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Chapter 9
The direct bloodline of the Baekho Family, who ruled the Western Lands, were renowned for possessing extraordinary physical abilities.
Baek Sayeon covered a distance that would require a week of horseback riding in a single bound.
Thus, the place he arrived ‌‌‌at was the mountain fortress Baek Ho Mountain Palace.
It was the grand estate of the Baekho Family, more commonly known to people as Baek Ho Palace.
"F-Father?"
"Father?"
When Sayeon returned in the dead of night carrying a young girl casually under one arm, the residents of Baek Ho Palace rushed out in astonishment.
Among them were Baek Sayeon's two sons, the second prince Baek Gahyun and the third prince Baek Gayul.
"Summon ‌‌the Physician at once."
Sayeon walked straight to his quarters, ignoring the bewildered ‌‌people, and laid the child upon his bed.
As ‌Ho Jeok Young, Sayeon's aide and eldest son of ‌‌‌the Red Fox Clan, watched the girl's ‌‌‌deathly pale face and heard her ‌‌labored, wheezing breaths, he asked carefully.
"Who is this child, my lord?"
"I picked her up on the road."
Sayeon answered indifferently, his arms crossed.
Yet contrary to his nonchalant tone, ‌‌‌‌his eyes and bearing betrayed deep concern for the child's wellbeing, fierce and protective.
"You picked her up on ‌‌the ‌‌road...?"
"To be precise, I stole her."
"I-I beg your pardon?"
"Father, have you decided to become a thief?"
Everyone stared at him in bewilderment, demanding explanation with their eyes, but Sayeon kept his lips firmly sealed, his gaze fixed only on the child.
Only ‌‌‌after the Physician arrived in haste did his closed lips part.
"Heal her."
"Y-Yes! I shall h-heal her at once...!"
Just as the Physician hastily reached to check the child's pulse, intimidated by Sayeon's sharp presence.
A tremor.
The child's eyelids flickered.
Slowly―
Her eyelids opened, revealing eyes of spring-blossom pink.
Blink, blink.
The child blinked several times, her gaze sweeping across the unfamiliar surroundings.
'Where am I?'
A strange room filled with people she had never seen before.
Thump, thump, thump, thump.
Instinctive fear seized her at the strangeness, and her heart pounded wildly.
'Why am I here....'
I searched my memory.
I had come out with my older brother Jeok Hwayou to see the Summer Festival....
While waiting for my brother who never returned, assassins in black masks appeared....
And then I was taken by a tall man, as tall as my father, whom I had met by chance there....
My eyes, which had been rolling about in panic, found the one person in this room who didn't feel like ‌‌‌a stranger.
'Ah...!'
In that instant, the tension drained from my face, and a breath of relief escaped through my small lips.
"Cotton ball, are you awake?"
Baek Sayeon asked the child in a deliberately worried voice.
"Yes, I'm fine..."
It was the moment I nodded and answered.
"Eek!"
Baek Gayul, the third young master who had been stealing glances at me this whole time, let out a startled cry and quickly hid behind Baek Sayeon's legs.
Flinch.
I stiffened in alarm at that sound as well.
"Father, she's so ‌‌incredibly small... I think if you went 'poof' she'd blow away..."
Baek Gayul tugged at Baek Sayeon's sleeve and whispered softly. Even so, his eyes remained fixed on me.
And for good reason—there had never been a child ‌‌as small ‌‌‌‌as me in Baek Ho Palace until now.
I was a full head shorter than Baek Gayul, the youngest ‌beast-human in Baek Ho Palace.
Seeing Baek Gayul's ‌‌flustered state, Baek Sayeon teased him mischievously.
"That's right. So you have to be careful, Gayul. You wouldn't want to blow away that little cotton ball with your breath."
"Gulp!"
Baek Gayul quickly covered his ‌‌‌mouth with both hands.
He fidgeted anxiously, worried that even the slightest breath escaping might blow away this tiny child like a cotton ball.
