Chapter 32
Soya, sitting on a rock and basking in the sunlight, looked deep in thought.
[“It feels like something has covered up your trail. Have you recently received anything suspicious from someone…?”]
When the second young master asked that, something suddenly came to mind.
The sachet she had received from Shiyo.
‘That sachet.’
More precisely, the scent that had been infused into it.
That must have been what made the beasts go wild—and erased her own scent.
By now, the fragrance had completely faded, and the sachet gave off no smell at all. So there was no evidence left…
‘Shiyo-don’t… like me.’
Soya knew it.
There had always been something sharp in the way Shiyo looked at her.
Soya had been on the receiving end of such looks many times before, and she was quick to tell whether someone liked or disliked her.
And yet, she had happily accepted the sachet because she had grown used to people’s kindness while staying in the White Tiger Palace.
Because she knew she would be leaving soon.
So before leaving, she wanted to feel the warmth of someone’s goodwill just a little longer…
‘How foolish… I nearly died during the summer festival because of this. I should have suspected the kindness of someone who dislikes me…’
But the idea that she had to doubt others made Soya feel deeply hurt.
She also had a vague idea why Shiyo might dislike her.
There was only one reason people disliked Soya.
Because she was a bad baby bird who stole from others.
But this time, she hadn’t intended to steal anything.
She just wanted to enjoy this sweet “for now” a little longer before leaving…
While she was lost in thought, fidgeting her fingers—
“Soya!”
Arang suddenly popped her head in.
“Are you okay? I heard you almost got into big trouble yesterday!”
“Lady Arang?”
“Baek Gayul, that idiot tiger! He’s all talk and no brains!”
Arang went on and on, spitting out insults about Gayul.
But in her voice, Soya could sense a faint concern directed at her, so she smiled and replied.
“Still, the young master is a good person.”
“What do you mean ‘good person’! He’s the biggest idiot among all the tigers I know! Don’t get too close to someone like that!”
“Please don’t hate the young master too much. I’m going to be leaving soon anyway.”
“Huh? Leaving?”
Arang’s eyes widened.
“Yes. A new young lady will be arriving soon, so I should vacate the room before then.”
“…!”
At that, Arang looked shocked—then suddenly grabbed Soya’s hands and shouted,
“Then come with me!”
“…Huh?”
“There’s a big lake at the Brown Tiger estate—you can swim and go fishing! And I won’t fall asleep alone if you come mountain climbing with me!”
Excited, Arang began listing all the good things about going with her without even pausing for breath.
“There are some stupid tigers there like Baek Gayul, but I’ll protect you so no one can bully you! So come with me—let’s go to my house!”
“Ah…”
Soya blinked at Arang’s enthusiastic speech, then smiled brightly.
“Thank you, Lady Arang.”
From Arang, who held her hand tightly and sincerely invited her, Soya felt genuine and pure goodwill.
Her gloomy mood from earlier began to lift at the thought that not everyone disliked her.
‘If I go with Lady Arang… maybe I can visit the White Tiger Palace again from time to time? Since she gets along well with the youngest young master.’
As Soya was thinking something that would make Arang jump in shock—
A palanquin passed through the gate, and a girl with long black hair stepped out with a sullen expression.
“Hmm? That girl—isn’t she Black Sahye from the Black Tiger family?”
At the mention of her name, Sahye looked toward Soya and Arang, but soon passed by coldly, sending a chill as she went.
“She doesn’t seem to be in a good mood.”
“I know exactly why.”
Arang snickered as she explained.
“She’s in love with Young Master Gaya. She’s always saying she’ll marry him.”
“Young Master Gaya?”
“Yeah, the eldest young master of the White Tiger family.”
Soya had heard the name before.
He was the same age as San-yu from the Vermilion Bird family, who was fifteen this year—the eldest son of the White Tiger family.
She had heard that Young Master Gaya resembled Sir Sa-eon the most among the three young masters.
“But if she becomes part of the White Tiger family, then she and Young Master Gaya would become siblings. So she was going to skip the Mountain God Festival, but her parents forced her to come.”
“I’m not sure, but that must be very upsetting.”
Soya had never experienced romantic feelings herself, so she didn’t fully understand.
But she could imagine it would be very painful to be forced into something you didn’t want.
“Anyway, that’s why Eun Shiyo is so confident. Since neither I nor Sahye are interested in the direct line position, he thinks the west wing is his.”
“I see.”
At the mention of Shiyo’s name, Soya paused briefly—but then answered calmly as if nothing had happened.
Arang stuck close to her and chatted about various things.
Thanks to that, Soya’s worries faded away, and she soon found herself smiling more brightly.
‘If I stay with Lady Arang… I might get to visit the White Tiger Palace again.’
At that moment—
‘Huh?’
Something black caught Soya’s eye in the distance.
‘That child is…?’
Suddenly—
Soya stood up, startling Arang.
“Soya? Where are you going!”
“I have somewhere to go! Let’s talk again later, Lady Arang!”
Leaving Arang behind, Soya ran toward the back of the building where she had seen the black figure.
“Kyung, kyung!”
Behind the empty building, Seol-yo was there, wagging its tail and sticking out its tongue toward Soya.
“Seol-yo…!”
“Kyuuang!”
Soya was happy to see the little creature jumping toward her, but also worried.
“…You shouldn’t be here. Go back up the mountain quickly.”
“Kiing… ng…”
Seol-yo shook its head, refusing.
“Oh dear… if someone sees you like this…”
Soya was deeply worried that Seol-yo might be discovered and harmed.
Just then—
“It seems you’ve made a new friend.”
“Sir Sa-eon…!”
Soya turned toward the voice with relief.
There stood Sa-eon, whom she hadn’t seen in two days.
Since he had gone out early the previous morning and returned late at night, this was their first meeting in a while.
Soya was happy to see him, but also worried about Seol-yo, so she quickly explained.
“Ah, this child is not a bad one—”
“Don’t worry, little cotton ball. I don’t intend to harm your friend.”
Sa-eon reassured her, glancing at Seol-yo.
“I picked this one up.”
“Huh? You did, Sir Sa-eon?”
Soya blinked and tilted her head.
“Then… is this child something you stole, like me?”
“Something like that.”
“…!”
At his calm affirmation, Soya looked shocked and quickly glanced around.
Fortunately, no one else had overheard their conversation.
“Phew.”
“Why the sigh?”
“It would be troublesome if someone heard. If rumors spread that Sir Sa-eon stole something like a stray cat…”
“What?”
Sa-eon looked surprised—then suddenly burst out laughing.
He remembered what he had told the child on the day he first brought her here.
“Right. Then you must keep my secret, little cotton ball.”
“Yes, don’t worry!”
Soya clenched her fists and replied energetically.
“Hm, speaking of which, little cotton ball.”
Sa-eon examined her and slightly furrowed his brow.
“You seem to have lost weight while I was away. Did the Red Fox starve you?”
“No, that’s not true! Lady Yeonjeong even packed me a lunch yesterday, and also—huh?”
Soya’s body suddenly lifted into the air—!
“Hmm.”
Sa-eon tilted his head, looking serious.
“Or maybe… you’ve gotten heavier.”
