I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 60
To think she wanted to return after being abandoned by her own clan.
Then what of Estella, who had taken her in and cared for her? Durias made no attempt to hide his contemptuous expression.
Nothing had been properly uncovered yet, but judging by the circumstances, the person who abandoned Irene's egg and fled had to be Ella.
Estella's death was bound to be intimately connected to the woman before him as well.
Knowing just how deeply Estella had trusted Ella made Durias's stomach churn with nausea.
Ella trembled violently inside the murderously tense basement. Her restless golden eyes darted erratically.
It was painfully obvious that her mind was racing to figure out what to say.
Even in this state, she was agonizing over how to keep herself breathing for just a little longer.
Durias barely managed to pull back the hand that had been about to crush her throat.
Flinching and shrinking back, Ella gasped for breath.
"I was under the impression you were cast out from the East, so how did you ever think you could return?"
Having barely regained his composure, Durias asked with his characteristic smile. Ella edged further into the corner.
"Th-they said they would give me a chance."
"A chance?"
"...Th-they said if I obeyed... they would let me return to my homeland."
"Meaning you betrayed your mistress, then."
"That wasn't it!"
Ella recoiled in shock, violently shaking her head to insist that wasn't the case.
Had being locked in the dungeon for so long ruined her mind?
Watching her stubbornly deny it despite confessing to an act of betrayal out of her own mouth was utterly laughable.
Did he really have to keep looking at that face?
Disgusted, Durias furrowed his brow.
Curling into herself while nervously gauging his reaction, Ella muttered,
"Th-that was... The mistress passing away was something I never anticipated."
"Ha."
"E-Estella-nim... I never wanted that to happen to the mistress! Even I never meant for it to go that far...!"
Ella, who had been speaking in an agitated rush, flinched and clamped her mouth shut.
Her terrified eyes hastily checked Durias's temper.
"Disgusting to the core."
The smile on Durias's face had long since hardened into cold fury.
Watching her cower in the corner of the cell as if it were a lifeline, whining and walking on eggshells, was thoroughly pathetic.
Rising from his seat and stepping inside, Durias bent down to meet Ella's eyes.
Ella flinched and tried to draw back, but a vicious grip caught her chin and yanked her forward.
"So. You betrayed Estella-nim, who allowed you to live safely into adulthood, and only now are you opening your mouth because the man named Meryl you saw a few times as a child is just so precious to you?"
"...P-pl-please spare me."
"Which one? Meryl? Or yourself?"
Ella could not readily answer. She was clearly agonizing over which one to choose.
To think that after begging him not to touch Meryl, she would hesitate the moment she herself became an option.
Her feelings amounted to no more than that.
And to betray Estella on such flimsy grounds, merely wishing to see a childhood first love.
Durias looked down at Ella as if she were an insect.
Ella's hot tears streamed down the back of Durias's hand. It was utterly abhorrent.
Should he just kill her like this? After wrestling with the thought for a few seconds, Durias released her chin.
That was not what Kaid wanted just yet.
"I will never understand. I suppose that's why they say nothing is harder to fathom than the human heart."
Estella had trusted and cherished an outsider from another clan, even sharing her own nickname with her.
Yet the recipient of that affection had made contact with the clan that discarded her, preparing to return by betraying the mistress she served.
That alone was enough to make one's head go blank with rage, but there was still more he needed to hear.
First, he had to discover what tasks the clan she contacted had ordered her to carry out.
The scattered pigments painted across separate parts of the canvas were finally ready to bleed into a single shape.
"Let us have a slightly deeper conversation from here on out."
"...!"
"I suggest you don't even think of hiding anything. That is, unless you wish to meet the Meryl you hold so dearly right here in this place, Ella-yang."
* * *
A quiet rural village in the South.
A man and a woman sat intimately together in the middle of a charming garden bathed in warm sunlight.
Enjoying a leisurely afternoon of tea at the table, the woman with dark reddish hair set down her teacup.
"You're as hopeless with sweets as ever, Ian."
"And you become more excessive with each passing day."
"Hating sweets will invite divine punishment, you know."
The woman picked up a silver fork encrusted with sapphire gems.
Then, she elegantly pierced a cake smothered in chocolate mousse and brought it right up to the man's lips.
"Ah."
"..."
"Darling?"
"...Haah."
Resigning himself to his fate, the man parted his lips. He possessed black hair and red eyes that seemed familiar.
