The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 161

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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 161

The fastest peregrine falcon beastman from the Vermillion Bird Mansion brought ominous news.

A great fire had broken out at the mansion…

The Family Head had been caught in those flames and couldn’t escape…

Upon hearing this, Sanyu immediately flew toward the Vermillion Bird Mansion.

However, news soon followed that Family Head Jeok Ayun, who ultimately couldn’t avoid the fire demon, had been severely injured.

At the successive tragic news, Hwayu stared blankly into empty space like someone who had lost his soul.

Why had Father, who should have been at the Imperial Palace, flown to the mansion alone?

Why had Father, a Suzaku beastman who controlled flames, been engulfed in fire?

There were so many incomprehensible things, but his mind, now blank as white paper, refused to think.

For several days, he couldn’t eat or sleep properly.

His time had stopped since that day he saw Soya’s red wing feathers.

[And, Young Master Hwayu. I have never deceived you.]

Along with those words, the image of that child spreading red feathers and soaring into the sky kept coming to mind, making his entire chest ache piercingly.

Hwayu denied what he had seen, and after denying it repeatedly, he finally had to accept it.

Soya was his younger sister.

Not a switched child, not a child who had deceived the family.

His pitiful younger sister who had been abandoned by her family for the sin of having a foolish father and elder brother.

After all the truth was revealed, he went to find Soya, but Soya wouldn’t meet him.

Then, after days of continuous waiting, just once, he was able to meet Soya.

“You tried to kill me, didn’t you? You hated me so terribly that you tried to kill me. You said so with your own mouth.”

However, when he tried to apologize, Soya spoke to him in a cold voice.

“That was…”

Suddenly his breath caught and his head spun dizzily.

It was because he immediately recalled when Soya was referring to.

[I hated that wench so terribly that I tried to kill her. Since Lili happened to be going to see that wench, I told Lili to feed that powder to that child.]

When it was revealed that Lili had fed poison powder to Soya.

Yes, he had definitely said that with his own mouth then.

That I hate you terribly. That’s why I tried to kill you.

Since Lili happened to be going to see you, I told Lili to feed that poison to you.

Lili, who knew nothing, was innocent… so please forgive my sister Lili and punish me instead…

In that moment… thinking he had to save Lili somehow, he had babbled whatever came to his mouth.

It was never his true feelings.

“It’s too late now to discuss apologies and forgiveness. We’ve come too far. So let’s live as if we don’t exist to each other, just like before.”

“Soya…”

At her words calmly drawing a line, tears streamed down his face.

“How, how can you say such a thing?”

Hwayu grabbed her as she tried to turn away, his voice mixed with gasping sobs.

“I’m sorry, Soya. I, I truly did terrible things to you. I’m apologizing like this, so please…”

Kind Soya must have pitied him, as she looked at him for a long while before slowly opening her mouth.

“Right now it might feel like a difficult and hard thing, but someday it will be okay. I know because I experienced it long ago first. Even such sad things as suddenly becoming strangers with people you thought were family, eventually become okay with time…”

“…”

“We’ve already spent more years not being family than the days we lived as family. So Young Master Hwayu, you might become okay a little faster than I did when I was young.”

At that gentle voice, Hwayu couldn’t make even the smallest sound, like someone whose breath had stopped.

“And please don’t come looking for me anymore. When you keep coming like this, the family members feel uncomfortable too. I came out today to say this.”

“…”

“Then farewell.”

With those final words, Soya turned around and never showed herself to him again after that.

Even so, that child’s phantom kept appearing before his eyes to reproach him.

―You tried to kill me, didn’t you? You hated me so terribly that you tried to…

―You tried to kill me…

―You tried to kill me…

―You tried to…

“No… All of this… I was deceived by Lili…”

It was when he was denying his own fault and squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

[Real younger sister my foot! Even before I first set foot in your mansion, that child had already been abandoned by you people and was hiding around in dirty beggar’s clothes!]

