Chapter 133
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133
Ri-ri’s eyes grew wide and round.
“Did you sleep well last night?”
“Huh? Oh, yes…”
San-yu approached Ri-ri with a gentle smile.
“Why do you look so awkward and tense? It seems you’re still not used to having your brother around.”
He looked genuinely upset, his brows drooping slightly. His refined, delicate appearance made Ri-ri’s face flush a faint red.
“That’s not it at all. Not even a little bit.”
After staring at him blankly, Ri-ri snapped out of it and quickly waved her hands in denial.
“Were you out for a morning stroll? Let your brother join you.”
San-yu spoke affectionately, carefully matching his stride to hers as they walked side by side.
He asked if she had slept soundly and if she had been frightened by the incident the day before.
I guess I was worried for nothing. It doesn’t seem like he dislikes me at all.
Ri-ri gradually realized she had been misunderstanding him this whole time.
San-yu also likes Ri-ri.
That thought made her feel a surge of pride.
Before long, Ri-ri began to chatter away, just as she did in front of her father or Hwa-yu.
“You have no idea how long Ri-ri has been waiting for you. Ever since I heard the news of the victory, I’ve been counting the days until I could meet you like this.”
“Is that so?”
“I had no idea you would be such a wonderful and handsome person.”
“Haha, thank you.”
The conversation, which began with morning pleasantries, gradually shifted into badmouthing So-ya.
“And so, Ri-ri was so upset back then. All because of that fake.”
“Oh dear, I didn’t know such things happened.”
“Even yesterday! Everyone must have been so shocked when that girl we thought was dead suddenly appeared. She certainly is persistent, isn’t she?”
As San-yu played along, Ri-ri grew increasingly excited.
Consequently, she failed to notice it—that the eyes of the man smiling so softly at her held a subtly chilling light.
[There is someone within the Vermilion Bird Clan who tried to harm So-ya.]
San-yu recalled the conversation he’d had just yesterday with the Second Young Lord of the White Tiger Clan.
[Yes, I am aware. My clansmen persecuted her…]
[No, I am not simply referring to their cold treatment. The Three-Legged Crow of the Vermilion Bird Clan made its move. To eliminate So-ya.]
[The Three-Legged Crow… made a move?]
When asked why he had allowed San-yu to meet So-ya, Ga-hyeon had explained.
He told him that the Three-Legged Crow of the Vermilion Bird Clan had tried to get rid of So-ya.
And that the person who had ordered So-ya’s harm five years ago might be here, in this very Imperial Palace, right now.
To San-yu, whose eyes trembled in disbelief, Ga-hyeon had made a request in a steady voice.
[If you are truly sorry to So-ya, if your affection for her is sincere, then please find out who tried to harm her. I am counting on you, Lord San-yu.]
[…]
There were only three people who could command the Three-Legged Crow in his absence.
His father, Hwa-yu, and Ri-ri.
San-yu suspected all three. None of them could be ruled out as a suspect.
He would find them.
And he would make them pay the appropriate price for their crimes.
Even if that person was the head of the Jeok Clan…
How could they do such a thing…
San-yu secretly clenched his fists.
Five years ago, So-ya was only nine years old.
At such a young age, not only was she treated coldly by her family, but she also suffered such a horrific ordeal?
But why?
Simply because she wasn’t related by blood? Because she didn’t have red feathers?
San-yu repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fists inside his sleeves, barely managing to suppress his surging emotions.
Red hair and red eyes…
He glanced at Ri-ri’s red hair and red eyes.
Unlike So-ya, who was as pure white as the first snowfall of winter, Ri-ri possessed the perfect appearance of a direct descendant of the Vermilion Bird.
Above all, this child was said to have crossed the threshold of the Vermilion Bird Mansion holding a red feather that sparkled like flame.
Since his father and Hwa-yu had even confirmed the child’s beast transformation, it was futile to doubt her birth any further.
And yet, the reason he kept feeling this sense of unease toward her was…
Is it because of her personality?
Unlike So-ya, who was kind and resembled their mother, Ri-ri was arrogant and willful, lacking any sense of propriety.
“It would have been better if she’d just died back then instead of showing up now. What if she tries to steal Ri-ri’s things again?”
Look at her now. Saying it would have been better if she had died. It was a horrific thing to say—something So-ya would never even dream of.
San-yu felt uncomfortable with Ri-ri, who uttered such terrifying words without hesitation…
Wait.
San-yu, who had been silently listening to Ri-ri’s chatter, suddenly felt his expression harden.
All the other retainers he had encountered here referred to So-ya as "the child who suddenly vanished," but Ri-ri had been calling her "the girl we thought was dead" for a while now.
“…”
San-yu’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the babbling Ri-ri.
Just then, Hwa-yu appeared from the opposite direction. His expression stiffened when he spotted Ri-ri and San-yu together.
“Ri-ri!”
He strode toward her, casting a wary glance at his older brother as he snapped, “What were you doing with Ri-ri?”
“I was just keeping our sister company,” San-yu replied, his lips curling into an elegant smile.
“Did you say something strange to Ri-ri…?”
