Chapter 19
Soya’s mealtime.
The table was laden with food.
When Soya had first arrived at Baekho Palace cradled in Sa-eon’s arms, she had been skin and bones, but after eating and sleeping well these past days, she had gradually put on some weight.
Soya finished her meal until her belly felt like it might burst, then drank every last drop of the medicinal soup that Yeon-jeong had brought her.
‘Any ordinary child would throw a tantrum at the bitter taste of the herbal tonic or at least grimace.’
‘Our young lady is just so good-natured.’
Yeon-jeong and San-ho thought as they watched Soya drink the tonic obediently without so much as a frown.
“Wow, our young lady! You’re amazing!”
Yeon-jeong clapped her hands upon seeing the empty tonic bowl, not a drop left behind.
“Time for a little palate cleanser. Say ahh.”
“Ahhh.”
Soya opened her tiny mouth like a baby bird.
San-ho chuckled softly and popped a sweet candy into Soya’s mouth.
Soya chewed on the candy with her small mouth.
Both the lingering bitterness of the tonic and the sweet flavor filling her mouth were utterly delightful.
‘Why is everyone so kind to me?’
Soya thought, her cheeks flushing pink.
The delicious food and clean clothes were all wonderful, but what she loved most were the smiling faces turned toward her.
The people of the Zhuque Clan had all scowled and avoided her whenever they saw her, but every single person in Baekho Palace smiled brightly at her.
Even over small things like finishing her meal without leftovers or taking her medicine, they would clap and praise her, saying she had done well with warm smiles.
‘Smiles can be this warm and wonderful. I should smile a lot, too.’
With that thought, Soya beamed broadly.
Just as their smiles warmed her heart, she wanted to return those feelings of joy and warmth to the people of Baekho Palace.
Sa-eon-nim had told her to stay here ‘for the time being.’
She didn’t know when that ‘for the time being’ would end, but Soya felt that living in the Western End Room of Baekho Palace right now was the happiest ‘for the time being’ of her entire life.
‘I hope this time being lasts a really, really long time. At least long enough for me to remember this sweetness forever.’
To etch this sweet and bittersweet ‘for the time being’ into her memory forever, Soya chewed the lingering candy in her mouth thoroughly.
It was then that Ho Jeok-yeong arrived, carrying a gift from Sa-eon.
“The master of the house gave this to me for you?”
Soya’s eyes sparkled as she gazed at the wooden box in Jeokyeong’s hands.
“Yes. He said it’s in return for the talisman.”
The talisman had been her thanks for saving her, and now he was giving her a gift in return for that.
Soya’s chest tightened with emotion.
When she opened the wooden box, a tiger-shaped cloth doll popped out.
“It’s a tiger!”
Soya cried out in excitement.
Everyone burst into soft chuckles at the sight of the young lady, her cheeks rosy and her eyes shining as she stared at the tiger doll.
“Thanks to your talisman chasing away the ghosts, this tiger doll slept soundly last night.”
“Wow…!”
“Don’t just stare at it—give it a hug.”
“May I?”
“Of course. This is a gift from the master of the house to you, young lady.”
Urged by voices encouraging her to hug it, Soya swallowed hard and looked at the tiger doll.
Then, very carefully, she took the cloth doll into her arms.
It was just as soft and fluffy as the cloth doll she had clung to in her father’s arms when she was very young.
Soya had once had cloth dolls she played with as a child, but when she was banished to the Cold Palace, they had all been taken away and burned.
Among them had been a splendid firebird doll that her late mother had sewn by hand while waiting for Soya to be born.
The scrap of cloth she had barely salvaged from the ashes was charred black, its original shape unrecognizable.
Recalling that time made tears well up in her eyes.
“Oh, what should I do? I’m so grateful…”
Soya fidgeted restlessly, mumbling about how to express her feelings.
Then she asked cautiously.
“Um, could I possibly use some paper and ink?”
“Pardon? Paper and… ink?”
“Are you planning to draw a picture, young lady?”
“No. I want to write a letter to Sa-eon-nim.”
