The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 14

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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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***
“Father!”
Ju Jeokseo frowned at the familiar voice. It wasn’t coming from the doorway, but from outside the window.
Sure enough, Hwaryeong, the Second Young Master of the Vermilion Bird Family, came fluttering right into Ju Jeokseo’s office.
Ju Jeokseo shook his head at the sight and spoke with a deliberately stern voice.
“I believe I’ve told you at least a hundred times to use the door instead of the window.”
“Ah, I forgot.”
Hwaryeong offered a slick reply.
The moment he flew into the office, he immediately underwent Humanization.
His tied-up red hair fluttered in the cool night breeze. He looked remarkably like Ju Jeokseo.
The boy, with his sharply slanted eyes, spoke with a voice full of mischief.
“Anyway, Father, I heard a Snake Beastman came to the mansion. Where is she?”
“Sigh…”
He had already heard in advance that Hwaryeong had noticed the presence of the little snake.
Despite Ju Jeokseo’s strict orders to keep it quiet, that loudmouth subordinate of his, Jo Yeong, couldn’t hold his tongue and had already leaked information about the little snake to Hwaryeong.
Of course, the culprit, Jo Yeong, had already been thoroughly scolded and dismissed.
Now, all that remained was his son, who was like a rolling fireball.
Whether Hwaryeong knew his father’s inner thoughts or not, his red eyes sparkled as he spoke.
“It’s my first time seeing a Snake Beastman. Can I go say hello?”
“No, you cannot.”
“Then can I just ask for her name?”
“Not that either.”
“I get it. You’re worried I’ll go empty-handed, right? Then I’ll pick a pretty flower and give it to her.”
“Are you going to make me repeat myself, son?”
Hwaryeong put on a shocked expression at Ju Jeokseo’s firm attitude.
“Why won’t you let me meet her? Are you worried I’ll bully the little snake?”
“That is certainly part of it.”
“I promise I won’t bother her! I’ll just look, okay?”
“What on earth do you mean by just looking? Besides, you’re bothering your father like this right now, so how can I trust your word that you won’t be a nuisance?”
“Ah…”
“She is very shy, so it won’t do. On top of that, she’s not in good health and needs to rest for the time being. And though I don’t know if you’ve heard…”
While Ju Jeokseo chose his words, Hwaryeong cut in quickly.
“Heard what? That the little snake is from the Imperial Palace?”
“Just how much did that rascal Jo Yeong tell you?”
There were many reasons for hiding the little snake’s existence.
First, he was worried Hwaryeong would bother her, and second, the beast-kin of Namto absolutely loathed Imperial Royalty.
This was a land where beast-kin abandoned by Imperial Royalty gathered to live.
No matter if she was a child discarded by the Emperor, royalty was still royalty. It was easy to predict how the Namto beast-kin would view her.
If her identity were carelessly revealed in this situation, a time might come when they wouldn’t be able to protect the child.
Hwaryeong shrugged.
“I don’t care if she’s from the Imperial Palace. She came to our house, so she’s a Namto beast-kin now, isn’t she?”
“The other beast-kin might think differently. We still need to watch the situation for a bit.”
“But…”
“Hwaryeong, she is still unstable. Not only has she left the place where she lived, but she has also been deeply hurt. What do you think will happen if you carelessly stir things up?”
“It wouldn’t be good…”
“If you understand, go get some sleep.”
“Alright.”
Hwaryeong turned around with a sullen face and hopped right out the window.
Ju Jeokseo looked puzzled when his son gave up more easily than expected.
‘He’s not the type to give up this easily.’
He had expected the boy to throw a tantrum for three days and three nights, asking to meet her, so this was an unexpected reaction.
Because of the surprising response, he even forgot to warn him one more time not to use the window.
‘Well, it worked out fine.’
It was a good thing Hwaryeong wasn’t overly wary of the princess.
If there had been any animosity, it would have been troublesome. They wouldn’t have been able to let Baeksa stay with this family.
Since he was still young, he didn’t seem to fully grasp how deep the rift between the Namto beast-kin and Imperial Royalty truly was.
As his thoughts reached that point, Ju Jeokseo’s expression hardened slightly.
‘Hwaryeong is one thing, but Hwanya…’
In truth, the one he worried about most wasn’t his second son, Ju Hwaryeong.
It was his eldest son, Hwanya.
As mentioned before, Hwaryeong was still young, so his aversion to the Imperial Palace was relatively mild.
