Chapter 2
“My name is Riri.”
The Zhuque Clan’s true Young Lady, with her lush red hair and ruby-like sparkling eyes, crossed the estate’s grand gates holding a red feather.
“I’m nine years old this year, and I just had my first Beast Transformation recently.”
Patriarch Jeok Ayun’s eyes shook violently upon seeing that brilliantly red feather, said to be possessed only by the direct lineage of the Zhuque.
She had grown up wandering the streets and had no idea she was the Zhuque Clan’s Young Lady, but she had learned the truth upon achieving her first Beast Transformation a little later than her peers.
“People told me that if I brought this feather here, I’d get to meet my real family.”
The child explained the reason for her visit in a clear, straightforward voice befitting the Zhuque Clan’s ‘true Young Lady.’
“If this feather really belongs to you, then why didn’t you just do the Beast Transformation yourself instead of carrying it here?”
In place of his frozen father, Jeok Hwayu shot back in a voice thick with suspicion.
“Th-that’s…….”
His eyes sharpened even more at the child’s fidgeting demeanor.
“How are we supposed to believe you?”
“I-I’ll do it, I can do it, Beast Transformation!”
The child glanced around nervously before shouting, and soon……
Poof!
She squeezed her eyes shut and transformed into a red bird.
“……!”
“……!”
Jeok Ayun and Jeok Hwayu froze in place.
The child was unmistakably a direct descendant of the Zhuque.
But the Beast Transformation immediately unraveled, and she collapsed onto the floor with a thud.
“Child!”
Jeok Ayun hurriedly scooped up the child’s body.
“My Spirit Core is weak…… Doing the Beast Transformation puts a strain on my heart. I was really sick when I was little and didn’t get proper treatment in time.”
The child stammered an excuse, her eyelashes trembling.
“I’m sorry. I’m just a foolish child who can’t even do Beast Transformation properly…….”
“Foolish? No, the fool isn’t you……!”
Jeok Ayun raised his voice and pulled the child into a tight embrace.
“……The fool is me, for not recognizing you.”
Jeok Ayun wept soundlessly, holding the child close.
The clan erupted into a festive atmosphere over the recovery of their ‘true Young Lady.’
It turned out the late Madam hadn’t committed any infidelity; the child had been switched by a greedy maidservant!
The stain on the Madam’s name was cleared, and the Patriarch’s endless inner torment came to an end in that moment.
Of course, even amid that warm celebratory mood, Soya alone was left out in the cold.
Soya was the sinner who had stolen that position and lived in luxury while the true Young Lady struggled on the streets without proper food or shelter.
Even if it hadn’t been by Soya’s own will, there was no escaping the stinging glares directed her way.
Soya naturally shrank back even more than before, keeping herself hidden from sight for a while.
And then, of all days, today—while she had gone out to do the laundry—she had run into the Young Master and the true Young Lady.
‘I can’t let them see my face.’
Soya flattened herself to the ground and bowed her head.
[If that horrific face shows up in my sight one more time, I might just chop off those pathetic wings of yours.]
The words her brother had left her with three years ago, the last time she’d seen him, stabbed into her mind like a thorn, aching painfully.
Feeling the cold gaze sweep over her, Soya squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself even more.
‘If they see my face, my wings will get cut off.’
Even though her Spirit Core had been removed and she’d never been able to properly spread her wings even once, the thought of them being severed was still terrifying.
Meanwhile, Jeok Hwayu didn’t recognize Soya right away, not even for a moment.
Three years was a significant gap.
And for a child in their growth period, that gap was even wider, so it wasn’t unreasonable that he failed to recognize her at first glance……
But more than that, his gaze lingered on her ragged clothes and her chipped, dirty nails.
The Soya he remembered from three years ago had always been showered with the family’s love, eating only the finest foods and wearing the best clothes.
Her chubby cheeks had always been full of vitality, and she’d always worn spotless garments.
But now……
“Oh my, who’s this child?”
Riri peeked her head out and suddenly butted in.
“She’s a servant working at the estate. You don’t need to concern yourself with her.”
Jeok Hwayu turned away from Soya as he answered.
“Eww, she stinks. I guess she hasn’t even washed. So unclean.”
Riri said, pinching her nose.
Soya’s face flushed bright red.
Turning nine this year, Soya was particularly small and frail compared to her peers.
Ever since her Spirit Core had been taken three years ago, she hadn’t grown properly.
On top of that, she hadn’t been able to wash properly these past few days or launder her clothes, so she must have looked utterly pathetic in the eyes of this precious Young Lady.
Feeling shabby about herself, Soya curled her fingertips inward to at least hide her chipped nails.
