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Chapter 35

"To be honest… considering the recent actions of Lord Joo, it's definitely a possibility."

Cheongun muttered absently.

"What can an old man do? I have no intention of letting her go."

So-rim, who had been listening with a worried expression, brightened immediately.

"Then may I congratulate the young miss? On the markings appearing?"

"Hmm…"

As Cheongun hesitated, Huirim carefully interjected.

"Forgive me, my lord, but I think we should maintain the current situation for the time being."

Cheongun's cool gaze turned to his retainer.

Though he often seemed generous in all things, Cheongun was a man of strict standards and remarkable decisiveness.

Moreover, his love for family was exceptional.

Huirim, wary of displeasing his master, swallowed dryly and spoke.

"For now, the young miss doesn't possess the outward appearance of a Vermilion Bird. If we leave things as they are, we can simply keep her as an adopted child without arousing suspicion."

To his surprise, So-rim changed her position and agreed.

"Indeed, if a conflict between clans were to arise, the young miss—still so young—wouldn't even have a voice in the matter. In that case, there's no reason to make a fuss by revealing something that doesn't show outwardly."

Cheongun appeared unconvinced by the siblings' opinions.

"You're saying Aran is worried? I don't want our daughter to be anxious for no reason."

So-rim answered cheerfully.

"Then I'll just take good care of her by my side! I'm confident!"

Cheongun chuckled.

"Can I really trust you, Training Master?"

"Yes, no problem!"

So-rim shouted so loudly that the bead strings on Cheongun's ceremonial crown swayed.

"My ears hurt. Please, your voice."

Then So-rim answered in a gradually shrinking voice.

"Yes, understood…"

At last, Cheongun spoke.

"We'll wait and see for now. Training Master, keep pretending not to know."

"Yes. I'll pretend not to know, but I'll also make sure to recite to her every day—like a mantra—that she is definitely a Vermilion Bird, and at the same time, she will forever be the Blue Dragon Palace's youngest!"

Only then did Cheongun's lips curl in satisfaction.

"Exactly. That's a truth with not a single lie in it."

---

Since visiting the Blue Dragon Palace last spring, Taeo had been sending letters faithfully every week—by six-eyed turtle, of course.

Aran had been preparing replies with Hwi, Su-ryeon, or So-rim's help and sending them off whenever the six-eyed turtle arrived.

Because she was worried it would look strange if she started writing too early, when even the twins couldn't write yet.

But today was no ordinary day.

The great Vermilion Bird Cheong Aran had manifested her ability twenty years earlier than in her previous life!

Having decided to keep it a secret from the Blue Dragon family for now, she couldn't even boast about it—and Aran's fingers were itching.

So she decided to write a letter directly to Taeo herself.

That afternoon, the twins were taken away for their bath.

Aran cracked the door open and surveyed the empty corridor.

"Good."

Perfectly empty.

Aran secretly spread out paper and ground ink.

When she picked up the brush, it was ridiculously large.

St-still, this much is manageable…?

With her still-small but fully functional hands, she struggled to grip the brush and began writing.

"Taeo, hello—are you well?

I'm writing my first reply with my own hand.

Because I had good news today.

I'll tell you about it when we meet next."

She hadn't been able to write in detail and had only gotten that far when—

Thump-thump!

Suddenly, a loud noise came, the door burst open, and the twins rushed in.

"Arani!"

…Huh? Weren't they going to bathe?

Aran flinched and set down the brush, quickly trying to hide the letter—but Min, who had rolled in as if tumbling, stared at the desk with eyes as big as lanterns.

"Wow! Arani, did you write this? With your own hand?"

Yeon, who had followed behind, picked up the letter with curiosity.

"Really, really? Did Arani learn to write? When?"

Aran wrinkled her nose in embarrassment.

It was frustrating, but would it be okay to show she could already write?

Unlike the twins, who had just recently begun learning their letters with a tutor, Aran hadn't even started formal studies yet.

Of course, So-rim had always read to her diligently, but if she revealed she'd already mastered writing, the baby dragons might feel disappointed…

"Ah, well, actually…"

Just as Aran was about to make an excuse, Yeon smiled brightly with a delighted face.

