Home/The very suspicious chick of the Blue Dragon clan/ch 32

Chapter 32

"Young miss!"

The moment she finished speaking, the door slid open with a creak and So-rim rushed in.

Even though Aran had obtained human form, So-rim's hands still seemed enormous as they cupped both of Aran's cheeks.

"Good heavens, young miss! Are you alright? Let me see. Has the fever gone down?"

Judging by the atmosphere, she must have been quite ill.

Right now, her head was clear and she felt perfectly fine.

Feeling embarrassed, Aran looked up at So-rim.

"Ah, hello? Was I weally sick?"

In her fluster, her tongue got all tied up.

Tears finally spilled from So-rim's glistening eyes.

"Hic, young miss…"

"Uh…"

Aran was at a loss.

Had she been sick for quite a while? How many days had she been ill?

This was such a bother. She felt so sorry—what should she do?

Just as she was hesitating over whether to apologize, So-rim vigorously wiped her eyes with the back of her hand.

"Oh, I'm being so silly. I'm just so happy and relieved… But how can you speak so well already? How did you ever manage with all that frustration before!"

"Yeah, weally!"

As Aran agreed, So-rim laughed with tear-filled eyes.

Just then, the sound of small footsteps pattered in, and the twins burst in.

"Arani…!"

Shouting in unison, the twins rushed at her at the same time.

"Yeon! Min…!"

How much she'd wanted to hold them, these two…!

Aran boldly spread both arms wide.

But her chubby arms were shorter than expected, and the twins were as heavy as stones.

Thump!

In the end, Aran toppled backward with the twins.

Just then, Su-ryeon's sharp voice rang out.

"Hey, Yeon-min! What are you doing to the youngest who just woke up?!"

As the twins yelped and backed away, a firm grip carefully supported Aran's head as she sat up.

"Did you sleep well, Aran?"

It was Hwi, his eyes somehow moist.

"Big brother."

The moment Aran called him that, Su-ryeon thrust his head forward.

"Aran, what about me? You talk to your brother all the time in beast-speech. What about me?"

In the end, Aran had to swallow her embarrassment and call Su-ryeon's name.

"Su-ryeon… hi."

At the same time Su-ryeon's face brightened, his sandy eyes grew moist.

"Hi, our Peep-peep. So you really were a beastman…"

Su-ryeon was great, but he did talk nonsense sometimes.

There was nothing he wouldn't say to a great Vermilion Bird.

Just then, another voice came from the doorway.

"Our daughter, you're awake?"

The one who had made it possible for Aran to obtain human form more than half a year earlier than in her previous life.

The Blue Dragon who had cared for her devotedly over the past year, and now the one Aran wanted to protect.

The Lord of the Eastern Quarter, Cheongun.

"Father…!"

A sound like a lump in her throat burst out.

Unable to even take her first steps yet, Aran clumsily crawled in her urgency and clung to Cheongun's pant leg.

Cheongun bent down and lifted Aran high above his head.

"Oh my, how pretty. Congratulations, Cheong Aran."

Aran smiled brightly, entrusting her whole body to his solid arms.

It was a day of great celebration at the Blue Dragon Palace.

---

Meanwhile, at the imperial capital.

The emperor pushed aside his barely touched morning meal and spoke in a low voice.

"Summon Academician Hwa."

Academician Hwa Gyeom of the Royal Library was, beyond his official position, the emperor's closest retainer in recent years—and also the late empress's older brother.

A short while later, Hwa Gyeom entered quietly.

"So, how is the Crown Prince?"

Not just since the empress's passing, but for the past half year while her illness had been critical, the crown prince's condition had been poor.

The greater problem was that the emperor's health was also not good.

Though he had no specific illness, he suffered frequent headaches and had been plagued by the fear of death and depression while at the dying empress's side.

Moreover, there were matters of the emperor's conduct that made it difficult for him to visit his young son every day.

So the emperor sent Hwa Gyeom in his stead to check on the boy—since Hwa Gyeom was not only a subject but also the crown prince's maternal uncle.

"He is improving, so please do not worry."

