The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 46

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

Episode 46
“……Why are you here?”
Hwanya opened his eyes narrowly.
“Didn’t you go with Father?”
“I heard you and Yeoni were alone, so I got worried and came.”
Hwaryeong answered in hushed tones, crawling on his knees as he entered and settled beside Hwanya.
He gazed at Baekyon sleeping soundly, then lifted his head and turned his attention to Hwanya.
“Well? She’s small and cute, isn’t she? I originally wanted to make her my little sister, but now she’s become my cousin instead.”
“She didn’t become your cousin—she was already your cousin from the start.”
“Tch, but I would’ve preferred to have her as my sister. A sister feels like closer family, you know? Cousins are a bit distant…….”
As Hwaryeong grumbled, a smile crossed Hwanya’s lips as he watched over his younger sibling.
But he quickly stiffened his expression, so no one saw that smile.
Hwanya replied in his usual calm voice.
“She’s small and cute.”
“Is that your only impression?”
“What more should I say?”
Hwanya asked back as though bewildered. Hwaryeong then shrugged his shoulders.
“I don’t know, something like being happy to meet a cousin…….”
“What I’m curious about is Aunt Ju Myeongyeong’s whereabouts.”
Hwanya answered coldly and curtly. He continued,
“Since this little snake apparently lived as an Imperial Princess in the Imperial Palace, there’s a high probability that Aunt is somewhere in the Palace.”
“And if she’s not?”
Hwaryeong asked again.
“What if she’s already passed away?”
“Then we’ll recover her body and give her a proper burial.”
Hwanya answered matter-of-factly. His gaze turned toward the sleeping Yeoni.
“I wish she were alive, but I also know the odds of her being alive are extremely slim.”
……
“If Aunt had been alive, she would never have simply allowed her own daughter to be abandoned in Namto.”
Before coming to Namto, Hwanya had learned roughly how Baekyon had grown up.
Through all those terrible and desperate circumstances, the figure of the child’s mother never appeared, not even once.
By that alone, Ju Myeongyeong’s survival seemed impossibly distant. Yet for Hwanya, her existence was supremely important.
If forced to choose between Ju Myeongyeong and Baekyon, he would naturally choose Ju Myeongyeong…….
But just then, Baeksa’s round and soft cheeks entered Hwanya’s view.
Those small hands too, and the hair gleaming white in the moonlight.
……
He narrowed his eyes.
Hwanya had believed this child meant nothing to him.
He didn’t know how Aunt Ju Myeongyeong had come to bear a child, but for Hwanya, the person of importance was his aunt, not her daughter.
Moreover, even if this child possessed that special Supernatural Ability to absorb Contamination, he doubted that ability would provide any practical benefit to Namto.
That was what he thought.
‘This is strange.’
He blinked.
Looking at the quietly sleeping little snake, he felt like an utter fool for having such a thought.
Between Ju Myeongyeong and this little snake, the child was far too young to weigh them against each other.
She was small enough that it felt almost sinful to judge whether she would benefit Namto.
Had he really harbored such thoughts about a creature this small?
And yet.
‘Looking at this child makes my heart feel strange.’
What kind of feeling was this, exactly?
Since “that incident,” Hwanya had never once experienced any special emotion.
Whether something sad or joyful occurred, Hwanya’s feelings remained always the same. His emotions stayed perpetually still and undisturbed.
But now, the moment he saw the little snake’s face, it was as though someone had cast a stone into the quiet lake of his heart, and ripples spread outward.
The two brothers kept their breath hushed as they quietly watched over the sleeping little snake.
Soft, gentle breathing echoed pleasantly through the room.
“I can’t help it—I want to sleep with Yeoni too.”
With that, Hwaryeong, who had transformed into his small bird form, settled himself beside the little snake’s cheek, his soft feathers pressed gently against her.
And he closed his small eyes.
Hwanya watched this scene for a moment, then carefully caressed both his younger siblings as they slept peacefully.
The sensation that touched his fingertips felt so faint and delicate it might vanish at any moment.
***
When Baekyon woke from sleep, her cheeks were damp with tears.
She must have dreamed and cried a little in her sleep. As she tried to wipe her tears with her sleeve, something rolled out from beneath the blanket.
