TLBSV 10

Chapter 10

‘I told you not to touch my things, didn’t I? Whatever you touch ends up ruined!’ ‘In all of the Haeseo Empire, there is not a single existence more cursed and ominous than you.’

The venomous, sneering voice of Yeoryun that had clawed at her heart hundreds, if not thousands, of times. That hateful voice, which she had thought she would never have to hear again once she left the Imperial Palace, rang loudly and terrifyingly in Baeksa’s ears.

The child’s face drained of absolutely all color, turning a deathly pale.

I shouldn’t have touched it…

Yeoryun had been entirely right. Whatever she laid her hands on was completely ruined and became utterly worthless.

Knowing that full well, why on earth did she instinctively reach out her hands?

It’s all my fault…

Regret hit her so hard she wanted to sob, but there was absolutely no way to reverse what she had already done.

Staring blankly at Joo Jeok-seo’s deeply rigid expression, Baeksa frantically grabbed the hem of her skirt and dropped to her knees. Then, tightly clutching the ruined, faded white feather in both hands, she looked up at Joo Jeok-seo.

“I’m sorry. I’m s-so sorry, My Lord…”

Her tiny hands trembled violently.

Her mind went completely blank, and tears rapidly pooled in her wide eyes. She had absolutely no idea how she was supposed to beg for forgiveness here.

Should she tell him he could hit her until his anger faded, just like she used to do when begging Yeoryun for forgiveness?

Though Imperial Royals were never meant to kneel to anyone, Yeoryun and Song-ra had forced Baeksa to her knees countless times. Not only that, but they had constantly, viciously reminded her that she was an existence far lowlier than even the errand boys and maids who served them.

Because of that profound trauma, Baeksa genuinely believed that kneeling and begging for forgiveness in this moment was the only natural course of action.

“I-I didn’t mean to ruin it on purpose. I swear, it just happened without me even realizing…”

The white feather, having lost its brilliant five-colored light and now looking utterly pathetic, rested gently in Baeksa’s trembling palms. Perhaps because she had been left alone in that freezing snowfield for so long, her tiny hands were completely swollen and raw from severe frostbite.

Yet, she couldn’t focus on the agonizing pain in her fingertips in the slightest. Because she was in such a state of absolute, paralyzing panic, she didn’t even notice the pain.

Just as Baeksa squeezed her eyes tightly shut, waiting in terror for Joo Jeok-seo to pass his sentence.

Grab.

Joo Jeok-seo firmly grasped Baeksa’s hands.

At that sudden, unhesitating movement, the ruined white feather fluttered softly from her hands and fell onto her lap.

“U-Umm…”

“Why hasn’t the child’s hands been treated?”

He wasn’t asking Baeksa. The sharp, reprimanding question was directed entirely at Sirang, who was standing respectfully to the side.

Sirang quickly replied.

“The physician stated that the ointment needed to be applied while the young lady was awake, so we haven’t been able to treat them yet.”

“She is awake now, so tell him to come and treat her this exact instant. If left in this state for much longer, the frostbite will only worsen.”

“Right away, Patriarch. I will fetch him immediately.”

Sirang hurriedly bowed and rushed out of the room.

Baeksa looked up at Joo Jeok-seo with an expression of absolute bewilderment.

A feather that looked incredibly precious even at a glance was lying pathetically discarded on the floor. Yet, far from even giving the ruined feather a passing glance, Joo Jeok-seo was entirely focused solely on Baeksa’s injured hands.

He had a faint frown on his face, looking almost as if he were the one in pain.

Baeksa swallowed hard. The child’s large, tear-filled eyes darted frantically back and forth between the feather and Joo Jeok-seo.

With both her tiny hands still held firmly by the Patriarch, the baby snake asked in a voice so small it seemed to crawl.

“U-Umm, My Lord…”

“What is it.”

“Are… are you not angry…?”

“Should I be angry?”

“Because… because I completely ruined a precious item…”

“It is indeed a precious item.”

Joo Jeok-seo replied in an incredibly calm, steady voice. Baeksa’s fingertips twitched slightly in fear.

However, Joo Jeok-seo paid it no mind and continued speaking softly.

“However, it is certainly not an item so great that it warrants making a tiny child kneel in terror.”

Releasing Baeksa’s hands, Joo Jeok-seo nonchalantly reached down and picked up the blackened feather.

“This is likely your first time seeing one. This is what we call a Guiding Feather.”

“A Guiding Feather…?”

“It is an item meant to guide those who have lost their way. It was crafted by my younger sister.”

An incredibly precious item crafted by the Patriarch’s own younger sister.

She had completely and utterly ruined something like that, so why on earth was he telling her it was fine?

Up until now, every single person Baeksa had ever met in her short life blamed her entirely whenever absolutely anything went wrong or got ruined. Yet Joo Jeok-seo, far from blaming Baeksa, simply and calmly held the feather out toward her.

“This feather holds a very special, profound power. It sends those who are lost safely back home. And once it successfully returns them home, its light fades away exactly like this.”

With her swollen, aching hands, Baeksa carefully and hesitantly accepted the feather. Then, she slowly raised her head and looked up at Joo Jeok-seo.

“Seeing as this feather lost its power the exact moment it touched you, it seems this place must truly be your home.”

