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Chapter 23
I stood by the window all day long, gazing down at the Garden.
My eyes narrowed slightly as I absently traced the pebble resting on the windowsill.
Ho Jeok ‌‌‌A, who had just finished lunch and arrived to escort me for the afternoon ‌‌‌schedule, asked in a puzzled voice, noticing that I seemed ‌‌‌‌‌displeased for some reason.
"Is something the matter, young master?"
"It's strange. She usually takes a walk between the hours of Wei and Shen, but I haven't seen her."
"Pardon?"
"The girl ‌‌in the Western End Room."
Today, Soya had not appeared.
I had even deliberately placed the pebble on the windowsill so she would notice it.
"You remembered the exact time the cotton-puff young lady takes her walks?"
"What?"
At Jeok A's question, ‌‌‌‌I frowned and turned to face him.
It sounded as though I were actually concerned about that girl, which was both unpleasant and disconcerting. ‌‌
Yet I soon replied in a reluctant tone.
"It's hardly remarkable to remember what ‌‌happens within Baek Ho Palace."
"But you don't know the youngest young master's training schedule, do you?"
"Do I look like someone with enough leisure time to memorize such trivial matters?"
I spoke coldly and walked toward the door.
Jeok A wondered whether the cotton-puff young lady's walking time was then a 'non-trivial' matter, but he did not press further.
Instead, he quickly followed behind me ‌‌‌‌and asked.
"The Eun Ho Family is suggesting we share afternoon refreshments. What shall we do?"
"Very well. Before the Mountain Lord Festival begins, it would be good to meet with the Gal ‌‌‌‌Ho Family and the ‌Heuk Ho Family beforehand as well... Wait."
Just as I was about to open ‌‌‌‌the door and leave, I suddenly ‌‌noticed a small, hard object in Jeok A's hand.
Something about its shape was oddly familiar ‌‌yet irritating, so I narrowed my eyes and asked.
"What is that?"
"Pardon?"
"What you're holding in your hand."
"Ah, this ‌is a pebble talisman that the ‌cotton-puff young lady made for me. I received it from her just a moment ago."
"..."
At Jeok A's plain answer, my expression darkened.
She had rummaged through the Garden with dirt on her small fingertips, and it bothered me that she had given gifts not only to me but to that fellow as well.
Moreover, unlike the one ‌I received, the colorful appearance of his was irritating to look at.
"Why does yours look like that?"
"She painted it with dye and then fired it, or so I'm told. And this design here—the young lady drew ‌‌‌it herself."
"..."
At that explanation, my mood sank even ‌‌‌‌further.
Did she think so highly of Ho Jeok A that she would draw a picture for him with ‌her own hands?
The design on that pebble was shaped like a red ‌‌‌fox with russet fur. ‌‌‌‌
She must have deliberately drawn it knowing that Ho Jeok A was a Red Fox Clan ‌‌‌member.
'I haven't even seen her exchange words with that bastard. What could she possibly like about him? His face?'
It was then that Ga Hyeon stared pointedly at Ho Jeok A's ‌clean-cut features.
"But didn't you receive one, young master?"
Ho Jeok A asked in a tone devoid of malice.
"I already received one. Before you did."
Ga Hyeon gestured with his eyes toward the pebble placed atop the window frame and shrugged his shoulders.
"Not the one you received before. Yesterday, she gathered countless pebbles from the Garden, drew tigers on them, and gifted them to everyone at Baek Ho Palace and even to guests who came from the branch families."
"What?"
"Father and the youngest young master both received new ones with tigers drawn on them, I heard."
"...."
Ga Hyeon's lips remained sealed.
She drew new ones ‌‌‍as gifts for Father and Yul, but didn't come to me?
Perhaps she noticed that ‌‌‌‌I dislike her and deliberately excluded only me ‌from ‌‌the gifts.
Since I was the one who wanted to draw the line ‌‌‌first, it's just ‌‌as ‌‌well.
But why does my mood feel so deflated?
"Well, it seems the young lady simply forgot."
Noticing Ga Hyeon's sunken expression, Ho Jeok ‌‌‌A spoke up to lift ‌‌‌the young master's spirits.
Yet Ga Hyeon's expression remained stubbornly closed.
"Never mind. I don't need such garbage pebbles...."
It was just as Ga Hyeon ‌‌replied coldly and yanked the door open.
"...!"
By sheer misfortune, I collided directly with Soya, who had come to my room at that very moment.
It wasn't only Ga Hyeon who froze in shock.
Soya, standing rigid with a small pebble clutched in her hand, startled violently the moment their eyes met and fled.
Ga Hyeon stared blankly after Soya's retreating figure, his face growing somewhat pale.
Did she hear everything?
She must have heard everything?
That I called the pebbles garbage....
I don't usually make such mistakes.
My sensitive and sharp nature only revealed itself in front of my brothers and Ho Jeok A.
