The Blue Dragon Clan’s Very Suspicious Little Chick - Chapter 53

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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 53

It was the truth.
Hong Woo doubted the Control Device.
It might not be working properly, or perhaps Hyeon Tae-o had resorted to some underhanded trick. Who knew?
That chill that had dug into the back of his hand moments ago felt genuinely real.
But if he answered that way and got it wrong, he’d be in serious trouble—and besides, Hyeon Tae-o’s name would be sung across the realm all over again.
Why does that brat keep getting praised as if he were a reincarnated god?
“That is……”
Hong Woo stammered helplessly.
Aran found her cousins’ behavior so tedious she could barely endure it.
“Mm……”
She yawned, tears pooling in her eyes as she looked up at Byeol Gam.
“Byeol Gam, Tae-o only stopped him from hitting me.”
Aran happened to be the smallest of all the Four Celestial Palace children gathered here.
On top of that, she was the only one with white hair—a blue dragon alone.
Byeol Gam realized that Hong Woo, young and of different origin, had been tormenting Aran to the point of tears, and his eyes narrowed further.
“You strike the youngest of another palace? Are you unaware that all incidents at the Ceremonial Gathering are reported to each palace and to His Imperial Majesty?”
“Eek……”
Only then did Hong Woo grow frightened and back away.
“I-I wasn’t trying to hit her, only meant to give her a light cuff on the head. It’s just that she grabbed my hand so hard my own hand hurt, that’s all.”
As Hong Woo whimpered to Byeol Gam, begging him to speak of this to no one, Aran shook her head and began to walk away.
“Let’s go, Tae-o.”
“Yeah.”
Tae-o followed at once, and the startled twins likewise hurried after them, pulling Sa-heum along.
“Aran, we should take us with you too…!”
If they stayed behind, Hong Woo’s spite would surely follow.
Hong Bi herself clung to the tail end of the group.
“I-I want to come along too…!”

***

“Eat this.”
Tae-o, who had gone alone to the Eastern Hall, handed over a small ceramic container.
“What is it? Is it tasty?”
Min’s eyes widened with interest as she opened the ceramic lid, but she quickly frowned and pulled back.
“Ugh, what is this? Ginseng? Is this for our father?”
“No, it’s for Aran.”
“Huh? Do you think Aran is some kind of grandmother?”
Min was bewildered, but Aran simply buried her nose in the ceramic and tilted her head.
By the nose of a hundred-year-old red phoenix, what lay inside was not ginseng.
Not ginseng, but……
Aran looked up at Tae-o with a pleased expression, dazed, and asked.
“Where did you get this?”
In her past life, she had tried many things just to put food on the table, and before coming of age she had even harvested medicinal herbs to survive on.
So Aran recognized at once that what Tae-o had brought was not ginseng but wild ginseng.
No amount of honey’s sweet fragrance could mask it.
The distinctive earthy scent of ancient wild ginseng had seeped throughout the ceramic container.
If one were to pull out a single root, it would have a longer head and several knots jutting out, unlike cultivated ginseng. But none of the small ones gathered here would recognize the difference anyway.
Tae-o answered with a bashful face.
“I had the snakes search for it.”
Well, there are plenty of snakes in the Azure Dragon Palace—what are they all doing otherwise?
Aran asked, bewildered.
“You know what this is, don’t you?”
“Yeah.”
“But you’re… giving this to me?”
As far as Aran knew, the head of the Xuanwu clan was quite advanced in years.
In truth, Aran had planned to simply live out her days and then harvest Immortal Herb to eat—so she didn’t especially need wild ginseng.
“You need to live a long life, Aran.”
But at Hyeon Tae-o’s earnest expression, laughter burst forth unbidden.
“Pfft—me? You want me to live long?”
“Yes. At least as long as Xuanwu does.”
Xuanwu was a Spirit Being, true enough, and they did live somewhat longer than most—but hardly a reason to boast about it.
Don’t worry. I’ll live far longer than you, long enough to become an Immortal.
Even as Aran thought this, there was something touching about the boy’s earnestness.
Hadn’t he searched tirelessly for wild ginseng, even commanding a snake to help him find it, all for the sake of a friend he cared for?
And he’d brought several precious medicinal roots—the kind that would earn their lord’s favor—with no conditions attached whatsoever.
Wanting to repay such effort, Aran reached into the jar and drew out a root of wild ginseng, glistening with honey.
“Well then, shall we have a taste?”
Thick drops of honey fell from the root in Aran’s hand.
“Ugh, how sticky.”
Hong Bi made a face and called for an attendant, but Aran paid no mind and popped the ginseng into her mouth.
As she chewed from the fine root hairs onward, a deep, bittersweet fragrance filled her mouth—the scent of a true medicinal treasure.
When an attendant brought a plate to catch the drips, the children watched as if observing some rare spectacle—Aran eating what they thought was ginseng, though it was actually wild ginseng.
“You really do eat bitter things well, don’t you?”
Baek Sa-heum gazed at Aran with admiring eyes, and Hyeon Tae-o went a step further, echoing him.
“Aran can do anything.”
Of course, only Baek Sa-heum and Hyeon Tae-o offered such positive remarks.
“Ugh.”
“Eww…….”
“Goodness…….”
The rest simply watched in astonishment, as if witnessing some peculiar spectacle.

