The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 216

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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 8

Soya tilted her head as she looked down at the black creature that had opened its eyes wide and was trembling.

It seemed a bit suspicious to be an ordinary beast, but it was definitely a snake with its round and elongated shape.

“You’re the one who’s been following me around all day and spying on me?”

—Sp-spying!

At Soya’s question, the black serpent bristled with indignation.

Soya looked at the snake with great suspicion.

“That sounds like the voice of someone caught in the act.”

—N-no, I…

The snake, struck right on target, rolled its eyes around and around…

—Time to run!

Seizing the opportunity, it slithered away from Soya with a rustling sound.

“Where do you think you’re going…!”

Soya quickly grabbed the bow from the side table and chased after it.

The black snake slipped through the window and escaped onto the rooftop.

Despite having no legs, the snake was incredibly fast. Fast enough that even Soya, the hide-and-seek master of White Tiger Palace, could barely keep up.

It definitely didn’t seem like an ordinary snake.

Soya, who had climbed onto the rooftop in pursuit of the snake, straightened her bow and aimed the string.

The snake, which had been wriggling away, glanced back when it couldn’t hear the footsteps chasing it, only to jump in shock upon discovering the sharp arrowhead aimed at it.

—Eek! Are you planning to kill me?

“Stop right there.”

—N-no! If I stop, you’ll kill me!

Soya warned the screaming snake in a calm voice, but the terrified snake shook its head frantically and fled even faster.

However, no matter how much it sped up, it was still within Soya’s range.

“Oh my. Then I have no choice.”

Soya made a seemingly regretful sound and grinned as she infused her special ability into the arrowhead.

Both making regretful sounds when not regretful at all, and grinning while intimidating opponents were things she had learned from Father.

—Pl-please spare me!

The moment the snake saw the flickering light on the arrowhead and squeezed its eyes shut, letting out a terrified scream.

Pause.

Soya’s hand, which was about to pull the bowstring, suddenly stopped.

She lowered the bow she had been aiming and quickly turned to look in the opposite direction.

‘This is…’

There was a sharp, sour scent mixed in the wind that stung her nose.

Soya’s expression hardened.

‘The scent of evil magic.’

Soya left the fleeing snake alone and turned around, running toward where the scent of evil magic was coming from.

Catching that suspicious snake wasn’t important right now.

‘At least it doesn’t seem like a bad snake.’

Soya leaped from rooftop to rooftop, following the sour scent.

Gradually, the sinister smell grew stronger.

‘It’s this way!’

The moment she felt the source of the scent was close at hand.

Gasp!

The trail of the scent suddenly disappeared.

Panicked, Soya looked around frantically searching for the scent, but not even a faint trace could be felt in the air.

“I lost it…”

Soya muttered while catching her breath.

Could a scent really disappear so suddenly like this?

Perhaps she had sensed it wrong?

Just as Soya was standing blankly on the rooftop, feeling as if she had been bewitched by a goblin.

Rustle.

The sound of tree leaves rustling could be heard.

Soya’s eyes widened as she casually turned toward the sound.

Brilliant platinum hair like sunlight fluttered gently before her eyes.

A man who had become a complete adult stood on a thick tree branch, looking down below.

“…Got away.”

A voice that was unfamiliar yet familiar, and somehow nostalgic.

‘Could it be.’

Soya’s pupils shook violently.

‘This person is…’

At that moment, the man who felt Soya’s gaze raised his head.

The man who discovered Soya also froze in place.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Soya’s heart pounded fiercely as she looked at the man’s face she had finally encountered.

Brilliant platinum hair that sparkled in the moonlight and pure, beautiful blue-green eyes. Features that were much more refined and bewitching than she remembered.

This man with a languid yet cool atmosphere was definitely…

“Soya…?”

At her name flowing from the man’s lips, Soya unconsciously gulped.

Calming her trembling heart, she carefully opened her mouth to call out to him.

“…Your Majesty.”

The man who silently gasped at her call was none other than Irim.

The last time she had seen him, he had been covering his face, and unlike when he had just come of age, now that he was a complete adult, his face seemed a bit unfamiliar after such a long time.

