The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 297
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Part 2, Side Story 15
Whoosh—!
Rolling swiftly to evade the spear’s tip, I pulled my sword from the ground and immediately blocked the incoming attack.
Clang—!
Clang—!
Clang-clang—!
After exchanging several more blows, our spear and sword flew simultaneously through the air and planted themselves in the dirt.
“I lost again.”
Cheongha wiped away the sweat trickling down her forehead with the back of her hand, breathing heavily.
“What are you talking about? You won.”
As I pointed to my sword, which had flown slightly farther by the narrowest margin, Cheongha pouted her lips.
“You let me win on purpose. As if I wouldn’t notice.”
….
When I was younger, I couldn’t defeat Cheongha, whose growth had surpassed that of her peers.
But after my First Growth, my skills improved by leaps and bounds, and before long I caught up to her, gradually widening the gap until our positions reversed.
“Ugh, I really can’t beat you anymore.”
She was shaking her head and about to flop down onto the dirt when—
Tap.
I caught her shoulder with one hand.
“Huh?”
“Don’t lie down anywhere. Sit on this instead….”
As she blinked and turned to look at me, I spread my Outer Coat on the ground.
“Never mind, I’m fine.”
But Cheongha waved her hand dismissively and sprawled across the dirt anyway.
In doing so, her skirt fluttered, revealing her pristine white ankle, and my face flushed crimson.
“You…! You’re not a child anymore, so why do you expose your ankle like that…!”
“You’re just too rigid. In this Imperial Palace, you’re the only one who wraps everything up to your ankle.”
Unfortunately, my scolding fell on deaf ears.
“These days in the Capital, showing your ankle like this is fashionable.”
As Cheongha laughed and wiggled her ankle, I felt a dull ache in my head.
Fourteen years old and still as willful as ever, unchanged from childhood.
‘Look here. There’s no way I could have liked her….’
I spread my Outer Coat beside her and sat down with a sullen expression, thinking to myself.
That ‘affection’ I felt when we first deviated together at age ten must surely have been a mistake on my part.
‘We’re completely different in every way. Different personalities, different tastes….’
Of course, I sometimes envied her carefree nature, which differed so much from mine….
But then I suddenly thought that once she became Family Head, I would never see her like this again.
The moment that realization struck me as disappointing, my eyes grew heavy and dim.
“Oh right, Saeon. Have you heard about the Bandi Dungeon?”
At her sudden question, I flinched involuntarily.
Saeon was familiar with Bandi Dungeon.
At the end of the cave lay a forest where fireflies dwelled, which was how it had earned its name.
There was a legend that if a man and woman ventured together into that forest, they would become lovers—though he’d heard it was a place where the earth’s pulse twisted so frequently that entry alone was impossible.
“I’m not interested. That’s all superstition anyway.”
Saeon raised one eyebrow and spoke curtly.
“It’s not because of superstition—I’m just curious. I’ve never seen a firefly in the Eastern Lands.”
“Why would you want to see some glowing insect?”
At Saeon’s grumbling, Cheongha suddenly sat upright, asking with suspicion in her eyes.
“Are you afraid of fireflies?”
“Afraid? No, I’m just not interested in such things.”
Caught in his contradiction, Saeon averted his gaze and mumbled evasively.
“I was going to ask you to come with me, but if you don’t want to, I can’t force you.”
Cheongha retreated gracefully, though disappointment lingered in her expression.
‘What’s so great about some glowing insect anyway.’
Saeon scoffed inwardly.
* * *
Yet unlike his flat refusal before Cheongha, his thoughts now spiraled differently.
‘Maybe I should have agreed to go with her after all….’
The image of her disappointed face kept surfacing in his mind, making it impossible for Saeon to concentrate on anything else.
‘But….’
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Now fourteen years old, Saeon no longer cried at the sight of insects as he had in childhood.
That didn’t mean he welcomed them, however.
No matter how beautiful fireflies might be to others, to him they were nothing but grotesque winged insects with light emanating from their rear ends.
‘Insects really are a bit….’
He shuddered, his body trembling as he walked, when—
“So you’re escorting Cheongha tomorrow? Really?”
A group of boys his age passed by, their chatter catching Saeon’s attention.
“Cheongha said she wanted to visit Bandi Dungeon but had no one to accompany her. So I volunteered to escort her.”
“This guy—what if you end up becoming lovers and become a son-in-law of the Azure Dragon Family? There’s that legend about becoming lovers if you reach the end of the cave.”
“Haha, how could I ever presume such a thing….”
The boy answering with an embarrassed flush was someone Saeon had seen around before—the Second Son of Bear Family.
‘Cheongha is going to Bandi Dungeon with that boy…?’
Saeon’s brow furrowed slightly as he eavesdropped.
She wouldn’t need an escort, so he assumed she’d reluctantly found a companion because the dungeon required two or more people to enter together.
‘Well. At least it works out. I don’t need to go through the trouble of accompanying her.’
Saeon thought indifferently and turned to leave.
‘But….’
He stopped abruptly.
Narrowing his eyes, he questioned himself silently.
‘Surely nothing romantic will happen between her and that brute if she goes there, right?’
That man from earlier looked as rough and unkempt as a wild bear dwelling in the mountains—utterly incompatible with Cheongha.
It was a shame about Cheongha.
‘But what does that have to do with me? Whether anyone thinks it’s a waste or not.’
With that thought, I walked forward at a measured pace. Toward the Second Son of Bear Family.
“Ah, greetings, Young Master Saeon! What an honor to meet you!”
‘…Why did I come find this bastard myself?’
I regarded him with a displeased expression.
I had turned away, thinking I would pay no mind to her affairs, but when I came to my senses, I found myself standing before the Second Son of Bear Family of my own volition.
“I have long heard of Young Master Saeon’s renowned reputation! Should you ever grace us with your instruction, it would bring eternal glory to our clan!”
The Second Son of Bear Family bowed deeply to me, his entire body trembling with fervor.
“…Instruction, you say.”
I regarded him with a crooked expression and muttered, then immediately drew my Sword.
“Very well.”
“Pardon? Right now… you mean?”
The Second Son of Bear Family stammered as he saw the tip of my Sword pointed directly at him.
“What? Do you refuse?”
“N-no, of course not!”
“Then begin.”
I tilted my head, urging him to come at me.
“I-I shall commence aaaahhh!”
The moment the sparring began, a cry of agony echoed across the sky.
That day, I mercilessly and legally pummeled the Second Son of Bear Family and his companions who had been prattling on about becoming the Azure Dragon Family’s son-in-law.
‘Spouting nonsense about becoming a son-in-law when they can’t even last a few exchanges.’
They surely didn’t actually believe they could become the Azure Dragon Family’s son-in-law.
After all, it was already known throughout the Continent that the Family Head of the Azure Dragon Family determined their spouse through the Divine Artifact’s selection.
Yet knowing this, I was in a foul mood.
So much so that I had beaten the Second Son of Bear Family until he couldn’t even walk, and then proceeded to thrash his entire group as well.
Recalling those boys lying face-down on the ground, groaning and marveling, “As the rumors say, you are truly fierce…!”, I clicked my tongue lightly.
‘Now those persistent fools won’t bother me.’
And the next day.
Walking with a considerably lighter mood, I detected Cheongha’s presence and leaped onto a massive Zelkova Tree.
“What are you doing here?”
“Ah, Saeon.”
Cheongha turned to face me, holding a Letter in her hand with a serious expression.
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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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“Please stop releasing the side stories in reverse order. We have been waiting for chapter 3, but you keep uploading chapters 21, 20, 19, and so on. are you kidding us??