The Bonds We Forge
"Please look after my child."
It had all started with that simple request. With the one she had trusted and followed gone from this world, she had thought the task might offer some small solace in an otherwise aimless existence.
He was the flesh and blood of a man for whom she had harbored quiet, unspoken affections. No—he was the offspring of an exalted sovereign far beyond her reach.
And so, on a whim, she had taken the boy in. She intended to soothe the tedium of her remaining days by playing the nursemaid, turning a chore into a distraction for her hollow life.
In the beginning, it had been nothing more than innocent parenting.
"Ah... good morning..."
"You are awake. Why are you cowering so early in the morning?"
"...It's nothing."
Around the time the boy shot up in height and his voice began to deepen, an unfamiliar tension crept into the air.
She noticed that he had started avoiding her gaze. He spent more and more time cooped up in his room, even taking it upon himself to empty his own wastebasket.
Is he learning to be independent? Well, I suppose every fledgling must leave the nest eventually.
She had thought nothing of it at the time. Seeing him manage on his own what he once begged her to do had even filled her with quiet pride. Up until that point, there was nothing amiss.
Knock, knock, knock. Click.
"Whew... Auntie, what's up?"
"...It is nothing. I only wanted to see how you were doing..."
There was that one afternoon when she had gone to his room to ask a sudden question, only to beat a hasty retreat, her head spinning from the sultry, thick musk hanging in the air.
What was that? A scent like chestnut blossoms... And why on earth is my body reacting like this...?
It was a sensation she had never known. Blood rushed to her fingertips, a heavy pulse throbbed low in her abdomen, and an unbidden wetness leaked from between her thighs.
Once she realized that she was, in fact, in heat, her decision was swift.
"A situation has arisen at work. It seems I must travel overseas, so you will have to look after yourself from now on, Ihyeon."
She decided to leave him.
"...Do you really have to go?"
"It cannot be helped."
Because if I stay, I do not know when I might pounce on you.
She swallowed the confession whole. Uttering such depraved, incestuous desires to a boy who had not even come of age was an unforgivable sin.
"I will keep in touch."
With that, she bid him farewell. As a Celestial Fox, she had plenty of retainers to tend to mundane affairs on his behalf, and the Academy where she would reside was practically next door to his home anyway.
Three years slipped by. The promised twenty years came to an end, and soon enough, representatives from the Four Divine Halls arrived on her doorstep.
"I have heard much of you. Yu Cheonghwa of the Blue Dragon Hall greets the esteemed Celestial Fox."
Judging by the girl's poised speech and disciplined posture, she was likely the one destined to remain by Hwan Ihyeon's side.
"Have you come searching for Ihyeon?"
"No, we have already met. Most fortunately, he summoned me to his side."
"Such a feat was possible?"
"Had his spirit power been sufficient, all four of us would have assembled at once."
A remarkably clever girl. The moment she arrived, she had settled the boy's Academy registration and dormitory arrangements in the blink of an eye. How she had uncovered Yeoryeong's presence here remained a mystery.
"The Blue Dragon Hall has a bright future ahead."
"You flatter me."
Even so, one could never be certain what lay beneath that courteous mask. The Blue Dragon Hall Master's dubious schemes over the years had quietly bred distrust, so a measure of vigilance was only prudent.
"I hear he is currently confined to a hospital bed?"
"Yes."
Worry pinched her chest, but she told herself he would be fine. Hearing that the child from the Vermilion Bird Hall was hovering close meant he would shake it off and bounce back without trouble.
"I shall ask one final question. What are your feelings toward the one who will be your master?"
"He is the one I must trust and follow, body and soul."
At the very least, there was no deceit in her voice.
"I shall take my leave now."
"Please, take good care of Ihyeon."
With that, the scion of the Blue Dragon took her leave. Barring any misfortune, she would spend the rest of her days glued to his side. Given that Ihyeon was an exceptionally vigorous young man, perhaps they might even have children together...
"Mmh. I find that prospect rather displeasing."
A petty bitterness settled in her chest. It was the same resentment she had once harbored toward Ihyeon's mother—no, perhaps an envy even more venomous and suffocating than before.
Yet what right did Geum Yeoryeong have to intervene? As his guardian, her only duty was to pray for the child's happiness from afar.
"I knew it was wrong. That was why I tried so hard to put distance between myself and Ihyeon."
"..."
My aunt sure had a knack for dramatic storytelling. How could anyone stretch the simple fact that she got horny from smelling my dried semen and ran away into such an epic tragic saga?
"Creepy as hell," Yu Ryun muttered bluntly.
"...Ngh!" Auntie flinched violently at the jab.
"So, after holding out for so long, why throw it all away now?"
"I heard that when one's vital energy is depleted, gathering yin to nourish yang is effective..."
"Still making excuses, I see."
"...I am sorry. I succumbed to my carnal urges and pounced on Ihyeon."
"Shouldn't that apology be directed at Master?"
