TLSVB 14

Chapter 14

“Father!”

At the familiar voice, Ju Jeokseo furrowed his brows. The voice was coming not from the doorway, but from outside the window.

As expected, the second young master of the Jujak Clan, Hwaryeong, came fluttering into Ju Jeokseo’s office.

Seeing him, Ju Jeokseo shook his head and spoke in a stern voice.

“Haven’t I told you at least a hundred times to use the door instead of the window?”

“Ah, I forgot.”

Hwaryeong replied shamelessly.

The moment he flew into the office, he was already in human form.

His red hair, tied back into a single ponytail, swayed in the cool night breeze. He looked strikingly similar to Ju Jeokseo.

The boy with narrow eyes grinned mischievously.

“Anyway, Father, I heard a snake beastman came to the estate? Where is she?”

“Haa…”

Ju Jeokseo already knew that Hwaryeong had discovered the baby snake’s existence.

Despite his strict orders to keep quiet, his loose-lipped subordinate, the chatterbox Joyeong, had been unable to resist and had already spilled the story to Hwaryeong.

Naturally, the culprit Joyeong had already been thoroughly scolded and dismissed.

Now all that remained was his son, who was as uncontrollable as a rolling fireball.

As if completely unaware of his father’s concerns, Hwaryeong’s red eyes sparkled.

“I’ve never seen a snake beastman before. Can I go say hello?”

“No.”

“Then can I at least ask her name?”

“No.”

“Got it. You’re worried I’ll go empty-handed, right? Then I’ll pick some pretty flowers and bring them for her.”

“Are you going to make me repeat myself, son?”

Ju Jeokseo’s firm response left Hwaryeong looking genuinely shocked.

“Why can’t I meet her? Are you worried I’ll bully the baby snake?”

“That’s part of the reason.”

“I absolutely won’t bother her! I’ll just look at her, okay?”

“What exactly do you mean by ‘just look at her’? Besides, you’re bothering your father right now. How am I supposed to believe you when you say you won’t bother her?”

“Aah…”

“That child is very shy, so no. And her condition isn’t good. She needs rest and stability for the time being. Also, whether you heard it or not…”

As Ju Jeokseo searched for the right words, Hwaryeong immediately interrupted.

“What? That the baby snake came from the Imperial Palace?”

“Just how much did that brat Joyeong tell you?”

There were many reasons they had hidden the baby snake’s existence.

First, Ju Jeokseo worried that Hwaryeong would bother her.

Second, the beastmen of the Southern Lands hated the imperial family with a passion.

This was a land where beastmen abandoned by the imperial family had gathered to live.

Even if she was a child cast aside by the Emperor, royalty was still royalty.

Ju Jeokseo could already imagine how the Southern Lands’ beastmen would view her.

If her identity were revealed recklessly, there might come a situation where he could no longer protect her.

Hwaryeong shrugged.

“I don’t care that she’s from the Imperial Palace. She’s at our house now, so doesn’t that make her one of the Southern Lands’ beastmen?”

“Other beastmen may think differently. We need to observe the situation a little longer.”

“But…”

“Hwaryeong, that child is still unstable. She was forced to leave the place where she lived, and she’s carrying emotional scars. What do you think will happen if you recklessly stir things up?”

“It won’t end well…”

“Then if you understand, go get some sleep.”

“Okay.”

Hwaryeong turned around with a dejected expression and leapt out through the window.

Ju Jeokseo looked puzzled.

‘He gave up far too easily.’

He had expected Hwaryeong to spend three days and three nights begging to meet her.

The reaction was surprisingly mild.

Caught off guard, Ju Jeokseo even forgot to remind him once more not to use the window.

‘Well, that’s good, at least.’

It was fortunate that Hwaryeong did not seem wary of the young princess.

Had he shown strong rejection, things would have become troublesome. They would not have been able to let Baeksa stay in the family estate.

Perhaps because he was still young, he did not fully understand how deep the hatred ran between the Southern Lands’ beastmen and the imperial family.

At that thought, Ju Jeokseo’s expression darkened.

‘Hwaryeong is one thing, but Hwanya…’

The one he had truly been worried about was not his second son, Ju Hwaryeong.

It was his eldest son, Hwanya.

