Chapter 159
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 159
Thud.
Jeok Ah-yun’s knees gave out, and his body collapsed onto the floor.
His eyes, fixed on the stiff gray feathers, gradually filled with terror.
“No, it can’t be…”
His prominent Adam’s apple bobbed convulsively.
“It’s not true. That… why is that here…?”
Unable to bear the sight any longer, he squeezed his eyes shut, then opened them again, looking around the room with a face full of devastation.
“Ah… Aah…”
Slowly, the color drained from his face until it was deathly pale.
This room… was the room where So-ya had lived until she was six years old.
“Aaaaah…”
Just as birds in nature build nests for their young, avian beastkin considered decorating a room for their unborn child a matter of utmost importance.
He remembered.
He remembered the time he spent waiting for the child to be born, agonizing over which furniture to put in this room alongside his pregnant wife.
His wife had woven a nest for their little bird using straw she had gathered herself, placing it right next to the crib.
She had done so even though she knew it would be a long time before the child grew enough to undergo their first beast transformation.
After his wife passed away, it was none other than he who had finished the nest.
He had flown all the way to his wife’s hometown to gather straw and flowers to decorate their little bird’s nest.
But now, he could find no trace of his wife’s touch that should have remained throughout the room, nor any sign that So-ya had once stayed here.
“Ugh, hic, ugh, sob…”
He couldn't find a single thing.
“Aaaaaaaaah!”
Jeok Ah-yun’s screams echoed through the room, where only cuckoo feathers remained.
He beat his chest with his fists as if his heart were tearing apart.
He struck himself violently until he was bruised, yet he still could not contain his emotions.
“So-ya. So-ya. So-ya. My baby. I… I did this to you… Sob, hic, waah…”
As he sobbed, his eyes fell upon the cuckoo feathers that had been asserting their presence in the same spot for some time.
“Cuckoo…”
Staring blankly at them, Jeok Ah-yun suddenly bolted upright and staggered toward the feathers.
“I have to get rid of the cuckoo… I have to erase every trace of it…”
Suddenly, his legs buckled, and his large frame tumbled ungracefully to the floor.
Crash!
The side table overturned, and porcelain shattered, turning the room into a chaotic mess.
Despite this, he stumbled back up, only to step on the porcelain shards and collapse onto the bedside.
Riiip!
The pillowcase tore open, and the gray feathers hidden inside spilled out all at once.
For the past two years, Ri-ri had suppressed her beast transformation, but she had occasionally hidden the gray feathers that fell from her body in this very spot.
“…”
Ri-ri’s gray feathers—his undeniable karma—fluttered through the air.
Jeok Ah-yun sank to the floor again with a look of utter despair, watching them fall.
One of them landed on the back of his hand.
Thick tears began to stream down his face.
How much time had passed?
Crackle—
A small spark ignited on the damp floor.
Snap, crackle—Whoosh!
The small flame that started in Ri-ri’s room gradually grew, eventually enveloping the entire mansion.
“F-Fire!”
“Clan Head! Clan Head, you must evacuate immediately…!”
The screams of the household retainers drifted in from outside, but Jeok Ah-yun remained motionless in the same spot.
Creeeak, thud!
A flaming rafter fell from above, and the searing heat of the fire clung to his body.
“Urgh, hic…”
In the midst of the horrific pain of his flesh melting, he could only let out agonized groans through clenched teeth.
It was then that someone pulled him out of the flames.
“Have you truly lost your mind?!”
A familiar voice rang in his ringing ears.
However, Jeok Ah-yun could not see the person’s face.
The flesh of his eyelids had melted in the intense heat, blinding one eye, and his vision in the other was a blur.
“Do you not realize that if you die, that child will carry the burden of your death for the rest of her life?”
The man who had rescued Jeok Ah-yun from the fire shouted through gritted teeth.
His voice sounded as if he were angry, yet also as if he were weeping bitterly.
“You don't even have the right to die.”
It was a strange voice, where sorrow and anger coexisted.
“So, do not die.”
The man sobbed as he supported Jeok Ah-yun, helping him move.
“Live.”
He felt the searing heat of the fire gradually recede.
“Please, live a long, long life. If only for So-ya’s sake.”
“So…”
Jeok Ah-yun, who had been silent the whole time, reacted to that name, squeezing out an agonized voice.
