Chapter 14
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Chapter 14
"I've caused you trouble again, haven't I? I'm so sorry..."
Soya apologized in a dejected voice. At the sight of this, one of Saeon's eyebrows shot up sharply.
"Trouble? What are you talking about?"
What in the world had this small child endured in that land of featherbrained fools that the very first words upon waking were an apology?
Saeon barely managed to swallow down the rising animosity toward the Jujak Family. He couldn't frighten the child, after all.
"Not at all. So stop worrying needlessly, little cotton ball."
Instead, he gently stroked Soya's hair with tender, unhurried movements.
In that instant, Soya's eyes widened perfectly round.
It was the same kind touch he gave the young masters when he caressed their heads—gentle yet seemingly indifferent.
I remember yearning for that touch so much that I would steal glances at it without meaning to.
Soya felt tears threatening to spill without warning, so I bit down firmly on my lower lip.
"Father! Cotton ball is crying!"
Gayul cried out to Saeon upon noticing Soya's reddened eyes.
"What?"
Saeon faltered in momentary confusion.
"Father made cotton ball cry! It's your fault!"
"No, that's not it!"
At Saeon's grave expression, Soya quickly waved both hands and shook my head vigorously.
"Really, truly it's not! It really isn't! It's just... I was yawning! Look, ahhhhhh!"
Soya opened my tiny mouth wide and mimed a great yawn.
The clumsy gesture laid bare my worry that Saeon might suffer an unfair misunderstanding.
At that endearingly awkward sight, Saeon's stern expression finally softened, and he let out a quiet laugh.
"It seems cotton ball is quite drowsy. Your mouth is splitting wide open with those yawns."
Watching Saeon's relaxed face, Soya exhaled in relief.
At that moment, Baek Sara, who had been observing the entire scene, spoke to Soya.
"You there, little one who looks like cotton ball. Let's have a word together, shall we?"
At the unfamiliar adult's proposal, Soya shrank back slightly.
Noticing that Soya was shy, Saeon stepped in front of the child and spoke.
"Sister, cotton ball still needs rest."
"Who said I'd devour this child? As the priestess of Baek Ho Palace, I have matters to discuss with this one, so step aside..."
"What? What did you say, Aunt? You'd devour cotton ball?"
Gayul raised his voice in shock.
"...That boy Gayul has been neglecting his studies and training lately, it seems. He's become quite the simpleton."
Sara pressed her throbbing temple.
"How could you think something so terrifying! Cotton ball is so small, so small, so very small..."
Gayul trembled, looking at Sara as though she were the world's most villainous fiend.
"That's right, Sister. Cotton ball is far too small to withstand your frightening appearance..."
"All of you, out of the Sacred Shrine this instant! I've had enough!"
Unable to contain herself any longer, Sara shouted in a sharp voice.
In the end, everyone was ushered out, leaving Soya alone with Baek Sara in her sacred shrine.
"I am Baek Sara, priestess of Baek Ho Palace. Managing the spiritual cores of young beastkin falls within my duties as well."
Soya gazed at Baek Sara with a hint of nervousness at finding herself alone with this unfamiliar adult.
Long, pristine white hair, an imposing height, elongated eyes, an air of cool detachment, and piercing blue eyes....
'Huh...?'
Suddenly, Soya realized that Baek Sara bore a striking resemblance to Sa Eon.
'She looks so much like Sa Eon.'
Miraculously, the tension melted away, and her heart found ease.
"Hello, Baek Sara. I'm Soya."
Soya greeted her with a noticeably more comfortable tone.
"Did you know your spiritual core was damaged?"
Baek Sara asked abruptly.
"My spiritual core... was damaged...?"
Watching Soya's eyes waver, Baek Sara let out a short sigh.
"It seems you didn't know. Your spiritual core hasn't been functioning at all."
"Ah...."
Soya gripped the edge of the blanket tightly with both hands, lowering her head.
'My spiritual core. It's broken.'
There was no question about who had done it.
It was Hwa Yu, her older brother.
Three years ago, he was the one who took her spiritual core.
'Did I displease him so much?'
Tears welled up above her pale pink eyes.
Plink. Plink.
Where the child's tears fell, thick tearstains bloomed.
What Soya had been robbed of was far more than just her spiritual core.
The family that should have been her shelter as a young child, the love they should have given her—all of it was stolen in an instant.
And so, from that day three years ago when her spiritual core was taken, Soya's time had been frozen ever since.
Overwhelmed by fresh sorrow, Soya wept silently, tears streaming down her face.
The reason the indifference and hatred she had endured for the past three years now felt so painfully acute was, perhaps, because of the warm kindness she had received from the people of Baek Ho Palace.
Baek Sara found something stirring within her as she watched Soya shed tears like drops of chicken droppings, yet swallow her sobs without making a single sound.
