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Chapter 15
Everyone chuckled ‌‌at that transparent cry, but only Gahyun startled and asked back.
"A g-ghost?"
"Y-yes! A ghost! They say a terrifying ghost lives in Baek Ho Palace that only snatches away tiny children like you!"
Gahyun's ‌‌heart pounded wildly. I had almost blurted out, "Because ‌‌‌‌you're so cute!"
In truth, my mind was filled with the image of San Ho ‌‌in her transformed state that I'd glimpsed that day.
It was my first time seeing a winged creature.
The baby bird, no larger than my palm, was whiter than a rabbit and smaller than a mouse.
The fluffy wings in place of front legs were adorable, and the small, delicate pair of legs was fascinating.
'How ‌‌‌‌‌‌‌does she even walk on such tiny legs?'
The slightly raised tail feathers were just as endearing as Suri had said.
And that downy plumage of the baby bird, white as snow flowers!
Of course, I too, being White Tiger, possessed white fur, but unlike my long, lustrous ‌‌‌coat, the baby bird's down was short and fluffy like dandelion seeds.
When I carefully lifted ‌her, she felt so small and precious that I had to protect her—a ticklish, tender feeling washed over me.
'She was incredibly, incredibly cute!'
But saying it outright felt embarrassing somehow. After all, I ‌‌‌was still ‌‌‌a shy young tiger ‌‌cub.
So I ended up fabricating a ‌ghost that didn't even exist. ‌‌‌
Meanwhile, San Ho, oblivious to my true feelings, became visibly anxious.
She'd never seen a ghost before, but it sounded terrifying. And more ‌‌than anything else....
"B-but wouldn't that put you ‌‌in danger too?"
"Huh?"
What if the ghost appeared and took the young master away?
San Ho's face ‌‌crumpled.
"W-wait! No! I'm fine! As the third son of the great Baek Family, I'm not afraid of any ghost!"
"But still...."
"You know what a tiger is, right?"
"Y-yes...."
"Even so, I'm a White Tiger that hunts ghosts!"
"...."
San Ho's gloomy expression didn't brighten.
When she was very young—back when San Ho was still the beloved youngest ‌‌daughter of the Jujak Family.
Every night before bed, her father and older brothers would read her picture books.
[The arrogant tiger flew far away with just one flap of the magnificent phoenix's wings.]
[Brother, look at this picture here! I ‌‌‌think this is a tiger! It has four legs!]
[Yes, San Ho. This is a tiger. The White Tiger Clan that rules the Western Lands.]
[Pii.... They ‌‌say it's the king of land beasts, but it seems much ‌‌‌‌weaker than birds. ‌‌‌Look how it flies away with just one wing flap.]
[Haha, that's right. There's a reason for the saying that a day-old tiger fears ‌‌‌no bird.]
The problem was that the picture book had distorted things somewhat, depicting tigers as very small and weak, and San Ho believed it absolutely.
In fact, what San Ho saw in the pictures wasn't a tiger ‌at all—it was a cat.
Of course, Sayeon, who had saved me from the assassins, was very strong, but assassins and ghosts were different things....
"Have you ever seen a tiger before?"
Garyul asked abruptly.
"I've seen one in picture books."
"Not that kind. A real tiger."
"No."
Soya shook her head vigorously.
"Tigers are incredibly strong! Their teeth are sharp and their claws are hard as steel!"
"...."
Seeing that Soya's worry remained undiminished, Garyul explained just how powerful tigers were.
Yet Soya's expression suggested she didn't believe a word of it.
"Fine then! Let me show you the majestic form of a tiger myself!"
Unable to bear it any longer, ‌‌Garyul attempted to transform into ‌‌‌‌his beast form right before Soya.
Poof!
"Rooooar! (How's that? Majestic, right?)"
"...!"
Soya's eyes widened into perfect circles.
Young beast-kin were said to be in their infancy from around ‌‌‌six years old when they first ‌‌awakened their core, until roughly ten years old when ‌‌‌their first growth spurt approached.
Unlike humans, beast-kin did not grow gradually, but rather experienced explosive growth during ‌‌‌specific periods.
Therefore, Garyul, who had only recently turned ten, was still a baby tiger in his infancy who had not yet undergone ‌his first growth spurt.
A baby tiger so small that Soya could lift him effortlessly with both hands!
The baby tiger opened his tiny mouth wide and let out a roar that sounded like "Roar."
Soya's eyes, which had been gloomy all this while, suddenly sparkled with light, and a rosy blush bloomed across her face. ‌‌
'So... incredibly cute!'
