The Blue Dragon Clan’s Very Suspicious Little Chick - Chapter 17

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

Episode 17

I really don’t like this one bit.
Su Ryeon’s expression was fierce as he swept through the crowd with a torch held high.
Where on earth had the little thing gone, so fearless and reckless? What if a wild animal snatched her away, or some wicked person grabbed her? How could she have wandered off from So Rim’s protection?
He’d stayed nearby just in case something went wrong, but now he regretted not keeping closer watch.
If anything happened to that child, it wouldn’t just wound the twins — it would devastate Father.
Su Ryeon pushed down the clamor in his mind and continued searching for the little bird.
“Hey, chirp——.”
He hesitated, calling out to her.
All he’d ever done was lecture her one-sidedly; he’d never had a real conversation with her.
Was there any closeness between them that gave him the right to use a pet name?
Should he just use her real name instead?
He’d heard long ago that Father had given her the name Cheon Aran.
Cheon Hui, Cheon Su Ryeon, Cheon Min, Cheon Yeon.
And then Cheon Aran.
For more than half a year now, he hadn’t even been able to walk the easy path of accepting that name under his own roof.
In the end, Su Ryeon just ran back and forth without calling her anything at all.
“Where did you go?! Hey, Cheon Aran——!”
Finally, as he raised his voice and lifted the torch higher, it happened.
A pair of yellow eyes gleamed in the nearby tree, and enormous wings beat through the darkness.
It was a massive hawk.
“……That startled me.”
Su Ryeon had started to lower the torch when he caught sight of a faint white glimmer clinging to a precarious branch.
He squinted and raised the torch higher.
Then the shape of that white light became clearer. It was a small bird.
A tiny chick was fluttering its wings in alarm on the slender branch.
The savage hawk’s dive toward the white bird seemed to unfold before Su Ryeon’s eyes in slow motion, as if it were all a lie.
“Cheon Aran——!”
In that instant, a cry tore from his throat, and Su Ryeon’s fingertips unleashed the Wind Strike.
Rumble, crack!
The sound of the sky splitting echoed, and the branch snapped clean.
Leaves scattered and fell.
Just as Su Ryeon summoned a gust of wind to draw the little bird into his embrace, the startled hawk beat its broad wings and fled into the night.
Su Ryeon finally looked down at the chick in his grasp and let out a shout.
“Why won’t you ever listen to me?!”
“Chirp?”
Looking at the child tilting her head so innocently, his chest felt ready to burst.
“What are you doing out here alone?! Do you have any idea what almost happened to you just now?! To that hawk, you’d be nothing but a mouthful——!”
The chick merely shook her head, showing no real sign of fear.
The child knew nothing, so she felt no terror either. It seemed the only one who had been afraid was him.
The tension drained from Su Ryeon’s shoulders.
He realized this was how it had always been.
He’d been taking out his own unhappiness on a child who understood nothing, venting his anger on her.
Su Ryeon gently released the grip he’d been holding so tightly.
For the first time, he looked directly into the eyes of the tiny chick that fit in his palm and asked her straight.
“……Are you hurt?”
“Chirp.”
Her head, no bigger than a kumquat, bobbed earnestly.
Only then did Su Ryeon exhale in relief and gently stroke the bird.
“Let’s go to your older brother. Everyone’s been looking for you.”

