The White Tiger Clan’s Baby Cotton Ball - Chapter 93

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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 93

 

Soya opened her eyes in an unfamiliar place.

 

‘Where is this?’

 

No, it was a place that was both unfamiliar and familiar.

 

‘Ah, right. This is…’

 

But then, she heard someone’s presence.

 

Soya unconsciously raised her head, and her eyes widened in an instant.

 

‘That person is…’

 

A man approached Soya.

 

Platinum-colored hair flowed down smoothly.

 

“How is your body?”

 

At the low resonating voice, Soya blinked her eyes.

 

‘My body? Why is my body…’

 

The moment she became aware, pain surged through her with a rush.

 

“Ugh…”

 

With a faint groan, red blood flowed down between her teeth.

 

‘Eek? Blood?’

 

“Bi…!”

 

She felt the man cry out in anguish and pull her into a tight embrace.

 

‘Huh?’

 

The man dropped his head onto her shoulder.

 

His large body holding her was trembling faintly.

 

‘Is he crying…?’

 

Soya tilted her head as she stared blankly at the man’s heaving chest.

 

At that moment, her mouth opened by itself.

 

“…Your Majesty, I have a wish… this spring…”

 

‘Huh? What am I saying?’

 

Soya tried to listen carefully to those sounds, but she couldn’t understand them well.

 

It was because even uttering a few short words was difficult, causing her to stop and breathe intermittently.

 

“Yes. I promise.”

 

The man embraced her body crushingly and whispered as if crying.

 

“I will promise you. I will definitely keep that promise.”

 

How strange.

 

“So please, get well soon, my…”

 

Why does my heart ache so much at the man’s voice that sounds exactly like crying?

 

It was when Soya was blankly pondering this.

 

Suddenly, Soya’s eyes snapped open.

 

‘…!’

 

It seemed like she had been dreaming about something just moments ago, but the moment she opened her eyes, she couldn’t remember anything.

 

However, her body felt very refreshed as if she had slept deeply…

 

‘Huh?’

 

Suddenly, she remembered the situation before falling asleep.

 

‘Why am I on the bed?’

 

She had definitely been waiting for her Elder Brothers to come find her…

 

“Soya!”

 

“Cotton Ball!”

 

At that moment, Ga Hyeon and Gayul, who had been anxiously waiting by the bedside for Soya to wake up, called out to her and rushed to embrace her.

 

“Waah!”

 

Soya barely managed to struggle free from between the Elder Brothers who had rushed at her simultaneously.

 

“How do you feel, Soya? Are you hurt or uncomfortable anywhere?”

 

“No, not at all.”

 

At Soya’s spirited answer, Ga Hyeon let out a sigh of relief.

 

“Thank goodness, really. We almost had a disaster.”

 

“That’s right, Cotton Ball. Because that Blue Shark bastard switched the Sea Pearl, if we hadn’t been able to find you like that…!”

 

Gayul shook his body with a shudder and vigorously shook his head as if he didn’t want to think about it.

 

“But Elder Brothers found me, right?”

 

“It wasn’t us.”

 

Ga Hyeon answered in a calm voice.

 

“Seolyeo found you.”

 

“Seolyeo did?”

 

At those words, Soya peeked her head out to look for Seolyeo.

 

But Seolyeo, who would normally be right next to her along with her Elder Brothers, was nowhere to be seen.

 

“Huh?”

 

Looking around, Soya belatedly discovered Seolyeo crouched in a corner with his back turned.

 

“Seolyeo!”

 

At Soya’s call, Seolyeo’s body, sitting with his back turned, flinched and trembled.

 

“Seolyeo, what’s wrong?”

 

However, Seolyeo didn’t turn around even at Soya’s call.

 

“Seolyeo?”

 

When she called again, Seolyeo slowly turned his head.

 

The area around his eyes was tinged red.

 

“Huh? Seolyeo, are you crying?”

 

Seolyeo, whose large eyes had been glistening, burst into tears with a ‘pop!’ the moment his eyes met Soya’s.

 

“S-Seolyeo?”

 

Soya was flustered by Seolyeo’s tears falling like chicken droppings.

 

“*Sob*, *sniff*, *sob*. I, I couldn’t protect you.”

 

Seolyeo rubbed his eyes with his sleeve and cried loudly.

 

“Huh?”

 

“I said I was the person who protects you. I should protect you. But I…”

 

“N-no! You protected me like this! Very safely!”

 

Soya raised both arms high to show that she was perfectly fine.

 

At that sight, Seolyeo’s sobbing gradually subsided.

 

‘Geez. Seolyeo doesn’t look like it, but he really cries a lot.’

 

Soya smiled softly as she looked at her kind friend who cried so much.

 

Seolyeo, who had stopped crying at some point, clung to Soya’s bedside and looked up at her.

 

“Are you really okay now?”

 

“Yes yes, Seolyeo. I’m perfectly fine. Thank you for finding me.”

 

Soya smiled brightly at the sniffling Seolyeo, then turned to Ga Hyeon and asked.

 

“What happened to the Blue Shark Family?”

 

“The Family Head was arrested for the crime of stealing a divine artifact and threatening the life of an honored guest.”

 

“Then did you get back the Azure Dragon Painted Halberd?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Wow, that’s a relief!”

 

Soya’s face brightened.

 

“But the young master escaped. That bastard who switched your Sea Pearl with a fake.”

 

“It’s okay. I think I know where he went.”

 

Soya spoke in a confident voice.

 

However, Ga Hyeon’s expression grew even darker as he looked at Soya.

