Translator: Nox

Chapter 38

Soya cried for a long while before finally swallowing her hiccuping sobs and asking.

“I, hic, can I really become part of Sa-eon-nim’s family?”

The child’s teary eyes glanced cautiously at Sa-eon.

“I’m not a tiger, and I don’t have cool patterns or sturdy legs or steel-like teeth…….”

“Well. If anything, that’s what I wanted to ask.”

Sa-eon chuckled softly as he brushed the damp strands of hair clinging to Soya’s cheek behind her ear.

“I’m no cotton ball myself. I don’t have wings or tail feathers. I’m not cute. People say I have a rotten personality too, though I wouldn’t know.”

“…….”

“But I want to become family with a cotton ball. What about you, cotton ball? Is a not-so-cute dad with a bad personality no good?”

He’d grinned playfully on purpose to soothe the child’s feelings, but Soya’s shoulders, which had only just stopped shaking, began to tremble again, and soon she wailed even louder.

“Father……! Soya’s crying again!”

In the end, that left Sa-eon on the receiving end of Gahyeon’s full resentment.

He felt a little indignant about it, but Sa-eon quite liked the sight of Gahyeon already doting on the cotton ball so specially.

After sending the children off to their rooms and tucking them in, Sa-eon returned to his study and muttered in a feigned tone of worry.

“By tomorrow, she’ll be a puffy cotton ball. Whatever shall we do.”

Just recalling Soya’s heaving sobs made his heart ache with a soft pang.

It was the first time he’d ever seen that child cry out loud like that.

Soya rarely cried, no matter what.

She hadn’t cried even when she’d nearly died at the hands of the Zhuque Clan’s Samjok-o, nor when she’d suffered after eating a peach.

She hadn’t cried when her Spirit Core was damaged and she collapsed, nor when she’d gotten lost in the mountains, or so he’d heard.

Only once—when she’d learned it was the Zhuque Clan who’d ordered her death—had she shed silent tears. Aside from that, he’d never seen the child weep.

Everyone in Baekho Palace had praised her as such a gentle, composed young lady, but Sa-eon hadn’t cared for that at all.

[That cotton ball of a baby doesn’t even know how to cry out loud.]

[Holding all that pent-up frustration will only hinder healing her Spirit Core. So, Sa-eon, teach the child how to cry.]

Was it because of those words Sara had passed along?

His heart ached at the sight of the cotton ball in tears, and yet he also felt a swell of pride for the child who had finally learned to cry out loud.

“Aigoo, you’ve gone and done it, haven’t you.”

Jeokyeong pushed open the study door and let out heavy sighs.

About an hour earlier.

Amid all the chaos, Sa-eon had sent the young children, Soya and Siyo included, inside first.

Afterward, Sara had come rushing in with a frightening expression, demanding to know where the scent pouch had come from.

It had been confirmed as sorcery from the Northern Land, yet some retainers had argued that punishing a tiger child of unknown status wasn’t right.

Before them all, Sa-eon had declared that he would formally register Soya into the Baekho Clan.

Baekho Palace had erupted into an uproar because of it.

“But, Jeokyeong.”

“Why call me like that again? It’s too scary when the Patriarch uses that deeply lowered voice on me.”

“……I’ve given it some serious thought.”

Sa-eon turned to the grumbling Jeokyeong and said.

“Children don’t exist to serve adults’ needs. They’re not tools to be expended for the sake of the clan.”

Siyo from the Silver Tiger Clan had been tormented by an obsession to become the lady of the Western End Room, unable to bear up under her parents’ expectations.

And that obsession had driven her to harm the other children.

That child who had trembled violently, not knowing what to do when the sorcery was exposed, was just a little girl of barely ten.

“I find it a little strange, making children that young compete for a direct lineage spot over some stale custom about the Yellow Dragon’s bride or whatever.”

“Yes? But Patriarch, as you know, that position is the direct lineage’s…….”

“Duty as direct lineage. Yes, that’s important, of course.”

As the Patriarch and a direct descendant of the ancient divine beast, Sa-eon knew better than anyone the responsibilities and obligations the White Tiger’s direct line had to bear.

Which was why he had no intention of skimping on teaching the children their duties as direct descendants.

“But they’re still children. So until they grow up, the adults can handle those duties in their place. Shoving the clan’s burdens onto kids who haven’t even matured yet—that’s just too cowardly.”

