I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 34
* * *
The banquet came to a safe conclusion.
All the invited guests had departed as well.
Kaid had stepped away for a moment to see the guests off.
On my way back ahead with Seth and Arvan, I spotted Rosaria coming down to the first floor to greet us, and I ran over to throw myself into her arms.
“Wosawia!”
“Lady Irene! Did you enjoy the banquet?”
“It was so much fun!”
My beaming smile quickly turned into a pout.
“B-but something sad happened too.”
“Something sad?”
Rosaria, who had bent down to welcome me warmly, showed a slight tightening in her expression.
Worried she might get concerned, I shook my head to tell her it was nothing.
“Yeah. But it’s otay. Papa came and saved the day.”
“Is that so? What a relief the Patriarch was nearby.”
“Uh-huh!”
Come to think of it, so much had happened in a single day.
It felt like days had passed, yet everything had unfolded over the course of just one day.
I began recounting the events of the banquet to Rosaria one by one.
“Wosawia. Eye-ween got an unco today!”
“…An uncle? Could it be that you met Lord Dante?”
“Wosawia knows unco too?”
“He is the Patriarch’s close friend, after all. The Icelord family maintains deep ties of friendship with our clan.”
They bickered, sure, but they were definitely best friends.
I gave a cheerful giggle and nodded.
“He said Eye-ween can keep callin’ him unco.”
“Lord Dante did? That is wonderful, Lady Irene.”
“Righ’? An’ I made a fwiend too.”
Excited, I babbled away, telling Rosaria all about the banquet without pausing for breath.
“Truly? What kind of new friend might this be?”
“His name is Seiji, an’ he’s a tigeh. We played tag togeder.”
Rosaria, who had been listening with interest to the news of a new friend, stopped dead in her tracks the moment the word “tiger” left my mouth.
It seemed she was bothered by the fact that Seiji was a tiger.
She had always taught me that roaring beasts were scary, after all.
I quickly added more to reassure her that Seiji wasn’t scary at all.
“Seiji is nice. He even told me to come play in the North!”
“…Did he say so himself?”
“Uh-huh! He said he’d show me around if I came!”
After the banquet ended and everyone was preparing to return to their respective families, Seiji had come to see me.
“Irene. Come to the North next time. I’ll show you around.”
“Weally? Den Eye-ween will definitely go!”
I didn’t know when it would be, but I made that promise, looking forward to the day I might visit the North.
“So when I gwow up, I wanna go see the Nor—”
“One moment, Lady Irene.”
“Huh?”
Rosaria, who had just regained her composure to focus on my words, wore a look of sheer shock this time.
She finally cut me off and began pressing for clarification, step by step.
“So you are saying… he invited Lady Irene to the territory where he resides?”
“Uh-huh.”
When I nodded vigorously, Rosaria’s smile contorted.
She asked once more, as if to double-check.
“He said he would show Lady Irene around where he lives.”
“Yeah. Why?”
Is there a problem?
As I tilted my head in bewilderment, Rosaria shook hers and put on a bright smile.
“It is nothing at all, Lady Irene.”
Soon, her glittering purple eyes glared murderously at an empty patch of air.
Rosaria’s voice echoed faintly down the hallway.
“I sent them to guard her, and they let a beast latch onto her from who knows where?”
* * *
Inside the carriage bound for the North.
Before long, the carriage had left the southern border behind and was passing through the neutral territory.
Befitting land claimed by no one, a thoroughly peaceful atmosphere drifted through the air.
Seiji, who had been watching the scenery sweep past the window with an expressionless face, called out to Muhela.
“Mother.”
“Hmm?”
Muhela, who had been tending to business put off due to the banquet, looked up.
It was the very first time Seiji had spoken after spending the entire ride lost in thought, staring out the window ever since they departed.
Yet, having called her, Seiji fell silent for a long time.
Only the sound of carriage wheels rolling across the plains filled the silence before Seiji finally parted his lips.
“When can I see Irene again?”
It was a question Muhela hadn’t anticipated in the slightest.
She set her documents aside and took off her glasses.
“Why ask that all of a sudden?”
“Just because.”
“Do you miss Irene already?”
“……”
“Why?”