***

Consuming the wild ginseng took considerable time.
In the meanwhile, Aran skillfully sent everyone else away on various pretexts, keeping only Baek Sa-heum at her side.
There was something she needed to ask him.
“How did everything seem to you?”
The moment they were alone, Baek Sa-heum’s shoulders stiffened at the question.
“That is…….”
Aran regarded him silently.
If Je Geon-u’s condition today had been no different from before, then Baek Sa-heum had done well simply not fainting.
After taking a deep breath as if steeling himself, Baek Sa-heum spoke.
“I-it looked frightening, yes. Still, I-I believed it would be all right because you were there, so…… when I was afraid, I looked at you.”
“You did well. Very well.”
With only the two of them present, Aran dropped her formal speech and praised the now-respectful Baek Sa-heum.
Then she asked again.
“When you say it looked frightening—does that mean it took on the same appearance as before? Did that ancient spirit seem to torment him the way it did then?”
Baek Sa-heum nodded.
“Yes, but it was slightly different from last time. Rather than the savage, driving sensation I felt before…… it was more like something very frightening was lurking there. And the Imperial Dragon itself seemed weaker than when I first saw it.”
“That’s a serious problem.”
Aran spoke with concern.
“You still haven’t been able to persuade the clan lord?”
This time Baek Sa-heum answered with a troubled sigh.
“Please don’t ask me to speak of that again. To convince my father, I think I’ll need to prove my Spiritual Eyes far more conclusively.”
“Hmm.”
Prove one’s Spiritual Eyes, he said.
In truth, proving Spiritual Eyes to someone who doesn’t possess them is extraordinarily difficult.
But at the White Tiger Palace, nothing is impossible.
“Then simply use the White Jade Mirror to prove it, can’t you?”
The White Jade Mirror that reflects spirits for all to see.
Together with the White Soul Sword, which can banish ghosts, it was the White Tiger Palace’s most famous sacred treasure.
But Baek Sa-heum tilted his head in puzzlement.
“The White Jade Mirror?”
Aran’s brow furrowed.
Could it be that he doesn’t know about the White Jade Mirror?
Then has the Baek clan lord been calling Baek Sa-heum a true member of the White Tiger Clan all this time without ever testing him with the mirror?
No. That can’t be right.
He must have tested it without letting Baek Sa-heum know.
Then he would have correctly assessed Geon-u’s condition as well.
And yet he hesitates, unable to act…….
It’s true—questioning the legitimacy of the Legitimate Imperial Heir is tantamount to treason, in a manner of speaking.
No official would wish to fall from the Emperor’s favor by scrutinizing the sole heir’s qualifications so soon after the Empress’s death.
If Aran had not witnessed Je Geon-u’s growth in her previous life, if she had not known the consequences he would bring……
She would have wanted to give the young prince time and opportunity.
Perhaps the Baek Ho Clan has made genuine efforts of their own all this while.
Aran found it difficult to explain all of this to the younger Baek Sa-heum, and so she simply shook her head.
“No. You should return now as well. It seems Hong Bi will be back soon.”
Before the words had even finished, commotion erupted outside, and the twins returned with Hong Bi.
They had gone to the pond to show Hong Bi stone-skipping, and returned after having their skills judged.
“Arani! I won again today!”
Aran quietly took Yeon’s hand beside the triumphant Min.
Hong Bi had not slept properly the night before, had sweated through her first lesson, and had even played outside with the twins—all Aran hoped for was that she would fall asleep early tonight.

***

Geon-u’s world had always been dark.
It was a strange thing indeed.
From the very first moment he could remember, he had felt trapped and afraid, as if caught in a snare—and yet he was supposed to be the heir to the Imperial Dragon.
The Azure Dragon Clan’s Many Suspicious Goslings
Digital Release Date | August 5, 2026

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

UCI | G720:N+A101-20260722065.0053
Price | 100 won

ⓒ Ravioli 2026

This digital book is protected under copyright law.
This digital book is published under contract with the author, and reproduction, distribution, or sharing in any form without written consent from both parties is prohibited.

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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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