The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 25

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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 25
“…….”
“Actually, I’m playing Hide-and-Seek right now. If the seeker catches me, I’ll be in trouble, so you need to stay quiet, okay?”
Arin grinned and tucked herself further into the hiding spot.
After studying her for a long moment, the lizard soon buried its face in the handkerchief with a bored expression.
The fact that it made no move to flee suggested it was a creature unbothered by strangers.
Arin glanced sideways at the lizard and spoke.
“You’re just like a snowflake. If you’re this pretty, don’t predators spot you right away?”
The lizard yawned as though it had no worries at all.
As its eyes began to close, it seemed ready to sleep, and Arin’s voice grew softer.
“Though I suppose lizards have camouflage. You’re right — lying on this handkerchief like this, I can barely see you. Do you get even more transparent than that?”
“…….”
The lizard’s lips merely twitched.
In truth, Arin often made a habit of talking to animals and plants.
For a child left alone, it was one of the few pastimes available.
Especially when she encountered creatures as lovely as this one, she couldn’t help but speak to them.
“If you live here, can I see you again next time? I’ll bring a snack next time.”
The lizard only stared at Arin’s proposal, still saying nothing.
Gazing into the creature’s golden eyes, Arin murmured almost as if enchanted.
“Your eyes are just like the Sibiji-shin symbols. Sometimes they seem to sparkle too.”
“……!”
“Listen — you don’t have to come. Just nod your head for me, will you? Then I’ll wait.”
It was then that Arin spoke her sincere wish.
“…Found you! I said I’d find you, didn’t I?”
The seeker’s cry rang out from beneath the tree.
Se Yeon wiped sweat from her brow and pointed at Arin.
Her hair hung disheveled from the effort of searching so diligently.
“Oh no. I’m caught.”
Arin’s expression went blank — so absorbed in conversation with the lizard that she hadn’t noticed the seeker approaching.
And in that brief moment, the lizard had vanished like snow melting away.
Leaving only a single Silver Scale in its place.
“It’s gone.”
“What is?”
“Oh, nothing. Never mind.”
“By the way, how did you climb up there? It’s dangerous — I should call someone.”
“No, I can climb down myself!”
Arin answered confidently and shimmied down the tree trunk in small, careful movements.
Once down, Arin scanned the ground, but the white lizard had already vanished without a trace.
‘I wonder if I’ll see it again next time.’
With a pang of longing, Arin took Se Yeon’s hand and kept glancing back over her shoulder as they made their way to the refreshment area.
* * *
It was around the time they were about to part ways after Hide-and-Seek ended.
Se Yeon spoke to Arin.
“I’ll bring the book next time we meet. Would it be alright to come to Maehwadang?”
“Sure. Just let me know whenever works for you. It’s my first time inviting a friend over.”
At the word “friend,” Se Yeon’s lips curved into a faint smile.
Everyone must be longing to visit Maehwadang.
Arin’s genuine reaction had softened Se Yeon’s heart as well.
“Then I’ll invite you to our residence next time too. Come to think of it, I don’t think I’ve done that either.”
This invitation took courage from Se Yeon, who had never extended such an offer to anyone before.
“Thank you! I’ll bring a gift for you then too.”
Arin waved her hand and departed gracefully.
The moment Arin moved out of view, Hee Jin muttered in an irritated tone.
“Ugh, I thought Do Hoon would show up, but this turned out to be a complete waste. I’ve just wasted my time here, haven’t I?”
She had hung about throughout Hide-and-Seek trying to catch Arin’s attention.
Se Yeon’s expression, which had been smiling softly all along, turned cold.
She knew full well what petty cruelties Hee Jin might inflict now that Arin had fallen out of favor with her.
Se Yeon stepped closer to Hee Jin and issued a warning.
“Why didn’t you just leave then?”
“You think I wanted to stay? The only person here who actually wanted to be is you.”
Se Yeon paid no mind to the sarcasm in her tone.
“If you’d kept that attitude from before, shouldn’t you be thanking the heavens you didn’t run into Do Hoon?”
Hee Jin’s eyes flashed with indignation at the sudden rebuke.
“What? What did you just say to me?”
“If you’re going to be stupid, at least keep your mouth shut. And that thing you mentioned about Hwalyong Jeomjeong—it wasn’t written by Seo Baek; it was Kang Baek. I’m telling you this so you don’t embarrass yourself somewhere else, so remember it well.”
“W-what?”
Hee Jin’s face flushed crimson as her ignorance was suddenly laid bare before everyone.
The moment she felt the sting of humiliation in front of the assembled crowd, her expression twisted into something fierce and vengeful.
“Are you picking a fight with me right now?”
“I don’t see why I should cater to your whims. Play your hierarchy games at home. This is Geumho Ga, and the person you were so carelessly rude to is someone the Lord of this house has acknowledged. I’ll let Miss Arin’s rudeness slide, but I’m reporting you to Grandfather.”
“Hey!”
“What? Scared now? You should have behaved yourself from the start. This isn’t your playground.”
Se Yeon delivered her rebuke with precision, then brushed the dust from her clothes and walked away as though she had nothing more to say.
She’d seemed surprisingly docile just moments before.
The moment Arin left, Se Yeon revealed her true colors, and Hee Jin staggered backward.
“That princess of terror

