Chapter 12
Sa-eon, the head of the Baek Clan that rules the Western Region, was also the teacher of the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince Tae Irim, Sa-eon’s disciple, was the imperial family’s only legitimate heir, yet he had no interest in the throne. Not just the throne—he was apathetic about everything.
It had been around three years ago. Starting from a certain day, he gradually brightened and regained his vitality, but even then, he didn’t covet the throne like the other princes.
Such a prince had changed overnight.
On the morning he brought back a cotton ball from the Southern Region, Sa-eon received word that the prince was gravely ill and summoning him, so he hurried to the imperial palace.
Yet the eleven-year-old young prince, said to be suffering from a high fever, was sitting upright on his bed, greeting him.
His pale complexion and reddish eye rims showed he still hadn’t fully shaken off the fever, but his condition wasn’t dire enough to warrant Sa-eon’s rushed entry into the palace.
[I greet Your Highness the Prince.]
[Come in, Teacher.]
At that one languid word, Sa-eon paused.
Was it because his voice was hoarse from the fever? Something felt different from usual.
[The reason I summoned you today, Teacher, is that I have a favor to ask.]
[Please command me.]
[Go to the Southern Region, the land of the Zhuque. Steal the most precious thing from there. Do so, and I will give you the Dragon Blood Grass(龍血草) you’ve been searching so desperately for, Baek Sa-eon.]
He paused.
Sa-eon’s expression hardened rigidly.
Dragon Blood Grass(龍血草).
That herb, said to bloom from a dragon’s blood, was a spiritual medicine that flowered only once, when an emperor ascended the throne—something no mere prince could give or withhold.
As if reading Sa-eon’s thoughts, Fifth Prince Tae Irim spoke softly.
[I will become emperor.]
That gentle, soft voice held no weakness.
Only then did Sa-eon realize it. Moments earlier, the prince hadn’t called him “Teacher"—he’d used his name.
Before the emperor, all were mere subjects…
[I promise you, Sa-eon. Before the year is out, I will ascend the throne and grant you the Dragon Blood Grass.]
Sa-eon swallowed silently and scrutinized the prince more closely.
His eyes, his expression, his speech, his voice—everything about him was utterly different from the boy Sa-eon had known.
The prince was eleven, the same age as Sa-eon’s second son, yet he had eyes of profound depth and a face of such maturity it was hard to believe.
[…What exactly must I bring?]
[Something whose value no one recognizes, but the most precious thing of all. You will know it at a glance.]
The prince’s demand ended up being a riddle.
[There is little time. Depart at once, before the sun sets today.]
[I never imagined I’d receive an order to steal. The most precious thing—how tempting. What if I take it and run?]
Sa-eon chuckled playfully in response, but for an instant, a chill glinted in the prince’s turquoise eyes.
[It cannot be possessed. You need only show me that it is safe.]
Tae Irim declared it firmly.
As if he’d already foreseen exactly what Sa-eon would steal.
The most precious thing, yet something no one could own.
Thus, Sa-eon’s first thought had been the Jujak Divine Bow(朱雀寶弓), the ancient divine beast Zhuque’s legacy.
That divine object(神物), guarded by the Zhuque Clan, was a treasure no mere human could claim.
Then he discovered Soya and changed his mind, bringing the child back instead.
“Anyway, if it’s not that, then it’s a relief…”
Jeokyeong’s voice broke through his reverie at that moment.
“Since the Patriarch assigned her the room at the western end, everyone will misunderstand, just like I did. That room was prepared for adopting a young lady from the branch family.”
“There are no other rooms in Baekho Palace for a girl to stay in, so it couldn’t be helped.”
“True, but just to be sure, I’m asking…”
Ho Jeok-yeong stole a glance at Baek Sa-eon as he spoke.
“You’re not planning to register that cotton ball young lady into the clan in place of the branch family young ladies, are you?”
“What, I’ve never even thought of…”
Sa-eon, flustered, was about to insist he’d never considered such a thing.
Suddenly, an image unfolded in his mind: the cotton ball as Baekho Palace’s youngest young lady.
Tottering through Baekho Palace on those tiny legs, spotting him, then beaming and calling him “Father”…
“Hmm…”
Sa-eon stroked his chin, adopting a deliberately grave expression as he sank into thought.
The cotton ball as my daughter. Not a bad idea…
“E-eh? Patriarch, you’re not just now thinking, ‘Hmm, that doesn’t sound bad at all,’ are you? Right?”
“…”
“Of course, unlike the tiger young masters, the cotton ball young lady is so very small! Cute! Adorable!”
“Mm.”
At the words small, cute, and adorable, Sa-eon unconsciously smiled with satisfaction and nodded.
