The other maids who served Miss Lili always used to tell Soya the same thing.
No one would ever want to be friends with a shabby, pathetic little bad bird like her.
She should always be grateful to Miss Lili for bothering to look after someone as worthless as her.
And Soya agreed with them.
She had no magnificent feathers, nor was she cute. She was a sinner who had arrogantly stolen a young lady’s rightful place.
“My, why would our young miss think such a thing? When you’re this adorable.”
At that moment, Yeonjeong chuckled softly as she tied a pretty ribbon into the ends of Soya’s hair.
I’m cute?
That was the kind of word suited for a beautiful child like Miss Lili…
“Look here, young miss.”
Sanho held up a mirror for Soya.
“Wow…”
Soya’s eyes widened in surprise as she stared at her reflection.
“Tada! Yeonjeong’s special dumpling hairstyle!”
Yeonjeong proudly pointed at the two round buns she had styled atop Soya’s head.
But it wasn’t only the plump little buns that surprised Soya.
Her rough, dry hair—which people used to mock as looking like a broom because she could never properly wash it—now shone smoothly. Her complexion was still somewhat pale, yet there was now a faint liveliness to it.
And perhaps because of the fluffy new clothes, her body carried a pleasant scent too.
Without realizing it, Soya lifted her sleeve and sniffed at it.
A warm fragrance lingered at the tip of her nose.
Her heart began to pound.
“Well? Cute, right?”
“Yes…!”
For some reason, Soya’s throat suddenly felt hot, and she hurriedly nodded.
“See? Since you’re this adorable, of course the youngest young master keeps hovering around you.”
“……”
Of course, she still couldn’t believe that the young master actually wanted to be friends with her.
But if this mansion only has young masters, then how are there clothes that fit me perfectly—and such a pretty room too?
A small question surfaced in her mind, but Soya quickly pushed it away and turned to Yeonjeong and Sanho.
“Um… would it be alright if I went to greet Lord Saeon?”
She thought of Saeon—the man who had appeared during her moment of danger, saved her from the assassin, and abruptly declared he would steal her before bringing her here.
“You’re not a bother at all, so stop worrying and stay here for the time being.”
Even through the haze of her fever, she still remembered that indifferent yet gentle voice, and the solid, warm embrace he had carried her in.
He said I could stay here for a while.
Soya hoped that “for a while” could last a little longer.
Because…
The embrace of a strong adult she hadn’t felt in such a long time had been so warm and comforting.
With Yeonjeong and Sanho’s help, Soya made her way to the front of Saeon’s office.
“Well now, isn’t this Lady Cotton Ball?”
A handsome man with reddish-brown hair standing outside the office smiled brightly upon seeing her.
“Ah, yes…”
Soya’s cheeks turned rosy as she thought:
Why does everyone keep calling me Cotton Ball? My name is Soya…
“I came to greet Lord Saeon. To thank him…”
She fidgeted with both hands as she spoke.
“Please wait just a moment. I’ll inform the lord.”
Through the slightly opened door, she could see Saeon gently patting the head of a small boy who resembled him.
The refined young nobleman with long white hair tied back in a single tail was Baek Gahyeon, the White Tiger clan’s second young master.
Gahyeon looked at his father with eyes full of pride and admiration.
Soya secretly glanced at Saeon’s broad hand as it softly stroked Gahyeon’s hair.
“My lord, Lady Cotton Ball has come to see you.”
At those words, both Saeon and Gahyeon turned toward the doorway at the same time.
“The young lady says she wishes to greet you.”
The moment Gahyeon saw Soya, his expression stiffened slightly.
Soya noticed immediately and reflexively shrank her shoulders.
After spending the last three years constantly watching others’ moods, she had become better than anyone at sensing sharp gazes directed toward her.
And yet, because she had felt such looks countless times before, Soya ignored the familiar hostility and instead approached Baek Saeon, bowing deeply at the waist in gratitude.
“I came to thank you, Lord Saeon. For saving me, treating me, and giving me a warm room and clean clothes.”
Though she spoke hesitantly, the way the child talked and politely clasped her hands while bowing was far from ordinary.
She’s been taught proper etiquette before.
Saeon grasped the new fact instantly.
