Chapter 125
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Chapter 125
A low sigh escaped between Jeok Ahyun's teeth.
He had never once directly confronted that truth.
The child's crimson hair. There was undeniable evidence that anyone could see—she was of direct Jujak Family bloodline.
But just moments ago.
After seeing Jeok Soya, who had grown so gracefully, and that child's delicate face that oddly reminded him of his deceased wife, Riri's face suddenly felt profoundly unfamiliar.
Riri bore no resemblance to the Late Lady whatsoever.
Rather, it was Jeok Soya who resembled the Late Lady more.
Jeok Ahyun's fingertips trembled faintly.
"Father. Riri is growing anxious."
At Sayeon's repeated words, Jeok Ahyun blinked slowly and turned his gaze back to his second son.
"I will look into it."
"...."
"How Jeok Soya is alive. And why she is with the head of the Baekho Family."
"...Yes, I understand, Sayeon."
Jeok Ahyun nodded.
"Father, are you all right...?"
Riri, unlike her usual self, asked cautiously while watching her father's expression.
Jeok Ahyun forced the corners of his mouth upward and smiled at the child.
"Yes, Riri. I'm sorry. Father startled you."
Yet beneath his voice, which carried its usual tenderness, something rough and indescribable clung like sediment.
* * *
The moment Jeok Soya returned to the pavilion, she treated Sayeon's hand.
"It tickles, cotton ball."
Sayeon laughed softly as he watched the flames of purification seep across his palm.
But Jeok Soya did not laugh with him. Instead, she spoke in an deliberately stern tone.
"Father, you're not Older Brother, so how could you fight like that in a place with so many people!"
"I'm sorry, but I still won...."
"Ugh, honestly! Whether you win or lose isn't what matters!"
Sayeon had been about to boast that he had landed more blows, but Jeok Soya immediately fixed him with a sharp gaze and raised her voice.
"Your hand is injured like this! Yet you always tell me not to get hurt at all!"
"Cotton ball. You're misunderstanding right now, but Father is a tiger...."
"Tigers aren't invincible either!"
"Tigers are invincible though...."
"Invincible my foot! You got hurt like this!"
"...."
At those words, Sayeon had nothing to say.
Worry was woven through the child's voice as she spoke to him in that stern tone.
She had been anxious the entire time about encountering the Jujak Family, yet at the sight of this small wound of his, she had broken free from her older brothers' protection and rushed to him—that expression of hers remained vivid.
The startled and worried face, the glistening eyes, the reddened eye sockets—all of it remained etched in his memory.
Thinking that the child had nearly cried out in surprise because of me, I suddenly felt as though I had committed a terrible deed.
Thus, Sayeon glanced at Jeok Soya's expression and offered an apology.
"I'm sorry, my daughter. From now on, your father won't get hurt no matter where he goes."
"Since Father seems to be genuinely reflecting on his actions, I'll overlook it just this once."
Jeok Soya spoke in a precocious tone.
Until now, Sayeon had never heard anyone speak to him in such a manner.
A combative nature was a characteristic of tiger-human hybrids, and so from a very young age, whenever he returned from a fight, people would ask if he had won rather than scold him for fighting at all.
Even Ho Jeok Young, his aide, worried more about Sayeon's opponent than about him whenever he got into a scuffle.
Naturally, this was the first time he had received even a gentle admonishment not to fight, and the first time he had experienced this kind of concern.
'Come to think of it, my little cotton ball has been like that ever since she first came to Baek Ho Palace.'
Sayeon recalled Jeok Soya's promise to protect him from ghosts and let out a soft chuckle.
How could such a beautiful daughter have fallen from the heavens?
"Thank you. As expected, only our little cotton ball thinks of her father like this."
Sayeon smiled gently and reached out to ruffle the child's hair as he habitually did, then paused.
He had nearly ruined the child's hair, which she had carefully arranged since morning.
Sayeon suddenly realized that the child was no longer so small.
Fourteen years old...
Human-beast hybrids were considered adults once they completed their second growth spurt around seventeen or eighteen.
From that point onward, they were thought capable of living independently.
Sayeon himself had married not long after completing his second growth spurt.
Jeok Soya had come to Baek Ho Palace at nine years old, and now, five years had passed in a blink—she was fourteen.
Thinking that in just a few more years she would grow into a full adult, Sayeon felt both proud of how well she had developed and a touch of wistfulness at how swiftly the time had slipped away.