Despite Hwa Gyeom's smiling answer, the emperor's brow remained deeply furrowed.

"Is that true? I heard the Crown Prince's palace was in turmoil all day yesterday."

Hwa Gyeom answered smoothly, as if he'd prepared it.

"There was merely a small accident because His Highness's hand movements are still clumsy—nothing for Your Majesty to be concerned about."

"…Academician."

The emperor pressed his temple as if suffering from a headache.

"Yes, Your Majesty."

"I am not unaware of your loyalty, but the Crown Prince is no longer an infant. Can we keep indulging him forever? Geon-u is my only legitimate son. He must ascend the throne someday."

"…He is also a poor child, barely past two years old, who has lost his mother."

Hwa Gyeom comforted the emperor with gentle words, taking the crown prince's side.

"Some wounds take time to heal. I, Hwa Gyeom, will do my utmost for the Crown Prince's recovery."

The emperor eventually nodded.

In truth, his headache was too severe to dwell on any one thought.

"Yes, visit him frequently and keep an eye on him."

"Of course I shall. Leave it to me, and please take care of your own health, Your Majesty."

The corners of Hwa Gyeom's mouth lifted subtly as he bowed his head, unnoticeably.

Leaving the audience chamber, Hwa Gyeom went straight to the Crown Prince's palace.

A woman with a long scar on her cheek hurriedly greeted him and bowed.

It was Lady Do, the head nanny, whose face had been torn by a medicine bowl the crown prince had thrown a few days earlier.

The wound showed signs of festering, and the swelling on her face had not subsided.

"How is His Highness?"

Lady Do answered Hwa Gyeom's question with practiced ease.

"He suffered from severe nightmares during the night. He only fell asleep after I gave him the late Empress's robe to hold."

"And the day before?"

This time, Lady Do's answer came a little slower. Her clasped hands trembled.

Noticing that she was reluctant to speak, Hwa Gyeom spoke in a graver tone.

"I have come to check on His Highness on behalf of His Majesty, but I am also of his blood. As one who sent my own sister ahead, how could I not care for my nephew?"

"Well, the day before, the Crown Prince's tutor came to comfort him and drew him a picture…"

Lady Do's lips trembled for some reason.

"His, His Highness threw the inkstone, spilling ink, and for once seemed delighted…"

Hwa Gyeom tilted his head slightly.

"Delighted?"

After the empress's condition grew critical, Crown Prince Je Geon-u had rarely even smiled.

If he had been delighted, that should have been a happy thing—yet Lady Do's face held not even a trace of a smile, and was pale.

As if reluctant to speak, Lady Do averted her gaze and answered.

"Yes. After the tutor left in embarrassment, he played for a while, rubbing the spilled ink…"

"Please speak freely."

At Hwa Gyeom's urging, Lady Do retrieved a folded sheet of paper from a nearby shelf and brought it over.

"Th-this is the image that remained at the time."

Hwa Gyeom casually unfolded the paper, but his lips tightened at the image left behind.

On it, smeared only with ink, was a chilling pair of eyes and a long, torn mouth.

"…Who has seen this drawing?"

Lady Do answered immediately.

"Other than myself, only one young attendant—but I have silenced her just in case."

"An attendant?"

When Hwa Gyeom asked again to confirm, Lady Do signaled with her eyes to an attendant standing behind her.

Hwa Gyeom glanced at her—it was a familiar face.

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Wise indeed. I will keep this drawing. I shall visit again."

As he turned after taking his leave, Hwa Gyeom slowly erased the smile from his lips.

Leaving the Crown Prince's palace and heading toward the palace gates, he nodded gravely to himself.

"Faster than I expected."

If so, he couldn't help but look forward to tomorrow even more.

On his way out, he handed a small covered ceramic jar to a servant, instructing him to deliver it to Myeong-i, the attendant at the Crown Prince's palace.

"Tell her that I am saddened by Lady Do's injury over her nephew's matter, and this is a special prescription I obtained for her. It is precious, so it must be applied directly to the nanny's wound."

Not even the servant knew that the tiny jar, smaller than a palm, actually contained poison potent enough to fell an ox.

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