[And yet you make excuses about me! You dim-witted Suzaku!]

This time Lili’s voice echoed sharply in his ears.

“No, no, I…”

Hwayu clutched his head with both hands and shook it violently.

No. I didn’t abandon that child.

I didn’t abandon her.

I didn’t abandon her, but rather…

“I, I…”

I… what exactly did I do…

Drip.

Tears that flowed down again from his dry eyes ran down his stinging skin and dropped below.

It was when Hwayu had been shut up in his room for several days, fighting with auditory hallucinations without knowing how time passed.

A servant came carefully and said.

“Um, Young Master. The White Tiger Family says they will be leaving soon.”

Hwayu’s head shot up.

Who was leaving?

“We should also start preparing to return soon, but both the Family Head and Elder Brother are currently in the south…”

Hwayu, who had bolted upright, suddenly felt dizzy and swayed.

“Young Master…!”

Pushing away the servant’s arm that tried to support him in alarm, he staggered forward.

“No…”

Hwayu instinctively knew.

Once they left the Imperial Palace, he would never meet Soya again.

His staggering steps stopped in front of the pavilion where the White Tiger Family members were staying.

As if the news of their departure was true, the White Tiger Family members were moving about very busily.

Standing there blankly, he spotted a passing young man with reddish-brown hair and grabbed him.

“Excuse me, you…”

It was a red fox beastman who served the White Tiger Family’s direct lineage.

“I am Jeok Hwayu, second son of the Jeok Family. Please, I beg you. Let me meet Soya, that child, just once more.”

Hwayu pleaded like this even though he knew it wouldn’t work.

“Just once before you leave like this, please… just once…”

“Please wait.”

The red fox beastman glanced at Hwayu, then left only a brief word before disappearing.

Hwayu, who had expected to be turned away, waited with an anxious heart at those words.

After a while, the red fox reappeared and guided him to a room, telling him to follow.

“Is Soya… in this place…”

His rough voice trembled as it came out.

“Please go in.”

The Red Fox replied indifferently.

“….”

His Adam’s apple bobbed noticeably as he gripped the cold door handle.

Creak―

As he carefully opened the door and entered, he found a large bamboo screen set up in the room that gave off an unusually cool chill.

Beyond the screen, a blurry figure could be seen.

He needed to see Soya, he needed to see Soya.

But his vision kept blurring, making it hard to see that figure clearly.

“Soya….”

Hwayu called his sister’s name very carefully.

He suddenly realized it had been quite a long time since he had called that name.

“I thought you would never want to see me again. But you’re such a kind and gentle child… you’re allowing your pathetic elder brother.”

“….”

There was no response from beyond the bamboo screen.

Even so, Hwayu smiled hazily and began to fumble through his story with a voice mixed with tears.

“The day I first met you… I still remember it.”

The year Soya was born, he was four years old.

As a young child, he would stroke his mother’s swollen belly every day, greeting his baby sibling and waiting for them to come meet him soon.

But right after the baby sibling was born, Mother suddenly began to fall ill.

At an age when he didn’t even understand what “final” meant, he had to lose his mother.

At first, he hated the newborn baby sibling terribly because it seemed like they had stolen his mother away.

One day, seeing baby Soya smiling brightly at him, he turned his head away sharply and ignored her.

Then the servant women came rushing at the sound of baby Soya’s crying.

Everyone blamed Hwayu for making the baby sibling cry, caring only for that child.

Even though he hadn’t hit her or gotten angry, Hwayu felt wronged.

When sulking Hwayu was crouched alone in his room, his elder brother came to find him.

[Hwayu, why are you so upset?]

[Everyone only cares about that child and scolds me. I didn’t hit that child or get angry at her.]

Hwayu’s retorting voice was sharp.

Noticing this, his elder brother soothed his younger brother with a gentle voice.

[It seems like everyone doesn’t understand our Hwayu’s feelings, so you must be very hurt. But don’t hate your baby sibling too much.]

