The direct descendants of the White Tiger who ruled the West were known for possessing astonishing physical abilities.
Baek Sa-eon crossed a distance that would normally take a full week on horseback in a single bound.
And so, the place he arrived at was the mountain fortress, White Tiger Mountain Palace.
People more commonly called it the “White Tiger Palace,” the enormous estate of the White Tiger clan.
“L-Lord Patriarch?”
“Father?”
When Sa-eon returned in the middle of the night carrying a little girl tucked under one arm, the people of the White Tiger Palace rushed out in shock.
Among them were his two sons, the second young master Baek Ga-hyeon and the third young master Baek Ga-yul.
“Call a physician immediately.”
Ignoring everyone’s confusion, Sa-eon headed straight to his room and laid the child down on the bed.
Watching the girl, pale as snow and breathing in thin little wheezes, Ho Jeok-young—the eldest son of the Red Fox clan and Sa-eon’s aide—carefully asked,
“Who is this child, Patriarch?”
“I picked her up on the way.”
Sa-eon answered indifferently with his arms crossed.
But unlike his detached tone, the concern in his eyes and the dangerous aura around him made it obvious he was worried something might happen to the child.
“You… picked her up?”
“To be precise, I stole her.”
“W-What?”
“Father, did you decide to become a thief?”
Everyone stared at him in bewilderment, silently demanding an explanation, but Sa-eon merely pressed his lips together and continued looking at the child.
Only after the physician was hurriedly brought in did he finally speak again.
“Heal her.”
“Y-Yes, sir! I-I’ll treat her right away…!”
Just as the physician rushed over to check the child’s pulse—
Twitch.
The corner of the girl’s eye trembled.
Then slowly—
Her eyelids lifted, revealing pale pink eyes like spring blossoms.
Blink. Blink.
The child blinked a few times and looked around.
Where am I?
The unfamiliar room was filled with strangers she had never seen before.
Thump. Thump. Thump.
An instinctive fear rose within her at the unfamiliarity, making her heart pound.
Why am I here…?
Soya searched through her memories.
She had gone to the summer festival with Brother Hwayu…
Then, while waiting for him to return, an assassin in a black mask had appeared…
And after that, a man as tall as her father whom she had met by chance…
Her wandering eyes finally found the only person in the room who wasn’t unfamiliar.
Ah…!
The tension melted from her face, and a small sigh of relief escaped her lips.
“Cotton Ball, you awake?”
Sa-eon asked in a voice that sounded strangely concerned.
“Yes, I’m fine—”
The moment Soya nodded and answered—
“Eek!”
The third young master, Baek Ga-yul, who had been secretly peeking at her the entire time, suddenly let out a visibly startled squeak and hurriedly hid behind Sa-eon’s legs.
Flinch.
Startled by the sound, Soya stiffened as well.
“Father, she’s so tiny… She looks like she’d fly away if someone went puff and blew on her…”
Ga-yul tugged at Sa-eon’s clothes and whispered softly, all while staring fixedly at Soya.
And honestly, it made sense.
There had never been a child as small as Soya in the White Tiger Palace before.
She was even a whole head shorter than Ga-yul, the youngest beastkin in the palace.
Seeing Ga-yul at a loss, Sa-eon teasingly replied,
“That’s right. So be careful, Yul-ah. Don’t accidentally blow her away.”
“Gasp!”
Ga-yul quickly covered his mouth with both hands.
He looked deeply worried that even his breath might send the tiny cotton-ball-like girl flying.
Sa-eon snorted with laughter and ruffled his son’s hair.
Soya stared blankly at that absentminded yet affectionate gesture.
Then Sa-eon tilted his chin toward the physician.
“Examine the child.”
“I-I’m really okay.”
Soya hurriedly waved both hands.
“This only happened because I ate peaches. I’ll get better after a little while. Really!”
The last words were hastily added because she worried she might be inconveniencing them.
“Peaches?”
One of Sa-eon’s eyebrows lifted sharply.
“Peaches can make someone this sick?”
“Sometimes, if a person eats food incompatible with their body, it can cause a severe reaction. I will prepare medicine to reduce the swelling and fever for the young lady.”
At the physician’s explanation, Sa-eon’s expression hardened even further.
“So you knew peaches would make you sick, and you still ate them?”
“Ah, um, that’s…”
Soya hesitated, unable to answer.
“Dispose of every peach in the estate immediately.”
“T-That’s not necessary…!”
Soya hurriedly waved her hands in alarm.
“Yes, Patriarch.”
But Ho Jeok-young obeyed the order before she could protest further.
“And as for the child…”
Sa-eon paused briefly and looked at Soya before continuing,
“Prepare the westernmost room for her.”
“Yes, Patriarch.”
“But Father, that room is…!”
Unlike the restless Ga-yul, the calm second young master Baek Ga-hyeon had silently watched everything until now, but he finally raised his voice in surprise.
“That room is?”
“Ah… never mind.”
However, under his father’s questioning gaze—as if asking what the problem was—Ga-hyeon quietly backed down.
Sa-eon personally carried Soya to her room.
“I… because of me… you’re being inconvenienced…”
Soya muttered weakly in his arms as her fever rose again.