The moment the dreadful sweetness spread across his palate, his brow violently furrowed.
"It tastes better because I'm the one feeding you, doesn't it?"
"Helena."
"Yes?"
"Never mind."
Knowing he was at fault, however, the man kept his mouth shut.
"That's what you get for hiding the letter that arrived from our son."
"You would have insisted on going to the Capital if I hadn't."
"My, look who knows so well."
Helena's eyes widened. Her lovely purple eyes curved softly into crescents.
Ian, who crumbled before that smile every single time, knew he had been defeated once again.
The crisp black envelope held between her index and middle fingers boasted an immaculate silhouette.
Stamping the center was the distinct emblem of a serpent.
It was the seal of the Astrophel family.
"When our only son went out of his way to invite us to come see our grandchild."
Squelch.
The fork, lifting another bite of cake, rose into the air. Ian's red eyes wavered with unease.
Fortunately, the second piece went straight into Helena's mouth.
Relieved, Ian let out a quiet breath.
"When should we leave?"
Helena laughed with amusement. Ian let out a dry chuckle.
"We'll go whenever you wish."
The intimate conversation between the former Head of the family and the matriarch of the Astrophel family continued.
"Are you... pouting because Kaid reached out so late?"
"Why would I do that?"
Ian quietly denied it and shook his head, but Helena did not withdraw her suspicious gaze.
She cradled her husband's cheek.
"Every single person in this family is so incapable of being honest."
"I have always been honest with you."
"Mmm. Then that's fine."
Helena released his face.
It had been well over three years since the two stepped down from their positions.
Aside from Estella's funeral and the birth of their two grandchildren, they had never visited the mansion.
It was the former Head of the family's consideration toward Kaid.
They were waiting for their son to ascend to the position of Head of the family and completely take control of the clan.
After all, the sudden appearance of the former Head of the family would hardly be a welcome event for Kaid.
"It truly is puzzling."
"Indeed."
Helena's face was clouded with worry.
Just when they thought he was solidifying his standing by marrying and siring heirs...
"A daughter born of another clan out of nowhere. Something must have happened to the family."
"Most likely."
"You speak as if it's someone else's business."
"The boy will handle it on his own."
Twitch.
Helena's eyebrows drew together in a frown.
Stepping down from power was one thing, but this felt excessively indifferent.
"Is that all you have to say?"
"Yes."
Everything in the Astrophel family now rested in Kaid's hands.
It was proper for the predecessors to remain silent until he reached out for counsel.
Yet Ian was troubled as well.
Since Kaid had not explained what had happened, Ian felt just as frustrated.
"Still, having a granddaughter doesn't feel half bad. I always wanted to have a daughter myself."
"..."
"Though someone was against it."
"Absolutely not. When that boy was born, he absorbed far too much of your pheromones."
Ian covered his eyes at the memory he never wished to recall.
Even now, just thinking about that time made him dizzy. He had truly thought something terrible would happen to Helena.
Bearing a son was terrifying enough; how could she possibly talk of wanting a daughter?
Understanding what Ian felt, Helena smiled faintly.
"What choice do I have? I'll have to be satisfied with a granddaughter."
"With his temperament, it's a miracle he didn't throw her away."
"I bet he told someone else to throw her away. Care to make a wager?"
Whether he had said so or not?
Helena's purple eyes sparkled with long-awaited amusement.
Faced with her supreme confidence, Ian decided to take a step back.
"Why are you quiet?"
"Because it seems you'll win."
"What a boring man."
Having finished her tea, Helena stood from her seat.
Nearly half of the sickly sweet black tea still remained in Ian's cup.
She had no idea why he stubbornly insisted on drinking a tea that didn't suit his palate every single time, but sharing the same cup of tea with him was not an unpleasant feeling.
"I should send word that we'll be stopping by the family estate. I want to see my granddaughter as soon as possible."
"I have yet to acknowledge that child as my granddaughter, Helena."
Ian raised an objection with a disgruntled tone. Helena tilted her head in response.
"Kaid has already given her his family name, hasn't he? Don't you think calling her Rin sounds terribly adorable?"
"..."
"I think it would be lovely to bring her here for a few days to stay with us. You're far too quiet, after all."
Even though there are two of us, it feels like being alone sometimes, you know?
Helena spoke with a laugh, her tone brimming with teasing. And once again, Ian fell for it completely.