Chapter 139
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 139
The people of the White Tiger Clan were gathered around So-ya, who lay resting on the bed.
Yeon-jeong and San-ho had changed her into fresh, dry clothes, but despite their efforts to dry her, damp strands of hair still clung to her face.
Sa-eon watched her silently before reaching out to carefully brush the wet hair away from her cheek.
The royal physician had visited just moments ago.
Fortunately, they said her life was not in danger, but watching the child lie there with such a pale complexion offered him no peace of mind.
Sa-eon gazed down at her with sunken, heavy eyes.
Had they said it was So-ya who dealt with the demonic beast that appeared in the pond?
A Yellow Dragon cannot tell a lie. Therefore, those words must be the truth.
When he first heard that So-ya had fallen into the pond...
Even though he knew the child possessed a special power unlike anyone else, he couldn't help the overwhelming worry that seized his heart.
He had immediately dived into the spot where she had fallen and searched every inch of the pond’s floor, but the child was nowhere to be found.
It was then that the demonic beast in the center of the pond began to vibrate, showing a bizarre reaction.
Sa-eon had glanced toward the beast, a thought crossing his mind.
‘Perhaps...’
If it was the So-ya he knew, she would have been calculating how to slay the beast and keep everyone safe from the moment it appeared.
‘Yes, if it’s So-ya, she surely...’
As his thoughts reached that point, Sa-eon immediately swam toward the center of the pond.
It was difficult to see underwater, so he relied on animal instinct to guide him.
Then, he caught a faint scent of So-ya drifting through the water.
Finally, Sa-eon spotted her.
The child’s small body was sinking deeper into the depths.
Just as a panicked Sa-eon was about to lunge toward her—
Rumble—!
A shimmering golden light flickered, and the pond began to churn. A being suddenly tore through space, scooped So-ya into his arms, and soared above the surface.
‘The Yellow Dragon...?’
Sa-eon stared blankly at the golden trail for a moment before snapping back to his senses and swimming to the surface.
Amidst the gazes of the murmuring crowd, Yi-rim was walking out of the water, carrying So-ya with a calm, composed expression.
After laying So-ya down and calling for the royal physician to check her condition, Yi-rim had quietly departed.
Sa-eon had felt something subtle in Yi-rim’s behavior.
It was a bit too much to be considered mere kindness toward a childhood acquaintance.
It was a signal sent by a father’s intuition.
“I saw it, Father! That mean red-head pushed So-ya!”
Ga-yul spoke with a sniffle, the tip of his nose bright red.
“I saw it too.”
Seol-yo nodded vigorously beside him.
They, too, were soaking wet from thrashing about the pond in their desperate search for So-ya.
Meanwhile, Ga-ya had been staring down at the sleeping So-ya’s face with a deathly pale expression, unable to utter a single word.
His bloodless lips quivered as if he were silently calling her name.
At that moment, So-ya’s eyes twitched slightly.
“So-ya!”
Ga-hyeon, the first to notice the movement, called out to her.
Slowly, So-ya’s eyelids fluttered open.
“Father... Brothers...? Is everyone... safe? Cough, cough.”
A dry cough escaped So-ya’s lips.
“Cotton Ball!”
“So-ya!”
“So-ya!”
“Young Lady!”
The White Tiger Clan members erupted into a frenzy, surrounding her.
Sa-eon quickly helped So-ya sit up.
“Are you alright, Cotton Ball?” Sa-eon asked, searching her face.
“I’m sorry. I must have worried you all so much.”
“The physician was just here, So-ya. Thankfully, you aren't hurt, but he said we must keep you warm.”
Ga-hyeon took a bowl of warm rice gruel from Yeon-jeong and brought a spoonful to So-ya’s lips.
“Let’s soothe your stomach with some warm gruel first, and then you have to take your medicinal decoction to stay healthy, alright?”
So-ya wasn't particularly hungry, but wanting to reassure her worried family, she obediently opened her mouth and accepted the gruel Ga-hyeon fed her.
Ga-yul, Seol-yo, and the others huddled close to her side, watching her eat.
With everyone’s eyes fixed on her, So-ya felt a bit embarrassed.
As she let her eyes wander, she suddenly realized Ga-ya was missing.
“Where is Brother Ga-ya?”
“Huh? He was right here a second ago.”
Ga-yul tilted his head, only just realizing that Ga-ya, who had been right beside him, had vanished.
While everyone looked around for him, only Sa-eon looked toward a specific spot with an knowing gaze.
Following her father’s eyes, So-ya spotted Ga-ya crouched in a corner.
“Brother, why are you over there?”
Slowly—
Ga-ya lifted his head from where it had been buried in his knees.