‘But the eldest…’
The boy was currently out patrolling the borders of the Contaminated Zone. His head already throbbed at the thought of how to explain the little snake to him when he returned.
Unlike Hwaryeong, Hwanya had a tremendous aversion to Imperial Royalty.
Therefore, it was clear he would absolutely hate Baeksa staying in this house. It would be a relief if he merely hated it; there was no telling if he might try to harm her.
‘It’ll be a miracle if he doesn’t run amok trying to kill her.’
Should he throw more work at him so he couldn’t return for a while?
Perhaps that would be better.
After pondering for a moment, Ju Jeokseo immediately picked up paper and ink to write a letter.
The black brush moved busily across the white paper as if dancing.
[To Hwanya…]
***
Baeksa, who had just woken up, looked toward the window with a bewildered face.
“Chirp!”
She had no idea what was going on.
“Chirp, chirp, chirp!”
A tiny bird sat on the windowsill, crying out toward Baeksa.
The little bird hopped around as if highly excited by something all on its own, then landed squarely on the blanket covering Baeksa.
Then, it looked up at Baeksa with eyes that sparkled like round beads.
The girl’s face was clearly reflected in those curiosity-filled eyes.
“Who are you…?”
Baeksa said softly as she gently stroked the tiny bird.
The little bird had soft orange feathers and a long tail.
Since Baeksa didn’t know much about the Bird Clan, she couldn’t tell what kind of bird this was.
However, it was definitely not a Vermilion Bird.
‘I heard that Vermilion Bird beast-kin glow like fire all over their bodies.’
But this little bird only had a slightly reddish hue to its feathers, and didn’t glow or burn at all.
Besides, if it were a beast-kin of the Vermilion Bird Family, it would be the Second Young Master, and there was no way he would be hopping around in front of her like this.
‘Then could it be a spiritual beast instead of a beast-kin?’
There weren’t only beast-kin in the world.
There were animals without intelligence, and there were beings that possessed intelligence but could not transform into a human form. Those were called spiritual beasts.
Sometimes, grand families raised such spiritual beasts. There were a few spiritual beasts in the Imperial Palace as well, so Baeksa had seen them in passing.
“Chirp, peep, chirp!”
The little bird hopped up and down in place as if demanding something.
It was as if it wanted her to hold out her palm.
‘Ah!’
Realizing what the bird wanted a moment too late, Baeksa carefully extended her hand.
When she offered her scarred hand, the little bird seemed slightly flustered, but then it caressed Baeksa’s hand with its soft wings.
“Are you worried about me?”
When the child asked carefully, the bird nodded its head.
Judging by how it understood human speech, it seemed to be a spiritual beast raised by the Vermilion Bird Family.
Now certain that this tiny bird was a spiritual beast and not a beast-kin, Baeksa carefully stroked its head with her finger.
The bird closed its eyes and enjoyed Baeksa’s touch, then tilted its head as if asking her to scratch its cheek.
At that sight, Baeksa giggled softly and scratched the bird’s cheek. The little bird made cute, chirping sounds as if it thoroughly enjoyed the gesture.
Then, it nestled comfortably inside Baeksa’s tiny hand. The little bird’s fluffy bottom pressed against her palm.
“Wow…”
Since it was her first time experiencing a spiritual beast being friendly toward her, Baeksa’s cheeks flushed crimson.
Until now, all the spiritual beasts she met served the Emperor, Yeoryun, Songra, or other members of Imperial Royalty as their masters, so they hated Baeksa in accordance with their masters’ wishes.
Sometimes, they would even attack or chase after Baeksa to bite her whenever they saw her.
“But you’re really gentle and sweet.”
At Baeksa’s murmur, the little bird chirped happily once more.
In that instant, a tiny spark seemed to ignite on the little bird’s tail feathers, but it happened so fast that the child didn’t catch it properly.
Just then, Sirang called out cheerfully from outside the door.
“My lady, are you awake?”
The moment Baeksa was about to reply, the baby bird flapped its wings frantically in panic, then grabbed Baeksa’s sleeve with its beak.
“Peep, peep!”
“Huh…?”
Baeksa looked back and forth between the utterly panicked baby bird and Sirang’s shadow rustling outside the door.
Then, in a very tiny, secretive voice, she whispered.
“Do you… want to hide?”
“Chirp!”
The baby bird nodded its head vigorously.

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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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