The Blue Dragon Clan’s Very Suspicious Little Chick - Chapter 34

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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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Episode 34

Through eyes half-open with tension, Aran glimpsed a snow-white room and nearly cried out.
The small, empty space—barely large enough to lie down in—was the very first Illusion she had ever manifested in her previous life.
Back then, she’d thought her Innate Power had awakened out of sheer desperation for somewhere to rest her weary body.
“I… I did it…!”
Aran let slip a soft exclamation of joy.
“Hee-hee.”
Knowing full well it was an illusion, she rolled across the white floor like a child.
Then she sprawled flat on her back, thrashing her limbs about.
Now she was a Vermilion Bird again—capable of creating anything she wished.
Though much training still lay ahead, she could now conjure hellfire, pitch-black seas, sheer cliff faces, beloved family, treasures of gold and silver—whatever she desired.
“Hee-hee-hee-hee…”
She’d been moving her limbs contentedly for a few moments when a soft knock sounded at the door.
“Ah!”
Had So Rim’s time to visit come already?
Wait—she’d used her Innate Power. Wouldn’t her eye color have changed?
She wasn’t certain, but red markings might have appeared around her eyes.
Born with a white body and black eyes, unlike other Vermilion Bird Beast-humans, Aran’s eyes changed color and markings appeared on her face only when she used her Innate Power.
That was why, in her previous life, she’d only realized she was truly a Vermilion Bird after awakening her power.
Aran hastily squeezed her eyes shut and counted backward.
Three, two, one.
The white room still didn’t fade.
It was unlikely that her newly recovered illusion would be visible to others, but one could never be too careful…!
Aran took a deep breath and counted again.
Three, two, one…!
The moment the door clicked open, the white room transformed into the familiar interior of Qinglong Palace.
Seeing Aran jolt upright, So Rim burst out laughing.
“Ha-ha-ha! I wondered what you were doing calisthenics all by yourself for—and now you’re shy about it?”
Calisthenics?
To the eyes of an instructor, rolling about and flailing her limbs must have looked like exercise drills.
How troublesome—as if she’d ever do calisthenics alone.
But fine, let’s go with that.
Aran desperately covered her face with her small hands and grumbled in feigned embarrassment.
“You’re the one peeking through the crack in the door!”
“Ha-ha-ha! I was just checking if you’d woken up! Did you sleep well, young lady?”
Were the markings still visible around her eyes?
If the markings showed, it would confirm that Aran was a Vermilion Bird.
Chung Un would surely be delighted.
But was that truly all right?
In her previous life, after gaining recognition as a Vermilion Bird Beast-human, the Vermilion Bird Clan’s patriarch had come seeking her out—too late.
It was her uncle, Ju Yeom Gang.

“Heavens! So you’re Aran!”

She’d have preferred if he’d simply forgotten her existence altogether.
Aran found her uncle’s recognition of her name utterly repulsive.
He’d known of her existence so clearly, and yet had never searched for her.
From the old man’s mouth poured only blatant lies.

“Do you know how much our entire family suffered after losing you? Your grandfather, may he rest in peace, stopped eating and searched for you without cease……”

Watching Ju Yeom Gang dab at his eyes as though tears were falling, Aran felt her blood boil.
It was all falsehood.
She knew perfectly well they’d never looked for her, not for a single day.

“Don’t be stubborn. Come home with me. Your cousins will be delighted.”

And yet, part of her wanted to believe in it.
Her life had been so relentlessly solitary, and the thought of it stirred an ache in her chest.
If someone could care for her—even for the sake of her power—she might dance with those swords just once.
Right up until she saw him unable to tear his eyes from the Hong Yeom Twin Swords.

“I’m grateful for your words, but I prefer to be alone.”

Aran spoke her refusal gently, holding back her frustration. After a brief silence, Ju Yeom Gang dropped the courteous act and revealed his true intention.

“The thing is, what shall we do about those swords you carry? They’re sacred treasures of the Vermilion Bird Palace, and it’s rather problematic for someone outside the family to possess them……”

Now it was certain.
If she’d gone to the Vermilion Bird Palace, she would have lost the blades to claims that the youngest shouldn’t monopolize the clan’s treasures.
Aran’s eyes began to glow red.
As her shabby dwelling transformed into the Vermilion Bird Palace with its red tiles and gold ornaments, Ju Yeom Gang’s jaw went slack.

“An illusion……! So the rumors of your Vermilion Bird Illusion Ability are true……!”

