The Dragon Family’s Beloved Baby Cat - Chapter 76

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 76

“Huh? I already gave it though?”

At Moa’s nonchalant words, the family members’ gazes secretly turned toward each other.

Just who had received it and was playing dumb!

It was Yehui, smiling awkwardly, who stopped the family members from their fierce battle of glares.

“Ah, Miss. Are you talking about those practice papers?”

“Yes! The unnies taught me letters. It’s proper etiquette to give them to my teacher first!”

At Moa’s confident logic, Jin Wonbaek, Jin Saheon, Dowoon, and Yeongang were struck speechless.

Yehui fumbled and pulled out two pieces of paper from her bosom.

On the ink-stained papers were written [Se hui un ni sa rang hae] and [Yeo hui un ni go ma wo].

Yehui had been keeping both to give to Sehui when they met.

‘Ah… Miss, why do you give me such trials…’

Yehui sighed inwardly, feeling like the stares would pierce through her body.

Of course, that didn’t mean she had any intention of giving them up.

Rather, she felt proud that she had received them before Moa’s family members.

“A-ahem… That’s right. A teacher’s grace is like the heavens, indeed.”

Jin Wonbaek nodded forcefully while stroking his beard.

But his eyes wouldn’t leave the papers in Yehui’s hands.

“Then… what about me? I can teach you letters too!”

Finally unable to bear it, Yeongang slammed the table and voiced his grievance.

He looked like he was about to cry.

Jin Saheon and Dowoon couldn’t bring themselves to speak either and just fidgeted with their teacups, but cracks were forming in the cups.

Sensing the ominous atmosphere, Moa quickly raised both hands.

“Next time I’ll definitely write for all my family members! The longest and most wonderful ones!”

“You little one, really?”

“Yes! I promise!”

Only after Moa hooked her pinky finger did peace return to the Jinryong Clan’s dining table.

Of course, behind that peace remained the family members’ fierce battle of wits over ‘the next letter is definitely mine first.’

***

Two weeks later, at Gyeonganggung.

The second regular tea gathering was held.

This time it was a gathering led by Rin without Dowoon.

While enjoying refreshments and chatting, Moa watched for an opportunity and hesitantly pulled out something from her bosom.

“This… is a gift.”

It was two crumpled pieces of paper.

Rin and Danhwi simultaneously widened their eyes.

“A letter?”

“Yes. I wrote it myself!”

Moa handed the paper to Rin first with a proud expression.

[Un ni ppal li na a yo]

Crooked handwriting.

The character ‘ppal’ had strokes shooting up to the sky, and the character ‘a’ was lying on its side.

The spacing between letters danced, sometimes wide, sometimes narrow.

Anyone could see it was the clumsy handiwork of a child who had just learned to write.

But Rin’s eyes wavered momentarily as she read the content.

It was a rough comfort offered while knowing her pain and treating her.

It seemed like she had just learned to write and was enjoying writing letters to acquaintances here and there, but she hadn’t expected to receive one herself.

“The handwriting… looks like earthworms dancing.”

Rin pretended to scold, but couldn’t hide the smile spreading across her lips.

She carefully folded the paper and put it deep inside her sleeve.

“Thank you. I’ll treasure it well.”

Next was Danhwi’s turn.

Danhwi received the paper Moa handed him with trembling hands.

[Dan hwi o ppa u ri neun ching gu]

Danhwi’s face turned bright red as his breath caught.

Moa, who had been watching his reaction, was the same.

Relieved that it didn’t seem like a bad reaction, Moa smiled brightly.

“…Friend?”

“Yes, we’re friends!”

Pillow friends, accomplice friends.

Moa smiled innocently.

Then Danhwi felt his nose tingle and bowed his head deeply.

Afraid tears might fall, Danhwi bit his lips tightly and changed the subject to keep from crying.

“…It’s not ‘ching gu’ but ‘chin gu.'”

“Oh, did I write it wrong?! Yehui unni didn’t stop me!”

At Moa’s startled and flustered face, Danhwi finally burst into laughter.

He resolved to hide this letter somewhere the Emperor’s eyes couldn’t reach.

Because he intuited that it would become his only treasure.

“Hehe, no. Whether it’s ‘ching gu’ or ‘chin gu,’ what does it matter. As long as the meaning gets through.”

Danhwi wiped away the moisture gathered at his eyes and smiled brightly.

