The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 53

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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 53
[I know I’ve caused you much heartache.
I’m sorry for being born lacking.
Since I don’t think we’ll meet again, I’m saying goodbye to you this way, through this letter.
I’ve been truly grateful all this time.
I wish you good health always.]
The child bid farewell with quiet composure, praying for the family’s wellbeing even at the end.
Arin knew he had abandoned her.
Why did he have to leave this behind and make things difficult?
The lady of the house, who had made her rounds to the annex too late, reproached Arin through tears.
‘Why wouldn’t you let me care for the child instead?’
Arin found the lady’s sudden fervency distasteful—she’d offered no cooperation when asked, yet now wailed as soon as the child left.
At least the boy remained quiet, but since Yeo Ryeong’s departure, something seemed unsettled about him as well.
‘As if I’m the only wretched person here.’
In truth, when Hong I Jin saw the letter the child left behind, his conscience pricked him sharply.
Before Arin had failed at Beast Transformation, the love he’d given the child was never false.
But helplessness and incompetence were sins no different from any other.
Hong I Jin had cultivated that mindset to stand above his brothers and claim his position.
Still, the child he’d raised with such care for years weighed on his mind.
So when word came that she’d become adopted into the Geumho Family, he felt reassured—and yet irked that it had to be them of all families.
Hong I Jin gazed through the window at the moon, hanging bright and clear in the sky.
Arin had said it was the last time, but if she’d been adopted into the Geumho Family, they’d surely meet again.
‘I might even see her at the coming New Year Ceremony.’
With that thought, Hong I Jin raised his cup and drank alone.
* * *
The Zodiac Village had never been noisier than it was these days.
It was because Woo Hyeon knocked something over wherever he went.
“Is it you again?”
This time, when he’d broken one of her precious potted plants, Yeo Ryeong’s fury shot through the roof.
Woo Hyeon stood sheepishly, grumbling.
“Why did you leave a pot under the wall like that?”
“Can’t I put plants where I like in my own house?”
At Yeo Ryeong’s point, Woo Hyeon looked off into the distance.
Out of habit from wandering the streets, scaling walls was easier for him than using doors.
Besides, there was one reason why Woo Hyeon had to climb the wall.
“That girl keeps coming around.”
At his offhand remark, Yeo Ryeong asked directly.
“You don’t mean Arin, do you?”
“She comes with that guy who told me not to stand out?”
When Woo Hyeon used Mu Je as an excuse, Yeo Ryeong’s eyes narrowed.
“Hmm. It looks to me like you’re the one avoiding Arin.”
Spooky old woman.
Woo Hyeon didn’t bother denying it, just scraped at the ground with the toe of his shoe.
As she’d said, it was Arin he was avoiding.
Every time Arin came to the Zodiac Village, she’d bring him snacks.
‘This one’s sweet and tasty.’
‘You eat plenty of it.’
‘Try just one.’
‘Come on, quit being so weaselly and get away from me, will you?’
He’d only ever seen people avoid him, but Arin kept pestering him even when he told her to stay away—it was strange beyond measure.
“You act like I’m some starving ghost.”
“I give you something and you complain? When someone shows you kindness, you say thank you and accept it.”
“Kindness? More like you’re treating me like a beggar and handing out charity.”
Woo Hyeon had disliked Arin from the start.
The way she smiled so carelessly, as if she’d never known hardship.
The soft, pale cheeks that looked ready to dissolve if touched.
The golden eyes that gleamed so brightly when they looked at him.
The stubborn way she’d follow him around even after he told her to leave—it was all of it.
As Woo Hyeon thought of Arin, his face darkened into a scowl.
“She gets under my skin, that girl.”
“I don’t think I’ve ever really bothered you.”
“No! You keep talking to me and being annoying about it.”
“Why is talking to me annoying?”
Yeo Ryeong tilted her head, utterly baffled.
Woo Hyeon grew frustrated at the inability to explain himself.
“I just don’t like them. Usually when someone talks to me, they either want something or they’re up to no good. But they’re not like that at all.”
“Ah.”
Yeo Ryeong’s lips curled upward in understanding.
