I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 37
* * *
The afternoon work was over.
To clear his head, Kaid turned his attention to the letters of reflection submitted that morning.
It had taken quite some time for everyone to hand theirs in.
Planning to let them off easily if possible, Kaid began reading in a relaxed mood.
However, the moment he read the first line, he realized how naive that thought had been and called for Baon.
“Baon.”
“Yes, you called?”
Baon, who had been wrapping up some pending paperwork, looked up.
Kaid checked the apology letter several times with a dumbfounded expression, then pressed a hand to his forehead.
“I have no idea how these bastards managed to enter my family. Bring me the records of whoever recruited them.”
“Did something happen?”
Baon asked in bewilderment at the sudden order.
Why ask for the gatekeepers’ resumes out of nowhere while reading their letters of reflection?
Their identities were beyond reproach, without even needing a separate check.
To begin with, only members of branch clans were allowed into the Astrophel family.
It was safe to assume there was nothing to worry about.
Yet Kaid’s expression was cynical.
“Root out whoever it was and drag them before me.”
“……”
“They have no right to hold personnel authority.”
“Is it that bad?”
Just what in the world was written in there?
Baon grew curious as to why Kaid was reacting like that.
“May I read it as well?”
“Go ahead.”
With permission granted, Baon took the letter of reflection, crumpled in Kaid’s grip.
First of all, the elegant handwriting passed muster. In terms of appearance, it was quite decent.
“What kind of problem is there that you’re…”
Checking the contents, Baon momentarily doubted his own eyes.
What could he even say?
He was rendered speechless for a long while. A heavy silence settled over the office.
“To think such fools were working under me.”
The more Kaid thought about it, the more ridiculous it seemed, and he let out a scoff. With a hand over his forehead, he sighed.
“…It seems they did their best in their own way. Haven’t they maintained all the formal courtesies?”
“Which makes it all the more absurd.”
Unnecessarily elaborate.
Baon deeply agreed with those words.
“That is true.”
“What does that look like to your eyes?”
“This? Well, rather than a letter of reflection, it certainly looks like…”
It bore a striking resemblance to a war plan.
It was practically identical to the strategic plans periodically reported from the border to prepare for emergencies.
Moreover, as if they had all conspired together, the submitted contents were astonishingly similar.
Since they couldn’t have conferred on what to write, it was all the more awe-inspiring in a way.
Baon closed his eyes in confusion.
He then shifted his perspective, trying to interpret the intent in the best possible light.
“Isn’t this a plan proposed out of their desperate desire to protect Lady Irene?”
“So they’re asking me to ready the troops as soon as possible.”
“……”
“What, are they planning to sever Retra’s neck and present it to Irene?”
“I will tell them to rewrite it.”
No further words of defense came to mind.
Baon clicked his tongue softly. It seemed hopeless to expect a normal letter of reflection from them.
Kaid shifted his gaze out the window, where the sun was setting. Due to the backlog of work, he hadn’t been able to visit Irene over the past few days.
“What has Irene been up to lately?”
“Ah. In fact, Rosaria came by to report the day before yesterday.”
“And the details?”
Kaid’s expression softened, a faint smile gracing his lips.
The change was so distinct and visible that Baon was struck with amazement every time he witnessed it.
“She eats very well and participates actively in her lessons.”
“I see. Is that all?”
“There is one more thing, but I am not sure how to tell you.”
“What is it?”
Baon wrestled with whether he should mention it or not.
He didn’t know why he had ended up in the position of delivering such news.
He subtly took a step back from Kaid, who was waiting for the next report, and averted his eyes.
“I was told that the heir of the Kiraas family invited Lady Irene to visit the North.”
A chilling silence fell.
Baon swallowed hard and quickly added:
“He is still young, so it seems he said it without knowing any better.”
“Without knowing?”
“Yes.”
“That brat?”
It was a claim no one would believe.
The corner of Kaid’s mouth twisted upward. He had already been annoyed by the matter, and now it had come to this.
“There’s no way he didn’t know. Not if he’s received proper heir training.”
