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Chapter 35
“My child, come here.”
Ju Jeokseo held out his hand.
Doui gently released Baeksa’s hand.
Then he whispered softly,
“Go on.”
Encouraged, Baeksa took one step, then another, toward Ju Jeokseo.
She could feel the gaze of every beastman from the Southern Lands fixed upon her.
“If you put your hand inside and close your eyes, your name will come into your hand.”
The large jar had been tilted so that a child could easily reach inside.
After demonstrating first, Ju Jeokseo stepped back.
Baeksa took a short breath and then slipped her hand into the large moon-white jar.
What kind of name would it be?
It was the first name she had ever received across both of her lives.
Everyone who had placed names into this jar was someone Baeksa liked very much, so she thought she would be happy no matter whose name she drew.
After waiting a moment with her hand inside, a small slip of paper suddenly appeared in her palm.
It was a very strange sensation.
As if someone with an incredibly warm hand had personally placed the name into hers.
Confirming that the paper was now in her hand, Baeksa slowly withdrew it from the jar.
But then—
“Huh…?”
Something about the paper in her hand was strange.
“There’s no red string…”
Just a moment ago, all the slips Ju Jeokseo had placed into the jar had been tied with red strings.
They had been tied so the names could not be seen.
However, the paper now resting in Baeksa’s hand had no red string attached.
Moreover, the paper looked extremely old and worn.
Just as Ju Jeokseo was about to inspect it, sensing something had gone wrong—
Rustle.
Baeksa slowly unfolded the paper.
Written inside, in neat handwriting, was a name.
Baekyeon (白蓮)
Baeksa recognized the characters.
“Baek, meaning white… and Yeon, meaning lotus…”
She had learned those Chinese characters with the Head of the Family not long ago. They were among her favorite characters.
‘I wonder who came up with this name? I really like it.’
Perhaps it had been given by someone who knew her ability manifested as lotus flowers?
If so, then Hwayeong or Doui were the most likely candidates. It could even have been Ju Jeokseo.
“Is a name written there?”
“Yes. It says Baekyeon.”
Baeksa replied with a gentle smile.
For a moment, Ju Jeokseo’s face froze.
“…Baekyeon?”
Startled by his reaction, Baeksa blinked rapidly.
Had she done something wrong?
Ju Jeokseo strode toward her and extended his hand.
“My child, may I see that paper?”
“Of course, Head of the Family.”
Baeksa quickly placed the paper into his hand.
With trembling fingers, Ju Jeokseo accepted it and slowly examined it.
“…There’s no mistake.”
Then he let out a quiet sigh.
Ju Jeokseo recognized this paper.
It was not a name recently placed into the jar by those who now knew Baeksa.
This…
This name…
“Brother, what do you think? Isn’t it such a pretty name? If I ever have a child someday, I’m going to give them this name.”
It was a name his younger sister had chosen long ago.
“What kind of name is that? Get a grip, Myeongyeong. You’re only sixteen.”
“But I want to decide ahead of time. Isn’t it cute?”
Myeongyeong replied with a bright grin.
“I like lotus flowers. Lotus flowers bloom from mud. They’re flowers that grow strong even in places that look the dirtiest…”
“So that’s why you want to name your child White Lotus? What if it’s a boy? What if they aren’t born with white fur?”
“Just because a color is in a name doesn’t mean the child has to have that color. But if it’s a boy… then sorry in advance, little one.”
Standing before the jar, Myeongyeong stuck out her tongue playfully.
At that moment—
Whoooosh!
A powerful gust of wind blew.
The slip of paper in Myeongyeong’s hand was swept away and flew directly into the jar.
“Ah, no!”
Myeongyeong stared at the giant jar in despair.
It was a vessel imbued with the power of a Divine Beast.
A treasured artifact brought out only during naming ceremonies. It was absolutely not something people could casually toss things into.
“O-Older Brother! It fell in! What do I do?”
“I knew something like this would happen… What do you mean, what do you do? Hurry and find it. What if it gets mixed in when this is used next time?”
