The Beloved Baby Deer of the Hwangryong Family - Chapter 84

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

“Close?”

 

“You’re the kid who came from the Golden Dragon Family?”

 

“Uh, yeah. That’s me.”

 

Seo-yu, flustered by the flood of questions, tilted her head.

 

“Crown Prince…?”

 

“Prince Gon A-hyul spoke to you. Don’t tell me you didn’t know who he was?”

 

One child asked back as if puzzled.

 

Only then did Seo-yu recall the boy’s appearance.

 

Red hair, red eyes.

 

And a prince bearing the surname Gon (, phoenix).

 

Overwhelmed by the flood of bewilderment, Seo-yu froze solid like a stone.

 

* * *

 

And, outside the Academic Hall.

 

Crack!

 

The culprit who had snapped the tree branch, a black squirrel, was kicking off trees and running away without hesitation.

 

The black squirrel, moving away from the Academic Hall at lightning speed, stopped on a thick tree branch.

 

“Ptui, ptui.”

 

Feeling the foreign sensation belatedly, the squirrel brushed around its mouth with its front paws.

 

Without realizing it, it had gnawed so much wood that sawdust was stuck all around its mouth.

 

“Whew.”

 

The name of the sighing squirrel was Gwi I-eon.

 

A beastkin from the Northern Region where people no longer lived, who owed his life to young Seo-yu in the Western Lands.

 

The indomitable squirrel who had chased all the way to the Eastern Sea just to find Seo-yu had finally arrived at this Medical Academy, following Seo-yu who had returned to the west.

 

‘I just wanted to see if she was doing well…’

 

The Baby Deer, who always looked weary when climbing mountains in the west, had fortunately become much brighter in the time he hadn’t seen her.

 

‘It must be thanks to those dragons.’

 

That day when he had urgently given Seo-yu his breath at sea and left, I-eon had seen several Golden Dragons approaching, drawing golden waves.

 

‘Seo-yu! Seo-yu, if you can hear me, answer…!’

 

‘Father, there’s someone over there! Seo-yu!’

 

They looked extremely urgent as they tended to the unconscious Seo-yu.

 

From their worry-filled faces, I-eon could immediately sense their sincerity and feel that Seo-yu was loved here.

 

I-eon, who had been anxiously hovering nearby in case something happened to Seo-yu, couldn’t describe how relieved he felt.

 

Seo-yu, who returned to the Dragon Palace like that, fortunately seemed to be recovering.

 

So his original purpose of checking ‘whether Seo-yu was doing well’ had already been accomplished.

 

Therefore, there was absolutely no need to follow her all the way to the Medical Academy, but I-eon decided to use the ‘Marking’ he hadn’t yet erased as an excuse.

 

‘…It is true that it needs to be erased.’

 

Marking.

 

It was one of Lee-eon’s special abilities – once marked, he could know the location of the marked person no matter where they were.

 

The first time he had marked Seo-yu was when he was still a mole. It had been purely an act to repay a debt of gratitude.

 

However, while hovering around Seo-yu without her knowledge, Lee-eon gradually began wanting to try talking to her.

 

As more and more people engaged in conversations with Seo-yu, he became so envious that he couldn’t help but keep watching.

 

Breaking innocent tree branches was also because of that.

 

‘I wish I could just be Ahwol. I want to become friends with you, Seo-yu.’

 

The moment he heard those words, Lee-eon was startled as if his inner thoughts had been discovered.

 

He was so embarrassed that he only realized the tree branch had snapped after his body was already floating in the air.

 

‘She didn’t see, right?’

 

He could only hope that Seo-yu hadn’t witnessed his pathetic display.

 

Just then.

 

Screech—

 

An eagle flew threateningly toward Lee-eon from the distance. It was an aggressive flight, as if it had spotted appetizing prey.

 

Lee-eon, who had been leaning against a tree trunk, sighed and leaped lightly.

 

His small body twisted in an instant, soon transforming into a hawk with sharp beak and wings.

 

“Kiiiek?!”

 

The eagle that had been flying excitedly with thoughts of filling its belly fled in terror.

 

Lee-eon, who had threatened it by flapping his large wings, landed back on the tree branch with a tired expression.

 

Though peace had returned, Lee-eon’s expression was even more dejected than before.

