Home/The very suspicious chick of the Blue Dragon clan/ch 34

Chapter 34

As her half-open eyelids, tense with anticipation, revealed a pure white room, Aran nearly cried out.

The small, empty room, barely big enough for one person to lie in, was the very first illusion Aran had ever created in her previous life.

Back then, she'd thought her ability had manifested because she so desperately needed a place to rest.

"I—I did it…!"

Aran let out a low cry of joy.

"Hehe."

Knowing it was an illusion, she still lay down on the white floor and rolled around.

Then she sprawled out and waved her limbs about.

Now she had once again become a Vermilion Bird who could create anything.

She still needed much more training, but now she could show hellfire, pitch-black night seas, sheer cliffs, beloved family members, or gold and silver treasures—whatever she wished.

"Hehehehe…"

As she contentedly wriggled her limbs for a while, a small knock came at the door.

"Hah."

Was it already time for So-rim to come?

Wait—she'd used her ability, so her eye color must have changed, right?

She wasn't sure, but there might be red markings around her eyes.

Unlike other Vermilion Bird beastmen, Aran—born with a white body and black eyes—only changed eye color and revealed facial markings when using her ability.

That was why, in her previous life, she hadn't realized she truly was a Vermilion Bird until after she gained her ability.

Aran hastily closed her eyes and counted backward.

Three, two, one.

Still, the white room didn't disappear.

She couldn't expect the ability she'd just recovered to be visible to others, but still—you never know…!

Aran took a deep breath and counted again.

Three, two, one…!

The moment the door slid open with a creak, the white room transformed back into the familiar Blue Dragon Palace.

Seeing Aran flip over in a hurry, So-rim burst out laughing.

"Puhaha! I wondered why you were doing calisthenics alone—are you embarrassed now?"

Calisthenics?

So to the Training Master's eyes, rolling around and waving her limbs alone had looked like calisthenics.

How annoying—who does calisthenics by themselves…?

Still, let's just go with that for now.

Aran desperately covered her face with her tiny hands and grumbled, pretending to be shy.

"What kind of person peeps through the door crack!"

"Hahaha! I was just checking if you were awake! Did you sleep well, young miss?"

Were the markings still around her eyes?

If the markings were visible, it would prove Aran was a Vermilion Bird.

Cheongun would surely be delighted.

But would that really be alright?

In her previous life, after Aran gained fame as a Vermilion Bird beastman, the Vermilion Bird clan head had belatedly come looking for her.

It was Joo Yeom-gang, who was also Aran's paternal uncle.

"Good heavens! You're Aran, aren't you!"

It would have been better if they'd completely forgotten her existence.

Aran found her uncle, who remembered her name, truly detestable.

It meant they had clearly known she existed but had never looked for her.

Only blatant lies spilled from that loathsome old man's mouth.

"After we lost you, you have no idea how hard our entire family struggled. Your late grandfather stopped eating and drinking, searching for you…"

Watching Joo Yeom-gang rub his eyes as if he were crying made her furious.

It was nonsense.

Everyone knew they hadn't searched for her—not even for a single day.

"Don't be stubborn—come back home. Your cousins will be delighted."

Yet part of her had wanted to believe it.

Because her endlessly lonely life had been so sorrowful.

If they would cherish her, even if it was for her abilities, she'd considered dancing to their tune.

Until she saw that he couldn't take his eyes off her Hongyeom Twin Swords.

"I appreciate your words, but I prefer being alone."

When Aran declined politely, suppressing her anger, Joo Yeom-gang fell silent for a moment, then showed his true colors with a feigned awkwardness.

"But what shall we do about this? Those swords you have are none other than the Vermilion Bird Palace's sacred relics. It's rather problematic for someone who isn't family to possess them…"

Only then did she become certain.

If she'd gone to the Vermilion Bird Palace, they would have taken the swords, saying the youngest couldn't monopolize the clan's treasures.

Aran's eyes began to glow red from that point onward.

As the shabby house she lived in transformed into a Vermilion Bird Palace full of red tiles and gold ornaments, Joo Yeom-gang's jaw dropped.

"Illusion…! So the rumor that you possess the Vermilion Bird clan's Illusion ability was true…!"

