Chapter 42
In her dream, Soya celebrated her sixth birthday.
Today was the day Soya would undergo her first beast transformation.
Her heart pounded wildly with excitement.
Soya was going to become a magnificent firebird just like Father and her brothers!
They would surely praise her, saying she was incredibly cool, wouldn’t they?
The thought made giggles bubble up uncontrollably.
She clasped her hands prettily, just as Father and her brothers had taught her…
Poof!
Success at last!
Huh? Why is everyone so quiet?
Is it because Soya had become such an amazing baby firebird that they were all stunned?
Father! Soya succeeded in beast transformation!
Hurry and congratulate Soya!
Father! …Father?
Father, why…
Brother…
….
….
It’s so cold here.
Cold and lonely and scary.
But even in this cold, lonely place, the coldest and scariest thing of all was…
Father’s gaze, cold enough to freeze her heart solid.
Brother’s voice, sounding like it came from a complete stranger.
But…
But…
Still, Soya misses Father. And her brothers too.
Father, please don’t abandon Soya.
Brother, please come pick Soya up again.
Soya will definitely succeed in beast transformation next time.
She’ll become a magnificent baby firebird.
So please…
Please…
.
.
A pitiful whimper came from beside her pillow.
Soya’s eyes flew open.
“Hah, huff…”
Cold sweat beaded across Soya’s forehead as she gasped in shock.
“Whimper…?”
Seolyo, in the form of a black wolf, gazed up at Soya with worried eyes.
“Seolyo…? Ah…”
Only then did Soya realize this wasn’t Zhuque Mansion but the westernmost room in Baekho Palace—and that she had just woken from a nightmare.
“It was a dream.”
A deep sigh slipped from her small lips.
“Whine, whimper…”
“Thank you, Seolyo. You woke me up.”
Soya wiped away the cold sweat and gave Seolyo a bright smile.
Seolyo then rubbed its head affectionately against the bedside.
Seolyo had been living with her in Baekho Palace for the past few days.
The only ones who knew Seolyo was a demon beast were Sa-eon, head of the Baekho Clan, the two young masters, and San-ho, who had accompanied the Patriarch during the war with the northern lands.
For everyone else, San-ho—the leader of all wolves in the western lands and head of the Indigo Wolf Clan—had vouched for Seolyo’s identity with a false claim.
Thanks to that, Seolyo could roam Baekho Palace in its wolf form, and people adored it as the ‘good wolf that helped the young lady.’
Of course, the shy Seolyo stuck right by Soya’s side and hid whenever others called for it.
“Oh my, you woke up so early, young lady.”
Just then, the door opened and Yeon-jeong came in.
“Yeon-jeong-nim!”
“You woke up early without me even calling you. Our cute young lady must be so excited since it’s the Mountain Lord Festival today.”
“Ah, yes. That’s right.”
In truth, a nightmare had woken her early, but Soya simply nodded without correcting her.
Today was the day of the Mountain Lord Festival that had set all of Baekho Palace abuzz lately—and the day Soya would be officially recognized as Sa-eon’s adopted daughter before the Baekho Clan’s retainers.
“Shall we get you ready then?”
With Yeon-jeong’s help, Soya washed up fresh and crisp before changing into clothes perfect for activity.
While dressing obediently, Soya paused upon noticing the white tiger embroidery on her outfit.
“Huh? This is…”
It was the same pattern she’d seen on Sa-eon’s clothes recently.
Yeon-jeong cupped her palm to Soya’s ear and whispered as if sharing a tremendous secret.
“Hehe. For this Mountain Lord Festival, they invited not just the tiger lords but all the major clans of the western lands. The Patriarch is preparing to introduce our young lady to everyone.”
“…”
Soya’s cheeks flushed a fresh pink.
Yeon-jeong chuckled at the young lady’s lips twitching on the verge of a smile.
“But do you know why they hold the Mountain Lord Festival on Horim Mountain, young lady? Actually, the entire mountain is the spirit body of the ancient divine beast White Tiger.”
“Really? That mountain?”
Soya asked, unable to believe it.
“Then I’ve been walking all over Lord Baekho’s body? Whatever shall I do to apologize?”
“Don’t worry too much, young lady. Lord Baekho is enormous and sturdy, so even if a hundred—no, a thousand, ten thousand fluffballs like our young lady came to run and play, he’d handle it with ease.”
