The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 14

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 14
But he couldn’t possibly reveal such thoughts to a child who had only just decided to follow him.
“First things first—we need to get those wounds treated. Your skin is far too delicate to be marked up like this.”
“I can walk, you know.”
As Arin hesitated and started to descend, Do-gyeong adjusted his grip on her and delivered a stern look.
“After all that crying? If you don’t want to fall again, stay put.”
He’d drawn his brows together as if to frighten her.
“…Hehe.”
Arin simply giggled at whatever she found so amusing.
Did she finally understand that his words held no real threat?
Arin, who had longed for human warmth, genuinely liked how easily Do-gyeong treated her without reservation.
After word spread that she couldn’t perform Transformation, everyone had rushed to avoid her.
“You really do seem like a good person, sir.”
The honest words that tumbled out unbidden made Do-gyeong’s lips curve with satisfaction.
When he’d first found her, she’d been terrified; now she chattered away without hesitation.
At the same time, worry tugged at him. The way Arin opened her heart so readily to the smallest kindness made him acutely aware of how terribly lonely she must have been.
Do-gyeong pinched her cheek playfully, offering a light reproach.
“I can’t tell if that’s praise or an insult.”
“Hehe.”
“Your laughter is terribly unrefined.”
“Should I not laugh?”
“Who said you shouldn’t? Here in the Geumho Clan, you can do whatever you wish. Aren’t you the very child who threw a punch at the clan head himself? With such mettle, there’s nothing in this world you can’t do.”
“…Don’t tease me.”
Her real grievance was with Ahyeon, but she vented her frustration on Do-gyeong instead.
Seeing Arin’s spirits sink again, Do-gyeong added more gently.
“Keep being just as you are. When someone tries to harm you, stand and fight back.”
“What if they’re stronger than me?”
“I’ll be at your side—why would that matter?”
Do-gyeong’s expression turned playful, and when he grinned, his canines showed.
That sharp glint, which once would have terrified her, now felt reassuring instead.
“Yes!”
Arin answered with vigor and matched his broad smile.
For the first time in long, dark seasons, the sun broke through the clouds that had hung over Arin’s world.
* * *
Once Arin made her decision, Do-gyeong set about leaving Hong Sachon without hesitation.
Before they departed, Arin left a letter at the place where she’d been staying.
Perhaps her family might come looking for her.
It was something she wanted to do—to leave at least a final farewell.
Sadly, her family came to see her off.
Surely they must have noticed the large carriage, yet no one appeared.
Arin, who had turned back repeatedly to look, finally gave up and offered a bitter smile.
Having relinquished even that last lingering attachment, the journey began.
For Arin, who had never once left Hong Sachon, the road to Geumho Village felt like stepping into another world entirely.
The moment they entered Geumho Village, even the air felt different.
A gentle, warm breeze carried the faint scent of salt.
When the sea came into view beyond the carriage window, stretching long and wide.
“Wow! Is that the sea?”
Arin, who had sat quietly until then, leaned out the window and her eyes shone with wonder.
The sea. She was seeing it for the very first time.
The sun’s glare danced across the water’s surface like scattered jewels, breathtakingly beautiful.
The sky and sea, divided by the horizon, mirrored each other, while gulls wheeled lazily overhead.
“It’s so beautiful!”
As Arin leaned further out the window in wonder, Do-gyeong caught her by the waist.
“You’ll tumble right out.”
“Hehe.”
With Do-gyeong’s arm supporting her, Arin gazed out at the sea to her heart’s content.
Do-gyeong glanced down at her quietly.
‘What is this feeling?’
‘This letter… Arin is leaving behind for you.’
‘…’
‘It seems he wanted to leave a farewell on his way out of this world.’
Do-gyeong had wanted to dispose of it the moment he found it, but since it was from Arin’s biological father, he passed it on.
He understood well enough that Arin’s heart wished to deliver even a final letter.
Hong I-jin had merely touched the letter absently, saying nothing.
Still, Do-gyeong had expected that his own daughter might move him, at least a little.
