The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 35

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

Episode 35
‘I’m so tired.’
The more Arin drew upon her Qi, the heavier Mulje’s eyelids became.
‘I need to keep watch, but…’
In the end, Mulje surrendered to the pull of her power and fell asleep.
* * *
Seol-i, whom Arin had recently taken under her care, drew everyone’s attention.
Choryeong’s eyes brightened.
“My goodness, there really is such a thing as a white lizard?”
As she reached out to touch it, Seol-i’s tail came down hard against the floor with a sharp thwack.
“Oh my?”
When the creature even began to growl, Choryeong blinked in surprise.
Arin spoke awkwardly.
“She bites anyone but me. You’ll need to be careful, Choryeong.”
“She seems quite fierce. Isn’t that dangerous?”
“It’s fine. She listens to me. Want to see?”
Arin turned to Seol-i with an eager smile.
“Seol-i, you mustn’t do that. If you bite Choryeong, we won’t play anymore.”
When Arin spoke with such resolve, Seol-i let out a soft chirp and settled into her lap.
The creature even pushed her head into Arin’s palm, asking to be petted, and Choryeong marveled at the sight.
“It’s as if she understands human speech.”
“Doesn’t she? She’s incredibly clever.”
“She seems very fond of you, miss. She keeps clinging to you whenever you try to put her down.”
“I think she just likes being touched.”
Arin gently tapped Seol-i’s cheek and giggled.
Despite only a few days having passed, she had already grown attached.
If only she could keep raising her like this.
“Seol-i, would you like to stay with me?”
At her playful words, Seol-i licked her finger.
“I’d love it if we could live together.”
Knowing she’d have to return Seol-i to the Divine Maiden in a few days, each moment felt precious.
“I should go gather some chestnuts that Seol-i likes.”
As luck would have it, the place where they’d first met had chestnuts hanging in abundance.
“You stay here, Choryeong. We’ll be back soon.”
“Do be careful not to hurt your hands!”
Leaving Choryeong’s warning behind, Arin set off toward the Garden.
There stood the largest chestnut tree in all of Geumho House, and the walking paths there were lovely.
“Maybe I’ll take a different route today?”
The interior of Geumho House had become familiar enough that she judged it would be safe.
Before long, Arin found herself in a predicament.
“Oh no. I think I’m lost.”
It was a path she’d never seen before.
As she wandered aimlessly, Mulje grew frustrated.
– That way.
He tried to warn her that she was going the wrong direction entirely, but she couldn’t use Spiritual Communication and had no way of understanding him.
Moreover, the wall beside her stood far taller than she was, leaving her unable to see into the adjacent courtyard.
“Hmm.”
Just as Arin, lost in thought, tried to use a stone to stand on and peer over the wall—
“Who’s there?”
At the sound of a human voice, Arin turned her head in relief.
“…Huh?”
Standing before her was a young boy with blonde hair, the likes of whom she’d never seen.
His vacant gaze held a subtle suggestion that he regarded her as a thief.
‘Who is that?’
Arin studied the boy carefully.
His long hair was bound neatly in half, and his irises were golden.
He appeared to be around fourteen or fifteen years old.
Seeing books tucked under his arm, a memory stirred.
“Are you perhaps… Dohun?”
Despite Arin’s question, Dohun gave no response whatsoever.
Or was it?
True, he hadn’t heard that this boy had arrived, so he might have been from another house.
Dohun was still fussing with Seol-i, unsure how to continue the conversation.
Then his gaze lowered to the boy nestled in Arin’s arms—Mulje.
‘Mulje?’
Here was Mulje, who should have been at Baekryong Palace, making himself at home in Geumho House alongside a girl he’d never seen before.
‘Could this be the child Father mentioned?’
Dohun had already received several messages and knew of Arin’s existence.
He simply hadn’t expected to encounter them like this, which caught him slightly off guard.
He was about to speak and offer a proper greeting to Mulje.
– Please don’t acknowledge me.
Mulje sent the message through Spiritual Communication.
A courteous request deserved a courteous reply.
– Very well.
In any case, Dohun had little interest in what the newly arrived younger sister did.
It was odd that the two were together, but he felt no urge to pry.
“Have you lost your way?”
