“I’ll do anything you want. If that child upsets you, I’ll remove her from your sight forever. So please stop crying, Li-li. It tears my heart apart.”
Hwa-yu was soothing Lady Li-li in a gentle voice… promising to get rid of So-ya.
“Ah…”
Thud.
So-ya felt her heart sink.
As she stood frozen in the hallway with a deathly pale face, she heard approaching footsteps.
It was Patriarch Jeok A-yoon.
The chilling warning he had once given her—that he would never forgive her if Li-li was hurt—echoed through her mind again.
‘He’s going to be angry. He’s going to punish me for making Lady Li-li cry.’
Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump.
Her heart pounded violently.
Cold eyes slowly swept over So-ya’s trembling, fragile body.
The moment she thought their gazes met—
He simply walked past her.
Then entered the room.
“Li-li. Why are you still crying?”
“Hic… sob… Father…”
“I’m sorry, Li-li. Don’t cry. This is all your father’s fault.”
Ah…
Strength drained from So-ya’s body, and she collapsed weakly to the floor.
Her father hadn’t ignored punishing her.
It was simply that comforting Lady Li-li was more important to him than punishing So-ya right now.
Listening to her father’s gentle voice as he comforted Li-li, So-ya limped away down the corridor.
Back in her room, she cried soundlessly.
“Young Master wishes to see you.”
The next day, after hearing the message delivered by a maid from the main residence, So-ya went to find him.
The Young Master was at Hayeon Pond.
Hayeon Pond was an artificial lotus pond Patriarch Jeok A-yoon had built for his late wife, and only direct members of the family were allowed to enter.
Once upon a time, So-ya had loved this place dearly.
A red-haired boy stood with his hands clasped behind his back, facing the pond.
“I heard you summoned me, Young Master.”
Sensing her presence, Jeok Hwa-yu slowly turned around.
“...You’ve come, So-ya.”
A strand of gentleness brushed against her ears.
So-ya looked up at him with startled eyes.
Hwa-yu was calling her name in a gentle voice.
Just as he did with Lady Li-li.
“Young Master? That title feels far too distant between us. Call me ‘older brother’ like before.”
“B-But…”
“I’ll return your Spirit Core.”
From inside his robe, he pulled out a glowing white orb and handed it to her.
It was the Spirit Core he had taken from her three years ago under their father’s orders.
So-ya accepted it blankly.
Faced with his sudden change in attitude, she could only blink in confusion.
“After yesterday, I’ve done a great deal of thinking. And now I regret it—how coldly I treated you and how I left you alone all this time.”
“…”
A brief silence fell between them.
Hwa-yu was the first to break it.
“I heard today is the final day of the summer festival. Would you like to go see it together?”
“N-No. How could someone like me possibly…”
Flustered, So-ya waved both hands frantically.
With a gentle expression, he added,
“Haven’t you always wanted to see the summer festival?”
“…”
At those words, So-ya fell silent.
‘He remembered…’
Long ago, they had made a promise.
Once she completed her first beast transformation on her sixth birthday, they would go to the festival together.
So-ya had counted down the days to it.
Though in the end, everything was destroyed the very same day her identity as a fake was revealed.
“There isn’t much time, so you should go prepare.”
“…”
“Then I’ll see you shortly.”
Looking at him as he awkwardly pretended kindness, So-ya instinctively understood.
‘Ah… so today is the day I’m being abandoned.’
Her eyes darkened heavily.
Watching Hwa-yu’s retreating back, So-ya thought about yesterday.
It had only been yesterday that she walked away down the hallway listening to the gentle voices of Father and Young Master comforting Lady Li-li.
[Please get rid of that child before His Highness the Prince comes back for her.]
[Very well.]
With that same gentle voice, her older brother had promised such cruel words without even the slightest hesitation.
So she could no longer believe him.
Regretted leaving her alone?
No.
If there was one thing they regretted, it was probably not throwing her out sooner and allowing her to remain in the estate long enough to hurt Lady Li-li.
‘So… is that why they’re trying to cast me out now?’