Sa-eon continued on in a steady voice.

“So what if the cotton ball isn’t a tiger? So what if her claws are weaker than the collateral children’s, or she can’t hunt?”

As he thought of Soya, the faintest smile rose to Sa-eon’s face.

“The cotton ball’s great at making talismans, and her handwriting is all round and pretty. She takes her tonic without a single grimace and behaves perfectly on walks. If you look closely, there are tons of things she’s good at.”

Jeokyeong figured Sa-eon had simply lost patience and was gushing over the cotton ball young lady. At least until his next words came.

“It’s not just about the cotton ball, either. That child from the Silver Tiger Clan, the ones from Galho Clan and Heukho Clan—they must have tons of things they’re good at, too.”

“……What are you getting at?”

Unable to read Sa-eon’s intentions, Jeokyeong narrowed his eyes and asked.

“So the point is, there’s no need to rank those children.”

Sa-eon chuckled.

“Because they’re children. Children who sparkle and shine just by running around with innocent smiles.”

Every child carried their own unique sparkle.

A lovely, endearing sparkle that gleamed in its own color, no ranking required.

And it was the adults’ job to protect that sparkle from fading.

“Shouldn’t adults like us safeguard their sparkles even more?”

The children from Galho Clan and Heukho Clan hadn’t wanted to join the clan but had been pushed onto Baekho Palace by their parents.

The Silver Tiger Clan child, who had wanted it more than anyone, had burst into tears and buried herself in her mother’s arms when something frightening happened.

Seeing that, Sa-eon had felt this custom of pitting children who hadn’t even reached Primary Growth against each other and tearing them from their parents’ embrace was utterly bizarre.

“That’s why I plan to do away with this strange custom going forward.”

So the children could sparkle as children should.

So they wouldn’t lose that sparkle while eyeing each other warily under the pressure to serve the clan.

“Then you really mean to register the cotton ball young lady?”

Jeokyeong asked in a defeated sort of voice.

“Yes. I already got her permission. No backing out now.”

“If that’s the Patriarch’s will, then there’s nothing for it.”

“Don’t worry so much, Jeokyeong. Even if we never produce a Yellow Dragon’s bride, our clan won’t crumble that easily.”

Sa-eon grinned.

“Above all, for the cotton ball’s sake if nothing else, I’ll make sure everything stays on track.”

He was confident of it.

Confident that he could support both the cotton ball and the clan perfectly.

‘More than that…….’

Sa-eon recalled how Soya alone had detected the scent pouch’s smell—something no one else had noticed.

The Silver Tiger Clan child had dared to hide the sorcery-laced scent pouch in the palanquin precisely because she hadn’t thought anyone would sniff it out.

But Soya had smelled the sorcery’s fragrance.

Sara had suggested it might have something to do with Soya’s Spirit Core.

She’d sensed a special energy from Soya’s Spirit Core. But since it wasn’t fully intact, she couldn’t say for sure.

‘A special energy…….’

Spirit Core energy passed down through the blood, which was why suin society placed such stock in bloodlines.

‘But wasn’t the cotton ball supposed to be a maid’s daughter?’

Deep furrows creased Sa-eon’s brow.

* * *

The next morning.

Soya opened her eyes on the plush bed and stared up at the ceiling, murmuring blankly.

“It wasn’t a dream…….”

Her puffy, heavy eyelids confirmed that last night’s memories were real.

“I really became family with Sa-eon-nim.”

Even so, it was hard to believe, so Soya ended up slapping her own cheeks—and that was when her eyes met Yeon-jeong’s as the servant entered the room.

“Young Lady, oh dear……! Your eyes are all swollen!”

Yeon-jeong startled and fetched some precious ice, wrapping it tightly in a cloth before gently pressing it to Soya’s puffy eyes.

Her eyelids felt rough and hot from all the crying the night before, but Soya just giggled.

In the end, Soya’s daily routine hadn’t changed much.

She was still the cotton ball young lady of Baekho Palace, staying in the Western End Room, and after breakfast, she held Yeon-jeong-nim’s hand for a walk.

Yes, nothing had changed much at all……

‘But strangely, today the sunlight feels even warmer, and the trees and grass in the garden look greener than ever. Even though summer’s ending and autumn is on its way.’