Chapter 45
The next moment.
Before the little snake could even react to the light, the round glow shot straight toward Yeon.
‘Ah!’
“Yeon!”
“Yeon-ah!”
Do-ui and Hwa-ryeong both reached out at the same time to protect the baby snake, but neither boy’s hand reached Baek Yeon.
There was some distance between them, separated by the boundary.
Startled, the little snake squeezed her eyes shut and opened her mouth slightly.
Paaat!
At that moment, the cluster of light stopped right in front of Yeon’s nose.
Then, very slowly, it seeped into her body.
The baby snake, who had initially shut her eyes in fear, slowly opened them when she realized the light did not intend to harm her.
‘…Huh?’
What Baek Yeon saw was a small bird-shaped light.
It gently pecked at the bridge of her nose with the utmost affection before slowly being absorbed into her body.
She had no idea what it was.
Nor did she know where it had come from.
But one thing was certain.
‘It’s warm…’
It was a kind of warmth she had never experienced before.
It was different from the warmth Ju Jeokseo, Hwa-ryeong, Do-ui, and Si-rang had given her.
It felt as though a very gentle hand was holding her tiny body in a warm embrace.
The baby snake blinked her round eyes at the strange sensation.
‘It feels just like a mother’s touch.’
She had never felt a mother’s touch before, but if she had a mother, would this be what it felt like?
Just as Baek Yeon slightly lifted her head, wanting to feel the light a little longer—
Paaaah!
The tiny light was completely absorbed into her body, and in an instant the surroundings became brilliantly bright.
And then, at that moment—
‘…Huh?’
Tilt.
Baek Yeon’s vision suddenly slanted.
As if sleep had abruptly washed over her, her eyes slowly began to close.
She struggled to get back up, panicking, but it was useless.
She could feel all the strength draining from her body.
‘N-no!’
If she collapsed like this, everyone would definitely worry.
Hwa-ryeong and Do-ui would be frightened.
“Yeon-ah!”
“Baek Yeon!”
Through her tilting vision, she saw the panic-stricken faces of Do-ui and Hwa-ryeong.
Unable to stop it, Baek Yeon squeezed her eyes shut and thought:
‘You mustn’t cross over…’
Because something might happen to them if they crossed the boundary.
But she could not say the words aloud.
Baek Yeon lost consciousness.
“Father! Father!”
“Head of the Family!”
Do-ui and Hwa-ryeong ran frantically toward Ju Jeokseo.
In Do-ui’s arms was Baek Yeon, who had already transformed into her human form and was hanging limply.
The two boys looked up at Ju Jeokseo, their faces pale.
“Yeon suddenly collapsed!”
“There was a flash of light in the annex, and then all of a sudden Yeon…”
“What? What are you talking about? Calm down and explain!”
Ju Jeokseo soothed the children as he took Baek Yeon into his arms.
The small child was transferred into his embrace.
After taking a moment to steady their breathing, Do-ui and Hwa-ryeong explained everything they had seen.
As he listened, he carefully examined Baek Yeon’s condition.
Fortunately, she did not seem to have a fever.
From the outside, she merely looked as though she had fallen asleep from exhaustion.
‘But Physician Son will know for sure.’
Carrying Yeon in his arms, he strode quickly toward her residence.
“Do-ui! Go fetch Physician Son.”
“Yes!”
“Hwa-ryeong, as for you… If something happened in the annex, you should have left the child there and come to get me. Why did you bring her?”
“I-I panicked and acted without thinking…”
“I’m not scolding you. Coming directly to me was the right decision.”
Holding Baek Yeon tightly, Ju Jeokseo hurried toward the child’s quarters.
Ignoring the horrified Si-rang behind him, he gently laid the little girl on a soft bed and checked her condition.
There did not appear to be anything particularly wrong with her.
Even after a closer inspection, he found nothing unusual.
‘Then why did she suddenly fall asleep?’
Moreover, according to the children, some kind of “light” had approached Yeon in the annex.
‘And after absorbing that light, she suddenly collapsed…’
Yet he had no idea what kind of light it had been.
To begin with, the annex had been almost completely off-limits before Yeon arrived.
