The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 39

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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 39
Baeksa drew the Spiritual Treasure tight against her chest.
The Feather Fan, crafted from pure white plumage, brushed softly against her cheek.
The young girl could not comprehend what was happening at all.
‘This… is a Spiritual Treasure.’
The only trace left behind by the White Vermilion Bird.
The very object that had rejected Ahee, preventing her from being recognized as a daughter even until the day she arrived at the Divine Beast Festival.
Why had it reacted to her?
Why had it curled into her embrace like an affectionate puppy?
Baeksa stood rooted to the spot, holding the Spiritual Treasure as she stared at Ju Jeokseo.
Ju Jeokseo’s face was completely contorted with emotion as he looked back at her.
He reached out, gently caressing her soft cheek.
“Baeksa, the Spiritual Treasure recognized the blood flowing through your veins.”
His voice trembled violently.
“That means… you are the daughter of this fan’s master.”
Yet even so, Baeksa could not understand.
To the girl, the concept of a mother was like a creature of myth.
It was as though she had been born into this world from her father alone, without any maternal presence; no one had ever spoken to her about a mother.
‘But my mother…’
Was the White Vermilion Bird of the Vermilion Bird Family?
Then, the fact that she had been born a white snake…
Belatedly, Baeksa remembered the Guiding Feather—the one she thought she had “ruined” on her very first day at the estate.
Ju Jeokseo had gently comforted the panicked little snake back then, smoothing over the broken token.
‘Since this feather lost its power the moment it touched you, it seems this is your home.’
He had told her that this place must be her home.
The little snake had believed it impossible.
There was no way her home could be somewhere so warm.
A snake as wretched and worthless as herself did not belong in such a warm, gentle space; a cold, damp burrow suited her much better.
That was what she had believed.
And yet, it was true.
“This is… my home…”
Baeksa gazed down at the Feather Fan.
Ju Jeokseo had said that a Spiritual Treasure could never react incorrectly.
Never in history had a Spiritual Treasure chosen the wrong master, for such items were tamed only when the master infused them with their own blood.
Blood recognized blood.
The fan had snuggled into Baeksa’s arms because it sensed the lineage residing within her body.
The little snake blinked, holding the soft feathered fan close.
‘Was that why?’
The reason she had been so reluctant to give Ahee what she possessed.
Baeksa had simply assumed it was because she was greedy.
But looking back on it now, that feeling seemed slightly different from mere greed.
It wasn’t a desire to be greedy; perhaps it was just the desperate urge not to let anyone steal the one thing she had finally managed to obtain.
Plop.
A tear spilled from Baeksa’s eye.
A round, clear drop rolled down her pale cheek and hit the floor with a soft patter.
Taking a hesitant step toward Ju Jeokseo, Baeksa asked softly,
“Divine Lord, why do you look like that…?”
The child whispered in a quiet, sweet, and tender voice,
“Are you sad right now?”
“No, my child. I am deeply happy…”
“Can people cry when they are happy?”
“Yes. When you are overwhelmed with joy, tears can fall.”
Baeksa let out a tiny gasp, her lips parting slightly.
Then, a bright smile broke through her tear-stained face.
“Then I suppose I am crying because I am happy, too…”
When she had been falsely accused of things she had never done, not a single tear had fallen.
She had been miserable and terrified, yet her eyes had remained dry.
Strangely, however, the tears were pouring out now. Baeksa murmured in a small voice,
“I have never cried out of happiness before, so I didn’t know tears could fall at times like this…”
The child cradled Ju Jeokseo’s cheek with her tiny hands.
Her touch was full of affection, a clumsy imitation of the way he had comforted her before.
“Divine Lord, does this mean I was your family all along?”
“Yes…”
“Divine Lord, I…”
The little snake instinctively buried herself deep within his embrace.
Baeksa held onto Ju Jeokseo tightly.
“When I heard stories about Ju Myeongyeong, I wished she would return quickly. Because you missed her so terribly, I didn’t want you to be sad anymore…”
“…”
“But now that I am told I am your family, I don’t know what to do.”
A hush fell over the surroundings at Baeksa’s honest confession.
She was barely seven years old.
