758

 [Chapter 193]

[Watchdog (4)]

<Watchdog of the Little Princess>.

People who learned the truth of the rumors called No Eun-ha that as if by agreement.

Strangely, Eun-ha obtained the same alias in this life too.

But if there was a difference from the previous life, it was that <Watchdog of the Little Princess> wasn't just used mockingly like before.

"Have you heard the story too? Apparently Namsan Clan asked discreetly this time. You know, Namsan Clan is currently acting as a satellite clan of Pandora Clan."

"I know, they're Pandora Clan's ally. So, what did Namsan Clan ask? If that girl in Pandora Clan really has <White Silver>?"

"Yeah, they asked."

"What did the Pandora Clan Lord say?"

"If you don't want your thread cut off, shut that mouth."

""""...""""

"That child's name is Ha Baek-ryeon, right? So they say he growls if you just make a 'Ha' sound in front of the Pandora Clan Lord. What watchdog, he's nothing short of a mad dog."

In this life, <Watchdog of the Little Princess> was used with fear.

Pandora Clan Lord No Eun-ha, famous for his calm personality, started showing extreme vigilance.

To the point people said this isn't a <Watchdog of the Little Princess>, but a <Mad Dog of the Little Princess>.

So people outwardly tried not to show curiosity towards him.

"I heard the Fairy's bodyguard has been staying there recently."

"If the Fairy's bodyguard is there, we can say a person with <White Silver> really appeared without asking the mad dog."

"I heard reporters caught the scent too. They're said to be staking out near Pandora Clan trying to take pictures of that child. It seems they're being caught by Pandora Clan members one after another though."

"If it's a child with snow-white hair, there's no need to confirm the truth of the rumors. She must really have <White Silver>. The Fairy government will soon request an embargo from media outlets or put pressure on them. There's nothing good about making the whole world know."

"It's just a matter of time anyway. Eventually it will become known that child will become the Fairy in the future."

Because No Eun-ha growled so much.

People had no choice but to judge with the given information.

And they quietly exchanged stories without catching the world's eye.

""""...""""

Somehow Pandora Clan ended up protecting the future Fairy.

If so, it was obvious Pandora Clan's brilliant future would be guaranteed.

Not just that.

The future of groups and people friendly with Pandora Clan would be guaranteed too.

"─It's a bit like that."

"To think one clan monopolizes the Fairy. What if Pandora Clan seizes power and wields influence..."

"Does the Fairy have no thoughts?"

Of course, people unrelated to Pandora Clan couldn't view it favorably.

Ordinary people were mostly cheering since they were enthusiastic about Pandora Clan's name.

But those in any kind of conflict of interest with Pandora Clan couldn't.

Especially─

"─The Pandora Clan Lord seems to have a lot of secrets... Don't you think so too?"

""""...""""

Dangun Clan Lord Jang Bong-jeon.

He openly criticized No Eun-ha.

Jang Bong-jeon couldn't possibly like No Eun-ha.

There were several reasons.

One was that Dangun Clan still couldn't break out of B+, while Pandora Clan that was below Dangun Clan until now leaped to A-.

Simply put, his pride was hurt.

Another was that Dangun Clan's situation wasn't very good currently.

Dangun Clan barely had Dongdaemun-gu under its jurisdiction with its B+ rank.

But after the Seoul Disaster, public sentiment that wasn't good to begin with was shaking even more.

If the Fairy government hadn't banned clan wars for 3 years after the Seoul invasion, the representative clan would have changed.

So they were barely maintaining, but.

Jung-gu adjacent to Dongdaemun-gu had very good public sentiment.

Then how would Dongdaemun-gu people think?

Though it probably won't happen... People absolutely must not rise up and hand over jurisdiction to Pandora Clan.

Jang Bong-jeon knew very well that Pandora Clan took Jung-gu under its jurisdiction through public sentiment.

There was no law saying a similar situation couldn't happen in Dongdaemun-gu too.

