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Chapter 28
Jujeokseo gestured for his subordinate to leave.
Then he walked over to a wooden box sitting in one corner of the office.
The finely crafted box gleamed as though someone regularly polished and maintained it.
Click.
When he opened the box, a beautiful white fan revealed itself.
The most special item that a Vermilion Bird beastkin could create using a divine relic.
The Feather Fan Spirit Treasure.
A treasure fan made from feathers.
Vermilion Bird beastkin could turn their feathers into divine relics and then use those feathers to create a fan.
A fan made this way possessed tremendous power, but the expenditure of energy was so immense that they could only make one in their entire lifetime.
And this was the Spirit Treasure that Myeongyeong had completed the day before she disappeared.
The method of creating a Spirit Treasure was special.
Rather than simply binding several divine relics together, the owner of the ability dripped their own blood onto it and bound the treasure to themselves.
Once that process was complete, the Spirit Treasure could recognize its master.
Which meant that if he had this Spirit Treasure, Jujeokseo would be able to recognize Myeongyeong whenever she appeared.
However, the Spirit Treasure’s power was not absolute. It could only recognize its owner when Myeongyeong was nearby.
Furthermore, after Myeongyeong disappeared, the power within the treasure had continued to fade.
Fearing that all of its power would vanish before he found her, Jujeokseo had sealed it inside a special wooden box that could contain its strength.
“Myeongyeong.”
His younger sister with white hair. A sibling he had once been close to.
Whenever he listed pleasant memories and comforting words in his mind, the image waiting at the end was always that of himself and Myeongyeong spending time together.
Swallowing the bitterness rising in his throat, Jujeokseo muttered,
“Another child is living in your quarters now. You would like her if you saw her.”
Perhaps Myeongyeong and Baeksa could become a comfort to one another.
After staring at the Feather Fan for a long while, Jujeokseo placed it back inside the box and was about to close the lid.
Then—
Wooooong.
The white Feather Fan suddenly reacted.
Startled, Jujeokseo hurriedly grabbed it.
“This is…!”
The Spirit Treasure was calling for its master.
The blood of Myeongyeong, bound within the fan, was searching for its original owner.
Did that mean Myeongyeong was nearby?
Jujeokseo hurried off in the direction indicated by the Spirit Treasure.
As though it knew exactly where to go, the Feather Fan flew steadily forward, only occasionally wavering as if confused.
Yet it never left the estate.
Jujeokseo was bewildered.
“A reaction from Myeongyeong… inside the residence?”
Did that mean Myeongyeong was somewhere here?
That was impossible.
Regardless, the Feather Fan continued drifting unsteadily toward some destination.
Then it stopped at a certain place and, as though it could no longer find any trace of its master, lost all strength.
Jujeokseo stood there blankly and looked toward where the fan had arrived.
“…”
It was Myeongyeong’s former residence.
Through the slightly open door, he could see Hwayeong, Doyi, and Baeksa laughing and playing together.
For an instant, Myeongyeong’s face overlapped with Baeksa’s.
At the same time, the Feather Fan dropped into Jujeokseo’s hand as though it had completed its task.
Seeing Baeksa’s innocent face, Jujeokseo murmured in a daze,
“…She looks like her.”
It was not his imagination.
Baeksa really did resemble Myeongyeong a little.
But…
“Baeksa is an imperial princess.”
An abandoned child of the imperial palace.
A descendant of the Emperor.
There was no way Myeongyeong had gone all the way to the capital, met the Emperor, and borne his child.
And if Baeksa truly were Myeongyeong’s daughter, the Feather Fan would have reacted far more strongly.
Instead, it had simply lost its power upon reaching this place.
Jujeokseo remained motionless, watching the children through the gap in the door.
Thump. Thump.
His heartbeat raced wildly.
He could not understand what this Spirit Treasure was trying to tell him.
Had it simply followed traces of Myeongyeong left behind in this residence?
Yet if that were the case, why had it never reacted this way before?
The only difference between then and now was that a different person was living here.
After staring at Baeksa as though nailed to the spot, Jujeokseo finally turned and left.