Because he’d left before dawn, Arin hadn’t even seen her father’s face.
‘He could have at least come to see her off.’
To the end, there wasn’t a single thing about him that Do-gyeong approved of.
It troubled him how Arin kept glancing back as she left the house.
But now that she’d regained her spirits like this, his worry eased.
Do-gyeong watched with delight as Arin’s cheekbones rose high and prominent with her joy.
Her soft cheeks trembled playfully with excitement—it was utterly adorable.
How long had he been watching her like this?
In the distance, the Geumho Clan House came into view.
“We’ve almost arrived.”
* * *
The moment word came that Do-gyeong had returned, Do-yeong, the Geumho Clan’s second son, left his sword training and headed straight for the main hall.
Having been away for so long, he’d surely brought back an armful of gifts.
The maidservants had told him that Hong Sachon was particularly famous for its Red Yougwa.
Sharing Do-gyeong’s love of sweets, Do-yeong’s mouth was already watering.
When he arrived at the main hall, what caught Do-yeong’s eye was a small, diminutive child.
“Does it taste good?”
“Yes! It tastes wonderful!”
His father was sitting a girl on his knee, feeding her Hong-si.
And not just any Hong-si, but the precious ones he’d carefully ripened through the entire winter!
‘But he told me there wasn’t any!’
It had been a lie meant to protect Do-yeong, whose stomach was easily upset, but Do-yeong had no way of knowing that.
‘Who on earth is she?’
The child devoured the Hong-si, which was the size of her own face, with impressive appetite.
She ate with such relish that Do-yeong’s own mouth began to water.
That was when he overheard the whispers of servants passing by.
“What is it about that child that he’s been doting on her like that? I’ve never seen the Patriarch make such an expression before. Have you heard anything about her?”
“I don’t know much either. I just received an order to prepare Maehwa Hall so she could stay there.”
“Maehwa Hall? But that’s the chamber where the direct daughters live. Surely the Patriarch isn’t….”
The servants lowered their voices further, but Do-yeong heard enough to guess the rest.
Especially since the child’s eyes held that golden hue.
“That can’t be right.”
As he noticed the distinctive mark of the Zodiac clans appearing in the girl, Do-yeong’s misunderstanding grew only deeper.
Shocked, Do-yeong let the wooden sword he’d been holding drop to the ground with a dull thud.
* * *
The moment they arrived at the Geumho Clan House, Arin was startled.
What she’d thought was a coastal road turned out to have been the sea itself.
A bridge conjured by the Divine Power of the golden tiger.
The golden tiger, the guardian deity of the Geumho Clan, possessed the strength of the earth and had protected Zodiac Village for generations.
Zodiac Village, sitting in the middle of the sea, could only be reached by crossing the Geumho Clan’s bridge.
A fortress built quite literally upon the waves.
A path miraculous and elusive, forbidden to all who lacked permission.
Following that path inward, the Geumho Clan House stood foremost in Zodiac Village.
“Wow.”
Arin stepped down from the carriage, exclamations pouring from her lips without pause.
The mysterious power connecting mainland and island seemed to resonate through her entire being.
Awe-striking, yet exhilarating—that was what this place felt like.
“Well? Isn’t it grander than the Hong Sa Clan House?” Do-gyeong said proudly.
Arin nodded vigorously in response.
While the Hong Sa Clan House was renowned for its beauty, it lacked the presence of the Geumho Clan House.
This was a place where one could feel the very authority of a bloodline that had guarded Divine Maidens across the ages.
“It’s absolutely magnificent!”
“Hmm.”
Do-gyeong’s shoulders rose with pleasure at her praise.
Meanwhile, Yeo-ryeong descended from the carriage that had followed behind.
Since Yeo-ryeong had traveled separately the whole way, Arin regarded her with curiosity.
Yeo-ryeong had covered her face with thick cloth.
‘She won’t be able to see ahead like that.’
Arin, worried that Yeo-ryeong might stumble, was staring intently when suddenly—
Yeo-ryeong approached her.

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