Chapter 09
It was well known that the direct descendants of the White Tiger family possessed extraordinary physical abilities.
Baek Sa-eon ran a distance that would normally take a week on horseback—in a single stretch.
And so, he arrived at the mountain stronghold:
Baekho Mountain Palace—
more commonly known as the White Tiger Palace.
“M-Master?”
“Father?”
When Sa-eon returned in the middle of the night carrying a little girl in one arm,
Everyone in the palace rushed out in shock.
Among them were his two sons—
the second son, Baek Ga-hyeon,
and the third son, Baek Ga-yul.
“Call a physician immediately.”
Ignoring their confusion, Sa-eon went straight to his room and laid the child on the bed.
Looking at the pale girl, barely breathing,
his aide, Ho Jeok-young of the Red Fox clan, asked carefully,
“Who is this child, my lord?”
“I picked her up on the way.”
Sa-eon answered casually, arms crossed.
But unlike his tone,
His eyes were sharp with concern.
“You… picked her up?”
“More accurately, I stole her.”
“W-what?”
“Father, did you decide to become a thief?”
Everyone looked at him, waiting for an explanation—
But Sa-eon said nothing, only staring at the child.
Only after the physician arrived did he speak again.
“Fix her.”
“Yes, yes! I-I will—!”
The physician hurried forward to check her pulse—
when—
The girl’s eyelids trembled.
Then slowly opened—
revealing soft pink eyes like spring blossoms.
Blink. Blink.
Soya looked around.
Where am I …?
The room was unfamiliar.
Strangers surrounded her.
Her heart pounded with fear.
Why am I here …?
She tried to remember.
She had gone to the festival with her brother…
Waited for him…
Met the masked assassin…
And then—
a man like her father had saved her…
Her eyes rolled—
then stopped.
Ah…!
She found the one familiar person.
Her tense face relaxed.
A small breath of relief escaped her lips.
“Cotton ball, are you awake?”
Sa-eon asked, his tone slightly concerned.
“Yes… I’m fine—”
“Eek!”
Suddenly, a startled cry interrupted her.
The third son, Ga-yul,
who had been secretly staring at her,
jumped and hid behind Sa-eon.
Soya froze in surprise.
“Father… she’s so small… she looks like she’ll fly away if I blow on her…”
Ga-yul whispered, tugging on Sa-eon’s clothes,
still staring at Soya.
It wasn’t strange—
There had never been a child as small as her in the White Tiger Palace.
She was even smaller than Ga-yul, the youngest.
Seeing his son’s reaction,
Sa-eon teased him.
“Then be careful, Yul. Don’t blow her away.”
“Gasp!”
Ga-yul quickly covered his mouth.
worried he might accidentally blow her away.
Sa-eon chuckled and ruffled his hair.
Soya watched that scene blankly.
when Sa-eon turned to the physician.
“Examine her.”
“N-no, I’m really fine!”
Soya waved her hands quickly.
“This is just because I ate peaches… It will go away soon. Really!”
She added the last part hurriedly.
worried she might be troubling them.
“Peaches?”
Sa-eon raised an eyebrow.
“Peaches can do this?”
“If someone eats something that doesn’t suit them, their body may react like this. I will prepare medicine to reduce the swelling and fever.”
At the explanation,
Sa-eon’s expression hardened.
“So you knew peaches would make you sick—and still ate them?”
“Ah… well…”
Soya couldn’t answer.
“Dispose of all the peaches in the palace immediately.”
“T-that’s not necessary!”
Soya panicked.
“Yes, my lord.”
But Ho Jeok-young responded faster.
“And for the child…”
Sa-eon paused, looking at Soya.
“Prepare the west wing’s last room for her.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“But Father, that room—!”
Ga-hyeon, who had been quietly watching until now, spoke up.
“That room?”
“…No, never mind.”
Under his father’s gaze, he backed down.
* * *
Sa-eon personally carried Soya to her room.
“I… I’m sorry… for causing trouble…”
Soya murmured weakly in his arms.
“It’s not troublesome at all. Stay here for now. First, get some rest and recover.”
“Yes…”
Her vision blurred from the fever.
She barely remembered taking the medicine before falling asleep.
When she woke up,
Her body felt much lighter.
“I think her fever has gone down…”
“But how is she so small and soft? Look at her skin—it’s like powdered rice.”
“No wonder the master calls her ‘cotton ball.’ She’s so cute.”
Hearing voices nearby,
Soya slowly opened her eyes.
Two unfamiliar women were looking at her.
“Oh! The young lady is awake!”
“Hello, young lady. Are you feeling better?”
Startled, Soya shrank back.
“W-who are you?”
“I’m Yeon-jeong from the Red Fox clan! I’ll be serving you from today!”
“And I’m San-ho from the Blue Wolf clan! I’ll protect you! Wow, even your voice is cute!”
“W-what…?”
Soya felt dizzy from their energy.
Then—
She realized something.
“Wait… ‘young lady’…?”
That title belonged to someone like Lili—
not someone like her.
“I’m not a young lady. Just call me Soya…”
“Oh no, you are the master’s guest, so of course you’re a young lady.”
“A guest? I’m not a guest, I’m just—”
She stopped.
She remembered Sa-eon’s words.
“It would be troublesome if rumors spread that I stole something from the Vermilion Bird territory.”
If I say I was stolen… he might get in trouble.
Soya hesitated.
Seeing this, San-ho added gently,
“If we don’t treat you properly, it would be disrespectful to our lord. So please allow us to treat you well, young lady.”
“…Okay…”
Though uncomfortable,
Soya nodded.
She didn’t want to cause trouble for Sa-eon.
The two women exchanged smiles.
“Then shall we start by washing up?”
“Eh?”
Before she could react,
San-ho picked her up.
They bathed her.
dressed her in clean clothes,
and neatly styled her hair.
They’re so fast…
Soya blinked in disbelief.
Everything felt unreal.
She had been taken here suddenly—
washed—
given clean clothes—
a beautiful room—
and people caring for her.
She didn’t know how to react.
“In Taehwa Kingdom, besides the imperial palace, there are four great residences allowed to be called ‘palaces.’”
Yeon-jeong explained.
Soya listened closely.
Azure Dragon Palace of the East.
White Tiger Mountain Palace of the West.
Vermilion Bird Palace of the South.
Black Tortoise Palace of the North.
These four families were officially recognized by the imperial family.
“And this White Tiger Palace is one of them.”
At the mention of the Vermilion Bird family,
Soya flinched—
but quickly hid it.
Then—
She noticed someone watching her.
“…Huh?”
Through a slightly open door,
a small boy with white hair peeked in.
“That’s the youngest young master.”
“He’s the third son, Ga-yul.”
“The eldest is away at war, but the other two are here.”
Soya glanced at him.
His white hair and blue eyes resembled Sa-eon.
But whenever their eyes met,
He quickly looked away, pretending not to stare.
Why is he acting like that …?
Seeing her confusion,
Yeon-jeong whispered,
“I think the youngest young master wants to be friends with you.”
“What? Me?”
Soya’s eyes widened—
Then she shook her head.
“That can’t be true.”
