Chapter 118
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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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Chapter 118
Riri's displeasure did not end there.
'Here I am right beside them, and all they do is discuss tedious politics.'
After exchanging greetings, the members of the Jujak Family moved into the hall and began to unwind, sharing stories of what had transpired on the battlefield and the current state of affairs in the Southern Lands.
She had expected them to admire her new clothes and ornaments, but instead, their serious expressions and dreary conversation left her feeling slighted.
'Wars here, birds there... what could possibly be so important about such trivial matters!'
The first to notice Riri departing in a huff was none other than Jeok Hwayou.
"Riri, where are you going?"
"This conversation is utterly boring. I'm going outside to see the Imperial Palace."
Normally, when she spoke this way, everyone would apologize and turn their attention to her words.
But today was different.
"Oh dear, our Riri is bored, is she? Then while Father and my brother discuss matters, shall I accompany you to see the Imperial Palace?"
He could have simply changed the subject of conversation, but his suggestion to tour the Imperial Palace together only soured her mood further.
"No, thank you. It seems you're all in the midst of important discussions. I'll go alone."
She spoke with deliberate petulance, and her family responded with affectionate voices.
"Do be careful on your way, Riri."
"It's dangerous to wander alone—take the maidservants with you."
Riri pouted her lips and stepped outside.
'Never mind. Perhaps this is for the best. I might encounter His Majesty while strolling through the Palace Garden.'
The Palace Garden that Riri was heading toward was a space open to the public, making the likelihood of encountering the Emperor there extremely slim.
Yet, unaware of this fact, Riri harbored such hopes as she ventured into the Palace Garden alone, leaving the maidservants behind.
And upon witnessing the breathtaking beauty of the Imperial Palace, her foul mood evaporated entirely.
Though the Joojak Residence, known as the Cheongsang Ancient Residence, was vast and magnificent, it could not compare to the Imperial Palace.
'If I become the Yellow Dragon's bride, I could live here, couldn't I?'
The thought alone set her heart aflutter with anticipation.
'Everyone said so. His Majesty would surely be blinded by my beauty when he sees me.'
Riri believed these words without a shred of doubt.
After all, had not her Older Brother Jeok Hwayou promised her? That he would make her the Yellow Dragon's bride.
If he had made such a promise, he would surely move heaven and earth to fulfill it.
Her spirits lifted, Riri walked along humming cheerfully, her heart soaring with delight.
'Huh...?'
Her footsteps suddenly came to a halt.
At no great distance, she spotted young men with snow-white hair and azure eyes.
Riri recognized them instantly.
They were the young lords of the Baekho Family, rulers of the Western Lands.
Upon seeing the two handsome youths of her own age, Riri's cheeks flushed slightly.
Then her gaze met that of the taller of the two, whose features bore a gentler expression.
*Gasp.*
Riri inadvertently caught her breath in surprise, but the young lord merely gazed at her steadily before turning his attention elsewhere.
'What... what was that? It seemed like he was looking at me just now?'
When the two young lords tried to pass by without acknowledging her, Riri was taken aback.
'Why aren't they speaking to me? Why are they just walking past?'
This had never happened in the Southern Lands.
Whenever Riri ventured outside her father's or older brother's residence, everyone would cheer upon seeing her and eagerly attempt to strike up a conversation.
The maidservants who followed Riri had grown quite weary of it all.
[Goodness, how tiresome. Why does everyone insist on speaking to Riri the moment they see her?]
[Well, our young mistress is far too beautiful for that. No one can tear their eyes away from such radiance.]
Recalling the maidservants' words, Riri gathered her courage and approached them.
"Hello there!"
The two young lords of the Baekho Family turned to face Riri simultaneously.
"I'm Riri of the Jujak Family. You're the young lords of the Baekho Family, aren't you?"
"What? The Jujak Family?"
Baek Gayul's expression, which had been vacant moments before, turned fierce in an instant.
Though beloved at Baek Ho Palace as the adorable tiger young lord, his true nature was that of a tiger—king of all beasts.