Soya shook her head as she replied.
At that, everyone exchanged surprised glances.
Could it be that this little young lady knew how to read and write?
But reading and writing were privileges allowed only to the children of noble houses.
Yeon-jeong, half in doubt, brought ink, an inkstone, paper, and a brush.
Soya sat right down and ground the ink, then picked up the brush to write her letter.
Her strokes were a bit uneven at the ends due to her weak grip, but overall, it was a neat script.
It was even far better than the youngest young master’s handwriting, comparable to the second young master’s.
Everyone was utterly astonished.
Oblivious to the thoughts of those around her, Soya was quite upset that her handwriting, after so long without practice, looked crooked and messy.
“Is it… really bad since it’s been so long since I held a brush?”
“No, young lady! It’s perfect!”
“The master of the house will surely be delighted when he receives this letter!”
San-ho and Yeon-jeong quickly waved their hands to cheer up Soya’s drooping expression.
Her face brightened at that.
“Then please deliver this letter to the master of the house! Please, Jeokyeong-nim!”
“Don’t worry, young lady.”
Jeokyeong smiled gently as he took Soya’s letter.
Soya hugged the tiger doll tightly and grinned from ear to ear.
* * *
Meanwhile, the night before, when Soya had come holding the stone.
Gahyeon hadn’t actually been asleep; he had only pretended to be while observing her.
The cotton ball sneaked stealthily into his room, placed something by his bedside, and scurried out.
“What the…?”
As soon as Soya left, he checked and saw it was just an ordinary stone.
“What kind of prank is this?”
Thinking it some strange joke, Gahyeon felt annoyed and simply tossed it away.
But the next morning.
Gayul came to his room holding a stone, bragging about it.
“Look at this, brother! It’s a talisman I got from the cotton ball!”
“A talisman?”
“Yeah! A talisman! I told her there were ghosts in Baekho Palace, and she left this ghost-repelling talisman for me!”
Gahyeon looked at his younger brother with pitiful eyes.
Ghosts, talismans—what nonsense.
“You didn’t see the cotton ball do Beast Transformation, did you, brother? I did! She was super tiny and cute.”
“……”
“But why is the cotton ball afraid of Beast Transformation? She was so cute…”
Gayul wasn’t particularly perceptive, but he had good animal instincts.
The emotion Soya had shown when he asked her to show her Beast Transformation form had clearly been fear.
“Maybe she’s so cute that she’s afraid of getting kidnapped…! What do we do, brother? If the cotton ball gets kidnapped…!”
Gahyeon’s head began to ache at Gayul’s nonsense.
“Shut up and get out.”
“This is a really important issue! The cotton ball is so tiny already! If bad thieves hide her in their pockets and run off, it’d be hard to even catch them!”
But Gayul didn’t leave and kept chattering on.
Ignoring him, Gahyeon stood and headed outside.
Unaware of where Gahyeon’s footsteps were leading, Gayul trailed after him, still babbling.
“So Father must have stolen the cotton ball, too! This won’t do, brother. I…”
Just then, Gahyeon suddenly stopped.
Thud!
“Ow ow! Stopping like that out of nowhere…”
As Gayul rubbed his nose, having bumped into Gahyeon’s back without warning.
“No, Young Master Gayul!”
“Uh, huh?”
Gayul, who had poked his head out at the booming voice, belatedly realized they were at the training grounds.
Gayul’s martial arts master, spotting his pupil who had been neglecting training these past few days, approached with a sinister tone.
“Heh heh heh, you slipped away again last night while I was briefly away.”
“M-Master…! Wait, th-that’s…”
As Gayul backed away stealthily, trying to flee, Gahyeon grabbed him by the scruff and handed him over to the master.
“Here, take him.”
“H-How could you do this to me, brother! You’re not my brother anymore!”
Gahyeon snorted as he watched Gayul, who was shrieking curses at him while being dragged off by the master.
“Finally, some peace.”
It was just as he turned back, feeling much lighter.
He spotted Soya crouched in the garden opposite, rustling about.