It was the first moment when the Crown Prince’s face, always somehow intimidated, shone cheerfully like a boy his own age.

Watching this scene, Rin put down her teacup and lazily propped her chin.

“You two get along so well. It makes my position as a monitor meaningless.”

“Unni is my friend too! Since I gave you a letter.”

“Huhu.”

Rin chuckled and tidied Moa’s disheveled hair.

‘I feel a bit sorry for the Crown Prince.’

Rin felt sorry watching Danhwi who was excessively happy.

As she had said, she was a monitor, so she had to report the conversations from today’s tea gathering.

The Emperor wanted to know everything, even trivial conversations.

Since she couldn’t mention treating Baeksa, she would inevitably have to report everything from trivial matters to the letters.

Lies must be hidden within truth.

‘I wonder if His Majesty will confiscate that letter, or what he’ll do.’

Rin looked at the brightly smiling Danhwi and Moa while running her tongue over her bitter mouth.

***

A while later, in the Emperor’s study, the Emperor was receiving a report from his spy.

The eunuch prostrated on the floor was a spy planted in Gyeonganggung under the pretext of caring for Danhwi.

“I have confirmed the letter that the young lady of Jinryong Clan gave to His Highness the Crown Prince.”

Since he had already heard from Rin’s report after the tea gathering that letters had been exchanged, he had thoroughly searched places where it might be hidden.

The eunuch had finally discovered Moa’s letter hidden inside a pillow in Danhwi’s bedroom, after slightly tearing the pillow.

“What was the content?”

“It was… about being ‘friends.'”

The eunuch reported the letter’s contents in detail as he had seen them.

At the report that the childlike handwriting called Danhwi ‘oppa’ and referred to him as a friend, the Emperor’s lips twisted.

He irritably snapped the brush he was holding.

“Friend… Ha! As expected, that lowly bastard has no dignity as royalty and is just playing at friendship.”

He was already annoyed at seeing Danhwi happy, and it irritated him that Moa might even provide him with the solid backing of Jinryong Clan.

‘Anyway, she’s just a child with no abilities who only receives affection.’

He had accepted Rin’s suggestion to monitor both Moa and Danhwi by proposing regular tea gatherings.

And Rin’s report gave the Emperor both disappointment and strange relief simultaneously.

If he had the ability to break forbidden magic, he would have brought him close, confined him, and used him preciously.

However, since the forbidden magic that needed to be broken was the Emperor’s own ability, it wasn’t entirely bad.

‘In any case, it would be troublesome if those two incompetent fools dared to try to unite their forces.’

The fact that those incompetent fools were his own nine-year-old younger brother and a mere five-year-old little girl wasn’t particularly important to the Emperor.

What mattered was that it would be troublesome if the Youngest Child of Jinryongseoga, who wouldn’t be of help to him, sided with Danhwi.

‘While she’s happy playing friends, it would be fine for things to fall apart a bit more.’

The Emperor thought he should create one major flaw in Danhwi.

So that all the ignorant fools in the world would have no choice but to think, ‘Indeed, this is why the benevolent Emperor had no choice but to confine and raise his brother with tears in his eyes!’

The Emperor rose from his seat and retrieved a black ebony box hidden deep in the bookshelf.

When he opened the box, inside was a single black, sharp thorn.

A seed that pulsed red as if it were alive.

It was a ‘Goblin Needle’ created through forbidden sorcery.

“I should send my younger brother a gift from his older brother.”

The Emperor picked up the seed and muttered coldly.

His eyes gleamed like a snake’s.

“At the next tea gathering, plant this in his clothes and make him wear it. At that time, arrange it so that no other children except those from Jinryongseoga and Saryeom House can attend.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

The Eunuch respectfully received the seed, overwhelmed by the madness the Emperor displayed.

‘Since they’re children, they’ll cling together and play.’

The Emperor smiled wickedly.

It would be nothing for it to naturally transfer to Moa’s clothes.

This seed feeds on human energy, grows, and transforms into a monster.

If Jinryongseoga’s precious treasure were to be torn apart and killed or injured by a monster right after meeting Danhwi?

Jinryongseoga would shudder and regard Danhwi as ‘one who brings disaster wherever he goes.’

People in the world would also feel it was ominous, so it would kill two birds with one stone.

“Watch closely as that shallow friendship returns as poison.”

The Emperor’s bleak gaze turned toward the direction where Gyeonganggung was located.

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