I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family - Chapter 1I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent FamilyChapter 1
Chapter 1
* * *
The peaceful Astrophel family was turned upside down overnight.
An unprecedented incident had occurred.
It all began with an egg of unknown origin.
It had looked ridiculously tiny and somewhat defective, and then—peep, peep—a baby bird had cracked right through the shell and popped out.
No one knew how it had gotten mixed in among the eggs destined to produce the family’s successors.
Baon, who was in charge of managing the eggs this time around, broke into a cold sweat.
“Could someone have tossed it in as feed for the newborn young masters?”
“Sounds like you want to be tossed in as feed yourself.”
“I misspoke.”
Baon immediately corrected himself and stepped back. The man before him was more than capable of doing just that.
Kaid Astrophel.
He was the head of the Astrophel family, commanding the entire clan from the vanguard.
The leader of the clan, born with an overwhelming manifestation of power and a cruel, ferocious temperament to match, far surpassing anyone else.
A distinctive aura of danger, pitch-black hair, and crimson eyes were the very symbols of the Astrophel family.
While he wouldn't actually be thrown out as feed, Baon cleared his throat, knowing full well that if he didn't toe the line, not even his bones would be left intact.
“I checked to see if it carries any pheromones from a guardian, but there was no such trace.”
“Was it abandoned?”
“That is a possibility. If not that…”
Perhaps the guardian was no longer capable of caring for their young.
Either way, it was hardly good news for the newborn chick.
It was as good as having no place left to return to.
“It appears its slow growth was due to an inability to properly absorb pheromones.”
“I see.”
“What would you like to do?”
Baon asked regarding the baby bird’s disposal.
Kaid looked down into the basket sitting on his desk.
Even though they were discussing its fate right in front of it, the chick had its beak tucked beneath its wing, curled into a round ball, and was sleeping soundly, breathing soft little puffs of air.
It couldn't be more carefree.
Utterly oblivious to what awaited it.
For a newborn creature, having no guardian meant death.
Had it been discovered in another family, it might have received protection until reaching adulthood, but not here.
In the Astrophel family, where the law of the jungle was strictly upheld, fragile beings were never welcome.
“Take it outside the territory and dump it somewhere.”
“Understood.”
Looking as though he had expected nothing less, Baon picked up the basket to carry out the order.
At the same time, a tiny head popped right up from inside the basket.
“Peep?”
The baby bird had awakened.
Fresh out of sleep, it tilted its head from side to side as if trying to figure out what was happening.
Its tiny, chubby wings flapped clumsily, not yet able to move properly.
Then, catching sight of its own wings, it started in shock, not knowing what to do with itself.
At that sight, Kaid’s brow furrowed.
“The egg was small, and it seems its brain is lacking as well.”
“…Still, it is rather cute.”
“Nonsense.”
“Shall I truly go and discard it?”
At that moment, astonishingly, the baby bird froze.
It was as if it understood their words.
Had the chick been born a snake, it would have been entirely natural, but because it was a bird, it was truly bizarre.
Even so, it seemed it hadn't failed to absorb pheromones entirely while inside the egg.
Judging by how it seemed to comprehend the clan’s language to some degree.
Baon’s eyes gleamed with curiosity.
“Then I shall go discard it.”
“Peeep!”
“It is the Lord’s command.”
“Pee-ep! Peep!”
Keeping his eyes fixed on the baby bird, Baon delivered his lines in a dry, flat monotone.
Each time, the chick reacted dramatically, flapping its wings in distress.
Baon carefully examined the chick once more.
Just as he thought.
Faint though it was, the pheromone lingering on it astonishingly bore the scent of Kaid’s own.
“I sense your pheromones on it, My Lord.”
“I know.”
“…And yet you still wish to discard it? If it is thrown outside our territory, it will be torn apart and eaten immediately.”
“You aren’t suggesting I raise that thing in my household, are you?”
A distinctive, sinister pheromone rolled outward.