Lastly, the fundamental reason was─

─No Eun-ha, that bastard...

Because of the Pandora Clan Lord.

No, because of No Eun-ha.

Of all people, Twelve Seats <Big Data> Mo Ra-yul ended up taking responsibility for the Seoul Disaster.

Because of that, Dangun Clan's reputation fell even more.

Eventually Dangun Clan completely lost Mo Ra-yul to the Mana Management Organization.

"No matter how I think about it, it's strange. Maybe the Pandora Clan Lord knew from the beginning. That that child had the <White Silver> gift."

""""...""""

Because they had such bad blood.

Jang Bong-jeon trembled with anger at No Eun-ha.

So he called clan lords close to him to one place and grumbled.

"It's been like that since the last Seoul invasion. The Pandora Clan Lord always seems to know the future."

"I thought that too. There are rumors he might possess <Future Sight>..."

A drinking party.

As alcohol entered heavily and formalities were somewhat dropped.

Starting with Jang Bong-jeon, several people showed signs of agreeing.

They were all people entangled in conflicts of interest with No Eun-ha in some way.

"<Future Sight>, <Future Sight>... That's right. Maybe the Pandora Clan Lord really has something like that. But!"

With a bang.

Jang Bong-jeon put down his glass.

He raised his voice.

"Considering the feats the Pandora Clan Lord has shown so far, can we really think it's <Future Sight>?"

""""...""""

"Even just this Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack, that bastard No Eun-ha showed how much he was hiding his power!"

""""...""""

"What the hell is that bastard's gift! No, to think he can see the future, and have power to show such feats at such a young age...!! Where on earth is there such a gift?"

"That's... true."

The Mana Religion soul-returning ceremony terror attack incident.

Though the video quality was blurry.

As video footage was released, people saw No Eun-ha's feats again.

So now it was to the point of awe.

The people gathered here had to acknowledge No Eun-ha's extraordinariness too.

Because they had to acknowledge─

"─Don't you think it's strange? Why are the Mana Management Organization and Fairy government leaving that alone?"

""""...""""

"There's a guy who could bring tremendous disaster to this country if he wanted, so why aren't they trying to confirm that guy's power!! Ah, come to think of it!"

""""...""""

"Gift inspection! Come to think of it, those bastards, most of them haven't disclosed their gifts!!"

Saying how could that be.

Jang Bong-jeon induced agreement.

Some nodded.

But some were cautious.

Gift inspection and disclosure weren't mandatory.

But Jang Bong-jeon's assertion was different.

"Those bastards who achieved so many merits are no different from public figures now! So isn't it natural to confirm their power? Why did the Twelve Seats all disclose their gifts, but they don't disclose?"

""""...""""

"Especially that bastard No Eun-ha!! Aren't you really curious how that bastard's power is composed? What if that bastard causes terror like Sindorim this time!"

It was little different from forcing.

But the words Jang Bong-jeon uttered that day gradually spread to the world.

Public opinion agreeing emerged.

☆

Rumors couldn't be stopped.

Baek-ryeon's existence was slowly spreading through the grapevine.

So Eun-ha's nerves were very on edge these days.

"Sigh..."

"That person, they're not talking about Baek-ryeon by any chance?"

He was sensitive to the point of reacting even when someone just sighed.

Eun-ha couldn't shake off such thoughts as he passed by someone receiving requests on the clan hall's 1st floor.

"They just sighed. Don't try to pick a fight for no reason."

"Yeah, not just us but you really need to relax."

Eventually Eun-ha tried to approach that person to hear what they were saying.

If Choi Eun-hyeok hadn't grabbed his shoulder, he really would have.

Meanwhile, Mok Min-ho held his throbbing head seeing Eun-ha's behavior.

"It's not incomprehensible that you're so worried, Eun-ha. Just recently, some reporter tried to take pictures of Baek-ryeon."

