WCB 9

Chapter 9

The direct lineage of the White Tiger that ruled the Western Region were known to be born with extraordinary physical abilities.

Baek Saeon ran in one breath a distance that would take a week of continuous horseback riding.

Thus, the place he arrived at was the mountain fortress White Tiger Mountain Palace.

It was the massive estate of the White Tiger Family, more commonly known to people as the ‘White Tiger Palace.’

“F-Family Head?”

“Father?”

When Saeon returned in the middle of the night carrying a young girl in one arm, the people of White Tiger Palace came rushing out in surprise.

Among them were Baek Saeon’s two sons, second young master Baek Gahyeon and third young master Baek Gayul.

“Call a physician immediately.”

Saeon left the bewildered people behind and walked straight to his room, laying the child on the bed.

Looking at the child with a pale white face making only faint wheezing sounds, Saeon’s aide and eldest son of the Red Fox Family, Ho Jeokyeong, carefully asked.

“Who is this child, Family Head?”

“I picked her up on the way.”

Saeon answered nonchalantly with his arms crossed.

However, contrary to his indifferent tone, his eyes and aura were quite fierce with worry that something might happen to the child.

“You picked her up on the way…?”

“To be precise, I stole her.”

“Pardon?”

“Father, did you decide to become a thief?”

Everyone looked at him with bewildered eyes demanding an explanation, but Saeon kept his lips tightly sealed while only looking at the child.

Only after the physician was urgently summoned did his closed lips open.

“Heal her.”

“Y-Yes! I’ll h-heal her…!”

It was when the physician hurriedly tried to check the child’s pulse under his sharp aura.

Twitch.

The child’s eyelids seemed to twitch.

Slowly—

Her eyelids opened, revealing spring flower-like pale pink eyes.

Blink, blink.

The child blinked a couple of times and looked around.

‘Where is this place?’

The unfamiliar room was full of people she’d never seen before.

Thump, thump, thump, thump.

Instinctive fear arose from the unfamiliarity, making her heart pound.

‘Why am I here…?’

Soya searched her memory.

She had come out to see the summer festival with Hwayu…

While waiting for Elder Brother who didn’t come, an assassin wearing a black mask appeared…

There, by a tall man like Father whom she met by chance…

Soya’s rolling eyes found the only person in this room who wasn’t unfamiliar.

‘Ah…!’

At that moment, her face, stiff with tension, relaxed and a breath of relief flowed between her small lips.

“Cotton ball, are you conscious?”

Saeon asked the child in a seemingly worried voice.

“Yes, I’m fine…”

It was the moment Soya nodded and answered.

“Eek!”

Third young master Baek Gayul, who had been stealing glances at Soya, made a noticeably startled sound and quickly hid behind Saeon’s legs.

Gasp.

Soya was also startled by that sound and stiffened.

“Father, she’s incredibly small… It looks like she’d fly away if you blow on her…”

Gayul tugged at Saeon’s clothes and whispered quietly. Even while doing so, Gayul’s eyes remained fixed on Soya.

And for good reason, as there had never been a child as small as Soya in White Tiger Palace.

Soya was a full head shorter than even Gayul, who was the youngest beast-person in White Tiger Palace.

Seeing Gayul’s bewildered state, Saeon mischievously replied.

“That’s right. So you have to be careful, Gayul. If you don’t want to blow her away.”

“Gasp!”

Gayul quickly covered his mouth with both hands.

He fidgeted anxiously, worried that any breath that might escape could blow away that cotton ball-like small child.

Saeon chuckled and ruffled his son’s hair.

It was when Soya was blankly staring at that indifferent yet affectionate touch.

Saeon nodded toward the physician.

“Examine the child.”

“I-I don’t need to be examined.”

Soya waved both hands and said.

“This is all because I ate peaches… It’ll get better in a little while. Really!”

The words hastily added at the end came from worry that she might be troubling them.

“Peaches?”

One of Saeon’s eyebrows rose.

“Peaches are this dangerous?”

“Occasionally, when someone mistakenly eats food that doesn’t agree with them, the body can have a rejection reaction. I’ll prepare medicine to treat the swelling and fever for the young lady.”

At the physician’s explanation, Saeon’s expression became even more rigid.

“So you ate peaches knowing they would make you sick?”

“Ah, well, that’s…”

It was when Soya couldn’t answer and was hesitating.

“Dispose of all the peaches in the estate immediately.”

“Th-There’s no need for that…!”

Soya was startled and waved both hands.

“Yes, Family Head.”

However, Ho Jeokyeong was quicker to accept his command.

“And for the child…”

Saeon paused for a moment and looked at Soya, then said.

“Give her the western end room.”

“Yes, Family Head.”

“But Father. That room is…!”

Unlike Gayul who had been fidgeting and stealing glances at Soya, second young master Baek Gahyeon, who had been standing calmly and watching, raised his voice in panic.

“That room is?”

“N-No, it’s nothing.”

However, at his father’s questioning gaze that seemed to ask what could be wrong with it, Gahyeon obediently backed down.

* * *

Saeon personally carried Soya and brought her to the room.

“I… because of me… troubling you…”

Soya, whose fever had risen again in the meantime, fidgeted in his arms and mumbled.

“It’s not troublesome at all, so don’t worry and stay here for the time being. For now, it would be good to get a good night’s sleep and recover your health.”