“Don’t pay attention to the likes of her and come this way. Over there’s the flower garden your late mother cherished.”
Jeok Hwayu took Riri’s hand and led her in the opposite direction.
He hadn’t said it to deliberately hurt Soya.
He was just worried that Riri might take an interest in her.
The people of the Zhuque Clan hadn’t told Riri about Soya’s existence—that is, the wicked girl who had stolen the ‘true Young Lady’s’ position before Riri arrived.
The reason was simple.
They were afraid it would upset her.
While Riri had wandered the streets without proper meals, Soya had enjoyed everything that should have been Riri’s.
How deeply wounded would Riri be if she learned that truth?
The child already carried so many scars.
“Wait a moment, big brother.”
But contrary to Jeok Hwayu’s hopes, Riri began showing interest in Soya.
“Hey, lift your head a little. Let me see your face.”
Soya didn’t know what to do.
Her big brother Hwayu’s chilling voice, threatening to cut off her wings if her face showed up again, echoed relentlessly in her mind.
“Hurry up and raise your head, I said.”
Even as Riri repeated herself, Soya hesitated and didn’t lift her head easily, so Jeok Hwayu cut in with a slightly displeased tone.
“What are you doing? Didn’t Riri just give you an order?”
Is it okay to show my face…….
Soya cautiously lifted her head just a bit.
Riri’s eyes sparkled as she took in the girl’s face.
“I-I want to keep her by my side! Make her my handmaid, please!”
Riri clapped her hands and cried out in a bright, ringing voice.
Flinch.
Jeok Hwayu’s face hardened in surprise at the same time as Soya’s face drained of color.
“But Riri, she’s too young and uneducated to serve as a handmaid. The ones by your side right now are far more…….”
“Eww, all the maids by Riri right now are older than me. I want someone I can hang out with like a friend, big brother.”
Riri clasped her hands cutely together and mimicked an earnest tone.
But Jeok Hwayu didn’t budge an inch.
“A friend? Nonsense. How could you and some lowborn wretch possibly be friends?”
“You won’t grant Riri’s request? I hate you, big brother!”
Riri puffed out her cheeks and pouted her lips in dissatisfaction.
The sight was terribly endearing, but Jeok Hwayu replied in a stiff voice.
“……This is something we should consult Father about.”
Putting the ‘fake’ who stole the true Young Lady’s position as the true Young Lady’s handmaid?
No matter how you looked at it, that was strange.
But Patriarch Jeok Ayun thought differently.
“Of course, Riri. If it’s what you want, how could I not grant it?”
Jeok Ayun gently stroked Riri’s hair, a warm smile on his lips.
“Kyaa! Father really is the best! Riri loves Father the most!”
Riri, who had stubbornly gone to her father after her brother refused her request, bounced around excitedly.
“But, Father.”
“It’s Riri’s request, isn’t it?”
Jeok Hwayu tried to object, but Jeok Ayun cut him off with a firm yet gentle voice.
Then, gazing at his daughter with affectionate eyes, he asked.
“You like her that much, Riri?”
“Yes! It’s Riri’s wish!”
Riri shouted, clenching her little fists.
The child, with her cheeks flushed pink, was utterly lovable.
If only she hadn’t added those words, the mood might have been even better.
“When Riri was living on the streets, I didn’t have a single friend my age. Everyone hated me. They teased me for being fatherless and hit me.”
The two men’s faces darkened in an instant.
Riri occasionally mentioned her time on the streets.
Whenever she did, the bright and cheerful tone in her voice revealed just how harshly she had lived, piercing the hearts of all who heard.
If only she had shed tears and complained of loneliness and hardship, it might have hurt less……
Jeok Ayun gave a bitter smile and said to Riri.
“Riri, why don’t you go out with your big brother for a bit?”
“Huh? Just me and big brother?”
Riri tilted her head in confusion, then turned her gaze to Soya, who stood awkwardly at the room’s threshold.
Soya, who had been dragged there willy-nilly by Riri’s hand, had been staring at the floor with a pale face since earlier.
Soon, Riri curved her eyes sweetly and replied.
“Yes, Father!”
Riri planted a quick kiss on her father’s cheek, then took her big brother’s hand and left the room.
Jeok Ayun watched Riri’s retreating back with a soft smile.
But the moment Riri vanished from sight, that gentle smile vanished from his face like a lie.
Jeok Ayun fixed Soya with a chilling, hardened gaze.
The stark contrast from the way he looked at Riri made Soya shrink back in fear.
“It’s been a long time.”
An emotionless voice turned toward Soya.
