Chapter : 2
“My name is Lili.”
The true young lady of the Vermillion Bird clan stepped through the gates of the estate, holding a crimson feather in her hand. She had luxuriant red hair and eyes that sparkled like rubies.
“I’m nine years old this year, and I had my first transformation not long ago.”
When Clan Head Jeok A-yun saw the blazing red feather—said to belong only to the direct bloodline of the Vermillion Bird—his eyes shook violently.
The girl said she had grown up wandering the streets, never knowing she was the daughter of the Vermillion Bird clan. Only recently, when she underwent her first transformation a little later than her peers, had she learned the truth.
“People told me that if I brought this feather here, I’d be able to meet my real family.”
Like the true young lady of the Vermillion Bird clan, she spoke clearly and confidently about why she had come.
“If that feather truly belongs to you, then why didn’t you transform yourself instead of bringing that with you?”
In place of his frozen father, Jeok Hwa-yu shot at her with a voice full of suspicion.
“Th-That’s……”
As the girl fidgeted nervously, his gaze sharpened further.
“How are we supposed to believe your words?”
“I-I will! I can do it—transform!”
After glancing around anxiously, the girl shouted—
Boom!
Squeezing her eyes shut, she transformed into a red bird.
“……!”
“……!”
Jeok A-yun and Jeok Hwa-yu stiffened where they stood.
There was no room for doubt—the child was a direct descendant of the Vermillion Bird.
But almost immediately, her transformation unraveled, and she collapsed onto the ground.
“Child!”
Jeok A-yun hurried forward and caught her frail body.
“My Spirit Core is weak…… When I transform, it strains my heart. I was gravely ill when I was little, but I didn’t receive treatment in time.”
The girl’s eyelashes trembled as she stammered out her explanation, almost as if making excuses.
“I’m sorry. I’m such a foolish child who can’t even transform properly……”
“Foolish? No! The fool is not you……!”
Jeok A-yun raised his voice and pulled her tightly into his arms.
“……The fool is not you, but me, who failed to recognize you.”
Holding her close, Jeok A-yun wept silently.
With the return of the “real young lady,” the clan was thrown into a celebratory mood.
The late Madam had not committed adultery after all—rather, a greedy maid had switched the children!
The stain upon Madam’s honor was erased, and the Clan Head’s long, unending anguish finally came to an end.
Of course, even amidst the warm and joyful festivities, So-ya alone was excluded.
So-ya was the sinner who had stolen the real young lady’s place and lived in comfort while the true daughter wandered the streets without proper food or shelter.
Even if none of it had been So-ya’s will, there was no escaping the piercing gazes directed at her.
Naturally, So-ya shrank further into herself and kept out of sight for a while so as not to draw attention.
And yet, of all days, today she had run into the young master and the real young lady while out doing the laundry.
‘I mustn’t let them see my face.’
So-ya flattened herself against the ground and bowed her head.
[If that dreadful face of yours catches my eye one more time, I may cut off those worthless wings of yours.]
The words her elder brother had left her with three years ago echoed painfully in her mind like a thorn.
Feeling his cold gaze sweeping over her, So-ya squeezed her eyes shut and curled in on herself even more.
‘If he sees my face, he’ll cut off my wings.’
Even though her Spirit Core had been taken and she had never once properly spread those wings, the thought of them being cut off was terrifying.
For a brief moment, Jeok Hwa-yu did not recognize So-ya.
Three years was a long time.
For a child in her growing years, that gap was even greater, so it was not strange that he failed to recognize her at once.
More than that, however, his eyes lingered on her shabby appearance and her swollen, split fingernails.
The So-ya he remembered from three years ago had always been loved by her family, eating and wearing only the finest things.
Her cheeks had always been plump and lively, and she had worn clean clothes.
But now……
“Oh my, who is this child?”
Lili peeked out and suddenly interjected.
“She’s a servant working in the estate. There’s no need for you to concern yourself with her.”
Jeok Hwa-yu answered as he turned away from So-ya.
“Oh, she smells. It seems she hasn’t washed. How filthy.”
Lili said, pinching her nose.
So-ya’s face burned red.
Now nine years old, So-ya was unusually small and frail for her age.
After her Spirit Core had been taken three years ago, she had not grown properly.
On top of that, she had not bathed properly nor done her laundry these past few days. To a precious young lady, she must have looked utterly pitiful.
Feeling ashamed of herself, So-ya curled her fingers inward, trying to hide her swollen, split nails.
