Chapter 11
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Chapter 11
'There are still so many places left to show her.'
Gayul thought to himself as he surveyed the Jujak Estate.
Though he had no pressing matters to attend to, he felt oddly irritated at what seemed like a waste of time.
"Um, well..."
Just then, Soya called out to him hesitantly.
"You must be quite busy, aren't you?"
"Huh...?"
"I'm truly grateful that you've made time for this despite your busy schedule. From here on, I can explore on my own, so please go ahead, Young Master."
"No, I..."
Gayul was flustered. It wasn't that he was busy—he was simply annoyed.
Still, there was no real need to refuse her offer. He could simply agree that he was indeed busy and leave it at that.
Yet for some reason, he found himself hesitating.
"I am... rather busy, but..."
"I'm truly fine. Please, go ahead."
Soya smiled faintly and urged him again.
"Yes, alright then."
Gayul felt an inexplicable pang of conscience and added almost reluctantly:
"I'll send someone to guide you. Don't wander off alone and get lost—just enjoy the Palace Garden."
"Yes, Young Master. Thank you so much."
As Soya answered with a bright smile, Gayul paused for a moment before turning to leave.
Left alone after sending Gayul away, Soya let out a long sigh.
"Sigh..."
In truth, Soya knew the reality. He wasn't busy at all—he simply found her disagreeable and bothersome.
Perceptive as she was, Soya had sensed his displeasure toward her.
Of course, she harbored no resentment about it.
She merely felt burdened that the esteemed Young Master was being inconvenienced because of her.
It was at that moment.
"Huh...?"
"Eek...!"
Her eyes suddenly locked with those of the Third Young Master Baek Gayul, who had been hiding in the shrubland and spying on her.
"Aaah!"
Startled, Baek Gayul tumbled backward with a loud crash.
"Are... are you alright?"
Soya's eyes widened in alarm as she hurried toward him.
Then Baek Gayul quickly scrambled to his feet and cried out:
"D-don't come near me, cotton ball!"
"But you just fell..."
Soya murmured, pointing at his knee.
"Gasp! Blood...!"
Baek Gayul discovered his bleeding knees showing through the torn fabric of his pants and jumped up with a yelp.
Then he immediately turned toward Sayeon with wide eyes and shouted.
"I, I am the third son of the great Baekho Family, Baek Gayul! Only a cotton ball like you, you would cry over a wound like this!"
Baek Gayul, his neck flushed red, let out a shriek and bolted away.
Sayeon watched his retreating figure disappear into the distance in an instant, blinking her eyes.
'Was he angry?'
Sayeon thought, recalling Baek Gayul shouting with his neck flushed red.
It seemed possible.
People usually grew angry when they saw Sayeon.
They were angry even when I did nothing, and the third young master had fallen and gotten hurt because of me, so it made sense that he would be very angry.
"Still, it would be better if he got treatment soon...."
The corners of Sayeon's eyes drooped sadly.
After waiting a bit, Yeon Jeong and San Ho, who had received word from Gahyeon, came to fetch Sayeon.
"Miss! Oh, you were here."
"The second young master too. Saying he's busy, he left the young miss alone in this place."
"No, that's not it. The young master kindly showed me around here and there."
Sayeon defended Gahyeon to the grumbling Yeon Jeong and San Ho.
"Our kind miss, shall we go inside now?"
"Yes."
As Sayeon held the hands of San Ho and Yeon Jeong in each of her hands and turned to leave.
San Ho noticed Sayeon's drooping eyes, which looked dejected.
"Did something happen, miss?"
"Um, well, actually...."
Sayeon carefully told them what had happened just moments before.
"The youngest young master fell and got hurt because of me. So I wanted to treat his wound...."
But unlike the serious-faced Sayeon, Yeon Jeong and San Ho laughed brightly and waved their hands dismissively.
"Oh, don't worry. The youngest young master falls and gets hurt all the time."
"But...."
Sayeon recalled when Miss Riri had pushed her and she fell not long ago.
Her knees had scraped and bled—it had hurt terribly.
"Our sweet cotton ball miss, you have such a kind heart. But really, there's no need to worry. The youngest young master is a tiger after all!"