"That bastard, just thinking about it really..."

It was understandable for Eun-ha and Pandora Clan members' nerves to be very on edge recently.

Because things making them uncomfortable were happening from unexpected places.

I don't think Baek-ryeon's secret can be hidden forever either.

Everyone will know someday.

But I want to keep it secret as long as possible so Baek-ryeon can live comfortably.

Other clan members were similar.

As Baek-ryeon's hair turned snow-white, revealing her gift was <White Silver>.

Clan members who were surprised at first soon recalled the fate she would face and made pitiful expressions.

They had known Baek-ryeon for quite a long time too.

They who became attached to Baek-ryeon voluntarily protected her and tried to keep her secret.

"Don't worry too much about Baek-ryeon. Bodyguard Lee Jeong-hyeon is there, and clan members are taking turns guarding her. I need to go meet Donghae Construction people now."

"And Yeon-hwa noona is sticking right by her side these days. Don't worry. Ah, I need to go work now too... Min-ho! Let's go together!"

"Alright, both of you work hard."

While heading to the elevator.

Eun-ha parted from the two.

As Mok Min-ho said just before, Baek-ryeon was currently being securely protected.

Bodyguard Lee Jeong-hyeon is on standby at Baek-ryeon's school, and Yeon-hwa noona is by her side whenever she has time.

Not just Lee Jeong-hyeon and Ryu Yeon-hwa.

Eun-ha was helping with Baek-ryeon's commute to school recently.

Moreover─

─I also had Jean Valjean watch Baek-ryeon without others knowing... And I'm having Twenty-Five eliminate any signs of approaching Baek-ryeon.

Without Lee Jeong-hyeon and clan members knowing.

Eun-ha was really doing everything he could to protect Baek-ryeon.

Nevertheless, he couldn't feel at ease.

"It's already this time..."

Though Jean Valjean and Pass are connected, it seems I can only feel at ease seeing Baek-ryeon directly with my eyes.

It was almost time for school to end.

Eun-ha checked the time and decided to spend some time in his office before going to pick up Baek-ryeon.

Eun-ha got on the elevator.

"I'm coming in."

"Okay, come in."

"Beep beep beep boop boop boop boop boop!!"

Shortly after entering the office.

Han Seo-hyeon came looking for Eun-ha.

Eun-ha got up from his seat and led Han Seo-hyeon to the sofa.

Soon she held out documents.

"I don't think it's a good idea to have clan members protect Baek-ryeon by squeezing their free time."

It was a list.

She said she judged it would be good to organize clan members dedicated to protecting Baek-ryeon.

Eun-ha agreed.

Baek-ryeon feels sorry too, and she might get stressed if the people guarding her surroundings keep changing.

Baek-ryeon was now 10 years old.

But such a young child was already being mindful of her surroundings.

That tendency became even stronger after the meeting deciding Baek-ryeon's guardian ended that day.

'...I'm sorry. I'm sorry for making unnies and oppas have a hard time.'

'Hey! What's a little kid with the ink not dry behind her ears saying!? Who is it? Who said such things? This oppa will scold them! Could it be that ahjussi No Eun-ha?'

She felt more sorry for the clan members trying to protect her while busy with work than the state's coercion that she must become Fairy.

So she made the clan members' hearts ache.

Jin Parang even went wild.

Because such things happened, clan members tried to protect Baek-ryeon even more.

"I composed it with trustworthy people. I'm planning to have Yeon-hwa unnie not work for a while and just guard Baek-ryeon."

"Yeah, you did well. It's not like we're desperate for money or performance. Even if work decreases a bit, we should prioritize protecting Baek-ryeon more."

Eun-ha woke from his thoughts.

Himself, Ryu Yeon-hwa, Bong Gu-rae, Bruno, etc.

Eun-ha nodded seeing the names written on the list.

Then he had something he wanted to say.

"But Seo-hyeon."

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Why are the twins' names on here?"

