🔊 TTS Settings
Chapter 18
“Hwaryeong, you’d better leave now.”
Behind Hwaryeong’s back.
A boy leaning against a tree with his arms crossed spoke bluntly.
Unlike Hwaryeong, who had red hair and red eyes, this boy had black hair and purple eyes.
“You’ll get caught if you stay any longer.”
It was Doi, Hwaryeong’s friend and guard.
He was a beastman who had drifted into the Southern Land when he was young and had been raised under Ju Jeokseo’s care alongside the brothers Hwaryeong and Hwanya.
Ju Jeokseo had taken him in, saying he would use him as a guard once he grew up, but what was commonly known was a little different.
Everyone who worked for the Jujak Clan knew that Ju Jeokseo thought of Doi almost like another son.
Perhaps because of that, Doi and Hwaryeong were closer to friends than master and servant.
“Pip-pip!”
‘Okay, okay! I’m leaving!’
Grumbling, Hwaryeong fluttered over and landed neatly on Doi’s shoulder.
With practiced ease, Doi leapt over the wall and left the clan head’s residence.
The boy’s movements were so swift that it was difficult even to follow them with one’s eyes.
Only after leaving the clan head’s quarters and arriving at a secluded garden did Doi release Hwaryeong into the air.
Poof!
The tiny bird transformed in midair into the form of a mischievous boy and landed on the ground.
Scratching his head, Hwaryeong grumbled,
“Why is Father so wary of me?”
“He’s not wary of you. He’s worried about that baby snake. Doesn’t she get shy around strangers?”
“Hm, but she didn’t seem that shy. When I went in as a bird, she wasn’t even that surprised.”
Doi shook his head.
“That’s because your bird form is small and cute. If you went in looking like this, she’d probably get startled and burst into tears.”
“Hey! Are you done talking?”
“Not yet.”
“You little—!”
Though one was a young master and the other his guard, Hwaryeong and Doi had grown up almost like friends, so when they were alone they spoke casually to each other.
“Still, it looks like they’ll introduce that child to you soon enough.”
Doi subtly changed the subject. Hwaryeong immediately perked up with curiosity.
“How do you know that?”
“Young Master.”
Doi smiled slightly.
“The clan head knew we were hiding behind the window.”
Hwaryeong flinched.
“Then why didn’t he say anything?”
“If he let us stay there, it probably means he was planning to introduce her to us soon anyway.”
“Ahh…”
“Still, that kid’s pretty impressive. She didn’t tell on you.”
Hwaryeong nodded.
“Right? I thought she’d tell immediately. Or maybe she didn’t realize it was me?”
“Maybe.”
Doi shrugged.
Hwaryeong brushed leaves and bits of grass from his shoulders and clothes, then strode forward first.
“Anyway, she’s small and cute. I hope she stays here forever.”
“Why?”
“Just because! Wouldn’t it be nice to have a little sister? I’ve always wanted one.”
“You can’t have everything you want, Young Master.”
“Are you trying to ruin the mood?”
As Hwaryeong narrowed his eyes, Doi chuckled.
Then he quickened his pace and passed Hwaryeong, recalling the image of the baby snake he had seen earlier.
The tiny child clutching a single small scale tightly in her hand and smiling as though she possessed the whole world.
That was…
‘Rather than cute…’
Wasn’t it more like she looked fragile?
The little snake smiled brightly, yet constantly glanced around and watched Ju Jeokseo’s reactions.
As if something were chasing her.
Doi knew that expression well.
And he knew exactly what kind of circumstances could make someone wear such a face.
At that moment, a tiny dandelion caught Doi’s eye.
Growing quietly between the stone wall’s cracks, the dandelion scattered into the breeze the instant his gaze fell upon it.
Only after the white seeds had completely vanished from sight did he look away.
No matter what kind of expression that child wore, it wasn’t any of his concern.
As always, all he needed to do was faithfully carry out his role as Hwaryeong’s guard.
So there would be no reason for him to frequently encounter or become involved with that baby snake.
“Ah… ugh…”
Suddenly, a sharp headache struck him, causing Doi to wince.
Hwaryeong hurried over.
“Are you okay?”
Doi nodded.
“I’m fine.”
Headaches were practically a part of Doi’s daily life.
