The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 26

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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 26
While Baeksa stayed at the Vermilion Bird Family Estate, growing closer to Hwaryeong and Doeui, the little bird had been nowhere to be seen.
It remained that way even as she learned her letters and grew more adept at handling her Abnormal Ability.
Because of that, she was constantly worried.
‘Did I somehow make him dislike me?’
Had she done something wrong during their last encounter? Or had something happened to the baby bird?
She couldn’t begin to count how many times her heart had leapt into her throat during the small bird’s long absence.
“Where have you been all this time?”
Baeksa smiled warmly, gently stroking the little bird as she cast a wary glance around her.
She remembered how, when they first met, the baby bird hadn’t wanted anyone else to catch them together.
Fortunately, no one else was here, since Ju Jeokseo had set aside this area specifically for Baeksa to practice her Supernatural Ability.
Only after confirming they were entirely alone did Baeksa finally release her grip on the baby bird.
The moment it slipped free from the gentle prison of her hands, the bird looked up at her, its eyes sparkling.
“Peep!”
“Do you have any idea how much I missed you? I was so incredibly worried about you.”
“Pee-yoo.”
As Baeksa lightly scratched the baby bird’s cheek with a tiny finger, the little bird rubbed its face against her hand.
Her heart melted completely at the utterly precious, adorable gesture.
“Would you like to see this?”
Cradling the tiny bird in one hand, the little snake hurried toward a specific spot with short, quick steps.
Where Baeksa stopped was a small corner at the edge of the rear garden.
It was a place permitted only to Baeksa, the single spot in this entire rear garden where the concentration of Contamination ran thick.
It was also the space Ju Jeokseo had granted to the little snake just a short while ago.
Ever since Baeksa’s Cintamani had emitted that miraculous light, she could feel her Supernatural Ability growing stronger by the day.
It was a sensation entirely different from before.
As if the tiny snake coiled deep inside her body had suddenly ballooned in size, she now felt an aching thirst whenever she went too long without using her Supernatural Ability.
Terrified that she might end up mindlessly absorbing anything and everything in sight, the girl had shared her anxieties with the Family Head.
‘Then I shall open a place where you can use your ability in peace.’
True to his word, he had readily granted her access to this very spot, telling her it would be a place to unleash her power.
Creak.
When she pushed open the ancient wooden door, a rear garden entirely stained in black revealed itself.
This place was the most cherished rear garden of this residence’s original owner, serving as a detached villa, and was concurrently the only location in the entire Vermilion Bird Family Estate heavily choked by Contamination.
“Isn’t it fascinating? But you mustn’t come inside.”
Baeksa set the little bird down in front of the doorway.
At that, the bird hopped up and down in protest, letting out a barrage of anxious chirps.
Even so, she couldn’t give in.
‘If you come in here, something terrible might happen to you.’
Sirang had told her that the grounds of the Vermilion Bird Family Estate and its surrounding lands were relatively safe from the Contamination.
Because the miraculous power of the Divine Vermilion Bird shielded the area, the external Contamination could not breach the interior.
Of course, the water rising from beneath the earth remained vulnerable to the blight, meaning the estate’s pond carried traces of Contamination, but—
‘Everywhere else is fine.’
The soil, at least, was safe. It was all thanks to the protection offered by the Divine Vermilion Bird’s power.
Yet, even within such a secure estate, there remained a solitary place brimming with Contamination.
That place was this very rear garden.
“They say this is actually where the White Vermilion Bird was born…”
Recalling the story Ju Jeokseo had shared with her, Baeksa crept stealthily inside.
The original owner of the residence Baeksa currently occupied.
This very spot was where the Former Madame of the Vermilion Bird Family had given birth to the White Vermilion Bird.
However, the moment the White Vermilion Bird was born, this detached villa was instantly stained by Contamination, leading the members of the Vermilion Bird Family to view it as a highly ominous omen.
‘In the capital, white is supposed to be an auspicious color…’
That was precisely why Baeksa, despite being born as a snake beastman with an ominous Supernatural Ability, hadn’t been abandoned until she turned seven.
White was always considered a good and blessed color.
Yet, why was white treated as a color of ill fortune here in Namto?
‘Why is that?’
Was it simply because the detached villa was choked by Contamination the moment the young lady was born?
Or was there some other reason entirely?
In a region where white was already shunned, this ill-fated young lady had managed to stain a portion of the estate with Contamination the literal second she drew her first breath.
Born under the weight of such a cruel destiny, the girl felt she could understand, at least a little, what kind of life the Vermilion Bird young lady must have endured.
Perhaps it was because she had lived through a similar existence herself.
