I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 38
Ever since he was caught the first time, he seemed to have no hesitation showing up before me.
Mesis walked over to the swing, peering around it as if it were a novelty.
“Did you deliv-er the letters?”
“Ah, those. Of course. Everyone loved them.”
“Weally?”
“Yes. They’ve finished submitting all their reflection letters, too. It’s all because you cheered them on, young lady.”
It was a relief that they had submitted all their reflection letters.
Does this mean I can see them now?
As Mesis spoke, his lips twitched as if he had just remembered something.
When I looked at him in confusion, Mesis smiled brightly.
“It truly was a sight to behold. Thank you. Thanks to you, young lady, I got to witness such a spectacle.”
“What did you see?”
“Ask them yourself later. What they did, that is.”
Though curious, I simply nodded for now.
For now, riding the swing was more important.
I sat down on the swing seat and gripped the ropes tightly with both hands.
“Push Irene, Mesis.”
“Hm?”
“I gotta move my feet back and fort, but it’s too hawd.”
When I swung my legs and pretended it was too difficult, Mesis, who had been standing at a moderate distance, walked over.
“How hard should I push you?”
“Um. Gently!”
“Gently? …It shouldn’t be a difficult request, so why does it feel so hard?”
Mesis muttered.
Despite readily accepting the request, Mesis seemed to hesitate for a moment.
It looked as though he was agonizing over just how gentle “gently” was supposed to be.
Looking forward, I waited for him to push me.
Soon, the swing began to move slowly.
Riding the pleasantly brisk momentum, I kicked my legs back and forth with vigor.
“Wheee!”
A cool breeze ruffled my hair.
Every time I flew closer to the sky and cheered, I could hear Mesis chuckling softly from behind.
“Harder!”
“Pardon?”
“Jus’ a little harder!”
I shouted, completely thrilled. I felt like going just a little bit higher would be perfectly fine.
Besides, I figured that if anything happened, Mesis would rescue me right away.
I’ll ride just a tiny bit more and then go do my homework.
The swing that had soared high into the sky swooped back down. As I stretched my legs out, I felt a poke in my back.
“Huh?”
I tilted my head.
What was that?
The sensation was distinctly different from when Mesis had pushed me.
Unlike the relaxed, steady push forward from before, this felt exceedingly cautious.
“Mesis?”
“Yes.”
When I called Mesis in question, the voice that should have come from behind piped up right beside me.
Startled, I looked to my side.
Mesis was leaning against the tree where the swing hung, watching with great amusement.
Then who’s pushing the swing right now?
As I grew bewildered, Mesis burst into laughter.
“Paymon. You’ve been caught, so stop now. You surprised the young lady.”
“…Ah.”
An unfamiliar voice filled with regret came from behind.
The touch that had been gently pushing the swing disappeared.
Paymon?
It was a name I had never heard before. I immediately realized that he must be one of my escort knights.
When did they switch places?
I waited for the swing to come to a stop quickly.
“I received your letter safely, Lady Irene.”
It was a very friendly voice, brimming with warmth and goodwill.
“You saw the letter Irene gave you?”
“Of course. I was struggling a bit because I didn’t know how to write a reflection letter, but seeing your letter gave me strength so I could come see you sooner.”
“How did you write the weflection letter?”
“Well, I thought it meant reflecting a little, getting revenge, and coming back.”
That was certainly a fresh take on a reflection letter.
So that’s why it took days to submit them.
I had wondered why it was taking so long, and my question was finally answered.
Once the swing came to a complete halt, I hopped down and turned around to look at Paymon.
My eyes met dark brown hair and green eyes that held a subtle, mysterious shade.
“My. I finally get to greet you.”
“Are you Paymon?”
“Yes.”
I lowered my gaze and saw a finger awkwardly extended in midair.
Not knowing why he was holding up a single finger, I blinked at it blankly, prompting Paymon to chuckle sheepishly.
“Ah, well… I heard I was supposed to push you gently, but I wasn’t sure how to control my strength.”
“And so?”
“One finger seemed about right.”
That poking feeling earlier must have been that finger.
…He made me fly high into the sky with just one finger.
And here I thought I was flying awfully high.
I beamed brightly with joy at Paymon, the second one I had met.
“Did Paymon wanna meet Irene too?”
