Home/The very suspicious chick of the Blue Dragon clan/ch 23

Chapter 23

When Aran tried to head to the training grounds to find Hwi, Su-ryeon offered to take her there.

But on the way, they encountered two sparrows.

"Chirp-chirp!"

(Elder, we came to pay our respects!)

Troublesomely, they had come looking for Aran.

Remembering how Su-ryeon had been so alarmed at the festival that he'd chased away the hawk, Aran didn't want to cause trouble by talking with other birds.

"Pi."

(Don't come looking for me so openly like this. My family finds it uncomfortable.)

"Chirp!"

(But now that we know you're so close by, how could we not…)

"Peep."

(Enough. Don't come again.)

Just as Aran had finally chased off the sparrows, Su-ryeon suddenly made an odd remark.

"Well, so what if she's just a bird? Even among birds, there's no one as cute as our Peep-peep."

"Piya?"

(Why are you talking nonsense again in front of this great Vermilion Bird?)

Of course, Aran wasn't idle enough to pay attention to every bit of nonsense—she just hurried her flapping.

Finally spotting Hwi, Aran flew over and called out.

"Peep?"

(Older brother, when you have time later, could you write a reply to the Black Tortoise Palace for me?)

Hwi nodded, as a matter of course.

After Aran received Hwi's promise and left to practice flying, Su-ryeon muttered to himself.

"Yeah, it's fine if she's just a bird. She'll be loved just by being cute her whole life. She doesn't need to study or anything."

Hearing that, Hwi thought Su-ryeon was just talking nonsense because he didn't want to practice archery.

"Cheong Su-ryeon, this is your first competition representing the family—what kind of attitude is that?"

"What?"

Su-ryeon looked up at his brother with incredulous eyes.

"What are you suddenly talking about?"

Then, as if he couldn't hold it in any longer, he added.

"Don't go telling Aran she'll get her human form soon and give her false hope. How much pressure do you think she's under?"

"Well, that…"

Since it was true until just before her birthday, Hwi couldn't say a word in his defense.

"Well, I regret it too…"

Anyway, both his brother and his father.

Su-ryeon resolved that he, at least, would definitely take Aran's side.

Even if she was just a bird and not a beastman, Aran was already enough as she was.

---

Meanwhile, Aran flew west and came upon a river.

"Peep."

(This is Banwol River.)

Crossing this river meant leaving the palace grounds.

Since the main palace where Aran stayed was at the easternmost edge, she had flown all the way across the entire Blue Dragon Palace on her own.

Of course, she'd had to argue for a while to shake off Su-ryeon first. Lately, she didn't know why he was clinging to her like a leech.

A gentle spring breeze, still carrying a hint of chill, blew by.

Aran perched on a large cherry blossom tree by the water and savored the spring.

The small obsidian pendant hanging around her neck sparkled clearly in the bright sunlight.

She followed the river northward.

If she kept practicing like this, someday she'd reach the Black Tortoise Palace.

"Peep?"

(I wonder what that Taeo kid is doing right now? Poor thing—I hope he's not crying from being bullied.)

How long had she been flying?

Suddenly, Aran felt the sky darken and looked up.

"Pi?"

(What's this?)

The blue sky had turned pitch-black in an instant, as if a sudden downpour were about to fall.

A damp, cold wind swept through.

Aran felt her feathers stand on end and hunched her body.

"Pit."

(Oh, so once my knees are fine, I have to deal with this kind of discomfort too. This body not being able to sense a sudden shower—how dreadful.)

After lamenting like an old woman in a chick's body, another worry came to her.

If she got hurt out here alone, it would be a terrible thing for So-rim, who was responsible for her.

"Pip…, peep."

(Alright… for old women and children, the first priority is safety, and the second is safety.)

Aran, both an old woman and a child, found a large camphor tree and burrowed between its branches.

Everyone already knew she'd come west to avoid archery practice, so the Blue Dragons would surely find her somewhere in the palace.

