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Chapter 40
One day, the little baby snake that Ju Jeokseo had picked up.
When it was revealed that the baby snake was actually Ju Myeongyeong’s daughter, the Zhujak family was thrown into chaos once again.
“Youngbo reacted to the young lady…!”
“She has a new name now. From now on, call her Baekyeon.”
Ju Jeokseo gently patted Baekyeon’s head as he spoke.
“Baekyeon! Which characters are used for your name?”
“It’s Baek for white, and Yeon for lotus.”
Baekyeon answered with a shy little smile.
Sirang clapped her hands and beamed.
“A white lotus—what a perfect name for you, Young Lady! I guess we can call you Lady Yeoni now.”
Sirang, who had come to welcome Baekyeon, glanced behind Ju Jeokseo’s back at the unfamiliar group that had returned.
She was looking for Ahee.
Since news about her had not yet reached the Zhujak estate, it was natural for Sirang to be curious.
“Ahee is currently under investigation for the crime of impersonating Myeongyeong’s daughter.”
“Impersonating…?”
“The child must have been deeply hurt because of all this, so take better care of her than before.”
“Yes. Family Head, please don’t worry.”
Sirang answered energetically.
“By the way, now that you seem to have adjusted to life at the estate, I’ll assign you a few more maids.”
“Ah, Family Head, I can take care of everything by myself…”
“No matter what it is, trying to do everything alone eventually causes problems. I’m trying to lighten your burden, so why react like that?”
Ju Jeokseo lightly scolded Sirang.
In truth, he understood why she reacted that way.
There were still several servants in the Zhujak estate who had a bad impression of the baby snake.
It had been difficult to remove every single one of them, so they had first driven out the people who openly showed hostility and left the rest behind. It seemed Sirang was still worried because some remained.
If such people became attendants, the young lady would suffer again.
In the end, Ju Jeokseo made a decisive move.
“Don’t look so miserable. Instead, I’ll raise your wages and let you personally choose the maids who will assist you.”
“Gasp, really?!”
“Yes. Go choose them. If you want to finish today, you’ll be busy.”
“Yes! I humbly accept your orders! Young Lady, I’ll pick hardworking and cheerful girls, so don’t worry!”
Sirang smiled brightly and hurried out of the room.
Baekyeon laughed as she watched her.
“Do you like Sirang?”
“Yes, Sirang is really kind. Ever since we first met, she’s always treated me well.”
“From now on, Sirang will continue attending to you and stay by your side. And…”
Ju Jeokseo gestured, and Doyi approached.
“You called for me, Family Head?”
“Doyi is officially Hwayeong’s guard, but in truth he’s more like Hwayeong’s brother. His ability is excellent for vigilance and protection. Whenever you go out, Doyi will protect you.”
“Should I start calling you Young Lady from today?”
“N-no? No!”
Baekyeon hurriedly shook her head. As the child frantically waved her head side to side, Ju Jeokseo grinned and poked Doyi’s forehead.
“You little rascal, stop teasing.”
“But Hwayeong sometimes calls me Young Master.”
“That’s only in front of others. Did you think I didn’t know you two act comfortably when you’re alone? Continue treating Yeoni comfortably as you always have.”
“Understood.”
Doyi nodded, and Baekyeon let out a sigh of relief.
She had really been worried Doyi might start calling her Young Lady.
“Young Lady… that’s strange.”
Until now, Doyi had always been like a good friend.
If Doyi suddenly started keeping his distance and calling her Young Lady, somehow it felt like her heart would ache a little.
“Yeon.”
Ju Jeokseo called gently to the baby snake while picking up a sweet snack.
Then he popped it into her mouth and whispered,
“Now that you know who you are, try calling me Uncle.”
“Ah, mm…”
The sticky snack filled her mouth so she couldn’t answer immediately.
Baekyeon made a troubled expression and diligently chewed the sticky snack.
Hwayeong immediately raised his eyebrows.
