The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 63

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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 63
When Soso pulled with all her strength, Ahyeon no longer resisted.
“My appetite’s gone anyway. Let’s go, Soso.”
Ahyeon cast one last glance at the owner before pushing ahead of Soso down the stairs.
“W-wait, let’s go together, brother!”
Hurrying after Ahyeon, Soso couldn’t see what lay ahead.
Thud—
She collided with a boy coming the other way, stumbling backward.
“Oh!”
As startled Soso reached out to steady herself, the boy jerked away, dodging her hand.
Regaining her balance, Soso shot him an irritated look.
“Excuse me! Where are your eyes—”
Her voice trailed off mid-complaint.
“Wait…”
The moment Soso saw the boy before her, words abandoned her and her expression went slack.
In all her life, she’d never seen a boy so beautiful.
Hair like silk, silver as moonlight.
Deep-set eyes and a nose carved as cleanly as a waterfall’s edge.
Those golden eyes gazing down at her with indifference—they were unmistakably Zodiac-marked.
The boy’s brow was creased with displeasure at the collision.
“As you can see, I wasn’t the one who bumped into you.”
Even his irritation was perfect.
“I—I’m sorry…”
Soso bowed her head in apology, but the boy simply brushed past her and continued up the stairs without a word.
Soso watched his retreating figure, murmuring softly to herself.
“I should’ve asked his name…”
* * *
How could she not recognize her family’s voices?
She knew at once.
Arin stood motionless, staring in the direction where the two had vanished.
‘I didn’t expect to meet him so soon.’
The unexpected encounter had left her unable to offer a proper greeting.
Ahyeon hadn’t recognized her and had simply walked past; Soso had been too busy following him.
Seeing them dining together so intimately suggested he’d already forgotten about her.
‘It’s good that he’s doing well.’
Contrary to her fears, seeing Ahyeon hadn’t felt frightening or painful.
If anything, the relief came from knowing he was thriving while blissfully unaware of her.
That was when Muje appeared, climbing the stairs.
For some reason, his brow was furrowed as he brushed dust from his chest with quick, deliberate pats.
‘What happened?’
She’d only begun tilting her head in puzzlement
when he spotted her and his expression softened instantly into a gentle smile.
Arin couldn’t help but laugh at the sudden shift.
“I’m sorry for being late. Did you wait long?”
“I ate while waiting. Did you meet with your father well?”
At Arin’s question, Muje’s expression tightened slightly.
When they’d finally met, his father had been astonished at how much Muje’s condition had improved.
‘What on earth has happened? His state was terrible the last time he was about to go to the Zodiac village.’
‘That would be thanks to your Highness’s keen mind.’
Though Yeo Ryeong had hidden Arin’s existence, the King was not a man who accepted things at face value.
The moment Yeo Ryeong had left, he’d seized Muje and pressed him relentlessly.
‘You know something, don’t you?’
‘I don’t, Your Highness.’
‘It’s your own body—you must know something. Did the Priestess not give you any hint?’
All the Priestess had done was periodically suppress the wild energy raging through Muje’s frame.
That his condition had improved was entirely Arin’s doing, but the time to reveal this hadn’t yet come.
‘It simply improved from staying in the village, Your Highness.’
‘Muje.’
‘You know as well as I do that my body has felt like a stranger to me for a long time.’
When Muje stubbornly refused to say more, his father—exhausted from pressing him—at last issued the Order of Dismissal.
He already knew that once he closed his mouth, it would be impossible to pry it open.
By the time he left the Audience Chamber, hours had slipped away, and Muje emerged in equal haste.
When he collided with some girl on his way out, his mood soured further.
Meanwhile, Arin grew concerned at the darkness clouding Muje’s expression.
‘Did he fight with Father? Is that why he looks so upset?’
Especially since he’d mentioned before that things felt awkward between them.
Unaware of Arin’s worries, Muje answered offhandedly.
“It was the usual, more or less.”
That dismissive reply was precisely the sort of thing to feed her misgivings.
‘Oh no—they really did fight!’
While Arin hesitated, he settled into the empty seat across from her.
“I apologize for keeping you waiting so long.”
