DRP 55

chapter 55

As I hurried my steps, the cold wind brushed against my cheeks.

February.

The sunlight at noon had grown a little warmer, but the air at this time of year was still chilly and sharp. Of course, for members of the dog tribe, who were naturally fluffy and resistant to the cold, it was perfect weather for a walk.

“Thanks for letting me know.”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

I handed a snack into the palm of the servant who told me my fiancé had arrived.

I always made plenty of treats and scattered them around, but well—there’s no such thing as too many snacks.

“Thank you. Have a good time.”

The servant grinned and stepped away.

I waved to him and entered the rear garden.

Tweet. Tweet-tweet.

Five years ago, a pavilion had been built in the rear garden. A man stood inside it, back turned toward me.

With the wind blowing in the opposite direction, my fiancé didn’t seem to notice I’d arrived. I quietly watched him.

Whoever raised this fiancé of mine did a very good job.

He’d always been taller than his peers, but Baek San had only stopped growing once he surpassed my father—who was the tallest in the Hyun family—by a whole finger’s length.

And yet, his bones were even thicker, and the flexible, sturdy muscles on him added plenty of weight.

At first I thought all tigers were like that, but Baek Juseon scoffed and showed me her tall, slim husband.

Turns out, not all tigers grow enormous like So Baeksan or Baeksan.

I stared for a long time at the back of a man who’d grown like Mount Tai, yet never looked sluggish. Then my gaze warmed when I looked at his hair, half tied up.

His silver hair had grown so long and thick that it was difficult to tie it all up high like before. Now, he pinned only half of it, decorating it with a black silk ribbon or a hairpin.

He said that color meant it was “mine.”

Tweet-tweet.

He turned slightly toward the birdsong. His face caught the bright winter sunlight, and deep shadows curved along his features.

A breathtakingly handsome face.

Like a blue moon that had settled on everlasting snow.

Like a frozen lake wrapped in dawn light—unreal and beautiful.

“Hyeon.”

The person who smiled like spring whenever he saw me.

“Hwi-rok.”

I called my fiancé’s name and walked toward him.

✦✦✦

I only started calling So Baeksan “Hwi-rok” after he became an adult.

There was a reason I changed a name that had already become a habit.

“You two will marry, and then I will step down.”

“…Excuse me?”

Baeksan announced his retirement.

He said the moment I reached adulthood and married Hwi-rok, he would relinquish the position of head of the family.

He’d taught his son everything about leading the house, and as a parent, he considered his duties complete once he saw his child married and forming a household.

And… he wasn’t wrong.

Everyone accepted the announcement in an awkward daze, but Baeksan was very satisfied.

So after his declaration, I began calling my fiancé by his name. Once he became the clan head, I could no longer call him “So Baeksan.”

Someone asked why I couldn’t just call him “Baeksan” like everyone else.

Um… well… for me, “Baeksan” sounded too much like my future father-in-law. It felt weird.

“Hwi-rok.”

At first, the name didn’t come out smoothly at all. But now, the syllables melt gently off my tongue.

I flung myself into his arms.

Now I was finally tall enough to stand beside him and look reasonably matched.

I was sixteen, and my physical growth was almost done.

And it was all thanks to the Public Safety Bureau.

Honestly, I never thought that policy would actually help me grow.

It took so long for the Bureau to be established and start functioning.

The problem was that I had already finished clearing Seolgok by the time I was ten.

My body refused to grow, the Bureau kept getting delayed—my family worried as I stayed small for years.

But once the Bureau fully activated, my body made up for all that frustration and exploded upward in growth.

Now my height was 5 cheok 3 chon.

By modern measurements—about 159 cm. For a small dog-type beastperson, that was an impressive achievement.

Even in beast form, I just looked like a fluffy, compact dog. I probably wouldn’t get any bigger.

Meanwhile, Hwi-rok’s height?

6 cheok 4 chon—192 cm.

Standing next to him was like a cicada clinging to an ancient tree, but at least we looked like a couple.

That was enough for me.

“I missed you.”

I hugged him tightly. Hwi-rok cupped my cheek and bent down. His silver hair fell like a shimmering curtain as his finely sculpted eyes curved gently.

“I missed you so much.”

Warm lips pressed against the corner of my eye.

Heehee.

Eleven years engaged.

Our romance was perfectly healthy.

✦✦✦

We sat in the pavilion and prepared refreshments. Hwi-rok brewed the tea, and I arranged the snacks I’d made.

