Chapter 53
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Chapter 53
'This is such a strange feeling.'
Seol Yo shook his head vigorously, trying to dispel the thought.
Then he continued to creep behind the shrubland, following the two strolling figures and stealing glances at them.
"Young lady, you should come inside now."
At Yeon Jeong's call, Jeok Soya went in first.
Tae Irim remained in place, his gaze lingering on Soya's retreating figure for a long moment.
A serene and warm smile graced his face.
Seol Yo did not like that.
'Why is he looking at Soya with that expression?'
Just as he was grumbling inwardly about it—
Whip!
Suddenly, he turned his head toward me.
Seol Yo, hidden in the shrubland, locked eyes directly with Tae Irim.
"Ugh, aah!"
Startled, Seol Yo tumbled backward with a thud.
In the process, the ginkgo leaves he had gathered for Soya scattered across the ground.
Tae Irim approached him with an unhurried gait.
Step, step, step.
At the sound of his footsteps, Seol Yo bared his teeth menacingly and growled in warning.
"D-don't come any closer!"
But Tae Irim did not stop walking.
Soon standing before Seol Yo, Tae Irim bent at the waist and greeted him in a gentle voice.
"Hello."
"...."
Seol Yo glared at him silently. At that hostile gaze, Tae Irim smiled faintly and spoke.
"You don't need to look at me with eyes like that."
"...."
"I will pose no threat to you—as long as you don't harm that child."
Seol Yo stiffened momentarily, clenching his teeth.
He had grasped who the "child" Tae Irim spoke of was.
"I would never harm Soya!"
Seol Yo cried out indignantly.
"I'm the one protecting Soya! You're the one who shouldn't harm her!"
At this, Tae Irim's lips curved into an oblique smile.
Flinch.
At that seemingly cold smile, Seol Yo's shoulders instinctively shrank back.
"It had better be that way. That's the only reason I'm letting you live."
Tae Irim, who had been regarding Seol Yo with a chilling gaze, turned away.
'What, what is this? Why does he look at people like that? How unpleasant.'
Seol Yo remained sprawled on the floor, watching Tae Irim's retreating figure with a grumble of protest.
* * *
Soya's Room.
"Why is that person your older brother! I hate it! Don't call him older brother!"
Baek Gayul was rolling across the floor in a full tantrum.
Just moments ago, he had overheard Soya calling Tae Irim "older brother."
Baek Gayul despised the idea of anyone else being called Soya's older brother.
As Soya's true older brother, he could not accept it.
Moreover, the way that man spoke and acted as though he understood Soya better than they did was infuriating!
"Besides, that person isn't even family. He doesn't have the character 'Baek' in his name like we do!"
"You shouldn't refer to him that way."
Baek Gahyun, who had been watching Baek Gayul's tantrum with disdain, corrected his brother's manner of address.
"He is the Son of Heaven of the Taehwa Kingdom. You must address him properly as His Imperial Majesty, lest you be arrested for disrespect."
Yet even as Baek Gahyun spoke these words, his own expression was far from its usual composure.
"But Soya, I do wish you wouldn't grow so close to His Majesty."
Baek Gahyun looked at Soya with a grave tone.
"He doesn't seem to have a good reputation. I'm worried about you becoming intimate with someone so dangerous."
"But..."
Soya recalled the figure of Tae Irim he had seen in the garden moments before.
He remained the same gentle and warm person as the Fifth Prince in my memories.
"Those are merely rumors. The His Majesty I know is not a dangerous person."
Soya refused to let himself be swayed by the gossip of others.
Even if terrible things had occurred around him, perhaps there were reasons I did not yet understand.
I wanted to judge him based solely on what I had witnessed and felt myself.
Just as he had treated me warmly when we met again at the Joojak Residence, despite my troubled past.
The door creaked open.
All three siblings turned their heads in unison at the sound.
"So you were all here."
Sayeon leaned against the doorframe, smiling warmly at the children.
"Father!"
Baek Gahyun cried out with delight and sprang to his feet.
"I regret we didn't properly greet you earlier. Are you finished with your urgent matters now?"
Since returning to Baek Ho Palace, Sayeon had been occupied with attending to the Emperor and handling pressing affairs, leaving no time for proper greetings with the children.
"Father, why are you only coming now!"
Baek Gayul rushed toward Sayeon and clung to him, bouncing excitedly.
Though he had tried to appear composed before Soya, the truth was that Baek Gayul had missed his father dearly.
"I'm sorry, my little tiger. You weren't crying because you missed your father, were you?"
"I'm not a baby! Soon I'll undergo my first growth stage!"
"Of course, of course, Gayul."
Sayeon lifted Baek Gayul effortlessly with one arm and stepped into the room with a burst of laughter.
Then I noticed Baek Gahyun approaching my side, whom I embraced with my other arm, and Jeok Soya staring at me with bright, glistening eyes.
He wanted to run to me and embrace me like his older brothers, but his face showed hesitation—uncertainty about whether he was allowed to do so.
Reading his heart completely, Sayeon spread his arms wide to create space and asked in a deliberately wounded tone.
"Fluffy. Didn't you want to see Father?"
"I, I did want to see you! Really, really much!"
Jeok Soya answered immediately, as if he'd been waiting for Sayeon to ask him exactly that.
"Then Fluffy should come greet Father right away."
"Y, yes...!"
Jeok Soya scurried toward Sayeon's embrace and quickly nestled into his arms.
"I missed you all so much too—my little tiger cubs and my little fluffy one."
Sayeon smiled softly and embraced all three children at once.
In doing so, Jeok Soya nestled against his older brothers within Sayeon's sturdy embrace like a protective fence, and burst into bright, ringing laughter.
At that carefree, innocent laughter, Sayeon found himself breaking into an involuntary smile.
Does Fluffy know? That I've been smiling so beautifully like this for some time now.
"You've been protecting Baek Ho Palace well while I was away, haven't you?"
"Yes, Father. With Jeok Young's help, I was able to protect Baek Ho Palace well. And whenever Gayul tried to skip training, I'd grab him and throw him into the Training Ground."
"W, when did I! No, Father! I trained really hard and even got praised by my master!"
Baek Gahyun and Baek Gayul eagerly recounted their recent activities.
"And what about my little fluffy one?"
"I kept practicing because I wanted to use my ability again, but it didn't go well."
Jeok Soya spoke in a slightly dejected voice.
"You don't need to push yourself. You haven't even undergone your first growth phase yet."
"But still, I want to become helpful to you and everyone else as soon as possible."
"Helpful?"
"Sara said that if I master my ability, it will be a great help to you and the family."
"You've been thinking such admirable thoughts?"
Sayeon looked at Jeok Soya with a feigned expression of surprise, then burst into laughter.
"Only our little fluffy one thinks of me like that."
Even as Sayeon's hand ruffled Jeok Soya's hair, the regretful expression didn't fade from the child's face.
"As it happens, I have something to give to my admirable little fluffy one."
"...?"
"What, Father! Did you only buy a gift for Fluffy?"
Baek Gayul looked at Sayeon with a betrayed expression.
'A gift from Sayeon!'
Jeok Soya peeked around Sayeon with a heart racing with excitement.
'But there's nothing in Sayeon's hands?'
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