The Beloved Baby Priestess of the Twelve Zodiac Gods - Chapter 92

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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 92
Zodiac Village was the place where a Priestess’s power could be wielded most stably.
Moreover, it was a location that normally forbade entry to outsiders.
Summoning the household heads to such a place was tantamount to saying that Yeo Ryeong was keeping herself hidden.
It was precisely when the Black Horse Clan was throwing the entire nation into chaos by controlling demons.
Hong I Jin, who had been quietly reviewing the date of the summons, ordered Ahyeon.
“We should depart a bit earlier.”
It was to gauge the atmosphere of Geumho Village first.
At that moment, Ahyeon asked with an eager expression.
“May I go as well?”
Hong I Jin stared at his son with displeasure.
“You look excited.”
“Isn’t it a fine opportunity to meet the Priestess? And I’m curious to see what sort of person the new Priestess is.”
Ahyeon, who had been ill-favored by Yeo Ryeong in his childhood, seemed positively delighted by the emergence of a new Priestess.
Hong I Jin, by contrast, was deeply displeased with this aspect of his son.
Contrary to his hopes, Ahyeon’s abilities were not particularly exceptional.
In truth, he was above average, but compared to Do Hun, who was his peer, he fell short.
And when even Soso, a cadet branch member, had been admitted to Zodiac School, Hong I Jin’s regard for Ahyeon grew steadily colder.
“Very well. Come with us then. After all, your sister is at Zodiac School—it’s a fitting pretext, is it not?”
At the mention of Soso, a crack appeared in Ahyeon’s expression.
He was well aware that Hong I Jin cherished Soso more than him.
“Yes. I’m fortunate to benefit from my younger sister’s position.”
Ahyeon answered respectfully, struggling to conceal the emotions welling up inside him.
* * *
The Zodiac School in Zodiac Village too was abuzz with talk of the new Priestess.
For several days now, she had been attending classes alongside the Priestess.
A woman who gave off a mysterious air. Each person who met her noticed her voice and presence seemed different, and that only fueled more gossip.
“I heard she’s hideously ugly. That’s why she covers her face with a Silver Mask?”
“Actually, I heard she’s a man.”
A new Priestess whose gender, age, face, and origins were all unknown.
And Do Yeong, who knew the Priestess’s true identity, was itching to brag about his sister.
Muje, who had been quietly observing him, spoke up.
“Try not to make it so obvious.”
“I haven’t made it obvious!”
“Every time the Saintess Candidate is mentioned, your nostrils flare twice their normal size.”
“Huh?”
Do Yeong deliberately held his breath and stood firm, but Muje shook his head slowly.
“Don’t worry. I’m a man who keeps secrets well.”
“Yet every time you hear the Saintess Candidate has arrived, you go scurrying off to look?”
“Ah, I just want to catch a glimpse from a distance! Why haven’t you gone to see for yourself even once?”
“Because I don’t wish to be a bother.”
“So I’m a bother, is that it?”
As Do Yeong grumbled, Muje answered through his silence.
“Everyone’s interested anyway. No one will notice if I take some interest too, will they?”
As Do Yeong said, not a single person had identified Arin’s true identity.
The speculations were all so far-fetched that there was nothing to worry about.
Muje gazed quietly out the window. Seeing the Trumpet Creeper blooming beautifully in the garden, Arin suddenly came to mind.
Once she formally became a Priestess, Arin would be far busier.
The thought of having to share the Priestess he alone had known with others left him in a foul mood.
“I wish she would never reveal her identity at all.”
His muttered words were heavy with longing.
Meanwhile, Do Yeong’s lips twitched as if he wished to reveal her identity immediately and brag about her freely.
“Are you trying to keep someone meant to swim in the great ocean confined to a pond?”
“That’s not it at all.”
Muje laughed as he denied it, then let out a deep sigh.
Since meeting Arin again after so long, thoughts of her had occupied his mind constantly.
She was so beautiful that taking her outside filled him with endless anxiety.