“Not at all! You’ve only just seen your family again—of course you needed to catch up.”
“But I made a promise to you, and that took precedence.”
“What?”
As Arin’s face filled with confusion, Muje grew bashful and tugged at his collar.
And in that instant, three pairs of eyes met—all of them thoroughly displeased with the scene unfolding before them.
Without a word spoken, the discomfort was written plainly on every face.
Do Young in particular kept shifting restlessly in his seat until Do Hoon had to grip his shoulder to keep him still.
As this continued, a fresh plate of food arrived for Muje.
“You must be hungry, aren’t you? This is delicious.”
As Arin tended to him with careful attention, Do Gyeong rested his chin in his palm and responded with a flat look.
“Little one. You only feed your father when he asks.”
“Oh.”
“How disappointing.”
At Do Gyeong’s words, Arin blinked, then carefully picked up a dumpling and offered it to him.
“Father should have more too.”
“Your father’s arms are weak, you see.”
Do Gyeong answered with shameless audacity, his mouth falling open.
When Arin, quick on the uptake, placed the dumpling between his lips, he finally wore an expression of satisfaction.
After finishing their meal and arriving back at the Lodging, Arin hesitated before opening her mouth as she prepared for bed.
“Actually, Father… I saw Ahyeon at the Restaurant.”
Do Gyeong’s hands, which had been tucking a blanket around the child, went still.
Ahyeon—that was the son of the Hong Sa Family.
“Is that so?”
“Only I noticed. He was eating with Soso, just the two of them.”
As Arin continued matter-of-factly, Do Gyeong studied her expression carefully.
Fortunately, she didn’t seem melancholy.
“Did that bother you?”
“A little.”
Arin’s brow furrowed slightly, and she looked up to meet his gaze.
Looking into those bright, unguarded eyes, Do Gyeong felt a sudden tightness in his chest.
“I’m just relieved they seem to be doing well.”
Here was a child who’d suffered such cruelty, yet still wished happiness upon her own family.
“How can you be so impossibly good-hearted?”
Do Gyeong’s expression darkened, and he gently tweaked Arin’s nose.
“Those beasts treated you so terribly, yet you can’t even curse them properly, let alone wish them harm. And here you are saying you’re relieved?”
He would have found it easier on his heart if she’d wept with resentment or consumed herself with bitterness.
“But still… they gave me life, didn’t they?”
The fact that the Hong Sa Family had abandoned such a pure-hearted child made Do Gyeong despise them all the more.
Arin nestled her face into his palm and babbled on.
“And now Father is here with me, so it’s really all right! I just wanted you to know that.”
Sleep hung heavy in her voice.
When Do Gyeong stroked her cheek, her breathing soon deepened into the steady rhythm of slumber.
Do Gyeong watched silently as the child drifted off, having said what she needed to say.
As he gazed at her sleeping defenseless in his embrace, anger began to smolder in his chest.
‘I will never allow them to prosper and live at ease.’
Parents who could abandon their child and sleep soundly deserved nothing less than divine punishment.
It happened that tomorrow the conference between the Zodiac Power family heads was scheduled to begin.
Do Gyeong smiled with dark satisfaction at the thought of unraveling Hong I Jin’s careful plans.
* * *
The Yeonha Festival commemorated the day the Twelve Zodiac Animals first met the Priestess.
Moreover, it was also the day when the next generation of heads—the Twelve Zodiac heirs—would demonstrate their Zodiac Power before the people.
In preparation for any potential accidents, the heads of all twelve families gathered together in the Palace Conference Hall.
Chung Hae Ju, the head of the Chung Myo Family, touched her neatly braided sky-blue hair and offered a fresh greeting.
“It’s been so long, Hong. How do you never seem to age?”
“I’d like to return that compliment to you instead. The men must still be lining up at your door.”
As Hong I Jin teased, Chung Hae Ju let out a coquettish laugh.
“You still have such a silver tongue, don’t you?”
Then Chung Hae Ju leaned in closer, resting her chin in her hand.
“But did you have another bout with the head of the Gold family? His presence seems fiercer than usual.”
She gestured with a slight tilt of her chin toward Do Gyeong.

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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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