At the noxious, venomous scent, Baon took a step back with an uneasy look.
“Pee… Pee-eep…”
The baby bird was trembling violently in fear under Kaid’s pheromones.
Watching it burrow beneath the blanket, crying in sheer terror, Kaid paused and drew back his pheromones.
“Pee-eep… Pee-eep.”
Seeing it weep sorrowfully as if desperately searching for someone, Kaid pressed a hand to his forehead.
It was a well-known fact that the moment a chick hatched into the world, it would imprint on whoever supplied it with pheromones, following them as its guardian.
Locking eyes with the chick that, despite its terror, was crying out desperately while looking straight at him, Kaid scowled and waved his hand dismissively.
“Do as you please, Baon.”
* * *
What on earth was happening?
I still couldn't believe what was happening to me.
Was I dreaming right now?
Unable to make sense of the situation no matter how much I thought about it, I rubbed my eyes. Yet when nothing changed, I tilted my head in confusion.
How was I even alive?
Originally, I was a young beastperson living alone, hiding in a tiny territory in the East.
I didn't even know what kind of creature I was. All I knew was that I walked on four legs and had a tail.
Because no one had ever told me who I was. That was what came of having no guardian.
It wasn't particularly unusual for a young beastperson to live alone in the East.
Fierce territorial battles between powerful families meant that a bloody wind was always blowing through the eastern lands.
While barely scraping by to stay alive, the last memory I had was definitely being chased by a terrifying predator.
I was certain I wouldn't survive, yet here I was, breathing and very much alive.
On top of that, when I opened my eyes, I had turned into a bird.
A bird, of all things.
Me, a bird.
Unable to recover from the shock, I tried to cover my eyes, only to see tiny, chubby wings.
“Pee-ep!!”
No way!!
I shook my head vigorously. They were so small that at first I wondered if it was real, but no matter how I looked at them, they were definitely wings.
To escape reality, I rubbed my face into the blanket.
The soft texture almost made me zone out for a moment, but I quickly snapped to my senses.
What in the world was going on all of a sudden?
I looked around anxiously. No one had explained anything to me.
Besides…
“You aren’t suggesting I raise that thing in my household, are you?”
Even if I was a bird now, calling me 'that thing' was too harsh.
Pffft.
I let out a sigh and flopped down.
Too much had happened in such a short span of time. I had only just woken up, but I was already exhausted.
Sway, sway.
Surrendering my body to the swinging basket, I looked up at the man called Baon.
Where was he taking me?
He wasn't really going to throw me outside the territory, was he?
In a body like this, I couldn't survive on my own.
To end up all alone again the moment I was born… A wave of gloom washed over me.
I guess I'm destined to be alone in this life too.
Perhaps sensing my fixed gaze, Baon's pale blue eyes met mine.
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“Peep. Pee. Pee-eep.”
“I have no idea what you are saying.”
“Peep-peep. Pee-eep!”
“If word gets out that there's a bird here, someone might come to eat you up. A snake, for instance…”
Gasp. I clamped my short wings over my beak.
As I huddled down and scanned my surroundings, Baon leaned his face right up against the basket.
“No matter how many times I see it, it is fascinating. How you understand what I say.”
The pupils of his blue eyes narrowed into thin vertical slits.
I squeezed my eyes tightly shut. Oh, heavens. He really is a snake.
I'm a bird, and Baon is a snake.
Knowing that snakes were natural predators of birds, every single feather on my body stood on end.
“I was joking.”
“Pee. Pee-eep…?”
“You wouldn't even be enough to fill a tooth gap.”
Baon said brightly. I swept a wing over my chest in relief.
Now that I had become a bird, it felt as though my instincts were completely aligning with one.
To think that from the moment I was born, I had to worry about being eaten by a snake. What a pitiful life.
As I stared glumly at the bottom of the basket, Baon’s footsteps came to a halt.
“This is where you will be staying from now on. Since the Lord gave his permission, it should be fine.”