Seeing it, Jeokyeong’s eyes bulged as he shouted.
“Even so, that’s not allowed! This is about adopting a young lady to represent the clan! It’s not just some spot where you dote on her prettiness and cuteness! Absolutely not!”
The sly upward curve of Sa-eon’s mouth flattened again.
“…I know.”
Registering a branch family girl was a decision for the good of the clan. He couldn’t let fleeting emotions or impulses sway it.
Above all, the cotton ball wasn’t a tiger.
But she had nowhere else to go. I’d picked her up, so it was my responsibility.
Sa-eon glanced at Jeokyeong and asked in a subtle tone.
“But, Jeokyeong. There’s no rule saying the clan’s young lady has to be just one, right…?”
“No, there is such a rule!”
Jeokyeong raised his voice sharply.
“Think about it, Patriarch. If you adopt two young ladies at once, they’ll inevitably be compared. Then who do you think would end up feeling inferior and shrinking back?”
“Umm.”
“What starts as your good intentions would only make things harder for the cotton ball young lady. It would be disrespectful to the one becoming the clan’s new young lady, too.”
“…”
“I get that the other girl’s circumstances are pitiful, but you can’t take responsibility for every pitiful soul in the world, can you? Better to find a suitable family to send the cotton ball young lady to.”
“…”
“No, why are you looking at me like that?”
“You heartless, tearless, vicious red fox.”
“Huh? Hearing that from you, Patriarch, feels off.”
“Aren’t you worried about that tiny cotton ball?”
“Of course I…!”
It was then.
“Patriarch.”
A voice calling him came from outside.
It was Yeon-jeong from the Red Fox Clan, the servant assigned to Soya.
“What is it?”
“I have something to report about the young lady in the western room.”
Baek Sa-eon’s eyes hardened at Yeon-jeong’s subsequent report.
* * *
Gayul was hiding in the bushes, observing the little cotton ball his father had brought back from somewhere.
‘Her name was Soya, right?’
Unlike everyone else in Baekho Palace, she was tiny. And frail. It kept drawing his attention.
‘Why is she so small?’
Before the cotton ball showed up, Gayul had been the smallest in the Baek Clan.
Yet here was a girl even smaller than him.
Gayul was fascinated by Soya, who was a whole head shorter.
Fascinated, but worried, too.
‘And why is she so weak? Collapsing into Father’s arms on the very first day.’
Perched on a large rock, basking in the sun, her pale, sickly face made her look ill.
‘If she’s weak, she won’t survive…’
Gayul’s heart raced with anxiety at the thought that something might happen to the small, frail Soya.
“Oh dear, young master. If the Patriarch finds out you’re skimping on training like this, it’ll be big trouble.”
Suri, who’d followed Gayul out, was just as anxious—worried he’d catch the fallout from his young master’s mischief.
“Over there. I’m doing something super important right now. Gotta figure out the cotton ball’s true nature.”
Gayul waved Suri off irritably with both hands.
“You think you’ll learn anything spying from the bushes? Why not just go ask her?”
“What if I say something and she gets startled and falls?”
“She falls over from a conversation?”
“…”
Gayul recalled the day before: he’d merely locked eyes with the cotton ball, and she’d startled and tumbled over.
Someone even smaller and frailer might not stop at falling—she could faint dead away.
“If you don’t need to ask her directly, let’s head to the training grounds already, young master. Yeah?”
“But she’s so small and weak. That’s why I have to keep watch. My heart’s pounding. Afraid if I go ‘whoosh,’ she’ll just topple over…”
That very instant.
“Gasp…!”
“Heavens…!”
Soya, who’d been nodding off in the sunlight, truly keeled over!
Gayul burst from the bushes, dashing to her side and yelling.
“Co-cotton ball! Cotton ball, you okay?”
But when he reached the rock she’d been sitting on moments ago, the cotton ball was gone.
“Where’d the cotton ball go?”
As flustered Gayul whipped around, a tiny baby bird on the ground at his feet caught his eye.
He froze.
A small, pure-white fledgling covered in fluffy down lay there, eyes closed in sleep.
“No way… cotton ball…?”
Gayul’s eyes went wide.
Gayul, a mere ten-year-old tiger beastkin, had never set foot outside Baekho Palace.
He’d never even seen a herbivore before, let alone a winged creature.
“Gasp! Th-that’s gotta be the cotton ball young lady! Look at those adorable tail feathers! Nothing that cute lives in Baekho Palace except her…!”
“Shh, quiet! You’ll wake the cotton ball!”
Gayul hushed Suri’s outburst and carefully scooped up the tiny fledgling he suspected was the cotton ball.
“The cotton ball must be exhausted… Huh?”
In that moment, his eyes suddenly widened round.
