DRP 40

chapter 40

From the start, Sion oppa firmly declared that he wouldn’t be going.

He said if he saw Saron again, he couldn’t guarantee he wouldn’t throw a punch.

My uncle sighed, saying, “You’ve trained as a warrior — where’s your self-control?”
But our Sion oppa didn’t back down, even against Uncle’s scary glare.

“If I held back in that situation, that wouldn’t be patience — it’d be injustice.”

“…”

“You think so too, Father, don’t you?”

And so, the family meeting proceeded without Sion oppa — the person most directly involved — and without Grandmother.

Actually, Grandmother had been away for several days already.
Every few years, the Five Great Houses hold a gathering in the capital, and this year happened to be the time.

She had left ten days ago, grumbling that the meeting was scheduled during such a busy harvest season.
It would be several more days before she returned.

Taking her place today was my uncle-in-law, Lord Radali.

“It’s been a while. There are some faces I’ve never met before, I see.”

I happily greeted him — his neatly braided golden hair gleaming. He smiled back with those familiar scarlet eyes.

“I’m not sure if I deserve to sit in on this discussion.”

“You’ve lifted the trading restrictions, haven’t you? And being from Yook Nation, your insight will help us greatly.”

“If anything, I’m the one indebted to House Hyun.”

Currently, Uncle Radali was running a small trading company.
Now that his daughter had grown and new trade routes had opened, he had nothing holding him back.

Using his best skill as a merchant — connections — he traded goods between House Hyun and the Snow Mountains.
He bought rare herbs and high-quality furs from there, and sold them imported supplies from us, building a good relationship.

“Thanks to that, Cheonghwa’s growing up so well.”

Cheonghwa — my cousin — her name means “Blue Flower” in the Gray Tribe’s language.
Both her eyes were bright blue, so the elders gave her that name. I heard she’s healthy and lively.

Once greetings were done, we got into the real meeting.

“The Sa family, yes. I’ve never met their main line, but I have encountered a branch family back in Yook Nation.”

As expected, Uncle Radali knew a bit about the Sa family.

“What were they like?”

“They were a tribe that practiced polygamy.”

Unlike our nation, Hle, where monogamy is the rule, Yook Nation allows all kinds of marital structures.
It’s full of tribes with unique customs.

Some, like the Lion Tribe, strictly follow polygamy.
Others, like the Earth Wolf Tribe, practice polyandry — one woman with several husbands.
And then there’s a bird tribe living by the sea, where women marry other women and raise children together.

“Wait, women can have children together?”

The question slipped out before I could stop myself, and the adults all made startled faces.

Oops.
I’d basically just asked a variation of “Where do babies come from?”

But Uncle Radali calmly answered, without even blinking.

“They get seed from strong, intelligent men.”

Hmm.
The world is much wider — and stranger — than I ever imagined.

There was one more thing we learned from Uncle Radali.

The Sa family used to be a military clan in Yook Nation.
They once had enough power to be considered a small warlord faction.
So it’s curious — why would they leave all that behind to settle in Hle Nation as merchants?

Uncle said he had a guess, but not enough evidence to be sure — it needed further investigation.

After a long meeting, we decided we would attend the banquet hosted by the Sa family.
We wanted to see for ourselves what kind of people they were — especially since they’d covered up Saron’s misdeeds to protect him.

But it was harvest season, and even gathering like this was difficult.
We couldn’t all go — only a few representatives.

“It would be best if men went,” Uncle Radali advised. “Those people tend to look down on women.”

“And why is that?”
Uncle asked, genuinely baffled.

It was understandable. After all, our family head is a woman — Grandmother.
Anyone who dared to look down on her for being female would end up shattered like a stone floor.

Even our calm-looking Aunt was a former soldier, and my mother — she was the best hunter in all of Seolgok Province.
She was so skilled in the mountains that even Grandmother admitted that, if they fought there, she couldn’t predict who’d win.

Including me, the haetae, the women of our family were basically invincible.

So Radali Uncle’s warning sounded all the more absurd.
Still, he — a man married to a powerful sorceress — nodded gravely in agreement.

“I don’t really understand them either. Nor do I want to.”

And that was the end of our discussion on lion tribes.

We decided who would attend: Uncle, Father, and me.
The four of us — with Uncle Radali joining — would go together.

Fortunately, the new road made travel much easier.
Otherwise, Uncle wouldn’t have been able to stay this long before winter.

And one more person would come.

After all, someone else had also been formally invited — and deserved an apology.

