The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 79

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

Chapter 79
“Don’t be so upset. It’s not far, and we’ll visit soon enough to pay our respects.”
“Yes.”
“You’ve had plenty of time to reflect, haven’t you?”
At Yeo Ryeong’s question, Arin’s expression grew guarded.
First Woo Hyeon, and now Mu Je.
So much had happened in just a few months.
“Do you understand why I warned you that your identity must not be exposed?”
“Because I still can’t control my power properly…”
“Yes. On the surface, that’s true. Even I haven’t yet grasped the full extent of your strength.”
Yeo Ryeong smiled faintly and stroked Arin’s hair.
Arin looked up at her.
“Is there another reason?”
“Haven’t you felt it? The presence of the Black Horse Clan.”
At the mention of the Black Horse Clan, Arin’s face grew serious.
“They’re trying to take Woo Hyeon away, aren’t they?”
“Yes. What they plan to do with him, I cannot say for certain—but it bodes ill for Yeon Ha Kingdom.”
“Then why did you send him somewhere else? Is there a place more safe than here?”
Arin blinked, unable to make sense of it.
She didn’t know that Yeo Ryeong had entrusted Woo Hyeon to Do Gyeong.
“Arin. This may be difficult for one your age to hear, but listen well.”
“I’m listening, Priestess.”
The Priestess Yeo Ryeong had guarded the Twelve Earthly Branches Village for countless ages, serving as an elder to the Twelve Zodiac Animals.
So many years that no one truly knew her age.
And the time that had stopped began to move again ten years ago with that incident, and Yeo Ryeong had to prepare for her end.
Then Arin appeared, and the Black Horse Clan grew bold again—could it truly be coincidence?
Yeo Ryeong paused before speaking.
“Ten years ago, I lost more than half of my Divine Power sealing the strength of Hyeok Gwang, the leader of the Black Horse Clan.”
Not knowing how much time remained to her, she had decided she could no longer hide her condition from Arin.
It was necessary to steel the girl’s resolve as the Priestess who would come after her and protect the Twelve Earthly Branches Village.
“At the time, I exhausted what remained of my years in haste to complete the sealing. I was caught off guard by an unexpected attacker.”
“Were you in terrible pain?”
When Arin gasped and nearly wept, Yeo Ryeong cupped her cheek.
“Hard to say whether to call it pain. More precisely, it means my time began to flow once more.”
“Priestess…”
“And then you were born—a blessing upon Yeon Ha Kingdom. You must understand how precious you are.”
Arin could not imagine the Twelve Earthly Branches Village without Yeo Ryeong.
Surely the other Zodiac Animals felt the same.
Suddenly frightened by the way Yeo Ryeong spoke, as though about to depart, Arin seized her hand.
“Do not worry. It does not mean I shall die soon. My end will come far more slowly than you imagine.”
Arin wept and nestled into Yeo Ryeong’s embrace. Even Yeo Ryeong’s heart grew heavy, knowing she must entrust the future to this small child.
Yeo Ryeong grasped Arin’s shoulders firmly and spoke with weight.
“From this day forward, I shall dedicate myself to passing on all the authority and power of the Priestess to you.”
“If I study hard, will that help you, Priestess?”
“Of course. Your training from now on will be far more demanding than anything you’ve known.”
“I—I can do it! I’ll study with all my heart!”
Arin nodded vigorously, her will firm and unshakeable.
“I’ll be your strength, Priestess, and protect everyone.”
At Arin’s bold resolution, Yeo Ryeong smiled with relief.
She was grateful that even after such cruelty, the girl had not lost her love for the Twelve Zodiac Animals.
“There is no need to rush. To be reborn as a true Priestess, you must wait until you come of age. Until then, I and your father will do all we can to hide your identity.”
The power of a Priestess was not something a child’s body could bear.
Ordinarily she would have taught slowly, but having seen the strange Sorcery the Black Horse Clan employed, her heart had quickened with urgency.
“When the time comes that I judge your power has grown enough, you yourself will know when to reveal yourself without me saying a word.”
“Yes! I’ll try! I’ll do well!”