At Ju Jeokseo’s scolding, Myeongyeong immediately climbed into the jar and searched desperately for the paper.
But even after searching for a long time, she could not find it.
“Older Brother, I think it’s too dark in here. Can you make some light?”
“Can you see now?”
Ju Jeokseo illuminated the inside with flames.
Yet the interior of the jar was enormous and pitch-black. Even his flames could not reveal everything.
Eventually, after searching for a long time, Myeongyeong climbed back out and shook her head.
“I can’t find it.”
“Move aside. I’ll look.”
Then Ju Jeokseo confidently climbed inside himself.
Yet he could not find the paper either.
It was as though the jar had swallowed it whole.
Faced with the mysterious situation, Ju Jeokseo and Ju Myeongyeong exchanged puzzled looks.
“Well, it can’t be helped. If that paper comes out the next time this jar is used, then it must be fate.”
“Ah… I wanted to give it to my own child.”
“That’s your fault, so there’s nothing you can do.”
Ju Jeokseo recalled the old memory.
It had become so distant that remembering it was difficult, but that particular moment remained vivid in his mind.
And now, the paper that had been lost back then—
“How can this even happen…”
After crossing more than ten years of time, it had ended up in the hands of this tiny child.
Muttering blankly, Ju Jeokseo returned the paper to Baeksa and said,
“This is a name my younger sister came up with long ago.”
At his words, everyone present widened their eyes.
Baeksa was no exception.
The little child stared up at Ju Jeokseo with huge eyes.
“It was something we thought had been lost. Seeing it appear before you after more than ten years, it seems you are the owner of this name.”
As he spoke, Ju Jeokseo’s expression was complicated.
A name Ju Myeongyeong had once chosen for her future child.
That name had gone to Baeksa.
And Myeongyeong’s spiritual treasure had reacted to Baeksa, if only briefly.
Could all of this truly be coincidence?
Ju Jeokseo could generously dismiss the spiritual treasure’s reaction as chance.
Perhaps the treasure had simply made a mistake.
But the moment he saw that familiar slip of paper in Baeksa’s hand—
‘This is not a coincidence…’
Ju Jeokseo became convinced that this was not chance at all, but fate and the natural flow of the world.
Strangely enough, Baeksa felt more like Myeongyeong’s child than Ahee, despite Ahee appearing with Myeongyeong’s belongings and bearing an identical appearance.
It felt as though Myeongyeong’s absent influence was using every means possible to tell him that Baeksa was connected to her.
The guide feather that had lost its light in Baeksa’s hand.
For some reason, it felt as though everything had begun with that feather.
Ju Jeokseo stared blankly at the small child.
People said blood relatives could recognize each other without being told.
That there was a pull of blood.
Was that why he felt this way toward Baeksa?
Could it be that Baeksa truly was Myeongyeong’s child, as if by fate?
After silently staring at her name for a long time, Baeksa cautiously spoke.
“Um, can someone like me really accept such a precious name—”
She was about to say she could not accept it, when—
“That’s not allowed!”
Ahee suddenly shouted sharply from where she sat.
At the sharp voice, every beastman present turned toward her.
Ignoring their reactions, Ahee pointed at the slip of paper in Baeksa’s hand.
“If it’s a name my mother chose, then shouldn’t that name belong to me?”
“Ahee.”
“If I brought my mother’s belongings, and everyone says I resemble Lady Myeongyeong, then she must be my mother.”
Ahee spoke through gritted teeth.
“Yet just because the spiritual treasure didn’t react, her residence and even the name she chose are all being given to that child. That’s unfair!”
A cold silence instantly settled over the area.
Flustered, Baeksa looked up at Ju Jeokseo.
His expression had become icy.
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever seen the Head of the Family look this frightening.’
Baeksa swallowed nervously and turned toward Ahee.
Ahee continued speaking regardless.
“S-So, that should be mine—”
“Just because the spiritual treasure didn’t react?”
Ju Jeokseo said coldly.
