After Becoming Pregnant With The Empress Cat's Cub - Chapter 29

If you don’t take a love-brain like this with you, they’ll be swindled sooner or later.

As Little Landmine shouted, she exerted every ounce of strength to control her restless, agitated mental power, successfully transforming one beastly claw back into a human hand. She quickly drew the weapon at her waist and pressed the switch, a flash of silver light erupted as a lightsword manifested in her hand!

Despite feeling her knees buckling under the pressure, fearing she might collapse, Little Landmine didn’t budge an inch. “Who are you? The Princess’s chambers are not a place for insolence!”

A continuous wave of mental coercion struck. Little Landmine couldn’t hold out, after shouting her warning, she fell to her knees with a heavy thud. Her exposed beast ears trembled violently in a sudden gust of wind that swept through the flat ground. Realizing she was completely outmatched and that her physical weapon couldn’t suppress the opponent’s mental power, Little Landmine reached with a shaking hand for the alarm on her wrist.

The incident happened so suddenly that Lan Ye hadn’t reacted at all before Little Landmine threw herself in front of her. Hearing the shout, Lan Ye realized someone had arrived, but with Little Landmine blocking her view, she couldn’t see who it was! Carefully protecting the white cat in her arms, Lan Ye tried to get a look at the newcomer just as Little Landmine collapsed to the floor!

With her line of sight suddenly clear, Lan Ye saw Rin standing at the palace doors! Unlike her previous entrance where she kicked the doors down with a “descending from the heavens” vibe, this time she had appeared silently. Lan Ye had no idea how long she had been standing there.

“You’re back.”

Her tensed nerves instantly relaxed. Lan Ye hurriedly set the cat down and reached out to support Little Landmine. “It’s okay, Little Landmine, she’s one of us.” Lan Ye grasped Little Landmine’s hand, effectively stopping her from pressing the alarm.

Rin looked at their joined hands, her eyes, dark as the night, growing even more somber. Little Landmine struggled to push herself up, only to have her knees hit the floor again. She stubbornly stayed on her knees to shield Lan Ye. “Be careful…”

Lan Ye immediately saw that something was wrong. She looked up at the silent figure by the door. “Rin, stop!”

This was likely the “mental power” of the beastmen. Lan Ye didn’t quite understand the specifics of what it was, but she knew it was a powerful force, high-level mental power could suppress lower levels. Little Landmine, shielding Lan Ye, couldn’t hear what she was saying. She spread her arms wide to protect her, gasping out, “Run… Lan Ye… run!”

The newcomer was too powerful. Little Landmine had never felt such formidable mental power, even speaking a single word was an ordeal. Hearing the sound of wind rushing past her ears, Little Landmine’s eyes filled with terror. Oh no! She looked back, only to see the person who had been at the door was already standing right in front of them!

Lan Ye blinked in shock. Teleportation?! Although she had witnessed Rin’s speed at the bus station before, seeing it again still left her incredibly stunned.

Rin’s gaze swept over the person on the floor. Following their joined hands, she looked at Lan Ye, her amber eyes appearing as if clouded with gray. “Who is she?”

Lan Ye snapped back to reality. “Hurry up and put away that mental power of yours!” A surge of heat was already churning in her stomach, even more intense than when Rin had appeared in the King’s Great Hall.

As soon as Lan Ye spoke, the hand she was holding suddenly turned into a massive cat paw. Lan Ye’s heart leaped. She looked at Little Landmine and saw large beads of sweat break out on her forehead. “Stop it! This is my friend, Little Landmine. You’ve seen her before!”

Assuming Rin had mistaken Little Landmine for an intruder, Lan Ye explained while hugging the massive beast-form paw. Seeing Little Landmine in pain, Lan Ye didn’t know how to soothe her, so she could only gently squeeze the paw’s pads.

Rin looked at the human’s hand, and her already furrowed brow tightened further. She stepped forward, grabbed the human’s wrist, and pulled Lan Ye up from the floor. Thud. The massive beast paw Lan Ye had been holding fell back to the ground.

Lan Ye: !

Looking at that paw, Rin remembered she had seen this beastman before, in a video Si Qing had sent her. It was the beastman who had boldly proposed to the human, and upon learning the human was married, expressed a willingness to wait, eventually taking “Love Queue Number 2” from her.

It was her.

Once her paw hit the floor, Little Landmine felt the pressure intensify. Her two beast paws felt as if they were glued to the ground, impossible to lift. No, I have to hold on!

Seeing Little Landmine look even more pained, Lan Ye swatted at Rin. “Withdraw your mental power! This is Little Landmine, did you forget? You’ve seen her picture, the cutest beastman in the whole kindergarten!” Now she was collapsed on the floor in agony, it was heartbreaking to watch.

Hearing the human’s words, a light flickered in Rin’s eyes. This was the beastman the human had touched the ears of and wanted to take home… And now she had brought her into her own palace.

Little Landmine had earned her place in the Royal Guard by outperforming tens of thousands of candidates from the nine central districts, she had true grit. Even under this level of coercion, her mental power did not collapse. Concentrating fiercely, she regained some control over her paws. Just as she tried to push herself up, a much stronger wave of pressure crashed down. She felt as if her bones had been removed without support, she collapsed heavily onto the floor.

