I’m the Youngest Daughter of the Serpent Family
Chapter 63
I could not get used to this situation that had been going on for days.
At first, I had responded kindly and greeted the Black Mambas whenever they spoke to me, but… as the same pattern of conversation repeated over and over, it felt very suspicious.
Every single day, they would sneak up beside me, list off one good thing about the South, and then vanish into thin air.
I had no idea why they were suddenly acting like this, but I couldn’t shake the feeling that they were trying to get on my good side.
But every time, they left out the single most important merit of the South!
“Aria.”
“Yes…?”
I hardened my expression with utmost seriousness and spoke.
“You know, the most impo’tant thing is missing.”
“Pardon? The most important thing? …What did I miss? Please tell me.”
“Oh, come on! Daddy’s here, isn’t he! That’s the bestest thing of all.”
“…….”
“You can’t leave it out fwom now on. Promise?”
Aria, who had been listening blankly to my words, nodded.
She looked visibly shocked, as if such a thought had never even crossed her mind.
“…I-I see. The greatest pride of the South is, of course, the L-Lord.”
“Wight?”
“…Yes.”
Aria looked as though she didn’t agree in the slightest, but I was completely sincere.
As long as I could be with the people precious to me, it didn’t matter what kind of place the South was.
Even if the weather was harsh, or there was nothing to boast of, it made no difference to me.
“Ah! I weally have to go now. I gotta get back early today!”
I had taken up too much time. Waving goodbye to Aria, who remained frozen in place, I quickened my steps.
A humming melody slipped naturally from my lips.
For today was the day I had collected all the stickers Casana gave me!
What kind of gift would she give me? My heart went pitter-patter with anticipation.
Casana always gave meaningful presents, so this time would surely be the same, right?
Arriving at my room in good time, I pushed the door open.
“Wosaria!”
“Lady Irene, you’re back already? You come right on time now even without me having to fetch you.”
“Yup. O’ course!”
I can keep promises and stick to the time all on my own now!
As I puffed my chest out proudly, Rosaria’s gaze dropped to the pockets on both sides of my dress.
“Lady Irene. What are those?”
“Ah, dis?”
I patted my bulging pockets.
They were little treats I had received one by one while wandering around the mansion.
When I dumped them out by the handful onto the table, Rosaria let out a soft chuckle.
“Evewyone gave me one.”
“Goodness, they’re all being so obvious.”
Shaking her head as if they were hopeless, Rosaria put the snacks I had brought into the snack container for me.
Meanwhile, I headed into the bathroom and scrubbed my hands clean.
Since I had run around a lot today, I made sure to lather up twice as much soap and rinse thoroughly.
After turning the tap off tightly and drying my hands, I stepped out to find Casana waiting.
I scurried forward on quick little steps and took a seat.
“Casa! I collected all the gwape stickers.”
Tidying up the cushions beside us, Rosaria smiled warmly.
“Of course I remembered. To think you’ve gathered them all already… Thank you for paying such close attention during our lessons.”
“What pwesent do I get?”
I fluttered the sticker sheet I had taken out beforehand and held out my hand.
Casana stared at me quietly, winced slightly, and then pulled something out of her bag.
“…First, I believe I must deliver this to you.”
“What is dis?”
What Casana took out was a thickly folded paper booklet.
“…Haah. I feel embarrassed to be handing you something like this.”
Uncharacteristically, her face flushed red, and she couldn’t meet my eyes.
Just what was she trying to give me that made her react that way?
Flipping through the booklet, which was blatantly slapped together page by page, I saw that it was filled with a list of one hundred reasons why the South was better than the East.
I had actually been planning to ask about it tomorrow if this kept happening.
Why was everyone so desperate to convince me every time they saw me?
When I let out a soft sigh, Casana quickly added:
“Everyone is worried that you might change your mind, Milady.”
“Dat I might say I’ll go to the East?”
“Yes.”
While I had been worried about being sent back, the people around me were actually worried that my heart would drift away.