"As expected, Vermilion Birds are smart!"

Huh…?

Had Cheongun's theory of Vermilion Bird genius already spread to the children?

As if confirming it, Min quickly chimed in.

"That's right—Vermilion Birds are geniuses!"

Ah, forget it.

When Aran let it go in exasperation, the twins excitedly read the letter over and over.

They even slowly and clumsily read aloud: "Taeo, hello."

Then they smiled bashfully and began to wheedle.

"Now that Arani can help us, we can finish our homework in no time…"

"Min's hands hurt so, so much that he only did half his homework today!"

Aran snickered and folded the letter, setting it aside.

"Min, weren't you climbing a persimmon tree with your bare hands earlier today? I doubt your strong hands would hurt from holding a brush…"

"No!"

Min protested indignantly.

"Persimmon trees are big, so I don't have to curl my fingers to grab them! Brushes are too thin! It hurts my fingers so much to hold them!"

Then he scrunched up his brow and mimicked the motion of holding a brush.

Clearly, in his own mind, he considered it a terribly painful ordeal.

Aran giggled and found the thickest brush, handing it to Min.

"Here, want to practice with this? It's really thick! Barely any different from a tree branch."

"Hic! Practice…?"

In the meantime, Yeon quietly slipped out of her seat.

"Yeon-ie already finished her homework, so she's going now!"

Since when had Yeon become so fast?

Before she could catch her, Yeon ran straight to the master's chamber.

"Daddy! Arani can write! She's a super genius!"

It was the moment when the Vermilion Bird genius theory, which had spread only within the Blue Dragon Palace, sprouted wings once more.

---

A year later.

The twins, who had come to Aran's room, looked at each other with pained expressions.

"Tsk, Arani went out again!"

"She should take us too! So mean!"

In the spot where the twins were stamping their feet, a pink jacket and sky-blue trousers were laid out in the shape of a person.

Aran, who unlike the dragons could freely transform, had gone out on her own again.

"Should we go to Banwol River?"

"Maybe? She might be secretly meeting Hyeon Taeo again!"

At Min's guess, Yeon shook her head.

"That can't be. He got caught sneaking out without permission last week and got scolded by Arani. She said she'd cut ties if he did it again!"

Then Min pursed his lips.

"Even so, Hyeon Taeo will just act pitiful and cry, and she'll forgive him, won't she? He only acts nice in front of Arani, but she doesn't even know!"

Yeon couldn't argue and sighed.

"Just seeing how he treats that poor turtle uncle makes me sigh. If I had a turtle like that, I'd be so good to it…"

"Me too! It has six eyes—that's amazing! More than fingers!"

"If I had one, I'd brag about it six times a day!"

After briefly venting as if holding a Hyeon Taeo criticism rally, the twins went back to worrying about Aran's whereabouts.

"Or maybe we should check near the walls? She might be playing with the birds."

"Arani's so lucky! She can fly around freely with the birds!"

"Right! Then let's go to the training grounds first."

"Oh no, you can't go to the training grounds, young masters."

The twins flinched at So-rim's sudden interjection and jumped simultaneously.

"Startled us! Training Master, why do you pop up without making any noise? We were surprised!"

Of course, So-rim wasn't the type to back down over that.

"Really? Perhaps you were startled because you have something to feel guilty about?"

"Tsk, homework is done in an instant if Arani helps! We'll do it when Arani comes back!"

"But that's not the young miss's homework, is it? Young masters, go back to your rooms and do your homework—go!"

"Go…"

"I can't hear you! Shall we do ten laps around the training grounds instead?!"

"We'll just do it, go…!"

The twins screeched and shoved each other as they fled, each trying to leave first.

So-rim watched their retreating backs with an affectionate gaze.

Then she neatly folded Aran's clothes, which were left alone.

"Which bird is our young miss playing with today, I wonder."

---

Around the same time, Aran was receiving news from the birds about the imperial palace.

"Caw! Caw?"

(Elder! I heard that these days, birds don't even go near the imperial palace, caw?)

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