Chapter 13
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Chapter 13
The baby bird I thought was asleep kept its eyes closed, breathing in shallow, wheezing gasps.
Thump!
My heart plummeted.
The breathing was so fragile it seemed as though it might stop at any moment.
"S-Softy's breathing is strange!"
"Oh no, the Physician! I'll fetch the Physician!"
Suri was about to dash out to summon the Physician.
"Wait, it's not the Physician!"
"Y-yes...?"
"Her spiritual core is unstable!"
I sensed it instinctively. Softy's problem wasn't physical—it was her spiritual core.
"We need to take her to Aunt, not the Physician!"
"Y-yes? You mean... Aunt Sara?"
Baek Sara—the elder sister of the household master Baek Sayeon and the priestess of Baek Ho Palace. She was notorious for her temperamental nature.
Because of this, Suri and the other residents of Baek Ho Palace generally avoided approaching the Sacred Shrine, but this was no time for such concerns.
That adorable little Softy was suffering.
Suri immediately transformed into a massive wolf and bolted toward the Sacred Shrine on the eastern side of Baek Ho Palace, carrying me and Softy on his back.
The moment we arrived, I leaped down from Suri's back and pounded on the door.
"Aunt Sara! Aunt Sara!"
The door creaked open, and a woman with long white hair elegantly pinned up emerged, her expression cold and refined despite her beauty, a long pipe held between her lips.
It was Baek Sara, the priestess of Baek Ho Palace.
"I wondered what rude beast was pounding on the Sacred Shrine's door."
Baek Sara looked down at her youngest nephew with clear displeasure, clicking her tongue.
"So it's Baek Sayeon's youngest beast. Tsk."
"Save Softy!"
I thrust both hands forward desperately.
"Softy...! Softy's breathing is wrong! I was watching her so carefully, and then suddenly she just collapsed and—!"
Cradled in my small palms was an even tinier white baby bird.
"Is this the Softy that Sayeon picked up?"
Sara narrowed her eyes, observing the baby bird intently.
Word had spread throughout Baek Ho Palace that Baek Sayeon had brought home a tiny girl resembling a little puffball in the middle of the night and given her the Western End Room.
The news had even reached Sara's ears, despite her usual indifference to palace affairs.
Not a four-legged beast, but a winged creature.
Curiosity stirred at the sight of such a small life form, unseen in Baek Ho Palace, but assessing the baby bird's condition took priority.
Sara gently placed her hand over the bird's tiny body and closed her eyes.
Then, sensing something amiss, her eyes snapped open.
Golden light rippled across her blue irises.
"Bring Sayeon. Now!"
"Y-yes! Right away, Sara!"
At the terrifying shout, Suri bolted from the room in panic.
* * *
In the southern reaches of the continent, the Phoenix Territory.
Jeok Hwayou sat at his desk, processing documents.
From three years ago onward, he had taken over the family's affairs in his father's stead.
"Young Master."
It was then that the Masked Assassin appeared.
Jeok Hwayou glanced at the man, then replied in an emotionless voice.
"Unexpected."
Two days had passed since he'd entrusted the task.
He had assumed the man would have left the southern lands by now, so his visit was somewhat surprising. Yet Jeok Hwayou lowered his gaze back to the documents and asked in an indifferent tone.
"What happened to that child?"
"She is dead."
A pause.
His hand, which had been turning pages with detachment, froze.
The Masked Assassin placed what he had found upon the desk.
A blood-stained pouch. And... three colorful beads.
Jeok Hwayou did not recognize them immediately.
But soon he realized they were fragments of that beaded bracelet he had purchased for Soaya on the streets.
"They were discovered at the location where her final traces were found."
"...."
As Jeok Hwayou stared blankly at them, the Masked Assassin continued his report.
That wretched little bird who had stolen the young lady's place and deceived everyone had vanished, leaving only bloodstains behind.
Not even her corpse could be found.
"...I see."
Jeok Hwayou nodded and dismissed the man.
He covered his weary face with his palm.
That child was dead...
Was she truly gone?
He had never intended to kill her. He had merely...
[Riri can never live under the same sky as that child. If you don't want to watch Riri die, please make that child disappear.]
[I'll do anything you want. If she troubles you, I'll remove her from your sight forever. So please, don't cry, Riri. My heart is breaking.]
Yes. He had never intended to kill her.
He had merely wanted to send her far away so she could never appear before Riri again.
Because if she remained, Riri would grieve.
Poor Riri.
Whenever Jeok Hwayou thought of Riri, his heart ached.
But why was it...
Soaya. When the thought crossed his mind that she might be dead, his chest hurt just as it did when he thought of Riri.
'No. No, that's wrong. She is the daughter of a criminal who stole and destroyed Riri's childhood. For Riri's sake, I cannot grieve over that child's death.'
