I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 17
“Will you be able to climb up by yourself? Shall I help you?”
Rosaria, who had been following close behind, asked as she looked at the tall chair. I shook my head.
“No! I can cly-me up all by myself.”
I was big now, so something like this was a piece of cake.
I wasn't the same tiny chick who could only chirp anymore.
Hnng!
I put all my strength into my arms and hauled myself onto the seat. Rosaria clapped, looking proud of me.
As I beamed with satisfaction, a sneering voice drifted over from the side.
“Hmph. You can barely even climb into a chair, and you call yourself a Black Mamba?”
“Ireen is a bird!”
“Huh?”
The boy with curly black hair lifted his chin, a smirk curling on one side of his lips.
“You’re nothing more than a single bite, so what are you acting so proud of, you dummy!”
The boy seemed to be waiting for me to shrink back and cry.
Well, how's that? Scared, aren't you? That was written all over his face. But what to do?
Having just learned earlier that the phrase ‘single bite’ was practically synonymous with ‘cute’ among the Black Mambas, his words dealt me absolutely zero damage.
“Tha’s right! Ireen is cute!”
So I fired right back with total confidence. The boy flinched before shouting in a voice thick with frustration.
“W-what! What kind of nonsense are you spouting?! When you're just a single bite!”
“Tha’s right! Bein’ cute is all Ireen needs!”
Somehow, it felt like my shamelessness was leveling up by the day.
Watching the two of us bicker, Seth wore a thoroughly unimpressed expression.
His eyes clearly conveyed that he couldn't comprehend why on earth we were acting like this.
I glared at the curly-haired boy sitting next to me, then let out a giggly smile.
The boy seemed completely struck dumb.
Seeing that I hadn't taken the slightest blow and was acting like nothing had happened, his face crumpled in an instant, a look of utter bewilderment washing over him.
This wasn't supposed to happen. What is this?
That was what his expression said.
Kaid, who had been watching the spat, spoke curtly.
“Enough.”
With that single word, the boy pouted and immediately reined in his fiery attitude.
Hmph. The boy whipped his head away.
Once the restless atmosphere settled down, Kaid opened his mouth again.
“Seth, Arvan. Surely you haven't forgotten that today is the day you are introduced to your younger sister?”
It seemed the boy sitting next to me was named Arvan.
I stole curious glances at Arvan, seeing him for the first time.
Even though we had just fought, I couldn't help being curious about him.
Perhaps Arvan felt the same way, because our eyes suddenly locked.
Startled that I had been caught sneaking peeks, my heart skipped a beat. I awkwardly looked straight ahead and pretended to be minding my own business when Seth greeted me, acknowledging my presence.
“We meet again, Irene.”
“……Yeah. Hello.”
“So you were growing, after all?”
Seth voiced his inner thoughts without the slightest hesitation, his tone polite and gentle.
Normally people would keep things like that to themselves, but he was shockingly blunt.
“Have you two met before?”
“Yes. Once in front of the forest earlier. A ball seemed to be playing with her.”
……Did I hear that wrong?
When I tilted my head in confusion, Seth's eyes creased into a smile. His expression asked if there was any problem.
“…The ball wasn’t playin’ with me.”
Seth turned his head away, pretending not to hear.
It looked like I had truly gotten on his bad side.
I had felt it last time, but this time made it abundantly clear.
He seemed to be holding back from overtly showing his dislike because Kaid was present, but even Kaid would have noticed by now.
It seemed it would take a very long time to win Seth over.
And yet back then, I even gave him the origami I folded as a present…….
As I grew disheartened, Seth's lips curled upward right on cue.
“Ah. You gave me that pathetic piece of colored paper, too. It was the absolute worst thing I've ever received, which made it quite memorable.”
“Then just throw it away.”
Arvan grumbled. For some reason, he seemed thoroughly irritated.
Seth looked at Arvan and remarked,
“Are you the only one who didn't get a present from Irene?”
“Who said I ever wanted something like that?!”
“It certainly looks that way.”
“It does not!”
It was right at the moment when Round Two between the brothers was about to kick off in earnest.
Arvan parted his lips to say something.
“Enough.”
The souring atmosphere died down once again at Kaid's intervention.
Surely every meal doesn't start off like this, right?
Seth seemed to be taking genuine pleasure in teasing Arvan, who reacted to the slightest nudge.
I took my mind off the two of them and gripped the child-sized fork in my hand.
Just as I stabbed a piece of meat that had been pre-cut into bite-sized pieces—
“Pfft.”