"Sniff... Ihyeon, I'm... I am so sorry..."
Before I knew it, I was on the receiving end of a weeping apology. Her tear-streaked face looked so pitiful it was almost comical.
"I mean, finding out you went into heat just from smelling my cum was a bit of a turn-off, honestly."
"..."
"Still, I don't really mind. It might be weird, but if this repays the kindness of raising me, isn't it fine?"
"...Truly?"
"Yeah."
Thankfully, the tears dried up. Even so, Cheonghwa and the rest of the girls were glaring at her with cold, unimpressed eyes.
"If Master bears no grudge, then we have nothing more to say on the matter. However..."
"What is it?"
"Would you mind granting us a moment to speak among ourselves?"
In other words: We have things to settle with her, so scram for a bit.
"Is it something I shouldn't hear?"
"I will brief you once we are finished."
"...All right."
I pushed myself up from my seat. Cheonghwa usually had a good head on her shoulders, so she probably had a plan.
Slide, click.
A smart man knows better than to intrude on some wholesome girl talk, after all.
"Do you have more to say to me?" Yeoryeong asked the moment the door clicked shut behind Ihyeon.
"Cheonghwa, what do you have in mind?"
"Shouldn't we establish proper discipline? For a bitch in heat who dared lay hands on Master without his consent."
"Mind your tongue. I may owe you an apology, but I will not sit here and be insulted by a child."
"It seems you still fail to grasp your situation."
"My situation?" What situation could she possibly mean? Sitting stark naked before them was humiliating enough, but that was hardly what the girl was driving at.
"Though we may be bound as servants, each of us is destined to become the sovereign head of a divine beast clan guarding the four cardinal directions."
"And what of it?"
"Whereas you, regardless of your supposed virtue and renown, are nothing more than a stray fox monster, are you not?"
"...Get to the point."
"You will enter into a master-servant contract with him. Once you do, the four of us will naturally be your seniors in Master's service, and you will accord us the deference we deserve."
"..." Yeoryeong found herself momentarily robbed of speech.
"You are telling me... to serve Ihyeon as his subordinate?"
"Why shouldn't you? Master is the most exalted sovereign in this land."
"B-But..."
"Did you honestly harbor delusions of becoming his consort? A monster's greed should know its bounds. Refuse, and we will do everything within our power to cast you out."
"..."
"For your information, even when the Saintess expressed her desire to remain by Master's side, he sought our consent first. If we oppose you, Master will take our side."
"This is extortion."
"Yes."
Surrender total authority. Bow your head to Hwan Ihyeon as your lord. That was their ultimatum. If she refused, they would sever the bond between her and the boy forever.
"...Very well. In truth, I prefer having our boundaries clearly defined."
It was hardly a sacrifice. Now that her body and soul yearned for him so desperately, a formal title of submission was a trivial price to pay.
"Hey, Yu Cheonghwa. Wasn't forming a pact with the Hwan bloodline supposed to be our exclusive right?"
"It is mandatory for the four of us. That does not mean others are barred from submitting."
"...Is that how it works?"
And so, another master-servant contract was added to Hwan Ihyeon's growing ledger.
"Master?"
"Look, I told you not to call me that..."
"How could I not, when it feels so delicious on my tongue?"
The contract had gone off without a hitch. The second I stepped back into the room, Aunt Yeoryeong threw herself at me, binding her soul to mine in a master-servant pact that by rights should have been established before I was even born.
The only unusual twist was that the four girls—Cheonghwa, Yu Ryun, Seolhwi, and Jinyul—were granted a faint trace of the Word of Command over my aunt.
"So long as it does not bring harm to Master, we require sufficient authority to prevent her from using her seniority to push us aside."
While the Word of Command I wielded was an absolute decree that brooked no resistance, the command given to the girls functioned more like an irresistible suggestion or gentle coercion.
"Ihyeon has two sides, you know. Yu Ryun, wouldn't you be happier taking the other one?"
As if compensating for the years of separation, Aunt Yeoryeong clung tightly to my flank. Her voice had softened into the melting, honeyed purr of an affectionate older woman, just like last night.
"Auntie..."
"I told you to stop calling me that."
"...Yeoryeong Noona."
Dropping honorifics completely felt too brazen, so 'Noona' was the middle ground we settled on.
"Ehehe...❤️"
"Unbelievable. Are you really that head over heels for him?"
Our radically altered dynamic felt dizzying and surreal. Still, if this was what it took to bring happiness to Yeoryeong Noo... na, I could live with it.
"Won't you move into the Principal's Residence from now on? It is far too bleak and cavernous for me to live there alone... I would be overjoyed if you stayed by my side, Ihyeon."
"Should we?"
We agreed to relocate so everyone could live under one roof. It was bound to be far more comfortable than cramming into a dormitory, at any rate.
Trading idle chatter, we set off toward Jinyul.
Toward the northern expanse ruled by the Black Tortoise.