The Little Baby Snake of the Vermilion Bird Family - Chapter 48

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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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Episode 48
“So don’t worry about such things.”
Baeksa opened her eyes wide and looked at Doeui.
Then she nodded briskly and answered.
“Yes!”
“It’s good to see you answer so cheerfully.”
“Hehe.”
Baeksa broke into a bright smile. Just then, Hwanya, who had been watching quietly, approached her.
And he spoke to her with a slightly awkward expression.
“If there’s any pain at all, tell me immediately. Contamination is a force that gnaws away and destroys a person. It might seem fine now, but there’s no telling what could happen later.”
A flicker of concern for Baeksa crossed Hwanya’s face as he spoke. Baeksa nodded once more.
“Don’t worry, if something starts to hurt, I’ll tell you right away!”
“Drowsiness too.”
“Yes, drowsiness too.”
The girl nodded. The bead floating gently beside Baeksa responded to her emotions and shimmered with light.
After absorbing the Contamination from Hwanya’s body, the bead seemed larger and smoother than before.
The girl, who had tapped that bead carefully, spoke hesitantly.
“Um, but… the more Contamination I absorb, the stronger my Abnormal Ability seems to become.”
That was strange.
‘I absorbed it before, but it wasn’t like this.’
Back then, she had absorbed until reaching her limit, and her body had been damaged. But this time was different.
The more Contamination she absorbed, the stronger her Abnormal Ability seemed to grow, and she felt she could do a little more.
The difference between then and now was simply the presence or absence of this bead. Yeoni cradled the bead carefully in both hands and murmured.
“Is it because of this bead?”
“It’s possible. The Dragon Tribe can do many things through the Cintamani. It’s not precisely known how far they can go, but…”
He gazed at Baeksa’s bead.
Baeksa’s bead lacked much of what a true Dragon Tribe Cintamani should possess. Rather, it was so dark and unimpressive that it barely looked like a Cintamani at all.
But.
“It’s possible to accumulate Abnormal Ability in the Cintamani, and it’s also possible to mingle your Abnormal Ability with another’s. For the Dragon Tribe, the Cintamani is little different from a part of their body—a repository where power can be stored.”
“But… I’m not a dragon. This little one doesn’t really qualify as a Cintamani either.”
Yeoni laughed weakly. Ju Jeokseo shook his head.
“You are a princess and the daughter of a dragon. Even if you were born as a serpent, you have half dragon’s blood flowing through you. So this bead likely possesses power similar to that of a true Cintamani.”
“Power similar to a Cintamani?”
“Yes. I wish I knew more about the Dragon Tribe, but so little is revealed about them to the outside world.”
Ju Jeokseo looked at Yeoni.
“But one thing is certain—your Abnormal Ability is special. Your mother had a special Abnormal Ability as well. It seems you’ve inherited that aspect of hers entirely.”
‘Mother.’
The word mother still felt unfamiliar. But hearing this, something came to mind.
‘That light.’
The small bird-shaped light she had seen before collapsing at the Detached Villa.
What had that white light been?
“Um… Uncle.”
Baeksa called out to Ju Jeokseo hesitantly. The word uncle still felt a bit awkward on her tongue.
But it was only awkward, not disagreeable, and she wanted to grow accustomed to it quickly. The child looked up and gazed at Ju Jeokseo.
“Now that I think about it, I had a dream where my mother appeared.”
“A dream?”
“Yes. When I collapsed at the Detached Villa… I saw a small bird-shaped light, and then after that, my mother appeared in a dream. Though I couldn’t see her face clearly.”
She should have mentioned this from the start, but with everything happening at once, she’d gotten around to it late.
“Could there be some connection?”
“If it was a bird-shaped light, it might be the power Ju Myeongyeong left behind that was absorbed into you.”
“Your Highness’s… I mean, Mother’s power?”
“Yes. Sometimes a part of an Abnormal Ability user’s power remains like that. But why it was absorbed into you only now is something I’ll need to look into further.”
“Yes.”
“I suspect the Spiritual Treasure reacted to you, and that power awakened along with it.”
He gazed at Baeksa with warm eyes as he spoke.
“If it’s the power in the form of a bird that you absorbed at the Detached Villa, there’s no need to worry greatly. That power won’t harm you.”