As mentioned before, Hwaryeong was still young and relatively less hostile toward the Imperial Palace.

‘But the eldest…’

At the moment, Hwanya was away on patrol in the border regions of the Contaminated Zone.

Just thinking about how he would explain the baby snake’s presence when Hwanya returned already gave Ju Jeokseo a headache.

Unlike Hwaryeong, Hwanya harbored a deep hatred for the imperial family.

He would undoubtedly hate having Baeksa live in this house.

If all he did was hate it, that would be fortunate. There was even the possibility that he might try to harm her.

‘I’ll be lucky if he doesn’t immediately start talking about killing her.’

Maybe he should assign Hwanya even more work so he couldn’t come back for a while.

The more he thought about it, the better that idea sounded.

After pondering for a moment, Ju Jeokseo immediately picked up paper and ink to write a letter.

The black brush danced busily across the white page.

[To Hwanya…]

Having just awakened, Baeksa stared at the window in confusion.

“Chirp!”

She had no idea what was happening.

“Chirp! Chirp chirp!”

A tiny bird was perched on the windowsill, chirping at her.

The little bird seemed incredibly excited for some reason.

After hopping around energetically, it suddenly landed right on top of Baeksa’s blanket.

Then it looked up at her with bright, bead-like eyes.

Baeksa’s face was reflected clearly in those curiosity-filled eyes.

“Who are you…?”

she asked softly while gently stroking the tiny bird.

The bird had soft orange feathers and a long tail.

Since Baeksa knew little about bird clans, she couldn’t tell what kind of bird it was.

One thing was certain—it was not a Jujak.

‘I heard that Jujak beastmen shine like living flames.’

But this little bird only had slightly reddish feathers.

It neither glowed nor burned.

Besides, if it belonged to the Jujak Clan, it would probably be the second young master, and there was no way he would be hopping around in front of her like this.

‘Then maybe it’s not a beastman but a spirit beast?’

The world did not contain only beastmen.

There were ordinary animals without intelligence, and there were beings who possessed intelligence but could not transform into human form.

Such beings were called spirit beasts.

Large clans sometimes raised spirit beasts.

The Imperial Palace also kept a few, so Baeksa had seen them from time to time.

“Chirp! Peep! Peep!”

The little bird bounced in place as if asking for something.

It almost seemed to be asking her to hold out her hand.

‘Ah!’

Only then did Baeksa realize what it wanted.

Carefully, she extended her hand.

When she revealed her scar-covered hand, the little bird appeared startled for a moment.

Then it gently touched her hand with its soft wing.

“Are you worried about me?”

Baeksa asked quietly.

The bird nodded.

Since it seemed able to understand human speech, it was probably a spirit beast raised by the Jujak Clan.

Now convinced that it was a spirit beast rather than a beastman, Baeksa carefully stroked its head with a finger.

The bird closed its eyes and enjoyed her touch.

Then it tilted its head as if asking her to scratch its cheek.

Baeksa smiled softly and scratched its cheek.

The little bird let out cheerful trilling sounds.

Then it settled comfortably into her tiny hand.

Its fluffy little bottom rested snugly in her palm.

“Wow…”

A spirit beast showing her affection was a completely new experience.

Baeksa’s cheeks turned pink.

The spirit beasts she had known before all served the Emperor, Yeoryun, Songra, or other members of the imperial family.

Following their masters’ wishes, they disliked Baeksa.

Sometimes they even attacked her or chased after her trying to bite her.

“But you’re so gentle and kind.”

At her murmured words, the little bird chirped happily again.

For a brief instant, it seemed as though a tiny flame flickered at the tip of its tail feathers.

But the moment passed so quickly that Baeksa couldn’t be sure she had really seen it.

Just then, Sirang’s bright voice called from outside the door.

“My Lady, are you awake?”

The moment Baeksa was about to answer, the baby bird suddenly panicked.

Flapping its wings frantically, it grabbed onto her sleeve with its beak.

“Peep! Peep peep!”

“Huh…?”

Baeksa looked at the distressed baby bird, then at Sirang’s shadow moving outside the door.

In a tiny, secretive voice, she asked:

“Do you… want to hide?”

“Peep!”

The baby bird nodded vigorously.