The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 117

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Yes! Yes, yes?”

Nok Sa-pyeong, who had been bowing his head, looked up in surprise.

‘Qilin Family? That child Seo-yu?’

His eyes widened in shock and his mouth fell open.

Ten years ago, driven by ambition to rise in the world, he had eagerly accepted a mysterious person’s proposal to take in and raise a newborn baby.

The truth of the promise hadn’t mattered much.

At the time, he had nothing to lose, and if the promise wasn’t kept, he could simply abandon the child.

But surprisingly, his life truly began to change. Before he knew it, both wealth and honor were in his grasp.

‘Come to think of it, when the Qilin Family Matriarch was said to have miscarried…’

It was exactly ten years ago.

Goosebumps spread across his skin.

He finally realized what he had done.

He had abused and neglected the bloodline of the Four Spirit Families, specifically the Qilin Family he served. He had starved, beaten, and mistreated her.

Suddenly, the words The Man had said long ago when handing over the child came flooding back.

‘You just need to take this child and raise her as an ordinary deer. No one must know this thing’s true identity. It would be good to keep her locked up inside the house.’

Ordinary deer, true identity…

Looking back, those were quite strange words.

But at the time, Nok Sa-pyeong hadn’t suspected anything. He had simply nodded.

As if he had been possessed by a ghost.

‘Who on earth is this man!’

The doubt he should have harbored long ago struck his mind belatedly, but nothing would change now.

“Now do you understand what you’ve done?”

“But, but…”

It was all something you ordered me to do.

He should have said that, but Nok Sa-pyeong couldn’t continue his words.

The deer’s instinct for sensing killing intent was warning him not to open his mouth any further.

The Man looked down at him leisurely. His invisible face somehow seemed to be smiling.

“If this fact is discovered, you will lose everything you have. Wealth, status, honor…”

Each slowly spoken word flew and pierced into Nok Sa-pyeong’s chest.

“Even your worthless life.”

“Hiiik!”

Sensing the air growing hot, Nok Sa-pyeong bowed his body again.

“Conduct yourself well.”

With those final words, the presence disappeared from the room.

Left alone, Nok Sa-pyeong’s lips trembled. When he struggled to raise his body after all strength had drained from him, his entire face had turned ashen.

‘The fact that she is a qilin must never be discovered.’

The command, branded by terror, circled oppressively in his mind.

Nok Sa-pyeong squeezed out his remaining strength and shouted.

“Call a messenger right now! Tell them we’re going to the palace first, to the palace, not the Qilin Family!”

* * *

The reception room after all the commotion had passed.

While Hwang Hyeon-rang and Bi-yeon had briefly stepped away to meet with the Imperial Supervisor, Hyeon-ya filled their place instead.

“Master!”

Gi Tae-ha watched with his eyes as Seo-yu sprang up from her seat to greet Hyeon-ya.

The moment when Seo-yu’s expression, which had been consistently dark since first meeting her family, brightened in an instant was etched vividly in his sight.

For him, who had never shown deep interest in anything specific except medicinal herbs, this was quite an unusual occurrence.

Hyeon-ya ruffled the hair of Seo-yu as she approached him.

“Ah, but I combed my hair so carefully!”

“I’ll fix it for you. You’ve been through a lot. I heard roughly from that Li-han fellow. Said you were tormented by a crazy deer.”

Though the vocabulary was rather rough for speaking to a child, the touch smoothing down her disheveled hair was infinitely gentle. The child who had been pouting also giggled with delight.

Gi Tae-ha, tearing his reluctant gaze away from Seo-yu’s face hidden beneath the large hand, was somewhat surprised to see the gentle smile that appeared on Hyeon-ya’s face.

‘I never knew that fellow could make such an expression.’

When his younger brother attended the Medical Academy, he had often seen Hyeon-ya, who was his peer.

Hyeon-ya was a notable figure in many ways, and naturally his peculiar personality became a topic of conversation as well.

The Hwang Hyeon-ya that Gi Tae-ha knew was like a triangle in terms of personality. In that you couldn’t find a single rounded edge anywhere.

He wondered if perhaps age had mellowed him.

“It’s been quite a long time, hasn’t it?”

The moment he looked at him, the gentleness in his eyes quickly disappeared without a trace. It was the familiar Hwang Hyeon-ya.

“Lord Hyeon-ya, it has been a long time. The first time since the Medical Academy graduation ceremony, I believe?”

“Yes. That sounds about right. Thanks to someone who kept refusing to meet.”

His sarcastic tone that spared neither status nor position was also unchanged.

Gi Tae-ha silently accepted his reproach. Not only could he not speak of the circumstances that prevented him from leaving the Western Lands, but he also understood the heart of one who had a patient in his household.

Eventually, the three of them took their seats. It was Gi Tae-ha who spoke first.

“I would like to ask the child a few things.”

“Questions? You already asked them, didn’t you?”

Hyeon-ya asked back sullenly, crossing his arms and shaking his head.

“Ah. That wasn’t questioning, it was interrogation. Taking her away without parental permission and grilling her about wrongdoings that never happened.”

Seo-yu was startled by the clearly aggressive words.

‘But it was the Great Antlered Deer Family people who brought me here!’

Though it had ultimately become something Gi Tae-ha had tacitly allowed, he did not avoid his fault.