***

“Aran——!”
Aran stood speechless before Hee Rim, who was shedding tears.
Crying……?
She’d searched for me that desperately?
“Where were you? Where did you find her?”
Hui held Aran close even though they could understand each other, but directed the question to Su Ryeon.
Su Ryeon ground his teeth as he answered.
“Keep a better eye on this one. She’s got no sense of fear—she’d climbed to the top of a tree. There was a hawk nearby. It nearly became a complete disaster.”
“A hawk? Really?”
“Chirp…….”
(It wasn’t such a terrifying hawk, really. Just a hunting bird, is all…….)
Aran tried to defend herself while watching Hui’s face go pale, but it seemed to offer him no comfort whatsoever.
“……I’m sorry. How frightened you must have been.”
“Chirp-chirp.”
(It’s all right. I was just distracted by the pollen…….)
“It’s not all right.”
Hui answered with tears glistening in his eyes.
“This is my fault. I promised to take responsibility for you, and I looked away. It’s all my fault…….”
Older Brother……?
When Cheon Un had accepted her as his youngest, the meaning had reached Aran in far simpler terms.
It was merely gaining a nest. Protection until she could fly and obtain a human form.
She hadn’t deeply considered that she’d gained a father and siblings.
Perhaps she wouldn’t have understood even if she had tried.
Her family in her past life had never searched for Aran after losing her—because they’d wished for her death to begin with, so it was only natural.
Of course, Ok Dan, who had taken Aran in, was like a sister to her.
Yet Ok Dan was simultaneously a servant of Juju Palace.
She alone had served Aran—unacknowledged by anyone—as a young lady until the very end.
And so the affection Ok Dan gave felt somewhat different from that of parents or siblings.
As Aran stood bewildered by something she’d never experienced before, Su Ryeon unexpectedly interjected.
“……There’s fault on my side too.”
Aran looked up at Su Ryeon in surprise.
What could be Su Ryeon’s fault?
Su Ryeon had never even accompanied Aran, yet he’d searched for her, mistaken the hawk for a threat to her, and even expended his precious Special Ability.
Aran had merely been trying to ride the cowardly hunting hawk back to the palace…….
“When our older brother asked me to help look after the children, I should have moved with you from the start.”
Watching Su Ryeon press his lower lip tight, Aran found herself completely at a loss for words.
Why would he think that……?
You and I have nothing to do with each other.
You dislike me, and I’m not even your real sister.
In the awkward silence, matters were made worse by Cheon Un’s appearance.
“Hmm, so we’ve found our youngest, it seems.”
Hui hurriedly bowed his head.
“Yes, Father. My apologies.”
Cheon Un’s large hand patted his eldest son’s shoulder lightly.
“Having three baby siblings at once is a first for you too, isn’t it?”
Hee Rim, who had appeared alongside Cheon Un, added lightly as if to ease the tension.
“Why is the atmosphere like this? The Cheon Sa Guard has been keeping this area under strict watch, so it’s not as if the young lady could have gone far.”
Ah, was that so?
Only Aran’s eyes went wide—everyone else already knew.
Then she would have met the Cheon Sa Guard on the way regardless, so why all this fuss?
She wasn’t even a real family member, yet the eldest son had shown tears, and the household head still hadn’t returned at this hour…….
As Aran tilted her head, Cheon Un spoke with a smile that wasn’t entirely serious.
“Su Ryeon, would you look after Aran on the way back?”
Aran, still held in Hui’s arms, looked up at him and flapped her wings anxiously.
“Squawk?”
(But I want to go with Hui……?)
On the way here, So Rim had ridden with Aran on horseback.
Aran found the thought of returning with Su Ryeon so awkward that she pleaded despite swallowing her pride, but it was in vain.
“Not Hui. Your older brother.”
He tilted his head slightly as if he’d heard something strange and corrected her.
“Have I still not learned to understand our youngest’s speech well? Or is it that our youngest sister occasionally speaks in this oddly abbreviated way……?”
Then he let out a soft chuckle and took a step forward.
Aran realized Hui was about to hand her over to Su Ryeon and quickly changed her words.
“Chirp-chirp.”
(Oh, Aran didn’t know! Please, can’t I go with my big brother?)
At that moment, Su Ryeon, unable to parse what Cheon Aran had said, grabbed Cheon Hui by the arm with a grave expression.
“Why, what is it? What’s Aran saying? Does she find me troublesome?”
Yes, completely.
Cheon Aran bit back the urge to nod and waited for Cheon Hui’s intervention, but the very person she’d counted on said something entirely unexpected.
“Well, I think Aran’s just a bit frightened and startled, but if you comfort her properly, wouldn’t she be fine?”
For Cheon Aran, it was a thunderbolt from a clear sky.
“Chirp? Cheep??”
(Brother? Big brother? Are you… are you really abandoning me like this?)
The Cheon Ryong Clan’s Rather Suspicious Chirping — Episode 17
E-book Release Date | August 5, 2026

Author | Ravioli
Publisher | Odd Eye
Submissions/Inquiries | [email protected]

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260722065.0017
List Price | 100 won

ⓒ Ravioli 2026

This e-book is protected by copyright law.
This e-book is published under contract with the author, and unauthorized reproduction, distribution, sharing, or public transmission without the written consent of both parties is prohibited.

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