A child so small she looked as though she might only be six.
Faced with the sincere heart that the child was carefully, haltingly pouring out.
Faced with her quiet words, the adults were the ones who truly did not know what to do.
Even those who had harbored ill feelings because Baeksa carried the Imperial Family’s bloodline fell as silent as stone at her words.
How much greater, then, was the impact on Ju Jeokseo?
He was the one who had pulled this child from the precipice between life and death.
Ju Jeokseo was the one who had brought the freezing, dying little snake home, laid her in a warm room, fed her, and nursed her back to health.
Therefore, he was also the one who could best guess just how bitter a winter this little snake had endured.
He knew better than anyone how cruel her life had been.
“My child, Baeksa.”
Ju Jeokseo gathered the tiny snake into his arms, his hands trembling as he rubbed her back.
The girl’s frame was so remarkably petite that she was entirely swallowed up by his embrace, leaving plenty of room to spare.
“I will never leave you alone again. I promise you, I will never lose you.”
Ju Jeokseo squeezed the child tighter.
“I will take responsibility for you and protect you in your mother’s stead. I will give my very life to rescue and shield you.”
“Divine Lord.”
“How lonely you must have been in that terrifying place.”
The Imperial Court of the Haeseo Kingdom.
Was there any Beast-kin alive who did not know how merciless that place was?
At the very least, not a single soul among the Namto Beast-folk was ignorant of how cold-hearted the Emperor truly was.
And this was the flesh and blood that very Emperor had cast away with his own hands.
One could easily surmise the hardships the little snake had faced in that palace without needing a single word of explanation.
“I…”
Baeksa gently leaned forward until her forehead bumped against Ju Jeokseo’s face, which was distorted with grief.
“If all those lonely times were meant to lead me to this moment… I am not sad at all.”
She meant it.
The past was already gone.
Once a moment slipped away, its purpose was fulfilled.
Though the deep wounds still lingered and caused her pain, even those were steadily healing thanks to the tender care of the Vermilion Birds.
Therefore, the girl did not wish to remain shackled to the past.
Rather than resenting the past, mourning it, and dwelling on her loneliness, she found it far more delightful to imagine the future ahead.
The child was only seven years old, and by the standards of ordinary Beast-kin, she had a vast expanse of life left to live.
Thus, Baeksa truly felt as though her entire past had been fully compensated for in this very moment.
Every time she haltingly pushed out a word, the Black Bead shimmered above her head.
“Divine Lord, I am truly alright.”
How much sorrow and loneliness must a young child endure to become this serene?
Even adults would usually break down, unable to control the sudden surge of emotions in a moment like this.
Tears welled up in the eyes of several Namto Beast-folk watching the scene unfold. Among them was the Ha Clan Head.
The only ones who could witness this without weeping or feeling their hearts ache were Song Hyun and the nobles who followed him.
Unable to contain the swell of emotion rushing through him, Ju Jeokseo pulled the little snake into a fierce embrace.
The adorable little snake smiled radiantly as she rested securely in his arms.
Clear tears pooled at the corners of her eyes before dropping down like morning dew.
***
Ju Jeokseo imprisoned Song Hyun and his subordinates. This was because Ahee had confessed everything, stating, “The Song Family Head made me do it.”
However, taking into account that Ahee was still young and had merely been manipulated by an adult, she was spared from the dungeons.
Instead, she was entirely banned from entering the Vermilion Bird Family Estate and was confined to a small house arranged for the investigation, living there alone with her mother.
Once the investigation concluded, if the mother and daughter were proven innocent, they might be allowed to return home.
But if they were found guilty, neither would likely return unscathed.
They would have to pay the price for daring to insult the Divine Lord here in Namto.
Furthermore, because Baeksa testified that ‘the Supernatural Ability she absorbed from Ahee felt similar to the Emperor’s power,’ Song Hyun’s crime became far more severe.
Ju Jeokseo launched an investigation, refusing to rule out the possibility that the man was conspiring with the Imperial Palace.
And so, after their return from Jeokryusan.
Sirang asked back, her face utterly blank with shock.
“Pardon…?”
Her voice trembled.
“The young lady… is Ju Myeongyeong’s daughter…?”

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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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