So-ya gasped at the sight of his ghostly pale face.
“Brother? Are you sick?”
So-ya was the one who had fallen into the water, yet Ga-ya looked even more haggard than she did.
“I...”
Ga-ya began to speak, his pale lips trembling.
“I was right there...”
Suddenly, a single tear, sparkling like a jewel, rolled down from the corner of one eye.
“B-Brother!”
“Your eldest brother takes after me; he has a soft heart. He’s quite the crybaby,” Sa-eon said with a deliberately nonchalant face, despite So-ya’s shock.
“The Young Master’s behavior is the spitting image of the Clan Head when he was young,” Yeon-jeong added.
“The Eldest Young Master hasn't changed a bit since before he went off to war,” San-ho chimed in.
“Soft?”
Ga-hyeon, who was tidying up the empty gruel bowl, glanced at Ga-ya.
He then offered a biting assessment in a flat tone.
“I don't think he’s soft; he’s just childish. What kind of pathetic display is this in front of your younger sister, like an overgrown cub?”
“Pathetic? Hyeon-ah, that’s too harsh.”
Sa-eon bristled on Ga-ya’s behalf.
“Your mother used to say he was cute like this,” he added in a small voice, as if protesting.
The tips of Sa-eon’s ears turned slightly red as he spoke, but unfortunately, no one noticed.
This was because Ga-ya had stolen everyone’s attention.
“...I’m sorry, Som-som.”
Tears began to stream uncontrollably from his eyes.
“Oh dear, what do I do? Brother, please don't cry.”
So-ya flustered, trying to comfort him.
“That red-head... I’m going to wring her neck.”
Ga-ya spoke even as the tears continued to pour.
“Pardon?”
“I’ll pluck her crest and pull out every single one of her feathers.”
“Her crest and feathers... You’ll do what?”
“I’ll wring her neck and her body... so she can never bully you again...”
“No, wait, you don't have to go that far...”
“I’ll fold her body up and feed her to the tigers of Mt. Horim...”
“Brother!”
Unable to listen any longer, So-ya raised her voice to cut him off.
“Don't say such scary things! I’m really okay!”
“Som-som...?”
“And stop those tears! Right now!”
“Okay... Sniff... I’ll stop...”
Ga-ya nodded, casting his eyes downward.
However, the moment he nodded, more tears spilled over and tumbled down his cheeks.
“My brother... I called him a baby as a joke, and now he’s really turned into one.”
So-ya giggled softly as she wiped Ga-ya’s eyes with a handkerchief.
“And also, please leave that girl alone.”
“...?”
“She made my brothers cry, so I’m going to get revenge myself. You brothers just stay put and don't exert yourselves.”
So-ya spoke with a soft, beaming smile on her face.
“...??”
Ga-ya blinked his wet eyes.
Som-som and revenge.
Could there be two words more ill-suited for each other?
“Oh, what a shame. I was planning to pluck every single feather off that wicked bird who bullied our So-ya,” Ga-hyeon lamented with a mock-sorrowful voice.
“Me too. I was going to show her what it means to become tiger food,” Ga-yul added, leaning his head back against his interlaced arms in disappointment.
“If the Young Lady is stepping up, there’s nothing left for us to do.”
“Yes, Cotton Ball. If that’s what you want, I won't interfere. But I don't have much patience, so I won't wait long.”
“If it takes too long, I’ll write a letter to Mother and tell her everything that red-head did.”
At Ga-hyeon’s addition, So-ya burst into a peal of laughter.
“Wow, if Mother finds out, it really will be a disaster, won't it?”
“The Imperial Palace might just collapse.”
“Knowing Lady Cheong-ha’s temperament, we’d be lucky if only the palace collapsed.”
While everyone was chatting away in a warm, harmonious atmosphere...
“What? Is everyone out of their minds?”
Ga-ya, the only one unable to follow the conversation, protested in an incredulous voice.
“Som-som is smiling beautifully with a face as soft as rice flour and saying she’ll get revenge, and you’re all just laughing and washing your hands of it?”
“So-ya has excellent execution once she makes up her mind,” Ga-hyeon said, and everyone else nodded in agreement.
“Exactly. And when Cotton Ball smiles like that, with her eyes crinkling, it means she’s truly angry. It’s a huge problem if you make her angry. I know from experience.”
Due to his careless nature, Ga-yul had often been scolded by So-ya after unintentionally playing mean pranks on her.
“Oh, Brother Yul. That was because you...”
So-ya was about to tease Ga-yul with a smile when—
“Ah, right...!”
As if suddenly remembering something, So-ya let out a small exclamation.