Baek Sayeon chuckled and ruffled his son's hair.
I stared blankly at that gentle, effortless touch. ‌‌
Baek Sayeon nodded toward the Physician.
"Examine ‌‌the child."
"N-no need to examine me, really."
I waved my hands frantically.
"This is all because I ate a peach... It'll be fine in a little while. Really!"
The hurried addition at the end came from my worry that I might have caused them trouble.
"A peach?"
One of Baek Sayeon's eyebrows arched upward.
"A peach is that dangerous?"
"Occasionally, when one consumes food that disagrees with them, the body can ‌‌‌mount a rejection response. I shall prepare medicine to manage the swelling and fever for the young lady."
At the Physician's explanation, Baek Sayeon's expression grew even more rigid.
"So you knew eating peaches would make you ill, and you ate them anyway?"
"Ah, I, that is..."
I faltered, ‌‌‌unable to answer.
"Dispose of all ‌‌‌the peaches in the estate immediately."
"N-no, there's no need...!"
I ‌‌‌jumped up in alarm and waved my hands frantically.
"Yes, Master."
But Ho Jeok Young was quicker to obey his command. ‌
"And for the child...."
Baek Sayeon paused for a moment, studying San Ho before speaking.
"Prepare the end room on the western wing."
"Yes, Master."
"But Father. That room is...!"
Unlike Baek Gayul, who had ‌‌‌been fidgeting and stealing glances at San Ho the entire time, the second young master Baek Gahyun, who had been standing calmly observing, raised his voice in alarm.
"That room?"
"Ah, no, it's nothing."
But when Father's gaze questioned whether there was any problem, Gahyun yielded without protest.
* * *
Baek Sayeon carried San Ho in his own arms all the way ‌‌‌to the room.
"I'm... causing ‌‌‌you... ‌‌‌‌trouble...."
San ‌‌‌‌Ho's fever had risen again during this time, and she murmured softly in his embrace, her voice drowsy.
"It's no trouble at all, so don't worry. For now, just rest well and recover. That's what I want."
"Yes...."
Even during that ‌‌short walk, San Ho's vision blurred from ‌‌the fever filling her mind, and she blinked her eyes repeatedly.
In her hazy state, she could still remember taking the medicine the Physician had prepared and falling asleep.
When she awoke after that deep rest, her body felt considerably lighter.
"It seems the fever has broken...."
"But how can you be so small and soft? Look at this skin, pale as rice flour. The Baek Ho Palace itself seems like it might melt away."
"Now I understand why the ‌‌‌Master calls you cotton bundle. You're truly adorable, our little cotton bundle."
At the sound ‌‌‌‌of voices chattering nearby, San Ho carefully lifted her eyelids.
In that moment, her eyes met with those of unfamiliar women looking down at her.
"Oh my, the young lady is awake!"
"Hello, young lady. Are you feeling better?"
The unfamiliar women thrust their heads forward so suddenly that San Ho startled and shrank back.
"W-who are you?"
"I'm Yeon Jeong from the Red Fox Clan! I'll be serving you from ‌‌now on!"
"I'm San Ho from the Blue Wolf Clan! I'll be protecting you! Wow, our young lady's voice is so cute!"
"Y-yes...?"
A woman with reddish-brown hair elegantly braided and another with blue-black hair tied up in a single knot introduced themselves in turn.
Overwhelmed by their rapid introductions, San Ho felt ‌her head spinning.
Then suddenly, she realized they were calling her "young lady."
"Wait, young lady...!"
The term "young lady" was used only for precious children like Riri. It was not a fitting title for someone like me, a wretched little bird who had stolen from others.
"I'm not a young lady. If you could just call me San Ho...."
"My, but you're the Master's guest, so of course you're a young lady."
"A g-guest? I'm not a guest, I'm just...."
San Ho was about to say she had been stolen, but she suddenly stopped herself.
