The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 3

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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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“If you start making excuses like there’s no progress, you had better be prepared for the consequences.”
The young emperor gave a sinister smile. He rattled the bead curtain as if tickling the Woman’s waist.
The glass beads collided against one another, clattering softly. Yet even at that sound, the person behind the curtain remained entirely motionless.
The Imperial Physician, who had just finished checking her pulse by holding her slender wrist, bowed his head with a heavy expression.
“……Your Majesty, it might be best to seek another way after all. Requesting help from the Beast-kin of The South…….”
At the words ‘Beast-kin of The South,’ the emperor’s brow twitched.
The only Beast-kin living in the south were ‘those bastards.’
Every single citizen of the Haeseo Kingdom knew that the current emperor loathed them with a passion.
Realizing he had disturbed the emperor’s peace of mind, the Imperial Physician squeezed his eyes shut.
“Requesting help from the Beast-kin of The South…… that is a wonderful idea.”
Rising abruptly, the emperor stepped right up to the Imperial Physician’s nose and looked down at him with a freezing gaze.
“Then those wretches, who are currently groaning because they can’t even cure their own bodies, will happily run over here to treat her.”
“……I beg for your forgiveness.”
“Enough.”
The emperor turned around. The moment the Imperial Physician breathed a sigh of relief, the ruler asked as if merely passing by.
“What happened to that child?”
At that, a courtier standing in attendance on one side of the room answered promptly.
“She remains exactly the same as before.”
“I figured as much. What about what I ordered you to prepare?”
“It is nearly complete. We will be able to depart before long.”
“Good.”
The emperor looked at the courtier with a gaze as piercingly cold as a blade and said.
“Once the preparations are finished, throw her out of this Imperial Palace.”
The two eyes of the dragon, capable of killing and destroying anything he wished, flashed murderously.
“It seems having that thing in the palace is the reason she cannot wake up.”
Ominous things had to be cleared away.
He would discard all such things and leave only the good behind to help her wake.
Finishing his words, the emperor immediately turned on his heel and departed.
Right after, a harsh wind blew in from nowhere and extinguished the candle flame with a sharp puff.
At the same time, the hanging bead curtain shook faintly.
***
“Is that true?”
“I’m telling you it is! They’ve already almost finished the preparations.”
“Oh come on, no matter what, could he really be that heartless……? He is someone carrying the blood of a dragon.”
“You think he wouldn’t? He didn’t even give her a name!”
“But won’t she die if she goes to that place?”
“He’s sending her there to die, because if a dragon kills its own child directly, it will receive divine punishment.”
The courtiers lowered their voices and whispered. Even as they gossiped, they were highly alert in case anyone might hear them.
They had no choice. If someone overheard this conversation, they could be dragged away and executed immediately.
Fortunately for them, only one creature heard the conversation.
‘It looks like it’s almost over.’
It was Baeksa, who had transformed into her snake form.
She was hiding behind the bushes.
She would get scolded if caught outside her Residence, but she couldn’t help it.
It seemed to be public knowledge that Baeksa would soon be leaving the Imperial Palace, but no one had bothered to tell the person involved.
Quietly reflecting on the courtiers’ words, Baeksa thought with a sorrowful expression.
‘If a dragon kills its own child, it receives divine punishment…….’
That was indeed the case. As was widely known, a dragon could not kill its own child directly.
Furthermore, it was impossible for dragons to murder one another. This was because they were Beast-kin who had received the power of the Heavenly God.
It was a sort of restriction placed upon them as a race possessing immense strength.
But Baeksa could not understand.
Was abandoning someone to die not the same as killing them directly?
‘If so, that thing called divine punishment is truly strange…….’
It was just as Baeksa drooped her head, about to return to her Residence.
“Look at this, look at me!”
A familiar voice echoed from afar.
It was Yeoryun, another of Baeksa’s half-siblings. She was also an imperial princess whom the emperor treasured dearly because she possessed a pure White Cintamani.
The moment Yeoryun’s voice was heard, the court ladies who had been talking just a moment ago stopped what they were doing and scattered quickly.
Fearing she might catch Yeoryun’s eye, Baeksa flattened herself beneath the bushes instead of returning to her Residence.
After a moment, Yeoryun appeared through the lush bushes, dressed in beautiful garments.
