Chapter 84
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 84
“I’m truly disappointed that you thought I’d leave over something like that. Have you two been worried all this time because we aren’t related by blood?”
As So-ya asked with a huffy expression, the faces of her two brothers turned pale in an instant.
“N-n-no! That’s not it, Cotton Ball! Absolutely not!”
“There’s no way, So-ya! We… you…!”
“We… what?”
So-ya arched an eyebrow, catching the end of Ga-hyeon’s sentence.
“We cherish you so much…”
For some reason, Ga-hyeon’s voice grew smaller as he shrunk back. It was unlike his usual mature self in front of So-ya.
“It’s just, since those people are the ones who gave birth to you… we were afraid your heart might waver toward them…”
“That’s what hurts my feelings. That you saw me as someone whose heart would waver over something like that.”
So-ya refuted Ga-hyeon’s words one by one in a clear, articulate voice as she addressed her two brothers.
“I’m not going anywhere. My only real family is Father, Mother, and you two. The only home I have to return to is the White Tiger Palace.”
“U-uuuh, hic, sniff…”
At that firm declaration, which held not a hint of hesitation, Ga-yul began to tear up.
“Just as you told me a long time ago that you would never abandon me, I have no intention of leaving my real family behind.”
“Cotton Baaaaall…!”
Ga-yul suddenly lunged forward and buried himself in So-ya’s small embrace.
“Waaaaah, I’m sorry!”
Ga-yul sobbed as he apologized to her.
So-ya let out a little chuckle and hugged him back. She patted the sobbing Ga-yul on the back and asked him as if she were dealing with a small child.
“What are you sorry for?”
“I… I ruined all your shoes…”
“You ruined them? You didn’t just hide them?”
So-ya asked back, startled.
Ga-yul rolled his eyes and nodded.
“Yeah… I thought if I just hid them, you’d find them right away…”
“H-how did you ruin them?”
“Uh, well, that is…”
Ga-yul hesitated, unable to answer.
He must have ruined them so badly that I can’t wear them again!
As So-ya’s face filled with shock, Ga-yul stole a glance at her expression and blurted out the truth.
“I’m sorry. Actually, I… I ate them all.”
“…Shoes aren’t meant to be eaten.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have done it. I’m sorry.”
“I’m not trying to scold you, Brother, but are you okay after eating something like that? Like, do you have an upset stomach?”
“N-no… I don’t get stomachaches. Because I’m a tiger…”
So-ya looked at Ga-yul with suspicious eyes.
No wonder his lower belly looked particularly bulging when he had transformed into a tiger and tried to run away earlier. He must have used that large mouth in his beast form to devour every single one of her shoes.
“As long as you aren’t sick, it’s fine. I can just get more shoes.”
A short sigh escaped through So-ya’s teeth.
“…I’m sorry too, So-ya.”
Ga-hyeon, who had been quiet the whole time, also offered a cautious apology.
“It’s not that I didn’t trust you… it’s just… I… I couldn’t trust myself… so…”
Unlike Ga-yul, who had lunged at her in tears, Ga-hyeon stood there pale and flustered, rambling through his apology. He couldn’t even bring himself to step closer to her. It was the complete opposite of the mature and calm demeanor So-ya usually knew.
That side of him… reminds me of Mother.
It was a vulnerable side that she couldn’t just leave alone.
Sigh, I have no choice.
She was a bit hurt that her brothers had caused such trouble because they thought she might leave. However, she knew that at the root of their actions was their affection for her.
Thus, So-ya decided to reach out first.
“Brother Hyeon, you’re very sorry too, aren’t you?”
So-ya approached Ga-hyeon and squeezed his hand tight as she asked.
Ga-hyeon’s eyes wavered as he looked at her, and he barely managed to answer.
“…Yes, I’m sorry. I’m truly sorry, So-ya.”
“Then, as much as you are sorry, will you congratulate me? I finally finished my First Growth today.”
When So-ya said that, Ga-hyeon’s eyes also turned red with emotion.
“Congratulations, So-ya.”
He pulled her into a sudden hug.
“Our So-ya. Congratulations on growing up so wonderfully.”
Ga-hyeon offered his belated congratulations in a thick, wet voice.
“I should have been the first to congratulate you, but I was a fool and I’m too late, aren’t I?”