Yeon Jeong raised her hands like front paws and made a fearsome expression as she mimicked a tiger with a "Roar!"
"That's exactly why I'm more worried...."
Sayeon's voice was so small as she murmured that no one could hear her.
* * *
"Ow! Ah, it hurts!"
"My, you're being quite the crybaby today, young master."
A boy of about twelve years old applied medicine to the young master's wound as he spoke.
This pitiful boy who served the thoughtless youngest young master was Suri, a beast-human of the Indigo Wolf Clan and San Ho's younger brother.
"Ah, it really hurts!"
Baek Gayul's eyes glistened with tears as he cried out.
"That's exactly why you should have sat quietly and waited! I would have gone to carry you back, so why did you run here on that injured leg?"
"I-I couldn't show such weakness!"
Baek Gayul retorted with a grumble.
This was all because of that cotton ball—that small, pale, soft-looking girl.
He had run on his injured knee, unwilling to appear weak before her, and had overdone it.
"But about that girl, that cotton ball. She doesn't seem to be a tiger, so what on earth is she?"
"I'm not sure. Since she's so small, perhaps a mouse?"
"But mice aren't as quiet as she is. Mice are supposedly very loud."
Baek Gayul pouted his lips, shook his head, then suddenly asked.
"What if she's a puppy? They say puppies have sparkling eyes and drooping eye corners, like this."
"However, puppy-type beastkin are typically born healthy. That cotton ball young lady seemed rather delicate, didn't she?"
"Hmm...."
Baek Gayul and Suri earnestly speculated about Riri's true nature.
"Then what is she? A hedgehog? A squirrel? A deer?"
Baek Gayul listed off the names of animals he knew one by one.
"She's too round to be a hedgehog. And squirrel-type beastkin don't come from white families, I hear. Deer are much more elongated."
"Ugh...."
"Perhaps she isn't even a wild beast. The family head picked her up from outside, after all. In any case, you mustn't run about until you're fully healed. Do you understand... Young Master? Young Master, where are you going!"
The moment Baek Gayul's wounds were treated, he sprang to his feet and dashed outside.
"I'm busy!"
"You can't, Young Master! It's time for the Training Ground...! Oh dear...."
Because of the Third Young Master who had vanished like the wind in an instant, Suri pressed his forehead.
* * *
Sayeon's Study.
"The youngest Young Master has forgotten all about going to the Training Ground and has been chasing after that cotton ball young lady all day long."
Baek Sayeon, who had been listlessly shuffling through documents, lifted his head at the report.
"So the little brat Gayul has taken a liking to the cotton ball as well."
Baek Sayeon chuckled as he spoke.
"Wouldn't it be good if the family head had a word with him? The youngest Young Master's temperament is such that others' words won't sink in at all."
"Leave him be."
He rose from his seat and walked toward the window.
Just then, he could see Baek Gayul and Riri below, beyond the window.
It was quite endearing how that wary boy followed behind the cotton ball who was even smaller than himself.
"It's a pleasant sight. A small one chasing after an even smaller one."
As Baek Sayeon gazed out the window with a languid expression, he murmured.
"But family head."
Yeon Jeong called to him carefully.
"That cotton ball young lady. She's not really a hidden illegitimate child or anything like that, is she? Right?"
"What?"
Sayeon's face flushed with bewilderment.
"I mean, you left early this morning to meet the Fifth Prince, and now you're returning in the dead of night with a young girl out of nowhere—it's rather suspicious, isn't it? And that room at the far western end...."
"That's not it."
Sayeon furrowed his brow and flatly denied it.
An illegitimate child, he thought.
What an absurd misunderstanding.
"Then what exactly is she? You didn't just pick her up off the street, surely."
"...."
Sayeon knew everyone was curious about Riri.
He had ended the explanation with that single brief phrase—that he had stolen her—so it was only natural.
Some treated it as an amusing jest, but it was no joke.
Even I couldn't explain what Riri was any further.
Because it was truly the case that I had discovered her by chance while passing by and taken her.
'Or was it really just chance?'
Sayeon's eyes suddenly hardened with tension.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org