The Heavenly White Tiger Matriarch's Fierce Examination
The night grew deeper, and my heart beat with a force it had never known before, pounding like a war drum against my ribs.
I lay sprawled across the bed, tugging the blanket up to my chin and rolling my feet beneath it in lazy circles.
“Hehe…”
I couldn’t hold back the laughter bubbling up from my lips. Tonight was the most perfect day of my entire life.
The White Tiger Lord had devoured my Galbi-jjim, and the image was burned into my memory—how he chewed with such relish, sauce glistening on his whiskers, each bite a little more heavenly than the last.
I could still feel the warm, soft, faintly sweet press of that noble paw pad against my skin.
*Warm… soft… smells so good…*
Even as the strongest rivals in the palace prepared to pounce, I had won. I had conquered his stomach with food, and now the path to a marriage proposal lay wide open before me.
Tomorrow I would feed him something even better.
The thought of him, belly full and swaying, letting me wrap my arms around him and pull him close made the corners of my mouth curl upward.
*I can’t wait for tomorrow… this is the first time I’ve ever felt this happy.*
With that new, wonderful emotion blooming in my chest, I closed my eyes.
Whoosh—
I jolted awake to an icy blast that sliced straight through my bones.
Beyond the mere chill, a razor-sharp freezing wind carved through my very soul.
“Eh…?”
I blinked, scanning the room.
Just moments ago I had been warm and safe in the Imperial Palace bedroom, but the scene now was nothing like home.
An endless expanse of pure white snow stretched to the horizon.
A blizzard howled so violently that the sky and ground blurred into one. Every breath I took felt as though my lungs were already turning to ice.
“Where… where am I?”
This was no ordinary eternal snow of the East. The sheer, unfathomable presence pressing down on me made my body shrink instinctively.
Even as a Divine Beast myself, the aura here was so overwhelming that the very space felt crushed beneath it.
Uwoooong—
The air suddenly grew heavy.
Countless invisible needles pricked at my skin, and a bone-chilling killing intent crushed down on me like an avalanche.
“……!”
I froze solid.
My body would not move. It was as if I had been turned into a herbivore staring down the jaws of a massive predator.
With immense effort I lifted my head. Through the swirling snow, dozens of colossal figures emerged—massive white tigers, their coats fluffy and muscular, their eyes blazing with cold, piercing blue light as they encircled me.
[You dare.]
[To even set foot in my presence, you filthy mongrel.]
Their voices slammed into my mind like thunder.
The pinnacle of the White Tiger lineage—Divine Beasts of the highest order—were glaring down at me with undisguised contempt and fury.
A mere Haetae daring to challenge the bloodline of the White Tigers? This was an insult.
“Ugh…”
My legs gave out. I collapsed right there on the snow, the immense difference in power crushing any hope of resistance.
In the East I was revered, but here I was nothing more than a puppy.
The gap was that vast.
Then one of them stepped forward.
Slightly larger than the others, with the most lethal aura, she radiated an elegant yet deadly beauty.
The female White Tiger approached me slowly, deliberately, her icy blue eyes locking onto mine like twin blades.
If Blanc’s eyes were clear spring lakes, hers were the frozen snowstorm itself.
[So you are the one.]
Her voice wrapped around my heart like a vice.
[You, the filthy wretch who dared to touch my child.]
“……!”
I knew instantly. This killing intent was that of a mother protecting her offspring.
Her fangs hovered inches from my throat. One more push and my life would end.
She growled, breath freezing my fur, teeth bared.
[Haetae trash, you dare covet our last heir? Marriage? Even speaking such brazen nonsense is enough to tear you apart and exterminate your entire lineage.]
“Kuk…”
I couldn’t even draw breath.
Her aura pressed down like physical weight on my neck.
I lay flat on the snow, trembling in pure terror, unable to utter a single word of plea.
I was going to die.
The other White Tigers sent their own killing intent toward me, their eyes growing even colder.
[An Eastern hybrid.]
[The disparity is too great. The White Tiger bloodline amuses you?]
[The Western human girl is at least tolerable. She truly serves the child.]
[Yes, she can be kept as a nurse or servant.]
Their words made my small body shrink even further.
Princess Kylian and Saintess Lina meant nothing to them. They would die in a hundred years at most. They could never become a companion to a Divine Beast of eternity.
I was just a fleeting caretaker to them.
But I was different.
I was a Divine Beast. I had lived for nearly eternal time, and I could spend it beside Blanc.
That was why they could not tolerate me.
[Yet you… you dare stand on equal ground with us?]
[Send her corpse back to the East as a warning. Do not step on our clan.]
In their eyes I was no longer a Divine Beast, but a crawling, low-life puppy who didn’t know its place.
