Chapter 60
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Chapter 60
As the weather grew colder, every time I transformed into my beast form, my fur would thicken, and Baek Gayul would tease me relentlessly about how round and fluffy I'd become.
Of course, Baek Gayul had simply spoken his thoughts aloud without any real intention to mock me.
Still, I couldn't help but notice it myself. What had grown plump wasn't just my fur—it was everything.
Whenever I looked in the mirror, my cheeks greeted me, fuller and rounder than before.
After months of eating well and living comfortably, my face had become even more radiant and round.
"You did well, my little cotton ball. You need to bundle up even warmer if you don't want to catch a cold."
Sayeon tightened my winter scarf even more snugly as he spoke.
"Besides, what's wrong with being round? You're adorable when you're round."
With the scarf pulled so tight, my already round face became even rounder.
Sayeon suppressed a laugh that threatened to escape and spoke in a deliberately serious tone.
This was because he had received a report from Yeon Jeong that I seemed concerned about my fluffy, round appearance lately.
When the weather turned cold, the fur would thicken to match the beast form transformation, and we called this phenomenon "fur gaining weight."
Not just me, but all the young beast-folk experiencing their first winter after their transformation would be shocked by their own round, fluffy appearance.
The child who had once been too nervous to meet anyone's eyes when first arriving at Baek Ho Palace now worried about the same things as other children her age—and Sayeon found this both touching and endearing.
Her fuller face looked much better too.
"This is a secret, but your father was far rounder than you at your age."
"Really?"
I looked up at Sayeon with sparkling eyes.
It was hard to believe that my father, who had no roundness to him whatsoever now, had been much rounder than me at my age.
"Absolutely. Isn't that right, Jeok Young?"
"Ah, yes, well. You were extremely round, sir. So round you could have rolled all the way to the Cheong Hae Sea that the Cheongryong Family governs."
Jeok Young, who followed behind Sayeon, nodded enthusiastically in agreement.
Seeing that I still looked unconvinced, Sayeon chuckled and asked.
"Have you ever seen your father lie?"
“....”
I fell silent in thought for a moment, then shook my head firmly. Father had always told me nothing but the truth.
"Then I take after Father?"
"Hmm?"
"Gahyun brother takes after Father and is tall, and Gayul brother takes after Father and runs fast! And I take after Father and am round?"
I asked with sparkling eyes.
Caught off guard by my unexpected question, Sayeon burst into laughter.
"That's right. My little cotton ball takes after her father and is round. And takes after her father in being brave, spirited, and kind like this."
"My lord, if you have any conscience, wouldn't it be better to leave out that last one?"
Jeok Young looked at him with weary eyes.
"Hehe, I'll eat more and get even rounder!"
I burst into bright laughter in Sayeon's arms.
At the sound of my cheerful laughter, a soft smile bloomed on Sayeon's face.
Jeok Young found it remarkable to see his master's expression so gentle.
His master was not naturally someone who wore such a tender expression.
His cold and fierce expression was so intimidating that people misunderstood him without him doing anything at all, and young beast-folk would often burst into tears the moment their eyes met his.
Yet here was Sayeon, wearing such a soft and gentle expression.
This was all a change that came from adopting that little cotton-ball girl.
It wasn't just Sayeon, the head of the household.
Even the sensitive Youngest Young Master, who had drawn a narrow boundary around himself and consistently kept his distance from those outside it.
The Youngest Young Master, who enjoyed people's company yet harbored a combative nature and bickered with the young beast-folk whenever the opportunity arose.
Ever since accepting that little cotton-ball girl as family, they had all become noticeably gentler.
It was a change for the better.
"But why were you hesitating? Don't you want to step on fresh snow?"
"Ah, well... um..."
Jeok Soya didn't answer readily, only gazing out at the pristine white snowfield.
"Don't be afraid. Dad is right here with you."
At Sayeon's reassurance, Jeok Soya shook her head.
"It's not that I'm scared. It's just... it's so white and clean that I wasn't sure if it was okay to step on it. It feels like I'd be ruining it."
"What?"
At Jeok Soya's characteristic concern, Sayeon burst into soft laughter.