He had politely apologized to Hyeon-rang, Bi-yeon, and Seo-yu, and promised that the same thing would not be repeated. He had also added that he would not forget appropriate compensation.

Even aside from that, Seo-yu understood the Qilin Family Head. It was none other than the matter of the Snow Scale Flower.

‘Young Master Li-han must not have told him about that.’

Not knowing that Hyeon-ya’s words were deliberately meant to reproach Gi Tae-ha despite knowing everything, Seo-yu fretted alone.

Gi Tae-ha showed no particular disturbance. He simply offered another apology.

“My handling was inappropriate. I acknowledge that. I would like to apologize once more.”

Tsk.

Hyeon-ya clicked his tongue inwardly.

Every time they met, he felt it, but Gi Tae-ha was a difficult person to deal with, both then and now. Even when he deliberately provoked him to see a reaction, he wouldn’t budge an inch.

The Qilin Family members were generally like that. No matter what happened, they remained calm and composed.

Except for Elder Qilin, all the Qilin that Hyeon-ya knew had similar temperaments. Among them, Gi Tae-ha was the most wall-like person.

‘If only I could tell what he’s thinking.’

Therefore, Hyeon-ya always found dealing with the Qilin the most uncomfortable.

In fact, even now, if it weren’t for matters related to Seo-yu, he wouldn’t have bothered to face Gi Tae-ha directly.

But this was an unavoidable situation. Because…

“Master.”

Just then, Seo-yu carefully grabbed Hyeon-ya’s arm. His gaze naturally fell downward, and he saw Seo-yu looking troubled.

“The Family Head apologized earlier.”

His kind disciple seemed concerned about him being sharp with Gi Tae-ha. Even though she was the one who had spent the most difficult time.

‘Being so kind, how does she plan to survive in this harsh world.’

Hyeon-ya felt sorry for the pure-hearted Seo-yu, yet also proud and fond of her, letting out a small laugh.

‘How to survive? I’ll just take care of her.’

Hyeon-ya, who immediately understood the heart of an overprotective parent, answered in a much more relaxed tone.

“That’s only natural. He can apologize a few more times.”

“R-really?”

“Yes. Originally, when adults make mistakes, they should take responsibility more thoroughly. Take a good look at this opportunity.”

While saying this, he looked at Gi Tae-ha to give him a hint, then paused.

Because he saw Gi Tae-ha gazing intently at Seo-yu without even noticing the gaze directed at him, and suddenly the Seo-yu he knew well seemed to overlap with that image.

Hyeon-ya swallowed a hollow laugh at the sight that was terribly similar to Seo-yu, who once focused, could hardly hear even when called several times.

‘…They really are father and daughter.’

Though their features didn’t resemble each other much, perhaps due to taking after the mother’s side, they were unmistakably of the same blood.

This was the reason Hyeon-ya had bothered to attend this uncomfortable meeting. To confirm whether Seo-yu was really a child of the Qilin.

Even if Seo-yu wasn’t a Qilin, she might have been born with special abilities, so he had intended to observe, but the answer was clear enough that there was no need for that.

‘Just how did they end up losing a newborn child?’

It was an utterly absurd situation. But at the same time, it was also chilling.

To deceive one of the Four Spirit Families so completely meant there must have been a meticulously planned conspiracy.

Naturally, the mastermind behind it wouldn’t be an ordinary person either.

“Let’s hear the questions.”

Hyeon-ya put his thoughts aside and leaned back against his chair.

At his step-back attitude, Gi Tae-ha, who had been quietly taking in Seo-yu with his eyes until then, opened his mouth.

“Did you really find the Snow Scale Flower anew?”

For Gi Tae-ha, this was a question he absolutely had to ask. It wasn’t particularly because he trusted Su-jeong’s words.

However, since the child couldn’t have revived a withered Snow Scale Flower, if she had found a new Snow Scale Flower, he intended to ask about that location.

Meanwhile, Seo-yu took a long breath.

‘Whew.’

Should she tell the truth, or should she lie so they could quietly move past this?

She didn’t know how much agonizing she had gone through in that short time. Fortunately, Su-jeong had even created the excuse of a ‘new Snow Scale Flower,’ so all she had to do was follow along with that.

‘But what if even Seollin can’t solve it?’

What if there were no more Snow Scale Flowers left on White Jade Mountain, and the Qilin Family Mother could never wake up?

Seo-yu knew well that people are most disappointed not when they can’t see hope, but when hope disappears right before their eyes. She had already experienced it herself.

That’s why she didn’t want to make other people feel that heartbreaking and painful emotion.

“No. This is the Snow Scale Flower I found first.”

So Seo-yu answered truthfully. Gi Tae-ha asked in a much more subdued voice.

“But I heard that one had already withered. Was even that a lie from that child?”

Seo-yu shook her head back and forth.

“This is that withered Snow Scale Flower, Family Head. Though it’s healthy like this now.”

“You mean… you revived the Snow Scale Flower?”

Gi Tae-ha’s eyes widened greatly like someone who had heard something unbelievable.

“Well…”

Seo-yu, who had been hesitating, nodded with a somewhat sheepish face.

“Yes, Family Head.”

Without the slightest expectation that this cautious answer would completely ruin someone’s plan.

* * *

It was one evening when commotion broke out in the quiet underground prison.

“Let go of this! How dare you lay hands on me?!”

Su-jeong, who had been dragged in by the soldiers, flew into a rage and screamed furiously.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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