The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 84

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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 84
[Coward]
The crooked letters, their edges scarred by what looked like stone scratching, bore Woo Hyeon’s unmistakable handiwork.
And when Mu Je realized the message was directed at him, his expression cooled.
“Why is that man at Arin’s side?”
“You’re asking that the moment you arrive?”
“He’s dangerous.”
“If you’re so worried about Arin, why don’t you protect her yourself?”
Mu Je pressed his lips together at the deliberately evasive response, though he understood perfectly well.
“I hear you’ve been training under the Geum Ho Family patriarch. Your energy has refined considerably.”
“So you deliberately provoked the boy just now? Without letting Arin know?”
Woo Hyeon had awakened from his sleep because of the killing intent Mu Je had sent.
To Yeo Ryeong, the two men’s silent struggle was merely amusing.
“I was only confirming whether he could be trusted at her side.”
His tone was measured, but his gaze remained cold.
Truth be told, seeing Arin and Woo Hyeon together had left him in a foul mood.
Particularly when he’d watched Woo Hyeon tease her while looking directly at him—in that moment, Mu Je had nearly broken his own promise and revealed himself.
Meanwhile, Yeo Ryeong sensed the faint turbulence beneath Mu Je’s serene facade and clicked her tongue inwardly.
‘He wears that look like he wants to tear them apart, yet speaks as though nothing troubles him.’
Unlike Woo Hyeon, he was simply poor at lying in his own way.
Yeo Ryeong opened her mouth as though she saw straight into Mu Je’s heart.
“I assigned him to guard the Priestess a month ago.”
When she casually revealed how long it had been since they’d reunited, Mu Je’s response was listless.
“I see.”
“So there’s no need for you to be so wary. You’ll be seeing him often soon enough, won’t you?”
……
Once Arin’s birthday passed, she would formally succeed to the Priestess’s position.
When that time came, there would be no reason to hide her identity.
“But why come out now? There’s still some time before her birthday, isn’t there?”
“I couldn’t very well arrive empty-handed.”
Mu Je mumbled the words as he touched his lips self-consciously.
“Ah.”
“I’m not even sure what gift to choose.”
“She’ll be happy with anything. Though I suspect she’ll treasure your presence most of all.”
“Perhaps so.”
Arin was someone who valued the sincerity of the giver far more than the gift itself.
Which made choosing all the more difficult.
He wanted her to cherish his gift above all others.
“And what do you make of seeing each other again after so long?”
“I’m not entirely sure.”
Despite the bland answer, color rose high in Mu Je’s cheeks.
When they’d last parted, she’d still carried traces of girlishness.
Now she’d grown so tall that meeting her eyes brought embarrassment.
“She’s become quite beautiful, hasn’t she?”
“Yes. Beautiful……”
Mu Je reflexively began to answer, then caught himself and fell silent, causing Yeo Ryeong to let out a laugh.
Ha ha ha.
“Please don’t tease me.”
“Don’t worry so much. Arin missed you too, that’s all.”
“I know. I did as well.”
Mu Je had never stopped missing Arin.
He simply wanted their reunion to mark the beginning of something different than before.
“I should prepare a gift that will lift her spirits.”
“Still, don’t linger in the outside world too long. It’s far less pleasant than this place, and it will exhaust you.”
“I can endure that much now.”
“True enough. You’ve become a proper White Dragon indeed.”
He had come of age three months before Arin and had long since completed his Coming of Age Ceremony, taking his Mature Form.
His sharper, more refined features carried an aura that was distinctly formidable.
Ordinarily, the Sealing Bracelet on his arm could have been removed.
Yet Mu Je stubbornly kept wearing it, refusing to use his Twelve Earthly Branches Power.
Knowing it was because of Arin, Yeo Ryeong opened her mouth carefully.
“That shouldn’t be necessary anymore.”
“I simply find it comfortable to wear.”
“The bracelet doesn’t make the White Dragon’s nature disappear, you know.”
……
“Suppressing your emotions too much isn’t good either.”
“Thank you for the counsel.”
Seeing no sign that she was truly listening, Yeo Ryeong let the matter drop with a sigh.
A moment later, once Mu Je sensed Arin’s presence fade completely, he rose from his seat.
“Until we meet again.”
Watching him vanish, Geumgeum popped out suddenly with a comment.
– Is this a love triangle?
At the jest made while cracking peanuts, Yeo Ryeong let out a soft laugh.
“In your eyes, which of them seems better suited to Arin?”
– I think they’re both a poor match. I feel sorry for Arin.
“Is that so?”
– Well. If Arin’s happy, then that’s what matters. I’ll just eat my peanuts and watch from the sidelines.
Yeo Ryeong smiled faintly as she acknowledged this.
“Then let’s watch together. I was getting bored anyway.”
* * *
As Arin’s birthday approached, the Gold Tiger Clan was abuzz with preparations for the celebration.
After Arin’s origins were revealed to the world,
Do Gyeong opened the Clan’s halls for Arin’s birthday each year, parading his affection openly.
So the elder council members remained respectful toward Arin,
save for one particular elder who viewed her with displeasure.
“I simply cannot fathom why the Clan Head dotes on that girl.”
Having already heard from Hong Hyeok Jae that Arin could not undergo Beast Transformation, he found Do Gyeong’s favor incomprehensible.
Yet because direct lineage held absolute authority within the Gold Tiger Clan,
he reluctantly prepared a gift and spoke to Hee Jin.
“See that you present it well, and while you’re at it, don’t forget to make an impression on Lord Do Hun.”
“I don’t want to go.”
Hee Jin accepted the wrapped gift with a grumble.
Her first meeting with Arin in childhood had been disastrous, and growing up hadn’t changed much.
Afterward, Arin kept her distance from those close to Hee Jin.
“Really, how could you bungle something so simple as pleasing one girl? I’ve arranged opportunities several times over.”
“But Miss Arin won’t even acknowledge me.”
“You must have done something to offend her.”
At the elder’s rebuke, Hee Jin jutted out her lower lip.
“How was I to know Lord Do Hun would favor Miss Arin so much?”
That Do Hun cherished Arin was already common knowledge.
And that was not all.
Even those fearsome direct-line members of the Golden Tiger became meek as kittens in Arin’s presence, fumbling about nervously.
Thanks to this, no one dared to disregard Arin despite her modest abilities,
and Hee Jin, having fallen out of favor with Arin, was left in a pitiable state.
In the end, worn down by the elder’s pressure, Hee Jin headed toward the Relief Center.
It was the place Arin visited regularly for volunteer work.
And because youths wanting to curry favor with her followed along, it had become an established gathering.
This time, for Arin’s birthday, the event was to be held on a grander scale.
Hee Jin, who had dressed carefully in hopes that Do Hun would attend, froze the moment she arrived at the venue.
In the space where shabby street children had gathered, there were makeshift bathing tubs.
Beside them lay soap and washing supplies.
Seeing just this much, Hee Jin could guess what the event entailed and took a step back.
Thinking this was absolutely not what she’d signed up for and about to flee, she startled when Arin spotted her and asked with a bewildered expression.
“You came dressed like that?”
* * *
Today was the day to wash the children newly admitted to the Relief Center.
All who had volunteered had been sent a notice outlining the activity in advance.
Yet most of those who actually arrived were dressed unsuitably for manual labor.
Se Yeon opened her mouth as if she’d expected this all along.
“Lucky I thought to bring extra clothes.”
“You’re right. At this rate, I’m not sure we’ll even manage to get the children properly cleaned.”
Arin regarded the people around her with visible displeasure.
They all stood idle in their work clothes, their expressions betraying the reluctance of those dragged here against their will.

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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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