Chapter 68
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 68
For a very long time, So-ya grew up believing the deceased Madam of the Vermilion Bird Clan was her biological mother.
The Madam had been a Red-headed Tit beastkin, famous for being small even among bird beastkin. Because of this, So-ya had always assumed she was small unlike her father and brothers because she took after her mother.
But that woman was not her biological mother. So-ya’s real mother was said to be a servant who had attended to the Madam.
However, since no one had ever explained that woman to her in detail, So-ya had no way of knowing anything about her biological mother. There was only one thing she knew for certain.
She was a sinner who had destroyed a young lady’s happiness and shattered the peace of the Vermilion Bird Clan.
That fact made So-ya so incredibly sad.
Why did she do such a thing?
Maybe my mother did it because she loved me so much. Maybe she thought I would be happier if I became a lady of the Vermilion Bird Clan, and so…
But no matter how hard she tried to think that way, So-ya’s heart didn't feel any better.
But because of that, I ended up stealing Lady Ri-ri’s life. In exchange, I made everyone miserable, and I even became miserable myself.
And above all…
Did my mother not care if she never saw me again, as long as I became a lady of the Vermilion Bird Clan?
This was a question she had secretly harbored ever since seeing Lady Cheong-ha, who had been so sorrowful and pained at having to part from her brothers due to the duties of the direct lineage.
So-ya was sitting on a rock in the garden, her face clouded with gloom. Seol-yo sat beside her, watching her quietly. He wanted to comfort her, seeing how depressed she looked, but he was never good with words.
That boy would have known how to comfort her well, wouldn't he?
Seol-yo recalled the boy with platinum-blonde hair who had visited the White Tiger Palace last autumn. The image of that boy speaking in a gentle, soft voice and So-ya responding with a bright, beaming smile had not faded even now, a season later.
I want to comfort So-ya, too…
Lost in thought, Seol-yo looked around. He wanted to find something So-ya liked to make her happy. However, the garden flowers she loved could no longer be seen as the weather turned cold. The same went for the vibrant maple leaves and the bright yellow ginkgo leaves.
If only some snow remained, it would be nice, but the snow that had filled the garden had turned into a slushy mess after noon.
After a moment of deliberation, Seol-yo quietly disappeared.
A short while later, So-ya turned her head at the sound of a rustle.
“Huh?”
But when she saw nothing where the sound had come from, she blinked her eyes in confusion.
Fwoosh—
Pure white snowflakes began to fall from the sky.
“Snow?”
So-ya instinctively reached out to catch a falling flake. Looking closer, they weren't snowflakes, but tiny white flowers that looked just like stars in the night sky.
“Flowers in this winter…? Wait, Seol-yo!”
So-ya looked up and gasped in surprise. Seol-yo, having transformed into a small black bird to mimic her, had brought a branch of white thoroughwort from the foothills of Mt. Horim and was shaking it vigorously above her head.
“What if someone sees you…!”
Since the people of the White Tiger Palace believed Seol-yo was a wolf beastkin, So-ya was suddenly worried his secret might be discovered. However, seeing Seol-yo’s eyes crinkle into crescents as he let out a cheerful chirp, she immediately understood his intention.
“You did this to cheer me up, didn't you? Thank you.”
Seol-yo always seemed to sense her mood perfectly, even when she didn't say a word. His comfort warmed So-ya’s heart.
She still didn't know why her biological mother had done what she did, nor did she know if the woman had truly loved her. But So-ya had a family who loved her, the people of the White Tiger Palace, and a wonderful friend who was always by her side to comfort her whenever she was down.
Realizing this, So-ya finally shook off her gloom and asked with a bright smile, “These are so pretty, Seol-yo. Did you pick them up from Mt. Horim?”
“Pyu-rit, pyu-rit!”
Seol-yo opened his beak to answer her, but in doing so, he accidentally dropped the branch. However, since he had achieved his goal of seeing So-ya’s smiling face, he abandoned the branch without regret and landed on her palm, panting.