“Yes…”

Even during that short distance, Soya’s vision was blurry from the fever filling her head, making her blink repeatedly.

In her hazy consciousness, she remembered taking the medicine the physician had prepared and falling asleep.

When she woke up after sleeping deeply like that, her body felt much lighter.

“The fever seems to have broken now…”

“But how can she be so small and soft? Look at this skin, white as rice powder. It’s like White Tiger Palace might melt away from how soft she is.”

“I can see why the Family Head called her a cotton ball. She’s really too cute, our little cotton ball Young Lady.”

At the murmuring voices nearby, Soya carefully lifted her eyelids.

At that moment, her eyes met directly with the unfamiliar women who were looking down at her.

“Oh my, Young Lady has woken up!”

“Hello, Young Lady. Are you feeling better?”

The unfamiliar women suddenly leaned their heads forward, startling Soya into shrinking back.

“Wh-who are you?”

“I’m Yeonjeong from the Red Fox Family! I’ll be serving you starting today!”

“I’m Sanho from the Blue Wolf Family! I’ll be protecting you! Wow, our Young Lady’s voice is so cute too!”

“Y-yes…?”

The woman with reddish-brown hair elegantly braided down and the woman with blue hair tied up in a single bundle introduced themselves in turn.

Soya felt dizzy from their rapid-fire introductions.

Then suddenly, she realized they were calling her Young Lady.

“Wait, Young Lady…!”

‘Young Lady’ was a term used for precious children like Miss Lili. It wasn’t a title that suited a bad little bird like her who had stolen from others.

“I’m not a Young Lady. Please just call me by my name, Soya…”

“Oh my, you’re the Family Head’s guest, so of course you’re a Young Lady.”

“G-guest? I’m not a guest, I’m just…”

Soya, who was about to say she wasn’t a guest but something stolen, suddenly hesitated.

She remembered Saeon’s words about how it would be troublesome if rumors spread.

[It would be troublesome. If rumors spread that I snuck into that chicken-head land in the south like a thieving cat and stole something.]

Saeon had looked very serious when he said that.

‘What should I do? I can’t let Saeon get into trouble because of me…’

Soya didn’t want to cause trouble for Saeon, so she couldn’t bring herself to object and just mumbled uncertainly.

Noticing Soya’s hesitation, Sanho quickly added:

“If we don’t show proper respect to the Family Head’s guest, that would be disrespectful to the Family Head as well. So please help us show proper respect to the Family Head, Young Lady. Okay?”

“Yes…”

Convinced by those words, Soya nodded while drawing out her response.

Though being called Young Lady felt uncomfortable, she didn’t want to cause trouble for Saeon who had saved her and brought her here.

Yeonjeong and Sanho looked at each other and grinned, then asked Soya:

“Then Young Lady, shall we start by washing you up?”

“Yes…?”

As she blinked at them, Sanho suddenly lifted Soya up in her arms.

They took Soya to the bathroom, scrubbed her clean, changed her into new clothes, and skillfully styled her hair.

‘So… fast.’

Soya could only blink in bewilderment, unable to believe everything that had happened overnight.

Suddenly she had been brought here, washed clean, and dressed in fluffy clothes.

She had gotten a pretty room, and people were neatly combing her hair.

Soya found this situation so awkward that she didn’t know what to do and just rolled her eyes around.

“In the Taehwa Kingdom, besides the Imperial Palace where the Emperor resides, there are four great estates that have been granted permission to use the name ‘Palace.’”

At this point, Soya’s ears perked up at the story Yeonjeong was telling.

Blue Sea Dragon Palace, the underwater palace of the Eastern Lands.

White Tiger Mountain Palace, the mountain fortress of the Western Lands.

Vermillion Bird Garden Palace, the heavenly estate of the Southern Lands.

Dark Earth Underground Palace, the realm of the dead in the Northern Lands.

By granting these four places the name ‘Palace,’ the Imperial Family directly recognized the authority of the Four Great Families.

“Our White Tiger Palace is one of them too.”

When the story of Vermillion Bird estate came up, her body flinched involuntarily.

But Soya pretended not to know and obediently nodded her head.

Then she suddenly noticed a gaze that had been watching her.

‘Huh…?’

Through the slightly open door crack, a small boy with pure white hair was secretly watching Soya.

‘That person was hiding behind Saeon’s legs yesterday…’

“Oh my, it’s the Youngest Young Master.”

Sanho and Yeonjeong, noticing Soya’s gaze, explained.

“There are three Young Masters in White Tiger Palace. The eldest, Young Master Gaya, the second, Young Master Gahyeon, and that person secretly watching you is the third, Young Master Gayul.”

“Young Master Gaya was drafted for war three years ago and hasn’t returned yet, but the other two Young Masters are here at White Tiger Palace.”

“Hmm, but that’s strange. The Youngest Young Master should definitely be in swordsmanship training right now.”

Soya listened to their explanation while glancing at Gayul.

His fine white hair and blue eyes resembled Saeon quite a bit.

But whenever their eyes met, Gayul would startle noticeably and pretend he wasn’t watching by looking away.

‘Why is he acting like that…?’

As Soya wondered what to do about Gayul’s behavior, Yeonjeong, who was styling Soya’s hair, smiled softly and whispered in her ear.

“The Youngest Young Master seems to want to become friends with you, Young Lady.”

“What? With me?”

Soya’s eyes widened in surprise. But she immediately shook her head.

“That can’t be.”