Lan Ye: !

Why is it getting worse?! Can’t Rin hear me? We’re on the same side! Just as she was about to speak again, the person who had been silent finally spoke.

Rin looked at the uniform on the beastman on the floor. “A guard?”

Good heavens, she finally realized! Lan Ye quickly said, “Yes! She’s your guard. Hurry and withdraw your mental power. Don’t let it be friendly fire!”

“One of us?” Rin looked at Lan Ye, thinking of the scene she saw when she entered, that picture of a “happy family of three.” Who is “one of us” with her…

Little Landmine felt a sharp pain in her chest as the pressure intensified again!

“Are you going to stop or not? If you don’t, I’m going to bite you!” Seeing the suffering Little Landmine, Lan Ye didn’t know what Rin was acting up about. There was no time to figure it out now, so she grabbed Rin’s hand and threatened her.

At the word “bite,” a memory suddenly surfaced in Rin’s mind. Three weeks ago, on the day they separated, in that classroom… In the darkness, this human had sat on her and bitten her…

Rin pursed her lips, feeling that strange sensation on them again. It wasn’t painful, but it was very “itchy.” The mental power she had been releasing recklessly suddenly retracted like a little monster that had its antenna bitten.

Rin gripped the human’s hand in return. Just as she was about to ask where she intended to bite, a shout came from the floor.

“Let go of Lan Ye!”

Finding she could move again, Little Landmine ignored the pain from her agitated mental power and struggled to crawl up to save the “captured” Lan Ye. “Lan Ye… don’t be afraid…”

Lan Ye: ?

Seeing Little Landmine’s frantic state, Lan Ye wondered if she hadn’t heard what she just said. What was there to be afraid of? “Little Landmine, don’t be nervous. This is the Princess, the person you’re supposed to guard. She’s not a bad person!”

“Even the Princess… can’t bully Lan Ye…” Little Landmine struggled to rise. “Let go of Lan Ye!”

Lan Ye: …? Did she get brain damage?

Lan Ye turned to Rin, her eyes full of accusation. This mental power had likely scrambled Little Landmine’s brains! No wonder these beastmen all seemed a bit dim-witted, they must have been traumatized like this regularly. Hadn’t she spoken clearly enough? They were all on the same side, yet neither of these two seemed to understand human speech!

The key issue was that she couldn’t see or feel this “mental power.” It would be better if they just started a physical fight, then she could stand on the sidelines like a female lead and shout, “Stop fighting!”

Lan Ye tried to help Little Landmine up, but both her hands were held by Rin. She pulled twice but couldn’t get them free. In that position, she explained to Little Landmine again, “Little Landmine, don’t be tense. She won’t hurt me. She’s Rin, my wife, the one I told you about.”

At those last two words, Rin’s ears, hidden under her hair, twitched slightly.

Little Landmine noticed the pressure on her had lessened further, and the feeling of mental control had vanished. The beast-form she had exposed could now be reverted to human form. Seeing Little Landmine’s hand turn back to human, Lan Ye breathed a sigh of relief. She knew that besides voluntary transformation, beastmen only showed their beast traits when their mental power was unstable. Being able to return to human form meant her mental power was fine!

Alarm deactivated!

Rin looked at the person standing up and spoke, her brow furrowed. “Leave.” Her voice was majestic and cold as ice, pure indifference.

Lan Ye looked at her in surprise. It was the first time she had heard Rin speak in that tone. Seeing Little Landmine about to say something, Lan Ye quickly interrupted, “Little Landmine, go outside for a bit.”

She could tell Rin was in a bad mood, likely having been mistreated by the King. Back in the Great Hall, she had seen that their relationship was strained, perhaps even terrible, otherwise Rin wouldn’t have run away, and the King wouldn’t have lacked even her contact information. That suggested they hadn’t spoken since she left. A traumatic childhood, Lan Ye concluded. Even a Princess has her own family baggage.

She quickly winked at Little Landmine. “I’m fine, really. You go first.” Lan Ye gestured toward the glowing sword on the floor, signaling her to put it away. It was all a misunderstanding. Little Landmine had thought a villain had arrived and wanted to protect her. Thinking about how hard Little Landmine had worked to become a Royal Guard, only to offend her boss on her first day of work, Lan Ye felt responsible. “I’m fine, seriously. Don’t worry. Go do your job well. I’ll put in a good word for you with the management.”

As Lan Ye spoke, she shook her hands. Because Rin was holding them, this movement caused Rin’s hands to shake along with hers. The posture looked incredibly childish. Rin lowered her eyes slightly to hide her discomfort.

Little Landmine looked at the somber figure. She was still worried. A Princess who released mental power without a word seemed to have a very bad temper. Lan Ye saw the hesitation in Little Landmine’s eyes and kept shaking her hands. “Oh, look, I’m really okay. You were the one who fell down just now, and I was perfectly fine. She’s protecting me.”