 

“Soya. Did you know the Blue Shark Family was plotting something dangerous and do that on purpose?”

 

He had thought it was a bit strange.

 

That Soya, who had gone to reject the Blue Shark Young Master’s courtship proposal, suddenly changed her mind and said she would accept his offer.

 

That Soya, who had trained at the White Tiger Family for the past three years, had been so easily fooled by the sea pearl substitution.

 

And that she had disappeared without a trace.

 

If the Blue Shark Family had really switched the sea pearl intending to harm her, they should have sent Soya back to Azure Sea Palace safely.

 

Their purpose wasn’t simply to harm Soya, but to destroy the bond between Mother and the White Tiger Family.

 

“I had no choice. It was the fastest and best method. And I thought my elder brothers would come find me.”

 

Soya explained as Ga Hyeon instantly saw through her scheme.

 

“But there were variables. The sea scent was so thick that neither I nor Yul could find you.”

 

However, Ga Hyeon’s stern expression didn’t soften easily.

 

“And there could be such variables anytime, as many as possible in the future too.”

 

“Then should I have pretended not to know even after finding a way to help Mother?”

 

“That’s not what I mean.”

 

Ga Hyeon said, gripping Soya’s hand tightly.

 

“Let’s do it together from now on, Soya. Don’t try to solve everything by yourself.”

 

“…?”

 

“We’re family. I’m your elder brother.”

 

“…!”

 

Soya’s eyes widened belatedly.

 

“I was really worried after you disappeared like that, Soya.”

 

Ga Hyeon explained in a calm voice.

 

“If you had told me in advance, we could have found a safer and better method together. At the very least, if I had known where you were hiding beforehand, we wouldn’t have reached such a dangerous situation like yesterday.”

 

“Ah….”

 

Soya let out a short exclamation at those words.

 

‘Right. Why did I try to solve it alone?’

 

She had vaguely thought she had to solve it with her own strength.

 

It wasn’t because she didn’t trust her elder brothers.

 

It was just… she thought that awakening the Azure Dragon and retrieving the halberd for that purpose were both missions she had to bear alone.

 

Even knowing that her elder brothers, who cared for her specially, would worry if she suddenly disappeared, she deliberately tried to use that point to solve the matter.

 

Of course, it was something she had planned thinking they would find her right away, but as her elder brother said, if she had shared her plan in advance, she could have dealt with sudden variables without panic.

 

‘I was thinking wrong. I thought that was the best way, but it wasn’t. The truly best method is….’

 

Soya thought while looking at the back of Ga Hyeon’s hand that gripped hers firmly.

 

‘Doing it together with people who trust me.’

 

Looking back, she felt sorry for making them worry.

 

“I’m sorry. My thinking was short-sighted, Elder Brother.”

 

Soya apologized with her eyebrows drooping.

 

“I won’t try to solve things alone anymore.”

 

“Thank you, Soya. For understanding your elder brother’s heart.”

 

At Soya’s apology, Ga Hyeon gently patted her head.

 

Soya, who was smiling brightly among her elder brothers, suddenly spoke as if remembering something.

 

“Speaking of which, that Blue Shark Young Master. He’s probably right about now….”

 

“Hmm, that’s right.”

 

At Soya’s story, Ga Hyeon fell into thought for a moment, then soon smiled with his eyes crinkling as if he had a good idea.

 

* * *

 

That day, the festival was temporarily suspended to search for the missing young lady of the White Tiger Family.

 

However, after the incident was all resolved, Cheongha proclaimed that the suspended Dragon God Festival would be held even grander and more splendidly.

 

Thus, on the last day of the extended festival.

 

Soya went with her elder brothers to watch the martial arts tournament finals and also to see the ‘Song of Purumir,’ which was the ceremonial event of the Dragon God Festival.

 

When Cheongha wielded the Azure Dragon Painted Halberd in front of the massive Dragon God’s altar, the withered plants of the Eastern Lands bloomed green again, filled with vitality.

 

Among the cheering people, Soya clapped more enthusiastically than anyone.

 

“You’re so amazing, Mother!”

 

Soya’s shout was drowned in the people’s cheers, but Cheongha smiled while looking in her direction as if she had definitely heard that voice.

 

At this, a rosy blush bloomed on Soya’s face too.

 

After enjoying the festival for a while, when the sky gradually grew dark.

 

“It seems like it’s time. Shall we go?”

 

“Yes, Elder Brother!”

 

At Ga Hyeon’s suggestion, Soya’s group boarded a small boat to watch the fireworks display.

 

And beneath that sea where the fireworks display was scheduled.

 

The Blue Shark Young Master and his gang, who had fled, were hiding underwater waiting for the fireworks display to begin.

 

They planned to launch a surprise attack on the festival participants the moment the fireworks fell.

 

‘With even Father captured and things going so wrong, I must rescue Father even if it means taking civilians hostage.’

 

Soon, fireworks fell over the sea on firework sticks tied to long strings.

 

Ahan and the Blue Shark Family’s private soldiers leaped above the water surface.

 

Splash―

 

Ahan jumped out of the water with a fierce splash and climbed onto a small boat. But….

 

‘Huh?’

 

The small boat was empty.

 

Flustered, Ahan looked around and jumped onto another small boat nearby.

 

However, that was also an empty boat with no people.

 

“How is this….”

 

It was when he was muttering in a bewildered voice.

 

“We meet again, Lord Ahan.”

 

When he turned his head at the voice coming from behind, Soya was sitting alone in a small boat, greeting him with a bright smile.

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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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