“Ya… My, ba…”
The metallic scent of blood rose from his severely damaged throat.
“Ga, ugh… Sob, waah…”
Screams like the cries of a wounded beast leaked through his teeth, and blood-red tears dripped from his mangled eye along with pus.
In a hellfire more disastrous than the flames consuming the mansion, a father who had abandoned his child wept tears of blood.
* * *
“Look at this! I think Jjaek-dori is all better now!”
As soon as he woke up in the morning, Ga-yul rubbed his eyes and checked the sparrow’s leg, shouting in a proud voice.
“You’re right. He’s walking quite well, chirping away.”
Su-ri sidled up to Ga-yul and looked on with wonder.
“Hmph, you little bean. I got hurt like this because of you!”
He then grumbled, showing the finger that had been pecked by the sparrow a few days ago.
“Honestly, you have such a way with words for a tiny sparrow.”
“It’s not like I’m saying anything that isn't true, is it?”
“Still, how can you make such a fuss over a tiny sparrow? And you call yourself a wolf.”
“It’s not a fuss, it really hurt! Believe it or not, I’m still a baby wolf who hasn't gone through his Second Growth yet.”
“What do you mean, baby? Where in the world is there a baby as big as you? You’re even older than me.”
“And what about you, Young Master? You’re fifteen, yet you were grinning like an idiot when Lady Cheong-ha called you ‘our baby.’”
“Anyway, don't you dare call yourself a baby. You’re not cute at all; you’re just creepy.”
Ga-yul and Su-ri bickered in front of the sparrow.
However, the sparrow couldn't understand their words and simply chirped cutely.
“Chirp, chirp!”
The sparrow fluttered its tiny wings as if asking for attention.
“Aw, our Jjaek-dori. You were bored because your big brother was only talking to that wolf, weren't you?”
Ga-yul looked after the sparrow with a gentle voice that was quite different from how he treated Su-ri.
“Come here, Jjaek-dori! I’ll introduce you to Cotton Ball!”
Ga-yul spoke with a triumphant voice and held out his hand.
“Chirp?”
But instead of hopping onto his palm, Jjaek-dori just tilted its head.
“You see, Cotton Ball is tiny, cute, and pretty just like you… but she’s also my bravest and coolest little sister in the whole world!”
“Chirp?”
“She’s the one who resolved that incident at the Imperial Palace recently! If it weren't for our Cotton Ball, Jjaek-dori, you would have… Ugh, I don't even want to imagine it.”
Ga-yul shook his head.
“Chiiirp?”
Ga-yul scooped up Jjaek-dori, who still couldn't understand him and was just making bird noises.
Then, carrying the chirping Jjaek-dori, he dashed toward So-ya’s room.
“Cotton Ball!”
Ga-yul flung the door open and beamed at So-ya.
“Look at this! Jjaek-dori is all healthy now!”
“Oh, really?”
So-ya, who had been sitting by the window, smiled brightly and approached Ga-yul.
Then, Jjaek-dori, who had been struggling and chirping in his hand, slowly stopped fluttering and…
“Trill, trill—”
It began to sing beautifully, mimicking So-ya’s smile.
It was a completely different attitude than the one it showed Ga-yul.
“It looks like this sparrow likes the Young Lady more than the Young Master, doesn't it?”
Su-ri, who had followed Ga-yul, poked his head out and asked.
“Of course! All birds love Cotton Ball!”
Su-ri’s words were meant to tease him, but Ga-yul, failing to catch the intention, puffed out his chest proudly.
“Actually, maybe Cotton Ball is the prettiest bird among all birds? That’s why she’s so popular with them. Just like I’m the coolest tiger among all tigers.”
“Who says? That you’re the coolest tiger?”
“Mom did.”
Ga-yul replied with a giggle.
“Ah, I see…”
Su-ri replied with a somewhat skeptical tone and looked away from Ga-yul.
“By the way, I don't see Seol-yo again.”
“Seol-yo probably went to the pond again.”
So-ya, who was stroking Jjaek-dori’s head feathers, turned to look at Su-ri.
“Did he say what he’s been looking for these past few days?”
“Yes, but even when I offer to help, he just scurries away on his own.”
So-ya pouted, feeling a bit slighted as she recalled Seol-yo sneaking away this morning as if afraid she would follow him.