Chapter 61
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Chapter 61
'Could it be from drinking the warm tea?'
I gazed down at the teacup cradled in both my hands, my mind pleasantly hazy.
"Soya, ah—"
"Ah?"
At Baek Gahyun's call, I reflexively opened my mouth. And then...
Pop—
A tangy mandarin orange slipped smoothly into my mouth.
"How is it?"
"It's delicious!"
As the sweet and tart juice burst on my tongue, I cried out with my eyes wide as saucers.
"Our Soya, eat plenty and get well soon."
Baek Gahyun smiled tenderly and continued peeling mandarin segments into my mouth.
Each time my small bird-like lips worked, bursts of sweet citrus juice exploded across my palate.
As I munched contentedly on the segments he fed me, my eyes crescent-shaped with joy, I happened to glance down and noticed his fingertips stained yellow.
'Ah...!'
With sudden understanding, I looked at Baek Gayul, who sat pressed against my side, drawing the blanket snug whenever it threatened to slip away.
And I saw Seol Yo in his great wolf form, drowsily blinking before the crackling fire.
Ever since I'd fallen ill, they had come to my chamber from morning until night, staying close whenever they had a moment.
'My heart feels warm because my brothers and Seol Yo are here beside me.'
With a sense of security and warmth blooming in my chest, I thought with a soft laugh.
"Me too! Me too, I want some! Ah—!"
Baek Gayul opened his mouth beside me, demanding his share of the mandarin.
"You can use your own hands..."
Munch!
He quickly snatched away the segment meant for my mouth and ate it himself.
"Baek Gayul, you're not even sick, yet you steal your sister's food... You came here under the pretense of nursing care because you didn't want to study, didn't you?"
"That's not true! I'm genuinely worried about the little one...!"
Baek Gayul protested in an aggrieved voice while chewing the mandarin in his mouth, then suddenly fell silent.
"Huh...what?"
His head suddenly spun, and dizziness washed over him.
"What's wrong, brother?"
"Ugh...?"
Baek Gayul sniffled and wore a bewildered expression.
"Brother, your face is red."
"Baek Gayul, you...!"
"Oh my! Young Master, you have a fever!"
Yeon Jeong, who had just entered the chamber to tidy up, checked Baek Gayul's condition and gasped in alarm.
Baek Gayul was burning with fever, even hotter than I had been.
"Eh? Me?"
Born with a naturally robust constitution, Baek Gayul had never fallen ill once in his life—until now. The dizziness and hazy sensation he experienced for the first time left him bewildered.
"This... surely not..."
"Yes, it seems like that..."
The people in the room exchanged meaningful glances with their eyes.
"Summon the Physician at once!"
"Send word to the Family Head as well!"
"I shall bring Father here!"
Jeok Soya sprang to her feet and hurried off with Seol Yo to fetch Sayeon.
The Jujak Estate suddenly bustled with activity.
People gathered in quick succession.
All of them watched Baek Gayul and the Physician taking his pulse with anxious, worried expressions.
Jeok Soya clung to Sayeon's sleeve, her face tense as she awaited the diagnosis.
Before long, the Physician cried out in an excited voice.
"Growing pains!"
"...!"
The faces of the tense crowd brightened instantly.
"Congratulations, Family Head. It appears the Youngest Young Master is finally beginning his first growth phase!"
* * *
Baek Gayul, now experiencing growing pains, found himself confined to his bedchamber for some time.
Jeok Soya worried about him, but she could not visit him.
Everyone prevented the young lady from approaching the Young Master's room, saying he might become somewhat violent during the growth phase.
Thus, having not seen Baek Gayul for several days, Jeok Soya—still consumed with worry—had taken the form of a baby bird and was peering at his room's window.
However, the tightly shut wooden lattice blocked her view of the interior.
'What if Elder Brother Gayul is suffering greatly?'
During the growth phase, medicine could not be taken, nor could one receive care.
One had only to endure and overcome it alone.
[Don't worry so much, Soya. Everyone goes through this once. Gayul will overcome it safely.]
Baek Gahyun, who had already completed his first growth phase, assured her it would be fine, but Jeok Soya remained anxious.
'Still, if I could just see his face for a moment, I would feel reassured.'