This child had a way of softening one's heart.
Perhaps that was why Sa Eon couldn't overlook her and brought her here.
'I should wait until I'm more certain before mentioning the unusual aura I sense in this child's spiritual core.'
Baek Sara recalled the distinctly clear and pure energy she had detected the moment she first examined Soya's spiritual core.
It was an auspicious and luminous aura comparable to the power of divine beasts—something she had never encountered before.
However, it was too early to jump to conclusions. She would come to understand it as she observed the child during her stay at Baek Ho Palace.
'But still....'
Baek Sara looked down at Soya with her arms crossed at an angle.
'I don't particularly care for her crying like that.'
Baek Sara's brow furrowed slightly as she rose from her seat and drew the curtains around the bed where Soya sat.
Swish.
Startled by the sudden sound of the curtains, Soya's tears ceased with a hiccup as she looked up at Baek Sara.
"Child."
Baek Sara spoke with an imperious tilt of her chin.
"The Sacred Shrine is well-soundproofed, so you may cry as loudly as you wish."
"I... I see...?"
"I don't know how to soothe children. So cry all you need, and stop once you've calmed yourself."
"But... but still..."
Cry aloud? Yet in the Jujak Family, everyone grew angry whenever I wept...
As Soya merely hiccupped while staring at her, Baek Sara raised one eyebrow menacingly.
"What? Do you expect me to hold you in my arms and comfort you?"
"N-no, I..."
At the sharp edge in her voice, Soya frantically waved her hands.
"Tsk, what a handful you are."
Baek Sara extended her arms toward Soya.
Soya flinched instinctively, but then—
Thump.
Soya's small frame was drawn into Baek Sara's embrace.
"...!"
Soya's eyes widened as she gazed up at Baek Sara.
Tears welled up in an instant, her nose stinging.
'I mustn't cry. If I do, everyone will hate me. Just like the people of the Jujak Family did...'
The moment Soya bit her lower lip to suppress the tears threatening to overflow—
Pat.
A gentle, indifferent hand touched her back.
Pat. Pat.
At those awkward yet clumsy pats on her back, Soya could no longer hold back and burst into tears with a wail: "Waaahhh—"
"Like a water-logged cotton ball, truly."
At last hearing that childlike cry, Baek Sara let out a soft laugh and murmured.
* * *
"We're so sorry, Miss. We should have stayed right beside you..."
Upon learning that Soya had collapsed, Yeon Jeong and San Ho could not hide their distress and remorse.
"Please, don't apologize like that! Please don't say such things."
Soya waved her hands frantically, flustered.
"This won't do. From now on, we mustn't separate. We'll hold hands tightly wherever we go. Understood, Miss?"
"And with me too, Miss! Let's hold hands tightly as we go!"
Yeon Jeong and San Ho simultaneously extended their hands toward Soya.
Soya's face, which had been flustered moments before, brightened instantly at the sight of their outstretched hands.
"Yes, yes...!"
I quickly stretched out my arms and grasped Yeon Jeong and San Ho's hands before the two of them could let go.
Their hands felt different from Suri's hand that had stroked my head.
Suri's hand was broad and firm.
Yeon Jeong's hand, which I held with my left hand, was smaller than his but soft and supple.
San Ho's hand, which I clasped with my right hand, bore calluses in places unlike Yeon Jeong's, yet it was warm.
And Baek Sara's hand, the one that had patted my back... was terribly kind.
Despite her cold and harsh impression and curt voice, Baek Sara was truly a gentle person.
Perhaps everyone in Baek Ho Palace resembled Suri and possessed such kindness.
I wished my own hands could be warm like theirs.
With that thought, I held both their hands firmly and took a leisurely stroll.
But from that day onward, those who clung to me without parting were not only Yeon Jeong and San Ho.
From the day I collapsed, Gayul openly followed me around.
And Suri, his face clouded with sorrow, chased after Gayul.
It was the fifth day since I arrived here.
Unable to bear Suri's increasingly gloomy expression, I carefully broached the subject.
"Um, Young Master. Suri has been worried since earlier—wouldn't it be better for you to go to the Training Ground?"
"It can't be helped because you're so weak!"
Yet Gayul snorted dismissively, as though unconcerned with Suri's troubles.
"That's why I'm telling you—who keeps collapsing like that because they're so frail?"
"...I'm sorry."
I heard that it was the Third Young Master himself who saved me when I collapsed.
Worried that I had become a burden to him and filled with remorse, my face fell into gloom.
Gayul then realized his mistake and quickly changed his words.
"Ah, no, I mean...! I, the third son of the great Baekho Family, will specially protect you!"
"What? Why would you protect me...?"
"Well, it's because you're pre...! Pre...!"
Gayul stumbled over his words for a moment, then cried out with a flushed face.
"Because I'm worried you might encounter a ghost!"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org