“You’re not a bother at all, so stop worrying and stay here for a while. First, get some proper sleep and recover.”
“Okaaay…”
Even during the short walk, her vision remained blurry from the fever clouding her head.
In her hazy consciousness, she remembered taking the medicine the physician prepared and falling asleep.
And when she finally woke after a long rest, her body felt much lighter.
“Her fever seems to have gone down now…”
“But how is she this tiny and soft? Look at this pale skin like rice flour. The whole White Tiger Palace feels like it might melt.”
“I think I understand now why the Patriarch called her Cotton Ball. Our little Cotton Ball lady is seriously adorable.”
Hearing the murmuring voices nearby, Soya cautiously opened her eyes.
The moment she did, her gaze met the unfamiliar women looking down at her.
“Oh my, the young lady is awake!”
“Hello, young lady. Are you feeling better?”
The women suddenly leaned in close, startling Soya so badly she shrank back.
“W-Who are you?”
“I’m Yeonjeong of the Red Fox clan! From today onward, I’ll be serving you, young lady!”
“And I’m Sanho of the Indigo Wolf clan! I’ll be protecting you! Waaah, our young lady’s voice is so cute too!”
One woman with elegantly braided reddish-brown hair and another with indigo hair tied into a high ponytail introduced themselves one after another.
The flood of greetings left Soya dizzy.
Then suddenly, she realized they were calling her young lady.
“W-Wait… young lady…?”
The title young lady was meant for precious girls like Miss Lili.
It wasn’t a title suited for a wicked baby bird like her who had stolen someone else’s place.
“I’m not a young lady. You can just call me Soya…”
“Oh, but you’re the Patriarch’s guest, so of course you’re a young lady.”
“A guest? I’m not a guest, I’m just—”
Soya abruptly stopped herself from saying I was stolen.
She suddenly remembered Sa-eon’s warning.
“It’ll be troublesome if rumors spread that I sneaked into the Southern chicken-heads’ land like a thief cat and stole something.”
At the time, Sa-eon had looked completely serious.
What should I do? I can’t let Lord Sa-eon get into trouble because of me…
Not wanting to cause problems for him, Soya awkwardly fidgeted instead of arguing further.
Sensing her hesitation, Sanho quickly added,
“If we fail to properly show respect to the Patriarch’s guest, that would also be disrespectful toward the Patriarch himself. So please help us properly show respect to our lord, young lady. Alright?”
“Okaaay…”
Persuaded by those words, Soya slowly nodded.
Being called young lady still felt uncomfortable, but she didn’t want to trouble Sa-eon after he had saved her and brought her here.
Yeonjeong and Sanho exchanged grins before asking,
“Then shall we wash up first, young lady?”
“Huh?”
As Soya blinked in confusion, Sanho suddenly lifted her right up.
The two women carried her into the bath, scrubbed her clean until she squeaked, dressed her in fresh clothes, and skillfully styled her hair.
They’re… so fast.
Unable to believe everything that had happened overnight, Soya simply blinked blankly.
Yesterday, she had suddenly been stolen away to this place.
Now she was being bathed, dressed in soft clean clothes, given a beautiful room, and having people gently comb her hair.
The situation felt so unfamiliar that Soya didn’t know what to do besides dart her eyes around nervously.
“In the Taehwa Empire, aside from the Imperial Palace where His Majesty resides, there are four great estates permitted to bear the name ‘Palace,’” Yeonjeong explained.
Soya’s ears perked up immediately.
The Eastern Sea Dragon Palace beneath the waters of the eastern lands.
The White Tiger Mountain Palace, fortress of the western lands.
The Vermilion Bird Heavenly Manor of the southern lands.
The Underworld Palace of the northern lands.
By granting those four places the title of “Palace,” the imperial family had officially acknowledged the authority of the Four Great Clans.
“Our White Tiger Palace is one of them.”
When the Vermilion Bird estate was mentioned, Soya instinctively flinched.
But she quietly pretended nothing was wrong and nodded obediently.
Then suddenly, she noticed someone staring at her from earlier.
Huh…?
A small boy with white hair was peeking at her through the slightly open doorway.
That’s the boy who hid behind Lord Sa-eon yesterday…
“Oh my, it’s the youngest young master.”
Noticing Soya’s gaze, Sanho and Yeonjeong explained.
“There are three young masters in the White Tiger Palace. The eldest is Young Master Gaya, the second is Young Master Ga-hyeon, and the one secretly peeking at you over there is the third young master, Ga-yul.”
“Young Master Gaya was conscripted into the war three years ago and hasn’t returned yet, but the other two young masters currently live here.”
“Hm, that’s strange though. The youngest young master should be in swordsmanship training right now.”
Listening to them, Soya glanced toward Ga-yul.
His fine white hair and blue eyes resembled Sa-eon’s quite a lot.
But every time their eyes met, Ga-yul visibly startled and quickly pretended he hadn’t been staring.
Why is he acting like that…?
As Soya grew increasingly flustered, Yeonjeong—who had been fixing her hair—softly whispered into her ear with a smile,
“I think the youngest young master wants to become friends with you, young lady.”
“Huh? With me?”
Soya’s eyes widened into circles.
But then she shook her head.
“There’s no way.”