But the thought that ‌‌everyone at Baek Ho ‌‌‌‌Palace received the gift, and even guests from the branch families received it, yet I alone did not—it welled up inside me before I could ‌‌‌help it.
Thus, unable to ‌‌‌suppress the sting of disappointment in that moment, I spoke carelessly.
Normally, I would have sensed her presence and been cautious....
The ‌sight of Soya's back as she fled in startled panic kept replaying in my mind.
Ga Hyeon remained frozen in place for a long while, unable to speak.
* ‌‌‌‌* *
Meanwhile, Soya hurried down the Corridor, pressing a hand to her chest.
'That was close. If I hadn't overheard the conversation with Ho Jeok A, ‌‌‌‌I would have upset the young master again.'
Soya glanced ‌down at the pebble talisman she had intended to gift to Ga Hyeon.
No matter how beautifully she decorated the ‌pebble, it seemed nothing but garbage to the second young master.
'Stones alone won't do. But I'd like to make talismans for ‌‌‌everyone before leaving Baek Ho Palace.'
As I ‌‌‌emerged into the Garden, I spotted two tiger cubs tumbling about playfully.
One bore the familiar white fur of a White Tiger, while the other was covered in tawny brown.
'The youngest young master... and Arang?'
The two cousins had harbored terrible animosity since childhood.
"Krwaaaaang! (This foolish brown tiger! I cannot acknowledge you as a ‌‌‌tiger of Baek Ho Palace!)"
"Krung, krrrrung! (Who said ‌‌I wanted to become family with someone like you? I came because I was curious which poor soul would be unfortunate enough to become family with such ‌‌‌‌a stupid tiger!)"
"Krwang! Krwang, krwang! (What? Stupid? Are you finished?)"
"Krung! (Yes, I'm done!)"
"Krwaaaang! (Come on, bring it on!)"
"Krrrrung! (Fine, ‌‌‌‌come at me!)"
True to their nature as fierce tiger cubs, they clashed with their bodies rather than words.
Just then, Ga ‌‌Yul spotted me.
"Krwang? (Huh? Fluffy!)"
Ignoring ‌‌‌Arang who charged toward me, Ga Yul bounded straight to my side.
I instinctively opened both arms.
The white tiger cub leaped and nestled snugly into my embrace.
"Krrung! ‌‌(Hey, where are you going!)"
Arang gave chase and sprang up, sinking teeth into Ga Yul's tail with a fierce ‌‌‌growl.
"Oof!"
Unable to bear the weight of both tiger cubs, I tumbled backward onto the ground.
"Krwaang? (Gasp! Fluffy! Are you alright?)"
Ga Yul startled and shoved Arang away.
"Krwang, krwang! (You, because of you Fluffy almost got hurt!)"
"Kr, krrung? (Because of... me?)"
Arang, bewildered and tail raised, circled around me in confusion.
Seeing ‌‌‌this, I laughed and waved my hands reassuringly.
"It's fine. I simply sat down in the Grassland. I'm not hurt at all."
The youngest young master tended to be overprotective of me.
I chuckled softly, realizing I'd grown rather accustomed to it.
'I'll have to leave soon, yet ‌‌‌I've become far too comfortable here.'
Then Arang suddenly rose on all fours and bared her teeth at me.
"Grrrrr... (You, you, you...!)"
"Arang?"
"Krrruuung! (I told you not to get hurt in front of me!)"
At Arang's resounding roar, I tilted my head in confusion.
"Were you... worried about me?"
"Krrung...! (Why, why, why, why am I not even a tiger...!)"
"Thank you, Arang."
I smiled warmly and stroked Arang's tawny fur.
"...!"
In an instant, Arang's body went rigid.
The tigers around Arang would bite, shove, and pin her down at the drop of a hat, but they had never caressed her with such tenderness.
Unfamiliar with the ‌‌‌‌ticklish sensation, Arang bristled her fur and bared her fangs.
"Grrrowl! (Don't touch me!)"
Arang glared at Soya with a huff, then bolted away in a scramble.
"Krooow, krooow! (Heh. Running away with your tail between your legs, I see.)"
Ga Yul chuckled and swished her tail.
Soya watched Arang's retreating form dash into the distance, then glanced at Ga Yul ‌‌‌purring contentedly in her arms, and suddenly gasped with realization.
"Ah...!"
"Krung? (What is it, little fluffball?)"
"From the ‌moment I first saw Arang, something felt familiar about her. I think Arang resembles the youngest young master."
"Kack! (What?)"
Ga Yul leaped out of Soya's arms in shock.
"Grrrowl! Grrraaowl! (Little fluffball! How dare you say such a thing to me! Take it back this instant! Take it back right now!)"
The way she bristled her fur and bared her fangs was so identical to Arang's moments before that Soya burst into delighted laughter.
"Krooooowwwl! (Stop laughing! Take it back! Take it back now!)"

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