I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 19
Once the beginning went smoothly, everything that followed was easy.
Covering one eye just as I was told, I recited the numbers and pictures Hestia pointed to.
“Your eyesight is normal. Lastly, let’s lie down here and say ah.”
“Ah.”
“No cavities, and you have all your teeth. Oh my, your canines are so round. How adorable.”
Checking for cavities, Hestia lightly tapped my canine.
I quickly snapped my mouth shut. Was it all over now?
When I looked at Hestia, waiting to hear that I could step down, she smiled and pressed a piece of chocolate into my hand.
“Here, a present for finishing so bravely.”
“Mm, fank you.”
“You must brush your teeth after eating this, all right?”
“Iling brushes her teef evely single day!”
I grinned brightly in excitement.
Lately, because of worries about cavities, I hadn’t been able to eat many sweets or chocolates.
Isn’t this the universal plight of every young child? To think something so delicious couldn’t be eaten in abundance.
I should savor it slowly.
I slipped the chocolate into my pants pocket. Yet since earlier, Rosaria had been wearing a grave expression.
“Is it truly all right for Lady Irene’s canines to be so blunt? I took a brief look, and even her molars were far too small.”
At Rosaria’s serious question, I scurried over to the mirror on the examination desk.
Canines aren't supposed to be blunt?!
Standing on tiptoe, I opened my mouth wide, and sure enough, a tiny, round canine sat tucked on one side.
“Lady Irene doesn’t go out hunting like us, does she? There’s no need to worry, Rosaria.”
“Still, canines are the absolute basics.”
“That only applies to beast children. More importantly, what we should be paying attention to is something else entirely.”
“Could there be something wrong with her?”
Hestia’s gaze grew more serious than ever.
Rosaria leaned her ear in, asking what it was.
Watching the two of them reflected in the mirror, I gulped down dry saliva in tandem. A faint whisper drifted over.
“The young lady is under a meter tall.”
“……Pardon?”
Hestia spread her palm wide.
“She’s barely five spans of my hand.”
Of all things, even her height has to be this outrageously cute!
Hestia couldn’t hide her sheer excitement.
Rosaria’s eyes went round before curving into a languid smile.
It was an expression that resembled the effortless ease of someone who already had it all.
“My goodness, I was already well aware of that. Isn’t that the privilege of the one serving Lady Irene?”
* * *
Lately, a certain ailment had been spreading among the vassals serving the Astrophel family.
Though the symptoms manifested in various ways, the root cause was entirely the same.
‘I want to boast about our youngest lady to the whole wide world, but I can’t!’
A child who could not yet live independently was strictly barred from outside exposure, save for exceptional circumstances.
This was an ironclad rule of the Astrophel family, where heirs were exceedingly rare.
For that reason, the council held today could be considered momentous.
It was the historic first moment Irene would officially be introduced to the world.
Gathered in one room, the vassals deliberated carefully, turning the matter over and over regarding the banquet to be held in the spring.
“Shall we proceed as planned and invite only the allied clans?”
“That would be best.”
“I am a bit worried, however. What if those hideous beasts dare show interest in Lady Irene?”
Come to think of it, that made sense.
The long-awaited chance to show off the youngest lady had finally arrived, but it came with such side effects.
Every single vassal fell deep into thought.
Without exception, the clans allied with the Astrophel family were perilous in the extreme.
Just counting the alliances that came to mind right away, there were the lions of the western grasslands, the jaguars and wolf packs of the east, and……
“You say the North sent a letter stating they would attend this time as well?”
Kaid looked toward Durias as he spoke.
Durias, who oversaw all external affairs of the family, nodded in affirmation.
“Yes. The letter arrived this morning.”
“Why are they attending all of a sudden?”
Baon asked, his tone sour. The North had boycotted the banquets for well over a decade now.
Durias merely shrugged.
“How am I to know what goes on in their minds?”
“Then why is the letter in such a state?”
Kaid pointed at the tattered golden letter.