Her fangs brushed my neck. Just a fraction more pressure and my throat would be torn open.
[Enough.]
The words reverberated through the space like a bell, shattering the killing intent as if it had never existed.
I gasped and raised my head.
Atop the highest boulder, a single massive White Tiger sat like a mountain. He descended slowly, each step shaking the snow, his gaze neither as savage as the others nor as cold. It was the eyes of a judge who saw through everything.
[My grandchild eats well. That is praise enough. The food of the West never sits right with me.]
The other White Tigers snorted in dissatisfaction, but they dared not voice complaint.
He looked down at me gently.
[Little Haetae. I have only one question.]
“Y-yes…”
[Can you cherish my grandchild—Blanc—not as a White Tiger, but as the child he truly is? Place your horn on the line for this.]
This was the deciding moment of my life. One lie and I would die instantly.
My mind was muddled with terror and pressure, but even in the haze, the image of Blanc’s soft paw pad rose clearly in my thoughts.
“Y-yes…”
My voice cracked. I swallowed hard, forcing my trembling body upright.
“Y-yes! I will guard him with my life until my very last breath, feeding him nothing but delicious food every single day!”
Silence fell.
My desperate answer scattered on the mountain wind.
The mother White Tiger let out a mocking snort of her own.
[Such pretty words.]
He studied me for a long moment, as if reading the very depths of my soul.
Then he gave a small nod.
[You speak from the heart. The scent is good.]
He flicked his tail once against the snow.
[Go. I will let you leave today. But remember this—our clan watches over you always. The moment you harbor any ill intention, you will be erased from this world.]
It was not an agreement, only a fleeting mercy.
That alone filled me with relief and hope once more. I could touch that soft paw pad again.
I tried to thank him, but no words came out.
Suddenly the mother White Tiger stepped closer and whispered in my ear.
Her blue eyes glittered coldly.
[Do not misunderstand. I do not acknowledge you. I am simply enduring my father’s displeasure.]
[If you ever make my child unhappy or cause even a single tear to fall from his eyes…]
Her voice was ice.
[I will freeze the entire Eastern Continent, then devour your soul whole. Do you understand?]
“……!!”
I couldn’t even scream. I only nodded frantically, and the world flashed white as I was dragged out of the dream.
---
The Haetae aura vanished completely from the snowy mountain. The moment she disappeared, the terrifying killing intent that had raged moments before simply died away, and the White Tigers’ atmosphere relaxed instantly.
*Hmmm. Did I scare her too much? She was about to faint.*
One of the other White Tigers flicked her tail in amusement.
*That’s right. Even as a Haetae, she had guts. Most would have run the second they sensed that killing intent, but she never looked away.*
*She really meant it. I could smell sincerity in her thoughts about him.*
*Hah, a horned puppy, but at least her words weren’t empty. That’s something.*
*Ah, I hope Blanc grows up quickly. When he’s a bit bigger I’ll have him come out in his dreams and play with us.*
The White Tigers who had glared at her with murderous intent only moments ago now clustered together and began discussing the Haetae’s results as if nothing had happened.
They had intended to test her because a certain outsider had dared to challenge their precious last heir, but it turned out the Haetae’s heart was surprisingly sincere.
*Still, compared to humans, she’s far better. Lifespans are similar too.*
One White Tiger shook his head at the ancient grandfather, laughing heartily.
*That’s not something to worry about. The child’s aura is already so strong. Those human kids… they won’t live out their full lifespans beside him. They’re already overwhelmed by the Divine Beast’s aura just from being near Blanc. Once he reaches adulthood, they might live for hundreds of years—or even longer.*
*Oh, our youngest is so clever!!*
*Then perhaps we should accept those humans not just as servants but as family. The child seemed to like them quite a bit.*
The White Tigers all wore pleased smiles at the thought of Blanc’s abilities. The last heir of their clan was outstanding, after all, so their shoulders lifted with pride.
But only the mother White Tiger remained scowling, her nose flaring.
*Hmph. Disgusting.*
She scratched the snow with her paw in irritation.
*[Sincerity or not, no one is allowed to challenge my child. Our little one is so beautiful—how dare they suggest giving him to such a horned dog?]*
*Heh heh, daughter. But doesn’t he like Blanc? He praised your Galbi-jjim, you know.*
The grandfather tried to comfort her, but her eyes still burned with rage. To her, Blanc was more precious than anything. No daughter-in-law would ever be good enough.
*I’ll be watching. The moment there’s even the slightest mistake, I’ll kill you.*
She muttered somewhere, the true emotions hidden behind her killing intent spilling out.
*Our little one… he hasn’t even had his fur brushed once yet… I have to be the one to groom him… those humans and the Haetae have stolen my place… I want to touch him too, our Blanc. I want to bury my face in his belly…*