—no wonder she’s been so quiet!”
* * *
When Arin arrived at Maehwadang, she held the silver scale wrapped carefully in her handkerchief up to the light.
“It sparkles so much. Do lizard scales really look like this normally?”
It looked like a dragon’s scale at times, like a petal at others, and it was as beautiful as a jewel.
Though the lizard must have left the scale by accident, Arin felt oddly pleased.
It was as though the lizard had answered that it would be happy to meet her again.
Do Gyeong, who had just arrived at Maehwadang, caught sight of the dragon scale in Arin’s hands and spoke up.
“Child, where did you get that?”
“That white lizard I met earlier left it behind. I thought it was pretty, so I kept it…”
“Hmm, a lizard, you say…”
Do Gyeong swallowed the laugh threatening to escape.
The moment he saw that silver scale, he knew exactly who Arin had met.
He was already aware that the son of the Baek Ryong Family was staying at Yeo Ryeong’s shrine.
‘So he’s been here and left already.’
According to Yeo Ryeong, he wandered through Sibiji-shin Village every day.
It seemed he’d come by to watch the festivities.
‘But why would he leave something like this behind?’
There was a rumor that merely possessing a Baek Ryong Family scale brought good fortune.
Though the scales had actual properties, people desired them so desperately that even the rumor was enough.
And yet—he’d given one to Arin, whom he’d only just met.
This uncharacteristic gesture filled Do Gyeong with unease.
“He said he’d come again next time, but I’m not sure he will,” Arin murmured.
Her words made Do Gyeong’s discomfort even more apparent.
“He’ll come. He left the scale behind.”
It was precisely because he was the heir to the Baek Ryong Family.
The child who might have been married to Arin had circumstances been different.
Sensing the threat of losing his youngest daughter to someone else, Do Gyeong resolved to design an even tighter Ward around Arin.
As long as he remained at the shrine, he could seek her out at any moment.
Arin, completely unaware of his presence, asked a question.
“Really? Well, I promised to bring snacks next time… Do you think lizards like earthworms?”
Firmly convinced that Baek Ryong was nothing more than a lizard, Arin gave serious thought to catching earthworms.
Watching her, Do Gyeong broke into a cold sweat and spoke carefully.
“Hmm. I don’t think that would be a good idea.”
“Why not?”
Arin’s eyes sparkled innocently even as she said something alarming.
At this rate, she really would go out and catch earthworms to offer him.
After a moment’s thought, Do Gyeong improvised.
“A white lizard is different from ordinary ones—it prefers the food that people eat.”
It was a clumsy excuse, but it worked perfectly on Arin.
“Ah, I see. So what does a white lizard like best?”

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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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