Chapter 62
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Chapter 62
Jeok Soya flapped her wings vigorously and cried out.
"A bird...?"
The woman who had been pressing a spear against Sayeon's throat moments before froze upon spotting Jeok Soya.
Above the cloth mask concealing her face, her exposed violet eyes widened in surprise.
"Chirp chirp! Chirp chirp! (Get away! Get away, you wicked villain!)"
Jeok Soya cried out indignantly, her chirps sharp with anger.
With each outburst, plump tears rolled from the baby bird's tiny bead-like eyes.
Flustered, the woman shifted nervously and asked.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, little bird. Did I frighten you terribly?"
"Chirp chirp! (Put that spear away!)"
"Oh. All right. I'll lower it."
At Jeok Soya's cry, the woman quickly lowered her spear.
'Huh?'
Jeok Soya, who had been puffing up her feathers in anger, was so startled by the woman's immediate compliance that she fell silent mid-chirp.
'???'
As Jeok Soya stared at the woman with question marks practically floating above her head—
"Sigh..."
Sayeon exhaled softly and drew the baby bird close to him.
"That habit of yours—leading with the spearpoint without warning—hasn't changed a bit."
Speaking as though he knew the woman well, he looked down at Jeok Soya.
"It's all right, little fluffball? Were you very frightened?"
He gently wiped away the tears lingering at her eyes with the tip of his finger, his voice tender.
"Chirp chirp...! (Father...!)"
At his gentle tone, fresh tears welled up, and Jeok Soya flew into his arms, burying herself against him.
"It's all right, Father's here, so don't cry, little fluffball."
Sayeon patted her head gently, soothing her until she calmed.
"Chirp, chirp chirp...(But still, sniff, that person...)"
Jeok Soya kept her body nestled in Sayeon's arms while turning her head slightly to glance back.
Then, spotting the woman bending at the waist with her eyes sparkling with interest, she yelped in alarm and buried her head back into Sayeon's embrace.
"You're scaring the little one."
Sayeon spoke to the woman with a note of displeasure.
"My goodness, is she really just a baby bird?"
Yet the woman could not tear her gaze from Jeok Soya, murmuring to herself.
"Yes. She's still just a little fluffball. How could you attack without warning right in front of a child?"
"But why does a baby bird—not even a tiger—call you Father?"
"Because she's my daughter."
Sayeon replied as though she had asked the most obvious question.
"Don't tell me—is this the child you adopted last autumn?"
Sayeon answered only with a slight nod.
Surprise flashed across the woman's face.
"But then...!"
The woman, about to ask something, trailed off at Sayeon's raised eyebrow signal.
Instead, she gazed at Jeok Soya nestled in his arms, her eyes sparkling with delight.
"My goodness. Where on earth did you pick up such an adorable little chick?"
"Don't take an interest. The cotton ball is my daughter, not your concern."
Sayeon tucked Jeok Soya deeper into his embrace, speaking with unmistakable wariness.
"But she's your daughter—how could she have nothing to do with me?"
Jeok Soya's ears perked up as she buried her head in Sayeon's broad chest.
The two of them had been conversing as if they'd known each other for ages.
Jeok Soya slowly turned her head and stole a glance at the woman's face, who continued to regard her with fascination.
'Huh?'
Jeok Soya felt the woman's face was somehow familiar.
'That's strange. I'm certain I've never seen her before.'
The blue hair and violet eyes were both entirely new to me, yet somehow I felt as though I'd glimpsed them somewhere before.
As Jeok Soya blinked and tilted her head in confusion, the woman exclaimed dramatically.
"Oh my! How precious! She just tilted her head at me! I think I've won her over!"
Startled by this rather overwhelming reaction, Jeok Soya clung back to Sayeon's embrace.
The woman then lowered her veil and addressed Jeok Soya.
"Little chick, I'm not a bad person. What you saw earlier was just my way of greeting your father."
"Chirp? (Greeting...?)"
"Yes, yes. Sayeon and I have exchanged greetings that way since we were young."
The woman explained with a cheerful smile.
"That's nonsense. You've always been the one attacking unilaterally."
"Screech? (So you weren't trying to kill our father?)"
"Goodness, what frightening words. If that were the case, my neck would be severed first."
The woman waved both hands dismissively at Jeok Soya's question.
"Chirp... (But just a moment ago...)"
"That's because Baek Sayeon let me off. I could never defeat your father."
The woman burst into hearty laughter.
Jeok Soya turned to Sayeon with a questioning expression.
Sayeon pressed his temples with an air of exasperation and sighed.
"Yes, it's true. So relax now, little cotton ball."
Only then did Jeok Soya release the tension from her puffed-up form and collapsed onto the ground.
Poof!
Jeok Soya's transformation dissolved.
"Your name is Cotton Ball? How unusual."
"I'm not Cotton Ball—I'm Jeok Soya. Jeok Soya of the Baekho Family."
With her wariness somewhat eased, Jeok Soya introduced herself to the woman.
"I'm Chung Ha. Pleased to meet you, little cotton ball."
"Are you Father's friend?"
"Well, hmm. A friend... yes, I suppose so."
Jeok Soya turned to look at Sayeon with renewed curiosity.
'So Father had friends too.'
Until now, the only person I had ever seen close to Sayeon was Jeok Young.
Yet even Jeok Young could hardly be called a friend in the truest sense.
"Cotton puff, what's with that expression?"
"What expression? I'm just amazed that even a bad-tempered tiger like you has a friend."
Chung Ha laughed brightly and answered in her stead.
"That's not true!"
Jeok Soya raised her voice in protest.
"My father is a very, very good person!"
"My goodness."
At Jeok Soya's insistence, Chung Ha's eyes widened before she burst into laughter.
"Look at you, Baek Sayeon—you've got yourself a wonderfully loyal youngest daughter. I'm so envious my stomach hurts."
I had expected her to scold me for raising my voice so rudely before an adult, but instead Chung Ha smiled gently and stroked my head, leaving me tilting my head in confusion.
* * *
With the crimson-berried nandina branch—my original objective—clutched in my hand, I returned to Baek Ho Palace alongside Sayeon and Chung Ha.
As we walked across the pristine snow, our footsteps crunching softly beneath us, I learned that Chung Ha was the mother of my older brothers.
"The mother who gave birth to my older brothers?"
I asked in astonishment.
"That's right."
I gazed at Chung Ha with wonder in my eyes.
'The mother of my older brothers...'
No one had ever told me about Chung Ha before, so I hadn't known.
Looking more closely, Chung Ha did bear some resemblance to my older brothers—especially to Baek Gahyun.
'I always thought Gahyun resembled Father, but now I see he actually resembles Chung Ha more.'
Baek Gahyun's white hair and blue eyes certainly came from Sayeon, but his other features bore a stronger resemblance to Chung Ha.
Especially his elongated eyes, his sharp nose, and the way he smiled—the two of them shared these traits remarkably.
"Ah! Then Chung Ha, you were Father's...?"
The sudden realization made me look back and forth between Sayeon and Chung Ha with a questioning expression.
"His wife. Once upon a time."
"..."
At Chung Ha's answer, spoken in an unusual tone, Sayeon's eyes grew rigid.
"...?"
I was about to ask if that meant she wasn't anymore, sensing the subtle tension between them, when—
"Lady of the House...! No, Chung Ha! You've come!"
Jeok Young and the others from Baek Ho Palace rushed out in surprise.
"Hello, everyone. It's been so long."
Chung Ha greeted them with a bright smile.
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