'When my little cotton ball grows up, will she stop playing with me?'
But Sayeon knew the truth.
Today, this very moment, was the youngest she would ever be.
Of course, as I had told her long ago, no matter how old she became, she would always be my eternal baby.
Still, so that I would not carelessly let slip away these days that sparkle so brilliantly and beautifully, I must give my all to every moment spent with her today as well.
Just as nine-year-old Jeok Soya had grown so quickly, fourteen-year-old Jeok Soya would mature in the blink of an eye.
I must not miss a single moment of my precious little cotton ball's fourteenth year—a time that would never come again.
As Sayeon smiled with such thoughts, Jeok Soya, whose face had been scrunched up with one eyebrow raised, soon broke into a giggle and followed suit.
* * *
The young heroes of this war moved indoors with the Emperor, enjoyed a brief tea ceremony, and then received gifts.
Upon seeing the gleaming jewels nestled in a wooden box, Gaya's expression brightened considerably.
Not only Gaya, but everyone's faces were alight with the joy of war's end, pride in having led to victory, and excitement.
Even after the Emperor rose from his seat first, the excitement did not easily subside.
However, at this meaningful occasion, Jeok San Yu, the eldest son of the Jujak Family, wore an expression that was far from pleased.
It was because of a small girl he had glimpsed when he had carelessly turned around in the banquet hall moments before.
'Did I see it wrong?'
Perhaps I was mistaken after all.
Otherwise, how could the youngest daughter of the Baekho Family bear such a striking resemblance to my younger sister, whom I had sent away so long ago?
'The last time I saw Jeok Soya was when she was six years old. It's been far too long....'
Throughout the banquet and the tea ceremony with the Emperor afterward, I had convinced myself of this, yet an unsettling unease continued to ripple through my chest without relenting.
'But for me to be mistaken about this....'
It was at that moment.
"I've never seen you make that expression before, Baek Ga Ya. You look delighted."
Chung Sua spoke to Gaya, who appeared to be in good spirits.
"It's for Somsom."
Gaya held the gift he had received from the Emperor close to his chest as he spoke.
"Your sister's name is 'Jeok Soya', I heard from your aunt. She's apparently a very small and adorable bird-type beastkin."
At those words, Gaya glared at her menacingly.
"Don't casually speak my sister's name."
His voice was laden with wariness.
"You needn't glare so. Haven't I told you, Gaya? I won't take your sister from you, nor your mother either."
"How easily you speak. Yet you've installed someone else's mother as a representative in your own palace."
"You and I share the same maternal grandfather, making us cousins. Strictly speaking, we are not strangers."
"I don't care. Anyone not my family is a stranger to me."
"How childish. The future of the Baek Family looks bleak."
"That's impossible. My face is so handsome it shines brilliantly."
Gaya tilted his chin up and spoke with arrogant pride.
"And I won't lose anyone to you, regardless of how magnanimously you speak."
"Indeed, I'm sure you won't."
With that, Chung Sua shook her head and departed first.
Meanwhile, Jeok San Yu, who had overheard their conversation, froze in place.
'Jeok Soya...?'
This time, I was certainly not mistaken or mishearing.
Just now, Chung Sua had clearly said it to Baek Ga Ya.
That my youngest sister's name was 'Jeok Soya'.
Baek Ga Ya, who had been wearing an expression of complete satisfaction at having driven Chung Sua away with his eloquent tongue, suddenly noticed me staring at him blankly.
"What are you staring at?"
"Lord Gaya. Is it possible that the sister you saw last night... is named Jeok Soya?"
Normally, he would have childishly turned away with "I won't tell you," in response to such a question.
But today, his mood was exceptionally good.
"Yes. Baek Soya. My cute little Somsom, who shares two characters of her name with mine."
Thus, Gaya answered with a light snort.
But Jeok San Yu's reaction was far from ordinary.
"Somsom...! Somsom is the name of that baby bird I saw back then!"
"Huh?"
"But why...! How is it possible...! How can both your sister and that baby bird be called Somsom?"
"How foolish. Is there nothing but straw in that supposedly brilliant chicken brain of yours?"
Gaya curled his lips mockingly at San Yu, who grabbed me urgently and questioned me.
"Soya is Somsom, and Somsom is Soya, so that's how it is."
"...?"
"The tiniest, most adorable baby bird you saw in that world—that was my sister Jeok Soya."
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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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