn’t replace my father,” Liri said gently. “He didn’t try to pretend he was him.”

She paused.

“He just stayed,” she said.

Her voice was warm.

“He laughed with Mamma,” Liri said. “He talked to me. He listened to me.”

Her smile grew slightly.

“And,” she said, “Mamma started smiling again.”

The cat girl felt her chest tighten.

“He treated me like his own daughter,” Liri said softly.

She looked at the cat girl.

“…Even though we are not blood related,” she added quietly.

The cat girl’s ears twitched. Her eyes widened slightly. She didn’t say anything. But something moved in her mind.

They are not blood related. They are not the same. Yet they call him family.

Leona suddenly sat up. Her wings fluttered. She tilted her head deeply, as if thinking very hard. Her expression was serious. Too serious for her small face.

“Hm…” she hummed.

The cat girl looked at her.

Leona stared at the ceiling for a few seconds.

Then she nodded once, as if she had reached a very important conclusion.

“Daddy is Daddy,” Leona declared.

Liri blinked. Noir looked at her. Ivy tilted her head.

The cat girl stared.

Leona turned toward her with bright eyes.

“Daddy is big,” she said confidently. Her wings spread slightly.

“So when he hugs me,” she continued, placing her hands around herself dramatically, “I feel warm.”

“He is strong,” she said.

Her tail flicked.

“So he saves me all the time,” she added proudly.

The cat girl felt her chest tighten again.

Leona’s eyes sparkled. “He even saved us from that big bad demon,” she said.

Her voice was full of excitement.

“And when Daddy is here,” she said softly, “Mummy smiles.”

Her words were simple.

Childish.

But honest.

Leona didn’t talk about pain. She didn’t talk about fear. She talked about warmth.

The cat girl looked at her. Then at Ivy. Then at Noir. Then at Liri. They were not the same.

Different races. Different origins. Different pasts.

They were not blood related. Yet they sat together on the same bed. Talking about the same man.

Calling him brother. Calling him father. Calling him family.

The cat girl’s fingers trembled slightly. She lowered her gaze. They are not blood related… Yet they belong.

She didn’t say it out loud. But the thought stayed. A heavy thought. A dangerous thought. Could I belong too?

Leona suddenly leaned closer to her. Her wings rustled softly. “Um,” Leona said gently. “What about you?”

The cat girl froze.Her ears twitched.

“…Me? …I don’t know.”

Ivy leaned forward slightly. “Onii-Chan said something once,” she said.

The cat girl looked at her.

Ivy smiled. “He said family isn’t about blood,” she said softly.

The cat girl’s breath caught slightly.

“He said,” Ivy continued, “’Family is the place where you are allowed to stay.’”

The cat girl stared at Ivy for a heartbeat.

For a moment, the world around her seemed to disappear.

Then her eyes trembled.

The warmth in her chest surged too fast, too suddenly, as if something fragile inside her had cracked open.

Tears overflowed from her eyes.

She tried to stop them, pressing her lips together, lowering her head, her hands clenching tightly in her lap.

“I-I’m sorry…” she whispered shakily. “I didn’t mean to… I…”

Her voice broke.

Before she could finish, Leona moved.

She crawled across the bed without hesitation, her wings fluttering softly as she came closer. She knelt in front of the cat girl and gently placed her small hand on her head.

Her touch was light.

Careful.

Like she was afraid that even a little pressure might hurt her.

“Don’t cry,” Leona said softly, her voice innocent and sincere. “Daddy will protect you too.”

The cat girl slowly lifted her head.

Their eyes met.

For a moment, she just stared at Leona, as if she didn’t understand what she had just heard.

Then her lips trembled.

She suddenly leaned forward and buried her face against her chest.

Her shoulders shook violently as her emotions finally overflowed.

Her quiet sobs turned into desperate cries.

Leona froze for a second, surprised.

Then she gently wrapped her arms around the cat girl.

Her wings folded slightly, surrounding her like a soft blanket.

“It’s okay,” Leona whispered, patting her back awkwardly, the way a child tried to comfort someone without fully understanding how. “It’s okay…”

The cat girl clung to her tightly, as if she was afraid that if she let go, everything would disappear.

Her tears soaked Leona’s clothes, but Leona didn’t move away. She hugged her back even tighter.

Ivy watched silently, her hands clasped near her chest. Liri lowered her gaze, her expression gentle. Noir looked away slightly, but her fingers curled slowly, as if she felt the pain in her own chest.

At that moment, the door creaked open.

Soft footsteps entered the room.

Luna stepped inside first. Behind her walked Thristle.

Both of them stopped the moment they saw them.

Luna tilted her head slightly.

“What happened?” she asked softly.

Leona looked up, still hugging the cat girl.

Her expression was serious again, as if she had been entrusted with an extremely important mission.

“We were telling her about Daddy,” Leona said simply.

At that exact moment, Fluffynuggets lifted its tiny head and purred proudly.

“Mii~”

Luna’s eyes widened slightly. Then her lips curved upward. Her expression brightened like sunlight breaking through clouds.

She walked toward the bed without hesitation, her steps light, her presence warm. She sat down near the cat girl, leaning slightly closer, her eyes shining.

“Master?” Luna said brightly.

The cat girl slowly lifted her tear-filled eyes.

Luna smiled even more.

“Then let me tell too.”

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END OF Chapter : 230 : WARMTH THAT WAS NOT BOUGHT!

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