I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 24
Handling a breathless, non-stop schedule, Kaid was on edge as edge could be.
It was sheer agony for the vassals who had to tread around his mood.
One slight misstep meant facing those razor-sharp, chilling red eyes, leaving them no choice but to walk on eggshells.
‘I should have submitted my resignation letter sooner.’
It had already been six long years since he began working under Kaid.
And it had also been six long years that Amerode had failed to submit his painstakingly drafted resignation out of sheer terror. Amerode made a tearful face.
Naturally gentle and tenderhearted, Amerode had been bullied by his clansmen since childhood.
However, as he grew up, the awakening of a powerful pheromone caught Kaid’s eye, and he was scouted on the spot…
“You’re a perfect fit to work for my family.”
Back then, he didn’t know what those words meant.
Unfortunately, only after stepping foot into the Astrophel family—coiled like a black serpent with jaws wide open—did Amerode finally understand.
In a household teeming with fiercely individualistic, savage, and even ferocious individuals, Amerode was the only one capable of acting as a mediator.
Because of that, having barely pushed through the latest schedule caught between various departments, Amerode had finally resolved to quit this time for good and submitted his resignation.
And the response he received:
“You submit your resignation at the risk of your life, Amerode.”
Amerode wanted to weep. He simply could no longer handle the man beside him, radiating such sinister energy.
Sighing heavily as he walked down the corridor alongside the other vassals, Amerode’s eyes widened at the faint, downy presence fluttering somewhere nearby.
He saw Irene, hiding behind a pillar and peeking her head out.
“Uh…? Is that…?”
“Her hiding is pathetic. At this rate, she’ll have to live by my side for the rest of her life.”
What did he just say?
Amerode looked at Kaid with an utterly bewildered gaze.
Kaid, previously expressionless, let the corners of his mouth slowly curve up as the distance between him and Irene closed.
Reining in his pheromones so as not to frighten Irene, Kaid halted his steps once the child fully emerged from behind the pillar.
His crimson eyes softened as he looked down at her.
“You look like a moth.”
“It looks more like a butterfly than a moth, Head of the family.”
“……A butterfly?”
Kaid and Baon exchanged words.
Dressed in yellow from head to toe, Irene had wings attached to her back.
Anyone could see she was a fairy, yet listening to their wild guesses sinking so low as moths and butterflies made Amerode click his tongue.
It was truly a mystery how this family had managed to survive until now.
“……She looks like a fairy.”
“A fairy?”
Both men turned their gazes toward Amerode.
“Even a child knows such things are fictional, Sir Amerode.”
Baon scoffed, pushing up his glasses. He then approached Irene and asked:
“Oh, Lady Irene. Is your concept today a butterfly?”
When Baon failed to guess on the first try, Irene sullenly shook her head.
“Iwing is a faiwy.”
“……So you were a fairy. But where is the fairy heading?”
“……Came to see Daddy.”
Fidgeting hesitantly.
Even as she said so, Irene didn’t come forward readily. Clinging to the pillar like a moth and sneaking peeks, it seemed she wanted something.
Feigning ignorance, Kaid asked,
“Did you miss me?”
“Mm. Iwing missed Daddy.”
“Then shall we have dinner together?”
“B-but I pwomised to eat dinnew with Wosawia?”
“I’ll have word sent to Rosaria separately.”
“Mm! Den it’s fine!”
Irene beamed, delighted. Faint smiles formed on the vassals’ lips as well. It felt as though all their accumulated fatigue was washing away.
Kaid scooped Irene up with one arm, supporting her back.
Since she had come all the way here on her own just to see him, it was time to grant her what she wanted.
“Tell me why you wanted to see me.”
“Weeeell……”
Irene rolled her eyes around, pretending to be distracted.
Kaid decided to wait leisurely. Even so, he was curious inwardly.
What on earth could she want that made her hesitate like this?
When Irene hesitated for a long time unable to speak, Kaid poked her cheek.
“I’ll give you three seconds. Speak.”
One.
Two.
Three……
With a three-second time limit placed on her, Irene urgently cupped both hands together and thrust them forward.
As those tiny fist-sized hands stretched out in front of him, Kaid knitted his brows. What in the world was this situation?