Hearing those incredibly warm, gentle words, Baeksa quickly lowered her gaze.

That can’t possibly be true, My Lord.

I am an ominously cursed snake who cannot live anywhere. Furthermore, the real reason this Guiding Feather lost its light was simply because my monstrous ability greedily devoured its special power.

Hearing Joo Jeok-seo’s overwhelmingly kind words, Baeksa finally made a firm resolve.

Because she absolutely could not hide the truth from someone so warm and gentle.

“U-Umm, My Lord… I have something I must tell you.”

Hesitating slightly, Baeksa finally opened her mouth.

“The reason this feather lost its power when it touched me… is because of the terrifying ability I possess…”

“Ability?”

The hesitant Baeksa nodded slowly.

“You may already know this… but I am a beastman of the Imperial Family.”

No, he undoubtedly already knew. The cruel Emperor had deliberately dressed Baeksa in garments symbolizing the Imperial Family before throwing her out into the Southern Lands.

“But I cannot use the glorious ability of the Imperial Family. Instead of that…”

Baeksa reached up and carefully unfastened a small ornament attached to her clothing. Then, as she very cautiously manifested her ability, the color of the ornament instantly turned pitch black before crumbling into a handful of ash, falling uselessly from her hands.

A horrifying, cursed ability that greedily devoured and ruined absolutely everything it touched.

Because it was the very first time she had ever laid the true nature of her ability so bare in front of another person, the child bit down hard on her lower lip.

“It was because of this… that your precious feather was ruined. I’m so sorry. But thank you, truly, for speaking to me so kindly.”

After a brief moment of silence, Joo Jeok-seo opened his mouth with an expression of genuine confusion.

“What exactly is this ability of yours?”

“Ah… it’s an ability that violently steals the energy from other people…”

“What absolute nonsense are you talking about? There is no such thing as an ability that merely steals from others. Every single ability possessed by a beastman manifests specifically to maintain the harmony of heaven and earth. Therefore, your ability must absolutely have a proper, meaningful name of its own.”

He replied in an incredibly calm, resolute tone.

Thoroughly bewildered, Baeksa blinked her large eyes and answered quietly.

“Ah… Royal Father called it… Absorption.”

“Absorption, you say… That is certainly the first time I have ever heard of such a thing. However, it sounds truly incredible. If you diligently hone and polish it, it will undoubtedly be of immense help to your growth in the future.”

At his completely unexpected reaction, Baeksa was utterly, profoundly shocked.

Incredible?

Objectively speaking, her ability was absolutely not incredible in the slightest.

How could it be? She was already widely considered a cursed, ominous snake beastman, and on top of that, she had an ability that greedily devoured anything and everything.

And yet he thought it was incredible? Was the esteemed elder of the Vermilion Bird Clan simply lying to make her feel better?

Just as Baeksa was reeling in absolute confusion, Joo Jeok-seo casually set the ruined feather aside and spoke.

“I was told you wished to see me.”

“Y-Yes, yes I did.”

“Is there perhaps something you wish to say to me?”

Baeksa slowly, nervously nodded her head.

“I… I have a favor I would like to ask of you.”

“A favor, you say?”

Gulp.

Baeksa swallowed thickly. Then, forcing her dry, trembling lips apart, she spoke.

“U-Umm… is it possible… that I could stay here?”

Her tiny voice shook pathetically.

Her large eyes lost focus, wandering aimlessly in the empty air. She looked exactly like someone who knew perfectly well just how utterly absurd and shameless her request was.

He had just saved her life from the freezing snow, and now she was brazenly asking him to let her stay here. She was truly an incredibly shameless, ungrateful child.

And above all, she was absolutely useless.

However.

If I don’t do this…

I’ll be thrown back out into that freezing, deadly place.

Sirang had said, ‘While you are staying here’ she would look after her. Which explicitly meant that, eventually, she would have to leave this warm place.

But if Baeksa left this estate, she truly had absolutely nowhere else to go. The only thing waiting for the tiny snake out there was that desolate, freezing snowfield.

Still kneeling on the floor, Baeksa looked up at Joo Jeok-seo with a desperately trembling expression.

“I know I am completely useless… but if you give me any task, no matter what it is, I will work incredibly hard.”

“…”

“I… I know you might be… incredibly uneasy because of the circumstances of my birth…”

“What circumstances of your birth? The fact that you are an Imperial Royal?”

“Y-Yes…”

The baby snake had never, not even for a single second, received the proper treatment or respect due to an Imperial Royal. Yet, that cursed birthright, which had absolutely never once helped the young girl in her entire life, had now become a heavy, suffocating shackle the moment she arrived in this distant land.

But she could not lie to the savior who had pulled her from the snow. Therefore, fully aware that the beastmen of the Vermilion Bird territory harbored a deep, vicious hatred for the Imperial Family, Baeksa had absolutely no choice but to confess her origins herself.

“So, you are trying to tell me you are not a spy sent by the Emperor?”

“Yes…”

Joo Jeok-seo’s brow shot up in surprise.

“You are quite clever for a young child.”

“Y-You truly do not have to worry about me.”

Her tiny hands tightly gripped the hem of her skirt. Baeksa spoke in a desperately resolute voice.

“Because I… I was sent here under a direct Imperial decree to die in this place.”