“Dad! How can you put something sticky in her mouth and ask her to speak?!”
“I didn’t realize it was this sticky… should you spit it out?”
Looking equally troubled, he placed his hand beneath the baby snake’s chin.
The girl was horrified and shook her head vigorously before chewing and swallowing the snack.
Then she gently grabbed Ju Jeokseo’s sleeve and carefully said,
“U-Uncle…”
“That’s right. I’m your uncle.”
He smiled brightly as he stroked the baby snake’s round forehead.
He looked as though he had gained the entire world.
Watching him quietly, Baekyeon carefully opened her mouth.
“Um… but I don’t remember my mother.”
It was obvious, but it still felt like something she had to say.
“His Majesty never told me about Mother even once… I’ve never seen her, and I’ve never heard where she went after giving birth to me.”
Though according to rumors, she had died.
That after giving birth to a princess, her body weakened and she passed away. People said that was why the Emperor hated his own daughter so much.
But Baekyeon couldn’t bring herself to say that much.
To her uncle, who had finally found her and looked so happy—
To tell him her mother might already be dead…
“That’s too cruel.”
As Baekyeon lowered her head, Ju Jeokseo poked her soft cheek.
“Yeon, for the last ten years I searched for nothing but news of your mother.”
There wasn’t a single person in the Southern Lands who didn’t know that fact.
“Yet despite all that, I couldn’t even find a single feather. Then suddenly you appeared. So how could your existence not feel like a gift to me? I will investigate your mother’s whereabouts, so don’t worry too much.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Listening quietly, Hwayeong suddenly interrupted.
“Then does that mean baby snake isn’t my little sister but my cousin little sister? I wanted her to be my little sister!”
“What difference does little sister or cousin little sister make? As long as you cherish and love her like family, like real siblings.”
Ju Jeokseo split another sweet snack in half and placed it into Baekyeon’s mouth.
He had noticed earlier that Baekyeon struggled to chew the snack.
The child smiled happily with the sweet snack still in her mouth.
“They’ve been exposed.”
At the neat report, the man clicked his tongue.
“Useless. I knew this would happen.”
“Then what should we do now?”
“What else? Cut off the tail. Make sure this doesn’t get connected back to us.”
The subordinate bowed his head at the man’s order.
He immediately left the room.
After sending him away, the man stared blankly into empty space and muttered,
“I even provided the blood, yet they couldn’t make proper use of it. They were worthless from the start.”
There was no one around him, so the only person who heard the muttering was the man himself.
From far away, the eerie cry of a wild dove echoed.
After that, the baby snake’s daily life did not change very much.
If there was one change, it was that Ahee was no longer in the estate.
According to what she heard, Ahee had been exiled to a very distant place and would never return here again.
And most of the servants who had disliked the baby snake had disappeared.
Instead—
“Hello, Young Lady. My name is Nahyeon.”
“I’m Boyu. Starting today, we’ll help Sirang attend to you.”
Two more maids had been assigned to assist Sirang.
Only two people had been added, yet Baekyeon’s residence suddenly felt much livelier than before.
The maids busily cleaned and helped Baekyeon care for the garden.
And now that the Divine Beast Festival had ended, Doyi and Hwayeong could once again visit her residence every mealtime like before.
Everything was going smoothly.
The child sat quietly in her room, carefully organizing and reflecting on everything that had happened so far.
“It feels like a dream.”
It felt like she was living inside a beautiful dream.
If this truly were a dream, she never wanted to wake up.
To think that the place in the distant Southern Lands where she had come and depended on for shelter had actually once been the place where her mother had lived.
She remembered tending the garden back when everyone believed Ahee was Myeongyeong’s daughter, wanting to return a better home to her.
The garden she had nurtured had ultimately not been for Ahee—
but for Baekyeon herself.
That fact still surprised her from time to time, making the baby snake feel as though all of this were one sweet, wonderful dream.