“You’re asking the obvious.”
“Irene wanted to see you lots and lots too!”
I threw my arms around Paymon’s leg in a tight hug.
Paymon, who had flinched and tried to step back, froze in place when he saw me hugging his calf.
In an instant, Mesis panicked and shouted in a rush.
“Hold on, Paymon. Remember the young lady is holding your leg right now.”
“I know. I’m trying to be careful right now.”
“…Huh?”
Rumble.
At the same time, I sank straight down into the ground.
I stared blankly at the sunken lawn.
Had this been my first time experiencing such a thing, I would have been terrified, but after everything I had seen and been through, it wasn’t all that surprising.
Pitter-patter.
When I lifted one foot, clods of dirt clinging to the top of my sandal showered down.
Calm as could be, I pulled my sunken feet out.
“…Young lady, are you all right? You’re not hurt anywhere, are you?”
If anything, Mesis was the one who was shocked. After freezing dumbfoundedly, his face went pale as he rushed over.
“Yup. I’m okay. Not hurt anywhere.”
When I nodded and said I was fine, Mesis breathed a sigh of relief.
Still unable to set his mind at ease, he inspected my legs from every angle.
I peered up at the frozen Paymon.
He must have been really startled by my sudden hug. To think the ground gave way.
“Paymon.”
“Ah…, yes.”
“Irene is sowwy for scaring you.”
When I apologized, Paymon went silent for a moment before suddenly burying his face in both hands.
Stepping back, Paymon stole another glance at me and let out a long sigh.
His troubled gaze wandered aimlessly through the air. Soon, Paymon called out softly to Mesis.
“Mesis. This is impossible.”
“No. Endure it.”
“Did you see her from the front? Did you see how ridiculously cute the young lady looked waddling over just now?”
“I told you, you can’t go around smashing everything like you did at the border.”
It was an exchange that made it very clear how Paymon usually behaved.
I took another good look at Paymon.
His chocolate-brown hair and deep green eyes gave off an endlessly gentle aura.
Yet in truth, he went around violently wrecking his surroundings. It was hard to imagine.
“I’m sorry, Lady Irene. I’ll be more careful from now on.”
“No. It’s okay. It’s not like you do it evewy day.”
“Well, that’s…”
Paymon, who had squatted down to pat dirt back into the hole in the lawn, trailed off.
His brow furrowed slightly.
He seemed to be recalling his past.
“Back at the border, there was never any need to hold back my strength, so that’s a bit hard to answer. …Not every day, but sometimes? Like when I’m happy, upset, or flustered.”
Adding up the situations he listed one by one, it sounded like it was basically every day.
I decided to keep my distance from him.
Mesis clicked his tongue and shook his head.
“As you can see, this is why we couldn’t all come together.”
“…Mm. I think I unnastan’.”
“Thank you for understanding.”
It would be problematic if situations like that kept happening repeatedly.
Feeling that quite some time had passed, I walked over to the picnic mat.
As if it were the most natural thing, Mesis and Paymon followed behind me.
I took off my sandals neatly and plopped down. It felt like time to start doing my homework.
When I pulled my bag over and took out my notebook and pencil case, the two of them watched the bag with great curiosity.
Mesis asked,
“What are you going to do? No more swing?”
“Yup. Irene’s gonna study now.”
“…Study?”
“Kasa gave me homework today, so I gotta finish it all. If I don’t, Kasa will be sad.”
I opened the notebook and began copying the words one by one.
Mesis and Paymon stayed quietly by my side until I finished my homework.
“All done!”
“Oh, you’re already learning words?”
“Uh-huh.”
“That’s impressive.”
“Since I’m all done, Irene wants a snack.”
Concentrating so hard had made me hungry. Though honestly, I hadn’t been at it for that long.
I rummaged through my bag and pulled out the snack container.
Paymon pointed at the container and asked,
“Don’t tell me that’s your snack?”
“Yup. This is Irene’s snack.”
“…That’s all?”
“The young lady can’t eat much. You saw it last time.”
“True, but…”
As I opened the snack container, a sweet aroma wafted up.
Crackers neatly topped with delicate fruit toppings were revealed. Picking up the palm-sized crackers one by one, I handed them over.
Because things like this were meant to be shared!
“I’ll give you one each. Eat this.”