Unlike a wolf’s body, a baby bird’s body was small and fragile; shaking a single branch so hard had left his beak feeling numb.
So-ya smiled broadly as she gently stroked Seol-yo’s body while he lay flat on her palm, catching his breath.
* * *
Cheong-ha had to return.
Due to the duties of the direct lineage engraved upon her spirit core, she could not leave the Land of the Blue Dragon vacant for long. However, Ga-hyeon did not cry anymore as he saw his mother off.
“I believe you’ll come back. And if it’s too hard for you to come, then I’ll just go to you…”
Ga-hyeon added with a slightly embarrassed face, his earlobes turning red, “You have to stay healthy.”
“Yes, Hyeon-ah. You stay healthy too.”
So-ya found the sight of Ga-hyeon tucked into Cheong-ha’s embrace a bit strange. He was always the mature older brother in front of her, but beside Lady Cheong-ha, Brother Hyeon looked just like a young child, much like her or Brother Yul.
“Mom, me too! Tell me to stay healthy too!”
“Our baby tiger stay healthy, too.”
“Hehe.”
Ga-yul, who would usually have taken offense at being called a ‘baby’ tiger, simply grinned foolishly.
Brother Yul always throws a tantrum whenever Father calls him a baby… Does everyone become a baby in front of their mom, even Brother Hyeon?
So-ya was blinking in wonder when Cheong-ha, having finished her farewells with the family, turned to her.
“So-ya, once you finish your First Growth, make sure to come visit Cheonghae Palace with your brothers.”
She leaned down and whispered to So-ya.
“Cheonghae Palace?”
“Yes. In the eastern part of the continent, which the Blue Dragon Clan rules, there is a very large sea.”
“I read about it in a book. It said the sea is a very, very big and wide lake that stretches on forever.”
“It can’t even be compared to a mere lake. It’s deeper than Mt. Horim is high, and wider than the entire continent combined.”
Cheong-ha explained just how vast the sea was.
“Beneath that sea lies the Cheonghae Dragon Palace of the Blue Dragon Clan, which rules over the marine beastkin.”
So-ya was completely captivated by Cheong-ha’s stories of the Eastern Land and the sea. The stories of the festivals held every spring were so interesting, and she was curious about the sea in the east and the Undersea Palace, the Cheonghae Dragon Palace, that lay beneath it.
However, young beastkin who had not yet undergone their First Growth could not breathe underwater, so something terrible would happen before they could even reach Cheonghae Palace. Cheong-ha added that she should grow up wonderfully like her brothers before coming to visit.
“Yes, Lady Cheong-ha! I’ll definitely visit!”
So-ya smiled brightly and hooked her pinky finger with Cheong-ha’s. Cheong-ha pressed her thumb against So-ya’s in a firm promise and smiled.
“And, it might be a bit early to say this… but, well, when the day comes that I return to the White Tiger Palace again.”
She hesitated for a moment, then asked in a somewhat nervous voice, “On that day, would you call me ‘Mom’ instead of ‘Lady Cheong-ha’?”
“…!”
So-ya’s eyes grew wide and round.
“I’m not exactly a perfect adult, but if it’s alright with you, So-ya, I’d like to be family to my little cotton ball, too.”
“Ah…”
At those words, So-ya froze in place. When So-ya stood there blankly without giving an answer, Cheong-ha began to fidget anxiously.
Oh no, what do I do? That must have been too sudden.
It seemed she had pressured the child by saying something unnecessary just because the girl had followed her around for a few days.
“I’m sorry, So-ya. I didn't mean to pressure you…”
Just as Cheong-ha tried to fix the situation with an awkward smile—
Grip.
Small palms tightly grasped Cheong-ha’s sleeve.
“…Mom.”
“…!”
At that thin voice, Cheong-ha’s eyes wavered significantly.
“I read in a book that a family’s family is family,” So-ya said, looking up at Cheong-ha. “We’re already family. So, it’s okay for me to call you that, isn't it?”
So-ya’s face was flushed bright red as she spoke in a slightly trembling voice.