I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 53
The two exchanged words as they looked at me.
I flinched as their conversation struck right at the heart of the matter without warning. Paymon gave an easygoing smile and introduced the man.
“This is Basad. He looks a little rough around the edges, but he’s really not a bad guy.”
“……I am Basad.”
“I-I see!”
Why on earth did he have to show up at a moment like this?!
I pressed my back flat against what was behind me and began sidestepping one foot at a time. A crab walk, so to speak.
Naturally, two pairs of eyes followed my every move.
Their gazes practically screamed that they couldn’t fathom why I was walking like that.
“Is something uncomfortable? Why are you walking that way?”
“Jus’ because!”
I smiled awkwardly and looked at Basad.
Since Paymon had gone out of his way to introduce him, I couldn’t skip greeting him. That wouldn’t be polite to someone I was meeting for the first time.
All right. A quick wave up and down, that’s all.
I looked at Basad with grim determination. Then, after quickly waving my hand, I dropped it back down.
However, having spotted the white object between the bags, the two wore expressions of complete shock.
Staring intently at the spot the bag was hiding, Basad murmured under his breath.
“……A tail?”
“……And here I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me. So you saw it too, Basad.”
Paymon replied blankly before immediately covering his face. The sound of him chuckling leaked through loud and clear.
“Don’t laugh!”
“……Pfft. Cough…… Yes, my lady.”
“You can’t tell anyone. Unnerstand?”
“Of course. Whose orders would I dare disobey? I won’t tell a soul, ever.”
“Weally?”
“Yes.”
“……Basad too?”
Could I really trust these two? Still, they were my escort knights, so they wouldn’t go around blabbing about it easily, right?
When I glared up at him, trying deliberately to look fierce, Basad fell silent instead of answering right away.
“Why aren’t you answering?”
“……I will not speak of it.”
“Good. Okay.”
Now then, I had to figure out how to get inside the mansion without getting caught.
There weren’t many people in the garden, but the moment I stepped into the mansion, dozens of eyes would be glued to me.
I hurried toward the picnic mat set up beneath the parasol.
My legs hurt anyway, so I needed to sit down over there and think.
“Are you not heading straight inside?”
“Mm-mm.”
“Well, there are many eyes watching in the mansion, so I suppose caution is warranted.”
Paymon seemed to be secretly enjoying the situation.
I took off my sneakers and sat down on top of my bag.
As I pondered deeply on how to get back without catching anyone’s eye, Paymon raised a hand and spoke.
“How about being carried? I think Basad could hide you quite well.”
“Hm? Won’t that stand out too much?”
Basad looked nearly as massive as Dante. Being carried by him would only draw more attention.
Even now, people passing through the garden were shooting sidelong glances at Basad.
“Then what about entering through a window?”
Basad suggested, pointing toward a window of the mansion. It was a rather tempting idea.
Paymon, however, shook his head immediately.
“That won’t work, Basad.”
“Why?”
“Do you really think your frame could fit through a window?”
“…….”
Silence descended.
“Then Paymon can just do it.”
If Basad couldn’t, Paymon could. At that, Paymon spoke up as if he had been waiting for the chance.
“I’ll get you inside through the window, but in exchange, may I pet your tail a few times?”
“……No thanks. I don’t need it!”
My tail wasn’t something just anyone was allowed to touch!
I whipped my head away. In the end, the window plan fell through.
“And here I thought going through the window would be best. Well then, think about it a bit more while having a snack. All I ask for is the tail.”
“No thanks. I’m not gonna eat it.”
Paymon still hadn’t given up on the tail, trying to lure me with snacks.
Did he think I’d fall for something like that? I turned my head firmly away, refusing to look.
“She’s thoroughly sulking.”
Paymon muttered, nudging Basad as if telling him to do something about it.
Basad, who had been watching the scene in silence, let out a sigh. As though this weren’t the first or second time, his demeanor was one of half-resignation.
Just from Paymon’s behavior alone, it was clear that Basad was the one stuck cleaning up after him.
……Basad, you must have suffered quite a bit, caught in the middle all this time.
I thought back to the others I had met so far: Karma, Mesis, and Paymon.
Even without looking closely, it was easy to see that each of them had vastly different personalities.
Imagining Basad silently enduring situations like this among such comrades every single time, I felt a pang of sympathy.
“Have you ever seen something like this?”
