Mommy Wolf: Raise A Cub, Claimed By His Beast Daddy-Chapter 164: Under Sisi’s Care (II)

"You are a tough boy, Jojo," Sisi praised.

"I am?" Jojo asked back. "But I kept crying, Sisi. Daddy said I shouldn’t cry too much, because it is a sign of weakness..."

"Your Daddy is not wrong... if you cry in front of your enemy," Sisi replied wisely. "But I am not your enemy, am I?"

"Of course you’re not! You’re my, umm..." Jojo wanted to say Mommy, but he remembered how Sisi didn’t give him an answer when he asked before.

He didn’t want to be disappointed and sad again, so he said, "—my Sisi!"

Sisi chuckled. "I am your Sisi? What does that mean?"

"That means you are very important to me, Sisi! Jojo will protect you with all my life!" Jojo declared bravely, before wincing again from the pain in his hips.

"Alright, big boy. You’ve done enough protecting me," Sisi smiled. "I’ll protect you this time. I promise."

Jojo might appear stubborn, cold, or even downright oppressive despite his young age in front of others, a trait passed down by his father, or by the curse itself. But with Sisi, Jojo regressed into a four-year-old again. He cuddled happily and cooed to his mama that he was hungry.

Thus, Sisi put the boy on her lap and started feeding him slowly until he was full.

Jojo burped afterward, then curled up in Sisi’s embrace in his wolf cub form.

She continued caressing his fur until he fell into a deep sleep—a sign that he was truly exhausted—then placed him on the bed before walking to the door and opening it.

When the door opened, the guard outside was shocked to see Mistress Sisi and knelt immediately.

"M-Mistress, w-we are sorry because we couldn’t protect you before—"

"Call Diane. I want her in my chamber as soon as possible," Sisi ordered without giving the guard a second look.

"Yes, Mistress!"

**

Diane entered the Mistress’s chamber and saw Sisi sitting at the edge of the bed, caressing a sleeping wolf pup.

She drew near and bowed. "You called for me, Mistress."

"Jojo told me everything," Sisi said calmly, though a hint of coldness seeped into her words. She slowly turned her head toward Diane. "Have you found the attacker?"

"Not yet, Mistress. General Pell and Garou are sweeping the palace right now," Diane reported. "The Prince told me that Ruela knows the attacker, but she’s currently incapacitated. She was slashed in the throat and lost too much blood. The doctor said it will take a while for her to wake up."

"Have you questioned everyone at the scene?" Sisi asked. "I doubt Ruela was the only maid present during the attack."

"Yes, Mistress. I questioned your personal attendant. She was tasked by the Beast King to guard the door while he was away," Diane reported. "She was attacked, but only suffered a head injury."

"A head injury?" Sisi raised her brow. "Do you not realize how strange that is?"

"I share the same concern, Mistress. It is very strange," Diane said. "But without evidence, I dare not accuse her of being the attacker."

’So it was her,’ Sisi concluded immediately.

She had seen the ambition hidden beneath Leah’s unassuming behavior. Of course that maid wouldn’t waste the chance to kill them both while Sisi was unconscious.

It was Ruela who saved them, and in exchange, she was now teetering on the edge of death.

When Sisi first demoted Ruela to a sweeping maid, she only wanted to teach her a lesson about not trusting the wrong people, becuase Leah clearly hated her own mistress. But Ruela had clearly learned that lesson by now.

She might not be the sharpest tool in the shed, but she wasn’t evil—at least not by Sisi’s judgment.

’I owe her my life,’ Sisi thought. ’I can’t wait any longer to deal with that ambitious woman.’

She had hoped to delay dealing with Leah until the end of spring, becuase she wanted to settle down first and also took care of Jojo. But the longer she ignored that ambitious maid, the more dangerous she became.

"Call that maid. I want her here right now."

"Yes, Mistress."

**

Leah was busy devising a plan to kill Ruela before she woke up, but she knew Ruela must be well-guarded now, since she was a key witness.

’Then I need to divert their attention first,’ Leah planned meticulously. ’This is dangerous, but if I can kill her, then I’ve finished my job and can continue with another plan.’

Her thoughts were interrupted when Diane arrived and summoned her again.

Leah was irritated by the old raccoon who kept questioning her, but she resumed her timid act and bowed.

"I-Is there something I can do, Mrs. Diane?"

"Mistress Sisi has awakened and wants to see you," Diane said. "Now."

The way Diane stared at her sent a chill down Leah’s spine. But refusing would only raise more suspicion.

Thus, she reluctantly followed the head maid to the main chamber.

Diane entered first, followed by Leah.

The moment Leah stepped inside, she almost jolted in fright. Sisi and Diane were watching her closely, as if they had already decided she was the culprit.

Which wasn’t wrong—but without concrete proof, Sisi couldn’t simply execute her. Right? It’d make her look bad and unjust if she did that.

"Did you call for me, Mistress?" Leah asked politely, lowering her head.

"You may leave, Diane," Sisi ordered.

"But, Mistress—"

"It’s an order."

Diane hesitated. Leaving the Mistress and the Little Prince alone with Leah was dangerous. But she could not disobey.

Thus, she exited and stood guard outside.

Leah grew even more nervous now that she was alone with Sisi and the sleeping wolf pup, for some reason, she had a gist that Sisi had read her like an open book.

Sisi continued stroking Jojo’s fur to soothe him, but her gaze was sharp—like a hawk watching prey.

Then, without warning, she said:

"Do you want to admit it now, or should we take the long way, Leah?"