Chapter 14
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 14
“I’ve been a burden again, haven't I? I’m so sorry….”
So-ya apologized in a dejected voice. At her words, one of Sa-eon’s eyebrows arched sharply.
“A burden? What on earth are you talking about?”
Just what kind of things had she endured in the land of those bird-brained bastards that the first thing this little child did upon waking from an illness was apologize?
Sa-eon had to barely suppress the surge of hostility he felt toward the Vermilion Bird Clan. He couldn't afford to frighten the child.
“Not at all. So don't worry about useless things, Cotton Ball.”
Instead, he spoke softly, gently stroking So-ya’s head.
So-ya’s eyes grew wide and round.
It was a nonchalant yet tender touch, just like the way he stroked the young masters' heads.
She remembered how she had stolen glances at that touch, unable to help herself because she was so envious of it.
So-ya bit her lower lip hard, feeling as though tears might suddenly burst forth for no reason.
“Co-Cotton Ball is crying, Father!”
Ga-yul, noticing So-ya’s eyes turning red, shouted at Sa-eon.
“What?”
Sa-eon faltered for a moment, looking flustered.
“It’s because of you! Father, you made Cotton Ball cry!”
“O-Oh, no, I’m not!”
Seeing Sa-eon’s expression turn grave, So-ya quickly waved her hands and shook her head.
“Really, I’m really not! I’m truly not! This is just… a, a yawn! Look at this, yawn!”
So-ya opened her tiny mouth wide and mimicked a yawn.
It was a clumsy gesture that laid bare her worry that Sa-eon might be unfairly misunderstood.
Because it was so clumsy and adorable, Sa-eon’s hardened expression softened, and he let out a short laugh.
“Cotton Ball must be very sleepy. Seeing as she’s yawning wide enough to tear her mouth.”
Watching Sa-eon’s face relax, So-ya breathed a sigh of relief.
At that moment, Baek Sa-ra, who had been watching the scene the entire time, spoke to So-ya.
“Listen, little baby who looks like a cotton ball. Let us have a short talk.”
So-ya flinched and shrank back at the stranger’s proposal.
Noticing that So-ya was shy around strangers, Sa-eon stepped in front of the child and spoke.
“Sister, Cotton Ball still needs rest.”
“Who said I was going to eat the child? I have things to discuss with her as the Divine Maiden of the White Tiger Palace, so move aside at once….”
“W-What did you say, Aunt? You’re going to eat Cotton Ball?”
Ga-yul raised his voice in shock.
“...I heard rumors that Yul has been neglecting his studies and training lately, and it seems he’s become a complete idiot.”
Sa-ra pressed a hand to her throbbing forehead.
“How could you think of something so terrifying! Cotton Ball is so small, small, small…!”
Ga-yul trembled, looking at Sa-ra as if she were the most evil villain in the world.
“He is right, Sister. Cotton Ball is too small to endure your fierce expression….”
“It’s too noisy in here, so all of you get out of the shrine this instant!”
Unable to take it anymore, Sa-ra shouted in a sharp voice.
In the end, everyone was kicked out, leaving So-ya alone with Sa-ra in her shrine.
“I am Baek Sa-ra, the Divine Maiden of the White Tiger Palace. It is also my job to manage the spirit cores of young beastkin.”
So-ya looked at Sa-ra, feeling a bit nervous about being alone with a strange adult.
Long, snow-white hair, tall stature, elongated eyes, a cold impression at first glance, and blue eyes….
‘Huh…?’
Suddenly, So-ya realized that Sa-ra looked very much like Sa-eon.
‘She looks like Lord Sa-eon.’
Strangely, that realization made her tension melt away, and her heart felt at ease.
“Hello, Lady Sa-ra. I’m So-ya.”
So-ya greeted Sa-ra in a much more comfortable voice.
“Did you know that your spirit core is damaged?”
Sa-ra asked bluntly.
“My spirit core… is damaged…?”
Seeing So-ya’s trembling pupils, Sa-ra let out a short sigh.
“I suppose you didn’t know. Your spirit core hasn't been functioning at all.”
“Ah….”
So-ya gripped the edge of the blanket tightly with both hands and lowered her head.
‘My spirit core. It’s broken.’
There was no way she didn't know who had broken it.
It was Brother Hwa-yu.
Because he was the one who had taken her spirit core three years ago.
‘Did he hate me that much?’
Tears welled up in her pale pink eyes.
Drip. Drop.
Thick tear stains spread where the child’s tears fell.
It wasn't just her spirit core that So-ya had lost.
The family that should have been a fence for a young child, and the love they should have given—everything had been snatched away in an instant.
And so, since that day three years ago when her spirit core was taken, So-ya’s time had been forced to stand still.
Overwhelmed by a fresh wave of sorrow, So-ya let her tears flow silently.
The reason the cold treatment and hatred she had accepted as natural for the past three years felt so sorrowful now was likely because of the warm kindness she had received from the people of the White Tiger Palace.
Sa-ra felt a strange sensation as she watched So-ya swallow her cries without making a single sob, even as tears as large as chicken droppings fell.
The child had a way of making one’s heart grow weak.
