The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 81

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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 81
An unusual tension hung thick in the Training Ground of the Twelve Zodiac Academy.
On the sparring platform, Do Gyeong and Mu Je, both gripping Real Swords, circled each other warily like dancers tracing invisible patterns.
Moments later, Do Gyeong lunged, spotting an opening in Mu Je’s guard.
Clang—clang!
Metal shrieked against metal.
The sharp whisper of fabric tearing followed fast behind.
Before long, Do Gyeong lost his grip. His hand shot up.
“Ah, damn it! I yield! I yield, you bastard!”
Only then did the blade hurtling toward his throat freeze.
By the cool bite of steel so close, he’d have been cut had Mu Je been even a heartbeat slower.
Do Gyeong rubbed his neck with a groan.
“Were you actually trying to cut me?”
“That’s unlikely. I stopped just before contact, did I not?”
“You should have stopped sooner! God, I nearly jumped out of my skin!”
Do Gyeong grumbled and dropped to the ground where he stood.
“As I warned, Real Swords are dangerous.”
“Next time, use a Bladeless Sword with me!”
Do Gyeong shuddered and brushed himself off. Mu Je casually sheathed his blade.
At last, the killing intent that had suffused the Training Ground began to ease.
He extended a hand, and Do Gyeong grasped it, pulling himself up.
“How is it your swordsmanship grows sharper by the day?”
“I eat, sleep, and breathe nothing but the sword.”
“When will the King unseal your power? You’re already strong enough to hold your own, aren’t you?”
The story went that since childhood, after nearly being brainwashed by the Black Horse Clan, Mu Je had been sealed—his Twelve Zodiac Power locked away.
He was no longer the gap-ridden child he’d been back then.
So he could break the seal if he wished.
‘Not yet.’
Mu Je had resolved to wait until he’d reached a state of absolute perfection.
He would not risk making Arin vulnerable as he had been then.
“Even without the Twelve Zodiac Power, I am sufficiently strong.”
“Who doesn’t know that? But you’d be even stronger with it!”
Do Gyeong’s protest earned him a faint smile from Mu Je.
Since arriving here, Do Gyeong was the only person who truly suited him.
Though Do Gyeong struggled to block even five exchanges now, he never ceased requesting sparring matches with Mu Je.
Knowing he did it for Mu Je’s sake, Mu Je could not dismiss him as an opponent.
“By the way—I just got permission for an outing around Arin’s Coming of Age Ceremony. You’re not going again, are you? She was asking after you.”
At the casual remark, Mu Je’s lips twitched.
The outings he hadn’t used had accumulated quite a bit.
Ordinarily, he could have visited Arin, but he had not.
Having spent so much time together since childhood, he’d come to resent how she unconsciously regarded him as someone she needed to protect.
A shift in their dynamic was necessary.
Mu Je had chosen to spend time apart for a period he’d set for himself.
“I received a letter from her, in fact.”
“Then come with me. You don’t understand—how much she waits for you.”
“Is that so?”
“It is! Honestly, you’ll be shocked when you see our little one. She was adorable, but now she’s actually pretty!”
As Do Gyeong praised Arin unselfconsciously, Mu Je thought to himself.
‘Arin was always beautiful.’
Yes—so beautiful that his eyes were drawn to her constantly.
He couldn’t even imagine how much more beautiful she might have become in the time they’d been apart.
Seeing Mu Je make no reply, Do Gyeong continued.
“She even issued an imperial order to bring you along with me by force if necessary.”
It wasn’t idle talk. Arin’s letter had ended with a rather ominous warning.
[P.S. You have to come with Do Gyeong this time. If you don’t, that’s betrayal. I’m cutting ties with you.]
Cutting ties.
To Mu Je, who had once wanted only to be her friend, the word was infinitely welcome.
Because now he could not be satisfied with mere friendship.
A relationship that began with severing ties didn’t sound so bad.
But he couldn’t bear to see Arin hurt.
If Mu Je didn’t go on this outing, Arin might truly be angry with him.