Her tightly shut lips parted slightly.
“Awowance……”
A-what?
Kaid doubted his own ears. If he hadn’t misheard, the word that just came out of that mouth was—
“Are you talking about an allowance?”
When he asked in disbelief, Irene’s expression visibly brightened.
The vassals fought with all their might to stifle their bursts of laughter. Kaid chuckled, baffled.
An allowance?
He had no idea where she had heard the word allowance, but did she even know how much money was allocated under her name before begging for pocket money?
When he didn’t immediately reply, an adorable voice leaked out from Irene’s small lips once more.
“Pwease give Iwing an awowance, Daddy……”
Watching her, Kaid, who had been playfully amused by the situation, decided to revise his lighthearted approach.
Should he open the family treasury for the first time in a while?
He fell into serious contemplation.
* * *
“Pwease give Iwing an awowance, Daddy……”
I squeezed my eyes shut and held out both hands.
Irene needs an allowance!
Yet even after a long while, the answer I hoped for didn’t come. I gently peeked open one eye and examined Kaid.
Deep in thought about who-knew-what, Kaid was looking elsewhere.
What if he thinks a baby bird doesn’t need an allowance yet?
Growing anxious, I called out to Kaid.
“……Daddy!”
At that, those crimson eyes that had been directed elsewhere fixed sharply upon me.
Awakening from his thoughts, his lips—which had been set in a flat line—curved smoothly upward. The gentle voice I had been waiting for reached me.
“Alright. How much do you want?”
“……A wittle.”
“A little?”
“A wittle wot.”
I spoke barely above a whisper while watching his reaction, but Kaid clearly heard, replying in a satisfied tone.
“This is the first time you’ve directly asked me for something. What do you plan to do with it?”
“Iwing wants to give pwesents to fwiends.”
I revealed my ambitious plan.
My heart fluttered, as these would be the first peers my age I had ever met in my life, aside from Seth and Arvan.
Just imagining having fun playing with friends using the toys I gifted them made me so happy that a bright grin broke out.
Just thinking about it felt so wonderful!
As I sat perched on Kaid’s arm kicking my feet, a soft chuckle sounded.
“You must have visited the banquet hall in the East Wing.”
“Mm!”
“You seem quite excited. But what about my gift?”
“……Huh?”
“Where’s mine?”
Caught off guard by the unexpected strike, I rolled my eyes while playing dumb, only for my cheek to be poked again.
“Just like a sticky rice cake.”
“Iwing is not a wice cake!”
“Ah, right. You were an ungrateful baby bird.”
“Hmph. Iwing is a baby biwd dat wepays favows!”
“You repay favors?”
I clamped my lips tight in grievance. Kaid’s eyes narrowed amusedly, as if finding it ridiculous.
I’m still too young to earn money, but when I grow up, I can repay everything.
When I puffed out my cheeks in a pout and whipped my head away, the vassals who had been watching warmly began chiming in one by one.
“To think the young lady is a baby bird who repays favors—your expectations must be very high, Head of the family.”
“Though she is still young, she is truly thoughtful.”
I nodded my head repeatedly.
As they took turns praising me one by one, Kaid didn’t seem to feel bad about it at all.
“Amerode.”
“Yes, Head of the family.”
“You heard, so I shouldn’t need to explain.”
When Kaid called Amerode, a person smoothly emerging from the shadows of a corner answered.
He was a man with a pale, cool impression.
Startled by the sudden appearance, I grabbed onto Kaid’s collar.
A nonchalant pat on my back quickly put me at ease.
Once I calmed down to some degree, I relaxed my body and let go of the collar I was holding.
Even though Amerode was right nearby, hardly any presence could be felt from him.
“Irene says she wants to give gifts to the little runts. Find suitable shops, buy them all out, and procure them.”
“I will prepare it without fail.”
I was astonished by Kaid’s order.
I thought I just needed to buy some toys and hand them out, but this had escalated way too much.
In flustered panic, I hurriedly tugged at Kaid’s arm, drawing his crimson gaze back down to me.
“What is it? Is there something more you want?”
I shook my head back and forth.
Making a tearful face, I spoke worriedly:
“Iwing can’t wepay dis.”
