The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 17

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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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Episode 17
“You knew I’d come looking for you, didn’t you?”
“I didn’t expect you to come running here without even lasting a full day. Your body’s grown, but you’re still a boy at heart.”
As Do Gyeong shrugged and stepped inside with easy grace, Geum Geum let out a series of squeaks.
— Squeak-squeak-squeak. (Where’s Arin?)
Do Gyeong brushed past the complaint and got straight to the point.
“Tell me now. What reason could make you move personally to bring Arin here?”
Offended by his dismissal, Geum Geum began gnawing on Do Gyeong’s foot in protest.
Seeing this, Yeo Ryeong gently pried Geum Geum away and answered with unhurried calm.
“Didn’t I tell you? I wanted to give you a daughter.”
“Do you think I’ve only known you a year or two? If that were all it was, you wouldn’t have gone yourself—you’d have sent just me.”
“Perhaps. If I’d sent you alone, you’d only have quarreled with I Jin and come back empty-handed.”
At Yeo Ryeong’s pointed remark, Do Gyeong let out a hollow laugh.
It was obvious she was deflecting, and he wasn’t about to let it pass.
“You used the Silver Qi Concealment. Don’t pretend you didn’t.”
At the mention of the Silver Qi Concealment, Yeo Ryeong’s gaze grew sharper and more measured.
Since the incident ten years prior, her Divine Power had become terribly unstable.
That she would leave the safety of Twelve Earthly Branches Village just to see Arin made her motives deeply suspect.
‘That child saw through my technique!’
Recalling what Geum Geum had said, Yeo Ryeong waited until she arrived safely at Twelve Earthly Branches Village before testing Arin through the Silver Qi Concealment.
The basic function of Silver Qi Concealment was to mask one’s energy.
But it was a sacred tool that held no effect on those who understood how to wield Divine Power.
And yet she had deliberately hidden even that power.
‘The Priestess’s eyes shine just like stars.’
Arin had sensed Yeo Ryeong’s Divine Power with remarkable ease.
While it was possible her unstable Divine Power made her easier to detect, Yeo Ryeong believed it was more than that.
Meeting the child in person only deepened her conviction.
Eyes that could perceive what was hidden.
Beast Form Inability.
The singularity of a Spirit Core.
All of these were the marks of a Priestess.
Since this knowledge was passed down only through oral tradition among Priestesses, it remained a truth known only to Yeo Ryeong in the present day.
‘Arin has no gate. No matter how vast the energy of her Spirit Core, it matters not, doesn’t it?’
Yeo Ryeong recalled I Jin’s words, spoken in defense of her cruelty even to the end, and smiled with bitter rue.
When I Jin eventually learned of Arin’s true nature, she would tear at the earth in regret.
Those who judged only by profit and loss were bound to act in error.
Yeo Ryeong fixed her gaze on Do Gyeong, who remained rigid in his posture and demanded answers.
Do Gyeong had possessed a bulldozer-like disposition since childhood.
Once he considered someone his own, he would stop at nothing—a troublemaking boy whose nature had caused him no end of mischief.
Yet now he had become a proper Family Head and had become a source of strength for Yeo Ryeong.
Moreover, the Geum Ho Family had protected Priestesses through the generations.
There was no one better suited to be Arin’s guardian and sanctuary.
Judging that she could hide nothing further from Do Gyeong, Yeo Ryeong began her story with deliberate care.
“What I am about to tell you must not leak to even the elders.”
* * *
While Do Gyeong and Yeo Ryeong were speaking,
Arin was touring the Geum Ho Family Estate with Cho Ryeong.
“This is the Clear Bright Hall.”
The Clear Bright Hall was an inner chamber adjacent to the Plum Blossom Hall where Arin stayed.
With a stone bridge between them, crossing back and forth was extraordinarily convenient.
“It’s so close! Whose rooms are these?”
Holding Cho Ryeong’s hand as she crossed the stone bridge, Arin asked with curious eyes.