“Can we invite Baek-san too?”

My fiancé — Baek Hwirak, heir of the Baek family.

The Sa family’s estate was farther than Rose Village, famous for its tea fields.
It took about half a day by carriage.

So we planned to leave together in the morning when Baek-san arrived —
but…

“Hyeon?”

Before dawn had even broken, my overenthusiastic fiancé arrived early.

“It’s cold — why are you standing outside?”

“I figured you might do this.”

Unfortunately, my fiancé had a track record.
If I said, “Let’s meet in the evening,” he’d show up in the morning.
If I said, “Let’s meet in the morning,” he’d appear quietly at midnight and sit waiting on the porch.

And since I couldn’t just tell him a fake time, I’d simply gone to bed early and woken up early too.

“Come here.”

Baek-san hesitated in the dark, then sat beside me.

Perfect!
The moment he sat down, I threw the blanket around us like trapping a wild animal and snuggled into his chest.

Behold — the happy gimbap roll!
And the filling inside? A warm puppy, freshly heated by the ondol floor!

Heh.
I can still call myself a puppy — my small animal form is definitely hereditary.
Even with sturdy little paws, my frame was clearly that of a small dog.

Grandmother had even dug through our family tree, and — sure enough — somewhere far up the line was a small dog ancestor.
The portrait looked exactly like my transformed self — except her fur was snowy white.
She was a beauty.

But all her descendants had inherited the Hyun family’s infamous black coat, so everyone forgot until I came along.

Of all people, I had to inherit the tiny dog gene! How unfair!

“You’re warm.”

While I was sulking internally, Baek-san hugged me tighter.

He smelled nice.
I buried my nose into his chest, and he chuckled — his breath tickling my ear.

“I missed you, Hyeon.”

“Me too!”

His long silver hair, loosened by travel, fell like a curtain around us.
I couldn’t see his face clearly in the darkness, but that was fine.
The warmth was enough.

“Haah…”
“It feels like I can finally breathe again.”

And so, until dawn, we just held each other silently on the porch.

When morning came, my parents emerged from their room.
They weren’t surprised to see Baek-san there — just asked if he’d join us for breakfast.
They were clearly used to this.

I got up from his arms and blinked in the morning light.
No doubt about it — my fiancé had grown again.

He was thirteen this year.
By previous-life standards, he’d be a middle-schooler — but he already looked like a high-schooler, tall and broad-shouldered, even if his face was still boyish.

I brushed his messy silver hair back behind his ear.
He leaned into my touch, rubbing his cheek against my hand like when he was in tiger form.

So handsome.

Not in a shallow “he’s pretty” way — he truly was beautiful and strong.
Then, absurdly, I thought of Saron again — boasting about his looks and claiming he could seduce me anytime — and almost laughed out loud.

But wait…?

Looking closer, Baek-san’s outfit was… not his usual.
He usually preferred neat, dark, simple clothes — but today, he was dressed like he was attending a festival.
Silvery silk embroidered with shining patterns, and tiny platinum-and-sapphire earrings glinting on his ears.

Even his wristband — a simple leather one — made his overall look dazzling.

“Do I look alright?”
“You look amazing!”
“Glad the effort paid off.”

Normally, this time of year, the heir to the Baek family would be extremely busy.
Even at his age, he had official duties to fulfill.

So why come all this way?

“When I heard someone was trying to cancel our engagement,” he said quietly, “I realized I’d been too complacent.”

Reason one: He was angry.

“I shouldn’t have left your side for so long. I should’ve been with you all along.”

Reason two: Still angry.

“Your nose is precious, Hyeon. I’ll hold you close and protect it myself.”

Reason three: Definitely angry.

Yes.
My tiger had gone feral when he heard some arrogant lion cub tried to break our engagement.

He muttered that their whole family must reek — literally.
And while he grumbled, I calmly picked up my spoon.
Even righteous anger is best expressed on a full stomach.

After stuffing ourselves with breakfast, we got ready and set off.

Baek-san and I both caught up on lost sleep in the carriage, leaning against each other.
By the time we woke, we’d reached the Sa family’s village.

Before getting off, I transformed into a puppy again — best form for detecting foul odors.

“Hyeon.”

Baek-san opened his coat. I hopped right inside.

“Comfortable?”
“Woof!”

If the Sa family’s estate smelled truly awful, my plan was simple: bury my face in his chest and pretend to be sick.
That way, I could both avoid the smell and protect my poor nose.