[But Mother died because of that child! If it weren’t for that child, Mother wouldn’t have died – that child stole Mother away!]

[We were still able to spend much more time with Mother. The baby sibling had to say goodbye to Mother after barely two weeks.]

Sanyu smiled sadly and comforted Hwayu who was shouting while sniffling.

The moment he heard those words, Hwayu’s head felt dizzy.

All along, he had only thought that his baby sibling had stolen Mother from him.

Without realizing that the young baby sibling also needed Mother.

[So shouldn’t we take good care of our baby sibling in Mother’s place? We’re Soya’s elder brothers after all.]

[….]

Even after Sanyu left, Hwayu crouched alone for a long time before going to find his baby sibling again.

The baby sibling who had been whimpering in the wet nurse’s arms stopped crying the moment he appeared.

Then she began smiling brightly just like before.

When he carefully reached his hand toward her red eyes, the baby sibling gripped his finger tightly.

He froze.

Hwayu’s hand, caught by the baby, stiffened rigidly.

He couldn’t ignore his baby sibling like he had just before.

That small hand that seemed like it could be pulled away with just a little force – somehow he couldn’t remove it.

Because he was captivated by his baby sibling’s bright smile.

From that day on, Hwayu cherished his young sibling especially, as if truly taking Mother’s place like his elder brother had said.

When he learned that the sibling he had cherished so much was evidence of Mother’s infidelity, the shock and sense of betrayal were indescribable.

In place of their collapsed father, he took away that child’s Spirit Core and sent her to the Cold Palace.

And he never visited even once.

He thought that was the right thing to do.

Because Father had done so, and everyone at the Vermillion Bird Mansion had done so.

Honestly… to be completely honest….

There had been times when he thought about going to see that child.

He missed that child who would spread her short arms toward him and hug him saying “Big brother!” when she was in a good mood.

He longed for that clear laughter that would ring out merrily.

He wanted to see those lovingly curved eyes and dimpled cheeks.

But whenever he thought of that child, feelings of betrayal toward Mother and hatred toward that child would always surge together, so Hwayu turned away from his desire to see his sibling.

Then after Lili appeared… he erased that child completely.

He deceived and brainwashed himself that he had never had such a fake sibling from the beginning.

“I’m sorry, Soya….”

Tears flowed down his eyes again as he brought up past memories one by one and apologized sadly.

“I’m really, really sorry….”

Was it because he had cried too much?

Or was it because he had grown weak from not taking care of his body?

From the moment he entered this room, his head kept buzzing.

“That day at the summer festival… I kept remembering your last face that I saw.”

Even so, Hwayu continued his story fumblingly, bringing up even his last memory with Soya.

“Your face as you smiled brightly at me, calling me elder brother and thanking me for that worthless bead bracelet.”

Tender longing filled Hwayu’s face as he recalled that day.

“That day we watched the festival together on the streets and ate peaches too. Looking back now, I ruined what was like a gift of a day. I still regret that day, and I miss it….”

That was when it happened.

Suddenly the air surrounding him sank coldly.

He froze.

Even with his head buzzing, Hwayu instinctively sensed something was wrong.

“So…ya…?”

As he called Soya’s name and tried to take a step toward the bamboo screen, his body suddenly stiffened rigidly.

As if paralyzed by something.

“Soya, why….”

With a rustling sound, the figure sitting beyond the bamboo screen gracefully rose to their feet.

His mind had been hazy the whole time so he hadn’t noticed, but seeing this standing figure… it was a bit too tall to be Soya.

The moment he realized this, Jeok Hwayu’s face hardened stiffly.

Swish―

With the sound of the bamboo screen swaying, a figure with snow-white hair pushed aside the screen and walked out.

“You….”

Hwayu’s pupils shook violently as he confirmed the other person’s face.

It was the White Tiger Family’s second young master, Baek Gahyeon.

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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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