The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 136

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 136

 

At the same time.

 

Hwayu, who had not been chosen by Lili, was walking alone in the front courtyard of the pavilion.

 

He had deliberately chosen not to go with them, fearing that the awkward atmosphere between him and his elder brother would ruin Lili’s boat outing.

 

They had certainly been affectionate brothers in their childhood, but how had things come to this?

 

A sigh escaped him as bitterness filled his heart.

 

‘Of all times, that child had to appear in the midst of all this…’

 

Hwayu frowned as he thought of Soya.

 

Soya, who had appeared alive when they thought she was dead.

 

Sanyu, who had defended Soya and gotten angry at the family.

 

And Lili, who had known about Soya’s death that had only been told to Father and elder brother.

 

All these series of events and unresolved questions somehow made his head throb.

 

As he pressed his temples with his hands to ease the pain, he spotted his father deep in solitary contemplation in the inner area.

 

“Father.”

 

At that call, Ayun raised his head to look at his son.

 

“Your expression is dark. Is it because of Soya, that child?”

 

Hwayu knew that his father had rushed to the White Tiger Family again this morning as soon as he heard his report, looking for that child Soya.

 

Seeing him return with such a heavy expression, it seemed he had gained nothing.

 

‘Well, that child treated Father and us like strangers yesterday too.’

 

A child who had acted that way wouldn’t suddenly become affectionate overnight.

 

“If Father cannot maintain your composure like this, Lili will have a hard time.”

 

“…”

 

“Soya, that child has eaten well and grown well there with them. That’s enough.”

 

Hwayu spoke in a cold voice.

 

“Didn’t that child already say so with her own mouth? That she has a new family. So you don’t need to worry about me anymore.”

 

Hwayu’s brow furrowed slightly as he spoke up to that point.

 

Strangely, when he recalled the moment that child had said those words, his chest felt heavy and his throat became scratchy.

 

However, as always, he ignored such sensations and said,

 

“She’s a child we don’t need to worry about anymore.”

 

“…”

 

However, Jeok Ayun remained silent with his lips pressed tightly together.

 

He had been confused ever since facing Soya yesterday.

 

Even after a night had passed and he had gone to meet that child again this morning, he was still confused.

 

[What do you want to apologize to me for?]

 

That’s right. What had I wanted to apologize for?

 

It was a question that struck right to the point.

 

He had vaguely thought he should apologize for past events, but his mind wasn’t organized enough to carefully consider each wrong he had committed against the child.

 

[Are you talking about taking away my spirit core and sending me to the Cold Palace? So I had to live as a non-existent person for three years? Or are you trying to apologize for making me become Lili’s personal servant and watch you give that child the affection you once gave me?]

 

Nine-year-old Soya had been ignored by her family for three years at the Suzaku mansion, yet she had never once spoken of her unfair situation in such a way.

 

Rather, she was a child who lived quietly, holding her breath as if it were natural for her to be hated and ignored, keeping her head down as if she existed yet didn’t exist.

 

So perhaps he had thought it was okay.

 

Because Soya… was too young at that time.

 

And because that incident had now become a thing of the distant past.

 

Perhaps the child had grown up forgetting the wounds from that time…

 

But that wasn’t the case.

 

The child remembered exactly the wounds from her young days, the things they had done to her.

 

That fact tormented Jeok Ayun’s heart.

 

What was more tormenting was that he couldn’t properly apologize to the child for those past wrongs.

 

Soya had said,

 

If he was truly sorry, to return the ornament that Lili had taken away.

 

Perhaps that was the opportunity for atonement that Soya had offered him.

 

But the reason he couldn’t grasp that opportunity was…

 

Because on the day Lili crossed the main gate of the Suzaku mansion, he had vowed to give his everything to this child.

 

A sacred territory that couldn’t be touched, one might say.

 

Soya had seen through too clearly the essence of how he treated Lili.

 

A child who was so pitiful and precious to him.

 

A child who had wandered outside the mansion without even knowing who her father was until she reached the age of nine.

 

A pitiful child whose spirit core was damaged because of that, unable to even perform proper beast transformation.

 

A child left behind by his deceased wife in exchange for her life, but whom he failed to properly protect… a child living with countless wounds due to his failures.

 

For that reason alone, Lili was a child who deserved everything he had, and it still wouldn’t be enough.

 

But that untouchable sacred territory of his had been shaking with fine cracks at some point.

 

Though he had clearly recognized this after Soya appeared, he knew.

 

That fine crack that had appeared and settled like a hairline fracture one day had been shaking him from much earlier.

 

Jeok Ayun couldn’t remember when he had last truly smiled.

 

In front of Lili, he always smiled gently and warmly, but when the child wasn’t visible, that smile would disappear completely.

 

He also knew.

 

That the gentle smile he showed in front of Lili… was actually a very well-made mask.

 

At the end of three years of living like a madman, he met Lili and thought he had regained happiness.

 

But it was strange.

 

He should have been happy, but he still wasn’t happy.

 

When was the last time he felt happiness?

 

Now it was already eight years ago.

 

On her sixth birthday, when Soya, who had woken up earlier than usual even though it wasn’t time to wake up yet, came to his dark room in an excited state to wake him before her first beast transformation…

 

When he had conversations with the child who chattered away while barely eating, holding her spoon and saying she would become a magnificent baby fire bird too…

 

When he finally couldn’t help but burst into laughter and fed her, watching her open her small mouth like a bird’s beak and eat with “nom nom” sounds…

 

Yes, that day was the last.

 

The last moment when he felt happy and truly smiled…

 

“…”

 

Having thought that far, Jeok Ayun painfully closed his eyes and opened them again.

 

The child he had driven away with his own hands would never return now.