“Oh, honestly, brothers!”
Ri-ri stepped between the two of them.
She let out a deep sigh and shook her head.
“You mustn’t fight over Ri-ri. I know you both love me, but this makes things very difficult for Ri-ri.”
“…”
“…”
The two brothers fell silent instantly.
Seeing Ri-ri’s reaction, Hwa-yu felt relieved, assuming his brother hadn’t said anything to hurt her.
San-yu, on the other hand, had to force himself not to scowl.
Setting aside her self-centered attitude, he couldn’t understand why she insisted on using that bizarre way of speaking, constantly referring to herself by name.
San-yu left Ri-ri and approached Hwa-yu, speaking in a low voice.
“I have something to ask you. Follow me.”
He brushed past him and headed toward a secluded area.
Once they were away from prying eyes, San-yu stopped and slowly turned to face his younger brother.
“What is it you wanted to ask?”
Hwa-yu, who had followed obediently, sensed a subtle shift in his brother’s aura and asked.
“Did you tell Ri-ri that So-ya was dead?”
Hwa-yu frowned at the unexpected question.
“No. Ri-ri was too young back then. I didn’t tell her because I didn’t want to cause her unnecessary shock.”
“Then who knows the truth?”
“The Three-Legged Crow who recovered her belongings knew… and I reported it separately only to Father. Afterward, I sent the news to you via letter, Brother. No one else knows.”
“…I see.”
San-yu murmured softly, his face clouded with thought.
Then, without a word of parting, he suddenly turned and walked away.
“Why would he ask that out of the blue?”
As Hwa-yu stood alone, muttering in confusion while watching his brother’s retreating back, a certain conversation suddenly flashed through his mind.
[This is all because of that girl. Ri-ri was so shocked. That girl we thought was dead came back alive…]
He froze.
Now that I think about it…
Hwa-yu’s brow furrowed sharply.
I only told her that the girl had gone far away. Why did Ri-ri…
A shadow of doubt settled over Hwa-yu’s face.
* * *
“Sigh. I really am too soft. Why did I give that man a chance to be forgiven?”
After Ah-yun left, So-ya let out a long sigh.
If he had agreed to her proposal to return the norigae that Ri-ri had taken…
If he had sincerely apologized to her, just as Brother San-yu had…
“Did I actually want to forgive that man?” So-ya murmured, her voice drained of energy.
Her words were laced with self-reproach.
She felt like a fool for giving him a chance at forgiveness, even though she knew it would end like this.
Slide—
At that moment, San-ho tucked a beautiful branch blooming with clusters of bright yellow flowers behind the dejected So-ya’s ear and smiled brightly.
“It’s because you are a kind person, My Lady.”
“San-ho?”
So-ya’s eyes went wide at San-ho’s words.
“That’s right! So-ya is kind.”
Seol-yo, who was following behind, nodded vigorously in agreement.
“Huh?”
As So-ya blinked in confusion, San-ho chuckled and said, “Our Lady has always been kind, ever since she was little. Kind enough to give her heart even to a small wild animal she’d never seen before. And that man raised you with great care until you were six, didn’t he? It’s only natural that you’d still care.”
“Is it… natural?”
“Of course. Besides, severing ties with the parents who gave birth to you and raised you is a very difficult thing even for adults. It’s a bond of heaven, after all.”
San-ho nodded with a grin.
“And besides, if you hadn’t done that, wouldn’t our good-hearted Lady have kept worrying about it? Thinking, ‘Ah, should I have just accepted that bastard’s apology? Should I have listened to what kind of bird-brained nonsense was coming out of that beak of his?’”
As she spoke, San-ho’s true feelings toward the Vermilion Bird Clan slipped out.
“If you’re going to worry about it anyway, it’s better to be the bigger person and give him one chance at forgiveness. If you think of it as being for your own sake rather than for his, doesn’t it make you feel a bit better?”
“For my sake?”
“Yes. Just as that man came to apologize to our Lady to ease his own conscience, let’s just say you gave him a special chance to be forgiven so that your heart could be at peace.”
“But that’s…”
“It might sound a bit selfish to our kind Lady, but so what? Where else in the world can you find such a sweet kind of selfishness?”
“…”
So-ya stared at San-ho, her lips parted in a daze.
She had never thought of it that way.
She had thought her actions earlier were just weak and foolish.
But apparently, that wasn’t the case.
It wasn’t weakness; it was kindness.
It wasn’t foolishness; it was for her own sake.
“And look how well it turned out! Our Lady, the kindest and most wonderful person in the world, feels more at peace because she gave that son of a—… that bird one more chance. Meanwhile, that stupid bird with nothing but feathers in his head was too dumb to even take the opportunity.”
“San-ho, you just used a bad word.”
“Ho ho ho, of course not.”
“I heard it though…”
“I heard it too!”
“Ohohohoho, anyway!”
Though So-ya and Seol-yo pointed it out simultaneously, San-ho laughed loudly and pointedly changed the subject.
“From now on, he’s the one who’s going to be uncomfortable. Let him regret it every single night. Thinking, ‘Ah, why did I miss that chance back then?’”