It was then that a Flower Fox slipped through the open window and into Muje’s pocket.
“Flower Fox?”
Muje quickly looked around, but no one had noticed.
Even the nameless one hadn’t noticed until the fox slipped into his pocket.
Flower Fox flicked her tongue before spitting out a slip of paper.
[East Side Gate.]
The brief message was unmistakably written in Arin’s hand.
Since class had just ended, the nameless one hurried toward the eastern gate.
* * *
At the gate stood Arin with her face concealed behind the Silver Mask, Woo Hyeon hovering at her side as her guard.
“It’s still crowded here.”
Woo Hyeon grimaced at the cramped buildings pressing shoulder to shoulder.
The memory of what had happened to him in this place came rushing back, making his whole body shudder.
“They said it’s fine if we meet.”
“That’s precisely what troubles me. Should I step away from my duties?”
At Woo Hyeon’s threatening words, Arin let out a giggle.
Whenever she wore the Silver Mask, the stiff formal speech still struck her as absurd.
He plucked a flower from the acacia tree and held it between his teeth.
Arin watched his feline posture for a moment before broaching the subject.
“People are spreading strange rumors because you’re always hanging around me.”
“Rumors?”
“That you and I are lovers.”
“Cough!”
Woo Hyeon choked on the acacia flower, his face flushing red at her words.
“Are you all right?”
“Cough, cough! What—what kind of thing is that to say, gasp—”
“Should I fetch you some water?”
“Cough, cough! I’ll—I’ll get it myself.”
Woo Hyeon’s face burning crimson, he disappeared.
Left standing alone, Arin waited for the nameless one.
“Little Priestess.”
The nameless one arrived at the gate, calling out to her.
He’d taken his time, checking to make sure no one was following.
“You came?”
Arin greeted him with casual politeness, as if nothing were amiss.
“Let’s go this way.”
Arin led him to the Separate Building by the East Side Gate, wary of other eyes.
Only after confirming they were alone did she remove the Silver Mask.
“How have you been?”
At the sight of her radiant smile, the nameless one felt his throat tighten.
“Good. And you?”
“I’ve been swamped lately. I thought I’d catch glimpses of you coming and going, but you’ve disappeared on me.”
As Arin pouted, the nameless one felt his lips curve upward.
“I didn’t want to burden you with my presence.”
“That’s your problem—you think too carefully. There’s something I wanted to talk to you about anyway.”
“Something?”
At the nameless one’s puzzled expression, Arin took a breath.
Her tense face made him tense as well.
“Listen, there’s something.”
“Yes?”
“You gave me half of the Yeouiju before, remember? I need to ask you to hold onto it for me.”
“Ah.”
At the mention of the Yeouiju, heat flooded the nameless one’s ears.
Arin might not understand, but that gift was as good as a marriage proposal.
He wondered if she’d learned its meaning and wanted to return it.
His throat stiffened, and his damp fists clenched and unclenched.
“If you’re all right with it, I thought—”
As Arin began to speak, the nameless one caught her hand.
“You don’t need to feel burdened. I never meant to burden you. It was just… what I felt.”
Arin, who’d come intending to ask him to lend her the power of the Yeouiju, froze in confusion.
“What? Burdened by what?”
“You didn’t know what it meant when you came here?”
“Don’t tell me you knew too?”
Cold sweat trickled down Mu Je’s spine as Arin’s eyes widened in alarm.
“…You knew all along.”
What White Dragon would hand over the Yeouiju without knowing that?
It was clear she’d come to return it.
Mu Je, struck by a sudden sense of abandonment, ventured carefully, “…You’re here to give it back?”
“What? You want me to return it?”
“No. That’s not what I meant.”
“So I can use it for a bit?”
“…Use it? What do you mean, use it?”
Sensing the conversation had derailed, Mu Je tilted his head in confusion.
Arin mirrored his gesture, bending her head as she asked, “You know about that tree too, don’t you?”

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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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