Jeok Hwayou rose from his seat, his face contorted with rage as he clenched his teeth.
'I need to report this to Father....'
Father still doesn't know.
He has no idea that she disappeared from the estate.
Ever since Riri returned, Father's attention has been solely fixed on her.
But what am I supposed to report?
That she's dead.
All that remained at the spot where the child vanished were a few belongings and dried bloodstains.
We couldn't find her body.
Even if she were alive, she'll die soon anyway.
Because her spirit core has already....
* * *
Soaya had to have her spirit core stolen the very moment she awakened it for the first time on the day of her first transformation at age six.
As a result, the child's body failed to develop properly over the course of three years without a spirit core.
Moreover, attempting forced transformation without a spirit core had left her body ravaged with injuries throughout.
That weakened flesh then excessively absorbed the energy of the spirit core she had regained not long ago, causing severe complications.
"This child seems to have endured an extraordinarily long time without a spirit core."
Baek Sara, who had already returned to human form, looked down at Soaya lying on the bed, breathing heavily, and explained.
"The child's unusual smallness and frailty likely stem from that. She failed to grow properly while enduring such a prolonged absence of a spirit core."
Baek Sayeon's face hardened like stone as he listened silently to the explanation.
In the world of the Beastkin, stripping someone of their spirit core was something done only to criminals who had committed grave sins.
That authority belonged to the heads of the Four Great Families, and this child lived under the influence of the Jujak Family.
'Which means... the one who took this child's spirit core....'
It must have been the will of Jeok Ahyun, the patriarch of the Jujak Family.
"Moreover, the spirit core itself isn't in a complete state. It's severely damaged."
"...."
"It wasn't simply deteriorated and broken from being separated from its owner and left unmanaged. It appears someone deliberately destroyed it."
Baek Sara furrowed her brow and spoke with a grave expression.
"They deliberately destroyed the spirit core of such a small child?"
Baek Sayeon asked in disbelief.
Immediately, he recalled the Samjokoh of the Jujak Family that had attacked the child on the day they first met.
'Could it have been their doing?'
Jeok Ahyun, the patriarch of the Jujak Family known as the Sage of the Southern Lands, was renowned for his benevolence and righteousness.
A man with a reputation entirely different from Baek Sayeon, known as the Mad Tiger of the Western Lands—the two were as incompatible as water and oil.
It was utterly unbelievable that such a man would commit such vile acts against a child so small and young.
[So I... nearly died? By... the people of the Jujak Family....]
The moment he recalled Soaya weeping sorrowfully as she spoke those words, Baek Sayeon found himself frowning involuntarily.
The Red Fox Clan member he had left with the cotton doll had reported that the child's body was covered with wounds everywhere.
As if bearing the marks of long-standing abuse....
What on earth had this child experienced with the Jujak Family?
I should send someone to the Southern Lands to investigate.
The easiest way to find out would be to ask the child directly.
But if she truly had been abused, even recalling those memories would wound her anew.
Above all, I didn't want to see the child cry again.
The sight of her weeping so sorrowfully haunted me—my chest ached whenever I remembered it.
Baek Sayeon was lost in thoughts uncharacteristically gentle.
"I have nourished the child's body and spirit core with my most precious elixir, so with proper nourishment, rest, and care, she should recover soon."
"Thank you, Sister."
"Don't mention it. But without proper treatment of the spirit core, the fundamental problem won't be resolved. And as you know, the methods to treat a spirit core are..."
Baek Sayeon and Baek Sara continued their grave conversation.
"Oh? The little cotton ball opened her eyes!"
Gayul, who had been clinging to my side, sprang up with a shout.
In an instant, all eyes turned toward me.
"Cotton ball! Are you alright?"
"Are you well?"
Gayul and Baek Sayeon asked in turn.
Waking in an unfamiliar place, I couldn't comprehend what had happened and could only blink my eyes blankly.
"You were dozing on the rock, and then you just collapsed! So I brought you to Aunt Sara!"
"Ah...."
At Gayul's explanation, my brows furrowed into a worried arch.
I had been sitting atop the large rock in the Garden, basking in the sunlight on such a beautiful day.
Chasing the sun was the nature of a bird-type beastkin, but at the Jujak Estate, I could never bask in the sun so freely.
Everyone disliked it whenever I wandered outside.
But here at Baek Ho Palace, things were different.
Yeon Jeong and San Ho had told me I could take walks whenever I wished.
No one grew angry or frowned when I went outside.
No one pinched their nose at my smell or pointed fingers while whispering about me.
There was that strange tiger young master who kept stealing glances at me, but I didn't mind—I could tell his gaze held no sharp malice.
So while Yeon Jeong stepped away briefly to report something to Baek Sayeon, I had crept outside alone for a walk.
I remembered sitting on the rock, basking in the sun, before drowsiness crept over me and my eyes grew heavy....
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org