Chapter 59
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Chapter 59
Just a moment ago, I could have sworn I saw a flash of light from the divine artifact.
Yet when I turned back, there was nothing but the massive divine palace, no different from usual, emitting not a glimmer of light.
'Did I imagine it?'
Jeok Ahyun, who had been examining the divine palace with a tense expression born of sudden alarm, felt his strength drain away.
'No, that can't be right.'
There was only one circumstance under which a divine artifact would shine: when the ancient divine beast who was its original master awakened.
'I must be exhausted.'
Jeok Ahyun pressed his temples and turned to leave.
As he stepped outside and walked, he spotted his son conversing with a subordinate.
Noticing his son's grave expression, Jeok Ahyun called out to him.
"What's the matter, Hwayou?"
"Ah... Father."
Jeok Hwayou hesitated before speaking.
"The head of the Baek Family has adopted a daughter."
"That's hardly cause for concern. Since there are no direct-line daughters, he simply adopted from the branch family."
Jeok Ahyun replied with casual indifference.
"But the child's name is..."
At his son's next words, Jeok Ahyun's expression hardened like stone.
"Jeok Soya."
* * *
To the east of the empire, in the Blue Dragon Territory, which cradled a vast sea.
Behind a curtain woven from jade-green silk, a woman with an alluring presence sat—her hair a striking blue, her eyes a violet hue.
Acting head of the Cheongryong Family, Chung Ha.
Drip, drip. With the sound of falling water, a lizard leaped from the surface of the pool.
It soon transformed into a small boy who scurried toward Chung Ha.
"Chung Ha! Chung Ha!"
"Why all the fuss?"
Chung Ha, who had been filing her nails, asked the boy in a languid voice.
"I heard incredible news from the mainland!"
"News?"
"Well, you see... Sayeon adopted his youngest daughter!"
"Is that supposed to be remarkable?"
"Isn't it?"
"It's a bit presumptuous of him to adopt a daughter without telling me, I suppose."
Chung Ha laughed and, thinking of Sayeon, her thoughts drifted to the three boys who resembled him so—the three young lords of the Baekho Family: Baek Gahyun, Baek Gayul, and Baek Gahyun.
"...I wonder how those children are faring."
At Chung Ha's murmur, the boy asked.
"Will you visit the Western Lands?"
"Hmm. Perhaps."
"But you know, Chung Ha, if you leave the Blue Dragon Territory, your spiritual core will...."
"Don't worry so much, Asaeng. My heart yearns to depart like the sea, but the accumulated duties pile up like mountains."
Chung Ha gestured toward the documents stacked before her desk and shrugged her shoulders.
She could not leave this place just yet.
Had it been a responsibility so easily cast aside, she would never have accepted this position in the first place.
'That little one is already approaching her first growth phase.'
Unlike her deliberately casual response, her eyes grew distant as she gazed down at the stack of documents.
* * *
That autumn brought many momentous events into Jeok Soya's life.
She gained a true family—steadfast and cherishing, who would protect her regardless of what form she took, whether winged creature or beast.
She awakened Baekho on Horim Mountain and obtained the divine water, became the champion of the Mountain Lord Festival with confidence, and grew into a magnificent young bird who conquered her fear of transformation and learned to soar magnificently through the skies.
Beyond that, she awakened her own ability, and using the power of that 'purification,' she helped Seol Yo and Father.
Though she still had not discovered the identity of that presence who lent her the power of 'purification'....
Jeok Soya found each day spent at Baek Ho Palace utterly blissful. Every moment gleamed and shimmered with beauty, precious as jewels.
Yet she felt a gentle melancholy that these cherished hours seemed to slip away far too swiftly.
As the month of transition gave way to the month of reflection, the air grew crisp and cool.
The bedding adorning Soya's Room grew thicker in turn.
Like the downy, plump fur of a baby creature fluffing up as winter approached.
Jeok Soya lay nestled deep within her now-puffy quilts, sleeping soundly.