Pat, pat!
As Baeksa stepped deeper inside, the tiny baby bird slipped forward two paces, clearly wanting to follow her.
“Ah, you mustn’t come in.”
Turning around to face the baby bird, Baeksa shook her head with a firm, deliberate frown.
Contamination had a terrible effect on the bodies of Beast-kin.
So, how much worse would it be for a spiritual beast?
The Family Head must have had an excellent reason for banning anyone else from entering this place.
“Pee-yoo…”
“It’s no use trying to beg with such a pitiful voice. Just wait a little bit.”
When Baeksa shook her head again, the baby bird dropped its head, looking entirely despondent.
Right then.
“Just let him in.”
Appearing silently out of nowhere, Doeui stood with his arms crossed, speaking in a calm tone.
The boy was gesturing toward the little bird standing at the threshold.
“Gasp!”
Startled by Doeui’s sudden appearance, Baeksa gasped and stumbled backward onto the ground.
“D-Doeui!”
“…Are you alright?”
“Y-Yes, I’m fine. You just startled me for a moment…”
Baeksa nodded repeatedly, clutching her pounding heart.
He hadn’t even meant to scare her; he had simply spoken, yet she felt thoroughly embarrassed that her legs had given out so easily.
Just as the child scrambled to stand back up.
Poof!
A sudden cloud of smoke erupted near the doorway, and a moment later, another figure materialized.
The little bird, who had been watching the scene unfold from the threshold in an anxious tizzy, had shifted its form.
The person standing there now was none other than the Second Young Master of the Vermilion Bird Family, Hwaryeong.
“Hey! Why are you scaring her like that?”
Hwaryeong snapped at Doeui as he rushed across the threshold in a single bound, lifting Baeksa to her feet.
“Little one, are you alright? Come on, stand up.”
“Oh, uh… H-Hwaryeong!”
“You aren’t hurt, are you? Can you stand?”
Having pulled Baeksa up, Hwaryeong crouched down to inspect the child’s condition.
Once he satisfied himself that she was unharmed, he began brushing away the blackened grass clippings that had clung to her clothes.
“Hwaryeong…? How did you…”
“Ugh, I didn’t want to reveal it like this… Doeui, this is all your fault!”
“It’s not good to keep up a deception for too long. Are you alright, little snake?”
Doeui spoke as he strode across the threshold, looking down at Baeksa.
Baeksa nodded frantically, practically buried in Hwaryeong’s embrace.
“I-I’m fine.”
The child couldn’t make heads or tails of the situation.
To think that the spiritual bird who had become her very first friend upon arriving at this estate was actually Hwaryeong.
‘That means I’ve been stroking Hwaryeong all this time.’
Baeksa suddenly felt so mortified by her past behavior that she wanted to find a hole to crawl into.
She should have been showing him the utmost respect, yet she had been mindlessly petting his fluffy feathers.
Noticing the child’s sheer bewilderment, Doeui spoke up.
“I didn’t mean to frighten you. I simply thought our young master was stringing you along for far too long.”
Baeksa nodded at Doeui’s polite apology. In truth, it wasn’t Doeui’s fault.
She had simply tumbled over because she was a coward. It wasn’t something that required such a grand apology.
Hwaryeong, however, seemed to think otherwise.
“What if she had been hurt? You could have told her some other time.”
“He looked like he desperately wanted to follow her inside. I figured if he revealed his identity now, he could just go in with her,”
Doeui retorted nonchalantly.
Hwaryeong took Baeksa’s hand and gave Doeui a firm shove.
“This won’t do. From now on, if you see this guy, just push him away like this.”
“Ah, well, I…”
“Young Master? You shouldn’t be teaching her such things. Once she’s officially adopted, I’ll be tasked with guarding both of you.”
Still thoroughly hidden within Hwaryeong’s protective embrace, Baeksa looked up at the two of them with a dazed expression.
Right above her head, Hwaryeong and Doeui were bickering back and forth.
Sweating profusely from the sheer awkwardness of it all, the child carefully tugged on both of their sleeves.
“Um, excuse me. Hwaryeong, Doeui…”
When Baeksa called out to them, both Hwaryeong and Doeui stopped instantly and looked down at her.
“Yeah, what is it, little one?”
“Do you require something?”
Gulping hard, Baeksa summoned her courage and spoke.
Her face set into an expression of absolute resolve.
“I’m very sorry, but you mustn’t come in here.”
Though Baeksa’s voice was incredibly small and faint, it carried a distinct weight of finality.
Caught entirely off guard by her words, Hwaryeong and Doeui could only blink in unison.

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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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