 

Those happy times were the same.

 

His heart ached painfully.

 

But for Lili’s sake, this was right.

 

Hwayu’s words were correct.

 

If he didn’t maintain his composure, Lili would become even more anxious.

 

‘No, is this really right?’

 

Suddenly, some doubt bloomed within him.

 

At the same time, Lili’s face, which bore no resemblance to his deceased wife, came to mind.

 

Why didn’t Lili resemble his wife at all?

 

Not her face… not her temperament… not a single thing…

 

“F-Family Head! Young Master!”

 

At that moment, one of the Suzaku Family’s servants came running frantically.

 

“A-a-a demon beast…! A demon beast has appeared at the Imperial Palace pond right now!”

 

“What…?”

 

“Fortunately, the generals who participated in the recent war are blocking it, but unfortunately it’s a plant-type demon beast that appeared from underwater…”

 

Jeok Ayun’s expression hardened stiffly.

 

* * *

 

This lotus demon beast that had burst out from the pond looked somewhat different from the typical demon beasts Soya had seen so far.

 

It was her first time seeing a ‘plant-type demon beast.’

 

Soya held her breath and stared at the demon beast.

 

“Wh-what is that thing? It’s disgusting!”

 

Lili screamed with a horrified expression on her face.

 

Soya glanced back at Lili.

 

Judging by her reaction, the demon beast that had emerged from the pond was definitely something Lili hadn’t anticipated either.

 

The appearance of a demon beast in the middle of the Imperial Palace wasn’t Lili’s doing.

 

Most importantly, Lili hadn’t used any evil magic yet.

 

‘Then whose doing is this?’

 

Soya couldn’t move rashly and just watched.

 

The black petals that had transformed into dozens of hand shapes were extremely disgusting, just as Lili had said.

 

Dozens of black hands that stretched out like vines from the demon beast’s body attacked the boats carrying people.

 

Bang! Bang! Crack!

 

It was when the boats were breaking and people were screaming.

 

Slash―

 

A long sword cut down the black hands that had stretched out like vines.

 

It was Saeon.

 

Not only Saeon, but young generals who had participated in the recent war were concentrated in this area.

 

Having experience dealing with demon beasts during the long war, they blocked the demon beast while rescuing people.

 

Fortunately, Soya and Lili’s boat was outside the lotus demon beast’s range.

 

Soya kept her eyes on the lotus demon beast attacking people.

 

The black hands that grew from the lotus demon beast’s petals kept regenerating no matter how many times they were cut.

 

‘Simply cutting them down won’t be enough to defeat it.’

 

Soya recalled what she had learned about demon beasts while receiving martial arts lessons from Sanho in the past.

 

[Plant-type demon beasts don’t die even when cut and regenerate, so unlike animal-type demon beasts, they can’t be defeated by cutting them down with swords.]

 

[They don’t die even when cut and regenerate? Isn’t that a big problem?]

 

[Hehe, don’t worry too much, our cute Young Lady. Plant-type demon beasts also have a very big weakness. It’s fire.]

 

Just then, Sanyu shot an arrow infused with his flame ability.

 

His arrow hit the demon beast’s body, but when the demon beast thrashed around a few times, water splashed up and the fire was quickly extinguished.

 

Unfortunately, because this plant-type demon beast was in the water, it couldn’t be defeated by ordinary methods.

 

‘This won’t resolve the situation. I need to find another way.’

 

Saeon and the generals must be aware of this fact as well.

 

However, they seemed too busy rescuing people who had been injured by the demon beast’s attacks and getting them out of the pond.

 

Meanwhile, while Ga Hyeon quickly stepped forward to command the remaining family members and tend to those who had come out of the water.

 

Gayul and Seolyeo, who were stamping their feet and trying to rush into the pond to help, were grabbed by the scruff of their necks by Gaya.

 

“Children can’t. Wait here.”

 

Gaya said, grabbing both children by the scruff of their necks with both hands and pulling them back.

 

“No! I have to protect Soya! Soya is on that boat over there!”

 

“That’s right! I have to protect Cotton Ball too! I decided to do that from the moment Cotton Ball first came to White Tiger Palace!”

 

Seolyeo and Gayul protested while struggling.

 

“If you jump into the pond right now, it won’t be Somsom who becomes endangered, but you two, right?”

 

“I don’t care if I get in danger!”

 

“Me too! I don’t care either! So hurry up and let go of this!”

 

At this, Gaya raised one eyebrow.

 

“Even if you don’t care, I do. If you two get hurt trying to save Somsom, our Somsom will be sad.”

 

“…”

 

“…”

 

At those words, Seolyeo and Gayul’s mouths closed obediently.

 

However, unlike their now-quiet mouths, the two children’s eyes were still filled with thoughts of needing to hurry and rescue Soya, making them restless.

 

Fortunately, Soya was quite far from the lotus demon beast.

 

Since she was in a place beyond the demon beast’s range, there wouldn’t be any danger, but it seemed like it would be good to bring Soya over here quickly, if only to calm down Gayul and Seolyeo.

 

“I’ll safely bring Somsom over, so don’t worry and…”

 

But at that moment.

 

“Soya!”

 

“Cotton Ball!”

 

Seolyeo and Gayul shouted simultaneously.

 

Feeling some instinctive intuition from the two children’s cries, Gaya quickly turned his head to look at the small boat where Soya had been.

 

Splash!

 

The tiger beast-person’s developed hearing caught the sound of someone falling into the water from a distance.

 

“Somsom…!”

 

Gaya’s face turned deathly pale in an instant.

 

On the boat where Soya had been just moments before, only the boatman and Lili remained.

 

Soya had fallen into the water.

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