Riri flinched at the sudden intensity radiating from him, her body stiffening involuntarily.
"Gayul."
At that moment, Baek Gahyun restrained him with a gentle voice.
"We're in the Imperial Palace."
"But——!"
"Baek Gayul."
"...."
Baek Gayul, who had been bristling with indignation, fell silent at Baek Gahyun's single word.
Baek Gahyun's characteristically gentle face now bore a chilling smile as he glanced down at Riri.
"No crest..."
He murmured something incomprehensible in a slow, measured tone.
Then he simply turned away.
"Wait, just a moment——!"
For some reason, Riri felt she couldn't let him leave like this, so she grabbed his arm.
But she immediately flinched and released her grip.
The smile had vanished entirely from Baek Gahyun's face as he looked down at her.
Those distinctive pale blue eyes of the Baekho Family now gleamed with a chilling, murderous intent.
It was the sort of unsettling gaze that made one's skin crawl merely by meeting it.
Riri instinctively stumbled backward and collapsed onto the grassland.
Whoosh——
Yet the two Baekho tiger young lords didn't so much as help her to her feet or spare her a glance as they departed.
In the five years she had lived as the young mistress of the Joojak Residence, no one had ever treated her this way.
The humiliation and anger were so overwhelming that tears began to well up.
"I'm going straight to Father to tell him everything!"
Riri huffed indignantly.
Meanwhile, Jeok Hwayou, who had ventured out because he was concerned about Riri taking a solitary stroll, was startled to discover her on the verge of tears.
"Riri!"
"Older Brother...!"
"What's wrong? Who made you cry?"
"The young masters of the Baekho Family disrespected Riri!"
"What? The young masters of the Baekho Family?"
"Riri approached them first and greeted them, but they ignored her!"
As I recalled that moment, tears welled up in my eyes once more.
"Riri is so hurt, Older Brother."
"Oh, Riri. Don't cry."
"Sob, sob, Older Brother...."
Riri wept openly and nestled into Jeok Hwayou's embrace.
Jeok Hwayou patted Riri's back while his brow furrowed with resolve.
The people of the Joojak Residence had always indulged Riri's moods.
Yet I could not demand that those outside the estate cater to her feelings as well.
For Riri venturing beyond the estate walls, this was likely her first encounter with conflict.
It was only natural that a child would face conflicts both great and small as she grew.
However, as her guardian, what I truly ought to do was not to step in and resolve conflicts for her, but to cultivate within her the strength to overcome them herself.
Jeok Hwayou was not ignorant of this truth.
Yet... Riri was far too precious a child.
A child born when her mother had wagered her very life.
A pitiful child who had been switched with a maidservant's daughter and forced to wander the streets.
A wretched child who had endured ridicule for having no father, whose spirit core remained unhealed, and who had never undergone her beast transformation or first growth stage.
Jeok Hwayou harbored a profound sense of debt alongside his love for Riri.
Thus, he wished to become an older brother who would do anything for her, and he yearned for Riri to never encounter even the smallest conflict in her life.
To achieve this, he had to place Riri in the most exalted position of all.
The bride of the Yellow Dragon.
Those arrogant young masters of the Baekho Family who had upset Riri would not dare be so presumptuous toward the consort of the Emperor.
Not only them—even the heads of the Four Great Families would not dare raise their heads so boldly before Riri.
The greatest obstacle to this plan was the youngest daughter of the Baekho Family.
'I must investigate this youngest daughter they brought from the Baekho Family.'
Just before departing the Joojak Residence, I had conducted an investigation into her.
Peculiarly, the family head Baek Sayeon himself had picked up this child from somewhere—not a tiger from the branch family.
For her to be adopted over the tigers of the branch family, she must surely possess formidable abilities.
I was troubled by how tightly the Baekho Family guarded her powers.
'But if she becomes an obstacle to Riri, I must eliminate her by any means necessary.'
It was at that moment, as I hardened my resolve with such conviction.
I paused.
My lips parted slightly as I spotted a small bird fluttering and chirping in the distance.
'Mother...?'
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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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