I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 46
Soon, he gestured toward the inside of the conference room with a nod and said,
“Aren’t you curious about how the meeting goes?”
“Huh?”
“Shall we go in together?”
“Can I go in too?”
The atmosphere inside was terribly solemn.
What if I go in during their meeting and make everyone uncomfortable for no reason?
Baon pushed up his slipping glasses, seemingly not expecting Kaid to say such a thing either.
When I hesitated to answer for a long moment, Kaid scooped me up into his arms.
“That won’t be an issue. Who would dare object when I permit it?”
That was true. After all, Kaid was undeniably the master of this family. Still…
When I looked worriedly at Baon, he shrugged and stepped aside from the doorway as if ushering me in.
“Then I shall wait outside.”
Mesis, who had been watching the situation unfold, took a step back and said.
I nodded in understanding.
As Kaid stepped inside, the elders, who had been waiting for the head of the family to arrive, stood up in unison.
All eyes turned at once to me, held in Kaid’s arms. Feeling their intense gazes made me feel awkwardly embarrassed.
Reaching the center of the long table, Kaid took his seat.
His low voice resonated across the quiet conference room.
“Be seated.”
The moment he finished speaking, the elders sat back down in perfect unison, as if they had been waiting for the word.
Sitting on Kaid’s lap and looking ahead, the entire room came clearly into view.
So he had been sitting in a place like this, deciding the crucial affairs of the family all along.
Kaid’s stature struck me anew.
I fiddled with the bowl containing snacks.
Without my noticing when it had been prepared, simple tea and refreshments were laid out at each seat.
And along with them were sheets of paper filled with dense writing. They seemed to be documents summarizing the agenda for this meeting.
I glanced over them briefly before turning my attention back to the snacks.
I was getting hungry anyway, so I decided to eat every last bite.
“Then, we shall begin the afternoon meeting.”
The person sitting separately to one side announced the start and picked up a quill pen.
“What is dat person doing?”
“A scribe. The person who records and preserves the contents of the meeting.”
“I see.”
So they even keep a separate record of the meetings.
With the meeting about to begin in earnest, I felt nervous yet excited.
I was curious about how the family’s meetings were conducted and what kinds of discussions took place.
As I looked around to see who was present, I noticed an empty seat.
It was the seat opposite Baon. Whose seat was it to be left vacant?
“A considerable amount of time has passed, yet someone is absent.”
“Could they be running late?”
Somehow, things weren’t off to a great start.
“……Where has Lord Durias gone?”
The owner of the seat seemed to be Durias.
“His pending documents have been piling up for a while now. He seems to have vacated his post, but where on earth did he go?”
“Did he resign, by any chance?”
“……That can’t be. He is not the type of person to quit so suddenly.”
Many people were wondering about Durias’s whereabouts.
They clearly did not know the reason behind his absence.
Hearing that he had been away for days, it didn’t seem like a simple case of being late.
Kaid looked at Baon and asked,
“Has Durias not returned yet?”
“It seems he hasn’t quite readjusted after being worked hard for the first time in a while. I will make sure to work him regularly from now on so this doesn’t happen again.”
“See to it.”
……What kind of conversation is this?
An old man with a long beard, who had been listening to the exchange with an uneasy look, cleared his throat.
“Absence from meetings is strictly forbidden under any circumstances. Where has Lord Durias gone?”
“I sent him on a brief errand.”
“……An errand? Lord Durias?”
Sharp gasps could be heard from all around.
It meant that Durias was of far too high a standing for the notion of him running an errand to be anything less than shocking.
Unfazed by the surrounding reactions, Baon merely shrugged.
“Let us not dwell on those who are absent and proceed with the meeting. Everyone here is a busy person, after all.”
“……V-Very well.”
I tore off a bite-sized piece of the golden-baked pastry and popped it into my mouth.
The unsettled atmosphere gradually calmed down at Baon’s single remark. Everyone appeared focused, looking at their documents.
“I am Surpia. I would like to raise the first proposal.”
The first person to speak was a woman with long, straight hair reaching down to her waist.
Seeing her state her name as she stood up, that seemed to be the rule.
Hooking the gold-rimmed glasses hanging around her neck onto her ears, she began to speak solemnly.
“This concerns the budget for the second half of the year for our family.”
“Proceed.”
“Prior to planning this summer’s Southern Festival…… I ask that you set an exact budget for Lady Irene.”
My budget? I was suddenly being mentioned in the meeting. I pricked up my ears to listen closely.
“The young masters’ budgets have already been determined, but the young lady’s situation remains unsettled.”
Surpia must be in charge of financial affairs.
So there is a festival hosted directly by the family in the summer. It must be held on quite a grand scale.
But what did that have to do with the budget allocated to me?