“These are the young masters’ chambers. Since the southern inner quarter is the Geum Ho Family Estate’s rearmost section, both the Plum Blossom Hall and the Clear Bright Hall are among the safest places in the residence.”
Cho Ryeong chose not to mention that only the Direct Line lived in the Plum Blossom Hall and Clear Bright Hall.
She feared Arin might feel burdened by staying in the Plum Blossom Hall.
In just a single day, all manner of whispers about Arin’s presence had begun to circulate through the Geum Ho Family Estate.
‘The Family Head’s illegitimate child, of all things. Who would have spread such an absurd rumor?’
It was common knowledge among Do Gyeong’s closest confidants that he cherished the memory of his late wife dearly.
Yet such groundless rumors spread regardless—undoubtedly because Arin bore the mark of Twelve Earthly Branches.
Until the Family Head chose to reveal the truth himself, even curiosity was a luxury none could afford.
“Right now, our eldest son Do Hun is away on training, and only our second son Do Young is here. Since you’ve come all this way, shall we pay our respects?”
Cho Ryeong, unaware of the pomegranate incident that morning, made the suggestion lightly.
The moment Do Young’s name was mentioned, Arin fell into thought.
‘I want to get closer to him.’
Arin had almost no friends her own age. When she’d stayed at the Hong Sa Family estate, I Jin had prevented her from playing with children outside.
“What does Do Young like?”
Since she was going anyway, she wanted to bring a gift of something he enjoyed.
Cho Ryeong, catching the kindness in Arin’s thoughtful question, answered seriously.
“Well, our second young master loves swordsmanship and snacks most of all. He’s so fond of sweet things that the kitchen staff have actually been forbidden from giving them to him.”
“He likes sweet things, then.”
Arin happened to have some sugary snacks with her.
If she brought those along, wouldn’t he be pleased?
With her resolve firmly set, Arin spoke brightly.
“There’s something I need to fetch before we pay our respects.”
* * *
Do Young could finally rest only after serving his punishment for skipping his lessons—three thousand swings, three thousand cuts, and three thousand thrusts.
Thanks to that, his body was so exhausted that every idle thought had vanished.
“Pomegranate.”
Suddenly, he found himself missing the pomegranate he’d refused that morning.
“It would have been delicious.”
Why had he refused it then?
If only he’d pretended not to care and shared it with her.
Of course, that didn’t mean he was accepting her.
Not for anything—not because of Mother.
He had no intention of becoming a traitor like Father.
But the pomegranate itself had done nothing wrong.
Knowing full well how sweet it tasted, he couldn’t help but long for the wasted fruit.
“Ah, I’m starving.”
He still had quite a while to wait until snack time.
‘Should I sneak off and steal some?’
He was entertaining this thought that would have alarmed the kitchen master, sprawled out in the main hall, when
a delicious aroma wafted in from somewhere.
Do Young’s nostrils flared instinctively.
Unable to resist the scent’s allure, the moment he lifted his head, his eyes met those of Arin, who was just entering the Clear Bright Hall.
“You!”
Do Young bolted upright in surprise.
His voice was so loud.
Startled, Arin hesitated for a moment but didn’t hold back from approaching him.
What she held out in her small hands was a deep red honey candy.
“Want to share?”
Her voice was tentative, carefully measured.
What Arin had brought was made from the special honey unique to Hong Sa Village.
Do Gyeong had bought it for him during their travels, and she wanted to share it with Do Young.
“This is very sweet.”
……
Every time they met, she offered him food.
Her attempt to win his favor was painfully transparent.
Do Young, who had been wearing a vacant expression, turned his head away with exaggerated coolness.
“Hmph! That’s enough, isn’t it?”
But despite his refusal, his mouth was already filling with saliva.
‘That honey candy looks so good.’
Do Young’s gaze fixed on the candy.
The red glow of it seemed to stir his appetite intensely.
After staring at it for a long moment, Do Young squeezed his eyes shut and turned away, saying:
“You eat plenty of it yourself!”
No matter how delicious it looked, he couldn’t betray Mother.

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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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