At the same time… her heart fluttered.

It wasn’t only Soya who was surprised by this sudden encounter, as Irim also stared blankly at Soya, speechless.

The surroundings were quiet as if time had frozen.

No, what had truly frozen were probably not time, but the two people, Soya and Irim.

Whoosh—

While only the sound of wind enveloped the two.

“I vaguely imagined it for a long time, but couldn’t picture it clearly—”

Irim was the first to break the silence.

“So this is what you look like at seventeen.”

“…”

“I truly looked forward to seeing you grow up so healthy for such a long time. You’re so beautiful, Soya.”

He offered a warm greeting and gently curved his eyes.

The tense atmosphere surrounding the two instantly melted away warmly.

Thanks to this, Soya’s tension eased and her face flushed slightly.

“When you say it like that, it sounds like you’ve been waiting for hundreds of years.”

At her words spoken out of embarrassment, Irim smiled with an even deeper curve.

At the gentle laughter that quietly descended, Soya felt her heart tickle.

“Have you been well? How did you come to the capital… Ah, you came following the White Family Head.”

“Yes, that’s… since Hyeoni Elder Brother is in the capital. I came with Father to meet Elder Brother.”

Soya quickly used Ga Hyeon as an excuse, worried that her coming to the capital might seem strange.

“I see.”

Irim nodded and smiled warmly.

“But what brings you here at such a late hour?”

“Oh, that’s…”

After thinking for a moment, Soya told him about the scent she had detected earlier.

“The scent of evil magic…?”

“Yes, it was the same scent I encountered at the Imperial Palace three years ago.”

“Oh my. I came here to investigate a suspicious report, and if what you sensed is correct, this might be more serious than I thought.”

Irim muttered with a somewhat grave expression as he looked down below. At the end of his gaze was a small well.

Recently, incidents had occurred in the capital streets where young beasts harmed beast-people.

In the case of ignorant young beasts, such things happened quite often, so at first it wasn’t considered significant.

However, if the frequency increased, that would be another problem entirely.

While keeping watch, last night a young beast-person living in the vicinity collapsed unconscious while passing by the well.

Reading the report, Irim noticed that all the recent chain of incidents in the capital streets had occurred near dark wells.

So he came here personally to investigate and had been tracking suspicious traces when he lost the trail.

“Evil magic originally derives from the power of evil. So the scent of evil magic you detected is also a trace of evil itself.”

Listening to Irim’s explanation, Soya realized what he was worried about.

He was concerned that what she had detected might not be a simple scent of evil magic, but a trace of evil itself.

Above all, the existence of ‘evil magic’ meant that evil had not been completely destroyed.

“Don’t worry, Your Majesty.”

“Soya…?”

“Whether someone used evil magic by borrowing the power of evil, or real evil has awakened and left traces—”

The evil she had faced beneath the Black Marsh in the Northern Lands five years ago had fled far away, weakened but not completely destroyed.

Though the Divine Beasts told her not to worry, the escaped evil always remained in a corner of Soya’s heart as an existence that must someday be destroyed.

“I will be of help to Your Majesty. I will help Your Majesty defeat it.”

A firm light dwelled in Soya’s eyes as she declared that this time she would definitely destroy the evil.

She was so brave and remarkable.

Irim, who had been looking at Soya with a surprised expression for a moment, soon smiled warmly and responded to her.

“Thank you, Soya.”

“It’s nothing special. This is just… something I have to do.”

Soya added deliberately, feeling unnecessarily shy.

Irim, who understood her feelings, burst into gentle laughter once again.

Her snow-white hair swayed in the quiet night breeze.

Irim quietly watched that sight and unconsciously reached out his hand.

As his long fingertips gently swept over and arranged her disheveled hair, Soya held her breath and looked at him.

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Her heart began pounding again at their closeness.

Soya only swallowed dryly, not wanting to be caught looking foolishly nervous.

Then, the moment his fingertips brushed against her earlobe.

Startled!

Feeling heat rush to her face in an instant, Soya involuntarily flinched.

“Ah…”

In that moment, Irim’s hand stopped in mid-air.

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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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