“Huh?”
Looking closer, it was Hwaryeong, sleeping as though knocked unconscious.
He must have rolled off from Baekyon’s pillow as he slept. But Hwaryeong didn’t wake and continued sleeping soundly.
“My brother must have been tired too.”
She raised her head and looked out the window to find it was now night. Since she had no memory of eating supper or anything else, she must have collapsed and been brought here right away.
“It’s so hot…….”
Had they built up the fire too much? For some reason, the room felt even warmer than usual today.
After thinking for a moment, Baekyon carefully laid Hwaryeong on her pillow, then quietly slipped out of the Residence.
As Baekyon moved, the Bead that had been placed at her head drifted up and followed after her.
The night breeze was chilly. To Baekyon, dressed in thin clothes, it should have felt cold, but she still felt warm.
‘Why am I so hot…….’
Just as the child was about to step outside,
“Where are you going.”
A strange voice came from behind.
“Ah!”
Startled, Baekyon’s body jerked as she spun around. The Bead that had been drifting above quivered.
“……Why are you so surprised.”
Standing before her was Hwanya. In the darkness, his hair gleamed a deep crimson.
Only then did Baekyon, somewhat relieved, hesitantly turn back and look up at Hwanya.
“Oh, I…… was just startled by the sudden voice.”
“That’s understandable. Why did you wake up and come out? Is Hwaryeong bothering you?”
“No, no! I just felt a bit hot while sleeping…….”
“Hot?”
Hwanya tilted his head. Then he strode over and scooped Baekyon up in his arms all at once.
“Oh!”
“You don’t have a fever, do you?”
And he pressed his large hand firmly against Baekyon’s forehead. Hwanya’s hand felt slightly warm.
Baekyon blinked.
“I’m not sure…….”
“You seem to have a fever. I should wake the Physician.”
So that’s why she felt hot—because of the fever?
Hwanya’s hand felt wonderfully cool. Baekyon looked up at Hwanya with a small smile.
“Your hand feels so cool…….”
But then, something entered the little snake’s field of vision.
“Hm? Your fingertips are…….”
Hwanya’s fingertips had turned slightly black. As the child blinked, Hwanya clenched his fist to hide his fingers.
“It’s ugly. Don’t look.”
“It’s not ugly…….”
The child clamped her mouth shut and shook her head firmly. And she had experienced something like this before.
‘I turned black like this too.’
Wasn’t that why she was abandoned? Because even her form, which had been regarded as auspicious, turned dark and ominous.
But such marks? The little snake’s eyes widened as she looked up at Hwanya.
Hwanya let out a deep sigh.
“It’s from Contamination. I go to the borderlands frequently, so I often encounter it.”
Once those who had been touched by Contamination were infected, they succumbed to it at an accelerated rate.
Most of the Namto Beast-kin gathered in places relatively free of Contamination, but those still living near it often experienced such things.
Eventually, Contamination would consume their entire bodies, and they would die. Most of the Namto Beast-kin died this way.
So this was not unusual in Namto.
But what was strange was.
‘Brother Hwanya has a strong Abnormal Ability.’
That meant he should be strong against Contamination, so why had he been affected so visibly?
Then the little snake remembered what Hwaryeong had been grumbling about earlier.
‘The Family Headship will be inherited by my brother anyway.’
Holding onto Hwanya’s fingers, now stained black, the tiny Yeoni’s mouth opened slightly.
‘Could it be.’
That he’s been afflicted by Contamination far more severely than it appears?
Perhaps that’s why he’s been pushing Hwaryeong so harshly—because if he dies, Hwaryeong will have to inherit the Vermilion Bird Family.
The girl considered whether her Abnormal Ability could absorb this as well.
Since Baekyon’s Supernatural Ability indiscriminately absorbed whatever came its way, it seemed possible.
And besides,
‘This feels the same as the Owner of that Hand.’
So somehow, it felt like she could manage this, just as she had then.
“Let’s go call the Physician. You seem to be running a fever…….”
“Hwanya, wait a moment.”
Baekyon firmly grasped Hwanya’s fingertips and carefully activated her Abnormal Ability.
Then her greedy Supernatural Ability transformed into black energy and surged toward Hwanya’s fingers like a gaping maw.
“You……!”
But Hwanya had no time to stop her.
The next instant, the Black Bead, responding to Baekyon’s will, flashed brilliantly in midair.

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