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Chapter 10
“Didn’t I tell you not to touch my things? Anything you touch gets ruined!”
“There isn’t a more ominous existence in all of Haeseo Kingdom than you.”
Yeoryun’s voice, filled with criticism, echoed in Baeksa’s ears.
It was the very voice she had thought she would never hear again after leaving the Imperial Palace.
The child’s face turned pale.
‘I shouldn’t have touched it…’
Yeoryun had been right.
Whatever she touched ended up broken or rendered useless.
Knowing that, why had she reached out without thinking?
‘It’s all my fault…’
She regretted it so much that tears threatened to fall, but nothing could be undone now.
Quietly staring at Ju Jeokseo’s stiffened expression, Baeksa hurriedly grabbed the hem of her skirt and knelt.
Holding the faded white feather tightly in both hands, she looked up at him.
“I-I’m sorry, Patriarch…”
Her tiny hands trembled.
Her mind went blank, and tears welled in her eyes. She did not know how she was supposed to ask for forgiveness.
Should she offer to be punished until his anger subsided, like she always did with Yeoryun?
Members of the Imperial Family were not supposed to kneel before anyone, but Yeoryun and Songra had forced Baeksa to kneel countless times.
Not only that, they had constantly reminded her that she was lower than even the attendants and palace servants who served them.
So, at this moment, Baeksa thought it was only natural to kneel and beg for forgiveness.
“I didn’t mean to ruin it. Really. I just… without thinking…”
The white feather, now dull and stripped of its five-colored light, rested in her hands.
Perhaps because she had been left alone in the snowfield for so long, her small hands were swollen from frostbite.
Yet she paid no attention to the pain in her fingertips.
She was too flustered to even notice it.
Baeksa squeezed her eyes shut and waited for Ju Jeokseo’s judgment.
Then—
Grab.
Ju Jeokseo suddenly took hold of her hands.
At the abrupt movement, the white feather fluttered from her grasp and fell beneath her knees.
“I-I…”
“Why hasn’t the child’s hand been treated?”
The question was not directed at Baeksa.
His sharp voice, sounding almost like a reprimand, was aimed at Sirang, who stood nearby.
Sirang answered.
“The physician said medicine should be applied after the young lady woke up, so it has not been treated yet.”
“She is awake now. Tell him to come immediately and treat it. If it’s left like this any longer, the injury will worsen.”
“Yes, Patriarch. I’ll bring him right away.”
Sirang hurried out of the room.
Baeksa looked up at Ju Jeokseo with a bewildered expression.
The feather, which looked valuable at a glance, lay pitifully on the floor.
Yet Ju Jeokseo did not spare it a single glance.
His attention was entirely fixed on Baeksa’s hands.
As though he himself felt her pain, he wore a slight frown.
Baeksa swallowed.
Her large eyes moved busily between the feather and Ju Jeokseo.
The little snake, with both hands still held, asked in a tiny voice.
“P-Patriarch…”
“Yes?”
“Aren’t… aren’t you angry?”
“Should I be?”
“I ruined something precious…”
“It is precious.”
Ju Jeokseo answered calmly.
Baeksa’s fingertips twitched.
But he paid it no mind and continued.
“However, it is not precious enough to make a child kneel.”
After releasing her hands, Ju Jeokseo casually picked up the feather.
“This is your first time seeing one, isn’t it? This is called a Guide Feather.”
“A Guide Feather…?”
“When someone loses their way, it guides them. My younger sister made it.”
An item made by the Patriarch’s younger sister.
Why was he saying it was fine when she had ruined something like that?
Everyone Baeksa had ever met had blamed her whenever something broke or whenever things went wrong.
But instead of blaming her, Ju Jeokseo calmly held the feather out to her.
“This feather possesses a special power. It returns those who are lost back to their home. Once it has fulfilled its purpose, its light disappears like this.”
Baeksa carefully accepted the feather with her swollen hands.
Then she looked up at him.