"...Young lady...."
The voices of Yeon Jeong and San Ho stirred her from sleep.
"Young lady, wake up at once!"
Their tone was unusually flustered, unlike their normal manner.
"Mmm, Yeon Jeong, San Ho, just a little longer...."
"Hurry! It snowed at Baek Ho Palace!"
Jeok Soya, who had been burrowing deeper into her quilts, sprang upright at those words.
"Snow?!"
She whirled her head toward the window without thinking and gasped in astonishment.
"...!"
Snow had fallen through the night, blanketing Baek Ho Palace entirely in pristine white!
Sleep vanished from her in an instant, and Jeok Soya scampered toward the window.
Gripping the window frame and peering down, her eyes wide with wonder, she turned back to Yeon Jeong and San Ho and cried out.
"Baek Ho Palace has turned white!"
The roofs, the tree branches, the stone statues and steps—all were covered in pristine white snow.
"It snowed last night. This is the first snow of the year."
"...!"
At Yeon Jeong's explanation, Jeok Soya's face brightened with radiance.
"Please, please, can we go down, Yeon Jeong? I want to see that snow!"
The Phoenix Territory where Jeok Soya was born and raised never received snow even in the depths of winter, due to the warmth the earth itself harbored.
The Phoenix Territory where Jeok Soya was born and raised never saw snow even in the depths of winter because of the fire energy contained within the land.
At nine years old, Jeok Soya encountered snow for the first time in her life, and she was absolutely thrilled.
Watching her hop excitedly, urging everyone to hurry outside, Yeon Jeong chuckled softly and spoke.
"Yes, yes. Let's go outside right away. First, we'll wash your face and change into warm quilted clothes."
Even during the brief time it took to wash and change, Jeok Soya's impatience got the better of her, and she asked several times.
"What if all the snow melts before we get out there?"
"Don't worry, young lady. The snow is still falling from the sky."
"Still, I want to go out now, now!"
"That won't do, young lady. If you go out like that, you'll catch a cold. You must dress warmly."
Despite the young lady's unusual insistence, Yeon Jeong remained firm.
Yeon Jeong brought out a quilted jacket and a thick vest, both trimmed with pristine white fur along the collar and sleeves.
While Jeok Soya gazed at them with wonder, Yeon Jeong wrapped a cozy winter hood around her head and hands.
Only after being bundled up from head to toe could Jeok Soya finally step outside.
"It's so beautiful! It's just like flowers falling from the sky!"
Seeing snow for the first time and finding it so beautiful and wondrous, Jeok Soya cried out in excitement.
Not far away, a pristine white tiger cub was bounding across the snowy field.
The cub, already covered head to tail in snow, was none other than Baek Gayul.
Being so white, he would likely disappear entirely if he hid in the snow.
"Roar, roaaaaar! (Cotton puff, what are you doing! Play with me!)"
Baek Gayul, his entire fur caked with snow, bounded about like a frog.
Yet unlike her earlier eagerness to see the snow, Jeok Soya hesitated now, stopping just short of stepping onto the snowy field, unable to bring herself to take that final step.
'Oh my, what should I do? Our young lady seems afraid of the snow.'
'The way she looks is just like a little ball of snow—so adorable.'
'How is it that our little cotton puff young lady is even endearing when she's frightened?'
Everyone chuckled softly as the young lady repeatedly lifted her foot toward the snow, hesitated, and drew it back.
Then, suddenly—!
Jeok Soya's body lifted into the air.
Yet because she could recognize him without seeing his face, instead of being startled, Jeok Soya laughed brightly and cried out.
"Father!"
In the span of a season, calling him father had become entirely natural.
Sayeon looked at Jeok Soya, bundled up completely, and smiled broadly.
"My little cotton puff has come out fully armed. You've become quite round and plump."
"I'm not cold at all! It's just that Yeon Jeong dressed me up like this!"
Jeok Soya protested indignantly.
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