A small Bead floated gently above the head of Yeoryun, who was running around with a thoroughly excited face.
That was precisely the Cintamani.
‘A Cintamani…….’
Something that every member of the Dragon Tribe ought to possess.
Something that Baeksa, the White snake, lacked.
A member of the Dragon Tribe with a Cintamani could not only use the Blessing Abnormal Ability, but could also make rain fall from a clear sky and command the wind to move ships.
It could truly be called the foundation for wielding the omnipotent power of the Heavenly God.
As the White Bead flashed with light, rain began to fall from the clear sky, wetting the spot where the girl stood in a perfect circle. Yeoryun had used her Abnormal Ability.
The courtiers gasped in horror as her beautiful clothes were soaked by the drizzle, but Yeoryun did not care at all and burst into a bright laugh.
The White Cintamani, drenched in raindrops, sparkled like a pearl under the clear sky.
Watching that sight, envy leaked from Baeksa’s eyes.
‘I thought I wouldn’t be envious anymore.’
Since she had decided not to covet what she could never have.
She thought she wouldn’t feel envious even if she saw such things…….
But the heart was not something she could control, so she could not stop the feeling from flooding in instantly.
Particularly, Yeoryun’s Cintamani was more precious than those of the other imperial family members.
A pure, spotless White Cintamani.
In the Haeseo Kingdom, White was considered an auspicious and good color. It was for the exact same reason that Baeksa had managed to preserve her life in this Imperial Court.
……And also why she had been kicked out the moment her body turned black.
In such a Haeseo Kingdom, it was only natural for Yeoryun, who possessed a White Cintamani, to be loved.
Those who saw Yeoryun’s Cintamani believed the girl might eventually become the legendary ‘White Dragon.’
Should that happen, the Haeseo Kingdom would enjoy endless glory and prosperity.
Moreover, Yeoryun was closely tied to the legend of the Haeseo Kingdom which stated, ‘A dragon is born from the lowest place.’
Because Yeoryun’s Mother had been born a slave.
Taking even that point into account, the Beast-kin praised Yeoryun, predicting she would become a magnificent dragon in the future.
At one time, Baeksa had envied that terribly as well.
A White Dragon from the legends—just imagining it was a wonderful existence, wasn’t it?
But.
‘I won’t do that anymore…….’
Because it had nothing to do with her, who would soon be expelled from the Imperial Court.
So she would neither be sad nor envious.
Baeksa forced herself to ignore her aching heart and returned to her Residence.
The silhouette of the tiny snake crawling away, pit-a-pat, looked uniquely small and shabby compared to any other time.
***
A few days after that.
Two courtiers actually entered Baeksa’s room and silently grabbed the child’s hands.
Then, after filling a large bathtub with water and washing her roughly, they picked out the cleanest clothes among her possessions and dressed her.
During that process, the child’s wishes did not matter. The two of them never even looked Baeksa properly in the eyes.
As if merely doing what had to be done, they silently washed and dressed the child.
The young girl quietly surrendered her body to the courtiers’ hands and stared at their faces.
They were unfamiliar faces she didn’t see normally.
The ones who usually brought her food and washed her were entirely different people.
‘Furthermore, two of them came.’
There were three courtiers who looked after Baeksa, but they worked in shifts and never entered all together.
Because of this, Baeksa instinctively realized the truth without hearing a single word from them.
‘It’s today.’
The day His Majesty had spoken of.
And the day she had been waiting for…….
‘It was true.’
That they planned to throw me away.
After she had completely changed her clothes, one courtier turned to look at Baeksa and spoke.
“Follow me.”
She moved her feet before the child could even offer a reply. Fearing her clean clothes might get dirty, Baeksa gripped her skirt hem and busily followed her with short strides.
As she stepped outside, the scenery of the Residence where she had lived until now was reflected in Baeksa’s eyes.
The shabby and dilapidated Residence, the front yard overgrown with weeds due to a lack of proper maintenance.
The long hallway that echoed with every step, and things like the dried-up pond.
It was a desolate and lonely place, but it was still the place that had sheltered Baeksa until now.
But this was the end of that too.
‘Goodbye.’
Once today passed, she would never be able to come here again, nor would she even be allowed to miss it.
Offering a final farewell to the place where she had stayed, Baeksa followed behind the courtier who was leaving busily without waiting for her.

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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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