 

‘To Seo-yu, I must be no different from a ghost.’

 

A few days ago, when he had rescued Seo-yu who was trapped in the West Hall, Lee-eon had been called a ghost. Recalling Seo-yu trembling in fear made his mood even more melancholy.

 

However, Lee-eon soon changed his thinking.

 

‘…But she did greet me.’

 

Even while fearing him as a ghost, Seo-yu had steadfastly conveyed her gratitude.

 

What about himself, on the other hand?

 

While thinking he should repay her kindness, he couldn’t even step forward for fear that she might be scared of him.

 

It was truly a cowardly appearance.

 

‘Someday…’

 

Someday he wanted to gather courage and greet Seo-yu.

 

To say thank you, that in truth, he was the one who had received help from her.

 

For the first time, the desire to stand proudly before Seo-yu grew within Lee-eon.

 

‘What should I say when that time comes?’

 

Lee-eon tried to imagine it.

 

‘It’s been a while, Seo-yu. Do you remember the mole by any chance? You saved me long ago…’

 

No, that seemed too awkward.

 

‘I’m Blackie.’

 

That would be too out of the blue.

 

And so Lee-eon spent quite some time in the tree, pondering over words he didn’t even know when he would get to say.

 

* * *

 

Hyeon-ya set down his book and removed his glasses, pressing firmly on the bridge of his nose.

 

Eye pupil , bright clarity .

 

The Jeongmyeong acupoints on either side of his nose bridge had the effect of clearing the eyes when pressed, just as their name suggested, making them indispensable acupoints for Hyeon-ya who couldn’t live without printed text.

 

He tilted his head back and applied acupressure to the Jeongmyeong points for quite a while.

 

Suddenly, Seo-yu came to mind—how she used to press her own acupoints while repeatedly muttering words.

 

‘Jeong, myeong, jeong, myeong.’

 

‘What are you doing?’

 

‘I’m trying to write one character each time I press! I thought it might help me memorize faster!’

 

‘I suppose it would. Your eyesight will definitely get worse though. I should prepare another pair of glasses for you.’

 

‘Wow… Master. You’re giving them to me? Thank you so much.’

 

‘It’s nothing to be happy about.’

 

Remembering that incident made him chuckle softly.

 

Seo-yu was a child who put effort into everything to that extent.

 

Even though her natural intelligence was by no means lacking, she was so diligent that one couldn’t help but notice her efforts.

 

‘I should have made her my daughter.’

 

Of course, it was half a joke. Hyeon-rang and Bi-yeon were much better parents than he would be.

 

His role as a master was fitting. He was quite looking forward to the day he might be called uncle.

 

‘A qilin.’

 

His expression, which had softened while reminiscing about memories with Seo-yu, hardened again.

 

The first thing that made him think something was strange was the condition of the herb garden.

 

No matter how carefully Seo-yu tended to it, it didn’t make sense for the entire herb garden to change from just one child’s touch.

 

After all, wasn’t it land contaminated by the poison of demonic arts? It wasn’t a problem that could be solved through simple management alone.

 

Yet after Seo-yu began tending the herb garden, the medicinal herbs became noticeably healthier. Their colors became more vivid, and their stems grew thicker.

 

At first, he thought it was coincidence. He wondered if perhaps the child had some special ability she wasn’t aware of.

 

However, after hearing the child’s confession that she could communicate with nature, only one thought remained in his mind.

 

‘Perhaps Seo-yu might have inherited qilin blood.’

 

The Primordial Qilin was known to have communicated with all things. Legends told of conversations with mountains, rivers, plants and trees, even rocks.

 

Their most famous ability was Growth, which would explain how the herb garden came back to life.

 

‘And then there’s the Jeongdam Herb.’

 

The Jeongdam Herb was a spiritual herb of the Qilin Family. It was hard to consider it coincidence that such an herb would follow Seo-yu.

 

The Jeongdam Herb that wouldn’t come alive no matter what was done to it bloomed green at the child’s fingertips—there could be no more certain proof that the child was a qilin.

 

However, he couldn’t understand at all why a child from the Qilin Family would end up with the Great Antlered Deer Family.

 

He couldn’t probe deeply into that part either. Because Seo-yu had been trembling greatly.

 

Most importantly.

 

‘It seemed like she was hiding something.’

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