The Illusion ability was extremely rare even among direct-line Vermilion Bird beastmen—a power so scarce that its possessors could only be found in history books.

Moreover, since it left no physical evidence, Aran's Illusion ability had always been nothing but rumor.

Yet she showed it to the clan head directly.

The magnificent Vermilion Bird Palace—and beneath that lavish roof, her younger self who had been neglected and nearly died.

Then the Vermilion Bird Palace built of illusions began to burn fiercely.

"If I live outside the palace and am not family, then I have never been a member of the Vermilion Bird Palace in my entire life."

Aran stood amidst the terrifying blaze and spoke.

With near-perfect fire resistance, Aran—except for her earliest childhood—had never actually feared flames.

The only time she'd felt fear at the sight of fire was on the last day of her previous life.

"The Hongyeom Twin Swords are mine—I found them with my own strength in a deep cave in the Black Tortoise Territory. Please leave now."

At that, Joo Yeom-gang left with a resentful face.

What would happen now?

If it became known that the Blue Dragon Palace was raising a toddler-aged Vermilion Bird with the Illusion ability?

Cheongun would be framed and suffer.

They would falsely accuse Cheongun to take Aran back by any means.

Because Aran was no longer a pitiful, useless Vermilion Bird.

"Young miss? Are you feeling unwell?"

Avoiding So-rim, who was trying to look at her face, Aran turned her head sharply.

"Oh, my eyes are all puffy from sleep—I must look ugly."

Her still-reddened eyes darted frantically within her maple-leaf-sized hands.

So-rim immediately objected, as if she'd heard something absurd.

"Eh? How could that be? Our young miss is the prettiest on this continent!"

"I-it's true! Please tell them to prepare some cold water for me to wash my face."

Fortunately, the excuse seemed to work, and So-rim giggled as she stood up.

"Oh, cold water won't do. It's autumn now, you know."

After So-rim left the room, Aran quickly checked her face in the mirror—and saw the same petal-shaped markings faintly visible around her eyes as in her previous life.

A Vermilion Bird's face—welcome and yet sorrowful.

In truth, she'd wanted to show Cheongun first and boast about her ability.

"Well, just because others don't know doesn't mean this body isn't a great Vermilion Bird."

Aran sighed and murmured.

It was regrettable, but for now, she'd have to keep her ability a secret.

Until she came of age and could drive away the Vermilion Bird clan head on her own, she mustn't bring harm to Cheongun.

---

So-rim, having instructed a maid to prepare wash water for Aran's room, knocked on the master's chamber door with an excited face.

Cheongun, who had been working with Huirim, turned his gaze toward So-rim with a puzzled look.

It was too early for her to be seeking out the master.

Huirim, seated beside Cheongun, also looked equally curious.

"What brings you here so early in the morning, Training Master?"

So-rim, unable to hide her joy, reported before her lord.

"It is certain—Lady Aran is a Vermilion Bird!"

Cheongun's eyes widened slightly in surprise.

"I saw markings briefly appear around her eyes! They looked like flame-shaped petals."

Her cheeks flushed, So-rim's golden eyes sparkled as she spoke, and she quickly added.

"However, she seemed to want to hide them, so I pretended not to notice."

Cheongun's head tilted slightly.

"You say markings briefly appeared? So they've disappeared again now?"

"It seemed they were fading away."

"And Aran wanted to hide them?"

"Yes, my lord."

Only then did So-rim explain, her excitement somewhat subsided.

"The young miss clearly knows that Vermilion Birds usually have markings. Yet she hid them—perhaps she's afraid that if she's revealed as a true Vermilion Bird, she'll be sent to the Vermilion Bird Palace?"

"Hmm…"

Cheongun glanced at Huirim.

"You said there was definitely no sign of the Vermilion Bird Palace searching for a lost child, correct?"

"Yes, my lord. When I looked into it last year, there were only rumors that the youngest daughter had died—no word at all about a new successor. However, depending on what ability Lady Aran awakens in the future…"

Huirim's answer was calm, as if prepared in advance, but Cheongun only furrowed his brow.

"If she awakens a rare ability, they might demand her back?"

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