“Ah, this. I briefly debated tearing it to shreds.”
Durias let out a chilly laugh, his fingers lingering on the parchment with regret. His face practically asked, ‘Should I tear it apart right now?’
The North’s intention to attend would bring massive ripples.
Families eager to establish ties with them would declare their attendance in droves.
At the sudden news of the inscrutable tigers’ attendance, a murmur stirred through the gathering.
Frantically busy preparing for a banquet less than a month away, the vassals scowled at the unexpected variable.
“Baon.”
“Yes, Lord Kaid.”
“Do your utmost to prepare Irene’s security detail.”
Even if this was an annual event, it was an occasion where ferocious beasts gathered in one place.
Surely no one would be bold enough to stir up trouble in the South, but exceptions always existed; one could never be too cautious.
“I shall do my best.”
“Just picturing Lady Irene wandering among all those beasts already makes my heart race with anxiety.”
At Zeras’s words, everyone nodded in fervent agreement.
They seemed to have completely forgotten that they themselves were classified as high-risk apex predators.
Kaid chuckled as if it were absurd.
“It’s merely a banquet held in our own front yard anyway.”
“That is true.”
Had another family hosted it, even Kaid might have hesitated to send Irene.
However, this year’s banquet was being held right here in the South, their very home territory.
“Shall we summon the spare forces stationed at the border, then?”
As the meeting began to wrap up, Baon made a subtle inquiry. Kaid tilted his head.
“Are there spare forces? I don’t recall having any to spare.”
“We have them, do we not?”
Baon grinned. Realizing whom he was referring to, Kaid furrowed his brow.
“Don't those fellows have zero interest in anything outside the battlefield?”
“Wasn't Rosaria the same at first?”
That was true enough.
Within the Black Mamba clan, she was already notorious as a warmonger. It was practically unbelievable that she was currently tending to Irene.
Rosaria, who everyone assumed would return immediately, now wished to remain at the family estate more than anyone else.
“Wouldn't they be curious as well? Given that Rosaria hasn’t returned for over two months.”
“I’m not so sure that’s a good idea.”
“They are to be Lady Irene’s escort knights; they ought to be at that level. Outsiders will flock from all directions, so we need a shield of that caliber.”
“Fair point.”
Tapping the table, Kaid signaled his consent. While stationing them beside Irene was slightly concerning, there were no escort knights more dependable than them.
“If those bastards return to the estate, there will be no need to organize a separate guard unit.”
* * *
Squeak, squeak.
Squeak.
My toddling improved by leaps and bounds each day.
Perhaps thanks to all my enthusiastic wandering, I could now go up and down the stairs all on my own.
Stamping my feet in high spirits as I toured the mansion today, my face grew warm under the fond gazes around me.
Everyone must be really interested in me!
Affectionate attention always made a person feel wonderful.
“Lady Irene, out on a stroll by yourself again today?”
“Yes! I’m all big now, so I can go awound by myself.”
When I flashed a beam at one of the passing vassals and gave a polite bow with both hands over my belly, hearty laughter erupted all around.
Everyone looks so happy. Which means I’m happy too!
I stomped my feet with vigor.
Squeak! Squeak, squeak!
“You’re especially full of energy today. What did Rosaria pack for you this time?”
A cool unnie asked, pointing to my bag bulging with snacks.
Umm. I don't know yet either.
I fiddled with the snap on the bag, which had been adjusted snugly across my chest so it wouldn’t hang loose.
“……Iling has to open it to know.”
“Oh dear. What a shame I won't get to see. Here, take one of these too!”
“Fank you so much.”
Receiving the heart-shaped glass container, I inspected it intently.
Inside were candies coated in sparkling powder.
A candy I've never seen before!
I quickly tucked it away and resumed walking. I had a long road ahead of me today.
It had already been several days since I started venturing out of my room alone.
Because the mansion was absurdly vast, I hadn’t even explored half of it yet.
Even the few places I had managed to visit were spots I’d learned about only by eavesdropping on nearby conversations.
