The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 213

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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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Part 2, Chapter 5

While Soya was waiting for Irim like that, snowflakes began falling one by one from the sky.

As she was wondering whether she should return without meeting him, she discovered a shadow flickering beyond the window paper.

[Your Majesty…!]

Soya sprang up and shook her body vigorously to shake off the snow that had accumulated on her feathers, then approached close to the window.

[Your Majesty, it’s me, Soya.]

[Your Majesty?]

[Your Majesty, are you very sick?]

[Your Majesty…]

However, no matter how much she called, there was no answer from him.

Perhaps he was too sick and weak to hear her voice. Yes, that must be it.

Soya, who had been quietly staring at the closed window, dropped her head with a dejected heart.

Before she knew it, the tilted sun was slowly setting.

It was the time she had promised Mother.

Soya, who had waited for Irim sitting on the snow-covered window frame for a full half day, ultimately had to return without seeing him.

[He said I could fly over anytime, as much as I wanted, but did His Majesty forget his promise with me?]

Even though she knew that wasn’t the case, such childish thoughts kept occurring to her, making her wings droop as she flew back.

But some time after that incident, Irim, who had completed his Second Growth Stage, secretly visited White Tiger Palace.

[What? His Majesty came?]

Upon hearing the news of his arrival, Soya unconsciously ended up hiding.

Perhaps because of the incident when she had visited him last time but returned without meeting him, somehow facing him felt difficult.

For Soya, who had always confronted conflicts and problems head-on without avoiding them, this was a very rare and strange occurrence.

Soya, transformed into a Small Bird, hid between tree holes and secretly watched Irim greeting Father.

Perhaps because it was a secret visit, he was wearing a black face cloth, so his face wasn’t visible.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump—.

But why had her heart been beating so fiercely since earlier?

Irim calmly nodded at the words that Soya wasn’t there and left White Tiger Palace.

[Why did I do that? I should have approached His Majesty and greeted him instead of hiding.]

After he left, it was when Soya was belatedly feeling upset about not being able to offer even a single greeting.

[Soya.]

At the voice calling her affectionately, Soya was startled and raised her head.

Then there was Irim, sitting gracefully on the tree across from where she was hiding, looking at her.

[Y-Your Majesty?]

[I’ve been hearing a Baby Bird crying since earlier. Have you been well, Soya?]

Instead of asking why she was hiding in such a place, Irim greeted her with an affectionate voice.

Though his face wasn’t visible, he had grown much taller and his voice had become deeper, making him truly feel like an adult, so Soya unconsciously gulped.

[Congratulations on becoming an adult, Your Majesty.]

[Thank you.]

[I want to see Your Majesty’s face.]

[Sorry. My condition isn’t good enough to show you. It would be quite unsightly.]

Irim shook his head while avoiding her gaze.

Soya asked in an upset voice.

[Were you very sick?]

[I’m fine. More than that, I’m sorry for sending you away like that on that day, Soya. It snowed a lot—you didn’t wait long in the cold, did you?]

[How did you know I came by?]

Soya asked in surprise, opening her bean-like eyes wide.

Then Irim smiled silently and took out a Red Feather from his chest to show her.

It was the feather Soya had dropped on the window frame that day.

[Th-that’s…!]

My tail feather! Soya was so surprised to discover her own tail feather in Irim’s hand that she jumped.

There were wing feathers and other feathers, but of all things, she had to drop a tail feather from her bottom…!

[I’m sorry for not noticing you had come, Soya. Would it be alright if I kept this feather?]

At Irim’s words about keeping her tail feather, she felt somewhat embarrassed, but she couldn’t bring herself to refuse.

[More than that, Soya, how long are you going to keep hiding in there? Won’t you come over here and show me your face?]

Only then did Soya realize she had been sticking just her head out from inside the tree hole.

Soya flew toward the tree branch where Irim was sitting and primly sat at a spot slightly apart from him, folding her wings.