Today’s date was February 14th!

In my previous life, that was Valentine’s Day, so I wanted to make chocolate—but I couldn’t.

I still hadn’t gotten my hands on cacao beans.

It probably existed in Yuguk, but I didn’t know what it was called there, so I asked Mr. Philate to search for it.

Please, Mr. Philate! The fate of chocolate and hot cocoa rests in your hands!

“I prepared a special snack today.”

“I’m excited. The pride of the Hyun family.”

The “pride of the Hyun family” meant the snacks I made. Ever since Baek Juseon and I started making all kinds of sweets and sharing them with the clan and guests, they’d become a local specialty.

Weird, but delicious—apparently that was their charm.

Today’s snack was cake.

Packed with butter, drenched in sugar, baked dense and rich, then covered in sweet whipped cream.

“Tada.”

When I cut into it, the cross-section revealed dried dates and assorted nuts from Mr. Philate, studded throughout.

I cheerfully placed a slice on Hwi-rok’s plate. Beside it, I piled a small mountain of butter cookies I had given out to the household.

“How is it?”

“Sweet and delicious. Soft, and the nuts and dried fruit are fun to chew.”

My foodie fiancé’s cheeks flushed faintly.

“It would go well with bitter tea.”

“Or with milk or oolong tea.”

We emptied our plates and cups while chatting.

“Did the portrait arrive safely?”

Since I was nine, we’d painted portraits together—one for each of us every year.

It was an idea I came up with for my fiancé, who suffered terribly whenever we were apart for long periods, like when the Seomun seal was repaired.

After years, they’d become an album.

Our families liked the idea too. Soon they made it tradition to paint a family portrait every year and look through them together during holidays.

We were talking and laughing when Hwi-rok inhaled quietly, then said in a grave tone:

“This year, the Crown Prince’s birthday feast will be huge.”

“It’s in a month.”

“Mm. And I think we have to go to the capital together.”

I almost sprayed tea everywhere.

I had never attended events at the Imperial Palace. As a Haetae, I might faint from all the stench of corruption there.

And now—suddenly—this?

“They’ll probably search for a Crown Princess as well. That’s why it’s big.”

“Ah… it is that time, isn’t it?”

The Crown Prince, Hwi-rok’s twin brother, would be twenty-two this year.

There were few noble daughters of proper status, and political complications had made it impossible for the Imperial Family to choose a suitable Crown Princess.

The Emperor had only one recognized child—the Crown Prince. Even if dragons lived long lives, it was time to choose a spouse.

Still, I tilted my head at the suddenness—then understood.

Ah. If they announced it too early, all the noble ladies would flee like they did eleven years ago.

That’s why the invitation came just a month ahead!

Hwi-rok popped a cookie into my mouth, as if confirming I was right.

✦✦✦

This Crown Prince’s “birthday banquet” was really a political event.

Until now, Imperial celebrations had been modest. This time, the scale had tripled. Dozens more noble families were invited.

But there was an age limit: no one over thirty.

Which meant the Prince was shopping for future aides—and more importantly, a potential wife.

The Imperial Family was determined.

At least it was better than the previous dynasty, which had issued a blanket marriage ban across the Empire just to pick out a Crown Princess.

“We… have to attend, don’t we?”

“Probably.”

Ugh. Normally I’d skip it without hesitation, but this time we didn’t have a choice. That’s why my fiancé was watching me so nervously.

Once we married next year, Hwi-rok would become the head of the Baek family.

Which meant—

I would instantly become the official wife of the head of one of the Five Great Clans.

The Imperial Court was mostly inactive these days—there was no Royal Secretariat, no Inner Court. My grandmother had passed, my grandfather’s wife was gone, and Baeksan was officially single.

Only three clans had a head with a spouse: the Geum, Hong, and Cho families.

Which meant once I married…

I would become one of the top-five highest-ranking noblewomen in the nation.

My status would be nearly equal to the Crown Princess.

With status came responsibility. I could no longer live as the playful granddaughter pup of a Clan Head.

Attending events was part of my new duties.

“I wanted to stay Grandma’s baby puppy forever.”

But they were already preparing me to become a dignified adult dog.

Hwi-rok rolled his eyes dramatically.

I could practically hear him thinking way too loudly:

“Is she changing her mind? Does she not want to marry me yet?”

“Um… do you want to delay the wedding?”