“How are you feeling?”
“I’m alright now. My fever’s gone down, and my throat doesn’t hurt anymore.”
“You look much better now that you’re not sick.”
Saeon grinned as he looked over Soya’s tiny figure.
“This works out well. Hyeon.”
“Yes?”
“Show Soya around White Tiger Palace.”
“Pardon? Me?”
Gahyeon asked in surprise at the sudden command from his father.
Truthfully, Gahyeon had already looked down on Soya since their very first meeting.
She ate peaches even though she knew they would make her sick?
He hated foolish children who couldn’t even properly express their own wishes.
He disliked that such a foolish child had appeared cradled in his father’s arms.
He disliked that she had been given the west-end room.
And he disliked that she had interrupted his time with his father just now.
But he could never disobey his father.
More than anything, Gahyeon wanted to appear perfect in front of Baek Saeon, so he hid his displeasure and nodded obediently.
“Understood, Father.”
Gahyeon extended his hand toward Soya and asked gently,
“Hello. Your name is Soya, right? Would you like to tour the mansion with me?”
“Ah, I… yes.”
Soya cautiously took his hand while nervously studying his expression, and Gahyeon smiled sweetly with curved eyes.
Watching the two children leave hand-in-hand, Saeon let out a quiet chuckle.
Gahyeon glanced down at Soya, who hurried along beside him with tiny quick steps while holding onto his hand.
Her hand is really small.
Even Gayul, his younger brother, hadn’t been this tiny.
And her legs are short too.
The way she had to rapidly shuffle her little feet to keep up with his pace looked rather pitiful.
What exactly is Father thinking?
The west-end room.
That room had originally been prepared for a girl from a collateral branch family to be adopted into the main family.
So the clan could present a candidate for the position of the Yellow Dragon’s Bride.
The consort of the Heavenly Emperor who ruled the continent—the Yellow Dragon’s Bride.
It was not merely the emperor’s wife, but a position equal to the emperor himself, tasked with maintaining the empire’s stability and even acting in the emperor’s stead during emergencies.
For generations, the Four Divine Beast clans had produced the Yellow Dragon’s Bride. But whenever there was no daughter in the direct bloodline, it had long been customary to adopt a girl from a collateral branch and raise her as a candidate.
Thus, the White Tiger clan—which also lacked a direct-line daughter this generation—had been planning to adopt a girl from one of its branch families.
Girls from the branch families had already begun visiting one by one with their parents, hoping to catch Saeon’s attention.
Yet now some girl of unknown origin had taken that room, and Gahyeon couldn’t stop worrying.
Not only that, but Father had even assigned both a Red Fox and an Indigo Wolf to this little cotton ball.
The Red Fox and Indigo Wolf families had long served the White Tiger bloodline as the two supporting clans of the western lands.
And Nam Sanho of the Indigo Wolves was originally the leader of all wolves in the western lands and one of Father’s direct attendants, while Ho Yeonjeong of the Red Foxes was the younger sister of Ho Jeokyeong—Father’s aide—and the woman in charge of White Tiger Palace’s inner affairs.
Even if the assignments were supposedly temporary, it was still excessive treatment.
Surely Father isn’t planning to officially adopt this girl into the clan instead of choosing a branch-family child…?
For the sake of the clan, such a thing absolutely could not happen.
A child of unknown background could never represent the family.
And besides, this girl wasn’t even a tiger.
She was small and white… maybe a cat? Though she seemed too gentle for that…
Or perhaps a rabbit? She did look like she lived on nothing but grass.
Anyway, that’s not what matters. What matters is that this child cannot continue staying in the west-end room. Though Father surely knows what he’s doing…
Baek Gahyeon, the White Tiger clan’s second young master who respected his father more than anyone, quickly pushed aside his doubts.
It was not right to question Father’s decisions.
“This is the rear garden. The flowers are beautiful, aren’t they?”
Though Gahyeon spoke gently while introducing various parts of the mansion, his eyes were filled with annoyance.
After all, he thought there was no need to put effort into properly explaining things to a child who would only stay temporarily.
So even though he knew Soya was struggling to keep up with her short legs, he deliberately did not slow his pace for her, and his explanations remained careless and half-hearted.
