Chapter 60
60화
It was already bad enough that, as the weather grew colder and her fur thickened with every Beast Transformation, Gayul had teased her about becoming all round and fluffy.
Of course, Gayul had only blurted out what popped into his head without any intention of mocking Soya.
Still, Soya had been vaguely realizing it herself lately. It wasn’t just her fur that had gotten plump.
Every time she looked in the mirror, her chubby cheeks greeted her with a round smile.
Thanks to the good food and care over the past few months, her face had become even smoother and rounder.
“You did well, little cotton ball. To avoid catching a cold, you need to bundle up even warmer.”
Sa-eon said as he tightened her winter gear even more snugly.
“And so what if you’re a bit round and fluffy? You’re cute even when you’re round and fluffy.”
Because her winter gear was pulled so tight, her already round face became even rounder.
Sa-eon suppressed a laugh and spoke in a deliberately serious tone.
It was because he’d received a report from Yeon-jeong that Soya seemed to be self-conscious about her fur making her look round and fluffy lately.
When the weather turned cold, beastkin fur thickened to match, and they called it “the fur plumping up.”
Not just Soya, but all young beastkin spending their first winter after their initial Beast Transformation were often shocked by how round and fluffy they became.
The child who had been so busy watching people’s reactions when she first arrived at Baekho Palace was now fretting over worries typical of kids her age, and Sa-eon simply found it endearing and precious.
Her plumper face looked much better, too.
“This is a secret, but when Father was your age, he was much rounder and fluffier than you.”
“…Really?”
Soya looked up at Sa-eon with an intrigued expression.
She couldn’t quite believe that her father, whose face had no roundness anywhere, had been much rounder and fluffier than her at her age.
“It’s true. Right, Jeokyeong?”
“Ah, yes, well. He was very round and fluffy indeed. So much so that he could have rolled all the way to the Blue Sea ruled by the Cheongryong Clan.”
Jeokyeong, who had been following behind Sa-eon, nodded vigorously in agreement.
Even so, seeing Soya’s face still full of disbelief, Sa-eon chuckled softly and asked,
“Have you ever seen Father lie to you?”
“….”
Soya fell silent in thought for a moment before shaking her head. Father always told her only the truth.
“Then that means I take after Father?”
“Hm?”
“Hyun oppa takes after Father and is tall, Yul oppa takes after Father and is good at running! And I take after Father and am round and fluffy?”
Soya asked, her eyes sparkling.
Sa-eon burst into laughter at the unexpected question from the child.
“You’re right. Our baby cotton ball takes after Father and is round and fluffy. And takes after Father and is brave and spirited. And so kind like this, too.”
“My Lord, if you have any conscience, perhaps you should leave off that last one?”
Jeokyeong said, looking at him with clouded eyes.
“Heehee, I’m gonna eat more and get even rounder and fluffier!”
Soya burst into giggles from within Sa-eon’s embrace.
A soft smile bloomed on Sa-eon’s face at the child’s bright laughter.
Jeokyeong felt anew how wondrous it was to see his master’s face so gently relaxed.
His master wasn’t the type to have such a soft expression by nature.
His cold and fierce features had caused misunderstandings even when he did nothing, and young beastkin often burst into tears just from meeting Sa-eon’s eyes.
For such a Sa-eon to wear such a soft, gentle expression now.
This was all a change that had come after adopting the little cotton ball miss.
And it wasn’t just Clan Head Sa-eon.
The sensitive young master who had walled himself off and consistently drawn lines with outsiders.
The youngest young master who loved people but had a combative streak and bickered with young beastkin at every chance.
They had all softened considerably after welcoming that little cotton ball miss into the family.
It wasn’t a bad change at all.
“But why were you hesitating? Don’t you want to step in the first snow?”
“Ah, well… Um….”
Soya couldn’t answer right away and just stared at the field of pure white snow.
“Don’t be scared. Daddy’s right here.”
At Sa-eon’s soothing words, Soya shook her head.