“Pay no mind to such things. Come this way. Over there is the garden that our late mother cherished.”
Jeok Hwa-yu took Lili’s hand and led her in the opposite direction.
He had not mentioned it to deliberately wound So-ya.
He simply feared that Lili might take interest in her.
The members of the Vermillion Bird clan had not told Lili about So-ya’s existence—that before Lili arrived, there had been a wicked girl who had stolen the position of the “real young lady.”
The reason was simple.
They were afraid Lili would be hurt if she found out.
While Lili had wandered the streets without proper meals, So-ya had enjoyed everything that should have belonged to her.
If Lili were to learn that truth, how deeply wounded would she be?
She was already a child burdened with many scars.
“Wait a moment, Brother.”
Contrary to Jeok Hwa-yu’s hopes, Lili began to show interest in So-ya.
“Hey, lift your head. Let me see your face.”
So-ya didn’t know what to do.
Her brother Hwa-yu’s vicious voice echoed again in her mind—if her face caught his eye one more time, he would cut off her wings.
“I said, lift your head.”
When So-ya hesitated and failed to comply, Jeok Hwa-yu interjected with a faintly displeased tone.
“What are you doing? Lili has given you an order.”
Is it really all right to show my face…?
So-ya cautiously raised her head a little.
The moment Lili saw her face, her eyes sparkled.
“I want this child by my side! Please let her be my personal maid!”
Lili clapped her hands and cried out in a bright, ringing voice.
Jeok Hwa-yu stiffened in shock at the same time So-ya’s face turned deathly pale.
“But Lili, she’s too young and uneducated to serve as a maid. The attendants currently by your side are much more……”
“Oh, but the maids beside Lili are all older than me. I want a girl my age—someone I can be like friends with.”
Lili clasped her hands together cutely and feigned an earnest tone.
Yet Jeok Hwa-yu did not budge.
“Friends? What nonsense. How could you possibly be friends with someone of such low birth?”
“So you won’t grant Lili’s request? I hate you, Brother!”
Lili puffed out her cheeks and pouted in dissatisfaction.
Though the sight was adorable, Jeok Hwa-yu replied in a stiff voice.
“……This is something we must discuss with Father.”
The “fake” who had stolen the real young lady’s place—making her the real young lady’s maid?
No matter how one thought about it, it was strange.
However, their father Jeok A-yun thought differently.
“Very well, Lili. If it is what you desire, how could I refuse you?”
With a gentle smile, Jeok A-yun stroked Lili’s head.
“Yay! Father really is the best! Lili likes Father the most!”
When her brother refused her, Lili had stubbornly sought out her father instead. Now she bounced up and down in delight.
“But, Father—”
“It is Lili’s request.”
Jeok Hwa-yu tried to object, but Jeok A-yun cut him off in a voice that was both firm and soft.
Then, gazing at his daughter with affectionate eyes, he asked,
“Are you truly that happy, Lili?”
“Yes! It was Lili’s wish!”
Lili clenched her small fists and declared.
Her cheeks flushed rosy, she looked utterly lovable.
Had she not added her next words, the atmosphere might have remained warm.
“When Lili lived on the streets, I didn’t have a single friend my age. Everyone hated Lili. They teased and beat me, saying I was a beggar without a father.”
The expressions of both father and son darkened instantly.
Lili would sometimes speak of her days on the streets.
Whenever she did, even through her bright and cheerful tone, one could feel just how hard her life had been. It pained those who listened.
Perhaps it would have hurt less if she had cried openly, saying she was lonely and miserable……
With a bitter smile, Jeok A-yun spoke to her.
“Lili, would you step outside with your brother for a moment?”
“Hm? Just me and Brother?”
Tilting her head in confusion, Lili turned her gaze toward So-ya, who stood alone by the threshold of the room.
Dragged here at Lili’s insistence, So-ya had been staring at the floor the entire time, her face pale as snow.
Soon, Lili’s eyes curved sweetly as she answered.
“Yes, Father!”
After leaving a brief kiss on her father’s cheek, Lili took her brother’s hand and left the room.
Jeok A-yun watched her retreating figure with a gentle smile on his face.
But the moment Lili was no longer in sight, the tender smile vanished from his face as if it had never existed.
With eyes turned cold, Jeok A-yun looked at So-ya.
The stark difference between the way he had looked at Lili and the way he now looked at So-ya froze her in place.
“It has been a while.”
His voice, devoid of emotion, was directed at So-ya.
