Chapter : 21
That day, the winner of the “Finding the Prettiest Pebble” game was Soya.
Soya personally thought the pebble Sanho had picked up looked prettier, but everyone insisted that the one Soya found was the most beautiful.
“But I think Sanho-nim’s pebble is more—”
Soya was still hesitating to accept the result.
Right then, Gayul—who had just paid dearly for neglecting his training and was staggering weakly toward them—caught Sanho’s eye.
“Young Master! Young Master Yul!”
Sanho quickly called out to him.
“Why are you calli— huh? Cotton Ball!”
Gayul turned at the sound of his name, spotted Soya, and his eyes lit up as he trotted over.
“What are you doing here? Why the pebbles? Are you making talismans out of these too?”
“You came at the perfect time, Young Master. Which one do you think is the prettiest?”
“Well, obviously this one— no, this one! This one’s the prettiest!”
He had absentmindedly pointed at a different pebble at first, but upon receiving a sharp glare and meaningful eye signals from Yeonjeong and Sanho, he hurriedly changed his answer.
It was a terribly clumsy correction, but more than enough to fool Soya.
“R-Really?”
Soya’s eyes grew round as she asked.
Before Gayul could answer, Sanho and Yeonjeong jumped in.
“Oh my, even Young Master Yul says Miss’s pebble is the prettiest!”
“See? What did we tell you? The pebble our young lady picked up is the most beautiful in the world!”
“Wow! Then Miss is today’s winner?”
“How is it that our Miss is even good at picking up pebbles?”
“……”
Soya, who had absolutely no immunity to praise, pressed her lips tightly together like a little clam, too shy to know what to say.
But her flushed cheeks and the corners of her lips creeping upward betrayed her excitement.
Noticing this, Yeonjeong and Sanho giggled softly and handed her three pebbles.
“Here you go, Miss. Your prize for winning!”
Thanks to that, Soya now had three pretty pebbles.
“With these, I can make one for Yeonjeong-nim, Sanho-nim, and even Jeogyeong-nim!”
Soya exclaimed brightly.
“W-What about me, Cotton Ball Miss?! Am I not getting one? Sob, sob… It’s already hard enough serving such an immature youngest young master, and now I’m the only one not receiving Miss’s pebble talisman while everyone else does…”
Suri wailed in an exaggerated voice.
“N-No…? But I only have three pebbles…”
Soya’s face filled with distress.
“D-Don’t cry, Suri-nim! Then I’ll pick up more pebbles and make one for you too—”
“Then how about we play ‘Who Can Pick the Most Pretty Pebbles’ this time?”
At Sanho’s suggestion, a new game began.
Together, they gathered a huge pile of pretty pebbles and brought them to Soya’s room.
Soya spread a large cloth on the floor and laid out the washed pebbles to dry.
While she and Gayul counted the stones, Yeonjeong brought in brushes and paint.
“What’s this, Yeonjeong-nim?”
“It’s glaze used for pottery. How about we paint the pebbles and fire them before giving them as gifts?”
“……!”
Soya’s eyes widened.
“That sounds wonderful! The pebbles will look even more amazing with colors!”
She clapped happily.
If they were painted, maybe even the Second Young Master would see them not as trash, but as proper, splendid talismans.
While they were busily painting the pebbles in bright colors, Soya suddenly spoke as if remembering something.
“Oh! Earlier, I saw a very pretty lady get down from a huge palanquin.”
“Ah, it seems the tiger lords from the branch families are starting to arrive. The Mountain Lord Festival will begin soon.”
Sanho explained while wiping paint off Soya’s nose with a handkerchief.
“The Mountain Lord Festival?”
“Yes. It’s an event where young tiger lords from the western lands gather to compete for the title of ‘Mountain Lord’ for the year.”
“Are they all tigers too?”
“Yes, they’re all tigers!”
Gayul, lying beside Soya and painting with her, lifted his head to answer. His face was splattered with colorful paint.
“They don’t have cool white fur like me, though— Ugh!”
“Oh dear, Young Master. You’re older than Miss, yet look at your face.”
Sanho shook her head and scrubbed his face with a handkerchief.
Meanwhile, Soya began carefully drawing a tiger on one of the pebbles.
“Oh my, another tiger?”
“Yes. This one is for the guests from the branch families.”
Soya felt a deep sense of responsibility, thinking that the number of tigers she had to protect had increased.
“They’re all Sa-eon-nim’s guests. I’ll protect all of them.”
Everyone smiled gently at her beaming face.
* * *
Sa-eon’s office.
“We discreetly inquired throughout the southern lands as you instructed, but there is no one who knows the name Soya.”
Sa-eon, who had been quietly listening at his desk, frowned.
“No one?”
“Yes. We even described her appearance in case she used a false name, but not a single person recognized her. Are you certain you truly picked up Cotton Ball Miss in the southern lands?”
“What, do you think I’ve developed senility at my age?”
“I was merely confirming. Even if the Vermilion Bird clan tried to hide the child, it would be impossible to conceal her this completely.”
