At that moment, there was a soft click, and the door was pushed open from the inside.
A little boy, his face expressionless and his lips pressed tight, stood in the doorway.
Catriona almost gasped as she saw him. She lowered her gaze to her own son, then looked back at the boy at the door.
She had never been so shocked before!!
"You're that little dog—oh no, sorry, I mistook you; you're a little wolf cub???"
The boy nodded in acknowledgment.
Catriona tugged at her hair, feeling like her brain cells were about to burn out. "No, this is just too much of a resemblance." If she didn't know for sure that she had only one child, she might have thought they were twins.
Did relatives of the werewolf pack really look so alike as cubs? She recalled a time when a big dog in the village had four cubs, all identical, distinguishable only by size.
Was it the same with the werewolf?
She walked over with her son and squatted down. "Let me introduce myself; I'm Catriona, but you can just call me Miss Catriona."
The boy stared at her and said word by word, "Catriona."
Uh...
This child.
Catriona's smile faltered for a moment, but she brushed it off and looked at her son. "His name is Cedric. He's one year older than you; he's your brother."
The boy tugged at the corners of his mouth, seeming to smirk coldly.
Catriona was taken aback; did she just see that child smirk?
"Well, you can call us whatever you like."
The boy bluntly stated, "Cedric."
Cedric huffed, "Nightblade!"
The boy fell silent for a moment before adding, "The gold bars are for Catriona; don't you like them?"
Catriona awkwardly waved her hand. "You're Cedric's relative; just make yourself at home here. Don't feel shy. Let your parents take the gold bars back."
So, who exposed her tacky preferences?!
The boy's face remained stern as he stared at her. "If you don't want them; just throw them away."
Catriona thought, this little prince sure speaks his mind.
Never mind; why should she take a child seriously? He didn't understand the value of gold bars. Even in the Nightblade, they couldn't treat gold bars like scrap paper.
She would just return them to his parents in half a month.
She picked up the box, ready to go inside.
But when she lifted it, she couldn't budge it.
"Mommy, I'll help you!"
The boy frowned and came over, and together they managed to bring the gold bars inside.
Catriona let out a sigh of relief, thinking of how Silas had lifted it effortlessly just a moment ago.
"By the way, I haven't asked for your name yet."
"Mommy, he's called Nightblade!"
"This should be his family name, right?" Catriona smiled.
However, seeing how the child was quiet and seemed unwilling to talk, Catriona didn't press further. At first, she had thought they looked quite alike, but their personalities were completely different.
This child clearly had a bit of a spoiled temperament.
She went to prepare the other room, planning for the two brothers to share it. Her son was five now; it was time for him to have a private room.
As she made the bed, the boy stood in the doorway, watching her intently.
"Um, Sweetie, could you share some of your toys with your cousin? If not, we can go buy him some later."
Cedric pulled a pile of toys from his toy box and looked at the boy, huffing, "Here for you."
The boy pressed his lips together. "No need; I don't play with toys."
"Mommy, he doesn't play with toys."
"Is that so?" Catriona said as she finished putting the duvet cover on.
"Here." The boy had somehow walked in and handed her a pillow.
"Ah, thank you." Catriona began to put the pillowcase on.
"What do you want to eat, what do you want to play with? Don't be shy."
Cedric came into the room with a toy car. "Mommy, is this his room for tonight?"
Catriona curled her lips into a smile. "This is also your room, you know."
Cedric blinked in confusion. "Isn't my room just Mommy's room?"
Catriona reached out and ruffled her son's hair. "Cedric, you're five now; you've grown up! It's time for you to sleep by yourself."
Cedric looked as if struck by lightning, his amber eyes wide open, his chubby face scrunching up.
While Catriona was comforting her son, she noticed the boy behind her curl his lips into a mischievous smile.
?????
Catriona:...
Catriona couldn't help but think. What's with this wolf cub? Could it be that this is what a truly wild, pure-blooded wolf cub is like?
He was laughing while her son looked so sad.
How...
It unexpectedly reminded her of that occasionally reckless, crazy silly wolf.
At that moment, there was a knock at the door.
She opened the door to see Silas standing there.
"I forgot to mention, Catriona, Roderick has urgent business abroad and will be back in half a month to see you."
Catriona paused for a moment, her face showing nothing. "He has his things to take care of; you don't need to tell me specifically. Oh, is it to explain to our son? I understand."
Her son would ask where his dad had gone, so Roderick sending someone to explain made sense.
After Silas left.
Catriona momentarily lost her focus. Business abroad, business...
She suddenly recalled what Sylvaine had said: the young lady from the White was to be matched with Roderick, and if things went well, they would go abroad together to cultivate their relationship while handling some business.
She froze slightly.
So, Roderick had gone on a date, felt good about it, and was now going abroad with that young lady?
After all, she had rejected him so many times; he had no reason to hang around her.
Everyone had to move forward; everyone had their own lives. He was thirty years old; it was normal. To be fair, she hoped Roderick could find his happiness.
Thinking this, Catriona took a deep breath to calm her racing heart and turned to get a glass of water.
"Be careful," the boy's calm voice rang out as he stood in her way.
Catriona looked down and nearly bumped her knee against the table.
What was going on? The table was in the center of the living room. Hadn't she just left from the door? How had she almost bumped into it? She shook her head, feeling a bit dizzy.
"Thank you."
She went to the water dispenser.
The boy narrowed his eyes slightly, turning around but keeping his gaze fixed on her.
Catriona, a woman whose only hard trait was her head. So hard-headed.