For the past few days, every time Arin came, she’d been attentive to Woo Hyeon’s every need.
Rumor had it she was even volunteering at the Orphanage, helping the children there.
Yeo Ryeong had let it be, touched by Arin’s pure heart—but it seemed Woo Hyeon found it all rather embarrassing.
“Does it shame you that Arin is kind to you without asking for anything in return?”
“It’s not shame! It’s uncomfortable! I’d rather deal with people who actually want something from me!”
“How clumsy of you. If you hate it so much, why do you keep sneaking around and watching from the shadows? If it truly bothered you, wouldn’t it be better to run far away where Arin can’t see you?”
Woo Hyeon was horrified to realize he’d been caught.
“……Did I give myself away? You don’t think they know?”
“Hmm, hard to say. Arin might not suspect, but Mu Je seems to have noticed.”
“Damn.”
Woo Hyeon raked his hands through his hair in agitation.
And that was when he cried out in frustration.
“Ugh, I don’t care! Either way, they make me uncomfortable!”
Just then, Arin arrived at the Temple Shrine, her innocent face turning inquisitive.
“Who makes you uncomfortable?”
Mu Je stood beside Arin, regarding Woo Hyeon with disdain.
“Ack!”
Woo Hyeon leapt back with a start as Arin suddenly appeared.
“Why’d you pop out like that!”
“I just arrived.”
As Arin tilted her head in confusion, Woo Hyeon’s face flushed crimson.
Unable to meet her eyes, he found his gaze fixed on her feet as her clear voice reached him.
“Don’t tell me… it’s me you find uncomfortable?”
“M-me, embarrassed by you? Of c-course not! I’m not bothered in the slightest!”
“Hmm?”
“Damn it!”
Woo Hyeon, whose stammering had grown incoherent, hastily vaulted over the wall.
“That brat again…!”
Yeo Ryeong’s reproach that followed fell on deaf ears.
Left standing alone, Arin turned to Yeo Ryeong with concern.
“Did I do something wrong?”
“Think of them as an animal—there’s far too much to teach.”
“Thank you for your patience, Priestess.”
Mu Je added his sympathies, and Yeo Ryeong shrugged.
Meanwhile, Mu Je’s gaze followed the direction Woo Hyeon had disappeared, cold as winter.
He’d warned them to stay out of sight, yet they were prowling about and watching Arin—something that deeply displeased him.
Had he known they would be staying in the Zodiac Village, he would never have mentioned it to Yeo Ryeong.
“Should we really allow them to roam about like that? The other Twelve Zodiac members staying in the Zodiac Village are bound to notice, and that could cause problems.”
“I’ve already warned them never to go near the Bridge.”
“Hmm.”
As Mu Je’s expression showed his doubts, Arin asked a question.
“There are other Twelve Zodiac members living here?”
“Of course. Cross the Bridge and you’ll find another village, where the dormitories for the Twelve Zodiacs attending Succession Training are located.”
“I thought there was only the Temple Shrine here.”
“That can’t be. This is a proper village with its own residents.”
“That’s fascinating! Would it be all right if I visited the village sometime?”
“Not yet, since you haven’t officially been admitted. Perhaps later.”
“All right.”
Arin gazed wistfully toward the other side of the Bridge.
“Have you been over there, Mu Je?”
“I haven’t been myself yet.”
In truth, he’d frequented it often in Beast Form during his time here, but he couldn’t tell Arin that.
If he happened to grow curious about her Beast Form, it would be a catastrophe.
Arin’s expression brightened with interest.
“So you’re saying it’s possible to go whenever you set your mind to it?”
Mu Je nodded lightly in response to Arin’s words.
She glanced toward the direction of the Bridge, her face tinged with longing.
“How I wish I could. I really do want to see it for myself someday.”
She had no inkling then that she would one day find herself crossing that threshold.
* * *
Contrary to Yeo Ryeong’s expectations, Woo Hyeon crossed the Bridge whenever an opportunity presented itself, wandering through the Zodiac Village.
The Lotus Tablet he’d smuggled from Arin proved remarkably useful.
A mere glimpse of it was enough for the villagers to share their food with Woo Hyeon without reservation.

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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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