Having experienced all that had transpired in recent months, Arin had come to understand that her strength was greater than she had thought.
Especially thinking of how she had saved Woo Hyeon and unknowingly aided Mu Je, she felt pride.
‘If I grow stronger than this, I’ll be able to protect everyone.’
With that conviction, even the most arduous training held no fear for her.
When she had first come to the Gold Tiger Clan, she could only receive protection from others.
Somewhere along the way, Arin wanted to give back everything she had received.
The way a child’s heart grows firm as she matures.
Thanks to everyone’s care, Arin too was taking steps forward in her own growth.
* * *
Thirteen years had turned their seasons in Yeon Ha Kingdom.
And before long, Arin found herself on the threshold of twenty.
For the past few months, Arin had been helping Yeo Ryeong with her duties as Priestess, and her days were so hectic she could have used two bodies.
She had not yet undergone her Coming of Age Ceremony, so she was not formally recognized as the successor.
When acting as Priestess in her stead, she always wore the Silver Disguise Veil to conceal her identity.
The sudden appearance of a substitute Priestess set tongues wagging throughout Yeon Ha Kingdom about who she truly was.
Among the theories, the one that gained most credence was that she was Yeo Ryeong’s hidden daughter, though those who knew the truth found such rumors amusing.
There were whispers too that something was amiss with the Priestess’s health.
For several days now Yeo Ryeong had not shown her face, and the rumors grew all the wilder for it.
Those unaware of Arin’s true identity called her the “Baby Priestess.”
It was a nickname born from her small frame compared to the towering Yeo Ryeong.
At less than five and a half feet, her height was decidedly modest.
Meanwhile, Do Hoon and Do Young had both surpassed six feet in the past few years, now standing nearly as tall as Do Gyeong.
Surrounded as she was by tigers of such imposing stature, Arin still looked like a tiny young lady.
When Arin returned to Maehwadang, she slowly removed the Silver Disguise Veil from her head.
As she unpinned her hairpin, her vibrant crimson hair—clear as trumpet vine blossoms—cascaded in waves down past her shoulders.
Now that the baby fat had melted from her face, her appearance had grown considerably more mature.
Of late her beauty had ripened so noticeably that the warriors of Gold Tiger Clan would flush whenever she passed.
Changed into her everyday clothes, Arin stood before a pillar with a serious expression.
“Hmm. I haven’t grown at all.”
The pillar bore daily marks where her height had been measured.
But from some point onward, they had simply stopped rising.
“I drank milk even more diligently than Do Young did.”
Do Young just slept and woke to find himself taller by leaps and bounds—so why was she the only one who refused to grow?
About three years ago, after Do Young formally entered the Twelve Earthly Branches Village, he would return from outings visibly taller each time, leaving her astonished.
‘Little one, drink lots of milk and grow taller than me, and I’ll grant you whatever wish you have.’
‘Are you teasing me? You’re already over six feet!’
‘Ha ha ha, a mere six feet? Don’t you remember when you were little, telling me you’d reach eight feet?’
‘I don’t want eight feet!’
Soon Do Young would graduate from the Twelve Earthly Branches Village and come home.
Until then, she desperately wanted to grow taller.
But with her height stubbornly refusing to change, Arin could only feel downhearted.
That was when Cho Ryeong knocked on the door and entered.
“Miss, the master of the household has returned.”
“Really?”
“Yes. He was asking for Miss Arin first of all.”
At Cho Ryeong’s joyful news, Arin’s face lit up with a smile.
“I should go at once!”
As if she had not just been staring at that pillar, Arin quickened her pace.
It had been nearly a month since she had seen Do Gyeong.
His business trips had become frequent this year, making it difficult for her to see him, so his return was all the more welcome.
“Father!”
It was just as Arin threw open the door to Do Gyeong’s study.
“Hm?”
Inside the study, there was someone else present besides Do Gyeong.

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