Basad pulled something out of his pocket. It was a necklace made of solid wood.
The surface of the round piece of wood was smoothed and polished flat.
Across it, colored carvings were etched in detail, forming what looked like a crest.
“It may be a mere superstition, but they say if you make a wish upon this, it will come true.”
“Are you giving this to me?”
“Yes. I have not made a wish upon it yet, so I shall give it to you, Lady Irene.”
I took it from his hand. Two tightly braided cords were tied together in a short knot.
I should make a wish on this to succeed in shapeshifting soon.
Just as I was about to slip it around my neck, I paused.
……Wait, if he had this, didn’t that mean Basad had a wish too?
I had gladly accepted it, but now it weighed on my conscience.
As I hesitated, merely fiddling with the necklace, Basad looked at me with a puzzled expression.
“Basad. If you give this to me, how will you make your wish?”
“……Pardon?”
“Didn’t you make this ‘cause you wanted to make a wish?”
“Ah.”
Basad shook his head, indicating that wasn’t the case.
“I made this specifically to give to you this time, my lady.”
“Weally?”
“Yes.”
What a relief.
I slipped the necklace lightly over my head. Watching the wooden pendant dangle back and forth made me feel as if my wish would come true in no time.
Swish.
My mood instantly lifted, and my tail perked right up.
Catching the faint movement, Paymon looked at the tail, his eyes sparkling.
“Does the tail move depending on your mood?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“Then would you like some snacks?”
“……I’m only eating this ‘cause Paymon told me to.”
When Paymon offered the snack again, I pretended to give in reluctantly and polished off the jelly in a single bite.
……I had to recover my energy quickly so my pheromones would return.
Even if they did return, there wasn’t anything I could fix right away.
Casana had strictly forbidden me from attempting to shapeshift when she wasn’t around.
I had no choice but to wait until the next lesson.
“I need to go to my room now. If I stay here too long, Rozaria will worry.”
“True. We’ve already been out here for over an hour. Did you think of a way to get inside without being caught?”
“Yeah. But you two have to help me.”
“How so?”
“Hide Irene.”
If I snuck in tucked between the two of them, I figured it might just work out somehow.
Had it been any other part of my body that changed, I wouldn’t have agonized over it this much.
The thought of everyone seeing this tail wagging around however it pleased depending on my mood made even my ears flush hot.
I slung the bag low across my back, just like before.
“If I do this, it won’t show, right?”
“……I feel like this will stand out even more.”
“I am of the same opinion.”
There was no helping it. This was the best I could do. Whether things would go according to plan remained to be seen.
Tip, tap.
I carefully made my way toward the mansion.
Though the two joined in on the plan, both had doubtful looks on their faces.
Paymon asked several times if we were truly going to use this method, and each time, I nodded matter-of-factly.
Two towering Black Mambas followed closely behind my tiny self.
Seeming even more tense than I was, they were on guard against their surroundings in an utterly suspicious manner.
Naturally, the attention of everyone nearby zeroed in on Paymon and Basad.
Yes! It worked!
I smiled in satisfaction.
I knew everyone’s eyes would be on those two.
“……So this was what you were aiming for.”
“That’s right.”
“You’re surprisingly clever, my lady.”
“Then listen to me more often!”
“This is actually quite entertaining.”
Paymon seemed to be thoroughly enjoying the current situation.
I managed to pass through the mansion’s central lobby safely, without showing my tail to a single person.
I let out a long breath of relief. Now, all that was left was to walk down the hallway and climb the stairs.
The only problem was that there were even more people in the hallway than in the central lobby.
“It’s okay. I can do it.”
Before rounding the corner, I pressed myself against the wall and scoped out the hallway.
Above me, Paymon and Basad also peeked their heads out while keeping their bodies hidden.
It was a rather comical sight.
“There are few people in the hallway. I hardly sense any presence.”
“It seems right now is the optimal time to pass through, my lady.”
“Weally?”
“Yes. Honestly, this is quite thrilling. It feels like the hardest mission I’ve undertaken yet.”
Paymon murmured playfully. Basad nodded in agreement.
“The ones we must deceive are our own kin, so the difficulty is slightly elevated.”
……They really didn’t need to take this so seriously. Was this truly something that required scanning for presences?
Still, having the two of them act this way was oddly reassuring.
“Let’s go.”
“Yes, my lady.”