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Chapter 3
So-ya looked up at her father with a tense expression.
It had been three years since that day—since the first beast transformation ceremony when it was revealed she was not his real daughter—and this was their first face-to-face meeting since then.
But Jeok A-yun’s gaze as he looked at So-ya was completely dry.
Tap. Tap. Tap.
His fingers drummed rhythmically against the desk.
It was a habit he showed when deep in thought.
So-ya glanced at those fingertips.
She remembered how gently those same hands had stroked Lady Lili’s hair just moments ago.
And she also remembered how cold and merciless those same hands had been three years ago when they cast her aside.
Take away the child’s spirit core and lock her in the Cold Palace.
That memory returned like a blade.
The cold air of that day, the piercing stares, the terrifying emotions a six-year-old should never have had to endure—all of it wrapped around her again.
“Your situation should be clear to you. I will not waste words.”
A calm voice, stripped of emotion, cut sharply across her skin.
“Because of your mother’s greed, Lili had to wander the streets at such a young age without even awakening her spirit core. Everything she should have had was stolen by the daughter of a maid.”
“….”
So-ya felt like a criminal. Her eyelashes trembled, heat rising around her eyes.
“Therefore, I intend to give my daughter—whom I have finally recovered—anything she desires. Even if others call it absurd.”
My daughter…
At those words, So-ya understood once again.
Ah… to her father, the only daughter is Lady Lili.
I am no daughter to him. I am nothing to him at all.
In truth, from that day three years ago, she and her father had ceased to have any relationship whatsoever.
And yet, So-ya had foolishly waited for him—clinging to the absurd hope that he might come back for her.
Left alone in that cold palace, she waited and waited for a father who never came.
So-ya had lost her mother at birth.
But even without her mother, she had grown up bright and cheerful because of her father’s love.
She had also liked her older brothers very much, even when they competed for attention, but above all—
She had loved her father the most.
To her as a child, her father had been the entire world.
Even if he no longer saw her as his daughter…
So when she had been dragged into this room by Lili’s sudden insistence, part of her had felt a flicker of hope.
She had been excited.
Even seeing him from afar had once felt like a sin—yet now she would stand before him.
What a foolish thought.
That lingering attachment snapped in an instant.
“So make sure Lili never learns your identity. If she is hurt because of you…”
Jeok A-yun narrowed his eyes slightly.
“I will not forgive you.”
So-ya’s throat tightened painfully.
…But Father. Haven’t I already become someone who cannot be forgiven?
She swallowed those thoughts down hard.
Because she was no longer anything to him.
Even the love he once gave her must have been nothing more than something stolen from Lili.
That realization was cruel.
“Yes, Clan Head.”
So-ya answered in a voice so low it barely came out, bowing her head deeply.
A faint crack appeared across Jeok A-yun’s expression as he silently looked down at her.
Something like sorrow, loss, even resignation flickered in her presence.
Emotions too heavy for a nine-year-old.
Only then did he finally lift his gaze and properly observe the child he hadn’t looked at for three years.
Pale complexion, hunched shoulders, hands fidgeting nervously inside her sleeves, restless feet, and a voice drained of vitality…
She was nothing like his memory.
The So-ya he remembered had been—
Useless sentiment.
He cut off the thought coldly.
“Leave.”
So-ya stepped back quietly, suppressing her footsteps.
Has that child always walked like that?
Like a criminal, hiding herself…
“….”
Jeok A-yun’s expression twisted faintly.
To say he felt no pity would be a lie.
But he did not allow himself to think further.
He had raised the daughter of a maid this far. Even after she stole his daughter’s place, he did not punish her, did not expel her, did not strike her.
And yet pity for her could not outweigh his guilt toward Lili.
Lili—his real daughter—had grown up starving on the streets, unable to see a physician when sick, mocked as a fatherless child.
The servant who had switched the children had raised Lili under another identity, but she had not been a proper guardian.
Whenever he thought of that woman, Lili’s darkened expression stabbed at his heart.
He had wanted to drag that cursed woman back and question her thoroughly—but she had already died three years ago.
So Lili had grown up alone.
Even her spirit core, which most children awaken at five or six, had only awakened at nine.
And even then, her spirit core was weak due to illness in childhood, making her transformation unstable.
Yet that child had forced herself to transform today just to meet her “real family.”
Thinking of Lili made his chest ache with guilt toward his late wife.
There was no room left in his heart for So-ya.
To him, making the maid’s daughter serve Lili was already a generous mercy.
He told himself this firmly, even though he knew the child had done nothing wrong.
It was easier that way.
And he had no time to spare—he needed to make up for all the love he had failed to give Lili.
The “fake daughter” who stole the real daughter’s place became the real daughter’s maid.
A ridiculous farce unfolded within the Vermillion Bird Clan, but Jeok A-yun strictly silenced all rumors.
“Father!”
Lili ran in, laughing brightly.
Jeok A-yun lifted her easily into his arms.
She clung to his neck, chatting happily.
So-ya watched them quietly.
“Goodness, Lili. Your hair is messy.”
Jeok A-yun gently chided her, undoing her hair ribbon.
“We should fix it.”
He handed the ribbon to So-ya, who stood behind them.
The gesture was indifferent, like how one would treat any servant.
And yet, it was cruel in its meaning—
Remember your place.
I’m fine.
So-ya told herself as she stared at the ribbon.
Yes, I’m fine.
When she opened her eyes again, she saw him combing Lili’s hair gently.
Just like he once did for her… long ago.
“I-it tickles, Father!”
Lili laughed.
Jeok A-yun smiled faintly in return.
A cuckoo bird flew briefly through the courtyard, as if blessing the peaceful scene, then disappeared.
I’m fine. I’m really fine.
So-ya was fine.
It hurt that she could no longer be his daughter—but it was fine.
It stung when her brother looked at her with contempt—but it was fine.
The servants whispered when she passed, Lili was loved by everyone, and So-ya had become only a maid who watched it all.
But it was fine.
Because she was a bad chick who had deceived her father and brothers.
A sinner who stole Lili’s place and caused everyone pain.
So she was truly fine.
Truly…
On the ninth birthday of Lady Lili.
Her first birthday since being restored to her rightful place.
Clan Head Jeok A-yun announced a grand celebration.
And amid this, news arrived that the Fifth Prince of the imperial capital would be visiting the manor.