Hearing this, Little Landmine realized that was true. Lan Ye seemed completely unharmed. This bad tempered Princess protected Lan Ye while releasing her mental power? Soon, Little Landmine found a reason: Lan Ye was pregnant.

Thinking of this, she felt a bit more at ease. Despite the grim gaze fixed on her, she had to say some things, even if it meant losing her position. “Even a Princess cannot bully people. Lan Ye is pregnant. If you hurt her, I will definitely bring you to the Tribunal!”

The Tribunal? What’s that? Lan Ye looked at Little Landmine in confusion, while simultaneously feeling moved. Even without knowing what it was, she could guess it wasn’t a nice place. Little Landmine was worried about her being bullied and was warning Rin. Had she forgotten whose guard she was? Lan Ye felt both amused and touched. And as for the pregnancy, why did she need to remind Rin? She was carrying Rin’s child!

In any case, she had to get her to leave. “I’m fine, really. Just go. Work hard, okay?”

After a moment of thought, Little Landmine nodded helplessly. “I’ll be right outside.” With that, she left the Princess’s chambers, looking back every three steps.

After watching Little Landmine leave, Lan Ye noticed she had left the palace doors wide open… and then she stood there like a door god, gripping a sword and staring at them… Lan Ye’s eyelid twitched.

After a long silence, she turned to Rin and spoke in a low voice only the two of them could hear. “She’s a bit… simple-minded. Please don’t hold it against her. Also, she worked really hard to become a Royal Guard. You can’t fire her because of what just happened.”

Rin looked down at the human who had leaned in close. Her voice was even colder than before. “You care about her that much?”

Lan Ye nodded. “She’s my friend. She was just trying to protect me.” Seeing Rin’s displeased expression, Lan Ye shook their joined hands. “Look at it from another angle, she was frantically protecting your wife and child.”

Hearing those last four words, Rin felt as though it wasn’t just her hands being shaken. Her expression softened slightly, though her gaze remained serious. It was a look that seemed to say, ‘Do you still remember whose wife you are?’

Rin thought back to the scene she had witnessed upon entering the chambers. That picture… it really did look like they were the “family of three.”

Meeting Rin’s sharp gaze, Lan Ye let out an “Ouch” and pulled her hands back to cover her abdomen. Rin’s heart skipped a beat. “What’s wrong?” She looked at the human’s stomach and immediately sensed the mental power she had partitioned off to protect her, there seemed to be no abnormality.

Lan Ye looked at Rin with a pained expression. “I think the kitten was startled.” She patted her chest, looking frightened. “I’m scared too. Your face… it’s so terrifying.”

Hearing this, Rin realized the human was “playing” with her again. Despite knowing it wasn’t real, Rin relaxed her stiff expression and helped her sit down on the sofa.

The cat, which had been watching them from the sofa, seemed to have a flicker of amusement in its aged eyes. “Meow~” As soon as the human sat down, it called out to Rin.

Rin leaned forward to pick up the cat. The feline happily rubbed against her face, and Rin responded by nuzzling its head. Her icy demeanor melted into tenderness, a smile reaching her eyes.

Lan Ye was astonished. “This is your cat?”

The cat stopped its nuzzling and looked from Rin’s arms at the human who had been hugging and petting it without a second thought earlier. “Meow~~”

Rin’s lips curled into a smile. She introduced the cat to Lan Ye: “This is my sister.”

Lan Ye nearly choked on her own spit. “What? Your sister?” She stared wide-eyed at the white cat in Rin’s arms. It was certainly an old cat, but hearing Rin so seriously claim a cat was her sister felt, at first, somewhat hilarious to Lan Ye.

Rin stroked the cat’s head. “Yes. She’s twenty years old.” A flash of sadness crossed her eyes. This age was exceptionally long-lived for a cat… if she still couldn’t shapeshift… there likely wasn’t much time left.

“Meow~” The cat seemed to sense Rin’s low spirits and began nuzzling her again, only stopping once Rin was smiling once more. The cat was very old, even these simple movements seemed to take effort. It lay down on Rin’s lap and looked at the human. There seemed to be a smile on its aged face. “Meow~ Meow meow~~”

Rin acted as the translator. She looked at the human, a hint of a smile in her eyes. “She says she’s very happy to meet you.”

Lan Ye: “Ah? Oh, okay.” Uncertain whether Rin was joking or serious, Lan Ye gave the cat a bright smile. “I’m very happy to meet you too, Cat Sister.” She instinctively reached out to scratch the little head but suddenly remembered this was Rin’s sister, the gesture seemed inappropriate. She hadn’t expected the white cat to have such a high status… Thinking about what she had done before Rin arrived, hadn’t she basically been manhandling Rin’s sister? That… should be fine, right?

“Meow~ Meow meow meow~” The cat’s cry pulled Lan Ye back from her thoughts. Thinking it was directed at her again, she looked over, only to see the cat had its head tilted back, looking at Rin.

Rin nodded. “Okay.”

Cat Sister: “Meow~~~ Meow~”

Rin smiled. “Mm, see you later.” With that, Lan Ye saw Rin pick up Cat Sister. She instinctively stood up as well.

“Meow~”