There was no reason to be alarmed.
After quickly adjusting to the pain, Doi blinked several times.
That night, Baeksa quietly slipped out of her residence.
A small silk pouch containing the tiny white scale hung from her waist.
Sirang had personally made the pouch so that Baeksa wouldn’t lose the scale.
After asking what color she liked, Sirang had crafted it from bright reddish-orange silk, and Baeksa loved it.
“I’m happy…”
While fiddling with the pouch, Baeksa sat gently by the small pond inside the residence.
Then she took out her white scale from the silk pouch.
Bathed in moonlight, the little scale shimmered softly like a rainbow.
Its reaction was clearly different from when she had first created it.
Moreover, she could sense that a faint trace of her power had settled within the scale.
Carefully holding it up to the moonlight, Baeksa murmured,
“Do you think we’re becoming friends now?”
Was this what Ju Jeokseo had meant when he said she needed to become close to her scale?
And perhaps because the scale now contained ability power, she somehow felt as though it wanted to absorb something.
“Mmm…”
The task the clan head had given her was somewhat mysterious, and the still-young Baeksa found it difficult to understand all at once.
Carefully, the child looked down at the small pond.
Though tiny, with duckweed and little water lilies floating on its surface, the water was murky just like the ponds she had seen in the rear garden.
Baeksa was about to use her ability on the pond, but then she stepped back.
“No, the clan head said I should hide my powers for now…”
Just as she retreated a step—
Something suddenly moved within the darkness and grabbed her ankle.
“Ah!”
The next instant—
“Watch out!”
A boy appeared seemingly out of nowhere, yanked Baeksa away, and pulled her into his arms.
Doi happened to be passing in front of the annex where Baeksa was staying.
‘She’s probably asleep by now.’
With a curious expression, the boy glanced toward the front courtyard of the annex.
For some reason, he kept thinking about what he had seen earlier.
That strangely fragile expression.
The way she looked nothing like royalty despite being a princess.
Of course, he had absolutely no intention of sneaking in to watch the baby snake.
Unlike Hwaryeong, he wasn’t the type to climb through windows.
Besides, Doi couldn’t transform into a beast form.
If one asked how that was possible, there were occasionally beastmen like Doi who were incapable of transformation.
Most of them were treated as defective and looked down upon, but fortunately Ju Jeokseo had hidden that fact from others, so Doi had never experienced such treatment.
Furthermore, neither Hwaryeong nor Hwanya discriminated against or hated other beastmen for things like that.
In any case, because of this, Doi couldn’t sneak in the way Hwaryeong did through transformation.
So instead of sneaking in, he chose to simply walk past.
But then—
“That’s…”
Doi narrowed his eyes when he spotted something moving in the darkness.
White hair, bright as snow under the moonlight.
A tiny frame. A round little head.
It was the baby snake he had seen earlier.
‘Why is she out here at this hour?’
Had she come out because she couldn’t sleep?
The boy paused in place and hid behind a tree, watching her.
The tiny baby snake happily held something in her hand and showed it to the moonlight.
Then she dipped a finger into the pond with a little splash before breaking into a smile.
She looked exactly like a baby discovering the world for the first time.
The sight of her smiling as though everything was fascinating kept drawing Doi’s attention.
Then—
“…Huh?”
He noticed something gliding through the darkness toward the baby snake.
Recognizing the familiar and ominous sight, Doi’s eyes sharpened.
Others might not know what it was.
But he did.
‘A ghost!’
He was a direct descendant of a bloodline born with the ability to see ghosts.
The reason Doi constantly suffered from headaches was because of that very gift.
Those who could hear the voices of ghosts were always plagued by terrible headaches.
Doi’s eyes widened.
A water ghost was approaching the baby snake with harmful intent.
“Watch out!”
Seeing it, Doi launched himself forward without hesitation and snatched the baby snake away.
Crash! Thud!
Roll, roll.
Instinctively hugging Baeksa, Doi rolled across the ground and landed safely before glaring at the ghost.
Fortunately, the ghost seemed frightened upon seeing him and retreated back into the water.
But there was another problem.
“Uh… uhhhh…”
Startled by Doi’s sudden appearance from the darkness, Baeksa stared up at him with wide, round eyes.
In the darkness, the two children’s gazes met.