Arin nodded at Dohun’s question.
“You shouldn’t go through here.”
“I was trying to find the largest zelkova tree in the Garden. Do you happen to know the way?”
“That’s in the opposite direction.”
As Dohun pointed the other way, Arin’s face fell with recognition.
“Thank you.”
Dohun passed by smoothly, as if his business here was finished.
Left standing alone, Arin looked down at Seol-i and spoke.
“That wasn’t Dohun, was it?”
She had confused him with someone else in her eagerness for his arrival.
And unlike Dogyeong and Doyoung, whose features were sharp and severe, this young man had possessed a remarkably gentle, refined appearance.
Mulje answered with a yawn, as if he understood nothing.
They would meet soon enough anyway.
* * *
Dohun arrived at Geumho House in the small hours before dawn.
When he reached it just as the sun was rising, the first place he made for was Mother’s Quarters.
The rooms remained exactly as his mother had left them.
Whenever his mind grew troubled, Dohun found himself drawn to this place.
It had been quite some time since he’d first begun making inquiries about his mother’s illness.
Yet he still hadn’t uncovered the cause.
A sickness that drained the color from keen eyes and turned hair white—
The more she wielded the power of Sibo, the worse it became, until she could no longer leave her bed.
Continuing to search for its cause even after her death might have been obsession.
But to Dohun, it looked as though someone had deliberately spread this plague.
His father had been unable to break through Dohun’s stubbornness and had permitted him to come and go from the estate under the pretext of traveling with his master.
Perhaps his father was simply letting him exhaust himself.
And then came this sudden news of an adoption.
He couldn’t fathom what impulse had driven his father to take in a daughter, and he had no intention of dancing to his father’s tune.
Besides, he rarely planned to stay at the estate anyway.
When Dohun returned to Cheongmyeong Hall, he happened to meet Doyoung, who was heading out for training.
“Brother!”
“How have you been?”
“Why are you just now arriving! I’ve been waiting forever!”
The moment Doyoung saw Dohun, he rushed forward and embraced him.
Dohun gently tapped Doyoung on the head.
“You’ve grown taller.”
“Soon I’ll be taller than you!”
“I look forward to it.”
When Dohun grinned, Doyoung’s eyes brightened.
“Now that you’re here, Mulje will be happy too.”
“Mulje?”
“Didn’t Father tell you? We have a younger sister now. Her name is Arin. She’s really small and adorable.”
Doyoung chattered away about Arin without stopping.
What she likes, what misunderstandings arose at their first meeting, and so on.
“That’s right. Not too long ago, I even gave a thrashing to some kid who was trying to torment her. I’m not sure of the details, but it seems like she has some bad history with the Hongsaga Clan.”
Dohun, who had been listening quietly to the story, opened his mouth.
“The Hongsaga Clan?”
“Does only you need to know about this?”
Doyoung glanced around before lowering his voice to a whisper.
“Arin’s biological father is the head of the Hongsaga Clan.”
At this unexpected revelation about her birth, Dohun’s eyes narrowed.
The Hongsaga Clan.
Years ago, when their father had swallowed his pride and asked for their help to treat their mother’s illness, they had turned him away without hesitation—that same house.
And yet he had brought the daughter of such a clan back with him?
Dohun’s expression, already irritated by Arin’s presence, grew cold.
“From what I hear, Arin can’t perform the Hwansu. That’s why she suffered abuse in the household.”
Doyoung, who had extracted the information by coercing Hong Hyeoksu, felt deeply sorry for Arin.
He’d wondered why the child was so small, and now he knew the reason was domestic abuse.
“Just because she can’t do the Hwansu? That’s far too cruel. How could anyone torment such an adorable child?”
Doyoung kicked at the ground indignantly.
It was a reaction true to his nature—someone who could never abide injustice without acting.
Dohun’s expression, by contrast, remained unmoved.
‘So he brought her back out of pity.’
Their father loved children; had he witnessed the abuse firsthand, he wouldn’t have been able to bear it.
‘But what about his relationship with Mulje? They seemed quite close.’

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