Quietly, So-ya stared down at the glowing white orb resting in her palm.
For the past three years, she had lived as an incomplete beastkin without a Spirit Core.
Back then, she hadn’t understood why they took it from her.
But now she knew.
‘They were horrified. By the way I looked after transforming…’
Taking away her Spirit Core had been a warning—never transform into that form again.
And now, returning it meant…
‘It doesn’t matter anymore whether I transform or not. Because… they intend to drive me away forever.’
Sadness sank deep into So-ya’s eyes as she looked at her Spirit Core.
Slowly, she closed her eyes.
The white orb sparkled before dissolving into her body.
Her incomplete body finally became whole again after three long years.
Yet strangely, instead of feeling energized, she only felt drained.
Her heart ached heavily, and her chest throbbed painfully.
But she didn’t have time to lie around.
Returning to her room, So-ya pulled out a small wooden box hidden in the corner and quietly looked over the items inside.
They were everything she owned.
After selecting only a few things, she headed toward the meeting place.
As she stepped outside the estate, she found herself strangely unable to cross the threshold.
She stood there staring at it for a long time before finally stepping over.
Then she turned to look back at the estate.
For a fleeting moment, she thought her eyes met a man standing atop a tall pavilion.
But when she blinked slowly, she realized it had only been her imagination.
Her father was there.
Together with Lady Li-li, who was laughing brightly.
‘Father couldn’t possibly have been looking at me.’
Whenever he was with Lady Li-li, he acted as though he could see nothing else in the world.
Li-li, who had cried endlessly until yesterday, now seemed to be in a much better mood, spinning around while holding Father’s hand.
And Father watched her with a warm smile, looking utterly delighted by her.
They looked so happy.
Such a perfect family.
‘If only I weren’t here…’
After quietly watching them for a long moment, So-ya folded her hands neatly toward her father and silently bowed her head in farewell.
Thinking that this might be the last greeting she would ever give him.
Together with Jeok Hwa-yu, So-ya walked through the bustling streets.
She had finally seen the summer festival she had long dreamed about.
But instead of joy, bitterness filled her heart.
“It’s your favorite—fruit skewers. Try one.”
Hwa-yu handed her food with a gentle smile.
It was a skewer of neatly sliced peaches coated in sugar.
‘That’s Lady Li-li’s favorite, not mine. If I eat peaches, I get a fever and my throat swells.’
So-ya knew that saying those words would shatter this fragile peace.
Even knowing it was all false, she wanted to look at Hwa-yu smiling kindly at her for just a little longer.
She didn’t want to break this dreamlike, sweet moment.
So instead, she forced a smile.
“Thank you, Young Master.”
But when she actually tried to eat the peach, she hesitated.
Perhaps he thought she was being picky, because Hwa-yu’s brows faintly furrowed.
It was only the slightest change, but after spending three years constantly reading people’s moods, So-ya noticed it immediately.
“If you don’t want to eat it…”
“N-No!”
Hurriedly, So-ya bit into the peach.
She swallowed too quickly and immediately started coughing violently.
As So-ya hastily wiped the tears forming at the corners of her eyes, Hwa-yu stopped in front of a stall across from them.
It sold delicate jewelry—rings, necklaces, and bracelets.
“I’ll take that bracelet with the red gemstone. It’s a gift for my younger sister.”
“So the little lady beside you is your younger sister? I’m sure she’ll be delighted.”
“Ah.”
Only then did Hwa-yu seem to remember something.
He casually picked up another beaded bracelet from the stall and handed it to So-ya.
“I’ll pay for this one as well. It’s yours, So-ya.”
“...!”
Startled by the unexpected gift, So-ya’s eyes widened roundly.
Soon, her cheeks flushed pink.
“...Thank you so much, Older Brother.”
Even though he had only bought it while purchasing Li-li’s gift.
Even though he hadn’t carefully chosen it and simply grabbed whatever was nearby.
Still—
“I always wanted to come to the summer festival. Thank you for remembering… and for bringing me here.”
So-ya hugged the bracelet carefully to her chest and smiled brightly.