The Illusion Ability was so rare even among direct-blooded Vermilion Bird Beast-humans that only historical records documented those who possessed it.
What made Aran’s Illusion Ability all the more remarkable was that it left no physical evidence, so it had lived only in whispers and rumor.
And now she had shown it directly to the clan head.
The magnificent Vermilion Bird Palace, and beneath its lavish roof, the child-self who had been despised and barely survived death.
Then the palace wrought of illusion began to burn fiercely.

“If being family means living within the palace, then I have never once been a member of the Vermilion Bird Palace.”

Aran stood in the terrifying Fire Demon and spoke.
With near-perfect flame resistance, Aran felt no fear of fire except in the earliest years of her childhood—truly felt none at all.
There was only one moment when she had known terror at the sight of flames: the last day of her previous life.

“The Hong Yeom Twin Swords I found myself in the deep caves of Hyeonmu Ridge. They are mine. Please take your leave.”

Then Ju Yeom Gang had left, his face flushed with rage.
But what of now?
If the Azure Dragon Clan learns that they are raising a Vermilion Bird with an Illusion Ability in their midst—a child barely old enough to walk?
Chung Un would bear the weight of false accusations and suffer for it.
They would erase whatever injustice clung to his name and seize Aran by any means, because now she was no longer worthless or useless.
She was a Vermilion Bird of value.
“Miss? Are you feeling unwell?”
Aran turned her head away sharply to avoid So Rim’s gaze searching her face.
“Oh, my eyes are so swollen today—I look dreadful.”
Her eyes, still faintly crimson, rolled about wildly in the palm of her hand like a maple leaf.
So Rim reacted as if she’d heard something absurd, pushing back at once.
“What? That can’t be! You’re the most beautiful lady in all the land!”
“I—I really am! Please tell them to prepare some cold water for washing.”
Fortunately the excuse worked, and So Rim rose with a giggle.
“Oh no, cold water won’t do. It’s autumn now.”
After So Rim left the room, Aran hurried to the mirror and saw the familiar petal markings faintly visible around her eyes—the markings of her past life.
Joy and sorrow intertwined; the face of a Vermilion Bird.
In truth, she’d wanted to show off this newfound power to Chung Un first of all.
“But whether others know it or not, this body remains the great Vermilion Bird I have always been.”
Aran sighed the words to herself.
For now she would keep the Ability secret, hidden from all but herself.
Not until she came of age and could drive the Vermilion Bird clan head away on her own would she risk letting Chung Un suffer for it.

***

So Rim, having instructed a maid to bring washing water to Aran’s room, knocked at the clan head’s door with bright anticipation.
Chung Un, occupied with Hee Rim attending to clan matters, turned his gaze toward So Rim in confusion.
It was too early in the day for anyone to seek the clan head on ordinary business.
Hee Rim, seated beside Chung Un, wore the same puzzled expression.
“What’s the matter so early, instructor?”
So Rim reported to her lord, unable to conceal her delight.
“Young Lady Aran is certainly a Vermilion Bird!”
Chung Un’s eyes widened slightly in surprise.
“I saw a marking briefly appear at her eyes—it looked like a flower petal pattern resembling flames.”
So Rim’s cheeks flushed as her golden eyes gleamed, and she quickly added,
“However, since she wishes to conceal it, I pretended not to notice.”
Chung Un’s head tilted slightly to one side.
“The marking appeared only briefly? Then it’s disappeared again now?”
“Based on how it keeps fading, that appears to be the case.”
“And Aran wanted to hide the marking?”
“Yes, my lord.”
So Rim explained, her excitement having finally subsided somewhat.
“The young lady surely knows that Vermilion Birds normally bear such markings. Yet she conceals hers—might she fear being sent to Vermilion Bird Palace if her status as a true Vermilion Bird is revealed?”
“Hmm…….”
Chung Un gazed across at Hee Rim.
“You said there’s no sign of Vermilion Bird Palace searching for a lost child, didn’t you?”
“Yes, my lord. When I inquired last year, there was only rumor that the youngest daughter had died—nothing about a new successor. However, depending on what Innate Power young lady Aran awakens in the future…….”
Hee Rim’s answer came composed, as if prepared beforehand, yet Chung Un merely furrowed his brow.
“If she awakens a precious Innate Power, they might demand her return?”
The Azure Dragon Clan’s Many Suspicious Chirps — Episode 34
E-book Release Date | 2026.08.05

Author | Ravioli
Publisher | Odd Eye
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ⓒ Ravioli 2026

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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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