Muhela asked, deliberately drawing out the syllable.
Her blue eyes sparkled.
When Seiji quietly averted his gaze, a smirk crept onto her lips.
“If you don’t give me a reason, I’m not telling.”
Her tone was practically bursting with glee at having caught him in a teaseable moment.
Seiji let out a quiet sigh and pressed his lips firmly together.
Muhela, however, had no intention of letting it go. As her persistent stare lingered on him, Seiji’s brow furrowed.
“Aren’t you busy?”
“I am. But I’m always willing to lend an ear to counsel my son through his worries.”
Liar. She was only doing this because she found it entertaining.
It seemed this situation wouldn’t end unless he said something.
Seiji felt as though he had walked right into a trap.
“It’s nothing important, so don’t pay it any mind.”
“Seems quite important to me.”
“……”
“Are you concerned because she’s your very first friend?”
Seiji didn’t deny it. Perhaps that was it.
Maybe his appetite had returned while playing with Irene for that very reason.
“I think so.”
Muhela, who had fully expected him to deny it, looked genuinely surprised.
To think he would admit to it so readily, with a personality like his.
“That makes sense. Your next chance to meet will likely be next year’s banquet. That is, if the North attends as well.”
“Is that so?”
“Shall we go?”
Seiji sensed it instinctively. This would become something she teased him about for years to come.
He shouldn’t have brought it up.
Hearing her speak as if testing the waters stirred a streak of stubborn pride in him.
“Never mind.”
“Is that so?”
He doesn’t bite easily. Muhela smacked her lips in mild disappointment. She had hoped to hear a bit more of his inner thoughts, but that chance was gone.
Seiji spoke with a sullen edge to his voice.
“When will my next growth phase happen?”
Look at this. Muhela fought back a burst of laughter.
The moment things didn’t go his way, he was already plotting the next move.
“How hurtful. Are you already eager to be independent?”
“I figured that would be faster.”
“You still have a long way to go before reaching adulthood.”
When Muhela waved her hand dismissively, Seiji’s delicate brow knitted together.
Muhela was inwardly astonished. To think he wanted to see Irene again so badly that he was contemplating reaching adulthood just for it.
“Why ask about your next growth? Just because you want to see Irene?”
At first she had wondered if it could really be, but by now, she had a good idea.
Even if he himself seemed entirely unaware.
Seiji shook his head.
“I don’t know about that. I’ll figure it out once I reach adulthood first.”
“Oho, is that right? You have no clear objective, yet you want to become an adult?”
“Why are you looking at me like that?”
“No reason. Just felt like looking at you this way.”
Seiji looked away from her overbearing gaze.
Watching her still very young son, Muhela found herself torn between cheering him on or stopping him.
Seiji merely taking an interest in Irene was harmless enough, but if he began to desire anything beyond that, a treacherous path lay ahead.
Though it seemed he had already begun to want more.
When the Kiraas clan found something they desired, their instinctual urge to claim it grew fiercely intense.
To Muhela, who had walked that very path before her son, it was clear as day.
Seiji had found something he wanted.
Even if, for now, it was nothing more than an innocent curiosity.
Muhela laughed with amusement.
“Seiji. Do you know how our clan managed to seize control of the North?”
“Because we’re strong.”
“That is true, yes. But that’s not all of it.”
“Then what else?”
Though guarded against the out-of-nowhere question, Seiji dutifully gave his answer.
“Truth is, there’s something far more important than that.”
“What is it?”
Was there something beyond mere strength? Since ancient times, the Kiraas family had been renowned for possessing the most potent pheromones.
Their growth period into adulthood was vastly faster than other clans, and their combat instincts were far superior.
Naturally, they had never once been pushed back in territorial disputes.
Yet there was another reason on top of all that?
Muhela whispered, as though sharing a deep secret.
“Why do you think we reach adulthood faster than other clans?”
“It’s an innate trait.”
He remembered hearing during clan lessons that it was a characteristic of the Kiraas.
Muhela’s pupils narrowed into slits.
“Yes, a trait. You see, our obsession burns far fiercer than that of other clans.”
At times, to an utterly cruel extent.
Muhela offered a sweet smile.