Was that why Sa-eon couldn't just pass her by and brought her home?
‘It would be better to tell her about the unusual energy I feel in her spirit core after I’m a bit more certain.’
Sa-ra thought, recalling the exceptionally clear and pure energy she had sensed the moment she first examined So-ya’s spirit core.
It was an auspicious and brilliant energy she had never encountered before, comparable to the power of a Divine Beast.
However, it was too early to jump to conclusions. She would be able to tell as she watched over the child during her stay at the White Tiger Palace.
‘That aside….’
Sa-ra looked down at So-ya with her arms crossed.
‘I don’t particularly like seeing her cry like that.’
Frowning slightly, Sa-ra stood up and drew the curtains around the bed where So-ya was sitting.
Swish.
Startled by the sudden sound of the curtains, So-ya stopped her crying with a hiccup and looked up at Sa-ra.
“Child.”
Sa-ra said, tilting her chin up arrogantly.
“The shrine is well soundproofed, so it’s alright to cry out loud.”
“Pardon…?”
“I don’t know how to comfort a child. So I’m telling you to cry as much as you want and stop once you’ve calmed down.”
“B-But….”
To cry out loud. But in the Vermilion Bird Clan, everyone got angry whenever she cried….
As So-ya just stared while hiccuping, Sa-ra arched one eyebrow fiercely.
“Don’t tell me. Are you hoping I’ll take you in my arms and soothe you?”
“N-No, I….”
Just as So-ya was hurriedly waving her hands at the intimidating voice—
“Tsk, you’re a high-maintenance baby.”
Sa-ra reached out her arms toward So-ya.
So-ya flinched instinctively, but then—
Flump.
So-ya’s small body was pulled directly into Sa-ra’s embrace.
“...!”
So-ya looked up at Sa-ra with wide eyes.
In an instant, her eyes stung and her nose tingled.
‘I shouldn't cry. If I cry, everyone will hate me. Just like the people of the Vermilion Bird Clan did….’
The moment So-ya bit her lower lip hard to hide her welling tears.
Thump.
A nonchalant hand landed on So-ya’s back.
Pat. Pat.
At that touch, which patted her back somewhat awkwardly and roughly, So-ya finally burst into the tears she had been holding back with a loud “Waaaaah—!”
“You’re like a water-logged cotton ball.”
At that finally child-like crying sound, Sa-ra muttered with a smirk.
* * *
“We’re so sorry, Young Lady. We should have stayed right by your side….”
Upon hearing that So-ya had collapsed, Yeon-jeong and San-ho could not contain their upset and apologetic feelings.
“S-Sorry? Please don't say that.”
So-ya waved her hands, not knowing what to do.
“This won't do. From now on, we’re not leaving each other’s side; we’re going to walk around holding hands tightly. Understood, Young Lady?”
“Me too, Young Lady. Let’s walk around holding hands tightly!”
Yeon-jeong and San-ho reached out their hands toward So-ya at the same time.
So-ya’s face, which had been flustered until a moment ago, brightened instantly at the two hands extended toward her.
“Y-Yes…!”
Fearing they might withdraw their hands, So-ya quickly reached out and grabbed Yeon-jeong and San-ho’s hands.
The feel of their hands was different from Sa-eon’s hand that had stroked her head.
Sa-eon’s hand was broad and firm.
Yeon-jeong’s hand, which she held tightly with her left, was smaller than his but soft and supple.
San-ho’s hand, which she held with her right in an interlocking grip, was different from Yeon-jeong’s, with calluses here and there, but it was warm.
And Lady Sa-ra’s hand that had patted her back… was very kind.
Contrary to her cold and fierce impression and her blunt voice, Lady Sa-ra was a very kind person.
Perhaps everyone in the White Tiger Palace was gentle, just like Lord Sa-eon.
‘I wish my hands were warm too.’
Thinking that, So-ya held their hands tightly and took a small, pitter-patter walk.
However, Yeon-jeong and San-ho weren't the only ones who stuck close to So-ya after that day.
Ever since the day So-ya had collapsed, Ga-yul followed her around openly.
And Su-ri, looking miserable, followed behind Ga-yul.
On the fifth day since So-ya had arrived.
Unable to bear looking at Su-ri’s increasingly gloomy face, So-ya spoke up cautiously.
“Um, Young Master. Lord Su-ri has been worrying for a while now, so wouldn't it be better if you went to the training grounds?”
“It can’t be helped since you’re so weak!”
But Ga-yul spoke with a snort, acting as if he had no interest in Su-ri’s plight.
“So who told you to be so weak that you just collapse like that?”
“...I’m sorry.”
She had heard that it was none other than the Third Young Lord who had saved her when she collapsed.
So-ya’s face darkened with gloom, worried and apologetic that she might have become a nuisance because of it.
At this, Ga-yul realized his mistake and quickly changed his tune.
“N-No, I mean…! I, the third son of the great White Tiger Clan, will specially protect you!”
“Pardon? Why me…?”
“That’s because you’re so cu…! Cu…!”
Ga-yul stammered for a moment, then shouted with a bright red face.
“Because I’m worried you’ll run into a ghost!”