As Jeok Soya pattered across the snow-covered windowsill, peering this way and that through the lattice, she finally let out a long sigh and settled onto the frame.
The baby bird's plump little bottom sank deeply into the pristine snow.
Jeok Soya was drooping sadly, fluttering her tail feathers as she gazed downward, when—
"Chirp? (Father?)"
Spotting Sayeon walking below, Jeok Soya fluttered down toward him.
"Chirrup! (Father!)"
Sayeon looked up at her call and extended his hand into the air.
Jeok Soya landed deftly on his palm and shook off the snowflakes clinging to her feathers.
"Little fluffy thing. Why were you wandering about in the cold?"
Sayeon gently stroked the baby bird's head as he asked.
"Chirp! (I was going to see Elder Brother Gayul!)"
"Gayul...?"
"Chirp, chirp... (But the bars are locked so tight...)"
Soya spread her tiny wings and pointed eagerly toward Gayul's chamber, explaining as best she could before drooping both wings with a soft rustle.
"Chirrrr... (What if my brother is suffering greatly?)"
"My, our little cotton ball seems rather listless."
"Chirp..."
Soya let her head droop onto Sayeon's palm.
Watching the tiny chick express her entire heart through her diminutive form, Sayeon smiled gently and spoke.
"Then little cotton ball, why don't you protect him?"
"Chirp?"
"Just as you guarded Baek Ho Palace from the spirits last autumn, why not protect your brother this time?"
"...!"
Soya's expression brightened as she grasped his meaning.
"Chirrup? (Will it truly help?)"
"Of course. Shall I gather some pebbles, or perhaps pluck some flowers?"
"Chirp! Chirrup, chirr! (There are nandina berries by the East Gate! Let's go pick them!)"
"Yes. Let's go together, little cotton ball."
Sayeon chuckled at how quickly Soya's spirits lifted, settling the chick upon his shoulder.
Then he turned his steps toward the East Gate of Baek Ho Palace.
Chirp, chirp, chirrrr—
Perched upon Sayeon's shoulder as he walked through the snow, Soya sang her little song.
With each step he took, the snow crunched pleasantly beneath his feet.
Though he could have reached Baek Ho Palace in a single bound, he knew Soya loved the crisp sound of snow, so he deliberately slowed his pace.
Each crunching footfall made Soya's little body bounce with delight.
As they emerged beyond the East Gate of Baek Ho Palace, a forest path opened before them, lined with bare winter trees.
Spotting brilliant crimson nandina berries, Soya fluttered up into the air.
"Chirrup! (Found them!)"
Flapping her wings as she approached the nandina tree, Soya—a chick of the valiant Baekho Family—pecked sharply at a branch with her beak and snapped it clean off.
Clutching the slender branch laden with scarlet berries in her beak, she returned to Sayeon.
Screeeee—!
A sharp metallic ring suddenly pierced the winter forest, accompanied by the whistle of something cutting through the air.
Clang—!
Startled, Soya dropped the nandina berries she held in her beak.
A slender woman in dark indigo cloth had thrust a long spear toward Sayeon.
Despite the sudden assault, Sayeon nimbly evaded and drew his sword to block, but the woman pressed her attack relentlessly.
Clang!
Clang!
Clang!
Sword and spear clashed with a deafening ring of steel.
Yet something felt amiss.
Sayeon seemed to be losing ground against the woman.
'This isn't the time for this! I need to help Father too!'
Jeok Soya, who had been frozen in a daze, suddenly snapped back to awareness and launched herself toward Sayeon.
"Chirp chirp! (Dad!)"
Jeok Soya fluttered frantically into the fray.
She intended to peck at the spear-wielding woman's hand with her beak.
"Screech screech! (Get away from my dad!)"
"A chick? You, that's dangerous——!"
At the moment Sayeon hesitated at Jeok Soya's sudden intervention, turning to look at the baby bird.
Clang!
The woman seized the opening without hesitation, driving her spear forward, and Sayeon's blade flew from his grasp.
Whoosh—
The woman's spear tip descended toward Sayeon's throat.
"Chirp!"
The baby bird positioned herself in front of Sayeon, spreading her small wings wide as if to shield him.
Tears welled up like dewdrops at the corners of her bean-sized eyes as she whimpered softly.
"Chirp, chirp! (Please don't kill my dad!)"
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org