“It’s not that I’m scared. It’s just… it’s so white and pure, I wasn’t sure if I should step on it. It feels like I’d ruin it.”
“What?”
Sa-eon let out a soft chuckle at the very Soya-like thought.
“But Daddy wants to step in the first snow with baby cotton ball. It’d be so cute to have Daddy’s footprints and baby’s footprints side by side in the pristine snowfield.”
Sa-eon said in a voice tinged with feigned regret.
“How about thinking of it not as ruining it, but as leaving traces together with Daddy?”
It was perfectly tailored persuasion for Soya, who loved doing anything ‘together with Daddy.’
“…!”
And Soya fell right for Sa-eon’s intention, her eyes sparkling.
Sa-eon chuckled and asked,
“Then, baby cotton ball. Want to hold hands with Daddy and step in the first snow together?”
“Yes…! I want to do it with Daddy!”
As Soya nodded eagerly, Sa-eon smiled and set the child down.
With a faintly tense face, Soya tightly gripped Sa-eon’s hand and took a careful step forward.
Crunch—
Along with the sound of stepping into the snow, her foot sank right in.
Her eyes widened round at the sensation she’d never felt before in her life.
“It went crunch!”
“That’s the sound of the snow saying it’s happy to meet baby cotton ball.”
“Wow….”
With her heart somehow pounding, Soya carefully took another step. Then she glanced back.
There, beside Sa-eon’s footprint, was her own tiny one.
Tiger beastkin had notably large hands and feet, so her footprint next to her father’s looked especially small.
“Look, Father! It really looks like Daddy’s footprint and baby’s footprint!”
Even at that utterly obvious fact, Soya’s face lit up brightly.
Stepping in the snow and leaving footprints was all so much fun.
Before long, excited Soya let go of Sa-eon’s hand and crunched through the snowfield on her own, then even started walking backward to look at the prints she’d left.
“Cotton ball. Walking backward is dangerous….”
It was just as Sa-eon was about to warn her.
Whoosh— Thwack!
“Ow.”
A cold snowball flew and hit Soya.
When she turned toward the direction it came from, Gayul was there, clutching his stomach and roaring with laughter.
“Crack, craaack!”
“Yul oppa!”
Just as Soya realized Gayul’s mischief and yelled at him.
“Don’t attack Soya!”
Seolyo threw a snowball at Gayul in Soya’s place.
“Aigoo, young master. Are you all right?”
With Soya and Suri joining in, a snowball fight broke out right away.
“Cr, craang! Craaaang! (W-Wait! Suri, why are you attacking me?)”
Even for Gayul, it was tough against three-on-one, so he tucked his tail and started running away.
“Ahahaha!”
Soya burst into clear laughter, her nose tip and cheeks flushed red from the cold.
Sa-eon watched the scene for a moment before smiling and quietly stepping away.
* * *
The problem was that Soya had played far too enthusiastically.
They’d had a snowball fight, made snowmen, and even drawn pictures with footprints in the snowfield, and time had flown by.
Even when Yeon-jeong came out several times urging her to go in, Soya held out with “Can I play just a little longer?”
It was the first time Soya had made such a request, so Yeon-jeong’s resolve weakened too, and in the end, Soya romped in the snowfield until very late.
And as a result, Soya ended up catching a cold!
“Achoo!”
Soya sneezed with a sniffle.
She’d felt uneasy since her head had started to throb faintly, and sure enough, she’d caught a proper cold.
“Cotton ball, you okay?”
“It’s your fault.”
Gahyeon threw a word at Gayul, who was stuck right by Soya’s side, asking worriedly.
“M-Me, what did I do!”
“If you hadn’t thrown snow at Soya, she wouldn’t be sick like this!”
“N-No! I got hit way more!”
Soya sat buried under the blanket between her bickering brothers, sipping warm tea.
But somehow.
‘Before, whenever I got sick, it was always just cold and miserable….’
Soya thought to herself in her drowsy state.
‘It’s weird. My body feels all shivery and cold, but my heart feels even warmer.’
