Chapter 57
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Chapter 57
"Ah...."
Jeok Soya's small mouth fell open.
"Ah, ah...."
Her lips trembled as if she were trying to say something, yet couldn't quite find the words.
Sayeon didn't rush her, waiting patiently and calmly for Jeok Soya to speak.
Gazing into those two eyes that curved warmly toward her, Jeok Soya squeezed her eyes shut and cried out.
"Daaad!"
In that same moment, tears streamed down her face as she threw herself into his embrace.
The truth was, I had wanted to call him that all along.
Father. Dad.
To call him that and throw myself into his arms, just as Riri did with her older brother.
But for some reason, that single word—"father"—had always felt impossibly difficult for me.
One could have many older brothers, but a father was singular, irreplaceable.
If I were to lose that one and only father again, I feared I would never survive such sorrow.
Sayeon hadn't expected Jeok Soya to embrace him so suddenly, and he froze for a moment.
But then he lifted the child effortlessly into the air, gazing down at her tear-stained eyes.
Her eyes were flushed red, and my heart ached—ached so deeply, so painfully—yet at the same time....
"You know what, little cotton ball? I'm incredibly happy right now."
Sayeon deliberately suppressed his sorrow and broke into a broad smile.
"Because now I truly feel like the father of my precious little cotton ball. I'm so, so happy right now."
"I'm sorry for saying it so late. I knew you were waiting for me, Sayeon—I mean, Father—but it was just so difficult...."
"Don't apologize, little cotton ball."
Sayeon gently pinched Jeok Soya's nose with his thumb and forefinger, then released it as he spoke.
"There's nothing for you to be sorry about. You simply needed time."
"But...."
"Really, are you that sorry?"
"Yes...."
"Then make it up to me by calling me that even more from now on. Call me Dad."
"Yes, I will, Dad! Dad, Dad, Dad, Dad!"
At Jeok Soya's rapid-fire words, the corners of Sayeon's mouth twitched upward.
I had never realized before how beautiful the word "dad" truly sounded.
No matter how many times I heard it, I wanted to hear it again and again—it was that wonderful.
* * *
The next morning.
When Jeok Soya opened her eyes, Tae Irim had already departed from Baek Ho Palace.
'He really left right away.'
Though we had said our farewells the night before, I couldn't help but feel a pang of regret.
'Will I be able to see him again next time?'
With such thoughts, Jeok Soya sat before the mirror and watched as Yeon Jeong braided her hair.
Today, I had braided my hair into two strands and coiled them at ear level, securing them with silk ribbons—a special request from Jeok Soya.
"There we are! All finished, Miss. My, you look absolutely precious today."
"Our dear Miss, what's gotten into you today? Taking such care with your appearance, choosing your own clothes and all."
It was the first morning Jeok Soya had expressed a preference for anything, when she typically paid no mind to her hairstyle or clothing.
Could our precious Miss have someone she wished to impress?
Though His Imperial Majesty from the Imperial Palace had departed early this morning.
"I'm going to see Father!"
But Jeok Soya answered as if she had been waiting for that very question.
"My goodness."
For the first time, the Miss had called the Master "Father." Yeon Jeong and San Ho, noticing this, gasped in astonishment.
"I promised Father this morning that we'd go meet Aunt together."
Jeok Soya spoke with a rather proud expression, emphasizing the word "Father."
Charmed by her demeanor, Yeon Jeong and San Ho exchanged glances and giggled.
Jeok Soya, beaming with a smile, made her way to Sayeon's Study.
Jeok Young, who happened to be standing outside, greeted her upon seeing her approach.
"Good morning, little cotton ball Miss. Have you come to see the Master?"
"Yes! I've come to see Father! Father and I are going to meet Aunt!"
"The Master is inside... Wait, did you just say Father?"
"Yes, Father!"
Jeok Soya answered in a spirited voice.
Sayeon, who had heard her voice through the slightly ajar door, emerged with his lips barely suppressed from curling upward.
"Cotton ball. Did you come to see Dad?"
"Yes, Dad...!"
Jeok Soya beamed and nestled into Sayeon's embrace.
Ho Jeok Young's eyes widened in surprise at the transformation of the Miss, who had until now maintained propriety by calling the Master "Sayeon" and kept her distance.
"Jeok Young. I have somewhere to go with cotton ball, so watch over the Study."
Sayeon spoke to Jeok Young with a proud expression.
At that moment, the expressions of father and daughter were identical.
The destination of the two was none other than Sara's Sacred Shrine.
Sara closed her eyes and placed her hand upon Sayeon's head, sensing the essence of his spiritual core.
Jeok Soya, more tense than the other two, clenched her fists and waited anxiously for the result.
"This is extraordinary."
After a long moment, an exclamation escaped Sara's lips.
"How remarkable, Sayeon. Your spiritual core's essence has truly changed."
"Is that good, Aunt?"
Unable to contain her curiosity, Jeok Soya interjected with her question.
"Indeed it is, little cotton ball. It has changed for the better. Your spiritual core has become remarkably clear and pure. It's as though..."
Sara, whose voice had trailed off momentarily, glanced at Jeok Soya before continuing.
"Yes, as though it has been 'purified.'"
"...!"
Jeok Soya's face brightened with delight.
"Does this mean Father's spiritual core no longer aches?"
"Hard to say. What do you think, Sayeon?"
"The faint pain in the spiritual core that I've been sensing seems to have vanished. Though we won't know for certain until the full moon."
"How extraordinary. What happened last night?"
No matter how potent Jeok Soya's purification ability was, cleansing a corrupted spiritual core was beyond her reach.
Restoring a damaged and tainted spiritual core was not within the domain of ordinary beast-folk.
Under Sara's suspicious gaze, Jeok Soya explained everything she had witnessed, heard, and done the previous night.
"Borrowed power, not purification?"
Sara's expression hardened slightly.
"Why do you look troubled, Sister?"
....
Abilities that borrowed power from others had existed before, though rarely.
But the power Jeok Soya had borrowed was no ordinary force—it belonged to a transcendent being.
Only one entity came to mind immediately.
If the Divine Beast White Tiger was the "Guardian" of the Western Lands, then in the Southern Lands existed a being called the "Purifier."
Perhaps it was mere coincidence. But....
[Sister, Jeok Soya awakened the Divine Beast White Tiger during the Mountain Lord Festival.]
What if, during that festival, this child hadn't merely awakened the "Guardian" but had borrowed its power instead?
'I sensed something extraordinary in the child's spiritual core, but....'
If the child truly bore a destiny to awaken transcendent beings, then as an ordinary beast-folk, I should refrain from interfering further.
The moment I speak, her fate might unravel.
"No, nothing at all. You possess a truly remarkable ability, little one."
Thus Sara held her tongue.
But there was one more thing that puzzled her.
How had the young Emperor seen through Jeok Soya's ability?
Even I, who had observed countless spiritual cores of beast-folk, could not discern it at a glance.
* * *
Crack—!
With the sharp sound of flesh striking flesh, the young maidservant's head snapped to the left.
"I-I'm sorry, Miss. Please forgive me...."
"Then why do you keep making mistakes?"
Smack—!
"Ow!"
The maidservant's head whipped to the right this time.
Riri vented her cruelty with relish, snorting with satisfaction.
The young maidservant, both cheeks flushed crimson, was prostrate beneath Riri's feet, trembling with sobs.
"Riri."
The voice of Father, Jeok Ahyun, rang out.
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