“……”
“If you are not suffering from old age, then there are only two possibilities.”
“What are they?”
“Either Cotton Ball Miss is deceiving us with an impeccable trick, or she is a child from within the Vermilion Bird household who has never stepped outside.”
“A child from within…”
Sa-eon mulled over Jeogyeong’s words before asking abruptly,
“Didn’t Jeog A-yoon have a young daughter?”
“Yes? That’s correct. It was announced that she gave birth to a daughter nine years ago… Master, surely you’re not suggesting Cotton Ball Miss is the Vermilion Bird clan’s daughter?”
“Why not? The ages match.”
“Unfortunately, your guess is incorrect this time. The Vermilion Bird clan’s young lady recently celebrated her ninth birthday and was officially registered in the family records. Her name is Lili.”
“……I suppose. A clan’s daughter wouldn’t be chased by a Samjogo like that.”
Because of the child’s occasional refined manners, he had briefly entertained the absurd thought that she might be the Vermilion Bird clan’s daughter.
“Nine years old…”
The same age as Cotton Ball.
Beast-folk are recognized as full members of society only after successfully transforming for the first time, so their names are not publicly revealed before that.
However, considering the usual age of first transformation, registering a name nine years after birth was highly unusual.
“Given her age, might she have been a servant attending the clan’s daughter? It’s suspicious why they hid her so thoroughly.”
“Any information from inside the estate?”
“We attempted to plant someone within the Vermilion Bird estate, but security is too tight.”
“How useless.”
“That’s because you provoked the Samjogo.”
“In the end, nothing useful.”
Sa-eon sighed.
Since the day Soya collapsed due to issues with her spiritual core, he had investigated both her and the Vermilion Bird clan extensively—but gained nothing significant.
Other than that she must have been connected to the estate somehow.
His gaze drifted to a sheet of white paper on his desk.
It was the letter Soya had written to him in her tiny hand.
“Hey, Jeogyeong.”
“Why are you calling me in that ominously low voice again?”
“It’s about the letter Cotton Ball gave me.”
He fluttered the letter lightly.
“Isn’t the handwriting round and pretty?”
“No.”
“You don’t even know what I was going to say.”
“Even if she was educated enough to write in such round, pretty script, she is a bird. Not a tiger.”
“Cheh.”
Sa-eon set the letter down with a pout.
“More importantly, did you review the report I submitted on the branch family ladies?”
“……”
“Oh dear, look at the dust. I don’t even need an answer. You were too distracted by Cotton Ball Miss to open it, weren’t you?”
“I was just about to.”
Sa-eon replied halfheartedly and opened the report.
“I selected only the boldest and most intelligent candidates worthy of representing the White Tiger clan. We’ll be able to assess their abilities at this Mountain Lord Festival.”
The words Cotton Ball is bold and clever too nearly slipped from his throat, but he swallowed them.
As Jeogyeong had once said, making someone the clan’s lady wasn’t simply about doting on and cherishing them.
“Oh, and before this Mountain Lord Festival ends, you should also decide Cotton Ball Miss’s future—”
Right then—
“Master! Cotton Ball Miss is here to see you!”
Sa-eon, who had been listening indifferently, quickly set the report down.
“Send her in.”
The door opened, and Soya peeked inside.
She had a small bamboo basket slung over her shoulder with a long strap.
Each time she took a tiny step forward, the basket at her side swayed and made soft clattering sounds.
What’s that?
While Sa-eon’s gaze lingered on the basket, Jeogyeong smiled warmly.
“You’ve come, Cotton Ball Miss?”
That hypocrite.
Sa-eon shot him a dissatisfied look.
Just moments ago, he had been discussing her future, and now he was wearing that friendly smile.
“Ah, Jeogyeong-nim!”
Soya, unaware of any pretense, smiled brightly and rummaged through her basket.
“This is the talisman I promised you a few days ago.”
“Oh! What is this? Did you draw this yourself, Miss?”
“Yes! Yeonjeong-nim and Sanho-nim helped me!”
On the pebble talisman she handed over was a smiling red fox.
“I don’t know if I deserve something this precious. Thank you, Miss.”
Seeing Jeogyeong’s delighted expression, Sa-eon couldn’t help but comment,
“There’s no need to be nice to that ill-tempered red fox, Cotton Ball.”
“I made one for Sa-eon-nim too!”
Soya eagerly pulled out another pebble.
Sa-eon’s previously sulky face brightened at once.
“You didn’t have to go through the trouble of making one for me.”
Despite his words, he stretched out his hand eagerly.
“But Cotton Ball, why is there a cat drawn on mine?”
…Silence.
At his casual remark, everyone in the room glared at him.
“……?”
Confused, Sa-eon lifted his head—then noticed Soya’s drooping eyes.
“……!”
He stiffened, realizing his mistake.
“That’s not a cat. It’s a tiger…”
“……”
“The ears are round and perky, and the nose is pink… Is it not good?”
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