So-ya gave a beaming smile at those words.
“It’s not too late. There’s still plenty of time left before today is over.”
“Ah…”
“Yeon-jeong told me that they’ve prepared bean paste-topped rice cakes for the banquet today. You like those too, don’t you, Brother?”
“…”
“So let’s eat lots of delicious food together at the banquet, and later, come to my room to see my gifts.”
Ga-hyeon’s heart felt tight at her usual sweet voice.
So-ya turned toward Ga-hyeon, who was unable to respond, and Ga-yul, who was still sniffing and snorting beside them.
“Oh, and shall we go see Mother next month? Just the three of us—Brother Hyeon, Brother Yul, and me.”
“…!”
“…!”
At So-ya’s question, asked with her eyes crinkling into crescents, the faces of Ga-hyeon and Ga-yul brightened instantly.
“Yes! I want to go! Let’s go together, Cotton Ball!”
“Alright, So-ya. Let’s go see our mother.”
Seeing the two of them, who had been so dejected, cheer up instantly at her words, So-ya burst into giggles.
“C-Cotton Ball! I… I want to see how you’ve grown properly!”
Noticing that her mood had softened, Ga-yul didn’t miss the chance and quickly asked.
“I’m also very curious to see how our So-ya has grown.”
“Hmm…”
So-ya narrowed her eyes at the two of them for a moment, then asked in a serious voice.
“Fine. But you can’t tease me, okay?”
“Tease you? Why would we tease you?”
Ga-yul rubbed his swollen eyes and tilted his head.
Poof!
Instead of answering, So-ya showed them by transforming.
She became a small bird with magnificent red feathers on her back, wings, and tail.
“Wow…!”
“You look so wonderful, So-ya…”
Ga-hyeon and Ga-yul were so struck with admiration that they couldn’t continue.
“I’m a bit small, aren’t I?”
So-ya asked as she took flight, glancing at them tentatively. As she flapped her wings, a single red feather fluttered down. Since she had just finished her First Growth, it was a period where her feathers fell out particularly often.
Ga-hyeon and Ga-yul began to bicker over who would get to keep So-ya’s feather.
Watching them, So-ya chirped and twittered happily in the air.
Sa-eon, who was standing a step behind them, let out a chuckle at the sight.
“I thought our little Cotton Ball was just soft and squishy, but she’s actually quite scary when she’s angry.”
“When the young lady was angry, her expression looked exactly like yours, Clan Head,” Jeok Yeong whispered to Sa-eon from the side.
“Like mine?”
“Yes. The way she arched just this one eyebrow… phew. I’ll have to be on my best behavior around her from now on.”
As Jeok Yeong playfully exaggerated his fear, Sa-eon nodded in agreement.
“True. I was thinking the same thing just now. I’m glad I’m older than Cotton Ball.”
Soon, Sa-eon approached the children.
“It’s good to see you’ve reconciled.”
He placed a hand on the shoulders of Ga-hyeon and Ga-yul respectively and grinned.
“But you’ll have to take responsibility for what you did today, won’t you, tigers?”
At that gentle voice, which sounded exceptionally kind yet chilling, the two young tiger lords flinched.
* * *
Due to the events of that day, Ga-hyeon and Ga-yul each received their punishments.
Ga-yul received a relatively light sentence: he had to clean the White Tiger Palace thoroughly and, as compensation for ruining all of his sister’s shoes, he had to buy the prettiest flower shoes to give her as a gift. Ga-yul gladly emptied his allowance to buy and present So-ya with the most beautiful shoes he could find.
Meanwhile, Ga-hyeon’s punishment was a bit more severe.
Sa-eon ordered Ga-hyeon to go to the Gray Wolves, take responsibility for his wrongdoings as a direct descendant of the White Tiger Clan, apologize, and live with the Gray Wolves in the Garrison for fifteen days.
Thanks to that, So-ya had been feeling Ga-hyeon’s absence for the past few days.
The festival in the Eastern Land was not far off. So-ya planned to visit the Eastern Land with her brothers once Ga-hyeon’s punishment was over.
It was partly to meet Cheong-ha and see the festival she had been curious about for a long time, but on the other hand…
I have to go to the Eastern Land and wake the Blue Dragon.
It was also to confirm the Blue Dragon’s Divine Object and wake the Blue Dragon from its slumber.