The tiger was small and adorable, just as Soya had imagined.
Pointy ears standing upright. A soft pale pink nose. ‌‌Fluffy fur and a tail that swayed gently.
It seemed like petting his head would produce a purring sound.
"Roar! (How about it, cotton ball? Isn't my majestic and magnificent form impressive?)"
Garyul puffed out his chest proudly, raising his fluffy white front paws.
His thick front paws, which concealed sharp claws, ‌‌‌‌were among the body parts he was most proud ‌‌‌of.
"...!"
Upon seeing Garyul's paw pads, Soya was struck with astonishment.
'The... the paw pads are pink! And they look so incredibly soft!' ‌‌‌‌
Soya clapped her hands in admiration.
Garyul in his baby tiger form was far cuter than any of the stuffed animals in Riri's room.
"That's amazing!"
Garyul, unaware that Soya found him cute, believed she was marveling at his fierce appearance, and spoke with a tone of benevolence.
"Purr! ‌‌‌(Let me specially allow you to touch my lustrous fur, cotton ball!)"
"Is that really okay?"
"Purr! Purr! (Go ahead, touch it.)"
Soya bent down and very carefully stroked Garyul's fur.
The tiger's fur felt warm and soft, distinctly different from a bird's feathers.
Gayul, her mood brightened, let out a purring laugh ‌‌and wagged her tail.
'Tigers really are such small and ‌‌‌adorable creatures.'
Soya gazed at Gayul's gently swaying tail and mused. ‌
'I wonder if Sayeon and the Second Young Master also have pink noses and pink paw pads? But the Family Head is so enormous, yet he's a tiger-human who's this small and cute....'
The thought that even Sayeon, with his cold and sharp impression, possessed pink nose and pink paw pads struck her as oddly amusing.
"Kwaaang! (Now it's your turn to show me!)"
"Pardon?"
"Krung, krung! (Cotton bundle, I want to see your human form!)"
"...." ‌‌‌‌‌
In an instant, Soya's face drained of all color.
"No, I can't! I'm not impressive at all, and, well, I just can't!"
Soya shook her head vigorously as she spoke.
"Krung? (What's wrong with not being ‌‌impressive?)"
Yet Soya turned away, her lips pressed firmly together, her complexion ashen with exhaustion.
It was a stubborn refusal, unlike anything she'd shown until now.
Though Gayul lacked keen perception, ‌‌‌‌she instinctively sensed from Soya's pallid face that she shouldn't press further.
Above all, the trembling of Soya's fingertips kept drawing her ‌‌‌attention.
'Oh no, what do I do? I'm going to make the cotton ‌‌bundle cry.'
Gayul glanced around for help, but unfortunately Yeon Jeong and San Ho had just stepped ‌‌‌away to fetch drinks.
It was then that an abandoned leather ball caught the ‌‌restless Gayul's eye.
In that moment, Gayul's pupils gleamed with ‌‌‌light. ‌‌‌‌
"Kwaaang! (Cotton bundle! Want to play ball with me?)"
"...?"
At the sudden proposal, Soya blinked her eyes wide.
Gayul quickly snatched up the ball and set it down before Soya.
The ball rolled ‌‌‌‌‌and came to rest against Soya's feet with a soft thud.
Soya lowered her gaze.
'This is....'
A ball.
It felt like an eternity since she'd last played with one.
In the Jujak Family, such an object had never been permitted for her.
Once, while cleaning Riri's room, she'd touched the young lady's leather ball and received a ‌severe scolding.
It turned out that ball was a toy Father had procured ‌‌for the young lady from the Western Regions. ‌‌
'But Riri isn't here, and the Young Master himself asked me to play ball ‌‌‌with him first....'
Soya hesitated briefly, then carefully grasped the ball in both hands.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Her heart seemed to pound in rhythm with the ball.
Seeing this, Gayul stepped back slightly and, wagging her tail, called out.
"Krung, krung! (Go on, throw the ball, cotton bundle!)"
I made a firm decision and threw the ball with all my might ‌‌‌toward Garyul.
Thump, thump, roll—
Though the ball didn't even reach Garyul's front paws and tumbled away, a shy smile bloomed across my face as I watched it go.
* * *
Meanwhile, Baek Gahyun stood by the window looking down, his expression twisted with disdain.
'What on earth is ‌‌she doing?'
Garyul, in the form ‌‌‌of ‌‌a baby tiger, was playing in the Garden with Soya.
For a tiger on the verge of its first growth stage, it was a pathetically unimpressive sight.

---------------
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org
---------------