“…Don’ laugh.”
Because the dining table came up all the way to my chest, eating wasn't an easy task.
If I kept eating like this, my arms were going to go numb. What should I do?
Just as I was pondering whether there was a better way, the plate set in front of me suddenly vanished.
“My meeeat!”
I whipped my head around to glare resentfully at the culprit.
“Thas my meat…….”
“The table is too high. Come here.”
“Huh?”
My eyes went wide. Kaid was pointing at his lap.
After hesitating for a moment, I climbed down from the chair and trotted over to Kaid.
Squeak. Squeak. Squeak.
Large hands slipped under my arms and lifted me right up into the air. My legs dangled in the empty space.
Settling me onto his lap, Kaid nonchalantly brought a piece of meat to my mouth.
“Ah.”
“Ah.”
Chomp.
A generous piece of meat entered my mouth, filling it completely.
Tender texture and rich, savory juices spread across my tongue.
Munch, munch.
As soon as I chewed diligently and gulped it down, the next piece of meat entered my mouth as if it had been waiting.
“You eat well.”
How many bites had I taken?
Just as I swallowed the very last piece of meat, a chef wearing a pristine toque emerged from the direction of the kitchen.
“I have brought dessert, Lord Kaid, Young Masters…… Oh, Lady Irene is here as well!”
The chef, who had been setting down mouthwatering desserts one by one, greeted me warmly.
I realized that he was the head chef mister who had been sending me delicious snacks every day.
“The mister who gives Ireen yummy treats!”
“I am honored that you recognize me, my Lady. My name is Baharn.”
I quickly gave a polite belly-button bow. It was because I remembered promising myself to thank him whenever we met.
“Fank you for givin’ me yummy treats every day!”
“It is I who am grateful that you enjoy them so much.”
“I like Baharn!”
My voice rang out loudly across the dining hall. The moment those words left my mouth, the atmosphere in the room plummeted into a dead silence.
“……You like what?”
Kaid's hand, which had been in the middle of handing me a snack, froze in midair.
Seth's gaze then drifted slowly toward me. His brow furrowed with subtle nuance, and his lips parted slightly before snapping shut.
Finally, even Arvan's lips—which had been smugly curled in amusement at my inability to eat on my own—instantly flattened into a straight, tight line.
What was this? Did I say something wrong?
I tugged on the sleeve of Kaid's arm that hung suspended in the air.
“Ah.”
“Right.”
The chilling atmosphere relaxed once more.
Baharn, who was dripping with cold sweat, tried to change the subject while finishing up his tasks.
“By the way, why is the young lady sitting on your lap, My Lord?”
“The chair was too low.”
“Ah, I see. Then I shall arrange for a booster seat to be prepared.”
“Baharn.”
“Yes?”
The corner of Kaid's mouth twisted upward.
He fixed Baharn with a steady, unblinking stare. Even though it lasted only a few seconds, a suffocating tension hung between them.
“It seems your sense of tact has vanished lately.”
“…….”
“Shall I send you to the front lines of the territory so your senses can sharpen up?”
“……I misspoke.”
“You think so, too?”
“Yes.”
Faced with questions dripping with implicit threats, Baharn swiftly changed his stance.
Then, he beat a hasty retreat back into the kitchen.
I tilted my head in bewilderment. What did Baharn do wrong?
Sometimes, grown-up conversations were impossible to understand.
Having eaten my pudding, this time I stuffed my mouth full of bread piled high with whipped cream.
“Yummy!”
As I ate, oblivious to the cream smeared around my mouth, Arvan, who had been watching me listlessly, clicked his tongue.
“Hey.”
“What?”
“Stop getting it all over yourself. You're ridiculously high-maintenance, it's annoying.”
Even as he said that, he rubbed a napkin around my mouth. His touch seemed rough at first glance, but was surprisingly gentle.
While I was awkwardly receiving his care, Seth spoke up.
“You were shut in the forest training for days on end, Arvan. Looks like you worked hard.”
“Huh?”
When Arvan shot back a questioning look as if asking what he meant, Seth's eyes drifted down to the napkin.
In an instant, Arvan flinched.
As I looked curiously at his unmistakably flustered face, Arvan leaped up from his seat.
“What do you mean worked hard! It's not like I practiced because I wanted to see her or anything!”
Arvan dashed straight out of the dining hall.
If it wasn't, it wasn't—why was he getting so mad?
I swallowed the very last morsel of bread and took a long sip of my drink.