Was there money paid out separately for me?
I thought there wasn’t anything beyond what Rosaria specifically requested.
I paused mid-snack and looked at Surpia. It was the first I had heard of it, though it wasn’t hard to understand.
Thinking back on the clothes and toys Rosaria had brought me all this time, they certainly wouldn’t have cost a meager sum.
“Please settle this definitively this time, Head of the family. Only then can we smoothly organize the festival budget.”
“I suppose so. I hadn’t given separate thought to this little one’s budget.”
……Why? A sudden doubtful thought made me freeze, snapping me wide awake.
The fact that they hadn’t established a set amount for me must mean they hadn’t decided what to do with me yet.
After all, I was nothing more than a temporary daughter. The thought naturally cast a dark cloud over my mood.
Right. I might have to leave this house someday. Once I become an adult, there’s no telling how my situation might change.
I had been so immersed in this peaceful daily life that I hadn’t even considered it.
Losing my appetite, I put down the pastry in my hand. Kaid, sipping his tea, asked quizzically.
“Why aren’t you eating more?”
“……Nn-nn. No. Iring is all done eating.”
“You should be hungry after taking a pheromone lesson.”
“Not hungry.”
“Eat more anyway. You spent your energy, so your body must be tired.”
“……Don’t wanna.”
What if the day comes when I have to leave this house? My mind was completely consumed by that single thought.
I didn’t even have any money right now. Even if funds were allocated for me, they didn’t belong to me—they were Kaid’s.
Besides, I had never even seen real money before. I had asked for allowance in the past, but in the end, hadn’t Kaid prepared everything himself?
Having never spent it or earned it myself, I had no concept of money whatsoever. This was a very serious problem for me.
I needed to learn something about the outside world before I became an adult.
I had been far too carefree all this time. How could I?
This was no time to rejoice just because I could finally sense pheromones.
A much bigger issue lay ahead for me.
To survive out there, money was a massive issue. Since I had none right now, I needed to figure out a way to save up, even if only starting now.
Even though my body is a bird’s, I love meat, so I’ll probably need to save up a lot, right? They said meat is expensive.
……Just how expensive is it, though? How much money would I need to live outside?
One worry led to another, spiraling endlessly. And the more they piled on, the gloomier my expression became.
“Surpia, what amount do you consider appropriate?”
“……How about setting it similar to the young masters?”
“However, Lady Irene still has much more growing to do, does she not? Unlike the young masters, she doesn’t grow all at once, but rather bit by bit.”
“She will need a great many things.”
“That is true. A larger sum than expected may need to be allocated.”
Kaid tapped the table with a thoughtful expression.
At that, my heart thumped right along with each tap. Oh no. He must be concerned because spending money on me costs too much.
What if he suddenly tells me to leave? Still, he’s fabulously wealthy, so he wouldn’t kick me out with nothing, right?
I stared anxiously at Kaid’s hand tapping the table.
As soon as I return to my room, I should immediately find out what the most expensive thing I own is.
……Though come to think of it, I couldn’t really call those things mine either.
Still, no one else would really want them besides me, so taking that much with me should be fine, shouldn’t it?
I heard before that goods from the Marinette Family were expensive, so I should probably focus on gathering things bearing their crest.
Collecting star candies or grape stickers in my treasure chest wasn’t what was important anymore.
“……Big pwoblem.”
Suddenly, I sensed the surroundings fall dead silent. What is it?
Looking up, I saw that the elders conducting the meeting had stopped and were all staring solely at me.
Why are they looking at me?
“……Why is evewyone wooking at Iring?”
As I mumbled in bewilderment, Kaid chuckled softly and leaned his arm to the side.
The red gaze looking down at me was brimming with amusement.
“I wondered what you were pondering so deeply without even touching your snacks. What is such a big problem?”
“Um?”
“Tell me what’s the big problem.”
Oh no. I blurted it out without realizing. I clamped my mouth shut.
How do I smooth over this situation?
While I couldn’t say a single word and merely rolled my eyes around, Kaid let out a soft laugh.
“It is indeed a big deal. We are deciding the budget allocated for you, after all.”
Surpia suddenly pushed up her glasses and asked,
“Do you perhaps have a specific amount in mind, My Lady?”
“Indeed. Since you say it is a big deal, let us hear your opinion. What is going on inside that little head of yours this time?”
Kaid rested his hand on my head.
Surpia was waiting for my answer. Are they really going to listen to my opinion?
I was a bit flustered, but this was undoubtedly a golden opportunity.
I decided to shout out the largest amount I could think of for now.
Then the things Rosaria buys for me will be even more expensive, and I can store the ones that look the priciest in my treasure chest one by one.
Putting on a serious expression, I earnestly spread out all ten fingers.
“Iring wants one hundwed!”