The Feather Fan of Myeongyeong never reacted again during the entire walk back, as though its earlier response had been nothing but a dream.
“Find out about Baeksa’s mother.”
That was the very first order Jujeokseo gave.
Jo Yeong narrowed his eyes as though troubled.
“Patriarch, nothing is publicly known about Princess Baeksa’s mother. She is only said to have been a palace maid of low birth. There is no reliable information—”
“I don’t care what it is. Find something.”
Jujeokseo’s voice was firm.
Jo Yeong closed his mouth and nodded.
“Yes. I’ll see what I can uncover. Since the Azure Dragon clan has been maintaining friendly relations, I’ll send them a letter and make some inquiries.”
“Do it quickly. And come up with a name for the child too.”
“Huh? I can name her as well?”
“Why not? The final name is chosen by the Divine Beast anyway.”
Jujeokseo glared at him.
“Put your heart into it and choose something pretty. If you bring me an ugly name, you won’t like the consequences.”
“Ah, don’t worry! When it comes to pretty names, no one beats Jo Yeong. I’ll give it my best thought.”
Chuckling, he asked,
“By the way, Patriarch, when do you plan to give her the name?”
“At the Divine Beast Festival.”
“The Divine Beast Festival? The retainers are going to raise a huge fuss.”
“That’s exactly why I’m doing it there.”
Jujeokseo answered firmly.
Truthfully, he had already intended to introduce Baeksa during the Divine Beast Festival.
That way, no one would dare casually think of harming the little snake child.
But after seeing Myeongyeong’s Spirit Treasure react near Baeksa’s residence, his determination had only grown stronger.
He kept telling himself it was impossible because Baeksa carried imperial blood.
And yet, the thought—
“What if?”
—continued to rise in his mind.
It was not a feeling he could control, and that made the situation all the more frustrating.
In this bewildering situation, the only thing Jujeokseo could do was protect Baeksa as best he could.
To ensure she would not be hurt by the prejudices and gazes of others.
“I have decided to accept that child as family and raise her. Other than me, there is no one in the Southern Lands who can protect her more completely.”
With an ability like hers, disaster would surely follow if she fell into the hands of someone driven by twisted desires.
“At the Divine Beast Festival, I will give her a name and officially welcome her into the family. Inform the others as well.”
“And the elder retainers…?”
“Was that a question?”
Jujeokseo snorted.
“Don’t tell them. How much blessing do you think those old men would give the child anyway? Just tell Doyi and Hwayeong to finish preparing their names in time.”
“Yes, understood, Patriarch!”
“The Divine Beast Festival?”
Baeksa asked, her eyes sparkling.
Hwayeong nodded.
“It’s a ceremony where we pray to the Vermilion Bird Divine Beast, who watches over the Southern Lands, and ask for another five years of peace and safety.”
Doyi popped a sweet snack into Baeksa’s mouth and continued.
“It’s a gathering where most of the beastkin in the Southern Lands come together. The Patriarch is going to give you your name there.”
Munching happily on the sweet treat, Baeksa swallowed and spoke with a slightly worried expression.
“Um… is it really okay for people to talk about me at such an important event?”
“Of course! It’s because it’s such an important event that they’ll talk about you!”
While Doyi kept feeding her sweets, Hwayeong struggled to tie up Baeksa’s soft hair.
Claiming that her dream had always been to tie up a younger sister’s hair, she worked diligently at it.
From Doyi’s perspective, however, there did not seem to be much progress.
“I’ve already decided on a candidate for your name. The Divine Beast will definitely like mine best.”
“Why? The name I chose might be better, Young Master.”
“No way. Let’s see whose name gets chosen!”
As Doyi and Hwayeong bickered back and forth, Baeksa smiled brightly and accepted another bite of sweets.
By now, she had become close enough to the two of them that spending time together in the same room no longer felt awkward at all.
“The Divine Beast Festival…”
It sounded fascinating.
Baeksa had never attended an imperial banquet before.
Just knowing that she would be able to participate in such an event made her heart race.
“How wonderful will it be?”
And how fun?
Chewing her sweet snack, the child smiled happily to herself.