"But I really want to step on the fresh snow with my little cotton-ball. I think it would be adorable to see Dad's footprints and baby's footprints side by side on the clean snow."
Sayeon spoke in a deliberately wistful tone.
"Instead of ruining it, think of it as leaving traces together with Dad. How does that sound?"
It was a perfectly tailored invitation that targeted Jeok Soya, who loved anything she could do "together with Dad."
"...!"
And Jeok Soya, falling right into Sayeon's trap, sparkled with delight in her eyes.
Sayeon chuckled softly and asked.
"So, little cotton-ball. Will you hold Dad's hand and step on the fresh snow with me?"
"Yes! I want to do it with Dad!"
As Jeok Soya nodded eagerly, Sayeon smiled warmly and set the child down.
Jeok Soya, her face tense with anticipation, took a careful step forward while gripping Sayeon's hand tightly.
Crunch—
With the sound of snow crunching beneath her feet, her foot sank into the white powder.
Experiencing that sensation for the very first time, Jeok Soya's eyes grew wide as saucers.
"It made a crunching sound!"
"That's the snow saying hello to my little cotton-ball."
"Wow..."
Jeok Soya's heart raced with excitement as she carefully lifted her other foot. Then she glanced back over her shoulder.
There, beside Sayeon's footprints, were her own small prints in the snow.
Tiger beast-folk had distinctly large hands and feet, so her footprints beside her father's looked particularly tiny.
"Look, Father! They really do look like Dad's footprints and a baby's footprints!"
At this simple truth, Jeok Soya's face lit up brilliantly.
Stepping on the snow was fun, and leaving footprints was fun.
Before long, the delighted Jeok Soya released Sayeon's hand and began walking through the snow on her own, crunching with each step, until she eventually started walking backward to admire the footprints she had left behind.
"Fluffy. Walking backward is dangerous...."
Sayeon was about to warn Jeok Soya when it happened.
Whoosh— splat!
"Ow!"
A cold snowball flew through the air and struck her.
When she turned her head toward the direction the snowball had come from, Baek Gayul was there holding his tail and laughing.
"Hehehehe!"
"Brother Gayul!"
The moment Jeok Soya realized Baek Gayul's prank and cried out at him.
"Don't attack Soya!"
Seol Yo threw a snowball at Baek Gayul on Jeok Soya's behalf.
"Oh my, Young Master. Are you alright?"
With that, even Jeok Soya and Suri joined in, and a snowball fight erupted immediately.
"Ow, ow! Hey! (Wait, just a moment! Suri, why are you attacking me?)"
Even for Baek Gayul, fighting three against one proved too difficult, so he lowered his tail and began to flee.
"Ahaha!"
Jeok Soya's nose and both cheeks flushed red from the cold as she burst into bright, crystalline laughter.
Sayeon watched her for a moment, then smiled softly and took his leave.
* * *
The problem was that Jeok Soya had gotten far too carried away with playing.
Between the snowball fight, building snowmen, and drawing pictures with footprints in the snow, time slipped away in an instant.
Though Yeon Jeong had asked her several times to come inside, Jeok Soya had insisted, "Can't I play just a little longer?" and held her ground.
Since it was the first time Jeok Soya had made such a request, Yeon Jeong's resolve weakened as well, and as a result, Jeok Soya played in the snow until a very late hour.
And as a consequence, Jeok Soya had caught a cold!
"Achoo!"
Jeok Soya sneezed with a sniffle.
From the moment her head had begun to ache slightly, she'd felt uneasy, and now she'd properly caught a cold.
"Fluffy, are you alright?"
"It's because of you."
Baek Gahyun said something to Baek Gayul, who was pressed against Jeok Soya's side and asking with concern.
"I, I didn't do anything!"
"If you hadn't thrown snow at Soya, she wouldn't have gotten this sick!"
"No, no! I got hit more than she did!"
Jeok Soya sat between her bickering brothers with a blanket draped over her head, sipping warm tea.
But somehow.
'Before, whenever I was sick, I only felt cold and sorrowful....'
Jeok Soya thought to herself through her drowsiness.
'Strange. My body feels chilled and achy, yet my heart feels so much warmer.'
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