The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 264

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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 56

Rustle. Rustle rustle.

The soft sound of paper pages turning could be heard.

Soya, who had been dozing while blinking drowsily on a tree branch, slowly opened her eyes at the sound.

Someone was sitting beside her.

‘Huh…?’

Soya blinked her eyes and lifted her head.

A man with broader features than before was sitting next to her, reading a book.

‘His Majesty…!’

It was Irim.

Before Soya’s frozen, surprised eyes, thick hands elegantly turned a page.

The hands that had once been more delicate and beautiful than a woman’s now had prominent veins bulging on their backs, unmistakably those of a man.

Soya’s gaze slowly traveled upward.

A prominently protruding Adam’s apple came into view.

At the distinctly masculine presence she could feel, Soya unconsciously gulped and stole glances at it before quickly turning her gaze away.

This time, her eyes caught the blue-green hair ribbon that bound half of his platinum hair.

‘That’s…’

It was that silk ribbon, a relic of the former Empress.

‘He’s still keeping it.’

Soya was gazing at it blankly, lost in melancholy.

Glance.

Irim lowered his gaze to look at Soya.

Soya, who had been stealing glances at him unguardedly, found herself meeting his blue-green eyes directly.

‘…!’

Startled, Soya panicked, not knowing what to do, then hastily made “chirp, chirp” bird sounds, mimicking a bird.

Irim, who had been watching her quietly, extended his palm toward Soya.

Soya habitually placed one foot on his palm, but then realized her mistake too late…

‘It’s fine. His Majesty has no memories anyway, so he won’t know it’s me.’

Calming her startled heart, she nonchalantly fluttered up onto it.

Thinking he wouldn’t recognize her made her relax a little.

Irim gently stroked Soya’s head and asked.

“How did you get up here?”

“Chirp, chirp.”

“Those are feathers of a color I’ve never seen before.”

“Chirp, chirp.”

As Soya rubbed her head against his affectionate touch that she felt after so long, making bird sounds…

“How about revealing your true form now.”

Flinch.

At his following question, Soya’s body instantly stiffened.

“Chirp…?”

“How long do you plan to keep pretending to be a bird?”

His voice instantly took on a sharp edge.

In fact, Irim had known from the beginning that Soya was a beast-person, not a bird.

He had left her alone because her bird mimicry was somewhat amusing and cute, but he couldn’t let some unknown entity roam freely through the Imperial Palace gardens.

Soya hesitantly stepped backward and flapped her wings, intending to escape, but was immediately caught in Irim’s hand.

“Where do you think you’re going.”

“Chirp!”

Soya tried flapping her wings and struggling desperately, but realizing it was impossible to escape from his grasp, she went limp.

“Chirp…”

A sorrowful bird cry escaped at the fresh realization that Irim, who had always shown her only gentle sides, wasn’t as unconditionally affectionate as before.

Seeing the limp Soya, Irim smiled coolly and asked.

“So will you show your true form now?”

“Chirp…”

Soya nodded her head weakly.

Only then did Irim release her.

Soya squeezed her eyes shut and released her Beast Transformation.

Soon the red bird’s body changed into the form of a young woman with snow-white hair.

Pause.

A look of surprise momentarily crossed Irim’s previously indifferent face.

“You are… the Baek Family’s daughter.”

“I greet you for the first time, Your Majesty. I am Soya, daughter of Saeon, head of the Baek Ho Clan of the Western Deities.”

Soya gripped the hem of her skirt tightly with both hands and bowed her head deeply.

She was already embarrassed about being caught mimicking a bird, and the location was also inappropriate for giving first greetings to the Emperor.

She hadn’t wanted to reunite with him this way, and a feeling of disappointment washed over her.

“First time, you say. How disappointing.”

At those words, Soya looked up in surprise.

However, there was no particular change in Irim’s face as he gazed at her.

“We are acquainted, are we not.”

Soya soon realized he was talking about right after he had awakened three years ago.

“I was young then and committed a breach of etiquette.”

“It’s fine. I heard from Saeon. You had a weak body as a child and lost family members, so you were very frightened seeing me collapse.”

“Ah…”

It seemed Father had covered for her with that lie.

“With magnanimity as vast as the ocean, you forgive this girl’s rudeness, and I can only be grateful for such grace…”

At that moment, Irim leaned toward her without warning.

At the suddenly shortened distance between them, her words were cut off.

Soya looked at him in surprise, holding her breath.

Swish—

He gently touched her hair with his fingertips, muttering to himself.

