Chapter 71
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Chapter 71
"Why are you trying to find that child?"
"What do you plan to do after finding her? Are you thinking of raising her like a daughter in Riri's place?"
"I hate it! Don't look for that child!"
"She's the one who stole everything from Riri!"
Riri thrashed about on the floor with such fury that she seemed possessed by a malevolent spirit.
My heart shattered at the sight.
I believed all the wounds festering in the child's heart were entirely my fault.
So I promised Riri that I would not search for that child.
A girl named Soya, registered with the Baekho Family—I was curious about her, but....
If Baek Sayeon had registered the child, she would surely be a tiger of the Branch Family.
Not the small, downy white chick I remembered.
Besides, hadn't Jeok Hwayou said so? That the child's spiritual core was damaged and she wouldn't live long.
So I decided to think of Soya as dead and buried that memory deep within my heart.
Time passed, and before long, Riri had turned twelve.
Unlike the small and frail Soya, Riri was tall and robust.
People remarked that the young lady had inherited the family head's sturdy build.
After all, the late Lady of the House, a red-haired sparrow-human, had been tiny and delicate—much like Soya.
Riri still could not transform into her bird form.
Yet no one spoke ill of it.
They understood the childhood trauma the young lady had endured.
Instead, they regarded her with sympathetic eyes.
But the spirited youngest daughter of the Jujak Family refused to be cowed by this misfortune.
Rather, she grew with bold confidence.
Everyone in the Jujak Family took pride in such a Riri.
La la la—
Riri hummed as she admired her reflection in the mirror.
Before the glass lay precious jewels and ornaments that her father and older brothers had procured for her.
She held each piece against her body, trying them on.
Today she was to go boating at the Riverside with her older brother.
Riri was delighted at this rare outing.
It had already been three years since she crossed the threshold of the Vermillion Bird Clan Residence.
Riri was the most beloved young lady among all bird-humans in the Southern Lands.
Whenever she stepped outside the estate, all eyes turned toward her.
Gazes mingled with admiration and pity.
Riri did not dislike such attention.
The rare jewels and ornaments, the devoted love of her family, the admiring gazes of the people—
All were things she had never enjoyed before coming here.
'How fortunate I am. The blessing of this red hair.'
Such were my thoughts as I swept back my lustrous crimson locks.
Thump—
A sudden, throbbing sensation seized me, and the ornament I'd been holding slipped from my fingers.
"Ugh...."
Thump, thump—
"Ngh.... Hah...."
I pressed my hand against my chest where my spirit core lay, breathing heavily through the anguish.
The pain radiating from my spirit core was the result of suppressing my transformation into human form for far too long.
It felt as though my spirit core was splitting apart, yet I forced myself to endure it.
After a long while, the pain subsided, and just as I was wiping away the cold sweat beading on my forehead with the back of my hand—
"Gasp...!"
As my gaze drifted downward, I spotted a gray feather lying on the floor and froze in alarm.
"This, this, why...."
With a pallid face, I inspected my own body.
Fortunately, my form appeared no different from usual.
Just as I exhaled in relief, I heard familiar footsteps approaching from outside.
'I can't let him find out!'
I quickly snatched up the feather and hid it deep within a drawer.
At that very moment, the door opened and Jeok Hwayou entered.
"Riri, it's your brother. May I come in for a moment—Riri!"
Noticing my poor complexion, Jeok Hwayou rushed toward me in alarm.
"Riri. Why do you look so unwell? Are you in pain somewhere?"
"No, brother. I'm just feeling a bit dizzy."
I answered with a pale, forced smile.
Yet Jeok Hwayou's stern expression did not soften.
"This won't do, Riri. Let's postpone our boat outing for another time."
"No! You promised me, brother. I'm fine, truly...."
"It's not you I'm concerned about—it's myself. You've been frail since childhood, and every moment I see you, my heart aches with worry. Do you understand?"
He lifted me effortlessly into his arms and laid me upon the bed, then pulled the bell cord to summon the maidservants with a basin and wet cloth.
Though I could no longer truly be called weak, in his eyes I remained a delicate younger sister.
He personally wrung out the wet cloth the maidservants had brought and wiped away my cold sweat, examining my body with tender care.
"You are Father's and my only hope and joy. If you suffer even the slightest pain, I cannot breathe for the anguish it brings me. So please, cherish yourself more, Riri."
"Brother...."
I gazed at him with moved eyes.
Jeok Hwayou, the second son of the Jujak Family.
He had grown in the intervening years and was now already fifteen.
With his striking appearance, he had stolen the hearts of countless girls throughout the Southern Lands, yet he remained the most tender and devoted older brother, cherishing his younger sister Riri above all else.
Unlike Father, who worried about the occasional violent displays I showed to those beneath me, he deemed everything I did to be right.
It had to be that way.
It had to be... so that the deeds I committed at Riri's request would no longer be sins.
* * *
Jeok Soya stared blankly at the crimson feather.
'What is this?'
Blink, blink—
After blinking for a long moment, I lowered my gaze from the feather and glanced up through the window at the sky.
Birds were flying about in flocks.
Yet there was not a single bird with crimson feathers among them.
I looked back down at the red feather clutched in my hand.
It shimmered brilliantly, as if aflame with dancing fire.
"...."
But soon enough, I simply—
'How strange.'
—tossed the crimson feather out the window with a dismissive flick, as though it held no interest for me whatsoever.
Then I summoned Yeon Jeong, washed my face lightly, dressed myself, and went to find Sayeon.
"Father!"
Sayeon, who had been seated in the Study Room with a grave expression while reading something intently, immediately softened his features and turned at my entrance.
"You're up early, little cotton ball."
"A letter came from Mother this morning!"
"Is that so?"
"Yes, yes! Jjak Jjak brought it!"
I chattered away, recounting the letter's contents.
"And Mother told me to tell Father this too—not to cry, even if he misses her!"
"What?"
"She said Father was quite the crybaby when he was little. Apparently, on the day they first met, he cried and begged Mother not to leave to go home."
"Hah...."
Sayeon, who had been listening intently to my story, flushed at those words and hastily wiped his face dry.
"That woman really knows no restraint...."
Noticing Father's reddened earlobes, I covered my mouth with both hands and giggled.
'So it's not just my older brothers who adore Mother—Father adores her terribly too.'
"Little cotton ball. Why are you laughing with that expression? Do you find teasing your father amusing?"
"Yes! It's so much fun!"
I answered with a bright laugh.
Sayeon, raising one eyebrow with feigned indignation, broke into a smile at my radiant face.
"My little cotton ball is becoming quite mischievous."
"I'm not a baby anymore!"
I bristled at being called a baby.
"You've changed, little cotton ball. You used to love it when Father called you that."
Sayeon felt a touch of melancholy at my insistence that I was no longer a baby.
"I'm twelve years old now."
"Whether you're twenty, fifty, a hundred—in your father's eyes, you'll always be my precious baby."
"Where in the world is there a baby as big as me?"
"Why not? It's possible."
Sayeon picked up a confection from the tray on his desk and held it out to me.
I reflexively opened my mouth and popped the sweet into it.
As the confection melted delicately on my tongue, my expression softened.
"Heh heh. Look at that—you're still a child. Your face just lights up at sweets."
"!!!"
I shot him a look that said 'you got me!' as realization dawned.
"That's not fair, Father!"
'But the confection really is delicious.'
I savored the sweet while glancing at a piece of paper lying on Sayeon's desk.
'A plague...?'
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