One of the crucial elements emphasized in heir training was discerning hidden motives.
Naturally, he would know what inviting someone into one’s territory meant.
“How dare he wag his tail at her.”
Who did he think was watching over her?
Kaid scoffed dismissively.
The next day. An astonishing thing happened.
Baon let out a short murmur of surprise.
“Oho?”
On the desk lay a newly submitted document that could actually be called a ‘letter of reflection.’
It was just as Mesis had predicted.
* * *
“Rosadia! What is dis?”
“It is a newly prepared bathrobe.”
Having finished my shower and stepped out wrapped tightly in a large towel, I discovered a robe I had never seen before.
Seeing the pure-white bathrobe hanging adorably on the rack, my eyes sparkled.
Is that mine?
When I pointed at the robe and turned around, Rosaria smiled brightly.
“I thought it would be nice for you to wear a robe instead of a towel now, so I prepared it. Would you like to try it on?”
“Yeah! I wanna wear it!”
I spun around, unraveling the towel wrapped around my body.
Changing into the pristine white robe, the soft texture against my skin felt just like foam.
“Do you like it, Lady Irene?”
“Yeah. Wearing dis makes me feel like a gwown-up. A gwown-up.”
Excited, I ran over to the mirror.
I toyed with the slightly wide sleeves and the ribbon tied at the waist.
Now I can wear a bathrobe too!
Watching warmly from behind, Rosaria approached with a fluffy towel.
It was to dry the hair that was still damp with water.
“It took a little time to find the right size. If I had known you would like it this much, I would have gotten it sooner.”
“Mm-hm. I’m suuuper happy right now.”
I took a long sip of the iced tea that had been prepared as a snack.
Ice and chopped pieces of fruit floated lightly inside the iced tea.
“Lady Irene, have you finished your homework?”
Dabbing the towel gently against my hair, Rosaria asked.
I glanced at the wall clock adorned with flower vines. There was still plenty of time before the lesson began.
Since I still had one day’s worth of homework left, I shook my head.
Lately, I had been learning simple words, and to avoid forgetting them, I was assigned homework to trace letters until the day of the lesson.
“Just a wittle bit left.”
“Then will you be going out to the garden to do it today as well?”
“Yeah. Gonna take it with me.”
“Then I will prepare a snack for you as well. Today’s snack is crackers. They have chocolate and fruit on top. Doesn’t that sound delicious?”
“Sounds yummy!”
“There. All dried.”
“Thank you, Rosadia.”
I climbed down from the chair and packed my notebook and pen.
Putting the snack container into my bag and zipping it up, the previously flat sides bulged plumply.
Leaving the bag in front of the door, I picked up the sky-blue dress folded on the bed.
I unfastened the buttons on the back.
“Would you like some help changing?”
“No. Iween can do it all by myself.”
In truth, putting on socks by myself was still difficult, but putting on a dress was easy enough on my own.
I slipped the garment over my head, popped my neck out, and poked my arms through one by one, easily changing into the dress.
My hair got a little messy, but smoothing it down with my hands settled it back in place.
“How is Iween?”
“You changed so well! Let me button it up for you.”
“Mm.”
Rosaria fastened the buttons on my back.
Whenever there was something new I could do on my own, Rosaria looked delighted yet wore a bittersweet expression.
Watching me grow in real time right beside her, she seemed to find it wondrous.
“I’ll go play and be wight back!”
“Yes. I will come get you before the lesson starts.”
“Yeah!”
I slung the bag over my shoulder.
Time to hurry to the garden and ride the swing!
Not long ago, a dedicated swing had been installed in the garden. They said a slide would be added soon as well.
The reason was that there wasn’t much entertainment at the mansion.
And if there was one more thing installed, it was a parasol.
Beneath it lay a large picnic mat.
This, too, was exclusively mine.
Coming out into the garden, I placed my bag on the mat and ran toward the swing.
“Oh, my lady. Are you going to ride the swing?”
“Mesis?”
“Hello. Good morning.”
Turning toward the sound of the voice, I saw Mesis stepping out with sleepy eyes, looking as though he had just woken up.