[I won’t show you my face either. Later, when Your Majesty shows me your face, I’ll show you mine then.]

[That’s quite disappointing, Soya. I was curious to see how beautifully you’ve grown at fifteen.]

Irim burst into laughter and gently stroked her head feathers.

Though belated embarrassment arose at her own childish words, Soya pretended not to notice.

His Majesty has become such an adult, but I don’t want to still look like a child.

When his laughter ceased, a gentle silence settled in.

Soya rolled her eyes and glanced at him sideways.

Since his face was covered with the face cloth, she couldn’t tell what expression he was making or what he was thinking.

When Irim looked at her, sensing her gaze, Soya was startled and quickly turned her head to the opposite side.

Once again, his laughter reached her ears.

She wanted to say something, but her beak was firmly shut and no words would come out.

Soya, who spoke well and made good eye contact when with other people, found it somewhat difficult today for some reason.

Even Soya couldn’t understand why she was acting this way.

‘Strange. I wasn’t like this when I met His Majesty before.’

Previously, when she was with His Majesty, she would chatter away telling her stories, so why did she feel so awkward and embarrassed today?

She had never been like this in front of her Elder Brothers…

And most of all…

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

The sound of her heart beating so violently since earlier was so loud that Soya was truly, truly worried it might reach His Majesty’s ears.

And so that day, Soya sat side by side with Irim on a tree branch, silently watching the sunset before they parted ways.

That was already two years ago.

However, since that day, Soya had not been able to visit Irim again.

It wasn’t for some childish reason like being sulky because she had gone to find him before but returned without meeting him.

It was just… the ticklish feeling she had experienced that day was both frightening and strange, making it somehow difficult to face him.

Irim must also be very busy, as he hadn’t been able to come to White Tiger Palace since then either.

Though it had already been two years since she last saw him, they still exchanged letters like this from time to time, sharing news.

Swish, swish.

The sound of the brush tip gliding across paper rang out elegantly.

Even when writing letters, the ticklish feeling in her chest remained the same.

It was distinctly different from the warm and cozy emotions she had felt when writing to Ga Hyeon just moments ago.

A somewhat strange feeling that she couldn’t quite name, one that kept making her feel ticklish and fluttery inside.

Yet it wasn’t entirely unpleasant either—such a very, very strange feeling.

Having finished the letter, Soya smiled softly and approached Chirpy.

“Chirpy. Please deliver this letter.”

“Peep!”

Chirpy, the skylark who was Soya’s longtime friend, carried her letter and flew off into the night sky.

* * *

Imperial Palace.

A handsome man with an elegant and cool atmosphere was walking under the moonlight toward his bedchamber.

It was Tae Irim, the nineteen-year-old Young Emperor.

Even before ascending to the throne, he had been famous for his exceptionally beautiful appearance among countless princes, and his beauty had bloomed even more upon reaching adulthood.

Brilliant platinum hair that seemed woven from sunlight, jade-like beautiful blue-green eyes, and straight, graceful features.

How many people, regardless of age or gender, were there who gazed spellbound at His Majesty’s bewitchingly beautiful form?

Perhaps this was what the character for ‘beauty’ would look like if embodied as a person.

However, the young His Majesty, whose very breathing was perfectly beautiful, had yet to take a consort.

The eunuch found this fact quite regrettable.

If only there were at least one lovely lady by His Majesty’s side to provide comfort to him, who had no blood relatives in this vast Imperial Palace…

Of course, knowing it was an presumptuous thought, he never voiced it aloud.

Just a month ago, hadn’t the tongues of ministers who petitioned the Emperor to take concubines nearly been cut off?

How could someone with such heavenly, noble-like beautiful features have such a cold and frightening temperament like a demon?

‘Still, I heard he had a kind disposition before ascending to the throne…’

Stealing glances at the young Emperor’s countenance, who exuded an atmosphere both languid and cool like a top predator, the eunuch sighed inwardly.

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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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