At the very bottom of the list.

Meiling and Meirin's names were there.

Eun-ha asked with a sour tone.

"Though it's not good for Baek-ryeon's emotions, I thought they were perfect for brightening Baek-ryeon's mood who's been depressed lately."

"If that's the case, wouldn't it be better to include Parang hyung or Ariel?"

"Parang ahjussi won't be able to consider Baek-ryeon's feelings to the minutest detail. Ariel isn't bad either but she seems like she might cause trouble too..."

"The twins seem like they might cause trouble too? And they live thoughtlessly."

"They may seem to live thoughtlessly, but they're kids who keenly grasp people's psychology and act accordingly. You just don't know well."

"They do that?"

Han Seo-hyeon highly evaluates the twins.

Eun-ha stuck out his tongue.

He couldn't understand.

But Eun-ha knew what Han Seo-hyeon's gift was too.

A gift that grasps people's emotions.

There must be something only Han Seo-hyeon can know.

"The best alternative is to attach Seo-na and Ariel together... But it seems Seo-na won't be able to stay by Baek-ryeon's side because she's helping me and Ha-yang with work. So I'm trying to attach the twins by her side instead."

"Will it be okay..."

In the previous life, the twins occasionally took care of Baek-ryeon too.

Baek-ryeon and the twins were quite close.

The problem is─

─Baek-ryeon was quite influenced by the twins' personalities...

Eun-ha fell into contemplation.

The contemplation wasn't long.

"Alright, I should follow my wife's words."

"Yeah, just listen to me well. That's how you get rice cakes even while sleeping."

Just hoping Baek-ryeon grows well.

And hoping she's happy.

Eun-ha didn't wish for anything else.

No matter how Baek-ryeon grows, it was fine as long as she was happy.

☆

Baek-ryeon wasn't the only person Eun-ha had to be mindful of.

 There was also her mother Ha Ji-eun.

"Noona, are you drinking here again?"

"Ah, Pandora Clan Lord."

"I told you to call me comfortably in private."

"It's already stuck in my mouth, what can I do?"

Late at night.

Eun-ha visited the 3rd floor just in case.

Sure enough, Ha Ji-eun was in the store without even going home.

It seems she drank again today.

Eun-ha sat across from her as she was drinking beer with french fries.

"Give me a glass too."

"Wait a moment."

Ha Ji-eun got up from her seat.

Eun-ha smiled bitterly watching her head to the kitchen.

It must be very hard.

As Baek-ryeon awakened <White Silver>.

Ha Ji-eun had to accept the fact that her daughter would become the Fairy in the distant future.

Some might be excited thinking of enjoying power riding on Baek-ryeon's authority.

But she wasn't that kind of personality.

"─Baek-ryeon... is pitiful."

"..."

Just like saying this today too.

She lamented Baek-ryeon's future captured by the monster called the state.

So unable to overcome sadness, she had been drowning in alcohol every night recently.

"There's so much to do in the world. So much to enjoy too... But it's so pitiful that child now can't do as she pleases and must be forced into a Fairy's life."

"..."

"I feel so sorry to Baek-ryeon. I shouldn't have given birth like that..."

"Why do you keep saying such things. Don't say things like that."

Alcohol enters.

Ha Ji-eun sheds tears.

When Eun-ha pulled out tissues and handed them over, she finally burst into loud sobs.

"What will happen to Baek-ryeon now. How can they try to make such a young thing the Fairy when she doesn't know much?"

"..."

It was a predetermined fate.

Eun-ha couldn't say anything.

He could only pat her shoulder and stay by her side so she wouldn't drink alone.

"─Only the Pandora Clan Lord."

Then, Ha Ji-eun tightly grasped Eun-ha's hand.

She raised her head.

"Her father is gone now. Long ago, while fleeing from monsters, he tried to lure the monsters to save me and Baek-ryeon in my belly."

"..."