“Pure white…”

“Your, Your Majesty…?”

When Soya called to him with a trembling voice, Irim raised his gaze to look at her face.

“…”

Irim stared at her intently as if trying to recall something, then pulled back and released her hair.

Rustle—

The flowing white hair fluttered gently in the spring breeze.

‘What was that just now…?’

Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.

Soya’s heart raced wildly at his sudden action.

“Oh my. You’re nervous.”

At her frozen state, he curved his eyes gently.

‘Were His Majesty’s eye-smiles originally… like that?’

Soya gulped and stared at his languidly curved eyes.

That deep eye-smile gave her a strangely dangerous feeling.

“I have deep ties with your family members. Stay comfortably and enjoy the festival.”

Irim smiled brightly and bid farewell to Soya before disappearing.

Soya stared blankly at the spot where he had vanished.

She felt exactly like she had been bewitched by a goblin.

“…He really doesn’t remember me.”

After a long while, a small whisper flowed from between her lips.

Recalling Irim’s attitude that seemed affectionate yet drew a cool line, her heart somehow ached.

But unlike three years ago, she didn’t burst into tears at that fact.

Because she had become an adult now.

* * *

Irim returned to his quarters in an instant.

In his hand was a single red feather.

It was something he had secretly taken when stroking the head of Soya in her beast transformation just moments ago.

‘A red feather….’

After quietly staring at it, he opened a drawer.

Then a small red feather appeared.

It was a baby bird’s tail feather, much smaller than the one he had just secretly taken.

Tilting his head slightly, he gazed intently at the two feathers placed side by side on the desk.

She clearly had pure white hair, yet when she transformed into a beast, she became a bird with red feathers.

He had heard that the young lady of the White Tiger Family was a Suzaku beast-person, but it was truly peculiar.

‘Cotton Ball…was what she was called, wasn’t it.’

Whoever had given it to her, it was a nickname that suited her perfectly—so white and fluffy.

When he had approached her, the way tension clearly appeared on her clear face was somewhat cute.

‘She cried so much that day. Today she didn’t cry.’

Suddenly recalling the sensation of hair wrapped around his fingertips, the sound of laughter ringing out from dim memories lingered in his ears.

“I should have asked her to laugh out loud once….”

He who had muttered such words without thinking suddenly came to his senses and shook his head.

What foolish thoughts was he having.

That woman was not the girl from his memories.

She couldn’t be her.

“Right. She certainly can’t be, so why….”

Irim quietly stared at his fingertips where the rustling sensation remained.

* * *

The Mujin Festival that began to welcome the Year of the Golden Dragon, which comes once every 60 years.

Countless banquets and feasts were being held inside and outside the Imperial Palace.

Just as Soya and Gayul were about to go see the festival in the city outside the Imperial Palace, Ga Hyeon happened to visit.

“Hyeoni Elder Brother!”

“What brings you here, Elder Brother?”

Unlike Soya who greeted him with a delighted face, Gayul looked at him with somewhat wary eyes.

“I came to see our Soya…. I came to see Soya and Yul.”

Ga Hyeon said with a gentle smile and an affectionate voice.

“It seems like you remembered my name as an afterthought?”

“That’s not true, Yul. Don’t think so negatively.”

Even at Gayul’s grumbling attitude, Ga Hyeon maintained a consistently gentle demeanor.

Ga Hyeon was very popular in the capital thanks to his mild and affectionate nature and handsome appearance.

Thanks to this, marriage proposals from young ladies of the capital who admired Ga Hyeon often came to White Tiger Palace.

When Soya would show interest with sparkling eyes, saying he might get married before Gaya Elder Brother at this rate, he would deflect by saying he had no intention of marriage yet….

‘Our Hyeoni Elder Brother is so fine, it’s natural he’d be popular.’

Soya looked at Ga Hyeon with a pleased expression.

“Today Cotton Ball and I planned to play together. No matter how much you beg to play with us, Elder Brother, it won’t work.”

Unlike such Soya, Gayul’s attitude toward Ga Hyeon was quite picky.

A somewhat pitying gaze lingered on Gayul for a moment.

Ga Hyeon firmly grasped Soya’s hand and affectionately entreated her.

“Soya, please take good care of our lacking Yul.”

“Yes, Elder Brother. Don’t worry. I’ll hold Yul Elder Brother’s hand tightly so he doesn’t wander off to strange places.”

At Ga Hyeon’s seemingly serious request, Soya also giggled and responded playfully.

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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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