Baeksa nodded carefully.
‘Power that won’t harm me.’
She slowly savored Ju Jeokseo’s words once more.
Somehow it felt as if a small bird were fluttering in her heart.
As Baeksa smiled brightly, Ju Jeokseo, who had been watching her intently, spoke.
“Yeoni, since you said you needed a way to use your Abnormal Ability, I’ve allowed you to absorb Contamination, but don’t forget what I’m telling you today.”
“Yes, if it hurts, I absolutely won’t do it.”
“The moment you feel anything amiss, stop. And if you think your Abnormal Ability won’t run wild without absorbing something, then refrain from it. There’s nothing good about absorbing Contamination.”
He looked down at Baeksa with concern in his eyes.
“The source of Contamination is negative emotion and evil intent, the imbalance of heaven and earth, war, plague, and suffering from famine. There’s no need to say that absorbing such things would do you no good.”
The girl nodded with a quite grown-up expression, her eyes round and wide.
“Don’t worry, Uncle.”
“Yes, Yeoni will handle it well. But since our Yeoni is still young, let Uncle help you a little.”
He stroked Baeksa’s round head and smiled gently.
“When you’re all grown up and reach an age where you don’t need help, then I’ll make sure you can do anything on your own.”
“Yes!”
Baeksa broke into a wide smile and nodded eagerly.
A large, warm hand came to rest atop Baeksa’s head.
***
“Oh, Doeui!”
As everyone was leaving the room, Baeksa quietly caught hold of Doeui’s sleeve.
Doeui, who had been about to follow Ju Jeokseo, Hwaryeong, and Hwanya, stopped.
At this, Hwaryeong turned back with a puzzled look and asked.
“Why aren’t you coming out?”
“Just a moment.”
Doeui gestured for them to go on, and Hwaryeong nodded before heading out first.
Now only Doeui and Baeksa remained in the room. Sirang had also left, saying she would bring warm water.
“Yeoni, what is it?”
Doeui asked. Then Baeksa carefully placed something in his hand.
“Doeui, it’s this.”
What fell from her small hand were two of Yeoni’s scales, just like before.
Though as small as before, they shone brilliantly, suffused with Abnormal Ability.
“A Sacred Artifact? You gave me some before. So why again…?”
“In case it’s not enough… I made a little more while thinking of you. Please keep this too.”
Baeksa smiled shyly.
“I don’t know if it’s because you always say kind things to me… but when I think of you, I can control my Abnormal Ability much more stably.”
This was a very important matter for Baeksa.
Because her Abnormal Ability devoured everything indiscriminately, regardless of her will, she had always lived in constant worry.
But since coming to the Vermilion Bird Family, after hearing so many kind words, her Abnormal Ability no longer raged out of control as it once had.
Doeui studied Baeksa for a moment, then accepted the two scales.
These were the serpent child’s scales, but at the same time, they weren’t real scales. Since they were crafted as Sacred Objects using her Abnormal Ability, she wasn’t giving him her actual scales.
‘If they were real scales, I wouldn’t have taken them.’
Plucking scales would be painful and tedious. But if they were Sacred Objects created using her Abnormal Ability, that seemed acceptable.
And more than anything.
‘I need this.’
Doeui needed this right now. He held the scales precious and tucked them away carefully.
“Thank you. I won’t lose them, no matter what.”
“Oh, no! If I lose them, I can make more for you. Don’t worry, Doeui.”
“That won’t do. I can’t trouble you twice.”
Doeui, who had been studying Baeksa intently, suddenly scooped the girl up in his arms.
“Oh!”
And with that, he laid her down on the plush bedding, then tucked the thick blanket carefully around her.
“Thank you for caring, little serpent.”
Doeui patted gently over the blanket with his young hand.
“Now stop worrying and get some rest. You deserve to rest.”
Doeui lowered his head and pressed his forehead lightly against Baeksa’s.
Their round foreheads touched, and the warm glow of the children passed between them. The boy slowly lifted his head.
“Sleep well, and if you have a bad dream, call me.”
“A wraith dream?”
“Even if it’s not, you can still call me.”
After speaking, Doeui carefully arranged the blanket one last time, then left the room.
Baeksa, who had been watching him quietly, grasped the blanket tightly and buried her face within it.

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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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