“Since it lost its power upon reaching you, it seems this place is your home.”
Hearing those gentle words, Baeksa lowered her gaze.
‘That can’t be true, Patriarch.’
I’m an ominous snake who cannot belong anywhere.
Besides, the reason the Guide Feather lost its light was because her ability had devoured its special power.
Ju Jeokseo’s kindness made Baeksa come to a decision.
She could not hide the truth from someone this kind.
“P-Patriarch… there’s something I need to tell you.”
After hesitating for a moment, she spoke.
“The reason this feather lost its power when it touched me… is because of my ability…”
“Your ability?”
Baeksa nodded hesitantly.
“You may already know this, but I’m a beastkin of the Imperial Family.”
No, he definitely knew.
The Emperor had deliberately dressed her in clothes symbolizing the Imperial Family before abandoning her in the Southern Lands.
“But I can’t use the Imperial Family’s ability. Instead…”
Baeksa removed an ornament attached to her clothing.
Then, carefully activating her ability, the ornament’s color turned black before crumbling into a handful of ash that scattered from her palm.
A dreadful power that destroyed and consumed everything.
Since it was the first time she had openly revealed the true nature of her ability to another person, the child bit her lower lip tightly.
“That’s probably… why it was ruined. But thank you very much for speaking to me so kindly.”
After a brief silence, Ju Jeokseo spoke with a puzzled expression.
“What kind of ability is this?”
“Ah… it… steals the energy of others…”
“What are you talking about? There is no such thing as an ability that steals from others. Every ability manifests to maintain the harmony of heaven and earth. That means your ability must also have a proper name.”
His reply was calm and matter-of-fact.
Startled, Baeksa blinked.
“Ah… His Majesty called it Absorption.”
“Absorption… I’ve never heard of it before. But it’s impressive. If you cultivate it properly, it will become a great help to your growth in the future.”
Baeksa was completely caught off guard by the response.
‘Impressive?’
Objectively speaking, her ability was not impressive at all.
How could it be?
As if being an ominous snake beastkin wasn’t bad enough, she possessed an ability that devoured everything.
And yet he called it impressive?
Could an elder of the Vermilion Bird Clan really be lying to her?
As Baeksa struggled with her confusion, Ju Jeokseo casually set the feather aside and spoke.
“I heard that you wished to meet me.”
“Y-Yes.”
“Do you have something you wish to say to me?”
Baeksa slowly nodded.
“I have a request.”
“A request?”
Gulp.
Baeksa swallowed nervously.
Then she forced open her dry lips.
“Um… could I possibly… stay here?”
Her voice shook terribly.
Her eyes wandered aimlessly through the air, as though she knew just how unreasonable her request was.
He had saved her life, and now she was asking to live here.
She really was a shameless child.
And a useless one as well.
But—
‘If not this…’
I’ll be driven out into the cold again.
Sirang had said that they would care for her “during her stay.”
Which meant that someday she would have to leave this place.
But if she left, she truly had nowhere to go.
The only thing waiting for the little snake was that barren, freezing snowfield.
Still kneeling, Baeksa looked up at Ju Jeokseo with trembling eyes.
“I may be useless… but if you give me any task, I’ll work very hard.”
“…”
“I-I know… my birth might make you uneasy…”
“What birth? The fact that you’re a member of the Imperial Family?”
“Yes…”
The little snake had never once been treated as royalty.
Yet the heritage that had never helped her even once in her life had become a shackle after coming all the way here.
But she could not deceive her benefactor.
So even though she knew the beastkin of the Vermilion Bird Territory hated the Imperial Family with all their hearts, Baeksa had no choice but to reveal her origins herself.
“So you’re trying to tell me you’re not a spy?”
“Yes…”
Ju Jeokseo raised an eyebrow.
“You’re a clever child.”
“Y-You really don’t need to worry.”
The hand clutching her skirt tightened.
Baeksa spoke in a determined voice.
“I… I came here under an imperial decree ordering me to die.”