I recalled Baek Sayeon's words—that rumors would be troublesome.
[If word spread that I'd sneaked into the Southern Lands like a thieving cat and stolen something from that chicken-brained territory.] ‌‌
Baek Sayeon had spoken with an expression of ‌‌utmost gravity.
'What should I do? I can't let Baek ‌‌‌Sayeon suffer because of me....'
Not wanting to trouble Baek Sayeon, I found myself unable ‌‌to ‌offer any rebuttal and merely fumbled for words.
San Ho, noticing my hesitation, quickly added her voice.
"To show discourtesy to the lord's guest is to show discourtesy to the lord himself. So please, help us show proper respect to our lord, miss. Yes?"
"Y-yes...."
Persuaded by her words, I nodded slowly, drawing out my response.
Though being called "miss" felt uncomfortable, I had no wish to burden Baek Sayeon, who had rescued me and brought me here.
Yeon ‌‌‌Jeong and San Ho exchanged glances and broke into ‌‌knowing smiles before turning to ‌‌me with a question.
"Well then, miss, ‌‌‌‌‌shall we start ‌‌‌‌‌by getting you cleaned up?"
"I beg your pardon...?"
As I blinked up at them in confusion, San Ho suddenly scooped me into her arms.
They carried me to the bathhouse, scrubbed me thoroughly, dressed me in fresh clothes, and skillfully combed my hair.
'This is... incredibly fast.'
I could scarcely believe everything that had happened in a single night, my eyes blinking numbly.
Suddenly spirited away to this place, washed clean, dressed in soft new garments.
A beautiful room appeared before me, and people carefully groomed my hair.
The strangeness of it all left me bewildered, my eyes darting about uncertainly.
"In the Taehwa Kingdom, aside from the Imperial Palace where the Celestial Sovereign resides, there are four great estates granted the title of ‌‌'Palace.'"
At this, Yeon Jeong's tale captured my full attention.
The ‌‌‌Cheong Hae Dragon Palace in the Eastern Lands—an underwater palace.
The Baek Ho Mountain Palace in the Western Lands—a mountain fortress.
The Jujak Vermillion Palace in ‌‌‌‌the Southern Lands—a celestial estate.
The Hyun To Underground Palace in the Northern Lands—a realm of the departed.
By granting these four places the title of 'Palace,' the Imperial House directly acknowledged the prestige of the Four Great Families.
"Our Baek Ho Palace is one of them."
When the Jujak Estate was mentioned, my body involuntarily tensed.
Yet I forced myself to appear indifferent and nodded obediently.
Then I suddenly noticed a gaze fixed upon me from somewhere.
'Huh...?'
Through a slightly ajar doorway, a small boy with snow-white hair was peering at me.
'Isn't he the one who was hiding behind Baek Sayeon's legs yesterday....'
"Oh my, ‌it's the youngest young ‌‌‌‌master."
San Ho and Yeon Jeong, noticing where my gaze ‌‌had drifted, offered an explanation.
"The Baek Ho Palace has three young masters—the eldest, Baek Gayul, the second, Baek Gahyun, and that one there peeking at you, the third, Baek Gayul."
"The eldest young master was conscripted into war three years ago and has yet to return, but the other two reside here at Baek Ho Palace."
"Hmm, though it is strange. The youngest young master should be in sword practice at this hour."
I glanced at Baek Gayul as I listened to their explanation.
Fine white hair and blue eyes that bore a striking resemblance to Baek Sayeon's.
Yet every time their eyes met, ‌‌‌‌Baek Gayul would visibly startle and pretend to look away, ‌‌‌‌feigning indifference.
'Why is he acting like that...?'
Bewildered by Baek Gayul's behavior, I felt Yeon Jeong ‌gently touch my hair and whisper softly near my ear.
"It seems the youngest master wishes to become closer with you, Miss."
"Me? Really?"
My eyes widened in surprise. But I quickly shook my head.
"That can't be right."

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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
---------------