Though her anger would likely be charming even then.
Mu Je wanted to see Arin just as much.
“I was planning to go this time.”
“Good thinking. The little one will be thrilled.”
Do Gyeong clapped Mu Je’s shoulder lightly, as if unburdened.
In the past, he would have dodged such contact, but the fact that he accepted it willingly suggested his fastidiousness had improved considerably.
It was on the way back to the Dormitory that it happened.
“Hello, Mu Je?”
So So, coming from the opposite direction, greeted him warmly.
Hong Yi Jin, who had entered through special admission the previous year, was one of the rare members of the Twelve Zodiac Animals who had been admitted without being a direct descendant.
The Twelve Zodiac Village Academy was always open to talented children, after all.
When Mu Je tried to ignore So So, Chung Yu Hee, standing beside her, subtly reproached him.
“You were nearly married to each other—isn’t it too cold to ignore her like that? There are limits to rudeness.”
Do Gyeong, standing nearby, came to his defense instead.
“They had a marriage cancellation, so of course it’d be awkward. Would you want to talk to someone you’re not close to?”
“It’s the Gold Tiger Clan that finds it awkward. Doesn’t this one have a voice? Why do you always answer only to Do Gyeong?”
“He doesn’t really talk.”
Do Gyeong snorted as if she were asking something obvious.
So So glanced at Mu Je while the two of them bickered back and forth.
The boy had grown considerably, shedding his youthful air and emanating an adult-like maturity.
He looked so healthy that it was hard to believe he had a terminal condition.
So So found herself regretting that she’d hastily cancelled the marriage when he’d grown even more attractive.
Moreover, since the cancellation, he’d always stuck to Arin’s side, earning them the derisive nickname of “shadow pair.”
So So pitied Mu Je, thinking things would’ve been different if he’d spent his time with her instead of that girl.
‘I heard he hasn’t been on a single outing since arriving at the Twelve Zodiac Village.’
The fact that he wouldn’t visit even once when the Gold Tiger Clan was right nearby suggested his connection to them wasn’t particularly close.
‘I suppose he has to keep her around because of that power of hers.’
So So, already aware of Arin’s abilities, was actually relieved that the two kept their distance.
Though Hong Yi Jin didn’t seem to welcome Baek Mu Je’s closeness.
‘If I ask her, she’ll have no choice but to allow it.’
As So So’s strength grew, Hong Yi Jin’s favor toward her deepened.
Conversely, the stronger So So became, the more A Hyun watched her with quiet suspicion.
Not that So So was interested in the position of successor anyway.
So So had taken the Twelve Zodiac Village Academy entrance exam in the first place just to see Mu Je.
It wasn’t held every year, and her admission was somewhat delayed, but she’d gain two years of seeing him every day.
‘This time here will be my chance.’
So So pressed close to Mu Je’s side as he tried to walk away and spoke to him.
“Mu Je, I’m thinking of going sightseeing in the village during the next outing. Would you like to go together?”
At her presumptuous way of calling him by his name without permission, Mu Je came to an abrupt stop.
“I have somewhere to go.”
“Oh? Where?”
“Do I have to tell you that?”
At his curt tone, So So’s expression fell.
“You know we’re partners in this class, right? We have to explore the village together for the assignment.”
When she cited the assignment as an excuse, Mu Je pressed his lips into a thin line.
So So, interpreting this as hesitation, blinked hopefully and pressed further.
“Just go together with me. Or I can tag along wherever you’re going.”
“That won’t work.”
When Do Gyeong, who’d been listening to their exchange, interjected, So So’s eyes narrowed.
Do Gyeong grinned and wrapped an arm around Mu Je’s shoulders.
“This guy needs to come with me to celebrate our youngest’s twentieth birthday.”
“The youngest, you mean…”
So So’s mouth fell open as she realized Mu Je was going to see Arin.
Do Gyeong chuckled at her shocked expression.
“That’s right. As you know, things are quite awkward between you two, so we can’t invite you. Now stop pestering us and let’s be on our way, shall we?”

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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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