Only because Yeon wished to absorb the contamination there had Ju Jeokseo allowed partial access for two hours each day.
So there was no way for him to know what might have happened inside or what existed there.
Just in case, he was massaging Yeon’s tiny hands and feet when Physician Son came rushing in after hearing the news that the baby snake had collapsed.
Naturally, the pale-faced Do-ui and Hwa-ryeong were right behind him.
Yeon dreamed.
In her dream, she was wrapped in a warm silk swaddling cloth, blinking her eyes.
It was different from the dreams she usually had.
It was not one of those dreams where Yeo Ryun and Song Ra appeared and berated her or hated her.
This dream was gentler.
Warmer.
‘What kind of dream is this…?’
Just as the baby snake tried to wiggle her tiny hands—
A soft, affectionate voice drifted down from above.
“My precious baby.”
She had no way of knowing whose voice it was.
It was a voice she had never heard before.
Not as the White Snake Princess.
Not since arriving at the Vermilion Bird Clan.
It was a small, warm voice, like a gentle flame.
“You are a very special child. I will protect you no matter what.”
Only then did the baby snake realize something.
No one had ever spoken to her like this when she was young.
From the earliest moment she could remember, the White Snake had been a nuisance of the imperial palace.
She was hated by everyone.
The child abandoned by her father.
A failure who could not even become a dragon.
That was exactly how the baby snake had been treated.
So perhaps this dream was not hers.
Dreams did not always show things one had actually experienced.
Perhaps it was simply showing her the things she had always wished for.
“Mother will always be with you…”
But the moment she heard those words—
Yeon felt her throat tighten.
‘Why…?’
Her tiny heart began to pound rapidly.
It felt as though her heart were beating wildly beneath her tongue.
Yeon blinked.
‘It really sounds like Mother’s voice.’
The child thought within the dream.
I’ve never heard my mother’s voice before.
There’s no way I could dream something like this.
There’s no way I would steal a voice this gentle and pretend it belonged to my mother…
Yet somehow, this voice felt familiar.
As though she had heard it once before.
As though this had truly happened.
As though her mother had once held her in such a warm embrace.
A tear slipped from Yeon’s eye.
And at that moment, it almost felt as though a small white glowing feather gently landed upon her forehead.
“Is the child all right now?”
Hwan-ya asked as he arrived at Baek Yeon’s residence somewhat later.
Ju Jeokseo, Do-ui, and Hwa-ryeong had already been preparing to return to their own quarters.
Ju Jeokseo nodded.
“The physician says she simply fainted from surprise. He says she’s only sleeping and should wake up soon.”
No one could forget how delighted Physician Son had looked when he declared that she was merely asleep and had no other problems.
As he finished speaking, Hwan-ya hesitated before asking:
“…May I stay beside the baby snake?”
“You?”
Ju Jeokseo frowned in surprise.
“You may, but do not stay too long. You might disturb her sleep.”
“I understand.”
Hwan-ya answered immediately and stepped into Baek Yeon’s room.
In the center of the room, beneath a large soft blanket, the tiny girl slept peacefully.
She was as small, pale, and light as a dandelion seed.
It looked as though she might drift away and disappear at any moment.
‘She looks just like Aunt Myeongyeong.’
She truly did.
Hwan-ya lowered his head and looked at Yeon more closely.
He had not been present in the household when the girl named A-hui had been there.
But if he had been, he doubted he would have been deceived by her.
How could anyone be fooled by a fake who merely copied someone’s face when a child who resembled her this much existed?
‘At first, I didn’t want to admit it.’
Sitting beside Baek Yeon’s pillow, Hwan-ya muttered while gazing at the sleeping child.
‘She really is exactly like Aunt Myeongyeong…’
Had his aunt been like this when she was young?
Lying in the very room Aunt Myeongyeong once used made the child seem even more like a miniature version of her.
Without thinking, Hwan-ya reached out toward the baby snake’s soft pale cheek.
At that moment—
“Shhh! You’ll wake her up!”
Hwa-ryeong stood firmly at the doorway, lowering his voice as much as possible while staring at Hwan-ya.