So she planned to hide under the tree as best she could until the rain stopped, so her wings wouldn't get wet.

But the weather only grew worse.

Rustle-rustle!

The sound of leaves buffeting in the wind was deafening.

Aran curled her gradually dampening wings and gripped the branch tightly with both feet.

"Bbaeng…!"

(If I die, I die—but I can't be a hundred-year-old Vermilion Bird who falls from a tree…!)

Just then, in the dim shade of the tree, the obsidian necklace gave off a strange glint.

"Pit?"

(Huh?)

Then, from the river, came the sound of water splashing—shooooosh.

Aran, who had turned her gaze to the river, noticed a small island rising near the bank that she hadn't seen before.

"Pii…?"

(An island…?)

No, it wasn't an island.

That dark blue mass was a giant turtle's shell.

And if she wasn't mistaken, someone in a dark blue robe was sitting upright on top of it.

Probably a child.

A child who, despite having just emerged from the water, wasn't even slightly wet.

Enough to make Aran, hiding under a tree to escape the heavy rain, feel somewhat irked.

Come to think of it, the fierce downpour had already stopped.

The next moment, the child who had appeared on the island-like turtle leaped down to the riverbank in one bound.

Aran realized it only when the child's gaze landed directly on the branches where she was hiding.

A face as white as snow, one eye greener than jade, and jet-black curly hair.

He had grown much more than she'd expected, but it was unmistakably Taeo.

"Pip…"

(No one told me he was this beautiful…)

Anyway, if that was the case, the situation was serious.

Aran flapped her damp wings to shake off the moisture, and almost tumbled down from the tree as she rushed toward Taeo.

"Peep?!"

*(Hey, are you Taeo?!) *

---

"Hello, Aran."

Taeo carefully caught the charging Aran with both hands and greeted her, meeting her eyes first.

Aran flinched at the child suddenly calling her name.

A boy with one green eye, riding a giant turtle that was clearly a spiritual creature.

Anyone could tell he was Hyeon Taeo.

But was his identity so obvious to him too? She wasn't yet a great Vermilion Bird or anything?

Just then, as if giving her the answer, Taeo fiddled with her necklace and continued.

"I'm Taeo."

Aran stared blankly at the child.

So it wasn't just that he'd recognized her because of the necklace.

"Pit??"

(So this wasn't just an ordinary necklace? You used it to find me?)

Taeo nodded obediently, but also blushed shyly.

Aran was dumbfounded.

She'd worn it out of appreciation for his thoughtfulness, thinking it was just a simple gift—and he'd been using it to track her? What exactly was in this thing?

Well, it's not like a child tracking her would cause any real trouble…

While Aran was confused, Taeo gently stroked her damp feathers with his small hand.

"Sorry. Did I bring a snowstorm with me?"

Aran shook her head at the question.

"Pit."

(No, you brought rain.)

"Rain?"

Taeo tilted his head as if he'd heard something strange, then seemed to realize something and straightened.

"I see. This place has warm weather."

At that, Aran came to her senses.

"Pik? Pi? Pipik??"

(Wait, you can understand me? Do you have beast-speech ability too? What are you doing here all of a sudden? Did you get permission from anyone?)

Taeo, seeing Aran flustered, smiled bashfully as if pleased.

With that dangerously beautiful face alone, he was an extraordinary kid.

And he was less than a year old, yet he'd left his own territory using spiritual creatures?

In her hundred years of life, Aran had never seen such a monster.

"I told you—they're making my life difficult at the Black Tortoise Palace. Last time, Father locked me up for a whole week just because of a little mistake."

In truth, he'd only been punished by confinement to study, with more servants than usual attending to him and feeding him healthy food.

But people can only imagine what they know…

"Peep?"

(They locked up someone this small? For a whole week?)

In the end, Aran forgot all about the things she'd meant to confront him about and simply became angry.

"Pip?"

(Where? Where did they lock you up?)

Taeo looked down, seemingly very upset, and his jet-black lashes fanned out over his brilliant eyes.

"Mm, in the library…"

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