Now that I knew the reason, a giggle slipped out.
I hugged the paper booklet tightly to my chest. As of today, another treasure was about to be added to my collection.
“Tell them that I wike it here much, much more too.”
“Understood.”
“You also have to tell them that I’m gonna cherish this fowever.”
“I shall do so. And…”
There was the rustle of wrapping paper.
“This is the present I have for you, Lady Irene, for collecting all of your stickers.”
My eyes sparkling, I spread my hands open wide. Inside the wrapping was something square.
“Can I open it?”
“By all means, go ahead.”
Unwrapping the paper carefully revealed a silver picture frame with rounded corners.
“A fwame?”
Holding the empty frame with nothing inside, I looked at Casana, and she said:
“You haven’t taken a family portrait yet, have you, Milady?”
“Mm-mm.”
“The two young masters don’t seem interested in family portraits, but I thought you might feel differently.”
A family portrait.
The word felt so unfamiliar.
Rosaria had taken photos of me before, but I had never taken one with someone else.
“Why not try mentioning it to the Head of the Family?”
“…To Daddy?”
“Yes. You could be the first to bring up wanting to take a family photo.”
It was hard to picture.
What would it feel like to put a photo of all of us gathered together into a frame?
I stroked the center of the frame.
But everyone might really find it a nuisance… How could I persuade them?
Still, I wanted a family photo so badly.
“I’m definitely gonna take a family photo and put it in here.”
I would convince them no matter what. I gripped the frame tightly.
“Shall we begin our lesson now?”
“Otay.”
I set the frame aside so it wouldn’t get in the way of our lesson.
What Casana brought today wasn’t the usual book for practicing writing and letters.
It was a black-covered book prominently emblazoned with the crest of the Astrophel family in the center.
“Today, we shall learn something different.”
“Not witing? Something else?”
“Yes. Going forward, I will also be teaching you about the history of the Astrophel family.”
“Den is dis a histowy book?”
“Similar to that. It is a chronicle containing brief records of the early Heads of the Family, as well as the relations maintained with other regions during their reigns.”
As if enchanted, I flipped open the first page.
A page appeared bearing the name of the very first Head who marked the beginning of the family.
[Tamur Astropel (508–623)]
It depicted an extraordinarily handsome man with a distinct, striking aura.
Tamur possessed sharp eyes and long black hair falling all the way to his waist.
The portrait stared straight ahead, giving the illusion that his eyes were meeting mine.
“This is Lord Tamur Astropel, the first Head of the Family. He led the family for roughly thirty years.”
“…Tamur Astropel.”
I echoed the name awkwardly.
It seemed he had founded the family at a very young age.
For his appearance in the painting looked similar to Kaid now.
“A mere five hundred years ago, the continent had no divided territories. It was an age of chaos.”
“Den how did evewyone live?!”
“It was an era where taking and being taken from was simply the norm, so no one considered it a problem.”
It was shocking. To think the beastfolk didn’t have their own defined territories.
That meant one could have their land stolen overnight by another beastman and be driven out.
It truly was an age where one’s life was constantly under threat.
“Because of that, the weaker clans back then preferred living in packs. Conversely, the stronger clans had no trouble hunting alone, so they did not care for pack life.”
“Still, isn’t it better to stick togethew?”
“A leader is bound to be established within any pack. There was no need for them to form a pack and invite such complications.”
That made sense. Since they all possessed immense strength.
Living alone caused no inconvenience, so they wouldn’t have felt any need to form a pack.
“At that time, the very concept of a family didn’t exist. Although signs of families forming began to appear one by one in other regions, none were recognized as ruling families like they are today.”
“Huh? Why was dat?”
“Because clans sensitive to hierarchy were generally late to form families. They wished to avoid causing friction among their own kind.”
“I see.”
“However, the Astrophel family is rather unique. There was no internal friction, and it was established faster than any of the other ruling families.”
“…Mm?”
But isn’t that completely opposite to what she just painstakingly explained?