As Yeon-jeong brushed Soya’s hair, she shared tales of the Four Divine Beasts.
“You’ve heard of the ancient Four Divine Beasts, haven’t you, young lady?”
A very long time ago—long before the kingdom of Taehwa even existed.
There were four sacred ancient divine beasts who protected the beastkin living on this land.
Azure Dragon of the East, White Tiger of the West, Vermilion Bird of the South, Black Tortoise of the North.
These four divine beasts, who helped the central guardian the Imperial Dragon rule the world, were called the Four Divine Beasts.
Though they had become legends now, there were still those who believed they would awaken again someday.
And after the Xuanwu Clan betrayed eight years ago and allied with the demon race to sow chaos across the continent, that belief had spread as hope.
“So people are waiting for the bride of the Imperial Dragon. There’s an ancient oracle that she will awaken the ancient Four Divine Beasts.”
“Isn’t the bride of the Imperial Dragon the woman who will become His Majesty’s wife?”
Soya, who had been listening quietly, tilted her head and asked.
In Taehwa Kingdom, ‘Imperial Dragon’ was a title for the Son of Heaven.
That was because while the four great clans had inherited the blood of the four divine beasts, the imperial family ruling Taehwa was said to have inherited the blood of the ancient Imperial Dragon who led the Four Divine Beasts.
“Now it refers to the emperor’s consort, but originally, the bride of the Imperial Dragon was the being who encompassed all the divine beasts, pursuing harmony to prevent the Imperial Dragon’s immense power from being misused.”
That was why candidates for the bride of the Imperial Dragon came from the four great clans—the bloodlines closest to the divine beasts.
“The important thing is this, though: the other divine beasts left divine artifacts made from parts of their spirit bodies, but White Tiger left none.”
Soya knew about divine artifacts. She had seen one from the Zhuque Clan when she was very young.
‘Lord Zhuque’s divine artifact was a large bow adorned with red feathers…’
She remembered sneaking a touch out of childish curiosity.
“So the beastkin of the western lands believe there’s a divine artifact hidden somewhere on this Horim Mountain, known as White Tiger’s spirit body. The Mountain Lord Festival began as a search for it. Now it’s just turned into a hunting event for young beastkin.”
While Soya was lost in Yeon-jeong’s story, Gahyeon and Gayul—who had finished preparing first—suddenly came to see her.
“Soya, you ready?”
“Fluffball, what are you doing! Let’s go!”
“Yes! I’m ready now!”
Soya, who had just finished getting ready, jumped to her feet and took her brothers’ hands as they headed out the north gate.
In front of the north gate connecting Baekho Palace and Horim Mountain.
Dozens of mountain beasts bore open litters on their backs.
The Mountain Lord Festival began at the peak of Horim Mountain, so children who hadn’t undergone Primary Growth had to ride the litters to the top.
The moment he spotted the litters, Gayul tried to sneak away toward the mountain entrance—only to be caught by the chin by Sa-eon.
“Where do you think you’re going, baby tiger?”
“Eek! I can climb to the top by myself without any litter!”
“A baby tiger talking nonsense.”
Sa-eon plopped the pouting, grumbling Gayul onto a litter and extended his hand to Soya.
“Baby fluffball, let’s ride this litter.”
“Yes, Sa-eon-nim!”
As Soya took Sa-eon’s hand to climb onto the white litter emblazoned with the Baekho Clan’s emblem,
“Grrr!”
Seolyo, who had followed Soya, growled and chased off the mountain beast carrying her litter.
“Seolyo, you can’t do that.”
Soya didn’t know what to do with Seolyo’s sudden ferocity.
“This guy. You like the fluffball that much?”
Sa-eon stroked Seolyo’s head and asked.
Seolyo haughtily whipped its head away and snorted.
“Grr!”
“No helping it. Today, you’re in charge of the fluffball’s litter.”
Sa-eon chuckled as he spoke, and Seolyo eagerly flattened itself to the ground.
“Whine, whimper…!”
The same Seolyo who had been growling fiercely moments before now gazed up at Soya with huge eyes, whimpering cutely.
“Huh?”
Sa-eon let out an incredulous laugh at the sight.
“This guy, don’t tell me.”
Narrowing his eyes, Sa-eon peered at Seolyo with a mock-serious expression and muttered.
“Is it a male?”
It was just like a young boy putting on airs to impress the little girl he liked.