"We parted like that. So I tried to find news of that person while carrying Baek-ryeon around."

A story about Baek-ryeon's father.

He hadn't heard it in the previous life.

Baek-ryeon didn't ask Ha Ji-eun much about her father, and Ha Ji-eun had died.

"And I finally found out. I happened to meet a person who fled together then... and they said he died then."

"..."

"He was a person who didn't teach me anything about himself... He left the world just like that leaving only me and Baek-ryeon."

"So you decided to start a new life opening a store in Seongnam?"

"Yes... Since that person is gone now too, I thought I had to protect Baek-ryeon alone now."

"..."

"But. I can't protect her alone. What power do I have to protect a child becoming the Fairy?"

"..."

"So I'm asking like this... Only the Pandora Clan Lord. Please, please protect our Baek-ryeon... I'll do whatever you say, so please just protect Baek-ryeon no matter what."

Ha Ji-eun lowers her head.

Banging her head on the table.

She tightly grasps Eun-ha's hand.

Eun-ha held her hand back.

The answer was decided.

"─Don't worry. Even if I have to exchange my life, I'll definitely protect Baek-ryeon."

It was what he was already prepared for.

Eun-ha vowed.

No one, ever again─

─I'll make it so absolutely no one can defy that child.

☆

I want to become something.

But I still don't know what that 'something' is.

I just have so many things I want to try, and I wanted to decide while trying various things.

─You must become the Fairy now.

But the world couldn't give her a chance to pursue any dream.

She awakened <White Silver>.

At first, she didn't understand what <White Silver> was, or that she had to become the Fairy.

But as time passed, Baek-ryeon came to vaguely understand the meaning.

""""...""""

From the day she awakened her gift.

Baek-ryeon could no longer live a normal life at elementary school.

Bodyguard Lee Jeong-hyeon was always on standby outside the classroom.

Pandora Clan members also frequently escorted her.

Above all, her hair that turned snow-white made people wary.

'The silvery-white hair is pretty, but it'll stand out too much like this... Isn't there an artifact that can change color?'

'No, unnie. I tried testing but Baek-ryeon's mana reacts and disperses artifact magic.'

'Is it because she can't control her power yet...'

Silvery-white hair.

Baek-ryeon wasn't used to her appearance when she stood in front of the mirror.

It was very unfamiliar.

And she realized she could no longer live the same life as before.

She felt it even more hearing No Eun-ah and Jeong Ha-yang's worries about her hair.

'It's okay! Actually, I wanted to try being the Fairy too? I want to become a cool and pretty person like the Fairy I saw on TV before.'

''''...''''

Seeing clan members worrying about her.

And her mother hiding sadness while looking at her.

Baek-ryeon tried to bravely accept her changed life.

No, she pretended to be brave.

I don't want to be the Fairy...

Now I can't play comfortably with friends.

They distance themselves from me.

No, my environment now makes them distance themselves.

I can't meet Jean Valjean comfortably either.

I have to live receiving someone's escort 24 hours a day.

I have to study a lot from now on to become an excellent Fairy in the future.

None of it was okay.

I just pretended to be okay because I didn't want to see people I like worrying.

So─

"─Baek-ryeon... is pitiful."

When she could finally move freely in the clan hall.

When she went to meet her mother and heard her mother crying drunk.

Baek-ryeon's tears fell too.

I don't want to live like this either.

No Eun-ha ahjussi was at the table too.

Baek-ryeon listened to the two people's conversation while hiding and holding her breath.

She cried covering her mouth.

Eun-ha ahjussi seemed not to notice her presence as he was comforting her mother.

So she could hear.

"─Don't worry. Even if I have to exchange my life, I'll definitely protect Baek-ryeon."

Those words he spoke with force.

Brought peace to Baek-ryeon's heart as she had to walk a gloomy, anxious future.

Really, an ahjussi I dislike.

But I wanted to rely on those words.

It seemed I would recall those words when things get hard in the future.